A Collection of Ranger's Apprentice Theories

Rest in Pieces, Castle Wensley

Highcliff Fief, as the name indicates, has high cliffs. More specifically, high cliffs made from white chalk that erodes noticeably over time. By the events of 'The Inkwell and the Dagger,' the path to Castle Highcliff is only 20 meters wide, and the soon-to-be island hosting the castle is a ticking clock to falling into the ocean.

A news article by The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/07/study-reveals-huge-acceleration-in-erosion-of-englands-white-cliffs] claims the erosion on England's similar cliffs over the past seven thousand years averages to 2-6 centimeters per year. With erosion coming from both sides, the path would only last anywhere from 167 to 500 more years before a man made bridge is needed. This ignores the assumption the path will eventually become too thin to use, and may simply collapse. Though the estimate is much longer than one lifetime, in terms of the longevity of the castle for generations to come, erosion is a serious concern the original builders did not have the foresight to consider.

Castle names and their respective fiefs are sometimes named for their natural environment, such as Highcliff, Seacliff, and Greenfield. Other castles (according to the internet) have bases in toponymy of the British Isles. "By" of Whitby can mean village or settlement, "Whit" perhaps meaning white. "Lan" of Gorlan has ties to a church, "ton" of Dacton means enclosure or homestead, and "Wes" of Weslon can mean west. These are based on human interest points that pop up naturally, where a castle is then built for protection and defense, commanding over a larger area that became a fief. These castles are not necessarily planned for beauty—Castle Dacton is a squat monstrosity compared to Castle Araluen, location and style chosen for its tactical advantages against Skandian raids ('The Tournament at Gorlan').

The respective villages below the castles are often either unnamed (like for Castle Araluen and Castle Seacliff), or named after the castle/fief like Weslon Village in 'The Tournament at Gorlan.'

Wensley Village, below Castle Redmont, does not follow this pattern, and neither does Castle Redmont. The name of the castle refers to the ironstone used in its execution ("Red Mountain"), and so the name of the fief came after this castle was built. The village being named Wensley indicates it came first, and happened to be in the perfect location for a large, strategic castle, by a hill and river. This is something Cobram Keep must lack, or else when being integrated into what became Modern Araluen and Redmont Fief, Sir Montague's bloodline would have been named for Baronage to lead Cobram Fief. Sir Montague is self-entitled enough to think he deserves it, and he knows his moat very personally ('The Burning Bridge').

The ironstone used to build Castle Redmont is rare—so rare, the castle is a triangle to save on the amount of walls. Larger quantities are found in Arrida ('Erak's Ransom'), and logically would have been imported through peaceful Araluen territory, after the treaties were concluded in King Herbert's time. Not even Castle Araluen, where the figurehead of the country lives, had this much thought in building material. 'Duel of Araluen' drops the figure of depleting all the gray granite within 200 or so leagues of the local area. Castle Araluen likely predates Modern Araluen, where the entire country was named after the Fief who united them, limiting the type of stone available to builders to the area claimed by Araluen Fief.

Most other castles in the country appear to be ones of necessity for defending authority, where Redmont was one of great ego and/or aesthetic, that took a lot of planning and cooperation to come into being. This break in pattern and deliberateness of creating Castle Redmont hints at an interesting backstory where, if it weren't for the expensive stone, the castle and fief may have been named Wensley.

Ironstone was said to be basically impenetrable ('The Ruins of Gorlan'), and its location is further from Skandia, meaning raiders would need to sail around the island before moving inland. The castle and location would make for a good capital to host the King, and it would explain why King Herbert made some effort in placating the ancestor of Sir Montague ('The Burning Bridge'), to ensure the internal affairs in the capital fief ran smoothly and said fief had sizeable territory.

Funnily enough, the original name may have been Castle Wensley, or there was a Castle Wensley that severely needed upgrades, and then once the ironstone glowed red, it was nicknamed to Redmont, and the name stuck. Redmont is a good neutral starting place for a name, rather than how Araluen favors Araluen Fief.

Why Herbert did not take over Redmont Fief shall remain a mystery. The fact that Castle Wensley should be a thing, however, has been revealed!