| To Be a King | |
| |
| Credits | |
| Author: | Kathryn Lasky |
| Cover Art: | Richard Cowdrey |
| Cover Design: | Steve Scott |
| Details | |
| Publish Date: | October 1, 2006 |
| ISBN Number: | ISBN 978-0-439-79570-8 |
| Summary | |
| {{{short summary}}} | |
| Previous Book: | The Coming of Hoole |
| Next Book: | The Golden Tree |
To Be a King is the eleventh book in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, and the third book in the Legends of Ga'Hoole.
Description[]
Nachtmagen rages through the N'yrthghar as hagfiends and the traitorous lords conspire to defeat the new king. With Grank and Theo at his side, Hoole must forge an army of free owls strong enough to defeat the forces of darkness massing on the horizon. The power of the one Ember fires the young king's very gizzard and he grows great. But for young Hoole there is a danger much closer than treacherous lords and the poison of half-hags. For magic - even good magic - brings great peril to those who wield it. So Soren, Coryn, and the Band read the final legend and glimpse what the future may demand of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole.
Eyecatcher[]
Chapters[]
Prologue
- A Great Tree
- Just Plain Hoole?
- Meditations on an Ember
- To Be a Guardian
- The Hagsfiend of the Ice Narrows
- The Education of Lutta
- Strix Strumajen Yearning
- A Mission for Half-hags
- Theo Meets Svenka
- Into the S‟yrthghar
- Perch Warriors
- Theo Pushes On
- Home?
- A Stench Most Foul
- Black Feathers in the Desert
- In Search of a Feather
- The Ice Palace of the H‟rathghar
- To Be Emerilla
- An Old Friend
- A Rotting Palace
- Desert Hags
- The Night of the Green Light
- Emerilla?
- An Assassination Attempt
- “Who Am I? What Am I?”
- Not the Ember!
- Into the Short Light
- Into the Long Night
- The Ice Palace
Epilogue
Plot[]
The book begins with the Band reeling from Coryn's pronouncement that nachtmagen has returned. They come to the realization that Ezylryb wanted to warn them about it, and that good and evil can exist side by side. After this, they begin reading the third and final legend: To Be a King.
After the events of the last book, Hoole and his companions return to the magical sapling, which they dub the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Hoole tries to adjust to being king, but finds it difficult when not one of his old friends will treat him like a normal owl. At the calling of the first parliament, Hoole forms the beginnings of the chaws and the first Guardians of Ga'Hoole. Meanwhile, in the Ice Narrows, Kreeth delivers a chick to Pleek and Ygryk, whom they name Lutta. At first, the chick is an ordinary Great Horned Owl, but soon, Kreeth works her magic and turns the owlet into a changeling, which horrifies and disgusts both her parents. Eventually, they leave home and Lutta behind entirely, leaving the little one to be raised by Kreeth. Kreeth is left to teach Lutta how to fly, to pick up where her parents left off, and teach her to control her shape-shifting.
Back at the Great Tree, news from Joss reveals the goings-on in the north and the disappearance of Strix Emerilla. Hoole decides they must turn the tide of war with new allies and set up a spy network, using slipgizzles, gadfeathers, and polar bears. Theo flies off to contact Svenka and inform her of Siv's death. Hoole flies away with The Snow Rose, disguised as a gadfeather, to pick up news from the south, and dreams about Strix Emerilla and hagsfiends. After this, he finds out that Berwyck is somewhere near Silverveil.
Theo returns to his birth home and finds out that his father, Hakon, has died in war and his brother, Shadyk, has taken over the Ice Palace and is consorting with hagsfiends and soon to be crowned king. His mother, Philma, and stepfather, Wyg, decide to bring him there for a visit, where Theo finds out that the palace is rotting and Shadyk has gone completely insane. Strix Emerilla, who survived and now works there, plans to kill him. The two owls escape in time to warn Hoole.
Meanwhile, Hoole recruits dire wolves for battle against hagsfiends due to the green light of their eyes being able to fight the hagsfiends' fyngrot. They do battle in the desert and are victorious, but Fengo is killed by a hagsfiend. Upon Hoole's return, Lutta, instructed by Kreeth, has taken on the appearance of Emerilla in order to impersonate her and snatch the ember, but much to her dismay, develops feelings for Hoole. When she attempts to take the ember back to Kreeth, the hagsfiend realizes it is a phony.
Finally, at Long Night, the final battle arrives, with Hoole, the guardian owls, and wolves against hagsfiends and Lord Arrin's owls. Kreeth is killed by Duncan MacDuncan, Lutta is killed by Strix Strumajen after realizing the impostor was not her daughter, and Emerilla is saved. Finally the victor, Hoole sits on his father's throne, restoring the kingdom. Hoole and Emerilla become mates and live for many years before Hoole finally returns the ember to the volcanoes, knowing a Barn Owl would come for it.
Back in the present, the Barn Owl is revealed to be Coryn, who believes the ember is too dangerous to keep and must be returned again, but the Band convince him otherwise. Twilight believes nachtmagen to be gone, having died with the last hagsfiend, but Coryn and Soren understand that Nyra is one.
Trivia[]
- It is unknown who wrote this legend. In regards to the sections about Hoole, the only one who was close to Hoole remaining (and thus a potential author) is Phineas. This does not, however, account for sections of the story that closely follow characters like Lutta, whose story and inner struggles could have only been known and retold by the surviving characters that were involved, such as Pleek, Ygryk, or the Puffowl. Liberties may have been taken when recounting events, or there may have been multiple authors.
Gallery[]
Artwork[]
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