Will Stanton

"I will tell you only this: that you are one of the Old Ones, the first to have been born for five hundred years, and the last."

The Dark is Rising of The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper

Description

At age 11, Will Stanton is the last of the Old Ones fighting for the Light. He finds this out on his birthday as he also learns his task: to seek out the six signs of power and restore them in the fight against the rising Dark.

Even though he knows things such as magic, he is the sign-seeker and so his role would be to find important things in the fight against the Dark. Thus, I have labeled him a scout as that's one of the scout's primary functions: moving things around.

 

Character classes

Sign Seeker

Things wait for Will to arrive and find them. Until he arrives, they remain hidden or useless.

Old One

The Old Ones have fought the Dark in the depths of the past, and hope to end the fight in the current day. As an Old One, Will has access to knowledge and skills he otherwise would not have..

 

Abilities

Old Speech

A language that is both the language of magic and language of power.

Start fire

With his thoughts, Will can start and end fires.

Project thoughts and images

This is an ability all Old Ones possess.

Gather the signs

None but Will are able to recover all six signs of Power.

 

Equipment

The Signs of Power

Fire, Water, Iron, Bronze, Wood, Stone. Will keeps the signs on his belt like gigantic belt buckles holding his pants up.

The Book of Gramarye

A book of knowledge that Will reads to learn the proper words and spells. He is the final Old One to read its knowledge.

Allies

The Light

People fighting for this vague concept of Good, or what is right.

Merriman Lyon

Will's mentor.

 

Enemies

The Rider

A leader among the Dark, he travels the land tempting others into serving the Dark.

rooks

Commonly known (among the Old Ones, at least) as spies for the Dark.

Maggie Barnes

Twisted into serving the Dark.

The Walker

After feeling betrayed by Merriman, The Walker betrays in kind, earning his exile as The Walker.

 

Exploration

England

The entire story takes place in England. What's important, however, is the time. Time shifts both forward and back as the Old Ones shift between times.

 

Quests

Signs

Find the six signs of power

Raise the Hunt

If the Hunter can be raised, the Dark can be delayed by the baying of his hounds and the riding of their master.

 

Credits

Melvyn Grant drew the image for the book cover.

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