Woohoo, another story! Let's begin, but on the exact opposite of the Rangers.

I know lots of you hate short chapters, but I couldn't seem to add more to this.

EDIT: The story adds a beta at chapter 4, so chappies get longer.

STEPHEN

I WAS NEVER A WELL-LIKED KID IN THE WARD. Just because my father was a exiled baron doesn't mean I'm rich, or that I'm spoiled. None of my other wardmates understood that really. Well, all of them except for Thomas. He's pretty much my only friend here. Of course, he for some reason, was an outcast like me, but he didn't do anything to make them hate him.

Then again, neither did I, but people will be people, no matter how much you try to change them. So, down with social standings, here are what we look like. I'm tall, with blond hair and startling blue eyes. I have some developed muscles, but it's not like we can lift weights or anything. Thomas, on the other hand, is short, and a little creepy. With brown hair and dark brown eyes, he continually hides in the shadows to avoid their taunts. If he was angry enough, he looked you in the eyes with a burning hatred that made people flinch.

Enough about that. For some reason, our year group was unusually large, coupled with the fact that they all avoided us or bullied us, we never really got to know their names. So it went over the past 10 years, me and Thomas getting bullied repeatedly. I had a love/hate relationship with Choosing Day, because I might get away from some tormentors, but I lose my only friend.

The Baron, Rodney, had the same secretary as my father, Arald. He yelled all his life, and didn't seem to stop. Even more worse, Rodney yelled along with him, though that was expected from a former Battlemaster. Today, the current Craftmasters here were Sir Karel, the new Battlemaster, Ranger Will, who we all kind of ran away from, Lady Alyss, Ranger Will's wife, George Carter, the Scribemaster, and Master Jenny, the castle's cook.

So, we went to the Courtyard, which was closed off to the public, and the event was going to take place. Many cheap and insubstantial wooden chairs were placed around the courtyard. I finally decided to count, and noted that there were more wards than chairs. It seemed just like a Baron, to indulge in luxuries, and leave little to the common folk. like us.

I was at the head of the line, being somewhat taller than the others, while Thomas was at the end. I loathed this moment, where we could be estranged for life. "Step forward, state your name, and your requested school." I reluctantly stepped forward. "Stephen Arald, Battleschool sir." I called out. Baron Rodney then looked at his friend, and asked, "Battlemaster?" Sir Karel looked me up and down, then said, "He reminds me of his father, at least when he was younger." I hated being associated with my father. He left my mother because I was an illegitimate child, then when she died, he insulted the king, and got banished, like Halt, the legendary ranger.

After a dramatic pause, then an awkward silence, he finally said, "I'll take him." I smiled, then sat down in one of the many chairs in the room. The rest of the ceremony went by faster than a blink of the eye, at least until Thomas showed up. Again, Martin called out, "Step up, state your name, and your requested school." Thomas stepped up, and I expected him to pick the Horseschool, so we could be together. Instead, he nervously said, "Thomas Crosby, and my school... I don't know."

Fun Facts

One of the most time consuming things was creating a name for Stephen's buddy, Thomas.

I originally considered Thomas Paine, but I decided against it, for fear of some history nerd ranting about using a historical figure in a fictional story.

I settled with Crosby because well, Cosby (Bill) + an R for Ranger should work,