Uneasy, Coryn wasn't sure whether he should go back to the great tree where they all loved him, or go to the destination he had thought of before. After resting his wings awhile, he decided to continue on. Coryn took off, flying northwest. He wasn't REALLY going to Shadow Forest. After some hard flying, he lit down on the cold turf. There were a few pine trees sprinkled on the land, but not nearly as many as in other parts of the owl kingdom. Looking around, he saw a cave in the hillside. All that remained in the icy cave was a piece of ice polished until an owl could see their reflection. A mirror...what owls used mirrors? What owls stayed here.

Then he heard some ugly squawky voices outside.

Coryn remembered too late that the area he was in, the Beyond, was a place where gadfeathers and kraals dwelled. Perhaps he would die now and never find out if Nyra was right about him? Kraals were often known to be vicious, especially to those known to be rich. Coryn certainly qualified for THAT category would he die? A wave of great panic swept over him.

In flew an owl, but not a kraal by any stretch. This owl had not dyed the feathers in the customary kraal fashion. He heard the owl speak and deduced that the Pygmy Owl was female.

'Who do we have here? Coryn, the successor of King Hoole himself. Son of Nyra and her mate, the leaders of the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones. I'm impressed. What brings you here? Do you wish me to call you Nyroc, or Coryn?'

-end of chapter-