The Royal Ranger: A New Beginning characters

Appears from the start

A highly skilled Ranger who has become grim and solitary. He is pursuing a bandit named Jory Ruhl with little regard for orders or companionship, and the reason for his anger emerges during the book's opening chapters.

Also known as Maddie

First appears in chapter 6

The headstrong daughter of Horace and Cassandra. Clever, athletic, and frustrated by the limits of palace life, she slips away from her guards and resists the duties expected of a princess.

First appears in chapter 8

Will's wife and a gifted former courier. The early chapters reveal that she died while rescuing a child from a fire set during a bandit raid. Her death has left Will consumed by grief and revenge.

Also known as Horace

First appears in chapter 8

A celebrated knight, Cassandra's husband, and Maddie's father. Usually direct and good-humored, he is troubled by his daughter's defiance and by Will's refusal to step back from his private hunt.

Also known as Evanlyn

First appears in chapter 8

The crown princess of Araluen, Horace's wife, and Maddie's mother. She loves her daughter but believes that palace indulgence has encouraged Maddie's reckless behavior, so she accepts an unusually demanding plan for changing it.

Also known as Halt

First appears in chapter 10

Will's former mentor, now retired from active Ranger duty. Halt remains perceptive and practical, and he sees that Will needs a responsibility stronger than his desire for vengeance.

First appears in chapter 10

Halt's wife and a senior diplomat. Calm and observant, she joins the effort to help both Will and Maddie and supports the proposal that connects their problems.

First appears in chapter 10

The commandant of the Ranger Corps and an old friend of Will. He must balance concern for Will with his duty to stop a Ranger from conducting an uncontrolled personal campaign.

First appears in chapter 16

The ruthless leader of an outlaw band that raids isolated settlements and abducts children. Will believes Ruhl ordered the fire in which Alyss died and has made finding him a personal mission.

First appears in chapter 2

Will's sure-footed Ranger horse, trained to respond to subtle commands and to work as his partner on long journeys and dangerous pursuits.

First appears in chapter 24

The Ranger horse assigned to Maddie during her apprenticeship. Like other Ranger horses, Bumper is intelligent, steady, and trained for close cooperation with a rider.