Guardians of Ga'Hoole 13 - The River of Wind

to owls who are not from our world. It has to do with consequences due to an owl’s previous actions, their will for power. They failed to realize that to pursue power only for the sake of power is a transgression against all of nature, beginning with their very own as owls, as creatures of the sky and of the earth. And thus it is a violation of all that Glaux has given us. If one pursues such a course,it skews one’s fate. Indeed, they become the victims of power—the power of phonqua.”
    “You mean this is their fate, their destiny?” Otulissa asked.
    Digger felt a quiver in his gizzard. He squinted his eyes. Consequences due to an owl’s previous actions…a transgression against all of nature. The words threaded through his mind. Could these owls be…? No…no. But Digger observed how their feathers, though beautiful, flowed in ragged streams from their bodies. Imagine them , he thought, as black feathers—not turquoise nor sapphire nor sky nor midnight blue—just glistening black. Could these dragon owls in some past generation have been hagsfiends? And perhaps, Digger thought, it is fortunate that they have been made powerless by their very vanity. And would not this pomp and luxury give them the illusion of power? A shiver went through his gizzard, and he even wilfed a bit, which Tengshu noticed.
    “Do not worry, my friend.” The sage turned to Digger. “These owls are perfectly harmless. They are listless, dull of wit. But very vain. All they really care about is preening and living in this beautiful palace. They are like poor invalids. I bring them qui and show them how to make their own. But they are easily bored and distracted. Difficult for them to concentrate long enough to finish a task.”
    None of these words set Digger’s mind at ease. Suppose, the Burrowing Owl’s thoughts continued, that hagsfiends had come to the Middle Kingdom in the wake of Theo. Could it have been Theo’s idea to install them in absolute luxury and distract them with the illusion of power, thus making them essentially harmless? Through some gradual alchemy had their hideous black feathers metamorphosed into this panoply of gorgeous iridescent hues ranging from sea green to turquoise to sapphire? The sage had spoken of the old court and how useless it had become. Digger recalled Tengshu’s words when they first met. Once we did have a court, but it became useless and, in its uselessness, even dangerous. So possibly it was Theo who had given the court another use, another function, and at the same time ensured that it would never be a threat. Was this what had been explained in the Theo Papers as part of the way of noble gentleness? Do not kill your enemies; render them impotent through their own delusions of power.
    “And now,” Tengshu continued. “We must go see the Dowager Empress. It is time for tea. These owls love ceremony and ritual. It fills their nights, passes the time.”
    “Passes the time to what?” Ruby mumbled.
    The flight to the dowager’s quarters in Panqua Palace was not a long one. As they approached, Tengshu nodded toward a large opening in a cliff. It appeared from the outside to be a very ordinary-looking cliff, and theyexpected to fly into a large, very ordinary cave, one such as bats might roost in. But with the first wing beat into the cave such notions were quickly dispelled. Never in their lives had they seen such a dazzling sight. The walls sparkled with threads of glittering rock that wove through patches of exotic stones and crystal formations. “Is this quartz? Mica?” Otulissa wondered aloud. A page with a ten-foot-long train of feathers swept out from what appeared to be a tree entirely composed of pink crystals.
    “Welcome to the Hollow of Benevolence and Forgiveness. The Dowager Empress awaits you.” The page then sidled up to Tengshu. He spoke in rapid Jouzhen, and although Otulissa tried to pick it up, she only understood a little. Tengshu, however, looked alarmed.
    Martin whispered to the others, “I thought everything was always just perfect here—lazy, listless owls. It’s suppose to be glaumora. What’s the problem?”
    “Something about a defection,” Otulissa whispered. “And the Dowager Empress is upset.”
    Tengshu turned to Otulissa. “You’re right, and this is most unusual. The empress is eager to meet you because she feels that since you come from the Five Kingdoms you might know something, or have seen something of this errant