"Call me Grank. I am an old owl now as I set down these words but this story must be told, or at least begun before I pass on."
—Grank, The First Collier
Grank was a male Spotted Owl, or Strix occidentalis, the first collier; friend to young King H'rath and Queen Siv during their youth. He was also the first owl to retrieve the Ember of Hoole. He hatched and raised Hoole on a lone island out in the Bitter Sea, away from any harm or danger that might have interfered if he had stayed with his mother, Siv, mate of H'rath and queen of what is now known as the Northern Kingdoms. He also educated Theo, who was the first blacksmith.
History[]
Before the Books[]
Grank was born into a time of chaos and everlasting wars during the reign of King H'rathmore, H'rath's father. Nachtmagen raged throughout the owl kingdoms and clans warred against each other all vying for control. Though not belonging to the Royal Family, Grank was part of a clan that ruled a dominion in such a way Grank himself was a Prince in his own right. During his childhood, Grank discovered his gift of firesight which enabled him to learn how to fly before his sister Yurta. Throughout the course of his life, Grank would continue his experiments with fire to learn more about his firesight. He also became good friends with H'rath and Siv, the future king and queen of the Northern Kingdoms. Grank's firesight had even saved H'rath's life on one occasion. A Great Gray Owl had attempted to give H'rath a lemming that contained a flying snake but Grank caught it just in time and sent it off. Though he feared his friends would leave him out of fear of his gifts, they took a blood oath and swore never to mention the events that had transpired.
The First Collier[]
Eventually Grank's experiments with fire took him to Beyond the Beyond where he would visit many times, returning only when needed as a confidant by H'rath and Siv who had since become king and queen of the Northern Kingdoms. Here he met Fengo, the chieftain of the dire wolves that had come to settle in the Beyond, and they became good friends. It was during that meeting that Grank first spotted the Ember of Hoole in Fengo's fiery green eyes. There they studied the eruptions of the volcanoes of the Sacred Ring and the embers that shot out of them. Grank also learned more about the individual natures of the volcanoes and the types of embers that erupted out of them. Eventually, Grank learned how certain materials reacted with fire and discovered bonk coals along with Fengo. However, at times Fengo would criticized Grank for focusing too much on the Ember of Hoole and not the tasks at hand.
Grank was called to go back to the Northern Kingdoms by H'rath's messenger Joss to attend Lord Arrin's lemming hunt and to negotiate for ice rights. When he returned Grank finally was able to find and retrieve the Ember of Hoole, much to Fengo's dismay. This eventually proved to be problematic as the ember caused Grank to fall into a stupor and even when he saw a vision of Lord Arrin betraying H'rath by launching a full-scale invasion on the Hrath'ghar ridge where H'rath and Siv resided, Grank did not act. He eventually was coerced out of his stupor by Fengo and Joss, who had arrived with a message of the already-foreseen events. Grank left for Elsemere Island, the residence of the Glauxian Sisters, immediately, only stopping at a grog tree to hear the dreadful news of the invasion that had apparently resulted in H'rath's death and Siv's flight with her new egg.
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The Coming of Hoole[]
Grank brings up young Hoole with help from his apprentice Theo. Grank tries to protect Hoole from hagsfiends and continues to look into the fire searching for Siv.
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To Be a King[]
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Personality[]
Grank was a flame reader - an owl who could see in the fire images of the past, present, and future. He was a wise old owl, but always learning. His knowledge and common sense made him a fierce foe to fight, but also a good ally to have. He also could be pretty obnoxious a fact that willingly admitted. He was also a kind owl who was fond of his apprentice, Theo, acting as a father-like figure to the Horned owl.
Though having never admitted it to anyone than himself, he secretly was in love with the late Queen Siv. And though she had a mate, and this mate was one of his closest friends, King H'rath, he still persisted. But he never told her, or anyone else for that matter. Grank made very hard choices in his lifetime. For example, when the hagsfiends and Lord Arrin tried to snatch Siv and her egg, which would later become Hoole, Grank left his secret love to save her egg. He knew the egg held peculiar powers, and that he had to save it, and even over his own feelings, he always sought the good for others.
Trivia[]
- On page 156 of The Hatchling, Grank is described as a Whiskered Screech Owl.
- Grank, Siv and H'rath together discovered how to "spottilate," where they would fluff the white spots of their feathers more than the brown, concealing it to make them appear whiter. It allowed for camouflage in blizzards.
- In The Coming of Hoole, Grank has been shown to speak a half-hag phrase that made the creatures go yeep. It is unknown how he learned this phrase, as it is specified to be a mysterious language that can only be spoken between half-hags and hagsfiends. He may have heard a hagsfiend speak the phrase before and simply memorized it, but it is unclear why a hagsfiend would need to make their half-hags go yeep in the first place.
Gallery[]
