The Baron offers Will the chance to attend Battleschool, but Will chooses to remain a Ranger. Will becomes a hero, and Baron Arald honors him at a public ceremony. The Baron, Sir Rodney and Will arrive just in time to help Holt battle two Kalkara, ultimately destroying both with fire. When they determine the Kalkara may be after the king, Holt sends Will to Redmont Fief to enlist Baron Arald and Sir Rodney as reinforcements. Holt, Gilan and Will hunt for the Kalkara in a distant area called the Solitary Plain while the other Rangers prepare for war. His armies include two types of vicious creatures: Wargals and the even more evil bear-like assassins, the Kalkara, who can paralyze their prey by looking in its eyes. The Rangers learn that Morgarath, an evil Baron who seeks to overthrow the kingdom, is preparing for battle. Will and Holt attend a Ranger Gathering, where they meet up with Holt’s former apprentice, Gilan. When the bullies decide to go to Will’s home and teach him a lesson, Holt turns the tables and makes the bullies fight Horace one-on-one.

Townspeople talk about Will’s victory, but the Battleschool bullies taunt and beat on Horace all the more for allowing a Ranger to make a fool of him. During the intense hunt, a second boar attacks. When Holt learns about a large wild boar causing the locals trouble, he enlists the help of Baron Arald and Sir Rodney to kill it. His frustration with life causes him to behave rudely toward Will and the other orphans when they reunite for a holiday. He struggles at the hands of three older bullies who pick on him mercilessly. Meanwhile, Will’s friend Horace, who was chosen for Battleschool, demonstrates unique skill that gains the attention of his commander, Sir Rodney. He learns the weapons, tools and tactics of Rangers, which involve more skill and stealth and less brute strength than typical warriors use. Will goes to live with Holt and begins to enjoy his training with the somber but kind man. Will is apprehensive he’s heard the superstitious villagers suggest that the Rangers, a secretive group that guards the kingdom, are black magicians. A Ranger named Holt offers to take Will as his apprentice. But Will, who wants to go to Battleschool because he’s been told his father was a brave warrior, is too small to be selected. Each of Will’s companions already has an aptitude for his or her career of choice.

It’s the day he and his four friends, all orphaned wards of the generous Baron Arald, will be selected by local Craftmasters to learn a trade. On “Choosing Day” in Redmont Fief, 15-year-old Will feels anxious.

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