Kalo's Adversary

Kalo's Adversary was a blue male Great Horned Owl, or Bubo virginanus, and a scout for the Blue Brigade dispatched to find and apprehend Kalo.

History

At an unspecified point in time, this Horned Owl joined the ranks of the Blue Brigade in their quest of eliminating all vanities from the world, though whether he, like his master The Striga, generally believed a "Great Scouring" was coming that would mean the end of the world.

Exile

After Kalo, an owl marked out to be a victim of the Great Scouring, fled her home in the Barrens, this Horned and another Brigade member, a Great Gray, were dispatched in search of her, tracking the Burrowing Owl into the depths of the Shadow Forest where they were to be found by Coryn swooping low over a fallen tree, taking notice of every hollow or crevice and observing the pellets that showed clear signs of being freshly yarped. Discussing the Striga's scouring scheme for Bonfire Night, one of the two Blue Owls would correct the other of their referencing to the intended **immolation**, reminding the former of how the followers of Orlando were to refer to such executions as 'scouring', though it is unconfirmed whether it was Kalo's Adversary or his ally that made the mistake.

Suddenly, however, the cultists were attacked by a scar-faced young Barn Owl they recognised as Coryn, ruler of the Great Tree. Despite being in the presence of the owl that was technically their monarch, neither the Great Horned, nor his Strix nebulosa friend hesitated as they fumbled to ready the battle claws that were their only defence against the burning branch their enemy wielded. Advancing on the son of Nyra, claws at the ready, the Horned Owl initially kept his distance while Coryn duelled his ally, then joined together to break through the barrier of firey sparks that separated the owls from their prey. Suddenly, however, the arrival of Kalo and the Rabbit threw the skirmish into chaos as the two owls of the Bubo and Strix genus found themselves pitted not just against a well-trained firefighter such as Coryn, but also the very owl they had been sent to find. Fighting wing to wing, the Great Horned's fighting grew in savagery as the four owls were driven in the battle towards the earth, which cumulated in the death of the Great Gray. Lurching in flight but otherwise unaffected by his ally's demise, Kalo's Adversary returned his attention to the fight immediately and found himself being backed by the young ruler of Ga'Hoole against a boulder. In a maniacal surge of raw strength, the unnamed Horned grasped ahold of the weapon wielded by his foe and tore it from Coryn's grasp, then advanced with confidence growing in his heart as he saw what he believed to be his enemy moving steadily backwards, apparently unaware that his only newly-acquired weapon ran the risk of turning from an offensive weapon to a safety hazard for the Horned Owl, who fought clumsily and without the skill of a true collier. As flames suddenly erupted, a surge of cackling laughter escaped the turnfeather owl as, before his eyes, Coryn, in what seemed to be a sudden suicidal move, turned and rushed into the bonfire of a black spruce. Turning to a horrified Kalo, the Horned rushed the Burrowing Owl, screaming that her time of scouring had come and declaring she was to come with him to the Great Tree. These words died on his beak when, just as he launched himself at the rebellious owl who had dared attack him, Coryn came erupting from the fire, spinning his bodkin in a deadly arc that sent the blue owl's head spinning one way and his body crashing to the earth.