The Ruins of Gorlan- Character Reaction

PROLOGUE

"What do you think King Duncan is calling us for?" Will was asking Halt. The two Rangers had received a summons from the King, requesting their presence at Castle Araulen.

They had both readied for their trip, and were now approaching the magnificent castle. The sight never ceased to amaze Will. With its size and decorations, it was a sight to behold.

But, it still wasn't Redmont.

You going to go, or are we going to stand here? Tug asked him, snorting impatiently. Will smiled and patted the shaggy horse's neck, urging him forward as Halt and Abelard began again.

Halt, after a moment of consideration, shrugged. "How should I know?" he asked. "After all, I don't know everything." He instantly regretted the words as Will regarded him, a large grin on his face.

"Really?" his former apprentice asked with mock surprise. "I thought you were all-knowing, Halt!" The older Ranger gave him an withering stare. Will remained totally unwithered.

Halt grunted and nudged Abelard forward once more. "Let's go," he said gruffly.

Both Rangers were thoroughly surprised when they were ushered into Duncan's office. It seemed they weren't the only ones who had been summoned, Will presumed. Along with Duncan and the Crown Princess Cassandra, Horace, Gilan, Alyss, Pauline, and Crowley were all there.

Will looked at them all in surprise. "What are you all doing here? What's going on? Did something happen?"

Duncan raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Nothing's gone wrong," he said hurriedly. "But we do have something I think we should all see."

Will nodded a greeting to the rest, coming to stand beside Alyss. The tall blonde Courier gave him a small smile, and entwined her fingers around his. "And what is this something?" Halt asked, sitting beside Pauline. He raised an eyebrow at Duncan.

The King cleared his throat and looked at his daughter. "Well, Cassie and I found quite a set of books," he said after a moment. "I don't know how they made it to here. But the books were named Ranger's Apprentice."

Will leaned forward, his curiosity rising. "What are they about?"

"We think they're about us," said Cassandra. Will glanced at her, his mind automatically marking her with the name Evanlyn, the name he'd met her with. "We decided, with the title, it might be better for us to all read them."

"Well, then, let's get on with it!" Crowley proclaimed eagerly. "My interest is definitely piqued!"

"Here, Dad. You should read it first." Cassandra reached inside his desk and withdrew a leather book, with the title clearly stamped upon it.

Ranger's Apprentice, it read. And underneath it said, The Ruins of Gorlan.

Duncan nodded and took the book, flipping through the pages until he found the beginning.

Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Night and Rain, former baron of Gorlan in the kingdom of Araluen, looked out over his bleak, rainswept domain and, for perhaps the thousandth time, cursed.

"He certainly give himself a lot of titles," Gilan remarked cheerfully. "I suppose it's all he had."

This was all that was left to him now–a jumble of rugged granite cliffs, tumbled boulders and icy mountains. Of sheer gorges and steep narrow passes. Of gravel and rock, with never a tree or sign of green to break the monotony.

Even though it had been fifteen years since he had been driven back into this forbidding realm that had become his prison, he could still remember the pleasant green glades and thickly forested hills of his former fief. The streams filled with fish and the fields rich with crops and game. The Mountains of Rain and Night were dead and desolate.