BOOK II IS HERE! Sorry I didn't get this out sooner, but the fantastic Halo 4 awaits. I can't tell you of how excited I am to do this story. I think 'Skies of Darkness' has really showed me a lot about writing in general, so I think that I can get off to a better start this time around. If you didn't already know, this takes place after 'Skies of Darkness', so if you didn't read it, go do that. Now for those of you that did read it, let's go. Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of the Guardians.

Chapter 1

Lorena couldn't concentrate. Of all the things the Boreal owl loved about Ambala, the constant storms were not one of them.

Massive storm clouds completely blocked out the moon. Rain fell upon the trees like a large tidal wave, lightning sprang across clouds like a hungry snake, and the ground seemed to shake as thunder roared across the sky.

Lorena was no stranger to these kinds of storms. Ambala's inhabitants had battled the elements for centuries, each member passing their skills from generation to generation. Lorena's father had passed his knowledge to her by her first branching, and she looked forward to passing the same material to her son.

"AAAHHH! MA, WHAT IS THAT BAD NOISE?" Pip screamed.

Her four month old son to be exact.

"Calm down my sweet. It's just thunder; we are in a storm after all."

"When will it stop?"

"Whenever Glaux decides to end it. Until then we shall just have to wait it out."

Pip glanced at the hollow's concealed opening.

"Could I try branching today ma?"

Lorena chuckled to herself. He always liked to change the subject. "First, you aren't old enough to branch. Second, no bird can fly in this weather."

"I could do it perfectly."

"Could you now?" she asked. Pip nodded his head vigorously.

"Ok, look outside and see if you still want to fly out there."

"Ok." he said.

Pip scurried out of the room to the hollows entrance. Lorena couldn't wait to taste her small victory when Pip came back. Even mothers could be competitive. Pip came back into the room a few seconds later, with a confused expression on his face.

"I thought you said that no bird could fly in this weather." he said.

"Because it's true, why?"

"Because there are a lot of owls outside, I think they're playing a game."

Lorena was now confused. "What do you mean by playing a game?"

"Well, they were all carrying these orange balls and dropping them. It kinda made everything glow, it was cool."

"Let me see." she said, moving towards the hollows entrance. When she looked outside, she felt her gizzard swell up in horror.

Ambala was burning. Fire spread from tree to tree in a great inferno, coating the air in ash and smoke. Lorena could hear screams in the air, pleas for help, pleas of mercy, all drowned out by the flames. She looked up and saw an owl carrying an orange sphere. However, it wasn't the ball of flame that filled her with dread, it was the owl's markings.

White feathers, and two red curves on it's body. Only one group had ever wore those colors, history had repeated itself.

"Pure Ones." she whispered to herself. She turned back to get Pip, but found herself face to face with a barn owl. His face looked burnt, and three long scars ran across his face. His eyes were the darkest shade of red, gleaming with malice.

Before she could even blink, an immense pain spread across her stomach. She looked down, the soldier has sunk his talons into her body, clutching something. The pain was so intense that she couldn't even speak, she could only stare in horror. The soldier saw this and grinned. Without any words, he ripped something from her belly, covered in gore and pulsating rapidly.

He had taken her heart.

The demon before her chuckled to himself, pushing her to the ground, and squeezing the organ in front of her, covering her face in blood. He forcefully opened her mouth and shoved the bloody mass down her throat. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't even gag. She could only stare at the chaos before her.

The soldier moved closer to her ear and whispered, "Be sure to send Glaux my condolences."

She could barely see anymore, everything had become a blur, all turning into darkness. Amidst the screams around her, one voice stood out.

"Ma! Help me! He's gunna kill me! HEL-"

A single tear leaked out of her eye, before she became cold and forever still.

Kludd looked upon his kills in disappointment; he expected a fight at least.

In the few months since his failure at the Ga'hoole tree, Kludd had changed. Whatever emotion he felt towards his 'queen' had been severed. Kludd had confessed himself to Nyra, and she had permanently marked him. It was meant to weaken him, but in reality, it had made him stronger. He wasn't bound to anyone anymore. There was no need for family, or love. There was only room for power.

"Oy, Kludd! Any survivors?" A long eared owl by the name of Jatt called out.

"No. The fire got this lot." Kludd yelled back.

"Eh, good riddance." Jatt's brother Jutt yelled back.

"Don't say that, I don't think they deserved to die." Jatt responded, looking appalled.

"They're not one of us, they don't deserve life. Don't tell me you've gone soft on me."

"Of course not."

"Great. Now let's get out of here, work on our evil stares." Jutt said, taking flight.

"Yeah, whatever." his cousin responded before following him.

Kludd rolled his eyes in frustration.

What a bunch of worthless morons. he thought to himself. He looked around at the chaos before him, the endless screaming brining a smile to his face. He had accomplished so much more in the last few months than he had ever thought possible. Kingdom after kingdom had fallen, and now that Ambala was destroyed, the southern kingdoms were now in the Pure One's talons.

St. Aggies had still proven to be troublesome. Skench and her forces wouldn't dare face defeat, even when she was surrounded on all sides. Kludd had to give her credit for her stubbornness, but at some point, any owl could break, and Skench wasn't far from that point.

Even closer to the point were the Guardians. If the attack had done anything, it had weakened their resolve. And to hear that they had failed the southern kingdoms would be mud in their eyes. The perfect revenge...

No. The perfect revenge would be the death of Soren. He was sure that his Guardian brother was well at home in that wretched tree, and Kludd would love nothing more than to watch it burn to the ground.

But strangely, his thoughts had begun to trail towards Nyra of all owls, and when it did, pure rage coursed within him, even more so than his brother.

If one thing was certain, it was this; Nyra would pay for the grief she had caused him. Kludd grinned, savoring the thought.

Soren woke up with a jolt, only to be greeted by the unnerving glow of the sun. It was strange to see such a hot object in the middle of winter, then again it was strange to wake up to the sun at all.

"Another damn nightmare? When will these end?" he winced.

The nightmares had become a regular occurrence since the attack, and his father's death. The parliament had seemingly broken up into several groups, each trying to figure out the best solution to combat the enemy. On top of that, news had spread that the Pure Ones were far from defeated, that they had already begun attacking small settlements in the southern kingdoms. It was utter chaos.

But not all things were bad. Eglantine had started to lose her down feathers, and was already looking forward to her training as a Guardian. Twilight had replaced Strix Struma as the temporary head of the combat chaw, and Gylfie and Digger had somewhat begun a small relationship. They didn't do much, at least when Soren wasn't looking. Then again, the same could be said for him and Otulissa. In the months of comforting, the pair had become a bit more passionate towards each other. It didn't matter what the others thought, they were in love. So much in fact that they didn't even refer to each other as 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'. They referred to each other as 'mates', even though it wasn't official. Yet.

"Are you ok?" a voice as sweet as autumn nectar whispered behind him.

"As long as your here, I'll be fine." Soren responded, smiling.

"This is the third nightmare this week, are you su-"

"Otulissa, I'm fine, I promise you." When she gave him a disbelieving look, he quickly scrambled for words. "I'm just cold, that's all."

"That's all?" she asked.

Soren nodded in response.

"Well, then I think I know a way to make you feel a bit warmer." she said seductively, pushing her body against his.

Even months after he had confessed his love to her, she still found ways to make him blush.

"While I do like that idea, it's the middle of the day, I don't want to wake anyb-" he was stopped when she pressed her beak against his, swirling her tongue around his, savoring his taste.

When they broke apart for air, she gave Soren the most mischievous smile she could muster, all while playing his back feathers sensually.

"What were you saying?" she asked playfully.

Soren didn't need to answer. He smashed his beak upon her own, the force letting her fall gently onto the floor, with Soren on top of her. He only needed to look into her beautiful hazel eyes one last time before they closed in utter bliss.

Here, in the midst of the chaos, he took her for his own. And all the while, the sun shined brighter than ever.

Good? Bad? Sexy? Please let me know in your reviews. In the great words of Master Chief: "I think we're just getting started."