Chapter 2

Nyra and her top lieutenant Stryker, along with a company of other Barn Owls, flew back to their fortress on the borders of Tyto and Ambala, the full shine moon casting a silvery light on their wings as they glided through the night. A Sooty patrol shrieked out a greeting, "Hail, Adjunct General Nyra returns!" Thousands of Barn, Grass, Masked, and Sooty Owls stood tall, shoulders erect, but Nyra barely regarded them. Her thoughts were on the young nestling Kludd. Such a handsome young owl. And with more rage in his gizzard than any owl I've ever seen! He'll be a perfect Pure One ruler of the Southern Kingdoms – and the Northern Kingdoms!

Nyra herself had been hatched in the Northern Kingdoms, near the Bitter Sea, to be precise, on the night of a lunar eclipse. There was something special about owlets who hatched on the night of a lunar eclipse, Nyra later learned. An enchantment was cast upon that creature, sometimes good leading to greatness of spirit, and sometimes bad leading to pure evil. But in the eyes of her father, all she amounted to was seagull splat after her mother died; finally, one day, she killed the miserable mooncalf and flew off to the Southern Kingdoms, where she came across the High Tyto, a grizzled old Barn Owl named Agamemnon and his mate Leonie. Neither asked any questions about where she came from; they simply led her to the Pure Ones fortress and took her in right away. She proved herself to the Pure Ones within days, revealing herself to be a cunning and vicious owl. Eventually, Leonie fell ill and died, causing Agamemnon – or "Ag", as Nyra once heard Leonie call him – to take Nyra as his mate. He was a disgusting old owl, and Nyra hoped desperately that Glaux would take him soon. On the other wing, however, if he died, there would be no one but her to lead, and if she died, who then? This was precisely why she wanted Kludd; he would be perfect, she just knew it.

She must have been flying faster than she thought, because before long, she arrived at the throne of Ag himself. Per custom, she dipped her head in obeisance, as did the other owls in her party, before approaching Ag, whose back was turned to them. "Your Pureness," she began, "we have successfully recruited scores of Tytos young and old to our ranks."

"Did you not think I guessed that, Nyra?" Ag said, his voice a low, raspy growl. "Did you think, for one second, I would let any of you stand before me if you hadn't? You clearly have other business to attend to, my dear, or else why would you be blathering on about things unimportant to me?" By this time, Ag had turned to face them, his dark, black eyes glaring from his scarred, white face.

Always one to get to the point, Nyra thought to herself, then proceeded. "There is a nestling, Your Pureness," she whispered, "that I believe to be a cut above the rest. I found him in Tyto, in a fir tree near the River Hoole."

"And what makes you believe," Ag cut her off, "that this nestling is so special, my dear?"

Nyra flinched at the High Tyto's tone, but she pressed on. "I saw the look in his eyes, Your Pureness, when he first fastened our eyes on our battle claws. It was the look of pure, absolute rage that could not be quelled." The Pure Ones, in their twisted minds, equated rage to courage, and therefore valued it above all other traits. "I do think that an owl such as this will be essential to the Pure Ones' domination of all the owl kingdoms – not just those of the South, but those of the North as well."

Ag cocked his head, which Nyra took as a sign that he was interested. "He has not yet learned to fly, so we could not bring him here to you; otherwise, we would, so that you could see for yourself the rage and blood in his eyes. However, when he has had his First Flight ceremony, perhaps we can invite him to a ceremony of our own, and he shall prove himself as a Pure One."

For a moment, an unnerving silence filled the ruins. Then, at last, Ag spoke up. "This nestling you speak of", he said slowly, almost cautiously, "what is his name?" "Kludd, Your Pureness." Nyra replied. "Kludd Alba."

Ag gave a barely perceptible nod, then wrote something down on a piece of parchment and sent for one of his messengers, a one – eyed Sooty Owl named Blackwing. "Take this to the Forest Kingdom of Tyto, to the tree of Kludd Alba…" "A fir near the Tyto branch of the River Hoole." Nyra offered. "Yes, yes," Ag replied, dismissing her with a wave of his port wing. "Do not give it to any owl unless they identify themselves as Kludd Alba, even if they live in that location." With that, Blackwing was off, and Ag leaned towards Nyra. "If you are right, my dear," he said in a lecherous tone, "victory shall be ours, and you and I will have power beyond measure."

What a flatterer. Nyra thought derisively, but she held her tongue. "Your Pureness," she replied, a sly sparkle lighting her eyes, "has my gizzard ever been wrong before?"

Kludd was shaking. His parents, siblings, and even Mrs. P were asleep when he got the message from Blackwing. Everyone else in the hollow was sound asleep, but Kludd was wide awake as he read and reread the scroll over and over again.

To Kludd Alba,

It has come to our attention via a Pure One patrol that you have shown potential to be a member of the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones. According to this patrol, you have shown yourself to be an owl of great rage and ferocity, and may lead the Pure Ones to glory and power. Thereby, it has been agreed that, after you have mastered your First Flight ceremony, you will be invited to partake in a ceremony typical to the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones.

Should you choose to accept this invitation, you must fly towards the ruins of a castle belonging to the Others in a section of Tyto known as Redwood. There, you will be briefed on what is expected at ceremonies typical to the Union as well as customs of the Union. After you complete your first Pure One ceremony, if you are successful, you will be initiated into the Pure One ranks and become an immediate member. This information is not to be shared with anyone else; bury this note immediately upon reading it.

Their Pureness',

High Tyto Agamemnon & Adjunct General Nyra

Kludd read the note one last time, committing it to memory, and then, using his beak and talons, climbed down to the forest floor below, dug a neat little hole near the base of the tree, put the note in, and then buried it per the instructions. He then climbed back up the tree to his hollow, being careful so as to make no noise, and sat back in his nest. He was, however, still not ready to sleep. He was invited to attend a ceremony of the Pure Ones! What would it be like? Would it be full of glory and stimulated battles? One thing was for sure: he would never find out if he didn't complete his First Flight ceremony smoothly.

Indeed, the last thing he did before he finally fell asleep was look at the pair of wings tucked at his sides and whisper, "Keep your racdrops together."

Authors Note: Hey, sorry I was away so long, school has been kicking my ass! Okay, so as most of you have probably noticed, no one in "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" has given the old High Tyto a proper name (which is one of the few grievances I have w/ Kathryn Lasky), so I decided to give him one. For those of you who don't know, Agamemnon is a king from Ancient Greek mythology who, after the Trojan War, was murdered by his wife and her lover, and I found the name quite fitting since… well, you know. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for all the love you've given so far!