THE LIFE OF A RANGER

1. THE LIFE OF A RANGER By Tyler Clements

2. There once was a lankyblond haired young man. His name was Benjamin. He was 14 years old and worked on a large farm alone for an evil and greedy King. Ben really wanted to escape from the Kings grasp, his only enjoyment came from practicing with the Oakwood bow his father had left him. One beautiful summer day, Ben heard a knock on the door of his small broken down shed. He opened the door to find a tall rough looking man. It was Rillen head of the forest rangers!

3. Ben could only stare at the imposing master of the rangers before him. Rillen broke the silence. “I need you to become a ranger to fight against the King and his monster minions.” To be a ranger and fight against the King! That was a huge responsibility. Ben had to do it. “I will!” he said without a moments hesitation. Rillen and Ben needed to get to the ranger training center. They could not get there by foot and needed to get horses for the long journey.

4. The Ranger and his apprentice headed towards the horse masters home to find the horses to take them to the training camp. They walked up to the horse masters stables and knocked on the door. They heard a great shout. “What do you want you filthy tax collectors?! The door flew open. “Oh, sorry ranger, I thought that you were tax collectors. Come in…come in, have some tea and corn cakes.” Rillensaid, “Sorry Nulif but we came to get something from you. Ben, tell him what we came for.”

5. “Hello, my name is Ben. I’m Rillen’s new apprentice ranger. We have come for some horses to get us to the training camp.” “Oh you think you can handle a horse?” questioned Nulif. “Yes Sir!” Ben replied. Nulif chuckled. “Rillen you’ve found a real spirited apprentice. He may have his pick of the stables.” They headed toward the stable doors. As they enteredBen was hit with a huge rush of stink. It was the smell of 50 horses. Ben plugged his noise to block the smell of the dung. In one of the stalls he saw a beautiful Black Friesian horse. It had a huge mane and looked like it was anxious to get out of its stall. “Did you pick one yet?” Nulif asked “That one” said Ben as he pointed to the Black Friesian horse.

6. Now with new horses and fresh supplies they set out. The journey would take them several days. The Master Ranger leading his young apprentice deep into the heart of the misty forest. About half way to the training camp while resting by a babbling brook Rillensays “ Ben, it’s time I teach you the rangers vow.”

7. From a pocket in his cloak Rillen pulls out a weathered scroll. He unrolls it and in a loud deep voice begins to read. “From dusk to dawn, I vow that I will defend the people and animals of the forest. A Ranger is to be loyal to the trees, the birds and the bees. To have the power to be brave, not a coward. The Rangers vow is to protect and serve as long as they live.”

8. Now repeat what I have said” says Rillen. “From dusk to dawn, I vow that I will defend the people and animals of the forest. A Ranger is to be loyal to the trees, the birds and the bees. To have the power to be brave, not a coward. The Rangers vow is to protect and serve as long as they live.” Ben recites the vow word for word commits it to heart and memory. Soon, they were at the rangers training centre which was in the hollow base of a wide tree trunk. They entered through the large Oakwood door. Inside they found many people training with bows, knives and other weapons. Ben grabbed his Oakwood bow and started training at the archery range. For many days, he trained with weapons of all sorts.

9. One summer night a few weeks later, Ben saw Rillen coming towards him. Rillensaid, “It’s time for you to go on your first quest. I need you to destroy the beast in the east, the King’s third in command. You’ll find him in a dark cave through the Mountains of Doom.” Ben grabbed his bow, packed up some supplies and prepared his Friesian horse for the coming journey. Once all was ready the apprentice ranger and his steed trotted away into the unknown.

10. Ben soon arrived at the beasts cave. It was enormous. He walked in and spotted the Beast of the East. It had razor sharp fangs and a huge scaly body. It pounced on Ben. Ben took out an arrow and shot it in the face. The beast screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

11. After the defeat of the terrible beast Ben hurried back to the Ranger Camp excited to tell his Master of the great victory. When he arrives back at the ranger camp he sees many grieving people gathered around a large coffin. Slowly Ben goes over over to see who was in it an saw………………..Rillen. His Master and friend lay dead. Ben fell to his knees and cried “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

12. Ben asked the grave keeper how Rillen died. The grave keeper said in a gruff voice, “he was killed by Razor Neck, the King’s second in command.” “Razor Neck that ugly monster.” Ben spat. There and then he decided he needed to get revenge for the killing of his mentor, the master ranger. Ben tracked Razor Neckback to his lair. He entered the cave and saw two burning red eyes staring at him and drew his short sword. Just as he did that, Razor Neck pounced. Ben dodged and stabbed at the vile creature but only hit a grazing blow. As the monster came around for another attack Ben drew his bow and shot a flaming arrow. It went whistling through the air and stuck deep into Razor Neck burning him to ashes.

13. Several months later a battle hardened rider on a dark Friesian horse approaches a young farm boy working a field. “Hey Boy!” The ranger shouted. “ I need you to become a ranger and fight against the King and his monster minions.” And so the battle against the evil King continues…

14. Story Written By: Tyler Clements Graphics and Animation By: Tyler Clements Special Assistance By: Kim & Dan Clements (Mom & Dad) THE END