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- "There was something... unowlish about him."
- ―Mrs P.'s thoughts on Kludd, The Capture
Kludd, also known as Metal Beak or High Tyto, was a male Barn Owl (Tyto alba) and the leader of the Pure Ones. He was the older brother of Soren and Eglantine, and the eldest son of Noctus and Marella. Along with Nyra, Kludd is the main antagonist of the first half of the series (books 1-6).
History[]
The Capture[]
Kludd, a young Barn Owl, was born in Tyto near the end of the summer as the eldest son of Noctus and Marella, and elder brother to Soren and Eglantine. Unknown to his family, he was already affiliated with the Pure Ones upon meeting a patrol. Horace Plithiver, the blind snake serving as a nest-maid for the family, sensed that something was amiss in the young owl's mind, something far darker than is usual for owls. This premonition was confirmed when Kludd, for his final Pure One test, having already killed another family's nest-maid snake and another owl, pushed Soren out of the nest onto the ground below, as the final test was to sacrifice a family member. Mrs. Plithiver attempted to go to a neighbor's hollow to get help from Hilda, another nest-maid snake, but Kludd attacked her and threatened to eat her, forcing her to hide on the ground below. Kludd had hoped that Soren would be eaten by predators and told Soren that his family would believe his lie that Soren had fallen out of the nest and been eaten by predators. However, unbeknownst to Kludd or Mrs. P, Soren was snatched by a patrol from St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls shortly after.
Kludd later murdered his parents and took Eglantine, his sister, to the Pure Ones' castle to be stone stunned. Kludd was power-hungry and wanted to rule over the Pure Ones. He conspired with Nyra, a female Barn Owl whom Kludd had romantic feelings for and which she returned, against the original High Tyto - as the master of the Pure Ones was known as, although it's unknown if there were other conspirators among the Pure Ones ranks. Later, Kludd engaged the leader of the Pure Ones in a ritualized duel and killed the High Tyto, but half of his face was torn off. Afterwards, he gained the position of High Tyto, and took Nyra as his mate. Kludd soon had a metal mask made out of mu metal to protect and conceal his maimed face, so he wouldn't fall prey to the magnetic powers of the flecks that the Pure Ones used as weapons. As a result, Kludd's new identity as Metal Beak was born.
The Journey[]
The newly renamed High Tyto built the Pure Ones, who had prior been a lawless but secret organization, to greater strength, recruiting masses of owls he converted with the idea of becoming pioneers of a new empire to his forces. Leading his Pure Ones out of the darkness of the unknown, Kludd gave his followers both a mission - purifying the owl kingdoms by purging them of all non-Tytos, who Kludd envisioned as either being exterminated or enslaved under his new world order - and an agenda: taking and conquering the Great Ga'hoole Tree along with the canyons of St. Aggie's. The latter of these two sights was desired by the Pure Ones for its richness both in flecks and enslaved owls or owlets to mine them, whilst the former Kludd wished to conquer for its wealth of knowledge and warriors. Furthermore, such conquests would remove the two greatest threats of the Pure Ones: St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls and the Guardians, leaving them unopposed as they reshaped the Southern Kingdoms how they wanted, as well as leave them without a potential enemy to strike them in the back, were they to invade the Northern Kingdoms.
'Metal Beak' henceforth became a name that inspired terror even in the hearts of many to the point where even Guardians like Bubo, were unnerved when they heard this name. Many rumors circulated around him to the point where even his species was a source of debate. Among these rumors were that he flew with the noise of a Pygmy, but was far large than a typical Barn Owl, which some correctly believed he was. Other rumors labelled him to bear ear tufts like those of a Great Horned, but no matter what owls believed, it was unanimously agreed that the owl with his face sheathed in the metal mask was the most dangerous and vicious owl on earth.
For reasons unknown, Kludd and his Pure Ones attacked a Barred Owl who lived in the Beaks, leaving him to be found by the Band and die slowly from his injuries. The exact reasons for this murder are unknown and it could have simply been a unmotivated attack on a perceived 'impure' owl, but Bubo's words imply that Kludd somehow discovered the Barred's identity as a slipgizzle who passed information to the Great Tree and subsequently silenced him to deprive the Guardians of an informant near Ambala, where the Pure Ones were notably active.
The Rescue[]
Kludd eventually designed a plan to capture Ezylryb, the great sage and former warrior of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, by trapping him in a Devil's Triangle. The Pure Ones then began a search for a new stronghold to lure him to, as the old one had been raided. Until a stronghold was found, Ezylryb would be kept in the triangle by its magnetic forces. In an attempt to rescue Ezylryb, a rescue group from the Great Ga'Hoole Tree destroyed the Devil's Triangle and began preparations to escort the old sage back to the tree. Kludd, in an effort to recapture Ezylryb and keep the owl world from knowing of the organization's existence, attacked the unarmed owls. Unaware of Metal Beak's true identity, Soren pried off part of the metal mask to see his face and recognized the owl as his own brother. Soren melted the mask with a burning branch, and when Kludd flew off in desperation for water, with his surviving followers winging their way behind him, he swore he would kill his brother.
The Siege[]
After escaping from the battle with the Band that nearly killed him, Kludd found a lake and dove into it, his mask almost completely melted. The water cooled his face, and Kludd was nursed back to health by the Glauxian Brother Simon, a Brown Fish Owl. Kludd made Simon fetch him red meat, prey that Fish Owls don't usually catch. Kludd thought that like all good murderers, he needed patience. Kludd ruthlessly killed Simon after he was nursed back to health, which was witnessed by Mist.
Kludd flew back to the Pure One forces, contemplating a plan: to capture the Great Tree, which would gain him far greater knowledge of flecks, as well as eliminating a large portion of his enemies, in one strike. Having gained a new metal mask, he soon assembled a massive army of Pure Ones and hireclaws to lay siege. After the first few battles, the outer defenses were penetrated, hemming the Guardians in. However, the Guardians excavated from under the roots in a pincer movement, trapping the Pure Ones as they themselves had been trapped. Kludd moved in to kill his brother, Soren, but Slynella, a flying snake with venom that could kill instantly, attacked Kludd, and he was forced to retreat. The siege failed, so Kludd began contemplating another plan.
The Shattering[]
In the wake of their defeat, Kludd sent Nyra, along with a congregation of his Pure Guard, to instigate an intelligence-gathering operation with the aid of Ginger, a slipgizzle stationed in the Great Tree. As Nyra manipulated the shattered Eglantine into believing she was Kludd and Eglantine's mother, Marella, they were watched from outside the hollow by an owl with a face concealed behind a metal mask (presumably Kludd). Meanwhile, Kludd led his forces on a mission to capture St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. It succeeded, partly due to the fact that spies were already stationed there. He was also joined by some defectors. Unfortunately, Kludd and Nyra's first egg was destroyed by Eglantine during a failed, simultaneous espionage operation to infiltrate the Great Tree and learn its secrets of higher magnetics, but the greatest victory was that of controlling a new stronghold and a seemingly endless supply of flecks.
The Burning[]
As the Guardians prepared to launch their invasion of St. Aggie's, Kludd had anticipated their coming and fortified the perimeter of the canyons with fleck emplacements. He also had owls placed on the highest points of every promontory. His forces also occupied the two main entrances to the canyons: the Great Horns and the Beak of Glaux. After the invasion had begun, Kludd captured Digger and held him hostage in a cave. In doing so, he lured Soren to the cave where he and six other owls laid in wait with fire claws. Kludd and Soren engaged in a fierce duel, but Soren did not have the heart to kill his own brother. Only after Kludd wounded Gylfie did Soren gather the courage to kill Kludd. However, it was actually Twilight who entered the cave and killed Kludd, splitting his spine and saving Soren from the horror of killing his own brother.
The Hatchling[]
Kludd's bones were gathered for a Final ceremony by Nyra. His mask and battle claws were kept for his son, Nyroc, to inherit them as the next king of the Pure Ones. When Nyroc failed his Special Ceremony and fled, Nyra warned him that the scroom of his father would follow him. This proved true, as Nyroc began encountering visions of Kludd's masked face that urged him to return to the Pure Ones. Near the end of the book, Nyroc declared that he was only a mask, renounced being his son, and charged at the mask, which shattered, indicating Kludd was finally in Hagsmire.
The Golden Tree[]
Kludd is mentioned throughout the book, especially in regard to Coryn's fear of his ancestry. When Coryn and the Band wonder at Coryn's belief that his mother was in fact a reincarnated hagsfiend, Soren brings up Kludd when expressing his belief that his sister-in-law was nothing more than a bad, twisted owl, stating that Coryn's father, his own brother Kludd, was a "bad, evil owl". Upon discovering that Stryker had secured the Book of Kreeth, the Band, Twilight especially, worry that Nyra intended to use the ashes of Kludd's bones to conjure him up from the netherworld and restore her mate to flesh and blood again, perhaps as a hagsfiend. While wondering at this, Twilight silently pledges that if such an event occurs, he would again slay Kludd, as well as Nyra.
The true intention of Nyra, however, was later discovered to be to use Kludd's ashes and Book of Kreeth in a ceremony wherein she planned to transform herself and her son into hagsfiends. During the battle between Nyra's forces and Coryn's group of owls and wolves, Nyra delivers a wound to Twilight that would have been fatal, had it not been for Slynella and Stingyll, during which she maniacally swears death to Twilight for his murder of Kludd.
The River of Wind — The War of the Ember[]
Kludd's mask was worn by Nyra during the battle at the Middle Kingdom. The mask was left behind on three blood-stained dead owls. It was later retrieved and Nyra began wearing it as a tribute to her late mate and also to hide wounds caused by the Striga when he saved the Chaw of Chaws in the Battle of the Middle Kingdoms, having her face badly mutilated like Kludd's. The mask was revealed to be made from fragments of Kludd's mask, by possibly a rogue smith. While Nyra had intended to fulfil her deceased mate's dreams of a Tyto Empire, however, she was ultimately slain by Soren and sent plummeting into a volcano, the lava consuming her and the last vestiges of Kludd's legacy along with it.
Personality[]
Kludd was the older brother of Soren and Eglantine. However, unlike the other two, he was an angry and violent hatchling who disobeyed his parents' rules, bullied his siblings, and was rude to Mrs. Plithiver, their nest-maid snake. Kludd was fascinated by the concept of battle and battle claws (something that normally wouldn't be considered amoral), an interest the rest of his family hardly took any consideration and even forbade discussion of. He was at first incapable of feeling true love, but was always full of rage and fury. Kludd felt from the moment he hatched out that he had been born into the wrong family, regarding them all as weak and stupid while he was strong. He was a recruit for the Pure Ones since his childhood (possibly infancy), and went so far as to pushing his own brother out of the tree to become a true Pure One, and even possibly murdering his own parents. As leader of the Pure Ones, he was cruel, brutal, cunning, ruthless, power-hungry, and extremely hateful. In fact, Kludd hated Soren from the moment his younger brother had hatched, and the reason for that was because he sensed that Soren was the preferred son. His younger brother "was so much like his father; loved the old legends, cared not a whit about battle claws and was always the perfect little owlet." This drove Kludd mad, and so he was delighted to have a chance to get rid of his little brother. However, despite his truly hateful and brutal persona, he had a good relationship with his mate, Nyra. In fact, Nyra was the only owl he ever truly loved and she loved him back with all her passion.
Relationships[]
Nyra[]
Nyra was Kludd's mate, personal lieutenant, and second-in-command. Kludd had a special relationship with Nyra. When they first met, Kludd was instantly smitten with Nyra at first sight because she was the most beautiful owl he had ever seen. As Kludd passed the Pure One tests, Nyra grew a deep passion for him, greatly admiring the young barn owl for his rage and strength, and believing him to be perfect for founding the kingdom she dreamed of. After Kludd became the leader of the Pure Ones, he took Nyra as his mate, and they continued to be very close, Nyra being by far Kludd's most passionate and devoted follower. They were a match made in Hagsmire, the perfect couple.
Soren[]
Soren is Kludd's younger brother. Kludd despised Soren from the moment his little brother had hatched; he was very rude to him, and always acted in an bullying or arrogant manner towards him. The reason why Kludd hated Soren was because Soren was so much like his father, and was always the preferred little owlet. This drove Kludd mad, and so when he was required to sacrifice a family member, he chose Soren and took great joy in pushing him out of the tree.
When Soren returned, Kludd was shocked and surprised that he was still alive. After Soren injured him and foiled his plot to capture Ezylryb, Kludd angrily swore revenge on his brother, vowing to kill him personally.
Trivia[]
- In the movie, Kludd shows signs of having feelings for Nyra, as in the books.
Quotes[]
"Surprise, little brother!" - Kludd to Soren after being revealed as Metal Beak, The Rescue
"Death to Soren!" - Kludd in The Siege
Family Tree[]
Soren's Maternal Great-Grandfather | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Noctus | Marella | Unnamed parents | Pellimore's Aunt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former High Tyto | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Blythe | Sebastiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
= Male
= Female
= Gender Unknown