The Temujai are a tribe of warriors from the Eastern Steppes, far beyond the boundaries of Araluen maps. They have conquered many of their neighbors and have one of the most advanced militaries in the Ranger's Apprentice world, said to be only matched by the Arridi in the south.
History
Early History
There used to be several small Temujai tribes, all led by a Shan. But at one point, a mighty Shan united all the tribes and proclaimed himself Sha'shan, the leader of all Temujai. Afterwards, the Temujai conquered a large part of the eastern end of the continent. They also conquered the lands of the Ursali and the Middle Kingdoms more in the south-west. This was so noteworthy that even people in the west of the Continent heard of it.
Invasion of the west
After the news of the fall of the Ursali had reached the west, the Araluan Ranger Halt came to the Eastern Steppes to live with the Temujai for a while. He was impressed by many things, such as their iron discipline and their strong recurve bows, but especially by their small but steady horses. When he returned to his kingdom, he stole some of them. The Temujai probably already had plans to conquer the western end of the Continent, but now they also had a casus belli.
They swiftly invaded Alpina, Teutlandt, northern Toscano and the whole of Gallica except for the western coast. But the invasion was interrupted when the Sha'shan died of food poisoning after he ate clams. Three of his relatives, his brother, cousin, and other brother, who were leading the invasion, returned to the Eastern Steppes to claim their right to the throne and left the army to be led only by low officers. None of the brothers were victorious in the election, instead, the new Sha'Shan decided not to continue the invasion and had the army retreat to their homeland. The new Sha'Shan also had the three relatives executed for abandoning their positions. This ended the Temujai occupation of the west.
Invasion of Skandia
About twenty years after the first invasion of the west, a new generation of Temujai soldiers was sent to the west with the same goal: to conquer the western end of the Continent. This time they invaded Skandia so they could control the wolfships. They were stopped by the Skandians, who were aided by Will and Halt, two Araluen Rangers who were referred to as "those cursed Atabi" as well as Horace and Cassandra.
Military and Tactics
Tactics
The Temujai army is very large and the one that attacked the Skandians numbered in the six thousands. The Temujai army divides its units into sixty man platoons called Ulans. In each Ulan there is a Kaijin, a specially trained marksmen trained to target and remove enemy leaders. Also, each high-ranking military officer has a half-Ulan of thirty men at his disposal.
They fight with a strategy based on colored flags, replaced with colored lanterns during nighttime battles. Their aim is to conquer the continent and eventually Araluen. To this end, they mounted an invasion of Skandia to control their ships.
Their general tactic that was used against the Skandians was to send in soldiers then fake a retreat, luring the enemy out in pursuit. Then, when the enemy is strung out in the open, close-combat horsemen ride in and cut the pursuers to ribbons. Next, the Temujai began their usual attack, the rolling arrow storm and drive tactic series.
In the rolling arrow storm and drive tactic series, ten Temujai Ulans wheel about in planned but confusing patterns, all the while pouring arrows into the enemy. When the enemy uses their shields to block the arrows, and are thus blinded to the main Temujai force, an Ulan swoops in with their sabers and lances, kills a number of the enemy, and retreats before the enemy can counterattack. While the first Ulan is still retreating, a second Ulan is standing by further back, and pours arrows into the breach that the first Ulan created. Then, the ten Ulans are brought back and another ten Ulans does the same thing. Eventually, the enemy sustains too many casualties, and their force breaks at one point or another, and the Temujai drive in at the breach, slaughtering the enemy, and the massive enemy casualties eventually result in a victory for the Temujai.
A Temujai bow (Korean traditional compound recurve, made in the same way as the Mongol and thus Temujai bows).
The Temujai use recurve bows similar to the one Will uses during training. This makes them unique among the main forces on the map, except for those of Araluen. The Temujai also use sabers and lances. They have perhaps the finest horses in the known world, with the exception of the Ranger horses, which are a specific cross of several different breeds. Halt stole their bow technique and a herd of horses at the end of his stay with them. They are not afraid to die, and the higher ranking officers have no care for the common soldier, which is showed during the Battle of Skandia where the generals send out all their men for a suicidal final attack against the Skandians.
Although the Temujai are usually seen fighting on horseback, or firing from a mounted position, they can also fight as light infantry, dismounting to climb earthworks or past stakes. This gave the Skandians an advantage; they were some of the best melee fighters in the western world.
Leadership
Sha'shan: The leader of the Temujai, literally meaning leader of leaders. It is assumed that they were at one point a Shan.
Shan: A powerful leader, often in the military, but with apparent civilian implications. Haz'Kam referred to himself as Shan of the people, it is unknown if this is the full title, or a specific title assigned to him.
- General Haz'kam, Shan of the People
Only Temujai who were related to a high ranking family could become an officer in the Temujai army. It was tradition, however, for these nobles to serve one year as a regular soldier before rising in rank. A commoner with no ties to a high ranking family could only rise to the rank of sergeant. Note that this is the direct opposite of the Mongol Empire where promotion was based on merit and not on family ties (therefore the promotion system of the Temujai is more like the promotion system of the medieval armies of Southern, Western, and Northern Europe).
Known Temujai
- General Haz'kam, Shan
- General Nit'zak, deputy to Haz'kam
- Colonel Bin'zak, head of intelligence
- At'lan, head of a Temujai scouting party
- Ch'ren, son of a high ranking Temujai and currently a soldier in At'lan's scouting party.
- Unnamed Temujai, sent to kill Cassandra
Trivia
- The Temujai may be based on the stereotypical view of the Mongols. The Mongols had archers on horseback and Khans led Mongol clans just like Shans led Temujai clans. Furthermore, Genghis Khan was called the Temujin before being proclaimed Khan of the empire.
- The Mongols also conquered Afghanistan in a series of large battles that also became known in the west, just as the Temujai did with the Ursali.
- Although they may be based off of the Mongol hordes, their 'reatreat-and-fire' tactics were used by the Huns, suggesting that they may also be partly based off of them.