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94-600: The Icebound Land is the third book in the Ranger's Apprentice book series written by Australian author John Flanagan . The book was released on 30 November 2005 in Australia . Will, the main character and a Ranger's apprentice, is captured by the Skandians along with his friend, Evanlyn (Araluen's Crown Princess Cassandra in disguise), in a big war in the previous book, The Burning Bridge . The capturer, Jarl (war officer) Erak of

188-627: A boar hunt, cementing a friendship between the two boys. Later, the Battleschool bullies attack Will, leading to Halt intervening and having the bullies banished from the fief. Soon after, Halt and Will leave for the Ranger Gathering, where they receive a report that the Kalkara, vicious creatures under the control of Morgarath, have reappeared in Araluen. Halt, Will and Gilan (Halt's former apprentice, now

282-423: A book, which became the first novel in the series, The Ruins of Gorlan . It was originally released in Australia on 1 November 2004. Though the books were initially published only in Australia and New Zealand , they have since been released in 14 other countries. The series follows the adventures of Will, an orphan, who is chosen as an apprentice Ranger, one of the skilled trackers , archers, and warriors in

376-591: A cave-in that kills Tennyson and his followers. When they return to Araluen, Halt, Horace, and Will are given a heroes' welcome. Horace and George are in guests of the Emperor of Nihon-Ja, Shigeru. Meanwhile, Will, Halt, Selethen, and Alyss observe a Toscan general's demonstration of military tactics while at a treaty signing between the Toscans and the Arridi, both allies of Araluen. The Emperor of Nihon-Ja finds out that there's been

470-630: A constant refocusing between minute details of the track and the whole pattern of the environment. Although in principle it is possible to follow a trail by simply looking for one sign after the other, this may prove so time-consuming that the tracker will never catch up with the quarry. Instead, trackers place themselves in the position of their quarry in order to anticipate the route it may have taken. They will thereby be able to decide in advance where they can expect to find signs and thus not waste time looking for them. Trackers will often look for spoor in obvious places such as openings between bushes, where

564-418: A continuous process of problem-solving, creating new hypotheses and discovering new information. In order to come close to an animal, trackers must remain undetected not only by the animal, but also by other animals that may alert it. Moving as quietly as possible, trackers will avoid stepping on dry leaves and twigs, and take great care when moving through dry grass. If the trackers are in close proximity to

658-404: A coup against him by Arisaka, a noble who believes he should be Emperor instead of Shigeru. A Senshi (skilled swordsman) ambushes and nearly succeeds in killing the Emperor, but Horace intervenes. He decides to help the Emperor find the legendary, impenetrable fortress of Ran-Koshi while George contacts Araluen for help. Later, the crown princess of Araluen, Cassandra, appears and enlists the help of

752-598: A craftmaster or work on the local farms. Will is apprenticed to Halt the Ranger, who is part of the country's elite intelligence group. The Rangers specialize in long-range weapons and the art of staying unseen. Will begins to train in these skills. In the meantime, Will's wardmate Horace is in Battleschool. His life is harsh and three second-year Battleschool cadets bully him. During a local holiday known as Harvest Day, Horace and Will fight, increasing their hatred for each other. However, six weeks later, Will saves Horace's life during

846-402: A detailed understanding of animal behavior through the interpretation of tracks and signs. In this way much information can be obtained that would otherwise remain unknown, especially on the behavior of rare or nocturnal animals that are not often seen. Tracks and signs offer information on undisturbed, natural behavior, while direct observations often influence the animal by the mere presence of

940-810: A few times is based on Loki , the god of deceit. The Vallas, the trio of gods, are based on the Moirai . Rights to sell Ranger's Apprentice have gone to 16 countries, including North America (where Oakleaf Bearers is better known as The Battle for Skandia ), the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, and Sweden. In Australia, the seventh book, Erak's Ransom , reached number two on Australian children's charts. The series has been on The New York Times Best Seller list for 77 weeks as of 13 December 2013. By 2010, over 2 million copies had been sold. John Flanagan states in an interview that

1034-474: A fully-fledged Ranger) leave to track down and kill the Kalkara. Halt thinks that the Kalkara are headed to the ruins of Gorlan. Morgarath's former castle. He tells Will to go back to Redmont, get backup, and rendezvous at the ruins. Back in Redmont, Baron Arald and Sir Rodney head out to slay the Kalkara and to save Halt. Finding that Halt is battling the Kalkara alone, Sir Rodney and Baron Arald manage to knock one of

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1128-468: A mission to stop a cult called the Outsiders from taking power. The cult offers protection to villages from "bandits", who are secretly other Outsiders, in exchange for gold. In this fashion, they have taken control of five of the six kingdoms of the country of Hibernia. Halt, Will, and Horace are sent to Clonmel, the last kingdom, to try to prevent the cult from expanding into Araluen. Halt, a Hibernian native,

1222-601: A plan to escape. Throughout Evanlyn and Will's journey to freedom, Evanlyn weans Will off the drug by slowly reducing the amount of warmweed given to Will. Evanlyn eventually arrives with Will at a mountain cabin, where they take shelter. While hunting with her sling, Evanlyn watches a rider dressed in furs on a horse. Will regains his old self as Evanlyn returns to the cabin, to Cassandra's great delight and relief. The book ends with Halt and Horace watching an "accidental" fire in Castle Montsombre, which Halt predicts will destroy

1316-506: A sandstorm. Desperate to find him, Will travels alone into the desert. He runs out of water and is saved by the nomadic Bedullin tribe. While staying with the Bedullin tribe, Will finds that Tug has been found by a young man in the tribe, who claims Tug as his own. In order to win Tug back from the young man, Will has to defeat him in a horse race. He manages to win and reclaims his horse. Meanwhile, Erak

1410-485: A specific animal's spoor in mind, trackers will tend to 'recognize' spoor in markings made by another animal, or even in random markings. Their mind will be prejudiced to see what they want to see, and in order to avoid making such errors they must be careful not to reach decisions too soon. Decisions made at a glance can often be erroneous, so when encountering new signs, trackers take their time to study signs in detail. While preconceived images may help in recognizing signs,

1504-462: A teenager. Horace was inspired by Michael's best friend Jeremey. In the original story, Flanagan made Horace a villain at first, but then in the first book, Morgarath became the real villain and Horace was "rehabilitated" as a main character. Skandians were taken from Norse culture and Vikings, which Flanagan found interesting as a child. The gods and deities of the Skandians were taken from Norse mythology and Greek mythology . The god Loka mentioned

1598-421: A tracker to follow the path even though no further tracks are seen. By looking to either side of the path, the tracker can establish if the animal has moved away from the path, and then follow the new trail. In difficult terrain, where signs are sparse, trackers may have to rely extensively on anticipating the animal's movements. In order to move fast enough to overtake the animal, one may not be able to detect all

1692-550: A tribe of warriors allied with the Emperor, the Hasanu. Will, noting how the Kikori work together excellently, utilizes the military tactics of the Toscan general to train them. Arisaka's main party arrives near Ran-Koshi. The final battle begins, and the armies seem evenly matched until Arisaka's reinforcements arrive. As the Kikori forces regroup, Alyss and Cassandra arrive with the Hasanu. Before

1786-462: A very realistic and appealing protagonist." A reviewer from Booklist stated "Will's vivid world will entice fantasy readers who are drawn by the lure of high adventure carried out by believable, down-to-earth heroes." A review by School Library Journal on Oakleaf Bearers praised the book on the high tensions raised and recommended it to people who enjoy action and adventure. The Ranger's Apprentice series has won numerous awards. The series

1880-438: Is Will's childhood friend, and just like Will, Horace is an orphan. In Gallica, Horace and Halt tried to go as fast as they could, but they were stopped by a lot of inexperienced knights, as Gallica is in a state of anarchy and turmoil. Horace, being a warrior apprentice, takes on the fake name "The Oakleaf Knight". Horace beats all of them with ease without his grizzled companion, Halt, to step in. Horace's reputation grows until he

1974-449: Is captured by a Temujai warrior while scavenging for food. The Temujai are a fierce, nomadic tribe of horse warriors from the east and are masters of the recurve bow. Will struggles to rescue her until Horace and Halt arrive. Halt captures one of the Temujai and realizes they are attempting to take over the western world, starting with the Skandians. Having tried and nearly succeeded to complete

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2068-476: Is captured by the Tualaghi, a merciless nomadic tribe of devil worshipers. The rescue party, joined by Will and the Bedullin tribe, defeats the leader of the Tualaghi and frees Erak. Finally, Will is promoted to full Ranger and is awarded a silver oakleaf. He is given the last name of "Treaty" to commemorate his help in arranging the peace treaty between Skandia and Araluen years earlier. Will, Halt, and Horace are on

2162-533: Is challenged by Horace. Though Morgarath is more experienced and skilled than Horace, the young warrior manages to kill him. Meanwhile, Will and Cassandra are held as hostages by the Skandian that have captured them. Will and Cassandra are brought back to Skandia (a country north-east across the Stormwhite Sea) by their captors and enslaved by the Skandians. In Hallasholm, the capital, Will is forced to work outside in

2256-506: Is deserted. They find a survivor named Evanlyn, who explains that Wargals, mindless minions of Morgarath, have caused the destruction. Gilan travels to Araluen to report to the king (King Duncan). Meanwhile, Will, Horace, and Evanlyn come across an army of Wargals. They secretly follow them to the Fissure, a deep gorge, only to discover that the Celtic miners were captured. Will and his friends watch as

2350-493: Is injured in the process, and Will kills Ruhl to save her. Six months later, Maddie is awarded her bronze oakleaf, marking her as an official Ranger's apprentice, and Cassandra offers her reinstatement as a princess. However, Maddie declines, saying she wishes to complete her apprenticeship instead. John Flanagan stated that he first wrote the series as short stories for his son to get him interested in reading. This continued for about 20 weeks. Ten years later, John Flanagan found

2444-434: Is kept between the tracker and the sun. With the sun shining from behind the spoor, the shadows cast by small ridges and indentations in the spoor will be clearly visible. With the sun behind the tracker, however, these shadows will be hidden by the ridges that cast them. Tracking is easiest in the morning and late afternoon, as the shadows cast by the ridges in the spoor are longer and stand out better than at or near midday. As

2538-496: Is noticed throughout Gallica, which attracts the horrible knight, Deparnieux of Castle Montsombre. Deparnieux soon captures Horace and Halt, and holds them in his keep. Meanwhile, when Jarl Erak, Will, and Evanlyn soon arrive in Skandia, Will and Evanlyn become slaves. Over the journey the Jarl had become quite attached to the two slaves and thinks they should be treated more respectfully than

2632-452: Is often a reconstruction of what the animal was doing, how fast it was moving, when it was there, where it was going to and where it might be at that time. Such a working hypothesis enables the trackers to predict the animal's movements. As new information is gathered, they may have to revise their working hypothesis, creating a better reconstruction of the animal's activities. Anticipating and predicting an animal's movements, therefore, involves

2726-450: Is revealed to be a member of the royal family of Clonmel, and he tries to persuade his twin brother, King Ferris of Clonmel, to use his troops to drive the cult out. The cult loses power in Clonmel, but the leader, Tennyson, escapes. At the same time, King Ferris is killed by a Genovesan assassin hired by Tennyson, and Halt's nephew Sean becomes king. Will, Halt, and Horace leave Clonmel to chase

2820-463: Is sent to help him, but is captured by the rogue knight Keren who is responsible for poisoning Lord Syron. Will escapes from the castle with allies of Lord Syron, and travels into the forest to enlist the aid of the rumored sorcerer. This "sorcerer", who is in fact a gifted healer called Malcolm, agrees to help. Orman, Lord Syron's son, has also been poisoned by Keren, and is smuggled by Will to Malcolm. Will attempts to rescue Alyss, but Keren walks through

2914-408: Is slowly forgotten. When Gilan suggests Will take Maddie on a mission, Will accepts. Gilan assigns Will and Maddie to investigate the death of Liam, another Ranger. They soon discover a plot by an illicit slave ring who kidnaps children. Will learns that the leader of the slave ring is actually Jory Ruhl, but he manages to set aside his desire for revenge to save the children Ruhl has kidnapped. Maddie

The Icebound Land - Misplaced Pages Continue

3008-472: Is well praised by critics. Morgarath, an exiled baron, has been waiting fifteen years, carefully planning his revenge against the Kingdom of Araluen. He prepares to unleash his power and attempt again to take control of the kingdom. In Redmont Fief, a special day has come for 15-year-old Will and his fellow wardmates Horace, Alyss, George, and Jenny, called Choosing Day, where they all become either an apprentice to

3102-457: Is widely practiced in the fields of wildlife biology, zoology, mammalogy, conservation, and wildlife management. Tracking enables the detection of rare, endangered, and elusive species. The science of tracking is utilized in the study of forest carnivores like the Canada lynx (Felis lynx) and the wolverine (Gulo gulo). Various measurements of tracks, and/or an animal's paws, and subsequent analyses of

3196-421: The false prophet , Tennyson. After reaching a smuggler's port and managing to get information on Tennyson's whereabouts, the trio hires a ship to take them to Picta. The chase is on as the three pursue Tennyson through a drowned forest. Finally, in an encounter with Tennyson's hired assassins, Halt is shot with a poisoned arrow and is incapacitated. Picta is located near Macindaw, so Will rides to fetch Malcolm,

3290-543: The Australian government to produce two fantasy features in the country, the first of which would be Ranger's Apprentice. Production was said to start July 2020. Flanagan later stated that the producers had opted for a TV series instead of a film, and that production was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In January 2024, it was reported that Skydance Media had acquired rights to the film with Theodore Melfi set to write

3384-489: The North , several months before Will receives his Silver Oakleaf (though the book was released after The Siege of Macindaw) . Skandian Oberjarl Erak decides to go on one final raid. However, he is captured and held for ransom while attempting to raid Al Shabah, a province of Arrida. Because Erak's first mate Svengal believes that he was betrayed by a rival Skandian named Toshak, the raiding party goes to Araluen instead of Skandia for

3478-402: The Ranger's series is set to head off in yet another exciting direction. When I think how this all started as a series of twenty short stories written for my son Michael, it sets my head spinning to think there's the distinct possibility that it will now be translated into movies and seen by millions of people around the world. John Flanagan stated in a Facebook Q&A in 2014 that the funds for

3572-557: The Skandians (mercenaries), takes them in as slaves. Meanwhile, Will's mentor, Halt (a legendary Ranger), has sworn to save him from the Skandians, but the Ranger Corps forces him to stay back. Halt, however, is so desperate, he insults the King of his country, Araluen. The King and Halt are good friends, so in Halt's trial, the King takes pity on Halt. Instead of the normal punishment, which is to ban

3666-425: The Temujai. After receiving his silver oakleaf and being assigned to Seacliff Fief, Will takes on his first mission as a full-fledged Ranger. A few weeks after arriving in the fief, a disguised Will is sent north to Castle Macindaw to investigate claims of sorcery. The lord of Castle Macindaw, Lord Syron, is ill and many believe a sorcerer has caused the illness. Will's friend and former wardmate Alyss, also in disguise,

3760-506: The Temujai. Other themes include courage, loyalty, and that a person can do anything if they tried hard enough. One review noted that "themes of loyalty, bravery, endurance and friendship leave young readers in safe hands as they learn to navigate dangerous waters on their own." In 2010, BookPeople , which also created Camp Half-Blood from Percy Jackson & the Olympians , created a five-day Ranger's Apprentice Corps Training Camp based on

3854-447: The alert for danger coming from behind. When the spoor is very fresh, trackers may have to leave the spoor so that the animal does not see them first. Animals usually rest facing downwind, so that they can see danger approaching from the downwind side, while they can smell danger coming from behind them. An animal may also double back on its spoor and circle downwind before settling down to rest. A predator following its trail will move past

The Icebound Land - Misplaced Pages Continue

3948-406: The animal is walking it may leave a characteristic scuff mark. Experienced trackers will memorise a spoor and be able to distinguish that individual animal's spoor from others. When following a spoor, trackers will walk next to it, not on it, taking care not to spoil the trail so that it can easily be found again if the spoor is lost. The shadows cast by ridges in the spoor show up best if the spoor

4042-443: The animal was going, and will not waste time in one spot looking for signs, but rather look for it further ahead. Knowledge of the terrain and animal behavior allows trackers to save valuable time by predicting the animal's movements. Once the general direction of movement is established and it is known that an animal path, river or any other natural boundary lies ahead, they can leave the spoor and move to these places, cutting across

4136-434: The animal was moving in a straight line at a steady pace, and it is known that there is a waterhole or a pan further ahead, trackers should leave the spoor to look for signs of it at the waterhole or pan. While feeding, an animal will usually move into the wind, going from one bush to another. If the trackers know the animal's favored food, and know moreover how they generally move, they need not follow its zigzag path, but leave

4230-421: The animal would most likely have moved. In thick bushes they will look for the most accessible thruways. Where the spoor crosses an open clearing, they will look in the general direction for access ways on the other side of the clearing. If the animal was moving from shade to shade, they will look for spoor in the shade ahead. If their quarry has consistently moved in a general direction, it may be possible to follow

4324-449: The animal, it is important that they remain downwind of it, that is, in a position where the wind is blowing away from the animal in the direction of the tracker. They must never be in a position where their scent could be carried in the wind towards the animal and thereby alert it. It is also important that the animal does not have the opportunity to cross their tracks, since the lingering human scent will alert it. Most animals prefer to keep

4418-461: The battle can continue, the Emperor calls a truce and convinces Arisaka's army that Arisaka is a power-hungry fool. Arisaka is enraged and Will directly confronts him and kills him. On the return trip to Araluen, Horace and Cassandra announce their engagement. Will makes a poor attempt at proposing to Alyss, and she marches off in mock indignation. The Lost Stories consists of nine different short stories, set at various times before, during, and after

4512-453: The battle, the Skandians surprise the Temujai with their archers, and they are forced to withdraw. The Skandian Oberjarl (leader) Ragnak is killed in the battle, and Erak is elected to succeed him. Cassandra, acting on behalf of her father, and Erak, acting on behalf of Skandia, sign the Treaty of Hallasholm, a defence treaty. It's been years since Will and his friends helped defend Skandia against

4606-443: The beasts into the fire, but are badly injured by the other. Will shoots the Kalkara in the chest with a flaming arrow, which proves to be fatal. Back in his own fief, Will is considered a hero and receives his bronze oakleaf, which identifies him as a Ranger's apprentice. A war with Morgarath is approaching, and Will, Gilan, and Horace are sent to Celtica, a nearby country, to ask for reinforcements. But every town they travel through

4700-537: The behavior of other animals, habitat cues, and any other clues about the identity and whereabouts of the quarry. The skilled tracker is able to discern these clues, recreate what transpired on the landscape, and make predictions about the quarry. The tracker may attempt to predict the current location of the quarry and follow the quarry's spoor to that location, in an activity known as trailing. Prehistoric hunters used tracking principally to gather food. Even in historic times, tracking has been traditionally practiced by

4794-495: The best healer in Araluen. They discover that Halt was poisoned with one of two extremely similar toxins. Both toxins have different antidotes, and to use the wrong one is fatal. Will captures the assassin that fired the arrow at Halt and forces him to reveal which toxin he used, which then allows Malcolm to cure Halt. The group finds Tennyson, who is trying to swindle more countryfolk. Using Halt's similarity to his late brother, King Ferris, they manage to discredit Tennyson. Will causes

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4888-526: The bitter cold, while Cassandra is taken into the kitchens. Will is introduced to warmweed, a drug that warms the body but destroys the mind, and he quickly becomes addicted. Erak, the captain of the Skandian crew that captured them, helps Cassandra escape with Will, and the two take refuge in a small log cabin for the winter. Following Erak's advice, Cassandra weans Will off the warmweed bit by bit, and Will slowly overcomes his addiction. Meanwhile, Horace and Halt set off to rescue Will and Cassandra by crossing into

4982-448: The books. A total of 75 kids from the ages of 9–14 were chosen from 1,300 entries. A letter was sent to the kids from the voice of Will, actually written by John Flanagan, which stated they would learn "all the skills I was taught by Halt [Will's Ranger mentor] in the woods around Castle Redmont", including "archery, tracking, and the art of concealment and unseen movement." The 75 campers were divided into 12 fiefdoms where they were taught

5076-483: The coast to outflank the king's army. This is done successfully, and Halt and his troops disguise themselves as the Skandians, tricking Morgarath into ordering the Wargals to charge into the open plain. An Araluen cavalry charge demolishes the advancing Wargals, who are afraid only of horses. His army destroyed, Morgarath offers a flag of truce and prepares to challenge Halt to single combat to avenge his own defeat. Instead, he

5170-421: The datum, can also reveal important information about animals' physiology and their behavior. For example, measurements of lynx paws demonstrate their support capacity (on snow) to be double that of bobcat. In order to recognize a specific sign, a tracker often has a preconceived image of what a typical sign looks like. Without preconceived images many signs may be overlooked. However, with a preconceived image of

5264-559: The daughter of Horace and Cassandra, sneaks out at night to use her sling to hunt, against the will of her parents. Halt suggests that Maddie be apprenticed to Will, which would make Maddie the first female apprentice in Ranger history. At the beginning of her apprenticeship, Will gives Maddie a letter from her parents, which says she has been disinherited as a princess of Araluen, in a desperate last resort by her parents to get her under control. Will proceeds to train Maddie, and his quest for revenge

5358-403: The death of his wife Alyss, who died in an inn set on fire by the gang leader Jory Ruhl. When Will's friends begin to notice the change in his personality, Gilan, the new Ranger Commandant, calls on Halt, Pauline, Cassandra, and Horace to discuss the situation. Halt suggests that Will take on an apprentice to take his mind off his quest for revenge against Jory. Meanwhile, Princess Madelyn (Maddie),

5452-409: The defendant from the borders of Araluen forever, he banishes Halt from the borders only for a twelvemonth. Halt is banished from the Ranger Corps until the punishment is lifted, but that is just a minor problem for Halt. He then sets out to find his apprentice once more. Halt is determined to get to Skandia quickly, so he takes the quickest route: Gallica. There he meets Will's old friend, Horace. Horace

5546-401: The door and Will barely escapes in time. Will's friend Horace is sent to help him handle the situation at Castle Macindaw. Together, they devise a plan to take control of the castle and rescue Alyss, with the help of a group of Skandian raiders who have been stranded in Araluen. They infiltrate the castle and Will reaches the tower where Alyss is held, but Keren hypnotises her to believe Will is

5640-421: The enemy and orders her to kill him. At the last moment, Will confesses to Alyss that he loves her, and the hypnosis is broken. As Keren attacks Will, Alyss defeats him. Meanwhile, the Skandians, led by Horace, take control of the castle. Later, Will returns to Seacliff Fief and receives a letter from Alyss with her own love confession. Erak's Ransom takes place after Oakleaf Bearers but before The Sorcerer in

5734-468: The events of the previous ten books. It includes the tale of Will's father, what happened to Gilan during the events of The Icebound Land , the story of Halt's apprenticeship in Hibernia, and several stories following the main characters after the conclusion of The Emperor of Nihon-Ja , including one where Will and Alyss get married. Years after the events of the previous books, Will Treaty tries to cope with

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5828-490: The film had been acquired and auditions would be held in the summer of 2015, in either Ireland or England. In March 2016, it was announced production would start late that year. Film Carnival decided to fund the company with US$ 500 million, but later pulled out, thus ending the production. As of October 2019 , it was announced that Dick Cook Studios (DCS), an independent production company helmed by former Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook, would receive $ 20,473,020 from

5922-619: The first in 2015 and the second in 2016. A spin-off series started in 2011, The Brotherband Chronicles , is set in the same universe, though with new characters. The eighth book in The Brotherband Chronicles came out in October 2019. In 2018 the twelfth book of the Ranger's Apprentice series was renamed and made the first book in a sequel series, Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger . The series has sold over three million copies and

6016-459: The main theme is, "the eventual triumph of good over evil." He feels that although it does not always happen in real life, it should. Another theme especially prominent throughout Oakleaf Bearers is "the primacy of personal relationships over loyalties to one's country or duty." This is shown when Erak's friendship helps Will and Evanlyn escape, which allows the Araluens and Skandians to drive away

6110-431: The majority of tribal people all across the world. The military and intelligence agencies also use tracking to find enemy combatants in the bush, land, sea, and desert. It has been suggested that the art of tracking may have been the first implementation of science , practiced by hunter-gatherers since the evolution of modern humans. Apart from knowledge based on direct observations of animals, trackers gain

6204-410: The miners are forced to complete a bridge across the Fissure and a tunnel through the cliffs up to Morgarath's lair. This would allow Morgarath's army to attack the Araluen king's army from behind. Will comes up with a plan to burn the bridge so that Morgarath's army cannot use it. However, in the process, Will and Evanlyn are captured by a force of Skandian warriors hired by Morgarath. Horace watches from

6298-408: The most likely route by focusing on the terrain, and to look for signs of spoor only occasionally. They must, however, always be alert for an abrupt change in direction. Animals usually make use of a network of paths to move from one locality to another. If it is clear that an animal was using a particular path, this can simply be followed up to the point where it forks, or to where the animal has left

6392-462: The neighbouring country of Gallica and making their way north along the coast. Horace becomes known as "The Oakleaf Knight" as he defeats many Gallican knights in combat, thereby attracting the attention of the famed knight Deparnieux. Deparnieux attempts to capture Halt and Horace but is tricked by Halt and killed. In Oakleaf Bearers , called The Battle for Skandia in the United States, Cassandra

6486-528: The normal slave should be treated. This goes for Evanlyn, which gets to work in the kitchen, but Will unfortunately gets the job of working the yard, the deadliest place for slaves to work. Will soon gets the attention from the older crowds, and one of them tricks him to get addicted to a deadly drug, warmweed. Erak soon sees this and can't stand it. Will has been put into a daze, and doesn't remember anyone, including himself. He only responds to orders, which he does in an obedient manner. Erak and Evanlyn soon devise

6580-407: The observer. Tracking is therefore a non-invasive method of information gathering, in which potential stress caused to animals can be minimized. Some of the most important applications of tracking are in hunting and trapping, as well as controlling poaching, ecotourism, environmental education, police investigation, search and rescue, and in scientific research. The modern science of animal tracking

6674-537: The other side of the bridge and flees to alert King Duncan about the bridge. After Horace arrives at the Araluen camp, he and Gilan manage to warn the king and his advisers of Morgarath's plan. In the process of talking to the king, however, it is revealed that Evanlyn is, in truth, his daughter, the missing crown princess Cassandra. Though King Duncan wants to save Cassandra, he is bound to protect his kingdom first. He dispatches an auxiliary force, led by Halt, to stop another group of Skandian warriors that have come up from

6768-417: The patch of hard ground in order to find the spoor in softer ground. When the trackers lose the spoor, they first search obvious places for signs, choosing several likely access ways through the bush in the general direction of movement. When several trackers work together, they can simply fan out and quarter the ground until one of them finds it. An experienced tracker may be able to predict more or less where

6862-412: The path. Where one of several paths may have been used, trackers must of course determine which path that specific animal used. This may not always be easy, since many animals often use the same paths. In areas of high animal densities that have much-used animal paths which interlink, it may seem impossible to follow tracks. However, once tracks have been located on an animal path, it is often possible for

6956-499: The ransom money. Princess Cassandra returns with Svengal and the rest of Erak's crew to Arrida in her father's place to negotiate prices with Selethen, the leader of Al Shabah. Will, Gilan, Halt, Horace, and thirty of Erak's men go along to protect her and deliver the ransom. After the negotiation is over, Selethen reveals that Erak was being held in Mararoc, a fort in the desert, but as they are traveling there, Will loses his horse Tug during

7050-487: The resting animal on the upwind side before realizing that the animal had doubled back, and the resting animal will smell the predator in time to make its escape. When stalking an animal, trackers use the cover of bushes, going down on their hands and knees where necessary. In long grass they go down on their stomachs pulling themselves forward with their elbows. The most important thing is not to attract attention by sudden movements. Trackers take their time, moving slowly when

7144-402: The same goal twenty years earlier, they are a dangerous group. Erak and his crew happen to find the Araluens and they decide to join forces to help drive off the Temujai, since they pose a threat to Araluen as well if they manage to overtake the Skandians. They make use of Halt's knowledge of the Temujai tactics, and Will trains a force of archers for the upcoming battle against the Temujai. During

7238-447: The script, direct and produce. Tracking (hunting) The practice of tracking may focus on, but is not limited to, the patterns and systems of the local animal life and ecology. Trackers must be able to recognize and follow animals through their tracks, signs, and trails, also known as spoor . Spoor may include tracks, scat , feathers, kills, scratching posts, trails, drag marks, sounds, scents, marking posts , feeding signs,

7332-600: The series comes from many sources, including family, friends, and European times. Rangers are based on two groups of people, the Texas Rangers and the US Army Rangers of World War II . Although the US Rangers were based on British Commandos , Flanagan felt it would be better to use Rangers because of the medieval setting of the book. The mythical world of the story is based on England, Europe, and Scandinavia because Flanagan

7426-466: The service of the King of Araluen. Will strives to keep the Kingdom of Araluen safe from invaders, traitors, and other threats. He is joined on his adventures by his mentor , Halt, and his best friend Horace. The series originally consisted of twelve books, with the eleventh book being a collection of short stories and the twelfth being a follow-up novel set 16 years later. A prequel series, Ranger's Apprentice: The Early Years , has released two titles,

7520-409: The signs. Trackers sometimes identify themselves with the animal to such an extent that they follow an imaginary route which they think the animal would most likely have taken, only confirming their expectations with occasional signs. When trackers come to hard, stony ground, where tracks are virtually impossible to discern, apart from the odd small pebble that has been overturned, they may move around

7614-403: The skills and at the end, every kid received a T-shirt, a silver oak leaf pin, and a gold-embossed Ranger's Apprentice bookmark. This was the first literary camp that has sold out and has a waiting list besides Camp Half-Blood. A review for The Icebound Land stated "Though talented and intelligent, [Will] makes mistakes and he often needs help from those around him – making him

7708-445: The speaker John Keating, makes the production entertaining, and the cliffhanging conclusion is sure to have fantasy fans hoping for another instalment. Ranger%27s Apprentice Ranger's Apprentice is a series written by Australian author John Flanagan . It began as twenty short stories Flanagan wrote for his son to get him interested in reading. Ten years later, Flanagan found the stories again and decided to turn them into

7802-588: The spoor at places, moving in a straight course to save time, and pick up the spoor further on. Since signs may be fractional or partly obliterated, it may not always be possible to make a complete reconstruction of the animal's movements and activities on the basis of spoor evidence alone. Trackers may therefore have to create a working hypothesis in which spoor evidence is supplemented with hypothetical assumptions based not only on their knowledge of animal behavior, but also on their creative ability to solve new problems and discover new information. The working hypothesis

7896-481: The spoor more closely, it is not necessary to examine every sign. If they see a sign ten meters ahead, those in between can be ignored while they look for spoor further on. Over difficult terrain it may not be possible to see signs well ahead, so trackers will have to look at the ground in front of them and move more slowly. Trackers must also avoid concentrating all their attention on the tracks, thereby ignoring everything around them. Tracking requires varying attention,

7990-448: The stories again and decided to turn them into the first book, The Ruins of Gorlan . He never knew that the one book would be able to turn into so many volumes. In 2010, Flanagan was unsure how many volumes in the series he would release, saying, "I haven't set a limit. If I have an idea that will progress the characters, I'll write it. But I don't want to find myself jumping up and down on the same spot, as it were." The inspiration for

8084-459: The sun moves higher in the sky, the shadows grow shorter. At midday the spoor may cast no shadows at all, making them difficult to see in the glare of the sunlight. Trackers will never look down at their feet if they can help it, since this will slow them down. By looking up, well ahead of themselves, approximately five to ten meters (15–30 feet) depending on the terrain, they are able to track much faster and with more ease. Unless they need to study

8178-427: The tower. The Icebound Land was well received by reviewers. One review praised the fact that although Will is talented, he is not afraid to ask others for help when needed. The same reviewer also praised how, "the action is well paced and the writing style is engaging." On another review for the audiobook version, the vivid imagery was noted on how it provides great detail for the battle scenes. The review also praised

8272-455: The tracker must, however, avoid the preconditioned tendency to look for one set of things in the environment to the exclusion of all others. Trackers will always try to identify the trail positively by some distinguishing mark or mannerism in order not to lose it in any similar spoor. They will look for such features in the footprints as well as for an individual manner of walking. Often hoofs of antelope are broken or have chipped edges, or when

8366-409: The trail by sweeping back and forth across the predicted direction in order to pick up tracks a considerable distance ahead. To be able to anticipate and predict the movements of an animal, trackers must know the animal and its environment so well that they can identify themselves with that animal. They must be able to visualize how the animal was moving around, and place themselves in its position. If

8460-689: The two Rangers, Alyss, and Selethen to go after Horace. En route to Ran-Koshi, Horace's party befriends the local woodworkers known as Kikori, and they join his group on the trek to the fortress. Halt's group arrives in Nihon-Ja and learn of Horace's whereabouts. While Shukin (the Emperor's cousin who warned him of Arisaka's coup) and other Senshi sacrifice themselves to delay Arisaka's enormous Senshi party, Horace's group reaches Ran-Koshi and settles in. Soon after, Halt's group arrives at Ran-Koshi as well. The group sets up defenses to stop Arisaka's army, successfully repelling them. Cassandra and Alyss set out to recruit

8554-546: The wind in their faces when traveling so that they can scent danger ahead of them. Trackers will therefore usually be downwind from them as they approach the animals from behind. The wind direction may, however, have changed. If the wind direction is unfavorable, the trackers may have to leave the spoor to search for their quarry from the downwind side. As the trackers get closer to the animal, they must make sure that they see it before it sees them. Some trackers maintain that an animal keeps looking back down its own trail, always on

8648-618: Was also the Longlisted for the Ottakar's Book Prize for 2006–2007 and the first book also was nominated for the Grand Canyon Reader Award in 2008. As of 7 January 2008 , Warner Bros. Pictures had optioned the film rights for The Ruins of Gorlan and was in talks with Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis to adapt and direct the film. When John Flanagan first heard the news he said: It's just so overwhelming to see that

8742-679: Was inspired by "English and European culture and history". Flanagan is also interested in military subjects, which helped him write the battle scenes. Celtica's mining culture is like Wales, while Gallica takes its name and language from medieval France in its chivalric age around the year 1300. Some of the books' characters were based on Flanagan's family and friends. Will was based on Flanagan's son Michael; both are agile, quick, and quite short. John Flanagan also made Will small in size because he wanted to show his son that there's an advantage to being small. The exchanges between Halt and Will are taken from conversations between Flanagan and his son as

8836-749: Was one of the honour books for the Koala Winners in 2009. The seventh book, Erak's Ransom , was chosen as the Books of the Year for Older Children and the International Success Award. The first and fourth books won the Aurealis Awards while the third book was highly commended. Then, the first , second and fifth book each earned the Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Book. The first book

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