A Guardian's Revenge

Hello, I'm back with another chapter! It's been a while so I made up time by making this chapter longer. Enjoy and review.

Disclaimed: I don't own LOFG

Chapter 3: Arrival and a new ally

The waves of the Ga'hool Sea slowly crashed upon the rocky shores of the great island of Ga'hool. The small island was the foundations to a great tree, that stood taller that all the others in the owl kingdom. This great tree was home to an extraordinary group of owls that were sworn to protect the week and mend the broken. The Guardians had made their home here many hundreds of years ago and had managed to sustain a great community of owls of all sorts. From the small Elf owls to the large Great greys and agile Barn owls to intelligent Spotted owls, the tree had always looked after them all. This tree was known as a legend to most outside its stormy boarders and was said that only the pure of heart can find it. This tree was the destination of a certain seagull. Having flown head on into the storm, he wondered if he would make it. His strong determination drove him forward and forced him to push on into the vicious storm.

A pair of owls were flying away from the great tree. One was a Barn owl and the other was a small Elf owl both of which seemed to be quite young. For them it was another day at the great tree and was as calm as usual. Ever since the demise of Metal beak, everyone had been able to relax and let back knowing that the danger had been dealt with. The two owls however had been bombarded by the citizens of the Great tree with questions and stories. The little Elf owl had been trying to get a moment alone with the barn owl because there were some important questions that see needed answered. But with the crowds of owls, mostly owlets, it became hard to get this moment. So today she decided to take him somewhere, where she was sure was safe from unwanted ears.

"Um, Gylfie, where are going?" the barn owl said turning towards his small companion.

"Soren, like I said before, we are going somewhere privet." Gylfie said in an annoyed tone. This was the fourth time Soren had asked the question.

"But I don't see why. What's so important that we have to go somewhere privet to discuss?"

"~sigh~ Soren I'm just going to say that it's a delicate matter," Gylfie said trying to explain without giving anything away. She turned to land on one of the many rocks that surrounded the main Island.

"Fine," Soren replied as he followed her down.

Lying face down on the jagged rocks of Ga'hool, a seagull was unconscious. After battling the ferrous storm for over two hours only to be knocked out of the sky, sixty feet up, by lightning it was no mystery as to why he was out cold. But by some outstanding bit of luck, he had been saved by the currents of the sea which had pushed him up onto the rock face and away from the danger of the rough waves. He had been lying there for well over a day and the lack of food and water probably had taken its toll on his unconscious body.

In the late hours of dusk, when the sun had nearly set, the seagull began to stir. Groaning from the sudden pain that shot threw him as he moved, he opened his eyes. James had finally woken up. He tried to move but the pain that it caused made him stop instantly. Restricted of movement he tried to look around and found he could do so. He tried to get an idea as to where he had ended up and also tried to recall what had happened the previous night. He remembered the massive storm he had flown into and the encounter with the Echidna but struggled recall what he was doing in the storm. As he looked over the top of the rock he was splayed out on, he saw the small rock formations that were scattered about. But the rock formations were not what caught his attention. What did was the massive tree that was stood upon an Island in the middle of the clusters of rocks. The tree was bigger than any other James had ever seen and left him gazing up at it in awe. He just couldn't comprehend what he was before him.

Suddenly it clicked in James' head. He remembered why he flew through that storm. It was to get here, to find this tree, to find the Guardians. A small smile came across James' beak. 'I made it' he thought 'I made it'. Those were his last thoughts however before his vision clouded again and he slipped back into unconsciousness.

(Line Here)

Gylfie had reached the rocky outcrop with Soren closely following behind. Once they had both landed on the rock Gylfie turned to Soren who was looking at her with a worried expression clear on his face.

"Gylfie, what's wrong? You've been acting differently the past week, something's been bothering you I know it," he said looking at her closely. She just looked down at her talons nervously.

"Soren, we've been here for how long now?" she asked suddenly whilst looking back up at him once more.

"Um, well it must be months now, why do you ask?"

"Well how long have you… " she stopped once she noticed him looking behind at something "Soren?" His eyes were wide with shock and gave her the hint to turn around.

"Soren what are you…" she stopped once again when she saw what he saw. Lying no more than ten feet away was a seagull lying motionless on the rock which they stood on. They instantly ran over to the bird and checked to for signs of life.

"What in Glaux's name is a seagull doing here?!" Soren exclaimed.

"I don't know but a better question is: how did it get here?!" Gylfie said equally shocked.

"He's alive, I can see him breathing and there's a heartbeat," she said.

"We can't just leave him here Gylfie, we have to bring him to the tree," Soren said causing Gylfie to look at him as if he had gone yeep.

"We can't just bring a seagull, of all birds, to the Great Tree, can we?" she said.

"Yes we can, it needs help," he pointed out gesturing a wing towards the seagull's severely singed left wing.

"Fine, we'll bring him back then. You're carrying him though, I'm way too small."

"Okay then, let's just hurry. Glaux knows how much time he has left," Soren said grasping the seagull with his talons. It was difficult for Soren to carry the gull because it was as big as him. As he flew back to the tree with the seagull, Gylfie sighed 'just one moment without interruption' she thought before taking off after Soren.

The time had now shifted from dusk to near midnight. James was just beginning to come around from his second wave of unconsciousness. Struggling to open his eyes, he felt warmer than before and there was no ocean breeze as well. Finally able to pry his eyes open he found himself in a large hollow. A line of nests were against each side of the hollow and he was lying in one of them. He saw that three of the other nests were occupied by owls. 'Owls?' James thought. 'Wait. This is the Great tree!' He was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, when he was brought from his thoughts due to someone clearing their throat beside him.

Quickly turning his head to the hollows entrance, he found a slender looking barn owl standing before him lightly leaning her weight on the hollow's wall.

"Well you're alive," she said in an un-amused tone.

"So it would seem," James replied hesitantly whilst looking over himself quickly. He quickly took notice of the bandage that engulfed the entire upper part of his left wing and was left staring at it in shock.

"That's a nasty brake you've got there, not to mention the bad burns as well," she said dryly.

"Wow, really?" James asked as he looked over the bandaging again.

"What in Glaux's name were you thinking, flying through a storm like that?" the barn owl asked. She had moved from the hollows entrance to the side of James' nest without him noticing, causing him to jump at her sudden appearance.

"Well I was trying to get here," he tried to explain.

"But why?" she asked whilst checking over his injured wing.

"I'm just gonna say that I'm looking for help," he replied. There was an awkward silence between the two for a couple of minutes as she checked the bandage over his wing. Once she had done that she called in two other owls, both of which were wearing sharp battle claws and intimidating masks. One was a Spotted owl whilst the other was a great grey.

"Is he okay to move?" the spotted owl said in a gruff voice, facing the barn owl.

"Yes, he's fine, just watch the wing though it's still in bad shape," she said back. The owl nodded and moved over to where James was.

"Get up seagull," he said blankly.

James sighed, not wanting to get up so soon, but managed to pull himself to his feet. He stumbled about a bit, since he had been knocked out for a day and a half, and the guard helped him to stabilize.

"You have been requested, by the parliament of the Great tree. They want to see you immediately," he said sternly.

"Ok then, lead the way," James said. The owl nodded before turning to walk towards the hollow entrance. 'Well this can only go well' James thought sarcastically before following the spotted owl. As they were leaving the hollow, they passed the barn owl who James had previously talked to. She stopped him abruptly by putting a wing out in front of his chest and said something only he could hear.

"Think about what you're going to say to the parliament before you step foot in there. They probably won't be convinced with just 'I'm looking for help'."

"I'll keep that in mind," James said. She just gave him a small amused smile before turning to help the other owls in the hollow and James continued to follow the spotted owl.

James was about to exit the hollow until he caught a quick reflection of light out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to where the shine was coming from and found that his blade and holster were propped up neatly against the hollow wall. He quickly went over to his equipment and started to hastily put it on whilst chasing after the spotted owl.

Once outside, James had finally managed to do up the final strap on the holster and sheathed his sharp blade. He looked up to see what the outside looked like and could only stare in awe at what he saw. The Great tree looked even more spectacular from inside all its branches and leaves. Owls of all sorts were walking and chatting amongst themselves, going to various different parts of the tree. Candles and torches light up the tree in a warm welcoming glow and some of the owls could be seen doing multiple jobs around the tree. The citizens of the tree seem happy as if they had no care in the world.

"Impressive, isn't it?" the sooty owl asked.

"It is," James replied, not bothering to face the owl.

"Well we don't have time to sight see, we need to go," he said nodding to the great grey.

The grey nodded back and then in one swift down stoke of its wings it was lifted into the air and locked its battle claws around James' waist as it did so. James was surprised to say the least as a surprised 'Whoa' escaped through his beak as he was carried up and up by the large owl until they came to a large platform that came before a large hollow entrance; the parliament entrance. The great grey set James down on the platform and then landed himself, the spotted owl following close behind.

"Thanks for the lift," James said to the great grey whilst trying to regain his balance. The large owl just nodded in return to his thanks.

"There's the entrance, we'll escort you in then you're on your own." The spotted owl said coming up to my side.

"Best not keep um waiting," James replied as they walked inside.

Inside the parliament hollow there were many voice arguing with one another, arguing about what was unknown to James but he suspected that it had something to do with his sudden arrival. The two owls were leading him into the large chamber. The spotted owl was in front of him whilst the large great grey was to the side. As they entered the chamber, all the arguing ceased and silence was left in its place. All eyes were drawn to the group of birds entering the chamber and the only noise to be head was the small clink of battle claws on the wood floor. James took in what was around him. There were a total of twelve owls in the large hollow, all of which were perched on a thick branch of the tree on either side. There were two snowy owls that stood on a well-crafted perch that was in crested with gold and was placed in the middle of the circular branch the owls perched on. The room was well lit by the fires behind the owls and a weird dome was in the middle with a perch's going all around it. It was a strange layout of the hollow but James wasn't here to judge interior decorating.

The spotted owl bowed towards the two snowy owls before proceeding.

"Boron, your majesty, we've brought the seagull as requested," he said formally. 'Majesty! This can't go well' James thought.

"Thank you Grogg and Crescent, you may leave now," the bigger snowy said. Both bowed in response and turned to leave.

"Good luck kid," the spotted owl named Grogg whispered to me before walking out of the hollow. 'Thanks.' James thought sarcastically.

"Seagull, take a perch," the snowy owl known as Boron said whilst gesturing a wing at one of the perches around the large dome. James nodded before proceeding to climb up onto the centre perch that stood before the two monarchs.

"Tell us seagull how did you end up being unconscious on a rock just off the island?" Boron asked suddenly.

"Um, well I was flying through some storm that came out of nowhere and…" he was cut off by another question coming from a spotted owl to his right.

"What were you doing out in that storm? That was near suicide!" she exclaimed.

"Well I was trying to find you, all of you," he replied. Confused looks were passed around the hollow when he gave his answer.

"Why were you looking for us?" the snowy next to Boron asked, clearly confused.

"I know you fight a group of owls called the pure ones."

"Ha, the pure ones?" a large great horned owl chuckled in amusement, "They were defeated months ago."

"Indeed they were, their leader, Metal beak, was killed and the battle was won." The spotted owl said again. Everyone turned to James and looked at him as if he was wasting their time.

"Wait a minute you said metal beak was killed, right?" he said looking at the spotted owl curiously.

"Indeed I did," was her replied.

"Well… what about Nyra?" he asked.

The looks of every owls face in the chamber instantly fell into concerned glances amongst each other at the mention of her name. There was a long silence until Boron spoke up.

"Nyra escaped the battle and called a retreat of her soldiers. They haven't been heard of since." He said coldly.

"So they defeated… not destroyed," James said with an even colder tone.

"What does she matter to you, seagull?" Boron asked giving James a suspicious stare.

"Everything," was his reply.

"Everything?" Boron said with confusion.

"You'll have to explain further seagull," the great horned owl said.

Whilst all the owls in the parliament hollow were getting annoyed at the lack of answers James was giving, Boron was looking curiously at the holster James wore curiously. He was sure he had seen that blade before but couldn't remember where. While the owls around him argued and kept asking James questions relevant to the subject of pure ones and his evolvement in the problem, he suddenly remembered where he had seen that blade.

"Where did you get that?" Boron asked suddenly causing everyone to turn their attention to him.

"What?" James asked confused.

"That blade: where did you get it?" Boron said again, more impatiently this time.

"What, this?" James asked pointing a wing at the holster around his waist.

"Yes!"

"I got this after the attack on my home six years ago," James said as his face fell to a frown.

For the second time today the room fell into a deathly silence. The owls all showed looks of disbelief at James' statement.

"And where exactly was your home seagull," an old burrowing owl asked.

"Before the attack I lived in the Beaks nesting area on the northern boarder of Tyto forest."

"That attack six years ago killed everyone living in that area. No survivors were ever found," the spotted owl declared blankly, not believing James' claim.

"Well you're looking at one," James said.

"Well how did you survive, seagull?" the spotted owl asked still not believing James' story.

"I had been woken up by a strange smell on the night of the attack. As I got up I quickly I realised that it was smoke and I didn't know what was going on. When I came to my senses, I saw fires burning all around me and bodies of fellow seagulls lying dead everywhere. Nyra found me and laughed at my sorrow and said she would let me go. She did after knocking me out but then Iwas a nine year old forced to take a lonely path. She let me go so I could suffer worse than anyone else that had died that night, but that wasn't the worst part."

"What was the worst part?" Baran asked.

"I saw my family amongst the dead. That was the worst part. But after a few minutes of grieving I saw that my mother still had one last dying breath to use. I went over to her and she told me to find you when I was ready. I promised her I would make it and I did make it here, I've done step one."

The owls were listening intently to James' tale and couldn't help feel pity for the young seagull. But Boron had one last question for him.

"What is your name seagull?" he asked.

"James, my name is James."

Both Boron and Baran looked at each other stunned. Barran whispered something into her mates' ear and he nodded at some kind of agreement. He turned back to the group of owls waiting to hear something from there king.

"I am calling an end to this meeting at once," he said shocking the group of owl.

"But surely you have more questions to ask your majesty," the burrowing owl said.

"No. I am calling an end to this meeting now, I will call another meeting when I feel the time is right," he said bringing a gravel down on a wooden block to signal the meetings end.

The owls in the hollow were beginning to leave. One by one they went the separate ways to different parts of the tree to attend their separate duties. All had left except for James and the two monarchs, who now stood on the platform outside the hollow.

"So why stop the meeting so suddenly?" James asked.

"James, follow us to our hollow. There is something we must discuss privately," Boron said ignoring James' question and began to walk in the direction of his hollow.

"James," Baran said pointing a wing in there hollows direction.

"After you," he said and began to follow them both.

Once they reached the monarchs hollow James saw what was inside. It wasn't as special as you may have thought. It had the various accessories that only royalty could get a hold of and it was slightly bigger than a normal hollow. Not to mention that it was close to the top of the tree so the rulers could get a clear view of the crowds of owls below. But apart from that there wasn't much difference between their hollow and someone elses.

"It's a nice place you've got here," James said as he entered.

"Indeed, but you're not here to judge interior decorating James," Boron said.

"Sorry, so why am I here?" he asked.

"Let us introduce are selves properly first. I am Boron, the King of the Great tree and this is my mate Baran who is Queen of the tree." James bowed his head in acknowledgment of their titles.

"I'm guessing you already know who I am," he said.

"Indeed," Baran said.

"James… I can't believe you're alive," Boron said after a moment of silence.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked confused.

"We thought that no one survived the attack, but here you are." He said.

"Yeah I am and what does it matter to you?" he asked really confused.

"James I don't think he told you but… me and your father were close friends back in the day."

A look of pure shock came across James' face and his beak fell open as he took in the new information he just heard.

"You knew my father?"

"Yes, he saved my life many a time and Quake was also there. Quake and your father, Daniel, used to attack crow mobs during the day when we couldn't and Quake always used to carry that blade," Boron explained looking at the holster James wore.

"My father wasn't a killer. He was a kind and honourable bird that took care of his family," James said disbelieving as he thought the King was joking.

"He and Quake were great warriors from your kind you could even call them the best. You should feel proud that he was a warrior. He helped save many lives."

"My father was a warrior? And to think I thought he was just a story teller. He never told me about him being part of the home guard," James said still slightly shocked at all the new information.

"He probably didn't want you to worry about him is all; he cared a lot for all of you,"

"Yeah it would be the kind of thing he would do. He always thought of others before himself," James said still coming to terms with his father's secret.

That's why he came to us the day before the attack on your home. He came asking for help to save you all."

"And you denied it?" James asked being brought from his thoughts by a sudden jolt of anger that was beginning to boil.

"No we didn't," Baran said calmly sensing James' rage "We were on are way there but by the time we got there it was already too late. We found your family and Quakes but we couldn't find you so we assumed the worst and dealt with the dead as best we could. The massacre at the beaks is now nothing more than a historic event."

"Why did she do it? Why did she attack?" James asked his anger now replaced with sorrow as he began to recall the horrible memories.

"When your father came to me he said that the Pure Ones were demanding that the seagulls leave and give up all property to them. Being the brave bird he was, Daniel made the seagulls stand their ground but it was all in vein when the Pure Ones attacked," Boron explained.

"You know, all that's been keeping me going all these years, is that thirst for revenge and justice. To kill Nyra and destroy the Pure Ones. This only makes me want to do it even more," James said to the two owls before him.

"I understand your anger James and I realise why you have the urge to kill but you have to understand that you can't do this alone," Boron said placing a wing on the young seagull shoulder and the continued. "I admit that I to have been worried about the Pure Ones return. I know they will come back and I think some of the others know as well. We're fighting the same enemy James it would be best if you stay here with us. You would have everything you need and I'll provide a hollow for you to stay in, if you accept the offer."

James thought about the offer for the moment. He knew it would be near impossible to take on the Pure Ones by himself and that it would be nice to be able to stay in one place for a change. Staying here would more than likely be the more sensible thing to do. After a few moments pondering whether to accept the offer or not he made up his mind.

"Alright I'll stay; it's probably for the best."

"It is indeed. I know your father wouldn't want me to not look after his son, it's the least I could do for him and for you," Boron said slightly saddened as he remembered his friends' death.

"I'll go request a hollow to be prepared for you," Baran said before flying out of the hollow and leaving the two alone.

"There's one question I'd like to ask you," James said.

"Ask away."

"Why didn't my father tell me about you, all of you?" he asked.

"My guess is that if anyone found out he knew the ruler of the Great tree then they would probably draw unwanted attention to him and his family."

"That's probably the best reason," James said. Just then Baran arrived back at the hollow. James was surprised at how quick she had got back but didn't question it.

"A hollow is being prepared as we speak, it should be ready by the time we get there," she explained.

"Well you had best be going James, I wish you the best of luck," Boron said.

"Thank you your majesty," James said with a slight bow.

"There is no need for formalities around me James just simply call me Boron."

"And call me Baran." Baran said with a friendly smile.

"I'll do my best to remember that," he said as he walked to the hollow exit where Baran stood.

"And James one last thing," Boron said causing James to turn back to him. "Your father would be proud of you, I know it."

On the way to James' hollow some of the owls they passed started to whisper among themselves. Whispering thing like 'How did a seagull get here 'and 'what did is a seagull doing with Queen Baran' and even 'that must be a first, a seagull at the Great tree. But some of the owls they passed looked at James like they would anyone else, not even caring that he was different. He was surprised that only two or three owls seemed to dislike his presence at the tree. He had expected more owls to dislike his appearance and was pleasantly surprised that they didn't.

It didn't take long to reach his hollow and once they entered it James took in what was inside. It wasn't much. It was your average size hollow with a nice nest to sleep in and a small wooden stump that acted as a table. All in all it was plain and simple and that was how James liked it.

"I apologize for the lack of interior," Baran said.

"No, no don't apologize I like it like this," he said back.

"Then I hope you like your stay here James, now I must be off there is something I must attend to," she said before leaving the hollow.

"Thanks for everything Baran, I really appreciate it," he said gratefully.

Once she had gone, James took another look around the empty hollow before thinking to himself 'things look like they're getting better for me… for once.' His stomach gave a sudden growl as he remembered that he hadn't eaten for over a day and a half. 'I should go see if there's anywhere to eat' he thought to himself.

And that marks the end to another chapter of A Guardian's Revenge. I really took my time getting this one out didn't I? So I made it longer for you. The reason why this took a while to get out is because of the Christmas holidays. But it's another year now until that comes round again so for now I hope I can get chapters up quicker. Just a quick note James may seem quite big and he probably is in real life but making him the size he is make it a whole lot easier for me to write this. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Leave a review to tell me what you think.

crafty-boy-FTW. :D