Coryn was asleep after a long night of experiments. He was trying to figure out what caused gizzlemia, which happened to Eglantine in her youth. That day he had moved one step closer.
Suddenly, while he was sleeping, fog billowed around his head and a gold light seemed to shimmer out of the gray.
What's happening?
Your sprit is coming to speak to me.
Who are you?
Who do you think I am?
The fog parted and a Spotted owl flew out to perch on a branch that was not visible a moment before.
Because you are sleeping and cannot go to the Spirit Woods, I have come to you.
Grank? King Hoole?
The owl churred and something fiery shone in his deep amber eyes.
Look into my eyes, Coryn.
Coryn felt his spirit swoop down to the branch and peer into his eyes. He felt his gizzard drop out of him as he saw the familiar orange ember, tinged with blue and finally with green.
King Hoole!
Yes, Coryn. I have come to speak to you.
What do you need, Your Majesty?
None of that. Coryn, I am like you in many ways. For instance, King, Your Grace, Your Majesty, those names never suited me. So I am, now, just Hoole.
But, Hoole, why have you come to speak to me?
Because, Coryn, Grank wanted me to grant you one wish. Yes, one wish.
But why one wish?
Oh, dear. This will be hard to explain.
Grank is in glaumora?
Yes, he is. So are all of those you read about in the legends--except for Lord Arrin and his armies.
Your mother is up there.
The scroom's face softened.
Yes, Siv is up there. And my good father. But I need to tell you what I have come here for.
One wish, but one wish in what?
In life, my friend. One wish. Say it now, and it will come true.
But why? I don't understand—
Suddenly the fog turned into thunderclouds, and Hoole's voice turned panicky.
Hurry, Coryn!
I WISH THAT NONE OF THE GUARDIANS HAD DIED AND THAT THE PURE ONES NEVER EXCISTED!!
Lightning flashed and Coryn awoke with a start.
"Was it true?" he said to himself. "Was all of that really true?" He shook himself and got up out of his moss-and-down bed.
He saw an elderly Spotted Owl walking with a younger one, who looked like she could just hug her.
"Otulissa!" called Coryn.
She started, turned, and ran to Coryn.
"Do you know what's going on?" she asked him. "I mean, Nyra's eating in the Great Hollow and none of us know how she got there. And, her scar's gone! Hey—" she peered at his scar—"yours is gone too!"
Coryn felt his face with his wing and gasped. It was gone!
He saw a too-familiar Sooty Owl eating next to Nyra and another too-familiar Barn Owl.
"PHILLIP!!" he screeched. The Sooty Owl was startled. "What? Am I in troub—Nyroc?!"
"I'm called Coryn now," he said breathlessly. He blinked at his old friend. "I can't believe it's you." Then he turned to Nyra, his mother. He couldn't believe what he saw.
Her killer eyes were gone, and they had turned the color of onyx. Her ragged brown and mud colored feathers had turned silky, tawny gold. There was a motherly feeling about her that reminded Coryn of when Soren talked about his own mother. "Mum?" he asked her.
She looked over to him. She smiled. "Coryn, I'm so glad we all came here. It's so nice. I'm thinking of being trained in navigation. Stryker there wants to be a collier." Coryn looked over to Stryker, who patted him on the shoulder. "You're a lucky young'un. King!"
Then Coryn went to Phillip again. Nyra spoke to him: "Yes, Phillip came too, isn't it wonderful?" "Nyra said that anyone who wanted to come could," said the Sooty. "Some just left and went to be wanderers. Uglamore went." "Too bad," sighed Coryn. "I liked Uglamore."
Coryn got up and began to fly and walk around. He saw two Snowy Owls he had never seen conferring with Strix Struma, the Spotted Owl he had seen earlier, and then—his heart leaped—Ezylryb!!
The ryb was talking to Soren and Otulissa. Soren spotted Coryn and invited him over. "So, you're leadin' this lot well?" asked Ezylryb as he peered at Coryn. "I hope. I'm going to call the parliament together. Come on, you three."
Soon the expanded parliament came over and Coryn felt like he was walking on air as he looked down on Elvanryb, Soren, Ezylryb, Gylfie, Twilight, Sylvanaryb, Boron, Barran, Otulissa, and Strix Struma.
"As you all know, the former rybs have come back to us." A great cheer rose up; the other Guardians had come into the hollow.
"We now have two rybs for almost every chaw. This means more young'uns can be trained and that means more Guardians. We will flourish." More cheers.
He then stretched out a long deerskin. "This deer was caught and killed by three Great Grays, I'll have you know," he said before writing a ryb list on the skin with a piece of charcoal. It said:
Metals: Bubo
Colliering: Elvanryb and Ruby
Ga'Hoology: Otulissa
Navigation: Strix Struma and Gylfie
Weather Interpretation: Ezylryb and Soren
Tracking: Sylvanaryb and Digger
Search and Rescue: Barran and Twilight
"Now, Boron, you never led a chaw, and therefore you have a choice to join either Ga'Hoology or Metals chaw." Boron churred.
"I hope you don't mind, Coryn, that I remain chawless for the time being."
"Of course I don't mind. I had an idea that I've been keeping from you all for a while--"
Coryn scratched out another sentence—"Hunting."
"A hunting chaw?" asked Sylvanaryb. "That would be helpful, but all except young owls already know how to hunt."
"Ah. That I have not overlooked," said Coryn as he hooked the deerskin on a few branches and put the charcoal on a ledge.
He then straightened up and said, "In winter, we stay in our great tree and live off of the meat that our few hunters save in the silver, golden, and copper rose rain months. And we have to save nuts, too, and the rest of our diet that are either not running or not growing at the time." A few of the owls muttered and a few nodded.
"Now, there are animals in winter if you know where to look," said Coryn as he swung his head to Boron. Then he added slowly, "And Snowy Owls know the places where little animals hide." "Of course!" boomed Ezylryb. "Boron can lead the new hunting chaw!"
"Yes! Yes!" came the cry. Coryn spread his wings for silence.
"Boron, do you accept? If you do, we can start the tapping next week."
"Of course I accept," he chuckled. "I love the young'uns. Flying, jabbering, telling wet poop jokes."
"Boron!" His mate disapproved.
"Only kidding, my dear."
Coryn sheered and the owls filed out. Coryn then swept down to talk to Boron.
"We'd better start you up right away." "I agree. I'll call the owlets over."
Coryn didn't stay to watch. He went down to the dining hollow for a late breakfast.
He looked into the night and whistled through his beak. "It ain't a dream."