#duncan of araluen

[dragoneyes613]

You know, I think Duncan and Rosalind were an arranged/political marriage.

She's not mentioned at all until the Battle of Hackham Heath where it says that she and Duncan got married. The previous book, mostly from Halt and Crowley's POV, had little reason to mention her, but still.

It would make sense for it to be necessary politically for Duncan to marry

Oswald was old and ill.

The people had turned against Duncan, thanks to Morgarath and Tiller, thinking that he was raiding and killing his own people.

Baron Morgarath was in the middle of a rebellion.

The scene at the tournament at Gorlan was not very conclusive for Duncan.

All this is making the monarchy look weak and unstable.

Also, Duncan was the only heir. He had no siblings or cousins who could take over if something happened to him. If he died - and as king, he would definitely be at risk in the war they all knew was coming - then the leadership of Araluen would spiral into chaos.

So Duncan needed to marry, so there is one more member of the very small royal family who could rule or at least rally the people and issue orders in his stead. And more importantly, he needed to marry, because he needed heirs.

So the scenario I'm picturing is any eligible young noblewomen, presumably daughters and sisters and so on of barons because that seems to be the only nobility in Araluen, being asked if any of them are interested in being courted by the king, and a bunch of them say yes, because who wouldn't want to be queen? And then Duncan meets whoever's interested, and luckily for him and Rosalind, they instantly hit it off.

[theoakleafpancake]

The Ties of Fate

[Image ID: A drawing of two emblems, one a leopard’s eye and the other a snake’s eye. The leopard is red and the snake is yellow, and both of them have a sort of lightning strike reaching towards each other. /End ID]

::: ::: :::

The bells were ringing again. It was a sound they all dreaded, a sound that dampened the usual cheer of the dawn of a new day.

It was the sound of war.

Will Barret lowered the bow—the bow he’d made from a tree branch—and turned to watch as the single rider made his way along the road. A coil of unease slithered inside him, and without a second thought, he leaped through the little woods, towards the farmhouse in the field.

Daniel was already outside, carrying the shovel back into the barn. “Dad!” Will shouted. His father looked up and waved a hand, stopping as he waited.

“Is everything alright?”

He slowed down, panting. “Rider,” he said, letting out a slow breath. “There’s a rider coming.”

::: ::: :::

This is my AU submission for the Ranger assessment! (More info under the cut)

It’s kinda of a reversal AU, but also not really because about half of it remains the same. It’s also still very rough so I haven’t figured out all the logistics yet.

Morgarath was never defeated. In fact, the original war continued on much longer, with each group taking heavy losses. So much so that it came to a point where a tense truce was offered.

Unfortunately, Morgarath’s advances reached from Gorlan to a shaky line across Araluen. Thus Araluen was split into Duncan’s land and Morgarath’s land (now known as Tenebris).

The erasure of the Ranger Corps did happen. And Crowley did end up uniting the Originals to help Duncan. Unlike in the main timeline, he did it alone.

Halt O’Carrick, once heir to the throne of Dun Kilty, faced the same assassination attempts from his brother Ferris. It was around the third attempt that their father grew extremely ill.

Instead of allowing Ferris to take the throne, Halt was determined to keep his brother’s corruption from spreading. So he stayed. Caitlyn was the first to know. Halt had his own ensemble that was loyal to him, and managed to keep Ferris compliant for the time being. And so when the King died, Halt took the throne.

In this AU, he still met Pritchard and trained with him. His main weapon is still a bow and arrow. He has his own guards practice the weapon as well. For a while, everything went relatively smoothly.

There was no Ranger to save, and Daniel survived. The other two who ransacked his home in the original story (I can’t remember their names) still tried to pull their stunt but were unsuccessful. His wife lived and so did Will. For fifteen years, all was still.

(For reference, I gave them the last name of Barret. Vira is his wife and Will’s mother)

When the war commences once more, Will is forced back into it as well as his father. Will proves to be not so competent in most weaponry and finds himself with the archers.

The rest of the Wards are still in their respective places. As Morgarath plans, Battleschool students, Diplomats, and Scribes are all doing their own part.

Horace is a natural when it comes to swordsmanship, but not when it comes to fitting in. His mother lives alone, and he worries about her every day. Alda, Bryn, and Jerome make his life a living hell every day and he almost wishes he never joined.

Alyss strives to be everything Lady Pauline is. Her family is still gone, and so she did grow up in the Ward with George and a few others. Coincidentally, a popular baker in town frequents Castle Redmont to help with any major events. Her daughter, Jenny, often tags along and spends time with Alyss and George.

Never given the opportunity to choose another path, Gilan is a respected knight in Caraway. He still looks to the Rangers with longing and envy, but he knows it’s far too late to join. And besides, this is what everyone expected of him, right? As the Battlemaster’s son, it’s only natural.

At the start of the AU, Cassandra is placed in Celtica. Which geographically speaking is still weird because I have no idea how she would have made it even with a truce, but I’ll figure it out. The war did start again some time after she had arrived, so there’s that. Madelydd and her get into all sorts of antics and enjoy spending time with one another.

As the war starts, Crowley and Duncan are noticeably concerned about the growing size of Morgarath’s army. They will need more support if they have any hope of winning, but international relationships are not so well off. Fortunately, though small, an army from Hibernia decides to cut in on the decision of one of the six Kings - Halt O’Carrick

And of course, Ferris sees this as the perfect moment to strike. His brother leaves Caitlyn and Ferris in charge, not without sparing a few of his men to keep an eye on his brother. Unfortunately, Ferris has his own loyal followers. If the King were to leave to fight a war and never return, no one would bat an eye, after all.

No one except Caitlyn.

Anyways, that’s all I have for now! Everything will tie together eventually, I just have to figure out how to get there, lol.

[iwanttobepersephone]

So, homeless Halt huh?

What, right after leaving Clonmel and bedore meeting Crowley, or a fully new context au style.

The first option, yes!!!

I decided that 17 was FAR too young for TEY, so I kinda just added 3 extra years in between leaving Clonmel and meeting Crowley, making him 20 at the time of TEY. (Well, technically, he was 19 when he met Crowley and turned 20 like 2 weeks later, but that's being unnecessarily detailed lol)

I like to think that, because Halt was a prince, Pritchard could only teach him the skills in isolation, and not how to use them. Y'know, like learning how to pick a lock on some little play toy you out in your lap, and then having to actually do it on a real door. So, these 3 years were when Halt had to transition from aiming at a target to aiming at an actual animal. There were also things like how he knew logically how to set up the tent and then realized that actually doing it was just different enough to make him feel dumb.

This also, btw, puts Halt as a homeless, jobless, (illegal) immigrant who speaks the language at a 3rd grade level during the height of Morgarath's rule. So. He had 🌈fun!! ✨️

By the time he met Crowley he understood the language a lot better (3 years of actually living in the kingdom will certainly help with that) but he still kinda struggled a bit. I like to think that he can't pronounce Morgarath's name and always ends up calling him "Morgor", "Morgaah", or simply, "lighting man". Why? Because it's entertaining, that's why

The fic I'm writing takes place when he had JUST moved to Araluen, and wasn't quite so stone faced yet. In the fic he finds a group of other homeless people, mostly other immigrants, who let him stay by their fire that night and help him fix a couple things from his saddle bag. It also centers heavily around his relationship with his old horse, Declan, from before he got Abelard, and how that horse was his only reliable source of companionship

[disasterace1]

I need someone that has already read the new (for me it’s new cause I’m dutch) Royal Ranger book “Arazans Wolves” to tell me-

Will there be actual magic in this book?

Cause in the summery they refer to Arazan as a a “sorcerer” that controls an army of Wargals and Direwolfs

And even though I like the idea of the wargals returning I always liked the fact that the Rangers Apprentice series played with the idea somethings were magical but there was always a logical explanation for it!

So- if i order the book, should i be excited or preparing for the worst?

[nightwingtheanimater]

I want to write a version of TEY with only one change.

Ferris is actually a cool guy.

And the entire plot gets changed by it. Halt doesn't leave, so doesn't meet Crowley. Crowley ends up fleeing to Hibernia because he thinks Pritchard is there. He goes to Dun Kilty aaaand finds Halt training like a ranger would have.

And they defeat Morgarath by invading Araluen with the army of Clonmel after saving Prins Duncan. Also, Arald, Pauline and sir David teamed up and tried to fight, but it didn't succeed so they flee. Then they come across Halt, Crowley and Pritchard and join them.

Caitlyn plays a significant role too. Not sure how yet, but she will.

Also, they managed to get the army because Halt became king. Then they go to Hackham Heath and the war plays out the same, just with a different army.

But for some reason Daniel decides to join the Hibernian army and dies the exact same way and Halt saves Will the same way.

And after the war, Halt decides being king is not that fun and gives the throne to his little brother Ferris :D

I think most plot holes are filled now and the rest of the books plays out the same, besides book 8 and 9.

Thank you for listening to my ted talk :)

[mudpuddless]

duncan and Crowley are both about 25 at hackham heath and halt is twenty, Cassandra and Will are born that same year only weeks apart.

Halt is apparently about thirty-five in ruins of gorlan??????

working on my King Halt AU and by god. the ages are insane. why is halt apparently a teenager in the early years. Crowley is in his early twenties. they should be at the club

[solarishashernoseinabook]

For the trick or treat,, could I have a Sandra and Pauline just being besties treat?

thank youuuu

Gotta say, bestie, you've got a knack for challenging me! Between requesting Duncan/Arald last year and Pauline & Sandra this year, you really like to make me write stuff with characters we don't have a lot of experience with :D

Be prepared for a couple one-off mentions of wine below, as well as crimes against German grammar ❤

also if i got the term second person plural wrong no i didn't ❤❤

~

For the first time in a very long time, Pauline and Sandra had no pressing work to do. Sandra got a bottle of wine from Redmont’s stores, and Pauline met her in one of the castle’s many comfortable parlours, where they sat in comfortable chairs to talk and catch up.

‘Well, you’ve certainly kept this room well-maintained,’ Pauline said, eyeing the full coal scuttle and freshly-dusted tables. ‘Do you come here often, Sandra?’

‘Well, lately I have,’ Sandra said. ‘I’ve been trying to write a short welcome speech for Lord Hartmuth and Lady Hildegard.’

Pauline furrowed her brow. ‘Lord and Lady who?’

‘Visiting from Teutlandt,’ Sandra explained. ‘They’re stopping here on their way to visit Castle Araluen. I was hoping to welcome them in Teutsch.’ Something seemed to occur to her midway through her sip of wine and she leaned forward. ‘You speak Teutsch, don’t you, Pauline?’

‘I do. Shall I take a look at what you have prepared?’ Pauline offered, suppressing her smile.

‘If you wouldn’t mind!’ Sandra hopped up and took a folder from a drawer in the desk, then went to Pauline’s chair. Pauline accepted it and took out the topmost piece of paper as Sandra curled up on the settee next to her. ‘I wouldn’t even call it a speech at this point. I’ve got various sentences I’ve put together with a dictionary. If you can give me feedback on the translations, I can try putting them together into a proper welcome for them.’

‘Hm.’ Pauline scanned the sentences. ‘You keep misconjugating verbs that follow Sie.’

‘I do?’

‘Yes. You keep conjugating verbs in the third person singular, not second person plural.’ Seeing Sandra’s confused expression, she explained, ‘I’m sure you’re intending to use Sie in the sense of you, plural, but it also means she, and you keep translating it that way. This sentence, for example – Sie kann fragen für was Sie braucht? Translated directly, you’re saying she can ask for what she needs, but I presume you’re extending such an offer to the lord as well as the lady. In that case, it would be Sie können and Sie brauchen.’

‘I am,’ Sandra admitted, her cheeks now slightly pink. ‘Beyond that issue, how’s the rest of the sentence?’

‘Well…it’s a very direct translation, if slightly inelegant,’ Pauline said diplomatically.

Sandra laughed. ‘Pauline, Araluen’s finest jesters only wish they could be as cutting as you when you call something inelegant.’

Pauline laughed as well. ‘Would you like me to translate for you?’

‘That would be appreciated,’ Sandra said, still smiling. ‘Or maybe I should just speak to them in Common instead.’

[the-thursday]

Ranger's apprentice OC Rowan Marlowe

Name: Rowan Marlowe

Fief: Deywis fief

Ranger number: 19

First appearance: The Early Years - as one of the rangers that come back in book 2. (Age 22)

(lore and map under the read more)

Rowan is ranger of Deywis fief (on the map) ever since first war with lord Morgarath.

Rowan was apprentice to ranger Edward Thorpe, whom he first met when he had to untangle the ranger from a fishing net. Half of Rowan's family is in the fishing business on the east coast of Araluen.

He is a casual friend with Crowley Meratyn whom he knew ever since being apprentice.

A few years after the first war with Morgarath (Age 26), Rowan is sent to investigate the situation in Seaham fief, as Seaham doesn't have a ranger yet due to the lack of rangers after the war. The Seaham fief is a small fief east of Caraway, neighboured by Carnforth fief to the north and Deywis fief to the south. The Seaham fief struggles due to sudden surge of skandian raids and economic damage of the war. It is run by young baron Eiric Bowburn and his sister Aisling Bowburn. The baron of Carnforth fief, lord Cuthbert Galloway, is greedy and ambitious man who sees the struggling fief as opportunity to gain more power. He bribes bandits to plague the fief and tries discredit Eiric and prove him as incapable baron to the king Duncan. Rowan is sent there by Crowley to investigate the situation and together with Eiric and Aisling, the young ranger helps to uncover and thwart Cuthbert's plots.

Rowan and Aisling start to fall for eachother but they struggle with relationship across fiefs and Rowan himself still struggles with unresolved feelings from his breakup with the knight of Caraway castle, Cynric Blaiddwell, with whom he had relationship before being forced to leave Araluen when Morgarath was gaining power.

After the second war with Morgarath (Age 38), Rowan is tasked by Crowley to track and bring to justice one of Mortgaraths important lieutenants, Ransford Crayke.

Rowan tracks Ransford deep into Scottia territory, however, along the way Ransford murdered a little child of southern Scotti clan because he wanted to steal a horse. Upon tracking down Ransford, Rowan kills him in fight but not before being injured by Ransford. One of northern Scotti clans members with deep resentment of Araluen and rangers, happen upon dead Ransford and injured Rowan, and take the ranger captive, planning to execute him in their village.

Rowan escapes but due to being in harsh northern unknown, without equipment and weapons and still suffering due to his injuries, he eventually collapses and blacks out. He is found by southern Scotti clan warriors who went north to hunt down Ransford, who murdered the child of their clan. They know Rowan is innocent and that he actually killed Ransford and they take him to their village and nurse back to health out of honor and obligation but they do not feel very warm towards the ranger himself. However, as Rowan is gaining strength and heals, he makes friends amongst the clan. By this time, Cynric who went looking for him, arrives and together they leave for Araluen.

After MacHaddish's raid on castle Macindaw (Age 44), the tensions between Scotti and Araluen rise and Rowan is sent as negotiator due to his knowledge of land, language and people from his time in Scottia.

---

About the ranger Rowan Marlowe:

Rowan is of calm and analytical nature, he tends to be more quiet than loud but isn't gloomy or too withdrawn and doesn't hesitate to smile or laugh.

He is rather competent with standard ranger weapons and equipment but isn't much of a fighter. However he is an excellent tracker and thinker and often he is assigned missions by Crowley that fit these strengths.

He rides a smoky black mare called Spring, whose name doesn't have anything to do with season but rather the dance like spring she sometimes does when about to start walking. Spring has a bold manner of sticking her head in your cabin window if you fail to remember to close it.

---

Aisling Bowburn:

Aisling is clever and inquisitive, but measured and not an outward rebel, however she doesn't hesitate to show her displeasure and disagreement. She is a great singer and indulges in simple dresses and hunter outfits both. Aisling is good horse rider and wears a dagger, but it mostly serves as a tool as she isn't a fighter and avoids violence at all costs.

Due to Seaham being a rather small fief and her kind nature, Aisling makes sure to know people of the fief who love her and her brother in return.

Eiric Bowburn:

Eiric is the official baron of the Seaham fief but he often lets himself be heard that the fief is run both by him and Aisling. He is dyslexic and due to this, Aisling often helps with paperwork too. Eiric loves music and if he has his money to spare he often invites musicians to play at village surrounding the castle so it can be enjoyed common folk as well. Eiric is kindhearted like his sister with mischievous spark and would do anything anything for Aisling. As well as his sister, he also tends to know and help people of his fief. He is a good swordsman but prefers spear for its longer reach.

Cynric Blaiddwell:

Cynric is a knight of Caraway fief and one of MacNeils former students. He was born and grew in Deywis fief where met with Rowan, but moved to Caraway for his apprenticeship with MacNeil.

As apprentices, Cynric and Rowan met and became friends and eventually started dating. Their relationship cut short badly upon Morgarath gaining power due to differences in opinions and Cynric's tournaments fame. Cynric wasn't supporter of Morgarath but he and Rowan didn't see eye to eye about staying in Araluen or doing something about the whole Morgarath situation.

When Rowan came back to Araluen in TEY2, they could be friendly with eachother but there was a lot of tension and unresolved emotions that didn't really help. And after the war, they both went to their respective fiefs and didn't have a chance to talk for a few years.

Cynric is of cheerful but also rather emotional nature and is known to be prone to occasional outbursts.

Cynric is a very good swordsman and rather excels at jousting which earns him a lot of fame, which was one of the reasons he and Rowan broke up, due to them not knowing how to handle it.

Edward Thorpe:

Edward was Rowan's mentor. He was of a wild and energetic nature. He was a very good bowman, being rivaled only by Pritchard with whom he often bantered and the two of them often had ridiculous and silly beefs.

He only had one apprentice, Rowan, whom he met by being rescued by him from a disastrous fishing net.

---

A map for locations reference. Map is based on work to John Flanagan however I worked a bit loosely with coastlines, expanded Scottia/Picta for my plot needs and added locations of mentioned fiefs.

[rangerangel]

Everyone, please imagine with me the moment that Duncan found out Cassandra and Horace were getting closer and romantically involved. At some point, he had to realize that the idiot reckless boy who he watched singlehandedly pull off the most impossible kill in Araluen duel history was going to marry his EQUALLY STUPID RECKLESS DAUGHTER and become his SON-IN-LAW.

You cannot tell me that man didn't need a stiff drink that night as he realized the future of his family tree.

[reine-du-sourire]

So my RA/Batman AU is centered around Halt being airheaded playboy Prince (Princie) Halt O'Carrick by day; strong, silent, scary Halt the Ranger by night.

No, I have no idea how he zips to and from Clonmel and Araluen. This is a joke, remember?

Anyway, Will is Robin.

Gilan is also Robin.

Crowley is Alfred, albeit a younger and ginger-er Alfred.

Duncan is Commissioner Gordon.

Pauline is Barbara Gordon, as you cannot convince me she wouldn't be absolutely fantastic with computers.

Or possibly she's Catwoman.

Or possibly she's Alfred, and Crowley is Catwoman, and Alyss is Barbara.

Sir Rodney is Harvey Bullock.

Morgarath is Joker as soon as he can be convinced to dye his hair green.

Or possibly he's Penguin, but with Wargals instead of penguins, and Ferris is Joker.

Abelard is the Batmobile.

[an1d10t]

Wanna know what we need?

A fief vs fief competition.

There are 50 fiefs in Araluen, right? What if they decided to do a little game to see which fief is ‘the best’. It’s all fun and games and the winner just gets a great free dinner. Or they can request one fief to do a theatre play

The people competing in these are the heads, by the way. Unless if a person cannot do the given task they can request someone else to do it for them.

The first round is the rangers. And because the people decided to be a little cheeky they decided that the rangers aren’t going to do archery, they’re going to sword fight. Except Gillan. He gets to choose someone because he decided to get born with privileges

Then the cooks. They have to do archery. Whoever hits the target the most gets 50 points. The one who hits the target the least gets 0

Then the scribes. They have to work in the stalls. The head scribe who readies their horse first gets 50 points for their team.

Because the barons always give scribes so much work they get to do their job. Needing to sort out all kinds of scribe jobs (I don’t know what they do. Please do tell me). The one who does it the best gets 50 points for their fief

Then the battle masters become barons. They need to punish crimes with correctly. The crimes could vary from stealing and Apple at the market to murdering someone in a bar fight. The barons need to decide if the punishment is fair. You know the drill, whoever gets it right the most gets 50 points for their fief

Lastly the diplomats. The diplomats need to work as chef. They need to make the pastry the chef of that fief is the best at. The judges will rate it on a scale from one to fifty. (The judges are Duncan, some apprentices and Karel)

[dragoneyes613]

The Araluen royal family seems very small - riskily so. Royalty and nobility usually try to have at least several children, so in case the heir dies - the risk of dying young was a lot more common back in the old days, between sickness and accidents - there's still other family members to inherit if needed.

But Duncan has no siblings. Cassandra has no siblings. Madelyn has no siblings.

We don't know anything about Duncan's childhood. Maybe he did have more siblings who died. (I personally headcanon that Oswald and Deborah got married later for whatever reason so Duncan was the only child they had [which is part of the reason why Oswald changed the law to allow girls to inherit, because if he and Deborah only had a daughter and couldn't have any more children than someone needed to rule the kingdom] , but that's just my headcanon.)

But we know about Cassandra, and we know she's definitely an only child. Alright, so we know why Cassandra is an only child. Her mother died in childbirth. Maybe her father was too brokenhearted to ever remarry. Not to mention that what with having to deal with the aftermath of Morgarath's war, build himself a reputation as a good, strong king (with Morgarath not having actually been defeated, and with the army unable to get him out of the mountains, that probably didn't look very good for Duncan's first war as king) and raise a newborn daughter, remarrying was probably not high on his list of priorities at the moment.

But after a few years, even if Duncan himself didn't want to remarry, his court should have been beginning to urge him to. After all, Duncan only had the one heir. If anything happened to Cassandra, there'd be no one to inherit the throne. And indeed, Cassandra came close to dying many times. What if she'd died in Celtica? What if she'd died in Skandia? The future of Araluen's throne would have been in jeopardy. It would've been a lot less dangerous and risky if she'd had one or two siblings, just in case.

Moving on from Cassandra, there's Maddie, who is an only child as well. Again, it's risky for the monarchy to have only one heir. Especially now that she's no longer living safely at the palace but is training as a Ranger. Sure, she's not planning on actually becoming an active Ranger, but Ranger training in and of itself can be risky. Ranger apprentices are expected to go on missions and risk their lives just like full Rangers. Maddie almost died when she was wounded in the hip that time. What if she actually had died? What if she dies from an accident during training? All that would be needed is one bandit or whoever to get in a lucky shot, and that's it.

Royal families usually try to have at least "an heir and a spare." Just in case something happens to the heir, that's what the spare is for. But Araluen hasn't had any "spare" in generations.

The kingdom needs heirs, and generation after generation of only children in the royal family aren't enough of them to secure a stable future for Araluen if there is no direct heir. What if Maddie dies, and Cassandra at this point is likely too old to have children? Who will inherit the throne after Cassandra?

[theoakleafpancake]

After the celebration had finally ended, Halt decided he’d had enough of formalities and appearances. A grand homecoming to Araluen was not what he’d wanted. Now that he had Will back, all that was left to do was to return to the little cabin in Redmont and sleep for a week straight. If it weren’t for the assembly the King called for, he’d be able to do just that.

Someone knocked on the door. He gave a final tug on the straps of his pack before heading over, heaving in a silent sigh. But when the door swung open, he was met with an unexpected face.

Well, not entirely unexpected. It was bound to happen sooner or later. He’d rather it would have been later, but alas, Fate seemed to be enjoying her time with him.

“Crowley.” He stepped aside, allowing the Ranger Commandant in the room. “I thought you’d have left by now.”

“Really?” The sandy-haired man turned to look at him. “Eleven months, and that’s the first thing you have to say.”

“Eleven and one week,” he said quietly. “And I seem to recall giving you a full report earlier. So no, that is not the first thing I have said to you.”

Crowley ran a hand through his hair. “And one week.” A breathy chuckled escaped the other man. “Do you think I haven’t been counting each day?”

He raised an eyebrow. “A Ranger Commandant has more important things to do than wait for the prodigal son to return.”

“I’m sorry.” The older Ranger reached a hand towards his arm and then faltered, those light eyes desperately seeking his. “If I could go back in time, I would change everything. I would have broken you out of prison. I would have covered it all up. No one would have ever known.”

“Having everyone know was a part of the plan.”

“But why, Halt?” His voice broke. “Why would you put us through that?”

Halt raised his eyes to the ceiling. After all this time, his friend still had the nerve to ask the same question. “I don’t give you as much credit as I should. You’re not stupid, Crowley. You know the answer.”

It was the boy. Will. He would have burned the world for his apprentice if necessity demanded it of him. He had given up his life for some cheeky, over-talkative child that had somehow become an integral part of his life. Losing Will had been like losing an arm. He could have said all this and more, but he wasn’t sure if the other Ranger would ever truly understand.

“Crowley.” He laid a land on his friend’s shoulder. “You have your loyalties and I have mine. Surely you didn’t think I’d change over the years?”

“No. I never would have expected that.” The older Ranger turned away. “You always were a stubborn one.”

“And I don’t intend on changing that. I became a Ranger to help you. Not to pledge my full allegiance to a King.”

“That’s exactly what being a Ranger is.” The silver Oakleaf felt heavy around his neck. Halt knew what the Oakleaf meant. Running away from Clonmel, he was given a second chance, and that chance had been Araluen and its Rangers. He liked Duncan a great deal more than he cared to admit—certainly the Araluan was a far better King than either him or Ferris. But against all odds, that’s just what Duncan was.

A King.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Crowley said quietly. “But it seems to me you’re doing fine in that sense.”

Halt let go of the man’s shoulder. “You thought too highly of me. That’s your mistake.”

“I think just enough of you.” The redhead sighed. “My only mistake was turning you away. I’m sorry, Halt.”

He met his friend’s eyes, and saw the pain inside them, pain he was responsible for. “I am, too.”

[iwanttobepersephone]

Ok

But I'm just saying

The imagery of Duncan being rescued from being kidnapped by a soaking wet, shirtless, and (if I remember correctly) pantless man who just knocked out/maybe killed the 3 guards who were in charge of you and then immediately after being told by that same man that all Araluens are cowards and then being pushed off a castle wall is HILARIOUS

Like Y'ALL

IMAGINE DUNCANS FIRST IMPRESSION OF HIM

OMG

[that-one-enby-ranger]

Experience

Day 4 of Ranger Gathering: Experience

“I think it’ll be a good idea,” King Duncan was saying, “A good chance for you to get familiar with the landscape of the fief so you have some experience here before you really start.”

Baron Arald piped in, “And it’ll be fun.” Duncan, Arald and Horace were sitting in Duncan’s office. Horace had just moved to Castle Araluen to start his new career as a knight. Arald was visiting Duncan for some boring business affairs that Horace didn’t know, but the two seniors had some time off, so Duncan suggested the three of them go on a hunting trip around the fief, posing it as an opportunity for Horace to get familiar with the fief. Horace had a suspicion that the king just wanted to get out of the castle and do something active, and he didn’t blame him.

“I’d be interested in that,” Horace said and Duncan clapped his hands together. 

“Then it’s settled,” he said, “tomorrow we’ll go hunting. We can meet here around midday, get some lunch, and then we’ll go.” Arald and Horace nodded their agreement, showing the king that the plan was all fine with them. They said their farewells to each other, and left Duncan’s office, going off to do their own separate things for the remainder of the day.

← – →

The next day, at midday, Arald and Horace met outside Duncan’s office as they had planned. When Duncan let them enter, they found he already had a meal prepared for them. They ate, engaging in friendly conversation while doing so, collected their gear, and set off for the stables to collect their horses.

They were mostly silent as they followed Duncan to the spot that he said was the best area if you wanted to hunt small prey, which is what they wanted. None of them ever wanted to kill if there was no need to, so they would take the rabbits they were most likely to get and bring them back to the castle kitchens to be used in future meals. 

Duncan stopped the small group when they got to the edge of some trees, leading into a wooded area. 

“We’ll dismount here and carry on through foot,” he said, “the trees are really close together in there and there’s a lot of bushes. It would make too much noise and we’d be too noticeable to any animals.”

“What animals are we talking?” Arald asked.

Duncan shrugged. “Just the normal small prey,” he said. “Rabbits, mainly. A couple birds and pheasants. Maybe a small deer if we get lucky.” Arald nodded, taking in the information. They dismounted from their horses and tied the reins to the closest sturdy looking trees. When Duncan judged the other two were ready, he moved into the trees, moving slowly so they could follow him to the more open area he was planning to go to. 

As they walked, every now and then they would set up a small snare, carefully hiding it behind some leaves. Arald had the good idea of rubbing his hands in some food, and then rubbing his hands on the leaves so that some of the scent would transfer to the leaves and hopefully attract some animals. It wasn’t really something he had tried before, he was just experimenting, but it wouldn’t hurt to try a new method.

When they made it to the area Duncan had originally been talking about, a place that apparently had more game than any other part of the forest, they set up double the amount of traps. When they heard some of the traps go off, one of the three of them would run over to the snare and grab the animal out of it, taking it back to their waiting point to bag it.

At one point when Horace went to clear out a trap, he saw that the rabbit that had been caught in it was still alive. It was badly injured and bleeding out, so if he let it go it wouldn’t survive in the wild. Horace knew that he would have to kill it to put it out of its misery, but he still felt extremely guilty about it. He could kill opponents in the field without a second glance, and skewer anyone with his sword who was a threat to the people he cared about, but seeing a helpless injured rabbi struggling to get out of a trap was an entirely different matter. 

Horace quickly hit the rabbit on the head with the butt of his sword, trying not to think about the fact that the rabbit might had had a family, and could have been trying to get food for them, while him, Arald and Duncan had killed it for their own food source when they already had plenty.

The rabbit stopped squirming and stayed still.

By the end of their trip, the three knights had managed to catch three rabbits, a hare and a couple birds. Duncan and Arald told Horace, who hadn’t been on that many hunting trips that it was a successful one.

“So how was that?” Duncan asked Horace as they rode their horses back to the castle.

“It was fun,” Horace replied, although he was a bit saddened about the rabbit incident, but he waved it aside. 

“The chefs should be happy to see we’ve bought them some more meat for them to use,” Arald said, “In my experience chefs are always happy to have more things to cook.”

“That’s true,” Duncan agreed.

They rode in silence for the rest of the way and Horace thought to himself. The trip had been good for him. It had given him a good layout of the forest surrounding his new home, and it had been fun for him to get out and get some fresh air alongside the kingdom’s two most famous knights. Over all, Horace figured it had been an amazing experience.

Don't like this one very much because I rushing to get it done and pretty much everyone from here on is all going to be rushed to get done. I also hate the moodboard thing but that doesn't matter. Hope you liked it, because I didn't. Now my computer being a bitch and pissing me off so I'm gonna go watch Deadpool and Wolverine finally.

[nightwingtheanimater]

Since Crowley is a hotheaded little fella he probably started a few fights for absolutely idiotic reasons.

What if he did so in the middle of castle Araluen and Duncan needed to step in before anyone got hurt.

Or even better, Halt walks in and just has to spend 3 hours trying to get Crowley to realise it's not worth the effort to fight over if goddamn ant should be removed or killed.