Rangers Apprentice - Blog Posts

just like me fr

Will, walking into Gilan’s office: Alright, what’s this about—

Gilan: *slams door shut from behind*

Will, spinning around, saxe in hand: Gilan!?

Gilan: It’s time, Will

Will: Time for what? What’s going on?

*Gilan, appearing from the shadows, rope in one hand and scissors in the other*

Will: gILAN—

Gilan: It’ll be over soon

Will: Gilan nO—

*everything goes dark*

Currently looking through all of the RA books I can find to verify the direction Crowley faces while at his desk in Castle Araluen it’s so I can be correct as to whether he looks round or up at someone entering his office

Battle of Skandia is def one of his best books, the Will he warning the water hits me like a fucken bullet train every single time

Also consider:

- Halt telling Will he can do whatever the the fuck he wants to while training the Skandians to shoot

- The fact that the women and children aren’t just locked up somewhere and actually play a role in the battle unlike every other book/film I’ve read recently

- Actual good reason to use volleys instead of free firing

- Halt telling Horace not to give a shit about companionship when the Skandians are running alongside their horses

- Skandians straight up just keeping up with horses on foot just bc they don’t like riding them

underrated scenes from the battle of skandia

read this book in one sitting in a hotel hot tub… here we go

(every scene. it’s every scene)

- the very first page, when it takes Will a solid five minutes to figure out that the sound of dripping water means Thaw

- when Halt and Horace are heading to Skandia from Teutlandt, and Halt can tell that Horace is holding in a question, except Horace has decided not to ask the question, and Halt is going *absolutely nuts* because he wants to know what the question is

- Will tracking Evanlyn and the Temujai who captured her for hours on foot through the snow, despite being desperately out of shape, and he continues on by remembering everything Evanlyn’s done for him

- Halt arriving just in time to save will from the Temujai, and they’re both crying at the reunion. also Tug going batshit crazy when he senses Will in the vicinity and then refusing to leave his side…. yes these are tears in my eyes

- Halt: “I left what I considered a fair price” for the Temujai horses… the fair price being Absolutely Nothing, of course. also, he says this was two decades ago. also, Halt is thirty-six in this scene.

- when Halt and Erak scout the Temujai army for the first time and Halt shoots the Temujai scout from behind cover by picturing where he is in his mind!! what the fuck!!!

- when Halt and Erak escape from the Temujai army and Halt slaps Erak’s horse with his bow to keep it galloping and Erak is clinging on for dear fucking life

- when Halt and Erak return from scouting the Temujai army and Erak dismounts his horse by falling face-first into a snowdrift

- Will regaining his shooting ability, and Erak returning his double knife scabbard because he hoards everything he gets his hands on

- Evanlyn going nuts because she can’t help with the war effort, sneaking onto Slagor’s ship, being trapped there for eighteen hours, discovering an undercover plot, getting exposed as Duncan’s daughter and invoking Ragnak’s Vallasvow to kill her, and turning the fuckin tables on Slagor by exposing him in turn

- Halt dressing up as a Skandian in extremely oversized clothing and subsequently throwing up in the Skandian helmet

- Will and Halt recruiting and training a hundred slaves as archers for the battle, and Will demonstrating incredible leadership skills despite being?? seventeen??

- every moment during the battle, when the little plots and counterattacks that Halt has devised goes exactly to plan, including: Will’s first archer volley taking down an entire Ulan (group of sixty), Will facing literally fifty Kaijin sharpshooters, Horace being the ultimate shieldmate, and Evanlyn directing volleys like a badass. this trio is unmatched.

- also, randomly, POVs from FOUR temujai characters, including the intelligence colonel that exposes Will and Horace’s archers. honestly appreciated because they broke up the battle scenes and Flanagan actually did a fair bit of worldbuilding and characterization

- Horace and Will fighting back-to-back, and Horace tells Will to duck and he flips his sword behind him and stabs the Temujai that Will is fighting

- Evanlyn facing down the deputy general of the Temujai army and his personal bodyguard, not being the slightest bit afraid, and the moment before the downstroke Will throws a knife and kills him

- Halt: “there is not the SLIGHTEST chance Erak becomes Oberjarl” then Erak: “i’m the new Oberjarl” Halt: “i fuckin called it. reverse psychology”

- Horace being knighted by Duncan and appointed to the Royal Guard.

- when Crowley returns Halt’s silver oakleaf and Halt knows that he’s home at last.

My friend recommended it to me as her favourite series after I told her I wanted to read more books with knights and the like. Read RoG and… didn’t vibe with it. Four years after that I received yet another recommendation (+ felt bad for not giving it more of a chance) so I tried again and now here we are. Whacking my high-school self with a sledgehammer for missing out on it all this time

fun fact i only got into rangers apprentice because the first like 5 books were in a free box from the library because they didn't want them for whatever reason and i took all 5 because the covers looked cool.

I don't know why but I always imagine Caitlyn with brown hair as if everyone in her family has black hair and she's the only one with a lighter hair color

Weird thought, but do you think Halt ever thought about the fact that Lord Orman’s situation was similar to his own? Being the unlikable, aloof one, and having to content yourself with the fact that people preferred your much more charismatic relative, regardless of their true nature?

Just a thought.

Not you giving ME ideas shsjbs. You’re actually making me reconsider when to place it. Ahhhh so many ways this could go. I love the idea of Will meeting Caitlyn and telling Halt 😭😭 and yes about Pritchard!! I can also imagine that Will would almost immediately tell Pritchard that he’s from the far future (it’s Will. He would tell SOMEONE there) and telling him all about how Halt and Crowley are doing and Pritchard being so proud!! And yeah, Will would absolutely ask Pritchard to take him on as an honorary apprentice lolll

I’m also still debating on how Will goes to the past. Through a dream? An object? ??? Even more possibilities lol. Think I might lay out at least three different routes this could go and decide from there. One of my original ideas was of Will wishing his dad hadn’t died (because we all know who Daniel died protecting…) Like imagine Will thinks he’s saving his dad only to realize he’s condemning Halt 😬 but that’s the least wholesome route so we’ll see hahah. At this rate I’ll write all three. I’m growing attached to the crack treated seriously approach

Seriously tempted to write a time-travel fic about Will meeting teenage Crown Prince Halt and royally screwing things up in the process. Someone slap me with a brick.

reading The Hibernian:

surely no one will be able to tell who my favourite character is…

bless this man 😭

just the absolute worst luck (mostly due to Morgarath’s blazing target on his back, but I digress)

could’ve sworn his eyes were green?? *scuttles off to edit fanfic*

it also just hit me that it’s never mentioned in the first 10 books that Halt and Crowley trained under the same man. could’ve used more of Crowley in the original books in general, imo (definitely no personal bias here)

ah… so we meet at last

CHOOSE YOUR TREATY

But seriously, I wanted to draw this for so long now. It always excited me, for no apparent reason, when Will was changing his ranger uniform.

Also: Skandia Will is there 100% only because I needed an excuse to draw him with slightly longer hair (XD).

Seriously tempted to write a time-travel fic about Will meeting teenage Crown Prince Halt and royally screwing things up in the process. Someone slap me with a brick.

See I have the opposite problem 😭 I’m lukewarm on Will/Alyss but I desperately want to love them together. At this point I need someone to make me a PowerPoint on why they’re such a good pairing because I am very willing to be persuaded

thinking about Will/Alyss rn. someone should invent a surgery that removes a fictional ship from someone’s brain this is out of hand

gilan: hey, halt, did you get a chance to consider my plan?

halt, reading a letter: uh-huh.

gilan: what do you think?

halt: mhm.

gilan: halt?

halt: anytime.

gilan: mm. i’m gonna go compromise the integrity of the corps by selling crown secrets to skandia and then blame it on will now, yeah?

will: hey.

halt: oh, go on then.

gilan, cracking up: can i assassinate the king while i'm at it?

I knew forgetting George was something of a running joke in the fandom, but I just started book 10 and Horace genuinely forgets about George after he takes an arrow for him 😭 he’s about to leave the battle scene and George is lying half-conscious on the side of the road. Like I get he’s a bit stuffy but you grew up together!!! He saved your life!!!

Search Parties Continue To Sweep Ocean For Halt’s Mysterious Friend, Albert

The search continues throughout the seven seas for the elusive “Albert,” who the famous Ranger Halt of Araluen has been seen earnestly searching for from the decks of the Skandian ship Wolfwill on many a voyage. Many a Skandian wolfship has promised to keep a sharp lookout for the Ranger’s friend, amid puzzling bouts of laughter. Presumably, this unfortunate was swept overboard, and though it’s almost certain that he has drowned, Halt’s extended search would indicate that the Ranger has reason to believe he is still alive.

We spoke to Gundar Hardstriker, skirl of Wolfwill, who was seen to clutch his helmet tightly and look about to ensure the Ranger wasn’t on deck before responding. Here’s what he had to say about the search:

“We’ll keep looking, all right, and none harder than our Ranger friend. He spends hours huddled at the bow of the deck, calling Albert’s name over and over…. at least, that’s what I think he’s saying.”

We also spoke to Will, Halt’s former apprentice, who glared at our reporter. “Things are really going to go south if Halt gets wind of this,” he muttered darkly. When pressed as to his meaning, he glanced back apprehensively towards Halt’s cabin and refused to answer further questions.

Halt will not come out of his cabin and thus could not be reached for comment. According to Courier Alyss, he is suffering from a mysterious Gallican illness known as mal-de-mer. We don’t know what this means, but it certainly sounds scary, and we can only hope for his speedy recovery and reunion with his missing friend.

Yeah. Nice try, Keren.

crowley: your majesty, there’s only so much i can do about redmont.

duncan: you said you knew what their plans were.

crowley: i know what their plans are just fine. halt’s are chaos, but with structure, and gilan’s are chaos, but with… more chaos.

duncan:

crowley: you really ought to listen to how i phrase things.

a series of incorrect quotes based on personal interactions:

tennyson: don’t listen to anything this man says. half of what comes out of his mouth is lies!

halt: no

halt: more than half, i’d say

duncan: when halt began teaching crowley hibernian, i was convinced the two of them would use it to talk about me behind my back

*muffled hibernian bickering in the background*

duncan: as it turns out, they mostly use it to antagonize each other without my interference

halt: do we have to go to this funeral? i don’t even know this man!

pauline: he’s dead, if that helps, so you aren’t likely to meet him!

halt: it doesn’t help

will’s fortune cookie: your persistance will soon pay off

will:

will: I WANT A DOG I WANT A DOG I WANT A DOG I WANT A DOG I

crowley: i don’t see how anyone can drink their coffee with honey. it’s disgraceful

halt, behind him, pouring a copious amount of honey into his coffee: oh, yes — truly unthinkable

crowley: *writes “project” on a chalkboard* alright you motley lot, what should we name this project?

berrigan: operation oakleaf

farell: project coffee-beans

halt: mission ‘see-that-morgarath-never-shows-his—sorry-backside-outside-of-gorlan-again’

crowley:

crowley: *underlines “project”* we’ll think on it

will: *carefully places the final card on top of his card tower and sits back proudly*

pre-character development horace: *turns on fan*

Me trying to write this sentence:

"Seeing the soldier’s clumsy sword work, Crowley realized that the Hibernian could have simply moved in and driven his saxe into the man’s body as he deflected the blade."

Google: no, not saxe, it has to be a saxophone

In Halt’s Peril, we learn that Will has never ridden Abelard before. Will thinks to himself that Abelard probably wouldn’t throw him off even without the passcode due to them being so used to each other…

Currently thinking about that scene in book 8 where Halt’s checking out the sheep, looks into the mouth of one and just shakes his head. And when Horace questions him like “so… what was wrong with its teeth?” Halt just goes “how should i know? i’m not a farmer. that’s just what people seem to do.”

Absolutely took me out. I love this man

Having just finished KoC, I didn’t expect Halt to take the throne, and I would’ve disliked the outcome had he. But. I absolutely need fanfic of King Halt, had things had gone differently. Call it morbid curiosity.

As much as I absolutely regret spoiling most of the RA series for myself (I unfortunately have the self-control of a five year old, and the wisdom of a duck) it’s admittedly kind of fun watching pieces of future plot-lines slide into place without any foreknowledge about how it will. Examples, and huge spoilers ahead:

• Halt ‘lying’ to Deparnieux about being Hibernian royalty. And then denying that he was to Horace afterwards. Crazy work. It felt like I possessed illegal knowledge.

• Malkallum actually being Malcom. I was aware of there being a healer named Malcom, but little else, so I was somewhat excited to put together that they were the same person.

• Not as much of a connection, but I definitely got wide-eyed when I read that Tennyson was working with the Genovesan assassins (which is where I left off, so… I guess I can’t say no spoilers but I still hope to be a little left in the dark for Halt’s Peril lol).

Moral of the story — don’t read fanfic until you’ve finished reading/watching all the canon content. But there are sometimes some pros that come along with knowing stuff prematurely. Still, it’s hardly worth it in the long-run :,)

Been rereading The Kings of Clonmel lately and I'm pretty sure that's what sums up Halt and Ferris' relationship

crowley: i'm fine, halt, it's just a scratch.

halt, dragging him with one arm over his shoulder: yeah? you've got a concussion and three broken ribs.

crowley: really? i don't seem to remember hitting my head.

halt: that would be the concussion.

Lonely ranger this, orphan ranger that. What about rangers with kids? Give me a ranger dad™ showing up at the gathering with two little kids and "sorry, guys, my wife really needs a break" and everyone is so delighted because "look at those cuties, you need to bring them next year". What about two best friends assigned to neighbouring fiefs? Really, they work more in tandem than alone - "You want to talk to the ranger of this fief? Sorry sir, which one do you mean, the short one or the shorter one?" Give me the biggest extrovert who hates being alone in his cabin, so he does all of his paperwork alongside scribes at the castle, and thanks to that, is literally the only one who is up-to-date with his paperwork - "What's your secret with the paperwork?" "You need to find someone to suffer with you." Give me a ranger with a partner and kids and apprentice, and a cabin by the woods that is never empty.

This idea struck me one night and i have only drawn it now

But this has already been done so heres the link to the art by @burnin0akleaves

Anyway

Older will kinda looks like halt but thats not halt theyre both will

Greybeard halt!

This took a ridiculous amount of tears and time