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Will Treaty

Main article: Will Treaty

Will Treaty was an orphan raised in Redmont Castle. His father, Daniel, was a sergeant in King Duncan's army, and his mother a farmer who died giving birth to Will. His father died saving Halt from being killed and as a last request, he wanted Halt to make sure Will would be born safely. When Will's mother died giving birth, Halt brought Will to the Castle to be brought up in the ward. Then, at age 15, Will is assigned an apprenticeship. He is chosen by the Ranger, Halt, for his curiosity and agility. Ranger's are a spies for the kingdom and excel in stalking and long range weaponry. As with all Rangers, he has a horse, his is named tug. His equipment includes a longbow, a heavy saxe knife, a short throwing knife, strikers, as well as a mandola. He is given the surname "Treaty" because of the treaty he organized between the Skandians and the Araluans. Will was Halt's his best man at his wedding. Will is in love with Alyss, his former ward mate. In an interview, Flanagan stated that Will is loosely based on his son, Michael, and that he started the series to inspire him.

Halt

Main article: Halt

Halt is a member of the mysterious Ranger Corps, and is small, with salt-and-pepper hair and a beard. He is grim and famous throughout the kingdom, though people are often disappointed by his stature. He is an excellent archer; as demonstrated in his proceedings and uses a massive longbow. Halt is fond of Will, and is willing to risk banishment from Araluen and expulsion from the Ranger Corps to rescue him. In the third book he is shown to have a fondness towards Horace and smiles quite a bit more than regular. It is revealed that he enjoys young company, even if it means a torrent of questions. He owns a Ranger horse named Abelard. Halt is the Ranger for Redmont Fief and part of the Rangers' senior council, as well as the king's trusted adviser. It should also be noted that he is rather shy around other people. His former apprentice is the humorous sword expert, Gilan. Halt has some skill as a carver and likes to have flowers in his cottage, and is an excellent cook and a coffee drinker. Halt hardly ever smiles; instead he raises one of his eyebrows, which Will first mistook as a sign of displeasure. He once defeated Morgorath's army by leading a cavalry charge across a secret ford on the river and into the army's rear. In book seven he marries Lady Pauline, whom he had been in love with for some time before. He also has a twin brother, King Ferris, but Halt was older than Ferris and should have taken the throne of Clonmel. In book nine he almost dies from a poison tipped crossbow bolt, shot by one of the Genovesan's.

Horace

Horace is a ward mate in Castle Redmont with Will, and eventually becomes a Battleschool Apprentice. He is a natural warrior, and although he used to be Will's rival, they became best friends when Will saved him from a rampaging wild boar only to be rescued by Halt. He traveled with Halt to rescue Will in Skandia. He is tall and he is the captain of the Araluen Royal Guard Unit B. Horace is the self-proclaimed champion of Princess Cassandra, and he is also known as the Oakleaf Knight. He is famous in Gallica and also quite comfortable in female company. Most people see Horace as a slow thinker, but he just likes to think things through properly. Horace normally carries a round shield with an oak leaf carving on it, a plain sword, and a heavy dagger.

Gilan

Gilan is Halt's former apprentice and is the only Ranger who carries a sword. Gilan is tall and humorous, in sharp contrast to his former mentor. He is also good with dealing with people, making them feel at ease with the tall Ranger. He is the Ranger for Meric Fief, he is later moved to Whitby during the Ranger's Gathering in book eight. He owns a horse named Blaze. Gilan wants to travel with Halt to rescue Will in the third book, but Halt does not allow him to. Gilan is one of the junior Rangers, though one of the best unseen movers. Gilan's father and Halt were good friends, which was why Gilan wanted to become a Ranger. Gilan appears in the first, second, third, seventh and eighth books, and is mentioned in the sixth book. Jenny, one of Will's former ward-mates, becomes attracted to him in the seventh book.

Erak

Erak is a Skandian Jarl and later their Oberjarl and is in charge of his wolfship, Wolfwind. Erak appears in the second, third, fourth and seventh books. He is captured and held at ransom in the seventh. He is originally seen in the Wargals camp eating meat with Svengal, Nordel and a few other Skandians, who later capture Will and Evanlyn. He is a typical mercenary but he isn't a cold blooded killer like most Skandians. He is a fearsome opponent, and wields a large battle axe. He also forges a strong friendship with Will Treaty, and regards him highly.

Evanlyn

Evanlyn/Cassandra is a mysterious girl Will meets in Celtica, and is later revealed to be the Princess Cassandra, the daughter of Araluen's king. Evanlyn, the person she pretends to be, is actually her late maid and friend. She is blond, stubborn, and attractive. She is familiar with politics and military strategies, but not survival skills. She appears in the second, third, fourth and seventh books.
When Will and Evanlyn traveled and fought together through Celtica, and were later imprisoned in Skandia, they developed a strong bond with each other, however this never had a chance to develop as when they returned home their relationship suffered due to their separate callings. Evanlyn is described as being very determined and on occasion stubborn. On the first meeting between Will, Horace and Gilan, she shows little survival or fighting skills- being accustomed to the comfort of royalty and castle life. However as the series develops, she proves herself to be a skillful fighter with a sling. This is particularly evident during her travels in Arrida and her calm leadership in battle is shown during the battle against the Temujai.

Alyss

Alyss is a former ward mate of Horace and Will, and a member of the Diplomatic Corps, recruited by Lady Pauline in The Ruins of Gorlan. She is a tall, graceful, and intelligent young woman, and is in love with Will. She appears in the first, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth books as a Courier of the King. In the fifth and sixth books she is captured by Sir Keren and imprisoned in a high tower. She is Lady Pauline's bridesmaid at her wedding to Halt in the seventh book. At the end of The Siege of Macindaw, she writes a letter to Will saying she loves him, which Will reciprocates.

The horses

Rangers have very good relationships with their horses, and as such, become like brothers to them. They were brought to Araulen by Halt after he "borrowed" them from the Temujai. They are trained to respond to many different signals. Before anyone can mount them they have to whisper a password to the horse and then the horse will remember them from then on. One of the things they are bred for is their paces. They can keep up a steady canter for almost a whole day. They are faster than battle-horses over long distances.

Tug

Tug is a sturdy little pony and is very fond of Will and vice versa. He is given to Will by Old Bob, a ranger horse trainer. He gets his name for nearly pulling Will's arm out of his socket in book one.Will momentarily loses him in the seventh book during a sandstorm in the desert country of Arrida and leaves by himself to get him back. He eventually finds Tug and has to win him back in a horse race because according to the local custom anything lost and then found in the desert is the rightful property of the finder. Tug has saved Will's life on many occasions, most prominently the boar hunt in the first book, and the Wargal charge in the second book. Also, in the fourth book, Tug was shown to become distressed when Halt and Horace were tracking someone who turned out to be Will.

Abelard

Abelard is Halt's horse and his name originates from Gallica. Halt, like all Rangers, is very fond of him, and is often seen to be sharing a private joke with the horse, and talking to him. He also states in the third book that ranger horses are only human' with a faint smile on his face.

Kicker

Kicker belongs to Horace and is a tall and muscular bay battle horse that appears first in book two. Since both horse and rider are tall, Halt, Will and even Gilan have to look up, but only slightly for Gilan. Kicker and Horace both seem to understand each other, but Kicker is not up to any Ranger horse standard,but Horace cares and makes sure that Kicker is comfortable wherever he is. He also begins talking to his horse when he rides alone, to which his horse seems to respond.

Blaze

Blaze is Gilan's horse, and like the Ranger, he is tall and easily amused, even through its hard to tell with a horse, even a Ranger one. He, like all Ranger horses, will also listen and respond to a single touch or sound. They are quite similar in their personalities.