Cleve, or Cleve of Firthmore is a male Spotted Owl, or Strix occidentalis, and the mate of Otulissa, revealed in Exile. He is a prince of an ancient dynasty in the Northern Kingdoms and a healer, being a gizzard resister who doesn't believe in war.
History[]
Lost Tales of Ga'Hoole[]
Cleve was a warrior before he sought a scholarly life. He had an older brother called Claymore, who often thought more than he did and called him "wet poop brain", or WPB for short. When Cleve's elderly caretaker mumbled that the 'big brother' would save the family and rid the world of all evil, Claymore decided to take part in battle training to fulfill his destiny.
However, one of Snarth's servants, Jak, stole cherished battleclaws belonging to Cleve's family, and two brothers flew out to pursue him. When they caught up to the servant, it was revealed that he was blackmailed into stealing the battleclaws under the threat of his sister being harmed. Claymore eventually talked the servant into returning the battleclaws, however Cleve was outraged and attacked the servant. As a result, wind carried all three owls away, and while Cleve managed to escape, his brother and servant were crashed into the cliffs and died. Disappointed by his rash behavior, Cleve sought a more scholarly life by joining the Glauxian Brothers and becoming a gizzard resister, though not before flying with his father and their battlemaster to their cousins' of the Firth of Kyran, which according to Jak had threatened his sister. Arriving there, they and their cousins discovered that the blackmailing had been done by an insane and delusional in-law who had done the deed without the support of the firth and was cast out after the discovery. Cleve and his family then rescued Jak's sister and took her to safety.
In the end it turned out the prophecy referred to the bigger brother in size, not the bigger one in age, and Cleve was much larger than Claymore. The prophecy was eventually fulfilled when Cleve took part in the War of the Ember, destroying hagsfiends' eggs and saving Otulissa.
The Burning[]
Cleve met Otulissa at the Glauxian Brothers retreat. Otulissa noticed Cleve during a meditation flight and later talked with him. Otulissa was surprised to learn that he is the prince and was shocked that Cleve does not believe in war, because of the invasion the Chaw of Chaws was planning.
The Outcast []
At the final, Cleve is mentioned to be at the Great Tree taking care of Barran and Boron who were seriously sick. He tells the Band that the old king and queen wanted to speak their last words with them.
Exile[]
When Kalo told Coryn that Otulissa needed something to put her life back on track after she was wounded and lost an eye in the battle with the Striga and his Blue Brigade, Coryn then remembered that Gylfie mentioned she thought Otulissa was in love with Cleve. So the two of them secretly traveled to the Northern Kingdoms to ask Cleve to come with them. Cleve, now a healer, accepted and was happily reunited with Otulissa, hoping that she would become his mate. At first, Otulissa declined, fearing that they wouldn't be happy because she was a warrior and Cleve was a pacifist. However, when Cleve assured her that they were so much more now then when they first met and told her he loved her no matter what, Otulissa accepted and the two became mates.
Illustration from the German edition of the books
The War of the Ember[]
Cleve was seen crooning the words of the gadfeather love song Blythe was singing to Otulissa, and was mentioned by Soren to be the only owl he knew who could croon to Otulissa and get away unclawed. He was in the meeting when Dumpy, Gwyndor and Bess reported strange news. He gave a sign, which no one noticed with the exception of Dumpy, to Tengshu, a blue owl, to teach him Qui. After the meeting, Dumpy asked for the meaning of the exchange of glances, which Cleve responded as a nervous tic.
Cleve was then sent to scout for strange signs with Otulissa, and the two found remnants of hagsfiend eggs and the massacred bodies of dozens of kraals and gadfeathers. Among these gadfeathers is Isa, a beloved friend of Cleve's who they find dying. With her last breath, Isa tells them that the kraals and gadfeathers had been pitilessly murdered by blue owls and died before Cleve and Otulissa's eyes, leaving Cleve devastated. After finding the eggs, the pair was attacked by dragon owls, who were quickly killed by water and Cleve's Breath of Qui. After the dragon owls were killed, Cleve confessed that he had been studying the Art of Qui behind Otulissa's back, due to being worried that the Ember would be damaged and Otulissa would get hurt, so he wanted to protect the tree, the Ember, and Otulissa, which meant much to her.
The Den of Forever Frost[]
Cleve overheard Stellan, Jytte, and Third discussing their journey to the Den of Forever Frost, finding it perplexing that they're looking for a place of such ancient history. He returns to the Great Tree and discusses is with Otulissa.
under construction
Personality[]
On page 4 of The War of the Ember, we see how Cleve was acting very loving to Otulissa. When we first meet Cleve, he seemed very sociable.
Contradictions[]
In Exile, when Cleve is introduced, the book says that it was the first time Cleve arrived at the Great Tree. However, in The Burning and The Outcast, it is stated that Cleve was in the Great Tree. This is a continuity error in the series.
Family Tree[]
Aunt Agatha | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
H'rathmore | Unknown Queen | Siv's Father | Siv's Mother | Siv's Aunts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | ![]() | Strix Hurthwell | Strix Strumajen | Rorkna | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | Strix Emerilla | Strix Miralda | Clan of Krakor | Clan of Kyran | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
H'rathruyan | Unknown amount of ancestors | Cleve's Mother | Cleve's Father | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strumina Von Fleet | ![]() | ![]() | Claymore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Four eggs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
= Male
= Female
= Gender Unknown