Thank you so very much to the lovely Something Spiffy, who helped me figure out the dates! I live in America, and there weren't any fancy-schmancy dates or maps in our books! But apparently there are in Australia, so Something Spiffy helped clear it up for me! Thank you!

Also, some other minor edits: I typed "Halt Treaty" the first time. Whoops. And other grammatical things, nothing else huge. I did originally type this all in one shot very late at night the first time. (But when does anyone do anything NOT late at night?)

"Good morning, class. Please pull out your history books and open them to page thirty-three. We'll start off with chapter four this morning," started the teacher. She had long, auburn hair and looked quite professional. "Can anyone read the chapter title?" She stood at the front of the class and peered around the class, deciding which student to choose. "Yes, Skinner, you please."

Skinner cleared his throat before starting. "History of Araluen: The 600s."

"Thank you, Skinner."

Skinner sat back in his seat, glowing at his teacher's praise. He always enjoyed being called on, especially when he knew the answer.

"Who are some of the 'important figures'?" asked the teacher, referring to the box with important historical figures bolded within it. "Susan, please."

"William Treaty, Halt O'Carrick, and Horace Altman," her voice rang clearly.

"Yes, thank you. Let's read the next paragraph, shall we?" she said, smiling. "Halt O'Carrick was one of the most famous members of the Ranger Corps in the mid 600s. He accomplished many things during his service for King Duncan I, including defeating Morgarath's Wargals with a cavalry force during the battle of Hackham Heath.

"Do you all remember that battle? We read about it in the previous chapter." Seeing the nods of her students, the teacher continued, "He also bred the special Ranger horses still seen roaming wildly today. He is credited with the mentorship of William Treaty, one of the most famous members of the Rangers Corps as well."

"Ma'am?"

"Yes, Sean?"

"Well, I was just wondering…what were the Ranger Corps again?"

"Does someone wish to answer Sean's question?" asked the teacher politely.

"The Ranger Corps was a secret society of men who defended Araluen in the middle ages. They were founded during King…Herbert's reign and were reformed by Halt O'Carrick. They were an intelligence force and also a type of police. There were fifty-one, one for each fief of Araluen."

"Great job, Skinner. Very impressive. Does that clear it up, Sean?"

Sean nodded affirmatively.

"William Treaty was raised an orphan in the ward of Castle Redmont, his home fief. His father died in the battle at Hackham Heath, saving Halt's life. Pretty interesting, huh?

"At the age of fifteen, in 664, he started his apprenticeship with Halt O'Carrick. Do you guys want to hear a cool fact?" After a dramatic pause, she said, full of a passion that only teachers can have, "He didn't even want to be a Ranger at first."

A few students gasped collectively, and a few even shouted "What?"

"Mm-hmm," said the teacher. "He wanted to be a knight but was too small. Has something similar ever happened to any of you?"

"W-Well, my daddy said that I can't drive his car till I get bigger," puffed Seamus. "But I wanna drive it now!"

"Very good," laughed the teacher. "Now, when Treaty was only fifteen, he killed one of the two Kalkara in Araluen. It's thanks to him that there aren't any left in Araluen today. If you look at page thirty-four, you can see a picture of what historians think a Kalkara might have looked like, though many aren't sure." The teacher paused while her students poured over the glossy pages of their history books, eyes widening as they saw a picture of the gruesome Kalkara.

"Treaty also prevented Morgarath from re-entering Araluen by burning a bridge built over Three Step Pass in the south. One of his most famous accomplishments, and also his namesake, was the treaty he discussed between Araluens and Skandians after the Skandian-Temujai war in 667. This treaty prevented Skandians from raiding in large parties in Araluen, and is one of the reasons we have good relations with them today. Does anyone know what the ancient treaty has been amended as?"

"The Monteferri Parley?" asked one of her students.

"Hm?" she questioned back. She couldn't stand a lack of confidence from her students. Either be completely wrong or completely right, she always said.

"The Monteferri Parley," repeated the student, firmly this time.

"Exactly," she said.

"Ma'am?"

"Yes?"

"What does…Horace A-Altman have to do with this?"

"Ah, you're jumping the gun, Timothy. We're getting to that right now. In fact, would you like to read the next paragraph for us?"

Timothy blushed, but did as he was told. "H-Horace Altman was also a w-ward in Castle Redmont. He was friends with Treaty and became a ka-nit? Kit?-"

"Knight," said the teacher.

"Knight," continued Timothy, "alongside Treaty. He went on many missions with Treaty and O'Carrick, and is credited with the assassination of Morgarath. He is one of the most famous warriors of medieval times."

"Ma'am?" asked Susan.

"Yes, Susan?"

"Were they really all connected?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well, um…I mean, they're all connected." She squirmed uncomfortably, not exactly sure how to word what she was thinking. "Halt was Will's mentor, and they were the two best Rangers…and the two best Rangers just happened to be friends with the best warrior? And they all worked together?" she asked incredulously, doubting the legitimacy of her textbook.

"Yes, as incredible as it seems, they all knew each other and worked alongside each other for many years."

"Ma'am?"

"Yes, Susan?"

"What happened to them?"

"That's a very good question. I've read that Halt married a woman named Pauline. Will married another ward named Alyss, his childhood friend-" the class erupted in 'aww's, "-and had three kids. However, no one is quite sure what happened. It seems as if he and Halt simply disappeared. There's no mention of them after the year 679, although I am sure they lived longer than that. Horace, however, has been recorded many times afterwards. He married the Princess Cassandra, and therefore became crown Prince of Araluen in 676. They had four children. He knighted forty-seven men during his reign, a record. He served in twenty-nine battles and wars. He died when he was fifty-three, in Castle Redmont, where he was born. His funeral crowd was huge; about three thousand people were recorded to have been there."

Her class was silent, sitting in awe of the lesson they had just heard.

"Any more questions? No? Then you may go to recess."

The noisy scrape of plastic chairs on linoleum rang throughout the class as the children stood up from their desks to go outside and play.

"Rawwr, I'm a Kalkara," said Timothy.

"You don't stand a chance against me! I'm William Treaty!" said Susan, puffing out her chest. "I'm gonna shoot you with my bow and arrow!"

"Oh, come save me!" cried another girl.

"Don't worry, I've got you!" shouted Skinner, pretending to be Horace. He wielded an imaginary sword, hacking and swiping throughout the air, smashing potential enemies at every turn.

The teacher chuckled to herself as she sat grading the history tests. Her students could be so silly, and she loved the imagination and creativity they all possessed.