serpents
after the pure ones were defeated, the guardians of ga'hoole thought they had nothing to fear.
they were wrong.
a century later, st. aggies is back on the rise, much deadlier than ever. most of the southern kingdoms have been taken over, and with spies everywhere, it seems as if nowhere is safe. but freya the snowy owl and gill the elf owl are certain that they'll be able to survive.
prologue
The wind howled, driving blinding sheets of snow into Fringilla's face. He should have known better than to stay outside at this time of night. A snowflake almost as large as him landed on his wings; the young Elf Owl shivered.
He was so busy trying to stay grounded in the awful weather that he did not notice a spotted Snowy Owl land beside him.
"It's all gone," the Snowy Owl whispered, without a hint of emotion in her voice. However, Gill knew better than to assume that she didn't care. "All of the Southern Kingdoms have fallen at last. We have to go north; there's no choice."
"Silverveil?" Gill asked, his golden eyes glowing with the heat of desperation. "It's so beautiful... St. Aggie's wouldn't dare, Freya. They wouldn't."
Freya shook her head sadly. "Only small pieces of it. I know it's my home, and that's where you found me after you escaped being snatched, but we can't stay there. It's just not safe."
"But we can't go north! It's so cold! It's like this weather but a thousand times worse..." grumbled Gill, nearly falling over as he raised his wings in fury. Suddenly his eyes brightened. "Ga'Hoole!" he shouted. "They can't have taken Ga'Hoole... it's said only the bravest of fliers can reach the island. Maybe some of St. Aggie's can get there, but not all of them."
"Ga'Hoole's still standing, but it's like it's in perpetual siege. There are so many troops surrounding the lake, and plus they've got all the kingdoms around there. I want to stay in Silverveil almost as badly as you do, but we can't."
Gill's face fell in sadness. "Let's go to the Northern Kingdoms, then."
In the blinding blizzard of white, the two owls took off, their wingbeats completely obscured by the wind's howling. To the owls of St. Aggie's, these two runaways had given up, but hope shone in Freya's and Gill's eyes. As long as they even had a chance at living free, they would take it.