Silently, an owl flew through the night. Concealed by the darkness, she could not be seen. She flew so cautiously, not even another Barn Owl could hear her. She was on a mission. A mission to find the Guardians of Ga'Hoole.

Soren could not sleep. He was thinking about a question that Digger had asked him earlier. A question that made his gizzard tremble. "What is love to you?" Soren knew he could only answer part of that question. Soren had experienced love, as far as friends and family. But, something told Soren that wasn't what Digger meant. Something was bothering the little Burrowing Owl. His gizzard said so. His friend didn't mean the type of love you have for you friends and family. He meant much more.

Once, the owl would have been pleased to learn that the Great Ga'Hoole Tree was only a day away. That was before she had experienced pain, though. The beautiful Barn Owl nearly went yeep just thinking about it. Thinking about how badly it hurt when someone you loved died. With a shudder, she shook the thought away. There was only one way to keep that from happening again. She couldn't love.

Soren fell into a restless sleep. He didn't know why, but he felt like something was going to happen. Something that would change his life forever. After awhile, Soren decided that sleep was hopeless. He sighed and went to the library. Otulissa was there too.

"Having trouble sleeping?" Soren asked.

"As usual." Otulissa replied.

"What are you reading?"

"One of Ezylryb's books."

Soren understood. The old Whiskered Screech Owl was a brilliant and talented writer. He and Soren had an unusual relationship. They were as close as a Father and Son.

The Barn Owl angled her head so that she could hear the voices from the hollow clearer.

"Digger, please!" Someone said. The speaker was obviously trying to keep quiet, but their voice was desperate and pleading.

"Sylvanna, Barran told me to meet her in the library. We can fly another time." There was the sound of shuffling as one of the owls moved closer to the other.

"Syl, I love our flights together. You know that. But I have work to do. So do you."

At that, the visitor stopped listening. She was nearing the Great Tree. She needed to be ready. I she circled around, she heard the quiet sound of an owl's wing cut through the air.

"Who are you," he said gruffly, "and what are you doing here?"