Guardians of Ga'Hoole 10 - The Coming of Hoole

stirred in late winter or in the Southern Kingdoms when an anthill is disturbed and the grains of dirt begin their minute writhing as the ants flee. But this movement was not that of ice worms or ants. It was a seedling pushing from the ground.
    “Uncle Grank.”
    “Yes, lad?”
    “You’re wrong.”
    “Wrong about what, Hoole?”
    “This island is not bare. There are living things here.”
    “What?” Grank, Theo, and Phineas all asked at once.
    “A tree is starting to grow. Right here.”
    The others came to where Hoole was standing and peered down. Between his feet a small green sprout pushed up from the earth. As soon as it was clear of the dirt, its top sprung up.
    “By Glaux! I believe it’s a seedling tree,” Grank murmured.
    “Look, it’s growing so fast!” Phineas said. “It’s almost as tall as I am.”
    “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Grank gasped. “I don’t know how it’s possible for a tree to grow so quickly. Oh, dear. I hope it’s not some nachtmagen.”
    The seedling seemed to tremble at the sound of the word.
    “Oh, no!” Hoole said. “Never nachtmagen. This is a good tree…It has…Ga’, Uncle Grank. Yes, Ga’.”
    “But only owls have Ga’,” Theo said.
    “No. Not just owls. This tree has Ga’,” Hoole said firmly.
    By the time they left, the tree was almost as tall as Hoole. Oddly enough, as soon as they flew out to sea the fog closed in thickly, leaving no trace of island or tree. When they were far way from the island and approaching Cape Glaux, which jutted out into the Southern Sea, unbeknownst to them the tree was larger than either Grank or Theo.
    From Cape Glaux they set course almost due north for the Beyond, even though this was not the most favorable direction in terms of the wind. But Grank wanted to avoid the more populated areas in the Shadow Forest and Silverveil and in particular any grog trees where owls gathered to drink the potent berry juice and to exchange gossip and news. The fewer owls they saw, the better.
    Hoole was disappointed. He had wanted very much to see the beautiful green forests of Silverveil that he had heard about from Berwyck, and he had even hoped to meet up once again with the Glauxian Brother.
    They fetched up for the night on the very edge of the Shadow Forest that pressed hard against a spirit woods. This was not an ideal place, either, for spirit woods were said to be haunted by the scrooms of dead owls who had not quite finished their business on earth. Grank would have to keep a close eye on the young’un.
    That morning they settled into a hollow in a fir tree. It had definitely seen one too many storms and as it creaked violently in the least wind, Grank had an uneasy feeling in his gizzard.
    “Now, you stay put, lad. No getting up, no sneaking out for a little morning flight. You need your rest. Remember, when we get to the Beyond, you’ll need all your energy.”
    “Yes, Uncle Grank. You’re going to teach me to collier, aren’t you?”
    “I promised, didn’t I?”
    “That you did.”
    But it was more than colliering that Grank wanted to teach Hoole in the Beyond. He needed to teach the young’un about the wolves. He would need Fengo’s help for that. And Fengo must also teach Hoole how to listen to the various sounds of the volcanoes. Each one of the five volcanoes produced a variety of different sounds. It was not unlike the ice harps that the gadfeathers played, that were said to have their moods depending on the time of day, the weather, the time of the year. So, too, the volcanoes seemed to have their moods. Grank himself had been hopeless in interpreting them. He now looked back on that day that he had retrieved the ember as one of pureaccident. Yes, the side of the volcano had seemed to turn transparent and suddenly it was as if he could see into the very heart, the gizzard, of this one volcano. He spied the ember as it had bubbled to the surface. Quickly, he made a dive for it and as soon as he grasped the ember he had felt its power.
    But for Grank, it had been too powerful, and a strange interlude ensued in which he grew lethargic and uncaring. For all of the ember’s power, Grank had failed to exploit or use any of it. He was simply overcome, and finally Fengo told him plainly that he was not equal to the power of the ember and urged him to put the ember back. Later, the wolf had said that he was eternally grateful that the ember was retrieved by a good owl like Grank and not an evil