Soara and the Owls of Ga'Hoole

Chapter 11: The Real Lyze of Kiel

Soara was still freezing by the time of entering Ezylryb's hollow. Not even the fire he started for her to warm her up helped. She still just felt cold, that sea still hitting her feathers. They just sat there as Ezylryb gathered coal with what papeared to be an old battle claw.

"I don't even know what I did with it," Soara said, breaking the silence. He flew to where his desk was at, beginning to right. "I don't know what happened." She muttered beneathe her breath.

Ezylryb continued muttering underneath his breath, writing in a book. Soara continued more.

"We flew a great way out here and it was nothing like that," Soara said.

"You've got no reason to worry, lass. I confess, I guided you into that twister on purpose. I wanted to test your gizzard. You were exemplary."

"Exemplary? No, no, no," Soara said, approaching behind her mentor. That wasn't the  word she would use. "I nearly had my wings ripped off. You know, my head said to do one thing while my gizzard was saying to do another."

"And you trusted your head, Soara." said Ezylryb.

He stamped a sign on the end of the page. Soara noticed that it looked very familiar. "That's when you failed."

"Wait. Is that your mark?"

"What, this?" Ezylryb asked, gesturing to the stamp. "Yes."

"So you wrote the Chronicle of the Battle of the Ice Claws?" she asked.

"I think so. Well, actually, yes. I did."

"Were you there?"

"Yes."

"What, as a scribe?"

""Um... well, no. As a soldier," Ezyrlyb said. He flew where his collection of books were kept and hung it up. "As the, I guess you could say, leader of all the soldiers."

"You're Lyze of Kiel?" Soara asked shocked with a small smile. 

"Um... Yes."

"You're Lyze of Kiel?" Soara repeated

"Yes. Don't wear it out." Ezylryb, or rather formerly Lyze answered.

"But... " Soara looked down at the claw.

"That old thing?" Ezylryb questioned. "That's only good for gathering coals now."

"Yeah, but why go by Ezylryb?"

"All the owls of the Tree know who I am."

"But you're..."

"My days as Lyze are well behind me. And that battle is a distant memory. Except, funnily enough, for young owlets like you. "

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What difference does it make what I call myself?"

"Well, it doesn't," Soara admitted, "but Lyze of Kiel was me and my sister's hero."

"Yes, well, fancy it must be hard meeting your hero... ...and seeing that he's real and not a myth."

"You're just not..." Soara began.

"What did you expect, Soara?" asked Ezylryb. He looked down at the girl. "Some Tyto alba with gleaming armor and battle claws, the moon rising behind him? Well, this is what it looks like when you've actually fought in battle. It's not glorious, it's not beautiful. And it's not even heroic. It's merely doing what's right. And doing it again and again, even if someday, you look like this. "

He gestured to his missing talon and his battle scars. Suddenly, the sound of the gong and the warning bells were heard.

"Something's wrong," Ezyrlyb said.

" Downed owlets, downed owlets!" shouted an owl. The owl coming with a basket full of two owlets came down.

"Come fast!"

"Allomere is back!" shouted one of the owls.

"Some help here. These owlets need attention," Allomere called out.

Soara came from Ezylryb's hollow and landed next to Odysseus.

"Hey. Hey. What happened?"

"Lord Allomere rescued two owlets in the Beaks. It looks like he's hurt," Odysseus said, watching Allomere walk away. "I think he ran into some of your Pure Ones." Odysseus looked at Soara.

"You know, Soara, I didn't really believe you before," Odysseus admitted.

"Oh, well, that's okay," said Soara fixing her feather. "You know, I wouldn't have believed me either, Odysseus."

The two of them shared smiles with each other.

"Soara!" shouted Mrs. P. She came through the croud. "Soara, come fast, it's Eglantine!"

"Eglantine?" Soara repeated.

She quickly made her way through the crowd, where she came near her younger sister. Soara turned the owlet over and realized it was her poor little sister.

"No. Barran, do you think you can help her?" she asked the Queen.

"We will do our best, Soara," Barran promised. Soara watched as her sister was carried away, but Soara felt like she could do nothing as she watched her sister betaken away from her again.

"The battle was ferocious," said Allomere. He was in front of the parliment. "We were greatly outnumbered. I was only lightly wounded, thank Glaux. But the others..."

He stopped before he could say anything.

"Can you estimate the number of enslaved owlets, Allomere?" Strix Struma said.

"Scores, that I witnessed," Allomere answered. "There may well be many more."

"And you believe this is part of a larger plan?" Boron asked.

"It is certain. Your Majesty, this is no time for half measures."

"Hmm," the king wondered. "Bubo, sharpen the battle claws." The blacksmith nodded.

"To arms," said Boron.

"To arms," Allomere answered, a smile creeping up on him.

"Ezylryb!" Soara shouted, entering her mentor's hollow. She saw him getting ready to battle. "Lyze!"

"Yes to both."

" Look, I have to go. You have to take me with you. My brother..."

She couldn't finish her statement, for Ezylryb interrupted her.

"Oh, absolutely," Ezylryb said sarcastically. "An untrained youth, especially a young untrainted youthful girl like you could last a whole minute in a real battle. Here. Come along. We could use the talon fodder. I'd love to throw some bodies at the enemy."

Soara looked at Ezylryb's old battle claw. There was no way that would fit her. It was too small.

"Yeah, but I'm..." Soara began, but she decided not to go further. Her mentor went to the door of his hollow.

" Or you could stay here... ...tend to your sister... ...and do some real good." Ezylryb told her. He looked back at his pupil. Soara didn't know what to say.

"But what do I know, Soara?" Ezylryb asked her. "I'm just a tired old screech."

He took off as Soara watched the owls fly off into the night sky.