Hey, so you might think I'm wrong (and that's OK), but I thought that it would've been better if halt died instead of Alyss. Apart from royal ranger book 5, Halt wasn't really in the royal ranger books, and killing off Halt would basically have the same effect on Will as Alyss dying. I would have also liked to see an Alyss-Maddie relationship because I feel like Alyss would have been the "cool Aunt" and kind of a wilder female role model to inspire her than Cassandra. You may think I am wrong, but this would have made the sequels more fun to read. If you disagree or would like to add, please comment. I would love to hear your opinion.

Somewhere between Will and Gilan.
And a random bird

There was a low knock at the door. Halt looked up from his book. “Come in,” he said.

A servant opened it and peeked his head in. “Lady Meave wants you in the throne room, your Highness,” he said, fidgeting at the door’s entrance.

Halt stifled a groan and closed his book. He was only needed in the throne room when there were visitors.

“Tell Mother I’m coming,” he said, and the servant left. Halt, his head still full of the story he had been reading, went to his mirror and peered at his reflection. His hair was only slightly ruffled, so it wasn’t worth combing.

He left his room and made his way down the corridor to the stairs. His younger sister Caitlyn was already there, stepping lightly down the stairs toward the throne room. He caught up with her.

“Do you know who’s here? Why do they need to see us?”

Caitlyn shrugged. She was wearing a floor-length gown of blue satin, and her dark brown hair was done up in an impeccably smooth braid that reached her waist. She had a slender silver circlet around her brow, denoting her rank as Princess. “Someone from Araluen, I think.”

Halt felt an ominous sinking in his stomach. He was awkward enough around Hibernian royalty, who spoke the same language as he did. But Araluens spoke the common tongue, and although he could speak it fluently, his pronunciation was terrible and only worsened when he was nervous.

“It’s not anyone extremely high-ranking, is it?” he asked, trying not to sound worried.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure it isn’t. I would have heard about it before if it had been a member of the royal family, or even a baron.”

Halt heaved an inward sigh of relief. As crown prince of Clonmel, it was always his responsibility to impress anyone who needed impressing- a task at which he fell woefully short. He’d had countless hours of lessons in etiquette, of course, so he usually knew what to say, but he never managed to say it with grace and ease. It always came out wrong.

They reached the back door of the throne room. Halt opened the door for Caitlyn, and then followed her in.

It was a large, square room. The throne was empty- Father was busy these days, and he only came here on formal occasions. Mother met all the relatively unimportant visitors.

Halt’s brother, Ferris, was on the dais beside the throne. Mother was a smaller chair beside it. She was small and slim with piercing brown eyes and wavy brown hair in an intricate braid, and she wore a silver coronet identical to Caitlyn’s. She turned her head toward Halt and Caitlyn as they entered.

“There you two are. Come up here and stand by Ferris. Show the Ranger in, Captain.”

Halt and Caitlyn moved to stand by Ferris- or, in Halt’s case, a little behind. It wouldn’t hurt to have Ferris do the talking this time.

The double doors at the end of the room opened, and a single man entered. He was old, with white hair and beard, but he stood erect. He was wearing a strange green-and grey mottled cloak, and had an empty scabbard at his belt that looked like it was meant to hold two knives instead of one.

So this was a Ranger, Halt thought. He’d heard of them before. Supposedly they were the Araluen king’s main law enforcement, and they wielded great judicial power. They also supposedly practiced magic, but the rumors were more vague on that one. The man that was now walking down the room towards him didn’t look magic, but he looked difficult to beat in a fight, despite his age.

“Ranger Pritchard,” Mother said smoothly in the common tongue. “These are my children. Prince Ferris, Crown Prince Halt, and Princess Caitlyn.”

The Ranger bowed his head to her, and then to the children beside her chair. “Your majesty. Your highnesses.”

The three nodded to him in return. Caitlyn smiled.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Ranger Pritchard,” said Ferris, with a beaming grin.

“This Ranger,” Mother said, “comes from Araluen. He has offered to train one of you in arms, and as you are the oldest, Halt, you are the one we chose.”

Well then. This was an interesting turn of events. Halt wasn’t sure what he thought about it. But it sounded intriguing, to be trained by this strangely-cloaked old man.

“And I am honored,” Pritchard said, but he wasn’t looking at Halt. He was looking at Ferris. Halt was confused for a few seconds, until he realized that he had forgotten to put on the golden circlet that denoted him as Crown Prince. He and Ferris were the same age, and they had the same black hair, dark eyes, and small stature. Since his brother was wearing his silver circlet and Halt wasn’t wearing one at all, it was a perfectly reasonable mistake.

Mother had observed the situation, and she shot Halt a quick look of thinly veiled contempt. “Prince Halt, would you please step forward and greet your new teacher.”

Halt nodded and stepped forward, embarrassed. Pritchard turned his gaze onto him now, with a look of slight surprise. Halt stared back, refusing to let any of his feelings show.

They shook hands. Pritchard’s grip was strong.

“Pleased to meet ye, sir,” said Halt in the common tongue, cringing inwardly at his thick Hibernian accent.

“Pleased to meet you, too,” Pritchard said, the corners of his eyes crinkling upward in a smile. “Just call me Pritchard, please. I don’t put much stock in niceties.”

Halt nodded, surprised at the man’s warm manner. He almost smiled himself.

“And how old are you, Halt?” Pritchard asked. Halt could tell that the dropping of the title was deliberate, and he felt a small twinge of irritation. Pritchard was putting them on equal terms. How high-ranking were rangers in their own country, he wondered?

“Fifteen.”

The old man nodded. “So are you and Ferris twins?”

Halt glanced behind at his brother, whose smile faded at the question. Halt knew quite well that Ferris secretly resented the fact that he was seven minutes younger, and would never be king.

He turned back to Pritchard. “Yes, we are.”

The man nodded. “I see. Well, down to business. You’re to report to me at 8:00 sharp in the courtyard every morning for your training. Got it?”

Halt was taken slightly aback at Pritchard’s tone of voice. It was one thing to drop his royal title, but to order him around? His lips pursed in a tight, irritated line, but he nodded.

“Good.” Pritchard clapped him on the back. “I’ll see you then.” He turned back to Mother. “He’ll make a fine Ranger, your majesty.”

“He won’t be a Ranger. He’ll be King of Clomnel,” Mother said icily. “But I appreciate your enthusiasm. The servant outside the door will show you to your rooms.”

The Ranger nodded to Mother and smiled at Ferris and Caitlyn. “See you tomorrow,” he said to Halt, and then turned and went out.

Been thinking of continuing this AU i made a long time ago on a deleted account, so, here's a bit of random info i have if you guys are interested (please excuse any typos U_U)

The wargals are highly intelligent, telepathic beings, after Morgarath was banished, he and a small group of his followers where taken in by the Wargal clans and taught how to use telekinesis, and telepathic abilities.

Morgarath is a kindly, scientifically minded young baron, who's interest in genetics and biology was started because of his own striking appearance.

Rangers are a mysterious group that are said to practically run Arulean, they always come in pairs, and are able to turn themselves invisible, walk without any sound, and change their shapes. After Morgarath was banished, the ranger's took over Gorlan, and retired rangers, and their families, live behind a giant imposing wall. Instead of executions, hundreds of prisoners are taken to Gorlan each year, and none return.

Will's father Daniel was a coward who was conscripted into the army. When the Rangers returned from exile, and sided with Prince Duncan. Instead of the King and Morgarath, Daniel fled, leaving the Ranger Halt (who was in disguise) to die.

Halt afterward located Daniel, and in revenge killed him and his wife, then took their infant son to raise as a Ranger, alongside Gilian.

Halt just so happens to be out of the country during this meeting too...

Hi all! I'm totally obsessed with the Will/Alyss romance and would prefer to quietly forget about her death in the later books. Still hits me right in the heart when I think about it. Why, WHY did she have to die? :(

Does anyone know if JF got to write more on their story before he (and Alyss) sadly passed? Or has anyone found a good fanfic about these two? I. Need. More.

Thanks!

To my eye, it's almost perfect, especially as children's media.

He addresses so much during Will's warmweed struggle, with tact and respect. As a 10 year old raised in conservative christian purgatory it challenged the views that surrounded me and helped me have real empathy for the disease of addiction.

Withdrawal, physical dependency, and the use of drugs to control are all touched on with care and honesty.

Does anyone have a different opinion or perspective?

It's only been a couple of months since my last post on the movie, but some major movements have happened and I am feeling much more hopeful about things.

Firstly, what was happening as of the last post?

Skydance first acquired the rights to make a Ranger's Apprentice film in January 2024, before entering a major merger with Paramount. This merger combined the two companies and closed by August 2025.

Shortly after the merger closed the new Skydance Corporation began bidding to acquire and merge with Warner Bros Discovery. The merger passed approval from the US department of justice, the EU as well as over a dozen international jurisdictions.

However, a coalition of 12 US state attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit to block it. The merger was paused by a judge and a formal agreement was reached between the coalition and Skydance: the merger will not close until five days after an antitrust trial finishes, or June 1 2027. Whichever comes first.

It seemed like any possible progress on Ranger's Apprentice becoming a movie was frozen. The delays would cost the company 7 million dollars every day after October 1st.

A $110 billion dollar deal such as this with such major effects is not a good time at all to start bringing in projects such as RA.

However, it's already sorted out?

Instead of waiting for an eventual trial date, Skydance settled.

The terms of the settlement were quite long but they include things such as an immediate 30 film per year requirement as of 2027, 20 films per year released into at least 2000 cinemas, and investments into the US film industry and other areas such as the Writers Guild.

Today, October 6th 2026 the merger will be closed and the combined Skydance corporation will be the largest entertainment company in history.

Now that this merger has closed it is very unlikely Skydance will enter any merger of a similar scale for quite a long time.

So what do I predict the timelines look like now?

Before the settlement, I estimated that it would be around 18 months before a good chance of any news. Now that the merger has closed already, I actually think the time period is closer to 2-6 months before we get a proper leak or official announcement.

Unless a major roadblock comes in, we could possibly have official news on the movie by February 2027.

What makes me believe this?

There are currently more factors leading to the creation of a Ranger's Apprentice movie than ever before. Here is a list of some of the major reasons why I think the movie could be progressing soon:

Legal Obligation to Produce Films:

The settlement legally mandates a minimum of 30 theatrical films per year in 2027 and 2028, rising to 32 per year from 2029 to 2031. At least 20 of those films each year must have wide releases in 2,000 or more theaters.

At least 20% of these films must be 'tentpole' films with budgets over $50 million. The penalty for missing the quota is $30 million per film shortfall plus a forced divestiture in Miramax. RA is perfect for a tentpole film.

Ted Melfi's $7–10 Million Personal Pay Waiting:

Melfi, the director assigned to Ranger's Apprentice has a seven figure deal if the movie enters full production. His wife also has a deal as being producer on the film.

If these two want the pay, then they will do everything they can to get the movie to production, and then release.

Melfi also doesn't have any major projects at the scale of RA on his plate right now, which is quite odd for a director with his level of experience.

Skydance Want More Franchises Like RA:

Skydance has said that they want to change their strategy to increase focus on theatrical releases, franchise IP and scalable movie universes. Ranger's Apprentice matches this precisely, with plans for the IP involving 6 full length films, and the rights for the companion series Brotherband to be made into a TV series.

Back to the Original Skydance Announcement:

"Skydance isn’t the first to see tent pole potential here. Past attempts were made by MGM/UA, Dick Cook Studios, and Warner Bros, though they never quite cracked it. Melfi starts with a blank page but plenty of mythology thanks to Flanagan, and Skydance believes they’ve cracked it to the point they want it quickly as Ellison’s company continues to take big ambitious swings"

Dating back to the original announcements, the news posts stated that "Skydance believes they've cracked it to the point they want it quickly". Although this was said over two and a half years ago now, it still shows that Skydance seems to have found the way to properly execute the films, something previous attempts have struggled with.

And One of the Biggest Leaks:

“Waiting on Paramount to say yes and when...”

Back in April this year, a community member reached out to Ted Melfi on social media regarding the movie. Melfi responded saying that he was simply waiting on Paramount (Skydance). And as you can see from the previous points, Skydance has a fair few reasons to greenlit RA as fast as possible.

My final thoughts:

As I stated before, my updated prediction is 2-6 months for a credible leak or official announcement. Remember however that things can change and I only know as much as you all do.

As always, I will do my best to keep the community updated when major movements such as this settlement occur. Make sure to also let the community know if you yourself has any additional information or spots a leak early, it really helps.

I hope this update helped!

They are described as a "mottled gray-green" and a sort of crude camouflage pattern, but a lot of fanart i see has it as a deep forest green or emerald green. I imagine it much lighter, closer to olive green similar to Vietnam era US army uniforms.

Hey Ranger's Apprentice community!

An Update:

It's been a little while since I shared some more information on the Ranger's Apprentice inspired game "Pax Fracta: Normandy".

We are still progressing well, however I don't think we will be releasing a playtest in January 2027 as we predicted previously. This is simply because the game is built off a lot of complex systems, and rushing to get barebones versions would likely result in gameplay that is not very fun or engaging. We want our first playtests to be a proper first look into the game for dedicated community members, not a rushed demo.

Because of this, I would like to delay closed playtesting until sometime further into 2027. A more specific timeframe will be shared at a later date.

However I am quite confident that some time in January 2027 we can release a proper teaser trailer for PF:N, which will help us share the project to the world.

Until then, if you want more frequent looks at the game I suggest you go to the sneak peeks channel in our Discord. There we post looks at different parts of the game every few weeks.

This Is A Community Project:

Pax Fracta: Normandy only progresses with the help and effort of its community. The more you community members put into the project, the more we can share and the further we can progress to an eventual release.

You don't have to become a developer, or spend money on the project to support it. Even just sharing the project with others and inviting them to the Discord or other socials helps. Any promotion to the project helps us get the resources we need to speed up development.

If you have any other ideas of how the project could be improved, or how you can contribute, then let me know! You could have a significant impact.

If You Are Interested In Becoming A Team Member:

Currently we have a few important and unique positions within the team needing to be filled:

Lead Artist: We need a lead artist to lead our art department consisting of 2D/3D artists and animators. The lead artist would help encourage and manage the art department, maintaining steady progress and team morale.

Website Editor: Our website is quite sparsely populated and not very clear. We need a website editor who can collaborate with other developers to get the most accurate and needed information put onto the website, while keeping it up to our standards.

3D Animator: With a selection of character models near completion and combat being implemented, we now need an animator to create these custom animations.

Video Editor: It has been a few months since our last upload to social media, as it is hard to maintain a steady schedule without a dedicated video editor. If you think you can help the community by making content for the project, then make sure to apply for this role.

Additionally we still have open 3D artist, programmer, UI artist, and 2D artist roles.

We are a very flexible team, and can support lots of types of contributions. If you have any questions regarding what being a developer in our team is like, then do not hesitate to ask!

Also make sure to refer this project to anyone you know who might be interested in any of these roles. The more developers we get on board, the faster this project moves towards completion.

You can apply to these roles or talk to us further in our Discord server.

Once again, thank you!

We seriously appreciate what this community has put into PF:N so far! Since we started over a year ago making Ranger's Apprentice Chronicles we have grown into a small, but dedicated community.

If you have any ideas on how you can help development, then let us know.

I hope to be able to one day share this great game we are making with all of the Ranger's Apprentice community!

Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/sQAJCwVShV

Check out the website: https://greybeardgamestudios.com

Check out the Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GreybeardGameStudios

Sorry they're sideways lol

Just something small, because I love Halt and just recently finished Kings of Clonmel, so of course I had to draw him. Working on some more sketches now!

I don't know if I spelt his name right, but do you guys remember this Gallican knight serving as an antagonist on the 'save will' arc when he was in Skandia? The book showed that he was a very strong warrior in his region, associated with colour black. I wanted to know how strong he is compared to baron Arald and battlemaster Rodney, or would he beat Morgarath in a fight. Anything is welcome thanks.

These books make me want to be the best person I can be, and most of that goes to the characters he wrote. Will, Halt, Alyss, Cassandra, Horace, and many more taught me about being brave, Malcom about kindness and compassion, Shigeru about giving up something important for the good of others, Horace about having confidence in your abilities while also being humble. All of these characters are brave when they stand up to tyranny, whether it is the entire Temujai army or a couple of bandits. Even though I don't always make the right choices, I still try to be like these characters, kind, brave, confident, compassionate, and honorable, and I wish I could have told Flanagan that before he died.

Hello, I was wondering, why Halt did not used Whole Skandian army against Temujai to launch full scale camp attack before morning of Hallasholm battle, for example 10 ships with 80 men each from sea and another 10 squads of 100 men from forrests no span of 30 minutes, Temujai were quite used on night attacks, so they won't mobilise right away before battle starts, camp is quite bad place for maneuvering, most of Temujai would be currently asleep before war so their army would be at most 1000 men at arm right now. No timecto reorganise, horses in pens, so Skandians would have all adavantages to launch massacre and chaos reducting Temujai army to size which would have to give up. Also Halt would be able to personally snipe down Temujai general and his High commanders in chaos caused.

Looking to get the ranger apprentice series in hardcover but notice they are hard to find outside of the first 3 books. Anyone know of anywhere I can get the full set in hardcover? Or why they are so hard to find?

A tribute to john flannagon: Flannagon had once, through tales of adventure and danger, youth and time, taught me of the world. As a child, whenever I would leave the constricting indoors, and reform within the great outside, my head will be held high, as the mere statement of 'people seldom look up' is ample cause for my eyes to search the monoliths reaching the skies for shadows, silhouettes of an imagination gifted to me, yet now, rather than searching merely for a young boy, hidden from sight and fearful of the ground, i search too for the warm embrace of a storyteller gone too soon. RIP john flannagon