*Please note that I started writing this before The Lost Stories came out, and it will be written as if it never had. :)

Prologue

He grinned evilly, looking over the soon-to-be destroyed Araluen from the highest point in the Mountains of Rain and Night. The man had taken a liking to the place; it gave him a view of all of Castle Araluen and even a few surrounding cities. This – of course – gave him the ability to spy on the general public. He couldn't see clearly enough to learn the King's plans, but he could see if large groups of people left or came. Besides, soon his far-range looking glass would be complete. Once he had it he could scheme. He would plan his revenge.

It really was a brilliant plan. None of them even remembered him. But they would.

He just needed to spy. Or a spy, perhaps...

"Pardon me my lord? May I ask you what you would like for dinner?" His newest slave snapped him out of his thoughts.

He turned his head, eyes turning red and fist clenching. Only an ameatuer would even consider talking to this master first. Such an act of disrespect was uncalled for.

The slave noticed his mistake too late.

His eyes widened and he took a step back, intimidated.

"Have you learned nothing this past week?" The rage in the man's voice was obvious.

The slave was not sure whether he should answer or just stay silent. He chose the latter.

"Clearly not." The man took a step closer to the boy. He must have been no older than sixteen.

The man's voice softened a bit, but the anger was still clear. "What was your name again, boy?"

The slave could barely answer. "David, sir." He paused, then quickly added, "Your honor, my lord."

The man studied the boy. He had slightly curly dirty blonde hair that reached his ears, a strong jaw, and hazel eyes. He had enough muscle to farm, yet not quite enough to be a good, strong knight. But that could be improved. The boy seemed harworking enough.

"I'll make note of that. Be gone." David scurried away, tripping over his own feet. That will need to be fixed.

The man was smart. He hurt and frightened his slaves enough for them to know who was in charge. But he didn't kill them. He needed lots of men if he was to properly destroy Araluen. Men who knew what could be done to them if they didn't follow their orders.

The man in the black cloak smirked at his own brilliance and turned back around to look over Araluen. Soon. Soon.

"My lord? Your thoughts?"

The man in black looked up from his wine glass. He liked his wine dark red. Blood red. "Yes, yes, of course. Your idea is good, but I believe the Araluen army will be expecting something like that. We need more allies. Skandians won't work. Ever since that stupid Ranger became friends with them and made that treaty. It's too bad; they're strong and there are a lot of them. Temujai, maybe? That's a possibility, but they may be too smart. With them involved, this could very well become a war triangle. Who else…"

"My lord? What about Hibernians?"

"I'm not sure. The-" He paused. "The man might have friends there. And friends could likely mean allies to the kingdom. However, if we succeed in getting rid of him before the war, it might be a possibility. There must be at least a few men who would be willing to help. Perhaps we could even get a few Genovesans. They would be very useful."

"When do you believe we will have enough new Wargals?" said the Commander.

"I'm not quite sure. Around a year?" He turned to his breeder. "It was good of you to decide to mate them with female wolves. Now they are even more hideous than before."

"Thank you, my lord. And they can reproduce. Almost as fast as rabbits!" He grinned, but the man in black returned it with a scowl. It was not a time for smiling.

"I believe we will surround them, but with five separate armies this time. Soon they will be forced to surrender. However, I truly hope they don't. I would much prefer many deaths." He glanced away, his fist clenched. "To the Ranger that created the treaty with the Skandians. And that blonde boy who killed…" The man in black trailed off. He turned back to face his council. "And especially that Ranger, the one who survived the Kalkara." His scowl darkened. "Him. Him most of all."

"Lord Foldar, my lord, may we complete this discussion tomorrow?

Foldar glanced into the distance, through a window, at Araluen. An idea was already forming in his mind. "Yes. Yes we will."

Now do you see what I mean about 'pretending The Lost Stories doesn't exist?' I seriously came up with the idea, though. :D Still… do you think I started it off well? If not I can change it! PLEASE review! (No flames please, but I would like advice! This is my first fanfic! EVER! I kinda want people to read it and like it. I will post Chapter 1 as soon as possible, cuz this one's so short and it's only the prologue... and I already have Chapter 1 written… And for those of you who were wondering, I WILL make the other chapters longer! Oh, and I don't own RA. I am not John Flanagan! He owns Ranger's Apprentice. I just write fanfictions. Not a famous author. Yet. ;)