Ranger's Apprentice


Ranger's Apprentice is a series written by Australian author John Flanagan. It began as twenty short stories Flanagan wrote for his son to get him interested in reading. Ten years later, Flanagan found the stories again and decided to turn them into a book, which became the first novel in the series, The Ruins of Gorlan. It was originally released in Australia on 1 November 2004. Though the books were initially published only in Australia and New Zealand, they have since been released in 14 other countries.
The series follows the adventures of Will, an orphan, who is chosen as an apprentice Ranger, one of the skilled trackers, archers, and warriors in the service of the King of Araluen. Will strives to keep the Kingdom of Araluen safe from invaders, traitors, and other threats. He is joined on his adventures by his mentor, Halt, and his best friend Horace.
The series originally consisted of twelve books, with the eleventh book being a collection of short stories and the twelfth being a follow-up novel set 16 years later. A prequel series, Ranger's Apprentice: The Early Years, has released two titles, the first in 2015 and the second in 2016. A spin-off series started in 2011, The Brotherband Chronicles, is set in the same universe, though with new characters. The eighth book in The Brotherband Chronicles came out in October 2019. In 2018 the twelfth book of the Ranger's Apprentice series was renamed and made the first book in a sequel series, Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger.
The series has sold over three million copies and is well praised by critics.

Plot

''The Ruins of Gorlan''

Morgarath, an exiled baron, has been waiting fifteen years, carefully planning his revenge against the Kingdom of Araluen. He prepares to unleash his power and attempt again to take control of the kingdom. In Redmont Fief, a special day has come for 15-year-old Will and his fellow wardmates Horace, Alyss, George, and Jenny, called Choosing Day, where they all become either an apprentice to a craftmaster or work on the local farms. Will is apprenticed to Halt the Ranger, who is part of the country's elite intelligence group. The Rangers specialize in long-range weapons and the art of staying unseen. Will begins to train in these skills.
In the meantime, Will's wardmate Horace is in Battleschool. His life is harsh and three second-year Battleschool cadets bully him. During a local holiday known as Harvest Day, Horace and Will fight, increasing their hatred for each other. However, six weeks later, Will saves Horace's life during a boar hunt, cementing a friendship between the two boys. Later, the Battleschool bullies attack Will, leading to Halt intervening and having the bullies banished from the fief. Soon after, Halt and Will leave for the Ranger Gathering, where they receive a report that the Kalkara, vicious creatures under the control of Morgarath, have reappeared in Araluen.
Halt, Will and Gilan leave to track down and kill the Kalkara. Halt thinks that the Kalkara are headed to the ruins of Gorlan. Morgarath's former castle. He tells Will to go back to Redmont, get backup, and rendezvous at the ruins. Back in Redmont, Baron Arald and Sir Rodney head out to slay the Kalkara and to save Halt. Finding that Halt is battling the Kalkara alone, Sir Rodney and Baron Arald manage to knock one of the beasts into the fire, but are badly injured by the other. Will shoots the Kalkara in the chest with a flaming arrow, which proves to be fatal. Back in his own fief, Will is considered a hero and receives his bronze oakleaf, which identifies him as a Ranger's apprentice.

''The Burning Bridge''

A war with Morgarath is approaching, and Will, Gilan, and Horace are sent to Celtica, a nearby country, to ask for reinforcements. But every town they travel through is deserted. They find a survivor named Evanlyn, who explains that Wargals, mindless minions of Morgarath, have caused the destruction. Gilan travels to Araluen to report to the king. Meanwhile, Will, Horace, and Evanlyn come across an army of Wargals. They secretly follow them to the Fissure, a deep gorge, only to discover that the Celtic miners were captured. Will and his friends watch as the miners are forced to complete a bridge across the Fissure and a tunnel through the cliffs up to Morgarath's lair. This would allow Morgarath's army to attack the Araluen king's army from behind. Will comes up with a plan to burn the bridge so that Morgarath's army cannot use it. However, in the process, Will and Evanlyn are captured by a force of Skandian warriors hired by Morgarath. Horace watches from the other side of the bridge and flees to alert King Duncan about the bridge.
After Horace arrives at the Araluen camp, he and Gilan manage to warn the king and his advisers of Morgarath's plan. In the process of talking to the king, however, it is revealed that Evanlyn is, in truth, his daughter, the missing crown princess Cassandra. Though King Duncan wants to save Cassandra, he is bound to protect his kingdom first. He dispatches an auxiliary force, led by Halt, to stop another group of Skandian warriors that have come up from the coast to outflank the king's army. This is done successfully, and Halt and his troops disguise themselves as the Skandians, tricking Morgarath into ordering the Wargals to charge into the open plain. An Araluen cavalry charge demolishes the advancing Wargals, who are afraid only of horses. His army destroyed, Morgarath offers a flag of truce and prepares to challenge Halt to single combat to avenge his own defeat. Instead, he is challenged by Horace. Though Morgarath is more experienced and skilled than Horace, the young warrior manages to kill him. Meanwhile, Will and Cassandra are held as hostages by the Skandian that have captured them.

''The Icebound Land''

Will and Cassandra are brought back to Skandia by their captors and enslaved by the Skandians. In Hallasholm, the capital, Will is forced to work outside in the bitter cold, while Cassandra is taken into the kitchens. Will is introduced to warmweed, a drug that warms the body but destroys the mind, and he quickly becomes addicted. Erak, the captain of the Skandian crew that captured them, helps Cassandra escape with Will, and the two take refuge in a small log cabin for the winter. Following Erak's advice, Cassandra weans Will off the warmweed bit by bit, and Will slowly overcomes his addiction. Meanwhile, Horace and Halt set off to rescue Will and Cassandra by crossing into the neighbouring country of Gallica and making their way north along the coast. Horace becomes known as "The Oakleaf Knight" as he defeats many Gallican knights in combat, thereby attracting the attention of the famed knight Deparnieux. Deparnieux attempts to capture Halt and Horace but is tricked by Halt and killed.

''Oakleaf Bearers''

In Oakleaf Bearers, called The Battle for Skandia in the United States, Cassandra is captured by a Temujai warrior while scavenging for food. The Temujai are a fierce, nomadic tribe of horse warriors from the east and are masters of the recurve bow. Will struggles to rescue her until Horace and Halt arrive. Halt captures one of the Temujai and realizes they are attempting to take over the western world, starting with the Skandians. Having tried and nearly succeeded to complete the same goal twenty years earlier, they are a dangerous group. Erak and his crew happen to find the Araluens and they decide to join forces to help drive off the Temujai, since they pose a threat to Araluen as well if they manage to overtake the Skandians. They make use of Halt's knowledge of the Temujai tactics, and Will trains a force of archers for the upcoming battle against the Temujai. During the battle, the Skandians surprise the Temujai with their archers, and they are forced to withdraw. The Skandian Oberjarl Ragnak is killed in the battle, and Erak is elected to succeed him. Cassandra, acting on behalf of her father, and Erak, acting on behalf of Skandia, sign the Treaty of Hallasholm, a defence treaty.

''The Sorcerer in the North''

It's been years since Will and his friends helped defend Skandia against the Temujai. After receiving his silver oakleaf and being assigned to Seacliff Fief, Will takes on his first mission as a full-fledged Ranger. A few weeks after arriving in the fief, a disguised Will is sent north to Castle Macindaw to investigate claims of sorcery. The lord of Castle Macindaw, Lord Syron, is ill and many believe a sorcerer has caused the illness. Will's friend and former wardmate Alyss, also in disguise, is sent to help him, but is captured by the rogue knight Keren who is responsible for poisoning Lord Syron. Will escapes from the castle with allies of Lord Syron, and travels into the forest to enlist the aid of the rumored sorcerer. This "sorcerer", who is in fact a gifted healer called Malcolm, agrees to help. Orman, Lord Syron's son, has also been poisoned by Keren, and is smuggled by Will to Malcolm. Will attempts to rescue Alyss, but Keren walks through the door and Will barely escapes in time.

''The Siege of Macindaw''

Will's friend Horace is sent to help him handle the situation at Castle Macindaw. Together, they devise a plan to take control of the castle and rescue Alyss, with the help of a group of Skandian raiders who have been stranded in Araluen. They infiltrate the castle and Will reaches the tower where Alyss is held, but Keren hypnotises her to believe Will is the enemy and orders her to kill him. At the last moment, Will confesses to Alyss that he loves her, and the hypnosis is broken. As Keren attacks Will, Alyss defeats him. Meanwhile, the Skandians, led by Horace, take control of the castle. Later, Will returns to Seacliff Fief and receives a letter from Alyss with her own love confession.

''Erak's Ransom''

Erak's Ransom takes place after Oakleaf Bearers but before The Sorcerer in the North, several months before Will receives his Silver Oakleaf ''. Skandian Oberjarl Erak decides to go on one final raid. However, he is captured and held for ransom while attempting to raid Al Shabah, a province of Arrida. Because Erak's first mate Svengal believes that he was betrayed by a rival Skandian named Toshak, the raiding party goes to Araluen instead of Skandia for the ransom money. Princess Cassandra returns with Svengal and the rest of Erak's crew to Arrida in her father's place to negotiate prices with Selethen, the leader of Al Shabah. Will, Gilan, Halt, Horace, and thirty of Erak's men go along to protect her and deliver the ransom. After the negotiation is over, Selethen reveals that Erak was being held in Mararoc, a fort in the desert, but as they are traveling there, Will loses his horse Tug during a sandstorm. Desperate to find him, Will travels alone into the desert. He runs out of water and is saved by the nomadic Bedullin tribe. While staying with the Bedullin tribe, Will finds that Tug has been found by a young man in the tribe, who claims Tug as his own. In order to win Tug back from the young man, Will has to defeat him in a horse race. He manages to win and reclaims his horse. Meanwhile, Erak is captured by the Tualaghi, a merciless nomadic tribe of devil worshipers. The rescue party, joined by Will and the Bedullin tribe, defeats the leader of the Tualaghi and frees Erak. Finally, Will is promoted to full Ranger and is awarded a silver oakleaf. He is given the last name of "Treaty" to commemorate his help in arranging the peace treaty between Skandia and Araluen years earlier.