Will
Will has lived at Castle Redmont all his life. Along with his friends George, Alyss and Jenny, and his sometime-enemy Horace, he is a ward – an orphan brought up by the generosity of the Baron. All his life Will has dreamed of becoming a great knight, like the father he never knew.
At the Choosing Day, when wards of the castle turning fifteen are given the chance to become apprentices, he desperately hopes he is chosen for the Battleschool, where the kingdom’s knights are trained.
The problem is, Will might be wiry and agile, but he’s small for his age. There’s no way the Battlemaster will accept him as a warrior apprentice. Will uses what he is good at – sneaking around without being seen, and climbing trees and walls – to find out what the Ranger Halt has written about him on the piece of paper in the Baron’s office. When he’s caught in the act, Will decides to face up to his fate rather than lie to the Baron. It is his honest answer and courage that convinces Halt that he is right about Will – small size or not, he is the perfect candidate to become an apprentice Ranger.
As Halt trains him, passing on the secret skills of the Rangers, Will begins to realise that speed and agility and intelligence are every bit as important as physical size and muscles. He learns about loyalty and trust and friendship and he learns that courage can overcome even the greatest of enemies. Finally, as the Kingdom prepares to go to war, he learns about his own identity – who he is and what he is to become.