The Ranger Book One: A thousand years ago.

The next few days went as normal, as there weren't council fires every night. That also included patrols and hunts. Nolan was sent to patrol the border of the Myrkvior closest to the pony settlement. That day was a big day for Nolan, though he didn't know it at the time. He was doing his patrol route, and would stop as dictated by the schedule. On those stops he would drink from his water skin and work on fixing his spear. When lunch came he stopped and prepared a relatively simple meal, but good enough to get him through to dinner at home.

As he was eating, he looked up and saw a group of ponies approaching. He stood and picked up his bow and knocked an arrow.

"Halt! Who goes and what is your business?" Nolan called out so they would hear him. There were nine of them. Eight had the look of actual soldiers. The other one, he was an older pony. He had a long beard and wore two tone blue clothing covered in gold stars with a similar colored pointed hat with gold crescent moons. The group came to a stop close to where Nolan stood so they wouldn't have to yell at each other.

"I am Star Swirl The Bearded, advisor and court wizard to Princesses Celestia and Luna. I have come to find one amongst your people who has been stored of slaying a Manticore bare handed. I wish to speak with him about how he managed such a legendary feat." The old pony said.

"Nolan is my name. And it wasn't bare handed. My cousin Feris would make it sound much more impressive, but I killed it with my hunters knife and what was left of my spear after the beast had destroyed most of the shaft. Making a long story short, I ended up slitting its throat."

"You? You're barely out of being a pup! How could you be so brazen as to lie? Taking someone else's achievements is dis-" said one of the pony soldiers, just as he was cut off.

"I WILL NOT BE CALLED A LIAR BY INVADERS WHO KNOW NOTHING OF ME, MY PEOPLE, OR OUR STRUGGLES!" Nolan practically roared. He was normally much more calm than this, but the pony's words had gotten under his skin.

'He has the look of a warrior, and his eyes show that he is.' Star Swirl thought to himself.

"My apologies, warrior. My guards meant no disrespect. My mission is one of peace. The Princesses sent me to find you and learn more about your people. I have been given the authority to negotiate trade treaties, and to act as a source of knowledge for your people concerning pony culture and society. If required, I am prepared to send my guards back to the castle so that I may prove my integrity." Star Swirl said as he tried to calm the situation down a little bit.

Nolan took a couple of deep breaths and visibly forced himself to calm down.

"I too, must apologize. I've not had many accolades up to this point because I AM young. No one wants their achievements to be downplayed or shifted to someone else." Nolan said evenly, with far more calm than he had a moment ago.

"You show no small amount of wisdom. I can already see that you'll be a fine warrior as you get older. How should we continue?" the old wizard asked.

"I need to take you to the village. There, you will meet with the Chief and the council. They will want to question you thoroughly, at length and in detail. My people are cautious and in general, don't make decisions quickly or rashly. Patience and an open mind with a fair bit of humility will serve you best." Nolan said as he gathered his things and repacked them.

"How long will it take to reach your village?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Not long. Only a couple of hours, if you ponies can keep up with me. But due to your position of leadership, I'll let you Star Swirl set our pace. The faster we go, however, the sooner you can start your mission." Nolan stated, putting the ball squarely in the ponies court.

"I will keep any pace you set, warrior." Star Swirl replied confidently.

"Very well." Nolan said and took off at a very brisk pace. By the halfway point, the soldiers were all sweating, and Star Swirl was panting hard. Nolan paused to think and for them to catch up.

'They've proven that they can face physical hardship. Stopping so that they can take some water and catch their breath isn't only prudent, but also kind. I doubt they'll get much of the latter for a bit at first. Something about this groups leader seems off. I don't doubt what he says, but I question if we're seeing the real him.' Nolan thought to himself as they caught up with him. After they had drank some water and Star Swirl had caught his breath, they set back out again. This time at a more reasonable speed. They arrived in the early evening, and Nolan brought them in front of the council lodge while calling for the Chief and the council.

"Nolan, who are these ponies? Why have you brought them here?" the Shaman asked.

"They have come as negotiators and envoys." Nolan responded, as he motioned to Star Swirl.

Introductions were made and Star Swirl was invited to sit at the fire, as were his guards. The council asked many questions of the ponies, and wanted to know what their princesses intentions were. The old pony did his best to alleviate any concerns that the council would have, and for night one, did as well as anyone could have. Nolan would have liked to learn more directly as the rest of the council, but his warrior training started that week, and he found himself far too busy.

The days sped by, and as summer marched ever closer, he was learning quickly and was soon at the halfway point of his training. He was now an expert at all of the tools and weapons he was expected to know or have the possibility of using as a member of his tribe and as a warrior. He could now use the bow, spear, buckskin shield, wooden shield, tomahawk, ax and knife as well as any hunter. He only lacked experience, and that would come with time.

Relations with the ponies had only improved, and continued to do so. There was now a regular trade route from the castle to the village, and Emerald Star was one of the wolven's most valued customers. Many of the wolven craft masters were now making items for the pony businessmare almost exclusively, and were pulling in so many bits that even the rest of the village was profiting from it.

Nolan had been back to the the castle to get his armor fitted and came home with it. He wore it out of Hammer's shop, and while it fit well and didn't feel like it weighed much, he felt that it wasn't quite right. Hammer had even crafted a rune kite shield that had a stylized wolfs head with a Manticore in its teeth placed upon it. Hammer had also crafted a sword for him as well, and bot the sword and shield matched the armor in coloration, that being a leaden grey tinged with green on the outer edges. The sword, which Nolan learned was called a Gladius.

Nolan would have felt better about all the extra equipment, if he actually knew how to use it. He could make use of the shield, once he got use to the weight of it. The sword was an entirely new endeavor. He figured he could make use of it in a similar fashion to a really big Hunters knife, at least until he learned how to use it properly. The armor did, and would require him to think about how he was going to move before he did, and to keep his speed in mind.

When he returned, one of the ponies that was assigned as one of Star Swirls guards noticed the new equipment. He walked up to Nolan and looked the heavy plate armor over. It was a well crafted set, and polished to a fine sheen. It was a combination of heavy plate and chain mail. The helmet was done in the form of a bears head with an open mouth, with Nolan's head in the opening. The plates along the neck were hinged to allow for a fair bit of up and down movement and maximum allowed vision. The Pegasus stallion, who had a white coat and blue mane shot through with silver looked over the young wolf.

"I am Tempest Knight. I can tell that even though that armor was made for you, you don't know how to wear it. Nor do you know how to use it with your new shield. I'm also willing to bet that you've never held a sword before today, have you?" the Pegasus asked, his voice gravelly with age and experience.

"No, this is all very new. The shields my people make are of wood or specially cured leather. We don't have the infrastructure for this much steel or iron. All of our arrow and spear heads are made of stone or bone. Our knives are often bone or stone, but enough are made of steel. Mine is. About the only weapon we make that uses steel exclusively are the heads for our tomahawks. We make armor, but it's often leather with laquered wood or bone scales over the top to add some protection. I doubt very much any of the warriors of my people know how to use, much less maintain or repair any of this." Nolan said with dismay, as it meant that he would not be able to use it very often for fear of irreparable damage.

"I can teach you how to use it, and how to care for it. Most of the repair work you'll need a proper smith for, but what I can teach you will keep it in good enough shape that if you need repairs, you'll have enough time to find a smith. It will take a few weeks of training for you to master the basics, if you have the talent. Once that's complete, we can start working on the more advanced applications. Though, you should probably get your Chiefs permission. Don't need or want you wolves thinking I'm trying to corrupt the youth or some such." Tempest said plainly.

"I'll talk to him about it and see what he thinks. But between you and I, even if he says no, I'll either take you up on your offer, or I'll go to your people's settlement and learn from someone there that may be willing to teach." Nolan said with a nod and a thankful smile to the pony. Nolan was truly pleased that he could potentially learn how to use it. He walked on to the Council lodge. On his way to the lodge, he stopped by his home and gathered his head dress and brought it along.

Once he got into the lodge, he made his way to his father, who was talking with the Shaman and Star Swirl. The Shaman looked up, and upon seeing Nolan, he did a double take.

"Whatever it is, it can wait until I'm done here. If the Princesses need me urgently, they can contact me directly. Go back outside and wait for my instructions." Star Swirl said with annoyance slipping through to his voice, thinking that Nolan was one of his guards. The Chief smirked slightly and the Shaman had a full on grin.

"Well, I suppose I could, but seeing as I don't work for you, nor do I report to you about anything, that set of instructions would be rather difficult to complete." Nolan said as he couldn't help but grin.

"My sincere apologies, Nolan! I didn't mean to presume that you were one of my lowly guards." Star Swirl said, trying to save face, as he looked up at Nolan with a mortified expression.

"Clearly. My chief, I have retrieved the armor you had made for me, and it fits well enough. I don't know how to use it very well, however, one of Star Swirl's "Lowly Guards" has offered to teach me not only how to use these new items, but also how to care for them. Tempest Knight says it will take a few weeks of training for the basics, and a bit longer for the more advanced training. He offers this, but only if I receive your permission for it." Nolan said as he watched Star Swirl's face go though the emotions of being embarrassed, to anger, to confused and finally shock. Apparently, something about the offer wasn't what the he had expected.

"Hmm. I think we can allow a "Lowly Guard" the opportunity to teach you to use your new items properly. What do you think, Star Swirl?" The Chief asked with a slight chuckle.

"Certainly, Chief. If Tempest Knight feels he has the experience, knowledge and time to teach a would be new student in the ways of warfare, who am I to argue? Princess Luna assigned Tempest Knight to my retinue for his peerless ability on the battlefield and his tenacity. He will be a great teacher for Nolan." the wizard said, trying hard to sound pleasant about it. It seemed as if Tempest Knight had outmaneuvered him and he took some exception to that.