Worlds Apart

Chapter One: Chance Encounter

Soren, barn owl and member of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, was out for a quick afternoon flight, soaring over the eastern mountains. As he flew across the craggy outcrops, his mind wandered. He thought of how much his life had changed as of late, of how he had gone from being a fledgeling owlet to serving as a member of the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole. He also thought of how his brother Kludd had changed, first becoming a member of the evil Pure Ones, sworn enemies of the Guardians, and shortly afterwards ascending to become their new leader. Soren bitterly reflected on how Kludd had become seduced by the Pure Ones' rhetoric of the strong ruling the weak, and of tyto owls ruling over all. These thoughts had come to Soren repeatedly over time. Quite often, Soren found himself wondering what might have happened if events had transpired differently; If Kludd had somehow managed to resist the Pure Ones' pull, as he had done.

"Well, hello, brother." Came a voice from above, shaking Soren out of his reverie.

It was Kludd, his face-concealing helmet reflecting the light from the sun.

"Kludd." Soren said simply.

"Well, this is a surprise." Kludd smirked. "I hadn't expected to run into you here."

"I don't want to fight you, Kludd." Soren declared. "So you can just forget about settling your grudge with me today."

"My, aren't we full of ourselves?" Kludd said mockingly. "I have more important things to do right now then indulge in our little sibling rivalry." He hesitated for a moment. "But, Glaux damn me, I just can't resist a free shot."

Diving down like a bullet, Kludd lunged at Soren, who flew up to meet him. As their talons locked, Soren used Kludd's momentum to spin them around before releasing his talons, throwing Kludd across the sky. Undeterred, Kludd flew up into the clouds, seeking to hide his next attack from his brother. He might have succeeded, had he not flapped his wings so hard as he dived. Soren, reacting with lightning-fast reflexes, dodged Kludd's attack.

"Don't you remember what Da taught us?" Soren chided him. "You still make too much noise when you fly."

Seething with anger, Kludd charged Soren again, and the fight went on. While Kludd was bigger and stronger, Soren was more skilled and agile, enabling him to dodge most of his brother's attacks. As they locked talons again, Soren spotted a nearby tree with creepers hanging from it's branches. Spinning around again, he flung Kludd into the creepers, causing him to get tangled up.

"Raarrgh!" Snarled Kludd, struggling to free himself.

With Kludd detained, Soren decided to leave, fearing that more Pure Ones were nearby, in numbers enough to overwhelm him.

As he flew across the mountains, Soren saw something quite unusual: One of the mountains had a large crack in it, through which a bright white light was streaming through. Landing on a nearby cliff face to investigate, Soren saw something coming through the light. As the object passed through the crack and landed on the cliff, Soren could only stare in shock. It was an owl, one that looked very familiar to him. It was Kludd, but a Kludd without the helmet of Metalbeak (instead wearing what looked to be a Guardian's helmet), a Kludd without the disfiguring fire burns that covered his face, but most of all, it was a Kludd that appeared to be as shocked to see Soren as he was to see him.

"Soren?" He gaped.

"Kludd?" Soren gasped.

To Be Continued...

(Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole and all associated characters are the property of Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures.)