Far from civilization, beyond the boundaries of any map, was a world unimagined. Far to the north, time seemed unending; the days and nights melted together, never beginning nor ending, leaving the world in a perpetual frozen twilight. Snow extended in every direction to the horizon, and endless harsh winter winds had eroded every abnormality in the terrain, leaving the place a perfect flat plane of white. Here no life survived, leaving a barren, inhospitable wasteland.
Yet, at the end of the earth, here stood the most peculiar thing any creature had ever laid eyes on. A stone monument of unknown origin protruded from the snow, standing tall and withered. Much of the object was submerged in the snow, but still clearly visible was the top, a head of an unknown creature, and an arm extended to the horizon. When the earliest explorers of this distant land reported the finding, none were more curious about the discovery than the Ga'Hoolians. The monument, the owls claimed, was built by and depicted the image of an Other.
A chaw was sent to learn as much about the monument as they could. It was a dangerous expedition, and many perished to the cold and scarce food. But when they returned many moons later they possessed a knowledge that would forever change the world of owls and wolves. As recorded in an official document of the expedition, the chaw successfully translated text inscribed at the base of the monument, which they had made visible from underneath the snow. It read "This way to Moscow!" Of course the explorers had no clue what this meant, but they knew the extended arm must be an indicator to something which, when calculated, would be far beyond the owl kingdoms. A decision was promptly made to find out what this place was.
The path, as indicated by the monument, would take them even further north. Not long after reaching the coastline of a new continent, the expedition discovered countless Other castles. But these were different than those in the kingdoms; they were tall and narrow, and constructed with unknown materials and techniques. They were eroded into contorted shapes, rusted and covered with flora. The image of these structures alone said they had existed long before any owl kingdom and, at the height of their civilization, the Others were capable of things much more grand in scale than they had imagined.
The chaw never reached their destination. They were forced to return to the Great Tree after a shortage of food, but that wasn't to say they were disappointed; indeed, they had begun the owls' great unearthing of the Other's true nature. The vivid records of this first expedition captured the imagination of owls everywhere, first in the Great Tree, then the rest of civilization, as the various drawings, journals, and records would be reproduced and spread throughout every kingdom and clan. It began because of pure curiosity; countless scholars, explorers, and daredevils would reach every corner of this distant land, revealing more and more about the Others. Some would choose to reside here permanently, and soon entire communities appeared, devoted to the study of the Others. In time they would put together a comprehensive history of the Others, detailing their rise to immense power and their ultimate demise. This was the golden age of discovery.