"A soldier not only risks losing life and limb when going to war, but also risks losing his morals, his values, and his soul."
Summary: A young Masked Owlet is taken into the ranks of the Pure Ones and is plunged into a world of violence and hate. As a member of the Union's Knights of Shadows, Trsiden is a soldier who does not believe in the ideals of the group he has sworn alliance to, but obeys every order given to him by the High Tyto. He will commit many wrongs and misdeeds before finding the truth about himself and a life he has yet to live.
A/N: Callsign Demon Hunter here. First off I would like to give special thanks to my three Beta Readers - Hodgepodge11, Shy Whisper Of Life, and Chubs34. Thank you so much guys for all your time and effort in making this story possible, I couldn't have done it without you guys . Thank you also to all those who have taken the time to read this story and I really hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
All comments are welcome (good or bad) and will be helpful in improving the overall story and character development. I also don't want any flames about the storyline. I had flames in my Halo FanFic about it not being canon to the Halo books, so if there are any flames please don't flame about my storyline not matching up with the actual storyline of the books.
If it just so happens if any of you read my Halo FanFic, this story is my redemption. I've cut my losses and hopefully this story is my comeback. This story is the first in a planned series of minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 books, depending on how many people like this story. So give your approvals if you like it and want to have a sequel .
Disclaimer: I do not own the right to the Guardians of Ga'Hoole franchise or any of its original characters created by Kathryn Lasky.
So with all that out of the way, here is the start of a new series and a new adventure.
Prologue
"Mum!...Da!" a young masked owlet cried, looking out of the hollow entrance and into the deadly inferno that had reached the tree in which the young owl was perched. Fire slowly burnt its way up the bark. He views the forest fire scorching the land in front of him, with the raging inferno reflecting off his small black eyes. The heart lurching scene served as a prelude to the grizzly fate that awaited him. At the same time he looked to the cold night sky, hoping to see his parents coming to rescue him at any moment.
Right by his side was Perilya, - the family's blind nest maid, who gently wrapped her tail around the owlet in a comforting gesture.
"There, there now, young one. Don't you fret. Your parents will be here any second now" she comforted. Even though she could not see the fire, she could feel the heat emanating from outside and the smell of ash and burning foliage was ever-present.
'What rotten timing it was for the owlet's parents to be out hunting' she thought.
A sudden burst of flame forced the owlet and the nest maid to retreat to the rear of the hollow. The fire had reached the threshold of the hollow and severely weakened the base of the tree. Perilya could already feel the old fir giving way beneath her. Smoke began to accumulate within the hollow and envelop the pair, which made Perilya wrap herself around the terrified owlet in a warm embrace, ready for the end.
"Trisden!" a voice called from outside.
The young owlet's eyes widened and he looked towards the hollow entrance at the sound of his name. "Mum!" he called, with a new found sense of hope extinguishing his fears. Warm tears ran down his heart-shaped face. A strong wind enters the hollow and blew some of the smoke away, allowing both Perilya and Trisden to see the silhouette of a Masked Owl, whom Trisden immediately recognized to be his mum.
"Trisden come quickly!" She called. The owlet ran to his mother's side, who then grabbed him with her talons before taking off. A second Masked Owl came into the hollow and rescued Perilya, and in one strong flap of its wings, they were away from the hollow, just as it was enveloped in flames.
Trisden looked back just in time to see the place he had once called home consumed by the blaze. A tear trickled down his face in sorrow. The strong, hot wind blew bits of ash and cinders at his eyes, forcing him to squint.
Trisden then looked back at his da. He was flying with Perilya in his talons following right behind them The young owlet then swiveled his head to face his mother. He could see the tension in her face as she flew faster than she ever had before to escape the hagsmire that this part of Ambala had become.
Trisden was overtaken by the roar of the fire. His little ear slits were unable to cope with the cacophony of crumbling trees, burning foliage, and the various pops and snaps of sparking embers. But he was also overcome by a warm sensation which helped him cope with the carnage. Not the heat emanating from the flames or the swirling currents of air, but the comforting feeling of security and love that only a mother could give. He realized that the fire may be strong and fatal but the warmth of security and love he feels was stronger. Being clutched in his mum's protective embrace allowed the owlet to endure the ordeal.
There was a loud cracking sound as a charred fir tree gave way and fell to the ground. Trisden felt his gizzard lurch when he heard a screeching sound as his father was hit by a stray branch.
Trisden's mother folded her wings and dove towards the ground. She stretched out her feathery appendages at the last moment - ceasing her decent a few feet from the forest floor. The young owlet searched the branches for his father. He suddenly caught sight of a brown plumage and pointed it out to his mother. The female flew over and hovered directly above her mate, who was still alive, but unable to move.
"Perilya! Where's Perilya?" Mariana shouted in order to be heard over the thunderous roar of the flames.
"I'm over hear ma'am!" A pinkish-red blind snake slithered its way over the branch the owlet's father was trapped under.
"Darling, please…." Dorian spoke with groans of pain in between words. "Keep going…. save our chick. Then come back for me"
"It's alright ma'am" Perilya said "I'll stay with him till you return"
Mariana fought the emotion to stay with her mate. The safety of their chick however is the number one concern. Trisden did not want to leave anymore than she did, but with the fire growing ever more violent, Mariana reluctantly flew off with Trisden. He was still clutched within her talons, as they headed towards the river just ahead of them.
Mariana spots a large burrow underneath one of the many fir trees near the river's edge and places the little owlet down at the mouth of the burrow. She pokes her head inside to see if any creature was there but found none.
"Trisden, dear," Mariana said. She picks up the little owlet and places him inside the burrow. "Stay here and I'll be right back" she continued, trying her best not to sound too fearful of the situation they were in. But Trisden, even at his young age felt his mum's deep concern. Trisden frantically objects to his mum's departure – wrapping his tiny unfledged wings around the writs of his mum's talons, and buries his face in the soft down of his mother's breast, with tears flowing down her brown and black flecked feathers.
Mariana is torn between leaving her owlet all by himself and rescuing her mate Dorian and the family's nest maid snake. Her gizzard churns with anxiety. She knows her mate desperately needs her help and that she will only be gone for a moment.
Gently, she moved Trisden to the far wall of the dirt hole, and after saying a final tearful farewell, exits the burrow and takes off into the night with a burning leaf lazily drifting behind her. Already, the sense of security Trisden had felt in his mother's talons was leaving him just as fast as his mother exited the burrow.
As soon as she had left, Trisden started running after her. His tiny talons, which were never meant for running at such an age, kicked up dirt as he waddled forward. He fumbles to the ground several times and coughed out bits of dirt which had entered his beak. Soon he finds himself crawling on all fours – his wings and talons. Clawing his way forward and after what felt like an eternity, reaching the burrow's entrance. As soon as he got back to a standing position, he is hit with a sudden force of shock and surprise from a burning branch, which had suddenly crashed in front of him. It knocks him backwards. In an uncontrollable tumble back into the burrow until he impacts a rock imbedded into the rear wall where he had started.
Lying on the ground with his back against the dirt floor he feels his vision failing and the world around him becoming a blur. He feels heat emanating from the burning piece of wood entering the burrow. Trisden finds himself in almost the exact same situation he had been when in the hollow with Perilya.
He stares at the entrance, blocked by the burning branch, expecting his mum and da to come to his rescue at any moment. Deeply he prays that they will rescue him. Desperately he wishes to be in his mother's talons, to have that overwhelming feeling of security and love. These thoughts linger over Trisden's mind like the blanket of smoke that has accumulated above him. Soon his vision fails completely - from a blur to complete darkness.
"Trisden…" a voice called "Trisden…". The young Masked shaking off his dizziness looks towards the burrow entrance which had beams of light showering into the borrow and shined on Trisden's black eyes, forcing him to raise his unfledged wing in an attempt to block out most of the light.
What is this? Am I in Glaumora?
The Masked owlet had no time to ponder this thought, as the voice yet again called his name. Two owl shaped silhouettes seemingly materialized at the burrow entrance - with the beams of light shining around the shadowy forms.
"Mum?... Da?" Trisden said in a low voice. He did not know how he knew it was his mum and da, for there was no distinct facial features on either of the shadowy masses to indicate such. Nor were there any features to indicate whether the forms were even those of Masked Owls.
"Mum!...Da!" The owlet nearly jumped at the realization. "I knew you would come back!" His eyes widened and his voice filled with renewed excitement. He immediately ran towards the dark figures, with wings stretched outwards – ready to embrace them. But to his surprise he passed right through the figures as if they were shadows. He made repeated attempts to grab hold of the silhouettes, with confusion beginning to replace his once overwhelming joy.
"Trisden my son…." The figure on the left said whose voice was clearly that of a male. The young Masked took a few steps back, looking up towards the towering forms.
"There is much we have to tell you, but it is for another time."
"Be warned that trials and great hardship lay ahead of you". The figure on the right was next to speak, and the clear tone of a female echoed through the burrow. Trisden remained speechless. He did not recognize either of the voices. Although for some strange reason he feels deep inside that he somehow knew the ghostly forms.
"You will be hated," the female voice continued. "You will be revered." Then the male voice took over. "But know that we will always be with you every step of the way…."
"Be strong my son…." the female voice spoke. "There is much for you to do, and much more for you to endure…." The silhouette's last word sounded faded away.
'Much to be done? Much to enduia…er….eh…edue… Or whatever that last word was. What are they talking about?'
Soon the forms, just as they had materialized into existence, began to slowly fade out into the light behind them.
"Wait!" The owlet screamed, running to the disappearing shadows and towards the light ahead.
"Wait!" This time he found himself, again, in the burrow. He was lying on ground, with a sharp pain at the back of his head. Immediately he stood back up, and looked towards the burrow entrance, with the branch still blocking the way. Light emanated from gaps between the branch, shinning down on the owlet. That was the moment the Masked realized that it was morning.
Was it all a dream? He thought.
A light haze lingered inside the burrow, with Trisden slowly making his way to the entrance. As he got closer he realized the branch that had blocked the entrance of the hollow was now a burnt husk and was brittle to the touch. He easily brakes through the barrier that impeded his path, coughing out the bits of ash and charcoal that broke off as he used his body to smash his way through. Upon coming out on the other side - and clearing his senses of anymore debris - he opens his ash cleared eyes and already he wished he was blind.
The forest around him was all gone. The great firs and pines all reduced to cinders and blackened husks. The ground was covered in a thick blanket of grayish white ash, and the sun was dimmed by a cloud-like haze, being only a ghostly orb in the distance. Like a moon in daytime. Trisden thought. It was as if the very sky had fallen to the ground.
Most horrifying of all was the great silence. No chirping of birds, no wing beats of an owl, no hissing and slithering of snakes could be heard. Not even the sound of insects. All he could hear was the sound of his own voice echoing into the distance, as he cries out in hopes that his parents would hear his pleas and save him. There was no reply. This was as close to hagsmire as the owlet could get, all alone in a barren wasteland that was once teaming with life, with parents whom he feared were dead.
"Mum!" The Masked cried out once more "Da!... Perilya!..." Deep in his mind, body, and gizzard he hopes despite the destruction around him, his parents and their dear nest maid had survived. This little speck of hope inside him, he holds onto tightly.
Suddenly Trisden hears the pulsing sound of wing beats coming high above towards his right-side. By the sound, he knew it was more than one pair of wings. The owlet turns towards the pulses and sets his gaze on the mist, as if he were trying to see right through it. The mist then begins to churn and circle into tiny spirals, as the beats got louder and louder to the owlet's sensitive ear slits. A dark figure penetrates the thick haze and lands in front of Trisden.
"Mum?...Da? -" were the first words he spoke, but he would soon find himself mistaken, as two more dark figures came out of the mist and landed on either side of the first figure. The owl shaped figure in the middle of the group lowered its head to look at the little ball of down before it.
Trisden immediately knew it was neither of his parents. Nor was this owl even a Masked! It had a heart shaped face like his mum and da but it was pure white and not the dark brown Masked Owls are known for. Tyto Albies…or Abl…eri, as his da called them. His parents had friends who looked just like the large owl which stood in front of him. But this owl looked weird to Trisden; in a matter of fact all three of these owls looked weird.
For one there was something on the heads of the two flanking owls, which reflected off bits of the dim sun light that had penetrated the mist around them, and made their voices resonate a little bit. By how it looks, it was heavy. The talons on the three owls also looked weird. It was seemingly made of the same material as the objects on their heads and looked really sharp. They way these objects were fashioned onto the talons looked unnatural to Trisden.
"Hi there little one" The Tyto Alba in the middle of the group was first to speak, lowering his head further in order to be heard by the owlet. "Are you lost?"
"I can't find my parents…." Trisden replied in a fearful tone.
The Barn owl rose to an upright posture before giving a small grin and a head gesture to his companions to his left and right. He lowered his head back down to the owlet, the grin still on his face.
"I'm truly sorry…. But we just found the corpses of two owls just as we heard your call" the Barn said, trying his best to sound sympathetic.
"But we should at least…" Trisden wanted to at least look at the bodies, just to be sure they were his parents, but is abruptly cut off by the Alba who seemed to know what he was about to say.
"Do you truly wish to see the corpses of your dead parents?" The Alba paused for several moments to let the words sink into the owlet, who seemed to diminish in size at that statement. Trisden shakes his head in reply.
'All too easy' thought the Barn Owl 'these owlets are so easy to fool', giving off a soft churr and another grin towards his compatriots who gave similar actions in response.
"I'm truly sorry for your loss…" The Barn raised himself back into an upright posture, wiping the grin off his face to look more courteous. "But fear not, as you shall be under our care from now on, and be part of an even bigger family!"
The Alba stretches out a wing, to which a frightened Masked Owlet slowly walks forward. As he did so, the Alba wrapped his wing around the little owlet. The Barn knows that this owlet is of the Tyto species but he does not know if it is an Alba or a Masked. This owlet was unfledged – a few weeks old at least - and has not yet developed flight feathers. The owlet retains the pure white down of most owlets of the Barn Owl species. If this owlet is a Masked then it will develop its brown toned feathers and facial disk in the weeks to come. This made it difficult to distinguish a Masked Owlet from that of an Alba.
"There, there now young 'in" The Alba gently patted the owlet with his wing. "Everything is going to be fine"
"The Pure Ones are your family now!"
UP NEXT: Chapter 1 –'The Knights of Shadows'
tighten it up - repetition (compact it better)