Lost Tales of Ga'Hoole

Foreword
    Greetings, Dear Readers!
    I come to you not as a monarch, but as an old friend from the Great Ga’Hoole Tree. I write at Otulissa’s request. She asks that I give you news of the tree and introduce the tales she has gathered. And so I shall.
    It seems we have entered a time of blessed peace. The Striga and his vicious Blue Brigade fell in defeat many moon cycles ago. Nyra and the Pure Ones are gone. The dedication to learning fostered at the great tree has spread throughout the kingdoms, bringing with it the fresh breeze of knowledge and banishing the dank residue of ignorance, superstition, and malice. The arts of reading and even writing are no longer rare beyond the tree. Deep in the forest of Ambala, a simple printing press has been built with the help of the newly established research-and-printing chaw from the great tree, so that in that hidden dell where great works are chanted into the emerald air, they are now put down in printed scrolls and books as well. This new press, and our own press at the great tree, supply a small but growing number of lending libraries that have been established in the owl kingdoms, so that great works from the tree, from the Glauxian Brothers’ and Glauxian Sisters’ retreats, and from the library of the Others in the Palace of Mists, may be studied in distant dens and hollows by furred, scaled, and feathered scholars alike.
    It is perhaps natural that in such times of outward peace, we look inward. And so it is that the personal and, in some cases, secret histories of our own Guardians and others close to the tree have now come to light. Otulissa has studied, researched, and sometimes simply listened with a wise and sympathetic ear slit, and set down the tales for all to learn from. As you read these tales of personal history, private anguish, and worldly adventure, remember that not all battles are fought in the air or on the ground. Some, perhaps the most difficult of all, are fought in our own gizzards, hearts, and brains.
    I submit these tales to you with respect and affection.
    Soren
    Guardian Among Guardians

ONE
The Snowy Sisters
    I think you all know of the Rogue smith of Silverveil and her sister, our very own Madame Plonk, the official singer at the great tree. Their contributions to the Southern Kingdoms and the great tree have been significant and many. But how well do we really know them? Many of you will just now be discovering that Madame Plonk’s given name is Brunwella, and that the Rogue smith of Silverveil was once a young Snowy known as Thora. They each had a past that was full of drama, romance, treachery, and, of course, sisterly love.
    In the early days of the Band, shortly before Soren, Gylfie, Digger, and Twilight became full-fledged Guardians, the Rogue smith of Silverveil made a shocking revelation to them without much explanation. After Madame Plonk lost her sister to the villainy of Nyra, she was utterly heartbroken, and said not a word for nights on end. When she finally spoke again, she told the tale behind her sister’s startling confession.
    Thora Plonk glided over the icy eastern coast of the Everwinter Sea. For the first time in days, her gizzard was relaxed. She had just spent much of the evening with her friend Sig. No , Thora reflected, Sig was more than a friend , and the thought made her almost giddy. She had just given him one of the first pairs of battle claws that she had ever made. It was a special gift, one that she wouldn’t have given to just a friend. But as she neared the hollow that she shared with her da, stepmother, and sister, Thora’s gizzard began to tighten. It was a familiar feeling, one that had plagued her ever since her return home after more than a year away from the family hollow.
    Thora had been scarcely older than a fledgling when she fled her home. She and her sister, Brunwella, had lost their mum in the Battle of the Ice Talons—the final bloody battle of the War of the Ice Claws—less than a year earlier. Their da, an aging Snowy named Berrick, had taken their stepmother, Rodmilla, as a mate. Brunwella was so young when their mum died that she barely remembered her at all, but Thora remembered her vividly and missed her terribly.
    Berrick had thought it important to find a new mate right away. When he met Rodmilla, he was completely besotted. She was fair, to be sure. But more important, she was completely different from his first mate, Thea, whose warring ways had left him mateless. Where