Ranger's Apprentice

John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice follows Will, an orphan taken on as apprentice to Halt, one of the King's Rangers - the archers, trackers and spies who guard the kingdom of Araluen. The two Early Years books, written later, go back to Halt's youth and are set before the main series, and Erak's Ransom, the seventh book, is set between the fourth and fifth.