Prologue

A Barn owl perched on a slender birch limb. On a few more sat the members of the parliament.

"Ahem…as you know, ever since the defeat of the Pure Ones more and more of us have been hatching chicks, raising them, and eventually knighted as Guardians of Ga'Hoole" began the king, Coryn. Many of the others nodded, including the Band.

"I have brought you here today to discuss an idea of mine." Coryn unrolled a rabbit pelt and used two spikes to attach it to the wall. "A small group of owls went to a different world, and returned two days ago." There were some gasps, and Martin said, "Not the sixth kingdom?" "No" said Coryn. And these owls found out how to make contact with the inhabitants of this world. They are called, 'People', and we speak the same language."

More gasps, and Gylfie called out, "What did they look like?" "Well", said Coryn, now pacing on the branch, "the one they made most contact with was called Sintagea. They reported that she was very smart, and kind to animals. She wore a tunic, a white tunic, and kept her hair tied up." "Wait, slow down" said Twilight, and stepped forward. "What's a tunic? What's 'hair'?"

Coryn cleared his throat again and said, "A tunic, they say, is some kind of outfit made of, um, 'nylon' she said, and it apparently covers the torso, and part of the upper legs. Hair is what these People have on their heads. It can be many different colors, and they use something called 'scissors' to cut it."

"What did this Sintagea say to the search party?" asked Sylvana. "They asked her who really run the place, and she pointed them to the Castle." "The Others!" Gylfie gasped. "They are related to the Others!"

Coryn nodded to her. "That's what I thought as well. And so the search party bid farewell to Sinfagea, and left. They flew high above civilization, and saw the Castle, which was massive. Maybe ten of our tree, here, could fit inside." Ruby whistled through her beak. "And so they flew over the river, which was a very big river, and so they perched on an incoming boat overday, then they were off again. They reached the outside of the castle by midnight, and they saw a closed drawbridge. They flew over it and saw a passing person in the Castle. 'Excuse me' said one owl, 'Do you know where we can find the person who rules over everybody here?' The person looked up and blinked, but he could see nobody, and so he simply answered, 'Either the Wizard Tower or the Palace. That's where the Princess lives, but she's not exactly old enough to run everybody yet. So try her or the ExtraOrdinary Wizard and her Apprentice, at the Wizard Tower over there.' 'Thank you' said the owl. They took off for the Wizard Tower, and they found that whoever lived in there was asleep, so the owls took to bed as well. When they woke, which was, one reported, around 9:00 in the morning, they swooped in to find that nobody was there. And then they began to examine the room. They found many odd things, nothing like we have ever seen. They didn't have much time, though, for soon a person entered.

"She was female, like Sinfagea. She wore a purple cloak and the funniest of shoes: purple snakeskin with really pointy heels. One of the search party, a young one named Fritha, just doubled over in laughter and that's how they became known to the person. She looked around warily, for to People our laugher must sound weird, and muttered something. The search party couldn't hear it, but nothing happened. She muttered something else, and a loud whoosh went by them, but they stayed there, wilfed tighter than a stick, with the peeping eye. After that the female went about her business, until another of the party sneezed. She looked up again, and this time said something else unintelligible to their ears, but they could only catch one word: 'See'. As if pulled by a force, the owls slowly spread their wings and hopped to the ground. The female looked at them, then said, "Can you speak?" The head owl, called Syter, said, "Yes, we can speak. In fact, we can write, read, conduct experiments—' 'Who are you?' she asked. 'I'm Syter, and this is Reylin, Kika, Vleru, Gusfer, and Caseer.' 'I am Marcia Overstrand, ExtraOrdinary Wizard. What are you doing here, where we, me and my apprentice, live?' She was kind, but cautious. Syter bowed. 'Well, ma'am, we are missionaries from Ga'Hoole, an island kingdom from far away.' He pulled out a scroll from a botkin and handed it over. The female read it aloud.

'To Whom It May Concern,

I greet you warmly. I am Coryn, King of Ga'Hoole. I hope that this has been delivered safely to your hands by my faithful messengers.

A problem has arisen among my kingdom. We are, well, overcrowded. Now, I have had an idea about moving some of my young ones and a few older owls as well to your kingdom, if this is fine with you. Think about my idea, and please consider it. If you agree, send these owls back with your answer and I will begin to send the Guardians of Lesper'ah over. Please protect them, train them, help them, and do whatever you can to help them settle in.

And now, I have some questions. Please do not think me impertinent of asking, for some might seem like very stupid questions.

First—Can you read, write, and other academic things?

Second—Do you have owls there?

Third—Are there any very large trees, or suitable places for a group of owls to live?

Fourth—Can you fly?

Fifth—What animal are you?

As I said, these may as well have been the most hilarious questions on the face of the planet, but I am simply wanting to know about you.

Finally, could we arrange a sort of meeting? For I will want to release these owls I am sending from my rule, and they will be led by a leader. Not a king, not a lord, but a simple leader who knows how to do things and can do them well. I am hoping that you and other monarchs like yourself can supervise them, and help them.

I will hopefully see you soon,

Coryn

King of Ga'Hoole'

"'As she finished the letter' the owls said, 'she said she agreed, but would have to take it up with the Princess. She came back an hour later with the agreement, and then sent us home with the written agreement. How did she send us home? We don't know. She said something, and suddenly we found ourselves holding the botkin in the middle of Ambala. We flew back, and the rest is history'".

There was a great silence. Then Coryn unrolled a scroll, and said, "This is what Madam Overstrand wrote to us:

"'Dear King Coryn,

I am pleased of your sending, and I wanted to say that me and the Princess agreed. But please, do not send more than a hundred. I have gotten a large place in the Ramblings for them, and I don't think more than a hundred would be able to fit in there. It has three floors, and all have many nests, raised on platforms, on different rooms. One room is where you can cook and eat, and another where you can 'hang out' as my apprentice puts it. No, we cannot fly, yes, we are able do academic things, we are humans, or people, I answered one of your questions already, and yes, we have owls around here, but they cannot talk, and, no offense, but they are not the smartest of creatures.

Matters of hunting are a bit different. I'm sorry, but your owls can't exactly hunt rats around here. They can talk, they have minds of their own, and they can serve us humans. Everything else, like snakes, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, are fine.

Now I have two questions of my own. 1—who will be the leader? 2—what does Lesper'ah mean?

I sincerely hope to see you soon,

Marcia Overstrand

ExtraOrdinary Wizard'"

Coryn smiled. "I'd like to keep my parliament here, I think" he said, looking at the noble owls who stood on the branches. "But the group that went there would like to stay, they told me. Now, we're going to call a meeting in the great hollow." They all swept out, and Soren turned to Gylfie.

"Would you have liked to go?" he asked her. She shook her head. "No, I think that exploring the new world is not right for an owl like me. I mean, look at us." She gestured at the Band, who were flying together like always. "We've been all over the Southern and the Northern Kingdoms, and the Middle Kingdom too. We deserve a break, don't you think?"

"Why Gylfie, that's the first time you've said that, and I quite agree with you" yawned Twilight. "I could use some sleep right now, but nooooooo, just because we're members of parliament we have to go to this meeting. Digger pushed him. "Shut up, Twi. We've always had to go to mid-morning meetings." "Yeah, but we've been sitting in that parliament hollow for hours, listening to poor Coryn go on an on about this new world. Must have hurt the poor lad's throat horribly." They couldn't continue, because the bell had been rung. Many sleepy owls were now flapping into the Great Hollow, where Coryn began to say what he had already said to the parliament.

About an hour later, owls were raising their wings to go. When a hundred owls were selected, Coryn looked at them solemnly and said, "You all may never see us again." The chosen nodded. "And so, I am electing a leader, who will guide you through the new world. Syter, will you come out, please?" A trembling middle-age Barred Owl stepped forward. "Yes, sir?" "Syter, you are the new leader of the Guardians of Lesper'ah. You know of this world, you have communicated with the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. You will lead them." Syter bowed low so his beak scraped the wood. "King Coryn, I will lead the Guardians of Lesper'ah with all my strength and power until the day I die." Coryn nodded. "Good. Glauxspeed on your journey. There is a bundle of weapons on the platform facing where you must go." "Goodbye, Your Majesty, and good luck."

The owls flew out of the tree, four holding botkins of weapons, led by Syter, who's heart swelled with pride. He was the leader of the Guardians of Lesper'ah, which meant "Land of the Humans." He then called out in the sonorous tones of the Barred Owl to the others, "We're coming home!"