Prologue

Kludd arrived, at long last, at the fortress in Redwood, Tyto, that he called home. He had been flying for nearly a day in order to find this place after killing the Brown Fish Owl, and he did feel a teensy bit bad about doing it. The owl had only been trying to help, after all, but at the same time, if he had remained alive, then Kludd wouldn't be able to make his journey in secret. And if anyone knew Kludd had been alive, then they might have known other Pure Ones were alive, and Kludd shuddered to think what would happen if anyone came to attack Nyra-his adjunct general, his second-in-command, and his mate.

Kludd felt his gizzard glow as he thought of Nyra, the most beautiful owl Kludd had ever met. She and Kludd had met while she and a group of other Pure Ones were on a recruiting mission, and she had been most influential in his decision to join. At the time Kludd had joined, Nyra had been the mate of the old High Tyto, a disgusting old owl named Agamemnon, but that hadn't stopped Kludd and Nyra from falling in love; Nyra had even developed a special class for Kludd just so that they could spend time together. Eventually, after Kludd became a Pure One, he had murdered Agamemnon in a fight that, in turn, cost Kludd half his face, thus earning him the name Metal Beak. After everything that had happened, Nyra was perhaps the most precious owl in the world to Kludd; life without her would be like life without wings: unthinkable.

He finally flew up to the chamber in the fortress which he and Nyra shared after they became mates. Around his nest, Kludd kept the battle claws Nyra had given him before he lost his face, as well as some precious mementos from their wingfast day and multiple little dates that Kludd arranged. He knew for a fact that Agamemnon ignored Nyra while they were mates, a fact which frinked Kludd off to no end, so he always tried to arrange special little gifts and treats for her whenever he could. For her hatchway, he had decorated the entire room with fire lilies, which he knew to be her favourite kind of flower, and had spent the entire evening hunting ground squirrels for a special hatchway feast. He still remembered her reaction; she had a smile on her white, moon-like face that made it seem as if it were glowing. He could see Nyra now, looking sadly at the nest he slept in, and just seeing her frown cracked his gizzard in half. At long last, he stepped in. "Nyra."

A startled Nyra looked up. "Kludd?" she whispered, her shocked expression turning into one of pure joy. "Oh, Kludd, my dearest Kludd!" She then bolted towards him, her face beaming with relief, and barrelled herself into his embrace. "I was so worried. When they told me what had happened, I… I thought you had died."

Kludd squeezed his eyes shut as Nyra said this. What had happened was that Kludd and the Pure Ones had captured the warrior Lyze of Kiel from the Northern Kingdoms, known here as Ezylryb, but it had gone wrong, very wrong. The worst part was that Kludd's younger brother Soren, whom Kludd once presumed to be dead, had been among the owls sent to rescue the Whiskered Screech. The even worse part was that it wouldn't have happened if St. Aggie's hadn't snatched thousands of Pure One recruits and then lost them after the Pure Ones fought to retrieve them. Among those lost had been Kludd's younger sister, Eglantine; Kludd hoped desperately that she was alright. Glaux knows Kludd and Soren haven't always been friendly with each other, but Eglantine was another story.

Never mind that now. Kludd thought to himself. I have my mate to attend to. "Worry no longer, my love." He replied, although he could barely speak, since the metal beak that had once been on his face had been melted away. "I am alive and well. And more importantly, I am home with you." The two owls then touched faces in a loving gesture, and Kludd swore to Glaux he had never been happier.

"So then I came at a Sooty at full force, with nothing but my bare talons…" Twilight was telling a group of owls in the search-and-rescue chaw about the daring rescue of Ezylryb, in which he had taken part, when Kira flew into the hollow where the chaw usually started their classes. "Why, hello, Kira." Twilight said, quickly taking note of her presence. "Come to hear the story?"

"I had actually come for class." Kira replied with a churr. "But seeing as Barran isn't here yet, why not?" She then settled herself in amongst the owls and rolled her head every so often as Twilight bragged about his part in the rescue. Twilight had been tapped for the chaw sometime before Kira had come to the great tree, and while he was rather boastful and a little too battle claw-happy, he was undoubtedly a dedicated student and a loyal owl. Plus, he did make classes quite lively, especially Ga'Hoology, which was boring as hagsmire.

"What's she doing here?" A disdainful hooting voice broke through. It was Starr, a Spotted Owl who had been tapped the same time as Kira. "She could go blabbing to her mother and then we could all be killed. How do you know those ideas of owl purity aren't a genetic mental disease?"

Shut up, Starr. Kira prayed silently, shutting her eyes and taking deep breaths as she always did when upset. Oh, please shut up. I shall not resort to violence. I shall not prove his point. Kira's mother, Cedar-or Blaze, as she was now called-was indeed a member of the group of owls known as the Pure Ones. However, while she was hot-tempered, sarcastic, and definitely a prickly sort, she was a far kinder owl than Purge, the Pure One who had force-mated Blaze and was subsequently Kira's father. Kira, however, shared none of her parent's personality types, although she had the same amber feathers as her mum.

"Starr! Shame on you!" Twilight hissed, his silvery feathers puffing in indignation. "Yea, Starr, you can't talk about Kira that way!" A thin, raspy voice squeaked. It was Nimbus, an owl rescued during the Great Downing. Kira had actually rescued him along with 28 other Tyto owlets and had tended to his wounds using little more than knowledge on medicinal herbs that she possessed; this was part of the reason that Kira had been invited to be a part of the search-and-rescue chaw. Without her, Nimbus might have died, either from his wounds or at the teeth of ground predators. And while due to this most owls of the tree welcomed Kira with open wings, there were those, Starr being among them, who never let her forget of her now hated origins.

"I am disappointed in you, Starr." It was Primrose who spoke now. Primrose was a little Pygmy Owl originally from Silverveil, where Kira had once considered settling and where her friends Val and Athena-as well as her mate, Leo-where hatched and raised. "All owls, regardless of their families or their background, have the potential for kindness and courage. Soren and Eglantine are brother and sister to Metal Beak, and they're nothing like their brother, are they?" Scores of owls nodded in agreement, and it was precisely at this moment that Barran flew in.

"Quite right, Primrose." Barran replied. "Now, Starr, no more unkind remarks towards Kira; it is very unbecoming of owls of the great tree to squabble with each other over petty differences. Alright, now Twilight, you will be flying with Grover, Roxanne, and Primrose; Starr, you shall be flying with Astrid, Nimbus, and Azurelle, and Kira, you shall be flying with Hazel, Soleil, and Picard. Any questions?" Kira breathed a sigh of relief. Hazel was Starr's sister, and she was a lot kinder. The others shook their heads. "Good." Barran replied. "Now follow me, everyone. And remember, keep your battle claws sheathed unless fighting is necessary." She then flew out of the hollow with the owls of her chaw-including Kira-behind her.

As Kira flew, her mind went back to the argument that had started in the hollow, and she thought about how astute it had been of Primrose to reference Soren and Eglantine to prove that one bad owl in a family didn't mean a whole brood. Soren had arrived at the great tree with Twilight and Digger, who was in the companion tracking chaw, as well as the little Elf Owl Gylfie, who was in the navigation chaw with Leo. Together, they were known as the Band, and it hadn't taken long for them to become infamous around the tree. Eglantine, on the other wing, had been one of the victims of the Great Downing and had been rescued and brought to the tree by Twilight and Digger. As of right now, Soren was in the colliering chaw with the Spotted Owl Otulissa, who, with her continually moving beak, had made the library a lot less peaceful for Kira, and Eglantine was being considered for search-and-rescue. Kira hoped that Eglantine was tapped for the chaw; it would be nice to have another Barn Owl in the group, and Kira would be more than happy to take her under her wing if she needed it.

How odd and contradictory life is. Kira thought to herself. How odd everything is… including family.