Guardians of Ga'Hoole 07 - The Hatchling

GA’HOOLE
The Hatchling
    The Band
    SOREN: Barn Owl, Tyto alba, from the Forest Kingdom of Tyto; escaped from St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls; a Guardian at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    GYLFIE: Elf Owl, Micranthene whitneyi, from the desert kingdom of Kuneer; escaped from St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls; Soren’s best friend; a Guardian at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    TWILIGHT: Great Gray Owl, Strix nebulosa, free flier, orphaned within hours of hatching; a Guardian at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    DIGGER: Burrowing Owl, Speotyto cunicularius, from the desert kingdom of Kuneer; lost in the desert after attackin which his brother was killed by owls from St. Aegolius; a Guardian at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    The Leaders of the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    BORON: Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca, the King of Hoole
    BARRAN: Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca, the Queen of Hoole
    EZYLRYB: Whiskered Screech Owl, Otus trichopsis, the wise weather-interpretation and colliering ryb (teacher) at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree; Soren’s mentor (also known as LYZE OF KIEL)
    STRIX STRUMA: Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis, the dignified navigation ryb at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree; killed in the battle against the Pure Ones
    SYLVANA: Burrowing Owl, Speotyto cunicularius, a young ryb at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    Others at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    OTULISSA: Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis, a student of prestigious lineage at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree, ryb of Ga’Hoolology
    MARTIN: Northern Saw-whet Owl, Aegolius acadicus, in Ezylryb’s chaw with Soren
    RUBY: Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus, in Ezylryb’s chaw with Soren
    EGLANTINE: Barn Owl, Tyto alba, Soren’s younger sister
    MADAME PLONK: Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca, the elegant singer of the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    BUBO: Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus, the blacksmith of the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    MRS. PLITHIVER: Blind snake, formerly the nest-maid for Soren’s family; now a member of the harp guild at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    OCTAVIA: Kielian snake, nest-maid for Madame Plonk and Ezylryb (also known as BRIGID)
    The Pure Ones
    KLUDD: Barn Owl, Tyto alba, Soren’s older brother; slain leader of the Pure Ones (also known as METAL BEAK and HIGH TYTO)
    NYRA: Barn Owl, Tyto alba, Kludd’s mate, leader of the Pure Ones after Kludd’s death
    NYROC: Barn Owl, Tyto alba, son born to Nyra and Kludd after Kludd’s death, in training to become High Tyto, leader of the Pure Ones
    DUSTYTUFT: Greater Sooty Owl, Tyto tenebricosa, low-caste owl in the Pure Ones, friend of Nyroc since his hatching (also known as PHILLIP)
    WORTMORE: Barn Owl, Tyto alba, a Pure One lieutenant
    UGLAMORE: Barn Owl, Tyto alba, a Pure One sub-lieutenant under Nyra
    STRYKER: Barn Owl, Tyto alba, a Pure One commander under Nyra
    Other Characters
    GWYNDOR: Masked Owl, Tyto novaehollandiae, a Rogue smith summoned by the Pure Ones for the Marking ceremony over Kludd’s bones

A peek at
THE GUARDIANS of GA’HOOLE
Book Eight: The Outcast

    N yroc had the eerie sensation of someone watching him, following him perhaps. He now realized he had felt this since first arriving at the sycamore tree. And when he had been by the lakeside, almost swallowed by despair, in the back of his tattered gizzard he had sensed this presence watching. But he had been too distraught to care.
    Now, as Nyroc approached the sycamore, he noticed a curious green glow emanating from the hollow. Cautiously, he poked his head in, then gasped in disbelief. Two luminous, bright green snakes were suspended by their tails from a ridge in the hollow. Nest-maids? No, these are not the nest-maid snakes he’d heard civilized owls often had. They can’t be.
    The snakes’ eyes glittered turquoise. Their fangs were long. Nest-maids would never have such fangs! Nyroc thought. Their tongues flicked about as if tasting the air, and they were the strangest tongues imaginable. They were forked like most snakes’ tongues, but one side was pale ivory and the other was crimson. It suddenly dawned on Nyroc! He knew what kind of snakes these were. His mother had spoken of them. He had heard her talking about them to her top lieutenant, Stryker. She had wanted to recruit these snakes for a special elite unit in the Pure Ones. These were the flying snakes of Ambala. The most venomous snakes in the world!
    “She sent you, didn’t she?” Nyroc asked.
    “Yesssssss,” one hissed.
    “I knew she would find me one way or the other,” Nyroc whispered. “Here.” He stepped