Ifghar is a Whiskered Screech Owl, or Megascops trichopsis, and younger brother to Lyze of Kiel, better known as Ezylryb.
He grew up during a time of long war, the War of the Ice Claws, and looked up to his older brother in many ways, as he was his mentor and role model. Ifghar eventually became a soldier in the war, just like his brother. Ifghar was a talented and commemorated soldier who had fought and found glory on the battlefield. He fell in love with Lil but she didn't have the same feelings for him and mated with Ezylryb.
After being wounded in battle, Ifghar spent his leisure time reading and found the "real" reason for the Ice Talons fighting of the war. This changed his whole ideal of the war and so he and Gragg of Slonk went to the Ice Talons when Lyze would not listen. Bylyric, the commander of the Ice Talons, used the information they offered to lay an ambush that much to Lyze's and Ifghar's horror led to Lil's death. When the Ice Talons lost the war, Ifghar and Gragg were no longer wanted nor welcomed, so they left for the Glauxian Brothers' Retreat.
History[]
The Rise of a Legend[]
Ifghar was born when Lyze was already growing into a young adult and his parents were fighting the war. He turned to Lyze as his mentor and idol, and Lyze watched out for him closely, not wanting another accident like that which happened to their sister, Lysa. The two had a very close bond when Ifghar was growing up and Lyze sacrificed a lot so that Ifghar lived in a state of well being at the expense of his own health in the midst of the hardships of the war. Ifghar was trained early on by Lyze, and this gave him a head start for when he would finally become a soldier. Ifghar had to rely on Lyze because their father had been killed while serving on the front lines the night after Ifghar's First Fur ceremony.
Ifghar began his military career by attending the Kielian Military academy on Dark Fowl Island, where he was one of the top cadets. He was quickly molded into a great soldier by the Academy. It was while at the Academy that he met Lil. While reading history books, Lil approached and started a conversation with him that they continued for many nights, and their friendship began to blossom. This is when Ifghar began to fall in love with Lil. He also met Gragg of Slonk while at the Academy because they were paired together for artillery training drills. The two became fast friends and a superior fighting force tandem. Because of how well they worked together, they were assigned to the Glauxspeed Artillery Division together so that their effectiveness could be used for the war. Lil and Lyze were also assigned in a different unit within the same division.
Nonetheless, Ifghar and Gragg saw action in the war all over the Northern Kingdoms.They proved their worth countless times when fighting important battles against the Ice Talons, and served at some of the bloodiest battles of the time, including action at the Tridents, the all important Battle of the Ice Dagger, and the Battle of Firthmore. In all occasions, Ifghar showed how capable of a soldier he was by killing many enemy soldiers and being a fierce fighter. He was awarded the Blue Heart of Valor at the Battle of Firthmore after being wounded. Even when wounded, Ifghar had not stopped to think about his injury and had just let his fighting instinct continue. At an award ceremony, he was promoted to Commander for his unmatched bravery, courage, and will of fighting. He was given medical leave for his wound and spent his time reading books from the Academy.
It was during this medical leave that Ifghar read how the Ice Talons hadn't set out to conquer the Northern Kingdoms, but instead wanted to unify them. This idea made Ifghar think about why he was fighting at all and why so many had to die on either side, which led to him wondering if he was even fighting for the right reasons and if he had killed for the wrong. He presented his thoughts about this to Lyze, who immediately broke their bond and began to resent Ifghar for questioning the evil nature of the Ice Talons. He left his brother, taking along with him Ifghar's battle claws. After this reaction, Ifghar and Gragg of Slonk went to Bylyric and turned against his home kingdom to join the Ice Talons.
At the Battle of the Ice Talons, Ifghar and Gragg oversaw the ambush with the generals of the Ice Talons. The ambush began well but as the battle went on chaos had erupted on the battlefield. As compensation for having helped, Ifghar demanded to have Lil as his mate, but when she was killed in battle, he became angry with Bylyric. The battle continued to rage on until it ended in stalemate, and the effects rung its toll as both sides lost morale afterwards, although, even though Bylyric was slain by Lyze, the war would still not end for a few more years. Ifghar hit a depression because of the loss of Lil, his broken relationship with Lyze, and the losses of the Ice Talons.
When they returned to the Ice Talons, Ifghar and Gragg were no longer wanted nor welcomed. The Ice Talons turned their backs on them for not winning the war, even with the important info they had offered, so they left for the Glauxian Brothers' Retreat where anyone in need of help was welcomed.
A Guide Book to the Great Tree[]
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The Rescue[]
Ifghar is mentioned when Octavia tells the Band the story of Ezylryb's past, recalling how Ifghar betrayed his brother and sided with the enemy out of jealousy, since he was in love with Ezylryb's mate Lil. He demanded that he would get Lil as a mate after the Ice Talons won the war, but became devastated when she was killed in battle.
The Burning[]
After the Ice Talons lost the war, even they didn't want anything to do with Ifghar and Gragg, blaming the turnfeather owl and turnscale snake for everything. Bylyric's successor, Jesper, turned them out, saying, "You know what we do with turnfeathers and turnscales, don't ye? We turn them out!"
Ifghar and Gragg, with no one showing any friendly feelings towards the pair, left for the Glauxian Brothers' Retreat in the Bitter Sea. They stayed their until Otulissa and Gylfie arrived, and Gragg persuaded Ifghar that they should approach the enemies of the Guardians to get vengeance on Lyze and reclaim their lost glory and honor, planning on going to the Pure Ones with Otulissa's invasion plans, and the pair escaped the Glauxian Brothers' Retreat
The Golden Tree[]
It is revealed that Ifghar and Gragg did eventually join the Pure Ones later on, but Nyra saw little use in them and their presence, since she was in need of able soldiers and the two were obviously past their prime. Later on, whilst scrying a fire, Coryn saw Ifghar with Gragg on his back in the flames, flying with the Pure Ones to Beyond the Beyond, where Nyra made her alliance with Dunleavy MacHeath. Ifghar presumably participated in the Battle for the Book of Kreeth, fighting for the Pure Ones, and escaped.
The River of Wind[]
Ifghar and Gragg appear to be guarding Bell and the Striga when they are captured by the Pure Ones.
Ifghar and Gragg's eventual fate is unknown, but they are presumed to have lived the last years of their lives aiding the Pure Ones, or having left them to live somewhere where they could age and die in peace and away from anything that had to do with their past and reclaiming lost glory.
Personality[]
Ifghar was a very talented warrior. He became so by being trained and groomed from an early age to be one of the greatest soldiers for the Kielian League. His fighting skills won him great praise from his superiors and earned promotions and awards for his skills and actions on the battlefield. He was known to down many enemy soldiers quickly once a battle had begun (he claims to have killed a dozen within a quarter of an hour at the Tridents).
Ifghar was also very intellectual, reading from an early age and always wanting to learn more than just new battle techniques. He loved to read and spent most of his young life doing so when he wasn't training and even did extensive reading at the Academy. He also spent much of his time on medical leave reading books from the Academy, one being where he found the Ice Talons idea about why the war began and unification.
Despite his toughness and intelligence, Ifghar was somewhat gullible. Such as when Loki, the Great Grey, told Ifghar that females love the look Whiskered Screech owls had without their whiskers, so Ifghar plucked his own whiskers, hoping Lil would be impressed, instead, Lil laughed hysterically at how Ifghar looked without whiskers.
However as bitterness overcame him he became a much nastier and vicious owl though it may have manifested earlier according to The Rise of a Legend.
Relationships[]
Lyze[]
Ifghar had a very strong relationship with his brother since his hatching. Lyze was the world to Ifghar as an owlet. Growing up without the influence of his father, Ifghar learned everything he knew from Lyze as an example. The two continued to have a strong bond even when they were both serving, with Lyze known to have called Ifhgar "Chickpea" even as a young adult. The brothers' bond finally broke when Ifghar presented his ideas about the Ice Talons and uniting the Northern Kingdoms. This broke apart the two brothers that had relied upon each other for so long. Despite this, prior to leaving the Glauxian Brothers Retreat, Lyze spoke to Twilla and confided to her that he suspected Ifghar would come to the Retreat, implying that deep inside, Lyze still loved his brother and did not want him cast out of the only place that might take him in. The two never reconciled, however, and Ifghar's contempt for Lyze grew as he aged.
Lil[]
Ifghar almost immediately fell in love with Lil when he met her at the Academy. The two became strong friends and talked often about topics most Academy cadets weren't interested in. They had common bonds that made their relationship grow, although Ifghar never told Lil he loved her and it was obvious she didn't feel love for him when she mated with Lyze, something that left a temporary mark on Ifghar's and Lyze's relationship. Lil and Ifghar continued to be good friends after, and Ifghar truly wished the couple well after his sour contempt had died down when he realized they loved each other. Though this contempt eventually returned.
Gragg[]
Ifghar and Gragg loved each other as much as two different species could. They met each other at the Academy and built a great friendship and comradeship through the course of their military service together. The two fought alongside each other and Gragg's tactics saved Ifghar's life on more than one occasion. Together, they defected to the Ice Talons who used them and then spit them out when the war had ended in favor of the Kielian League. Yet again they stayed at each other's side upon going to the Glauxian Brothers and would eventually go to the Pure Ones together with the idea to reclaim the glory they thought they deserved. Together they lived out so much and lived out their lives as a pair worn and torn by a long history.
Trivia[]
- In A Guidebook to the Great Tree, Ifghar had his battle claws taken away because he suggested to Lyze that they try to make peace with Bylyric. But in The Rise of a Legend, they were taken away as Ifghar had cruelly bullied and injured Gabi.
Family Tree[]
![]() | ![]() | Hanja | Unnamed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Edvard | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bo | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | Fiona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
= Male
= Female
= Gender Unknown