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Halt O'Carrick Spoiler Alert!

Warning! This page contains spoilers for The Ruins of Gorlan.


The Ruins of Gorlan (officially Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan) is the first book in the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. It was released November 1, 2004.

Blurb

The Rangers, with their shadowy ways, have always made him nervous. And now fifteen-year-old Will has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. But what he doesn't realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom who will fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time he will not be denied...[1]

Plot Overview

After fifteen years of exile, Morgarath, the Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, prepared to unleash the Kalkara and attempt to take over Araluen once more.

On Choosing Day, the Redmont wards applied to their crafts of choice. Will, however, was rejected by each craftmaster. Halt, the Ranger, handed Baron Arald a note, who then told Will to wait until morning for his decision. Unwilling to wait, Will attempted to sneak into the Baron’s office, but was caught. Arald revealed the note, and Will began training as Halt's apprentice. Meanwhile, Horace struggled in Battleschool, as three second-year students had begun bullying him.

On Harvest Day, the wards reunited for a picnic. Horace showed up late, miserable from the bullying. He lashed out at his former friends, starting a fight with Will.

Weeks later, Will and Halt discovered a wild boar, and sent a farmer to inform Arald. A hunting party was arranged, to which Sir Rodney invited Horace. On the hunt, a second boar surprised the group, attacking Horace. Will distracted it, only to be attacked in turn. As the boar charged at Will, Halt shot it in the heart. Moved by the experience, Horace and Will made up.

A wildly exaggerated version of the story began circling the village. Believing it made Battleschool look bad, the bullies beat Horace into semi-consciousness. They found Will and attempted to beat him up as well, only to be stopped by an injured Horace. Halt stepped in and allowed Horace to beat them up one at at time before them reporting them to Sir Rodney.

At the Ranger Gathering, the Corps received a report that the Kalkara were at large. Halt decided that he would lead a mission to go and kill the Kalkara, accompanied by Will and Gilan. After a few days of riding, they decided that Will should report back to Castle Redmont, believing King Duncan was the next target. Will, however, believed Halt was next.

Accompanied by Arald, Sir Rodney, and a company of soldiers, Will followed the Kalkara's tracks to the ruins of Castle Gorlan where Will's fears were confirmed. Arald and Rodney successfully killed the first Kalkara, only to be stopped by the second. Will, forty meters away, shot it with a flaming arrow, killing it instantly.

At a public ceremony, Arald thanked Will for saving his life, inviting him to transfer to Battleschool. Will refused. Later that day, Halt gave Will his bronze oakleaf. Will was unsure about rejecting Battleschool, believing his father to have been a knight and unsure whether he would have approved of Will's decision.

Halt told Will about his long-since-deceased father, Daniel, a sergeant who had saved Halt's life in the Second Araluen Civil War.

Gallery

Notable Characters

For a full list of characters, see Category:The Ruins of Gorlan Characters.

In Other Languages

Title Comparisons
Language Title Meaning Language Title Meaning
Chinese 格蘭的廢墟 Ruins of Gorlan Croatian Ruševine Gorlana Ruins of Gorlan
Czech Rozvaliny Gorlanu The Ruins of Gorlan Danish Gorlans Ruiner Gorlan Ruins
Dutch De Ruïnes van Gorlan The Ruins of Gorlan French L'Ordre des Rôdeurs The Order of Rangers
German Die Ruinen von Gorlan The Ruins of Gorlan Greek Ο Μαθητευομενοσ Φυλακτορασ The Apprentice Guardian
Hungarian Gorlan Romjai Gorlan's Ruins Indonesian Reruntuhan Gorlan The Ruins of Gorlan
Italian Le Rovine di Gorlan The Ruins of Gorlan Japanese 弟子 Disciple
Korean 선택의 날
골란의 폐허
Selection Day
Gorlan's Ruins
Lithuanian Gorlano Griuvėsiai Gorlan Ruins
Norwegian Ruinene i Gorland The Ruins of Gorlan Persian ویرانه های گورلان The Ruins of Gorlan
Polish Ruiny Gorlanu The Ruins of Gorlan Portuguese Ruínas De Gorlan The Ruins of Gorlan
Romanian Ordinul Haraminilor Order of the Rangers Russian Руины Горлана Ruins of Gorlan
Slovak Ruiny Gorlanu The Ruins of Gorlan Spanish Las Ruinas de Gorlan The Ruins of Gorlan
Swedish Gorlans Ruiner Gorlan Ruins Thai ซากปรักแห่งกอร์ลัน The Ruins of Gorlan
Turkish Gorlan Harabeleri Gorlan Ruins Vietnamese Tàn Tích Vùng Gorlan Ruins of the Gorlan Region
  • In Korea, The Ruins of Gorlan is split into two books.

References

  1. The Ruins of Gorlan, back cover


Books in the Ranger's Apprentice Series
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