Finally, after several days of their great flight adventure across the variety of owl kingdoms, the group of young owls headed home. They were just leaving the Desert of Kuneer, where they had soared over endless, barren land of sand and shrubs. There were very few trees, besides cactus, that they could stop and rest on, so they didn't stay long; they had a game of hunting snakes, and they went on long endurance flights. They had met a few Burrowing Owls and Elf Owls on the way, whom were very friendly and welcoming to them.
As the band grouped together as one, they flew high above the ground, just below the clouds, the breeze tickling their feathers, as they left the Desert of Kuneer and headed North across the Forest Kingdom of Ambala and The Barrens. Their small yet thriving kingdom was nestled just beyond The Barrens, near the Sea of Hoolemere and the Silverveil. And though it was small and familiar, Tylisia breathed a deep sigh as she glided on the wind, for she was happy to go home and finally be back to her own roosting branch and hunting schedule. She would graduate from the basic skills level, and would be one step closer to an experienced, mature, and trusted adult owl in the kingdom. After that, she would be free to choose what she wanted to do; whether she wanted to be a soldier, a broody, an owlet-sitter, a nest maid, a blacksmith, a forager, or even a teacher. The possibilities were endless. Well, nearly endless.
As these exciting thoughts raced through her head, Tylisia wondered what her future would hold. Would she ever have her own family? What duty or job would she decide to take part in? She already had a few ideas. She wanted to be either a broody, forager, or teacher. She would love to be a brooder (also called an "egg-sitter"), and being a forager would be fun as well because she loved to hunt and was quite good at it. She could also be a teacher, since she thought that she would like to teach other owls about basic skills and to pass down everything to them that she had learned.
Suddenly, her daydream thoughts were interrupted by a loud alarm screech that shot through the air and hit her with full force. Startled, her eyes darted around. The young owls around her had similar expressions on their faces as hers; full of confusion, fright, and uncertainty. Tylisia looked behind her and noticed that one of the older adviser owls, whom was second in-command, was gone. He had always been behind them to keep an eye on the young owls in the back, bringing up the rear, and it was mandatory that he stay there while they were in flight. The other adviser owl, whom was first in-command, was always in the front or, occasionally, on the sides. He was still there, though his expression was no longer calm and focused. Now, his eyes were full of alarm and anger. He screeched back to them, telling them to keep flying straight ahead quickly, though it wasn't the same screech that Tylisia had heard that had alarmed her in the first place. It had been a cold, cruel attack screech, full of evil and wickedness. The sound of it made her gizzard wince and the feathers on her neck stand straight up. It made her feel threatened, as if a dangerous predator was lurking nearby, and she could sense it even if she couldn't see it.
And indeed, she couldn't see whatever it had been. They were suddenly flying through a thick cloud cover, and so they couldn't see very much below or above them. Despite their keen eyesight, everything far off seemed to be a shadow; a blur of color covered by a veal of transparent, white clouds.
"What's going on?" A young Screech Owl, flying nearby, asked her. His eyes were wide with fear, just as Tylisia guessed hers were.
"I don't know. Do you know where the second in-command owl went?" Tylisia answered.
"No. The last time I saw him was when we took off at the Desert of Kuneer." The Screech Owl said, the fear in his voice growing more and more obvious.
But without warning came another attack screech, identical to the one Tylisia had heard before, only now she heard the direction it had come from. It had come from somewhere above her. Then, another screech was heard, only this time it had a slightly different tone and it had come from somewhere below them, farther beneath the cloud cover then any of them could see. This screech had obviously come from a completely different owl then the first one, yet it was just as bone-chilling, maybe even more so. It gripped Tylisia's gizzard like a cold, iron claw with sharp talons. Her wings stiffened up and her eyes became larger than usual. She looked around desperately. She could sense the feeling of a nearby threat, even if she couldn't see what it was.
The next thing she knew, a hundred pairs of metal talons sliced through the cloud cover, followed by a hundred owls. Tylisia's eyes grew wide with fear and her heart skipped a beat. "The Pure Ones!" She gasped. Before she knew it, she saw a set of red, gleaming eyes, metal claws, and a blur of feathers hurtling towards her through the clouds among the scattered young owls. Eeeek! The screech owl beside her screeched, darting upwards to try and escape. Tylisia pulled on her wings close to her body and dropped straight down, causing the evil owl to miss his target by a talon.
Wings flapping, feathers flying, and chilling screeches filled the cloudy air. Tylisia flew down a ways until she was sure the Pure One owl had lost her. Then she looked around her for a second, only to see one of the most horrific scenes she had witnessed. Pure Ones owls were everywhere; they flew among the band of young owls, darting at them and, to Tylisia's horror, causing them to drop from the sky, one by one. The two adviser owls were no where in sight. The young owls with little fighting experience had no chance against the evil Pure Ones.
Suddenly, a Pure One owl flew out of no where and came at Tylisia, his metal battle clouds open and aimed towards her. She power-surged straight up and he followed. She darted straight ahead, flying as fast as she could. Still, he followed her through the thick clouds. The wind whistled loudly in her ears and her feathers were slick as she flew, a million different thoughts going through her head. Where do I go? What do I do? What if he catches me? Where can I hide? Why can't I fly faster than this? He was right behind her, his claws reaching out to her, and just when the deadly battle claws touched the feathers on her tail, she nosedived down again. This threw him off slightly, which was just enough for Tylisia to fly straight down to the ground. She landed and, as if by some miracle, an abandoned Burrowing Owl hole was a few feet nearby. She flew quickly to it and dove in, tucking back into it as far as her large Barn Owl body would allow her. She waited a few seconds before the ground shook with a thud. The Pure One owl had landed just a few feet on the ground above where she was hiding. He took several steps, his metal battle claws clicking. Then there was silence. The silence seemed to last forever. Tylisia held her breath, holding as still as she could, worried that the slightest breath or the slightest ruffle of a feather would give her away. One thing she knew was that this Pure One owl was definitely not a Barn Owl, at least; if it had been, he would have easily been able to hear her heartbeat beneath the ground. Barn Owls were one of the few, if not the only, owl species that could hear a prey's heartbeat when it was nearby.
Finally, Tylisia heard the owl take off into flight again. He screeched loudly, letting the other Pure Ones know that the area he was currently in was clear. It was only after a half hour or so before Tylisia dared to breath a sigh of relief and venture out of her hideaway. She did so cautiously, listening and looking around her. But there was no sign of any Pure One owl around. All that lay before her was barren land, spotted with clumps of shrubs and grass patches. She stepped outside of the burrow; the skies had begun to clear up, yet a faint fog hovered lingeringly over the ground. Tylisia flapped her wings and took flight; not a single fellow young owl from the band she had traveled in was around. She suddenly felt lonely and full of dread. With an empty gizzard, despite the huge Snowshoe Hare she had recently eaten a couple nights ago, she flew in the direction of her kingdom.
But just when she was convinced she was surely alone and the Pure Ones had left, she felt a large presence somewhere near her. Before she had a chance to look around and see what it was, a great force slammed into her from behind and sent her spiraling through the air. A pair of sharp metal claws grabbed her, and she felt a searing pain shoot up her wing. She screeched and, by instinct, reached up and bit the owl's claw with her sharp beak, just above the metal claw. He screeched in surprise and dropped her. She spiraled to the ground, but managed to spread her wings and stay in the air, though rather uncontrolled due to her damaged wing. She winced in pain as she flapped as hard as she could, flying as fast as she could to the one place she thought she was safe, which was her kingdom. The Pure One owl was right on her tail. He seemed determined to not let her escape a second time.
Just when Tylisia felt as though all her strength was nearly gone and the pain in her wing began to overcome her, her kingdom came in sight from behind the thinning fog. She flapped her wings harder; Almost there! She said to herself. She could feel the presence of the evil owl looming behind her, just a claw's length away from catching her. With a last burst of strength, she hurled into the trees, the Pure One right behind her. She hurdled straight to the ground like a meteor coming into earth's atmosphere. Without any strength left, she was not able to stop herself from landing right into a deep pond of water.
As the band grouped together as one, they flew high above the ground, just below the clouds, the breeze tickling their feathers, as they left the Desert of Kuneer and headed North across the Forest Kingdom of Ambala and The Barrens. Their small yet thriving kingdom was nestled just beyond The Barrens, near the Sea of Hoolemere and the Silverveil. And though it was small and familiar, Tylisia breathed a deep sigh as she glided on the wind, for she was happy to go home and finally be back to her own roosting branch and hunting schedule. She would graduate from the basic skills level, and would be one step closer to an experienced, mature, and trusted adult owl in the kingdom. After that, she would be free to choose what she wanted to do; whether she wanted to be a soldier, a broody, an owlet-sitter, a nest maid, a blacksmith, a forager, or even a teacher. The possibilities were endless. Well, nearly endless.
As these exciting thoughts raced through her head, Tylisia wondered what her future would hold. Would she ever have her own family? What duty or job would she decide to take part in? She already had a few ideas. She wanted to be either a broody, forager, or teacher. She would love to be a brooder (also called an "egg-sitter"), and being a forager would be fun as well because she loved to hunt and was quite good at it. She could also be a teacher, since she thought that she would like to teach other owls about basic skills and to pass down everything to them that she had learned.
Suddenly, her daydream thoughts were interrupted by a loud alarm screech that shot through the air and hit her with full force. Startled, her eyes darted around. The young owls around her had similar expressions on their faces as hers; full of confusion, fright, and uncertainty. Tylisia looked behind her and noticed that one of the older adviser owls, whom was second in-command, was gone. He had always been behind them to keep an eye on the young owls in the back, bringing up the rear, and it was mandatory that he stay there while they were in flight. The other adviser owl, whom was first in-command, was always in the front or, occasionally, on the sides. He was still there, though his expression was no longer calm and focused. Now, his eyes were full of alarm and anger. He screeched back to them, telling them to keep flying straight ahead quickly, though it wasn't the same screech that Tylisia had heard that had alarmed her in the first place. It had been a cold, cruel attack screech, full of evil and wickedness. The sound of it made her gizzard wince and the feathers on her neck stand straight up. It made her feel threatened, as if a dangerous predator was lurking nearby, and she could sense it even if she couldn't see it.
And indeed, she couldn't see whatever it had been. They were suddenly flying through a thick cloud cover, and so they couldn't see very much below or above them. Despite their keen eyesight, everything far off seemed to be a shadow; a blur of color covered by a veal of transparent, white clouds.
"What's going on?" A young Screech Owl, flying nearby, asked her. His eyes were wide with fear, just as Tylisia guessed hers were.
"I don't know. Do you know where the second in-command owl went?" Tylisia answered.
"No. The last time I saw him was when we took off at the Desert of Kuneer." The Screech Owl said, the fear in his voice growing more and more obvious.
But without warning came another attack screech, identical to the one Tylisia had heard before, only now she heard the direction it had come from. It had come from somewhere above her. Then, another screech was heard, only this time it had a slightly different tone and it had come from somewhere below them, farther beneath the cloud cover then any of them could see. This screech had obviously come from a completely different owl then the first one, yet it was just as bone-chilling, maybe even more so. It gripped Tylisia's gizzard like a cold, iron claw with sharp talons. Her wings stiffened up and her eyes became larger than usual. She looked around desperately. She could sense the feeling of a nearby threat, even if she couldn't see what it was.
The next thing she knew, a hundred pairs of metal talons sliced through the cloud cover, followed by a hundred owls. Tylisia's eyes grew wide with fear and her heart skipped a beat. "The Pure Ones!" She gasped. Before she knew it, she saw a set of red, gleaming eyes, metal claws, and a blur of feathers hurtling towards her through the clouds among the scattered young owls. Eeeek! The screech owl beside her screeched, darting upwards to try and escape. Tylisia pulled on her wings close to her body and dropped straight down, causing the evil owl to miss his target by a talon.
Wings flapping, feathers flying, and chilling screeches filled the cloudy air. Tylisia flew down a ways until she was sure the Pure One owl had lost her. Then she looked around her for a second, only to see one of the most horrific scenes she had witnessed. Pure Ones owls were everywhere; they flew among the band of young owls, darting at them and, to Tylisia's horror, causing them to drop from the sky, one by one. The two adviser owls were no where in sight. The young owls with little fighting experience had no chance against the evil Pure Ones.
Suddenly, a Pure One owl flew out of no where and came at Tylisia, his metal battle clouds open and aimed towards her. She power-surged straight up and he followed. She darted straight ahead, flying as fast as she could. Still, he followed her through the thick clouds. The wind whistled loudly in her ears and her feathers were slick as she flew, a million different thoughts going through her head. Where do I go? What do I do? What if he catches me? Where can I hide? Why can't I fly faster than this? He was right behind her, his claws reaching out to her, and just when the deadly battle claws touched the feathers on her tail, she nosedived down again. This threw him off slightly, which was just enough for Tylisia to fly straight down to the ground. She landed and, as if by some miracle, an abandoned Burrowing Owl hole was a few feet nearby. She flew quickly to it and dove in, tucking back into it as far as her large Barn Owl body would allow her. She waited a few seconds before the ground shook with a thud. The Pure One owl had landed just a few feet on the ground above where she was hiding. He took several steps, his metal battle claws clicking. Then there was silence. The silence seemed to last forever. Tylisia held her breath, holding as still as she could, worried that the slightest breath or the slightest ruffle of a feather would give her away. One thing she knew was that this Pure One owl was definitely not a Barn Owl, at least; if it had been, he would have easily been able to hear her heartbeat beneath the ground. Barn Owls were one of the few, if not the only, owl species that could hear a prey's heartbeat when it was nearby.
Finally, Tylisia heard the owl take off into flight again. He screeched loudly, letting the other Pure Ones know that the area he was currently in was clear. It was only after a half hour or so before Tylisia dared to breath a sigh of relief and venture out of her hideaway. She did so cautiously, listening and looking around her. But there was no sign of any Pure One owl around. All that lay before her was barren land, spotted with clumps of shrubs and grass patches. She stepped outside of the burrow; the skies had begun to clear up, yet a faint fog hovered lingeringly over the ground. Tylisia flapped her wings and took flight; not a single fellow young owl from the band she had traveled in was around. She suddenly felt lonely and full of dread. With an empty gizzard, despite the huge Snowshoe Hare she had recently eaten a couple nights ago, she flew in the direction of her kingdom.
But just when she was convinced she was surely alone and the Pure Ones had left, she felt a large presence somewhere near her. Before she had a chance to look around and see what it was, a great force slammed into her from behind and sent her spiraling through the air. A pair of sharp metal claws grabbed her, and she felt a searing pain shoot up her wing. She screeched and, by instinct, reached up and bit the owl's claw with her sharp beak, just above the metal claw. He screeched in surprise and dropped her. She spiraled to the ground, but managed to spread her wings and stay in the air, though rather uncontrolled due to her damaged wing. She winced in pain as she flapped as hard as she could, flying as fast as she could to the one place she thought she was safe, which was her kingdom. The Pure One owl was right on her tail. He seemed determined to not let her escape a second time.
Just when Tylisia felt as though all her strength was nearly gone and the pain in her wing began to overcome her, her kingdom came in sight from behind the thinning fog. She flapped her wings harder; Almost there! She said to herself. She could feel the presence of the evil owl looming behind her, just a claw's length away from catching her. With a last burst of strength, she hurled into the trees, the Pure One right behind her. She hurdled straight to the ground like a meteor coming into earth's atmosphere. Without any strength left, she was not able to stop herself from landing right into a deep pond of water.
