Sarissa was a female Snowy Owl, or Bubo scandiacus, and the gentle but strict teacher of geology assigned to Little Hoole, a profession that led Sarissa to Strix Struma, to whom she served as a somewhat mentor to.
History[]
Life as a Student, then Teacher[]
Sarissa was a latest in a long and prestigious line of Snowies originating from the island of Stormfast. Through unknown means, Sarissa found herself a young owl in Gareth's Keep and her first days as a student proved to be a grueling wakeup call for the female Snowy. Eventually, Sarissa rose from student to master as the instructor appointed to the role of geology tutor at her old school.
A Guide Book to the Great Tree[]
Unlike the rest of her fellow instructors, Sarissa saw past the air of spoiled arrogance that cloaked a young Spotted Owl named Struma, in whom Sarissa saw a younger version of herself within. As such, Sarissa and Struma developed a close bond and Sarissa treated her both firmly but with kindness, bluntly telling Struma that no owl would like her simply because of her lineage and that she must prove herself to the rest of the cadets if she were to ever make friends, something that greatly helped lift Struma out of the state of depression she had fallen into.
After an earthquake shattered the natural defences that ensured the safety of Sarissa's home, the elderly Snowy was among the Keep teachers that, along with General Kai, gathered to listen to Dag as the Whiskered Screech brought distressing, possibly fatal, news: owls belonging to the Ice Talons forces had amassed a vast force they were readying to invade Gareth's Keep. Along with Kai, Sarissa rejected Maia's proposals of withdrawing to the eastern wing of the camp, pointing out that, low on supplies as they were, it did not matter if they were able to resituate themselves in such an unbreachable area, they would still perish, from hunger if not from a weapon strike. The Snowy and Great Gray continued to bicker, with Sarissa reassuring the frantic Maia that their natural defences could be utilised, declaring defiantly that they and the League of the Ice Talons would meet on the pass.
Along with General Kai and Instructor Maia, Sarissa was placed in command of one of the three units designated to the fight, in her case, her troops would replace that of Maia's. Swooping in smoothly, Sarissa's troop was thrown into panic as a change of tactics on the Ice Talons part began driving the Kielian League back and in the fray of battle, Sarissa caught sight of her pupil, Struma, engaged in battle with an enemy Great Gray that was swiftly making short work of her. Lunging at the Strix nebulosa foe in a blur of white plumage, Sarissa expertly parried every blow her enemy struck, then delivered a blow that nearly severed the owl's port wing. But as the dying Great Gray fell, his scimitar went slashing across Sarissa's chest in a line of crimson, sending the brave mentor of Strix Struma plunging after her enemy. As she fell, Stuma attempted to save Sarissa, but she yelled a warning to her student, saving the Spotted Owl's life once again from death at the splinter of a Northern Saw-whet. Sarissa died a hero's death.