PLN #3

I finished Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card about a week ago. And since then, I have started to read the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. The Ruins of Gorlan, the first book, is about a boy named Will who is chosen, by a mysterious organization of guardians called the Rangers, to become the apprentice of the local Ranger, Halt. Will, goes through training to become a Ranger while his Wardmates all take different paths. But the most significant change to Will is Horace, an old rival, who becomes an apprentice at the Battleschool to become a knight.

     In the Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan, Will and Horace have not been on the best terms for many years, but when they are forced to cooperate, then they tart to become more friendly towards each other. Will and Horace's relationship is shaky at best for a long time, "Over the past few years, he and Will had clashed repeatedly." This quote shows that Will and Horace have been in a turbulent relationship since they were in the same Ward. Also, they got into fights, both physical and mental,  "But Horace generally had the best of their physical clashes, it was unusual for him to win any of their verbal encounters." This shows that even though Horace was naturally at an advantage when it came to a fistfight,  but when it came to a contest involving their wits, then that was when Will gained the upper hand. As the story progresses, Will saves Horace's life form an attack by a wild boar, and this starts a change in their relationship, "I owe you my life, Will... I'll never forget that debt. If you ever need a friend, if you ever need help, you can call on me." And then later in the story, three bullies from Battleschool hunt down Will to try and beat him up. Horace returns the favor by saving Will from possibly being killed. This shows that after the encounter with the boar, something inside Horace changed so that he didn't see Will anymore as an annoyance, but as a person that could prove to be a very good friend. So even thought their relationship was rocky to start with, as the years progressed, and they each encountered situations in which they helped each other, their rivalry changed to a strong trust in each other that evolved into a strong friendship.