Prologue

The ice cave was silent. The black, yellow-eyed bird stood in the corner of the main room. Was she safe yet? It had been... how long? A year? Yes, a nearly a year since the wolves had attacked. She remembered it all so well: she had just hatched. A strange blue owl, resembling that of a Great Gray, had saved her by placing her in the small crack in the corner. Blood had splattered everywhere. Nests had been destroyed. The moss and soft down plucked from the blue owls' breasts were still on the icy, frosty floor. But was she safe? She must be. She looked around warily, her eye pupils swaying from side to side, expecting an attack. But nothing happened.

She stepped out of the corner. Her claws tapped on the ice ground, and it echoed in the room. She looked at her wings. They were huge, raggedy, black and... and ugly wings. What am I? she thought.

Shall I fly out of this place? Maybe I could find some owls. Maybe they know what I am, she wondered. But I can't fly well. And there's lots of salt water. I had heard that owl say that I shouldn't go in salt water when I was a mere chick.

Now she looked up. Her name, she had decided, would be Hatoynek. The sky was dotted with white unusual spots. Hatoynek wondered what they were? Perhaps she could call them fireflies. They did look like fireflies, high up in the sky. Hatoynek would call everything whatever she wanted, until she found some intelligent birds who knew lots of stuff.

She flapped her huge wings once, twice and lifted off into the indigo blue night sky.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole belongs to Kathryn Lasky.

My OCs belong to me.