This fanfic takes place after the first book, I guess, but before the second. All that matters is that Will's still a newby apprentice and hasn't been kidnapped and taken to Skandia.

Just to get this straight, the credit for this idea goes to my ninja brother. He was talking about Ranger's Apprentice and said something like, "There should be real magic in that series, because everyone already thinks that the Rangers are black magicians." Which totally had me rushing off to jot down this new idea. ^_^ Enjoy… I hope.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. Get it, got it? Good.

Halt shivered. It was cold here, where they had made their camp. He and Will were on a short trip, and with winter in the air, Halt's Ranger cloak wasn't enough to keep him warm during his watch at night. He glanced over at where Will was sleeping. The boy's unmanageable hair was ruffled from the cowl of his cloak. He had himself wrapped tightly in his blankets, and Halt felt a flash of envy at how warm he looked, sleeping in snug blankets right next to the still-warm coals from their dinner fire. The older Ranger shivered again.

Halt felt like he was going to freeze. He could probably… No, Will still didn't know. Doing anything that brought suspicion would bring unwanted questions. He glanced sideways at Will again. He was deep in sleep. He wouldn't even see. Halt gritted his teeth and forced his mind away from that line of thought. Or, at least, he tried to.

An extra cold gust of wind blew through his cloak and Halt shuddered violently. He seriously needed some warmth. He sighed softly, then looked over at Will for the third time in as many minutes, just for absolute confirmation that he was asleep. He was.

Halt reached into the back of his mind carefully, summoning up what little Power he needed at the moment. He thought of what he needed that Power to be, being specific. He didn't want to deal with mistakes and their repercussions at the moment. He felt the heat rise up in his throat and he cupped his hands in front of his mouth. He breathed out slowly through his teeth, the soft, thin thread of flames flickering out between his lips into his hands. The heat coated his palms and fingers. He kept blowing into his cupped hands until the heat had layered up to almost an inch thick.

That should be good enough, he thought. He smeared the heat onto his arms, savoring the warmth as it touched his cold arms. Satisfied for the moment, he covered himself back in his Ranger cloak and resumed his watch.

Eleven minutes later, the heat had dissipated and he was cold again.

He growled lowly in frustration. Eleven minutes? It should have lasted fifteen. But then, the Power of fire wasn't one of his strongest suits. He was much better with the Powers of shadow and earth. Unfortunately, they didn't much help one stay warm on a cold night. Unlike Halt, Gilan probably could have kept his heat going for a full twenty minutes.

He glanced over at Will. Still peacefully sleeping. So trusting, so innocent. And someday very soon I'll have to break that innocence. Unless he leaves soon and unexpectedly. But Halt knew that he wouldn't. He already had the bronze Oakleaf, and he thought that he belonged firmly in the Ranger Corps. Halt felt a twinge of guilt. Technically, he shouldn't have given the bronze pendant to his apprentice yet. He'd said that he didn't think anyone in the Corps would argue with him after the Kalkara, but in truth, quite a few of them would have. It was the mostly unspoken but very much recognized top rule of having an apprentice. If they couldn't handle the truth, they couldn't handle the Oakleaf. Halt hadn't yet tested Will with the truth.

Rumors flew around the common folk, and among a few of the more ignorant nobility as well, that the Rangers were black magicians. Which they weren't.

They were just normal Magicians.

Nearly a quarter of perspective apprentices couldn't accept the fact that the Rangers could use the Powers. They were sworn to secrecy and let go. The Corps wasn't a place for anyone who feared the usage of the Powers. Some just ran and avoided all other Rangers at all costs. Some tried to get away with spreading the truth. If that was the case, then a Ranger would pay them a visit. They generally shut up after that, though this breach of security is what initially started the whisperings of black magic. In fact, in one very extreme case a little over eight years ago, the Ranger Corps had actually been forced to kill an apprentice with a major case of denial. It was the first and only time so far in one hundred and fifty years of history that it had happened in the Corps.

Halt sighed and glanced at Will yet again. How would he take it? Would he be one of the ones who ran? Or would he stay to become a Ranger? It was Gilan's apprenticeship all over again. In the days before he had told the lanky Ranger, Halt had been abnormally distraught, hoping nearly frantically that his apprentice could accept it. Needless to say, he had. Will had a similar personality, so Halt thought it was likely that he could accept the truth of the Powers. However, that didn't stop Halt from sweating over it.

He shivered.

Well, 'sweating' was a purely metaphorical term.

Halt pushed it all out of his mind and concentrated solely on his watch. With the thoughts out of his head, however, he felt the cold more keen to his body. He checked briefly to ensure that Will was still out cold, then drew upon the Power of fire to warm himself again.

That chapter kind of stuttered to a sudden halt… But I guess it wasn't really a chapter, it was basically just an introduction to get you a little used to the whole Power thingy. A prologue, I guess.

Okay, I promise that I WILL NOT update until I get at least three or more reviews saying that I should continue. I don't even have the whole plot line for this yet and I don't want to waste the brain power thinking about it if no one actually wants to read this. This just sprouted from one of my ninja brother's crazy ideas, so I'm not that committed to it. I've also got a couple other random ideas floating around in my head, so if I don't do this fanfic I'll just move on to the next one. So, pretty please review.

-Rydd Rider