Ezylryb (Books)

Books

"Give them books, give them tasty milkberry tarts, teach them to cook, teach them the ways of Ga'hoole, and every cantankerous owl will be on our side."

―Ezylryb, The Rescue, page 99

Ezylryb, formerly known as Lyze or Lyze of Kiel, was a Whiskered Screech Owl. A legendary warrior in the Northern Kingdoms, and scholar, poet, and ryb at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.

Spoiler Warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

History[]

The Rise of a Legend[]

Lyze was hatched in the Northern Kingdoms during the War of the Ice Claws. He later got a little sister, named Lysa, though later his broody, Gundesfyrr, and Lysa suffocated when his tree was set on fire. He grieved, for he loved Lysa. When he learned his mother had laid an egg a few moons later, which would become his younger brother Ifghar, he was not as excited as most owls would be because he felt that Lysa could not and would not be replaced.

Lyze graduated at the top of his class and developed a new battle technique, the Kielian method, in which owls flew with Kielian snakes on their back and snow leopards helped. He fell in love with another Whiskered Screech named Lil. Lyze also introduced the future rogue smith of Silverveil, Thora, to Orf, who became her teacher. Later, Ifghar's battle claws were melted down and taken away by Thora due to Ifghar being cruel to another owl.

As it turns out, Ifghar loved Lil as well, and he betrayed the Kielian League when he went to the League of Ice Talons and gave them information. He asked for Lil to be his mate if the Ice Talons won. However, the plan went terribly wrong when Lil was mortally wounded in battle. Lyze went yeep, or kerplonken, when he saw this, but an Eagle Owl caught him by the port talon at the last minute before he crashed into the water below. The injured talon proved to be such a bother that Lyze bit it off himself. Under the persuasion of Octavia, a Kielian snake fighter and close friend of Lyze who had been blinded in the battle, he retrieved his battle claws and vowed to never fight with them again. He joined the Glauxian brothers and becomes a famous author, writing poems and war history. One of the Glauxian Brothers felt that it was a shame that Lyze's knowledge was stuck in an old retreat, instead of a place where he could teach young'uns, so he suggested the Great Ga'Hoole Tree as a place where he can go. Lyze, who renamed himself Ezyl with the suggestion of the Glauxian brother and Thora, agreed and left the retreat and is appointed to teach the weather chaw and supervise colliering at the Great Ga' Hoole Tree. As is tradition, "ryb" is attached to the ending of the teacher's name, so Ezyl became known as Ezylryb.

A Guide Book to the Great Tree[]

Lyze appears in a story told by his brother Ifghar. After Ifghar received the Blue Heart of Valor award for courage in battle, Lyze passed on his battle claws to him, but when Ifghar proposed for a Kielian League surrender, Lyze took them back and said that type of thinking was treacherous.

The Journey[]

When the Band arrived to the Great Tree, Soren and Gylfie were horrified by Ezylryb's missing port talon, which the old ryb disapproved of. Later, Soren, Otulissa, Ruby, and Martin were "tapped" and chosen for the weather chaw. Soren was initially unhappy about this but had a complete change of heart in the first class when they flew in a gale, during which he discovered that there was actually a playful side to the ryb as he sang songs, told dirty jokes, and gleeked about (or "messed around") in flight, which Otulissa highly disapproved of. He also supervised colliering, and congratulated Soren when he caught a large bonk coal in the middle of the air. When the Great Downing took place, Ezylryb left the tree to investigate but disappeared when all of the other owls returned.

The Rescue[]

Unbeknownst to the Guardians, Ezylryb was trapped in a Devil's Triangle, a triangle made by placing large amounts of flecks at three different points, which made him lose his sense of direction. Luckily, there was enough prey there to last a while, but not for a long period of time. The Pure Ones' leader, Metal Beak, wanted him for his vast knowledge, but they didn't have a base to lure him to because the St. Aggie's owls had previously raided the former one. Prey also began to become scarce and starvation was imminent for the old ryb.

Meanwhile, the Band had found out from the rogue smith of Silverveil that Ezylryb had enemies, even though they know that he is the most nonviolent owl imaginable. They decided to sneak into his private hollow when Octavia wasn't looking, and discover a secret chamber where his old battle claws are hidden. Octavia found them, but told them that she would not give them away. Then they asked of Ezylryb's past, and she revealed that he was a great warrior in the War of the Ice Claws, and that he was betrayed by his brother, Ifghar.

The Band, Eglantine, and Otulissa went to rescue Ezylryb and discovered that he is contained within the Devil's Triangle. Otulissa said that the flecks' powers could be destroyed by fire, so in that matter, they destroyed all the bags of flecks and suddenly met up with Ezylryb. However, the Pure Ones, unwilling to give up their prize, attack them, but they and Ruby and Martin, who arrived at the last minute, defeated them with burning branches. Ezylryb, however, kept his promise from long ago and did not fight.

The Siege[]

A discussion took place in the parliament hollow about whether the study of higher magnetics should be banned, or declared "spronk." Ezylryb was fiercely against the notion, along with Bubo, and the argument remained undecided. Ezylryb states that "dark magic" is just a science that can't be explained. However, Dewlap, the Ga'Hoolology ryb, who was in favor of spronk, removed all the higher magnetics books from the library, such as Fleckasia and Other Disorders of the Gizzard.

Soon after, Ezylryb, Boron, and Barran summoned the Band, Otulissa, Ruby, and Martin, the group who are becoming known as the Chaw of Chaws, to go on a spy mission to St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls because of the possibility that the Pure Ones were infiltrating it to take the owl world's largest supply of flecks. Ezylryb came up with a cover story for being there, which was that they were sucked up to the Northern Kingdoms by a violent wind, or "williwaw," but thought the society too disorganized, and gives the owls lessons in the Krakish ways. Also, he gave to Otulissa the book Fleckasia and Other Disorders of the Gizzard. Dewlap, unfortunately, saw that Otulissa was reading it and unfairly took it from her, accidentally dropping it in the sea.

When the Chaw of Chaws returned with news of a massing of the Pure Ones, who were about to attack the Great Tree, Ezylryb was first to hear it. Ezylryb instantly began planning battle strategy for the siege that soon began to ensue, and decided upon snares made of vines to capture the enemies. Dewlap complained that it would ruin the health of the Tree, and Ezylryb suspected that she had turned traitor, as she believed that the Pure Ones would take better care of the tree then the Ga'Hoolian owls. Soon after, Soren came up with the idea of digging out from under the tree and pinning the Pure Ones in, and Ezylryb agreed. The Ga'Hoolian owls won, but Strix Struma, the navigation ryb, was killed, along with many others. Dewlap admitted to the betrayal and was removed from the parliament.

Ezylryb soon resumed the regular schedule of teaching weather and supervising colliering, even going out to look at a forest fire on the same night that Strix Struma was killed.

The Shattering[]

When Otulissa and her friends were studying a fragment of a page from the destroyed book, Ezylryb helped them understand a little about the process and basics of "shattering" in one's gizzard. But for Dewlap, that wasn't the case with her; she just misunderstood and had a nervous breakdown.

During the search for Eglantine and Primrose in the Beaks, Ezylryb, along with Boron and Barran, led the guardian divisions in a peg-out. They were going to fool the Pure Ones into thinking there were Northern Kingdom warriors along with them, when they were really just twenty-four owls using the fire around them.

After the rescue, Ezylryb met Soren before he is sent on his next mission. He gave his battle claws to the young Barn Owl as "keys" to the Northern Kingdoms. Furthermore, Soren was now a ward under Ezylryb, protected as a son.

The Burning[]

Ezylryb sent the Band, Eglantine, Ruby, and Martin to the Northern Kingdoms to enlist recruits for the war against the Pure Ones. He gives Soren his battle claws as passage to the Northern Kingdoms. He hoped that Soren and the others can get his old division, Glauxspeed, and the Kielian League to join them in their fight.

The Hatchling[]

Ezylryb appeared in this book at the very end waiting for Nyroc, soon to be Coryn, in the top branches of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.

The Outcast[]

Ezylryb is seen sitting upon a branch of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and keeping Pellimore back when Soren goes to meet Coryn, Otulissa, and Gwyndor.

The First Collier[]

After Coryn came with the Ember of Hoole to the Great Ga'Hoole tree, Ezylryb became gravely ill and on the brink of death. Before he died, he told Soren and Coryn to read the legends of Ga'Hoole.

Lost Tales of Ga'Hoole[]

Braithe, a young Greenowl of Ambala, was plagued with nightmares concerning the phrase "Lil's spots". Braithe would also be visited by the scroom of Ezylryb multiple times. Ezylryb informed Braithe that his father, Bo, was a good owl, despite Braithe thinking he was working for St.Aggies due to pieces of his letters found under his mum's nest.

Ezylryb eventually revealed that he and Lil had a chick together but lost the egg during the battle of the Ice Claws. However, the chick survived and was raised in Ambala and was named Bo. Therefore, Braithe had inherited Lil's spots from his father who had inherited them from Lil, making Ezylryb Braithe's grandfather. Having completed his unfinished business, Ezylryb finally ascended to glaumora to be with his mate, Lil.

Description[]

Ezylryb is scruffy and battle-scarred owl, though in the books he is noticeably more well-groomed than in the movie. His feathers are grayish-white, different shades of brown, and black. Ezylryb has a lazy eye, which was caused by Gragg, and he is missing a talon on his left foot, which he bit off to relieve himself of pain after it was injured.

Personality[]

Ezylryb is a peaceful owl. After his mate, Lil, was killed in battle, so Ezylryb swore never to fight again, and he kept that promise up until the day he died. When Soren first met him, it seemed Ezylryb was a no-nonsense owl, but this changed when Ezylryb was shown playing around, singing, and telling dirty jokes during a weather interpretation flight. Ezylryb strongly believed in goofing around with others, saying it induced friendship and trust. He was also a gentle owl, helping Otulissa gain confidence and believe in herself through a way he knew she would like.

Ezylryb had a special fondness for his apprentice, Soren, who, at first, thought Ezylryb was terrifying, but then grew to see him as a fatherly figure. Soon, Ezylryb told Soren that he was under Ezylryb's protection as a son would be.

Ezylryb, being a scientist, is shown to be fond of reading books involving an owl's gizzard, or books about weather. He did not believe in superstition or visions. However, despite his scientific nature, one of the things he enjoyed most are dirty jokes, like Boron did much to Barran's disapproval. He often jokes with seagulls and his other chaw members during weather interpretation classes, where Ezylryb is at his happiest.

Trivia[]

Interesting Facts[]

Ezyl, the first part of his name, it is Lyze backwards, and the word ryb is the last part of his name, reflecting that he is a ryb at the great tree.
- Ezylryb's birth name, Lyze, may have come from the Norwegian word for "bright", lyse.
- Ezylryb also had a pseudonym known as Ezekiel Ezylryb.
In The Siege, he is revealed to be from the clan the Hollow of Lyze on Stormfast Island.
Ezylryb wrote the book The Rise of a Legend. However, he calls the book The Book of Ezylryb. The book was most likely written during The Journey and was possibly hidden within his secret library.
In his will, Ezylryb stated that he wished for his ashes to be transported to the Northern Kingdoms and spread in the Bay of Fangs, for private reasons that he wished not to disclose.

Differences between Books and Film[]

In the movie, Ezylryb is missing a talon on his right foot while in the book, his left foot is missing a talon. There are different explanations of this injury in the books and in the movie:
- In the movie, this is due to one of his talons being sliced off in his fight with Metal Beak during the Battle of the Ice Claws, as shown in a deleted scene from Legend of the Guardians:The Owls of Ga'Hoole.
- In the books, Ezylryb went yeep as he saw Lil killed in battle and was caught just in time before he hit the water by an Eagle Owl by his talon, and later bit it of himself, because of the pain it caused him.
In the books, Ezylryb is a very non-violent owl, while in the movie he is quite a fighter, though he doesn't seem to enjoy it.

Quotes[]

"Her Majesty Barran spoke of the hideous fury of war that brought down our beloved soldier Strix Struma. She died with her claws on. You have heard Barran refer to Strix Struma as her sister, and I am glad she did this. For we have just been fighting a war that was instigated by the vile notion that declares that some breeds of owls are better than others, are more pure. Not one of us shall even again say the word 'pure' or 'purity' without thinking of the bloodshed these words have caused.

We know that one breed or species of owl is not better or more pure than another. We are all of us sisters and brothers in owlkind. I mean to turn that word around and speak of the pureness of spirit of our dear friend, our fierce warrior Strix Struma, who died protecting those very values.

Last night an owl perished, but on this night, a new constellation rises. Fly out now, young'uns, and find her in the stars that she so loved."

- The Siege, page 194

"This is what's so terrible about grief. You relive the final moments of your beloved's life for years and years and years. It's like flying with one wing. You never become used to it. The shock might wear off, the images grow a little bit dimmer. But the panic creeps back while you sleep in the brightest part of the day. My dreams are drenched now with the pink foam of the cresting waves, waves pink with the blood of my Lil. The same pink as the ice flowers she had worn on our wing-fast night, the pink of the garland she had draped over her head. I have a deep and abiding hatred of morning light now, of high noon, of anything that reminds me of the day my mate died."

-The Rise of a Legend, page 273