Horace Altman

In the Ward
Horace was the bully of the ward. He was always trying to pick a fight with Will, if it was a physical fight, it would usually end up with Will climbing high into a tree and not letting Horace get to him. If it was a fight with words, Will would usually win, but it would end up with Horace chasing Will until he got up into the tree.

As an Apprentice
In his first year as a Battleschool apprentice, Horace, unlike in the ward, was the victim of the bullying. He excelled in the sword training of Battleschool, which was recognized by Sir Rodney, The Battlemaster, but he was struggling in the educational part of Battleschool. Sir Rodney did not know he was being bullied, but he was concerned when he saw unexplainable bruises on Horace's body. Horace thought the bullying was a normal part of Battleschool life, so he never tried to stop it or tell on the people who were bullying him. One day, after they heard that Will had saved Horace's life from a charging boar, the bullies said that Horace had brought shame to The Battleschool, so they beat up Horace, then set out for Will. Horace tried to stop them, but he couldn't. Finally, Halt saw what was happening and helped teach them a lesson. He disarmed them and let them face Horace in one on one combat. Without the advantage that they usually had, Three on One, they fell hopelessly to Horace's skills in combat. Later they were kicked out of Battleschool and banished from Araluen. After that, Horace was exceling in all of his classes. After fighting against the Temujai (Book 4: The Battle for Skandia), with only 2 years of training out of the required 4, he was dubbed a knight, order of the Oakleaf, and appointed to the Araluen Castle Guard.