Guardians of Ga'Hoole 11 - To Be a King

the Battle of the Short Light and the Long Night and, in the telling, you shall be remembered from this day to the ending of the world.
    “So once more into the breach, dear friends, to halt that rotting from within, or close the gaps in those sickly walls with our dead. I say to you that in peace there is nothing that becomes an owl as much as a quiet stillness and humility, but when the roar of war blasts in our ears, let us stiffen our wings and fly with a hardened rage.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Into the Short Light
    A nd so they waited for the Short Light. Waited through the thick darkness of the night and then the thinning of the black into deep gray. They watched as that gray dissolved, becoming a pale transparence before the dawn. Hoole swiveled his head toward the east and watched as a blush crept over the horizon. The pink reddened and the sky became hectic with color as the sun began to rise. He could feel the tension of his army. He counted quietly to himself and at precisely one hundred twenty-two seconds after the sun was over the horizon, Namara leaped high into the air. The sun flared off her silver coat. This was the signal.
    “Hi-yaaaa!” Hoole roared. First off the ridge were the Hot Claws of Hoole, commanded by the king himself, then the Sivian Guard led by Strix Strumajen. Next came the Ice Regiment of H’rath, captained by Lord Rathnik. The other squads, platoons, and regiments followed. All flew low so as not to block the fiery blades ofthe sun from the enemies’ eyes. A ranger owl slid in next to Hoole. “Your Majesty, Theo and a small squadron have been spotted coming from the south.”
    Hoole was tempted to look south, but he could not let himself be distracted. He and his forces had the advantage now. He could see the enemy troops in chaos. Even the hagsfiends were having trouble mustering a fyngrot in the growing brightness of the Short Light. Hoole knew that he and his troops must not squander the advantage bestowed by the sunrise. The enemy would fly out and then, blasted by the glare, come to ground where the Sky Dogs—the wolves and the tiny owls of the Frost Beaks—would attack. While training the troops on the island, Hoole tried to adapt some of the strategies that the wolves practiced for his owl armies, in particular, the subtle signaling system used by the wolves in their byrrgis formations. Hoole cocked his tail feathers and that signal swept through the Hoolian troops. The army split into four divisions and took command of four strategic ridges, two of which had been occupied by the enemy. On these four ridges, Hoole’s troops would rest and reinforce. Scouts were sent out to count the dead and collect discarded ice weapons. The report was promising. The hagsfiends’ fyngrot had been useless in the glare of the Short Light, and now scores of hagsfiends lay dead. Lord Arrin’s troops had been pushedback farther than Hoole had dared hope for, but they were still a threat, not yet near full retreat. In the Long Night to come, Hoole knew that the battle would rage on. Hoole touched the vial with the ember. He could feel its glow. Magic will not win a battle, he thought. But magic might restore the Ice Palace of his forebears, the once magnificent structure that appeared to be in watery shambles. What had taken a thousand N’yrthghar winters to build, from warping winds, raging blizzards, and ice storms, had collapsed within a few short cycles of the moon. Hoole blinked as he saw a lone owl in a jagged flight over the last standing turret. “Who is that mad owl?” Hoole spoke to himself.
    “My brother, sir,” Theo said.
    “Theo!” Hoole was stunned. “Theo, you are here!”
    “Yes, my squadron is on that next ridge.” He indicated with a twitch of his head.
    “And that owl you say is your brother?” Hoole did not even know that Theo had a brother.
    “Yes, he took over the Ice Palace with a ragtag army of idiots and hagsfiends. He is completely mad. He tried to kill me. He is the cause of the rotting ice.”
    Hoole touched the vial and felt once more its heat.
    “By the way,” Theo began, obviously wanting to change the subject, “your lessons from the wolves are good ones.”
    “I’m glad.”
    “We are using the byrrgis formation and the wolves’ signaling system. Oh, I nearly forgot. I have found Emerilla. I must tell Strix Strumajen. She saved my life, you know.”
    “What?” Hoole was thoroughly confused. “You found Emerilla? She saved your life?