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Pure Ones (Movie) | |
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Description | |
Organization type: | Military |
Doctrine: | Tyto owl supremacy, Strigidae inferiority, authoritarian control |
Sub-groups: | Owlet snatchers, soldiers, pickers |
Headquarters: | St. Aegolius Canyons |
Personnel | |
Founder: | unknown |
Leaders: | Nyra (current)
Surtr (former) |
"You mustn't feel sorry for them down there. As lower species, they are fortunate to serve a higher cause. As Tyto owls, their natural superiors, you too are part of that plan; one that will soon bring order to all the owl kingdoms, when the Pure Ones will rule. A new and noble era will dawn."
- Nyra, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
The Pure Ones are the main antagonistic force in the movie Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. They are founded on an ideology of tyto owl superiority, their main goal to take over the owl kingdoms and have all "lower species" become subservient to them. Their leaders are Surtr (AKA Metal Beak) and Nyra.
Background[]

The Pure Ones accepted any Tyto into their ranks, believing all other species of owls to be "impure" and unworthy of living in the idealistic world created by their leader, Metal Beak, and his mate and second-in-command, Nyra. They patrolled and surveyed the comings and goings of St. Aggie's, making sure that the slave-takers (those that captured young owlets for the purpose of serving the Pure Ones) were doing their jobs correctly and efficiently. When the Guardians infiltrated their stronghold, they battled fiercely against them, though their fighting skills were not nearly as refined. Instead of battling talon-to-talon, the Pure Ones preferred to lure the Guardians into the Devil's Triangle, where deposites of flecks rendered them unable to fight. Not surprisingly, such underhanded tactic had something to do with their defeat during the Battle of Ice Claws where Guardians proved themselves formidable despite being outnumbered.
In the film, Nyra, the second-in-command of the Pure Ones, took Tytos captured by the snatchers and began to train them to become soldiers in the Pure Ones' army. She did not only take Barn Owls, signifying the Pure Ones were more lenient in the movie towards which Tytos they accepted as most pure. She created for them a series of trials in which to measure their true ability, including the chase and capture of a young bluebird, testing the owls' agility and accuracy.
Description[]

"Designing things for the baddies is the most fun so getting to design the Tyto Storm Trooper helmets and battle claws was a pleasure. It was fun trying to make the Tyto owls looks scary but also have them read visually as minions of an overlord. I tried to give them a mass manufactured look with no decorative elements and the non-articulated crudely stitched leather gave them a bit of a goblin feel which I thought worked well for minions. The battle claws had to look a bit like Metalbeak's but less potent with smaller, less threatening blades and also less ornate yet still scary." - Dale Mackie, production artist, The Art of Legend of the Guardians

Jatt and Jutt, two long-eared owls dyed with the Pure Ones' signature colors.
The Pure One soldiers all wore a standard uniform of skull-like helmets made from dark metal and leather, along with simple battle claws. The helmets covered almost all of a Tyto owl's face, with only their glowing red eyes showing. Metalbeak wore a significantly more elaborate mask, although it was made of a similar dark metal, save for a false beak made of gold.
Visual identity[]
The Pure Ones have a strong visual identity that is used in all levels of their organization, from the High Tyto down to the Pure Ones' bats. The main elements in this visual identity are the colors white and red, along with the Pure One insignia. The insignia is used on banners, as well as being painted on to the feathers of owls and appearing on Metalbeak's helmet.
As mentioned in The Art of Legend of the Guardians, the main pigments used by the Pure Ones are ochre and chalk. These pigments are used to paint the Pure One insignia on the chests of their soldiers, as well as dyeing their wingtips and tail feathers red. The pigments are also used to dye the feathers of non-tyto owls (such as Grimble, Jatt and Jutt), often to such a degree that their natural coloration is no longer visible. Bats are dyed in a similar manner.
Ranks[]

Pure One soldier
The following ranks are based largely on what is presented in the movie along with the "Taxonomy of Evil" featured in The Art of Legend of The Guardians. This diagram includes the Pure Ones and their Allied Forces.
Supreme General[]

The ranks of the Pure Ones - Metal Beak, the leader, is at the center, with lower-ranking members on the outside.
Also refered to as Lord and High Tyto, this is the role occupied by Surtr, or Metal Beak.
Ablah General[]
The Ablah general appears to be second in command to the Supreme General. In the movie, this is Nyra, the mate of Metal Beak, who also sometimes refers to herself as a queen. Nyra appears to take on the role of Supreme General after Metal Beak's death.
Tyto Soldiers / Storm Troopers[]
Referred to as "Storm Troopers" by the writers of the art book, the tyto soldiers make up the bulk of the Pure Ones' army. They are characterized by their simple, uniform metal masks, and fulfill the role of infantry.
Henchmen[]
The Pure Ones' henchmen are made up of various "lower species" of owls. These owls are tasked with dirty work like kidnapping and monitoring the slave owlets of St. Aggies. Jatt, Jutt, Grimble, and the rest of the owlet snatchers fall under this rank.
Chiropteran Alliance[]
The Chiropteran Alliance appears to be an alliance the Pure Ones have made with various bats. They fulfill various roles in the Pure One army, with flying foxes seen donning wing blades in order to fight guardians, and vampire bats being called upon to kill the guardians after the Pure Ones trapped them in a Devil's Triangle.
Slave Owlets[]
The slave owlets are the lowest ranked member of the Pure Ones. After the kidnapped owlets are moon blinked, they are ordered to do menial tasks for the Pure Ones, such as picking flecks and disposing of old picked pellets.
Quotes regarding the Pure Ones[]
"They called themselves the Pure Ones. They led a crusade against us, their aim to take control of all the owl kingdoms. The Pure Ones' methods were harsh and unyielding. What they didn't take, they burnt to the ground. Those they couldn't enslave, they destroyed. Owls, the noblest of all birds, suddenly found themselves humbled, and soon, in despair. Those who surrendered became forever earthbound.”
—Noctus, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole