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name Hortense was the most popular for either girl or boyhatchlings. There was a saying in Ambala that a hero was known by only one name and that name was Hortense. Before the Pure Ones, St. Aggie’s had wreaked terror and havoc on the Southern Kingdoms, owl-napping hatch-lings and even eggs from nests. In that time, Hortense had infiltrated St. Aggie’s, posing as a young defenseless owl. She had succeeded in penetrating the eggorium and, with the help of two bald eagles, rescued countless eggs. As Hortense grew older, however, she seemed to grow dimmer, almost fading away. She attributed this to the large deposits of flecks in the streams and soil of Ambala, which she said could change the nature of an owl born there, proving to be either a blessing or a curse. But the Band had never seen another owl in Ambala that resembled this mysterious owl. She was a legend, but for the Band, in particular Soren and Gylfie, she was very real. Her presence was as compelling as it ever was.
    “So you knew we were coming, Hortense?” Gylfie asked.
    Always one to cut to the chase, Hortense replied, “It’s about the book burnings, isn’t it, and these Blue Brigades?” In that moment, two massive eagles plummeted out of the sky and landed on the opposite side of the immense nest. They were accompanied by two flying snakes.
    “You said they’d come.” Streak, the smaller of the two eagles, spoke. His mate, Zan, was mute and merely nodded. Her tongue had been ripped out some years before in a brutal battle with the St. Aggie’s forces. “The book burnings, eh?”
    Soren just shook his head. “We had no idea it was this widespread. We saw one, but that was way up in Silverveil, near the notch.”
    “That’s where most of them have been,” Streak said. “But just now we saw a huge fire over in The Barrens.”
    Then the two luminous bright green snakes hissed. Even after having met them on many occasions each one of the Band wilfed slightly upon seeing these two snakes. There was nothing quite like the flying snakes of Ambala. They possessed one of the deadliest venoms on Earth which, when used correctly, could cure instead of kill. Twilight’s life had been saved by these snakes when he had sustained what everyone thought was a mortal wound in battle. Now both Slynella and her mate, Stingyll, were hissing in an absolute fury. “And to think,” the words always seemed to slither off their tongue, “we were the ones to teach him how to read,” Stingyll said.
    “Yesssss,” agreed Slynella. “It sssseemss ssso long ago. What happened?”
    “What are you talking about?” Digger asked.
    “The book burningsss,” Stingyll said.
    “You taught the blue owl how to read?” Soren asked.
    “No, no, never!” Slynella gave a scorching hiss. “Coryn…Coryn, when he was ssstill called Nyroc. We ssspelled out his name for him, like thisss, through our sssky writing.” Slynella immediately flew off the edge of the nest into the air, and Stingyll followed. They began scrolling themselves into myriad shapes and gradually letters began to form. “You sssee, it wasss all his idea. To reverse the ssspelling of his original name from Nyroc to Coryn!” Slynella paused. “That owl’sss a geniussss!”
    “Yesss. Ssso why isss he ssso dumb now?” Stingyll asked.
    The Band was bewildered. Soren flew straight up to them as they continued to slither out in midair. “It’s the Striga that is burning books. What does any of this book burning have to do with Coryn?”
    “Why, he ordered it,” Slynella said. “The Ssstriga is acting on Coryn’s command.”
    Soren felt himself wilf. Zan, the larger of the eagles, flew to him instantly.
    “She’s got you, Soren. She’s got you,” Hortense called out.
    “I’m fine, don’t worry.” But, indeed, Soren had started to go yeep.
    The entire Band was stunned by this news. “I just simply can’t believe it.” Gylfie shook her head. “We all know that Coryn has been growing very