Guardians of Ga'Hoole 15 - The War of the Ember

gadfeathers began to sing their song blending with that of the wolves.
    “My king,” a sweet familiar voice said. It was Pelli.
    “Just your mate, my dear. That is all I need be in your eyes.” Soren saw his own reflection in the dark mirrors of Pelli’s eyes. His white face soot-streaked. A nick out of his tarnished beak. “A grimy old mate at that,” he added.
    “Oh, no, as fresh and gleaming as a long night in the time of the White Rain, Soren.”

Epilogue
    I n a hollow high up on the northwest side of the great tree, formerly the hollow of its most distinguished ryb, Ezylryb, Otulissa perched over the writing table while Cleve poked at the fire in the grate. She picked up a feather freshly plucked from her port wing. The port ones seemed to grow the best quills for writing. It was up to her now. She had been appointed the official historian of the tree. Dipping the point into the ink, she began to write.
AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT
THE WAR OF THE EMBER
    Before I begin a detailed narrative of the causes leading up to this war, with its strategies and tactics, permit me, dear reader, a few more personal comments on war itself. Many think of war as an exercise in tactical deployment, weapons, and training. War as work, in the grittiest and most mundane sense. Others think it a blood-drenched glamorous drama. But I would like to suggest that war is something else. It is perhaps essentially mysterious, for it requires courage in ways that are not only extraordinary but ultimately inspiring. An ordinary owl is suddenly called upon to do extraordinary things, and this the owl does! How is that explained? Perhaps in years to come, owls and other creatures might visit that battleground in Beyond the Beyond where this War of the Ember was fought and our good King Coryn perished along with many other animals—ordinary animals who died courageously, as well. So I ask you, who are strangers to me, to pass on this truth: Tell all that pause at that hallowed ground, that here lie Guardians. For Guardians they all were, be they owls, wolves, seagulls, puffins, bears, snakes, or crows. They came together in the dark and fearsome glare of three cursed nights to fight and to die obedient to the oaths of the Great Ga’Hoole Tree. Have them know that this tree is no myth, though a mystery it may be, for the courage it has inspired in all creatures of this world. Remind them that in those long nights at the end of the time we call the Copper-Rose Rain, there was an order of owls led by a brave king that rose to perform noble deeds and were joined by all manner of creatures both of land and air and sea who fought bravely, side by side, for the good of all.

OWLS
and others
from the
GUARDIANS OF GA’HOOLE SERIES
    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 and close advisor to the King
    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 and ryb of the navigation chaw
    TWILIGHT: Great Gray Owl, Strix nebulosa, free flier, orphaned within hours of hatching; Guardian at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    DIGGER: Burrowing Owl, Speotyto cunicularius, from the desert kingdom of Kuneer; lost in desert after attack in which his brother was killed by owls from St. Aegolius; Guardian at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    The Leaders of the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    CORYN: Barn Owl, Tyto alba, the young king of the great tree; son of Nyra, leader of the Pure Ones
    EZYLRYB: Whiskered Screech Owl, Otus trichopsis, Soren’s former mentor, the wise, much-loved, departed ryb at the great Ga’Hoole Tree
    Others at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    OTULISSA: Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis, chief ryb and ryb of Ga’Hoolology and weather chaws; an owl of great learning and prestigious lineage
    MARTIN: Northern Saw-whet Owl, Aegolius acadicus, member of the Chaw of Chaws; a Guardian at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    RUBY: Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus, member of the Chaw of Chaws; a Guardian at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree
    EGLANTINE: Barn Owl, Tyto alba, Soren’s younger sister
    MADAME PLONK: Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca, the elegant singer 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