Okay, so this fic is a collaboration between AmazingWriter123 and my wonderful self. Basically, I'm writing Blake's POV chapters and AW123 is writing Gilan's chapters.

I'm so excited, we're having a lot of fun doing this! Which means that we'll be able to write faster! Maybe, both of us are really busy all the time.

Anyways, this is my first chapter. You can probably (hopefully) tell just from reading this, but I don't know. Not everyone is smart.

Also READ THIS EVEN IF YOU SKIP THE ABOVE! We need a better title for this story. Neither of us can think of a good one and we really want this fic to have a great title. Yeah.

"Is it difficult being his apprentice?" Ann-Marie asked her older brother. Blake had been apprenticed to the ranger Gilan for about a year, and a part of her was jealous. Another part of her was amazed Blake could stand it, being in the presence of a ranger all day. They were mysterious, awe-inspiring people, and Gilan was the best, or close to it.

"Sometimes," Blake admitted. "Half the time I think there's no way I'll ever be good enough. But there are times, when I succeed, that I feel like I'm fully capable of being there, one day."

"Like when?" Ann-Marie asked, looking at her brother expectantly.

"There was one time, about two months ago, when all the kidnappings were happening, remember? Children disappearing, but also animals, and crops too."

Ann-Marie slowly shook her head.

"Well, I guess you're a bit young for all that. But Gilan and I, we hunted them down.

"Who were they? Slavers?"

Blake hesitated for a moment, before deciding that Ann-Marie was eleven, which was perfectly old enough to be hearing about such things. "They were a cult, all of them deeply immersed in dark arts."

"Did they know magic?"

Okay, maybe he'd been wrong about her being old enough. "Of course not! Magic isn't real." Blake paused for a moment. "They certainly were a bunch of crazies, though."

"Well, they certainly couldn't have been much of a challenge for both of you."

Blake half-smiled. "They were a bit trickier than we'd assumed. We blundered into their camp, thinking slavers at most. Then we heard them chanting.

"Do you hear that?" Blake hissed at Gilan. The two were crouching in the shadows near the edge of the camp. With their cloaks camouflaging them, they were nearly invisible.

"Impossible not to," Gilan hissed back. His face had become very grim since he'd first heard them.

After a few moments of consideration, Gilan motioned for Blake to retreat back into the woods.

"I wasn't expecting this. I wasn't expecting this at all," Gilan said, while pacing around their camp. Blake watched, one eyebrow cocked.

"I don't understand, what were they doing?"

"Summoning, maybe? I don't know. Something dark, though. Something very…dark."

Blake got to his feet. "So that was some sort of ceremony we heard?"

Gilan nodded.

"But what about the people they kidnapped? They could be doing some sort of sacrifice! We should have attacked then, and saved all those people!

"We can't just barge in with our arrows. With ordinary slavers the plan I had would have worked. Now it's an entirely different situation. We need an entirely different plan."

"Right." Blake said, sitting back down. "Wait, what's so different about these people that we can't 'just barge in with our arrows?'"

Gilan closed his eyes. "They're a cult. More strength as a team than slavers, probably better trained, too. Plus there'll most likely be women and children in their camp. Messed up, crazy women and children, but women and children just the same. Then there's the fact that most cults fight better after dark."

"Why would they fight better after dark? Wouldn't they have trouble seeing?"

Gilan shrugged. "Just a statistic."

Blake sighed. "That's not really a great answer, Gilan."

"No, but it's the best I've got."

And there you have it! First chapter! Next one goes to AW123!