John Flanagan

Chasing the Skandian slave-traders who kidnapped Will and Evanlyn, Ranger Halt and warrior student Horace find themselves in the frozen northern islands, where they battle a ruthless black-clad knight as they attempt to rescue their friends.

Ranger Will's past is revealed in this story from the New York Times bestselling Ranger's Apprentice.
Halt reveals to Will the story behind his parents' deaths and how he came to live at the Castle Redmont Ward.

After Ranger's apprentice Will battles Temujai warriors to rescue the captured princess Evanlyn, Will's kingdom of Skandia joins forces with rival kingdom Araluen to defeat a common enemy.

In a society that values strength over intellect, Hal's ingenuity, combined with the fact that his mother was a slave, sets him apart from other boys his age. As he and his peers compete in training designed to test their strength and endurance, Hal realizes he is not the only outcast and struggles to carve out a place for himself.

Halt, Will, and Horace set out for Hibernia, where a quasi-religious group, the Outsiders, is sowing confusion and sedition, and they find that secrets from Halt's past may hold the key to restoring order before the last kingdom is undermined.

When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.

"The Herons are home in Skandia—preparing to celebrate two of their own and working on sea trials in the newly constructed Heron. But during a short excursion, they encounter an Iberian pirate ship raiding the coast of Sonderland, so Hal and his crew take action." --Publisher.

In this prequel to the Ranger's Apprentice series, Halt and Crowley travel north seeking Prince Duncan's royal warrant to stop Morgrath from corrupting the Corps, but if they are to prevent a coup that is nearing success, the young Rangers will have to tread a dangerous path toward the annual tournament at Gorlan.

Months have passed since Horace departed for the eastern nation of Nihon-Ja on a vital mission. Having received no communication from him, his friends fear the worst. Unwilling to wait a second longer, Alyss, Evanlyn, and Will leave their homeland behind and venture into an exotic land in search of their missing friend. When they finally catch up with him, they find Horace entangled in a military coup. Determined to protect the imperial throne, Will...

"The Herons are home in Skandia, but the usually peaceful country is in danger. The Temujai--ruthless warriors from the Eastern Steppes--have never given up on their ambition to claim Skandia for their own...and now they're on the move. Hal and his crew will have to brave the treacherous icy river and rapids to stop them, no matter the cost"--