Ga'Hoole is by far the most advanced owl kingdom out of all the six owl kingdoms in regards to knowledge and technology. It is also the home of the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole who were considered to be, for the longest time, only a myth. The kingdom of Ga'Hoole itself is surrounded by the Sea of Hoolemere on the Island of Hoole, in the Great Ga'Hoole Tree.
History
The Coming of Hoole
While on their way to Beyond the Beyond, Hoole, Grank, Theo and Phineas stopped on an island in the middle of a vast sea in the Southern Kingdoms (also known as the S'yrthghar). Upon landing on the island, the owls noticed that it was barren and lifeless. Hoole, being grieved because of his lost mother, let loose a few tears on the soil. This caused a seedling tree to push up out of the ground at an incredibly fast rate. Despite Grank's protests, Hoole claimed that the seedling tree had Ga' (great spirit). The owls then left the island but unknown to them, the seedling tree continued to grow and became as luminous as the egg Hoole had hatched out of. After the battle in the Beyond between Queen Siv and Lord Arrin's forces and the retrieval of the Ember of Hoole, Hoole decided to establish his court on the island with the tree infused with Ga'. Until then the island had no name. Recalling Hoole's earlier statement, Grank proposed to Hoole that the island and its tree should be called Ga'Hoole, in honour of the great spirit of their new king, Hoole.
To Be a King
Not soon after settling on the Island of Hoole in the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, Hoole conducted Ga'Hoole's first parliament session in the parliament hollow. At the the time, eleven owls were present for the meeting: Hoole, Grank, Theo, Phineas, Lord Rathnik, Lord Tobyfyor, Lord Garthnore, Lady Helling, Lord Vladkyn, Sir Bors and Strix Strumajen. The assembled owls wondered why Hoole did not have the ember with him during the meeting as it was what they perceived as their reason for swearing allegiance to Hoole. Hoole explained that he did not want to use the ember to gain absolute power but he wanted to be able to rely on the strength that already resided in his fellow companions. He elaborated about the importance of realising one's own true power and compared to the roots of a tree: the roots kept the tree anchored and gave it nutrients allowing it to grow. The parliament hollow was set near the roots as a reminder of that analogy. Further developments during that meeting included the development of chaws, an idea Hoole recalled from hearing stories about his grandfather, H'rathmore. Each chaw also was designated a specialist, otherwise known as a ryb. Sir Bors, Strix Strumajen, Grank and Theo became the first rybs of the newly formed navigation, weather, colliering and smithing chaws respectively. As the meeting came to a close, Hoole made the owls take an oath, later known as the oath of the Guardians. With this act, the Guardians of Ga'Hoole came into being.
Hoole's course of action involved the reclaimation of the kingdom of H'rath, Hoole's father. In doing so, Hoole hoped that he could oust the rebellious lords and eradicate the vile nachtmagen of the hagsfiends in both the N'yrhtghar and the S'yrhtghar and ultimately do away with magic itself. After returning from a mission in the Northern Kingdoms, Joss the messenger informed Hoole that Lord Arrin's forces had lost their strength since the battle in the Beyond and that they had splintered into smaller forces. Joss also informed Hoole that an usurper had taken control of the Ice Palace and that Strix Strumajen's dauther was missing after a battle over the Ice Fangs. Determined not to lose another owl to tyranny, Hoole developed his plans to ensure every desirable outcome would be achieved by the time of Short Light, the shortest day of the year which was followed by the Long Night, the longest night of the year.
By the time Short Light arrived, Hoole's plans had been executed and had been, for the most part, successful. The hagsfiends had been rousted from the Desert of Kuneer and many of Hoole's forces were now making their way towards the Ice Palace. By then, Lord Arrin had amassed an army and gained an allegiance with Lord Elgobad and several other rebellious factions. Hoole's side consisted of the Hot Claws of Hoole, the Sivian Guard, the Ice Regiment of H'rath,the wolves of the Beyond led by Namara MacNamara, the Frost Beak division and many other owls who fought in honour of Siv had returned to fight for her son. Namara advised the young king to wait until the light of day reflected off of the glaciers so that the enemy would be binded giving the Guardians a temporary advantage. This advantage was used to its greatest advantage until the Short Light changed into the Long Night and the Battle of Short Light and Long Night began. It was one of the most bloodiest battles every fought in Hoolian history. The rebellious lords were beaten back and Kreeth, the archhagsfiend, was also killed trying to steal the Ember of Hoole. After the battle, the Ice Palace was restored from its degenerative state with the power of the ember and both the Northern Kingdoms and the Southern Kingdoms (as they became known afterwards) were finally at peace.
The Journey
Since the ancient times described in "The Legends of Ga'Hoole", the line of kings had faded away and were replaced by monarchs who acted as caretakers of the kingship. Also by this time, Ga'Hoole and its guardians had become things of the past only spoken of in legends and bedtime stories. They were only real to those who believed. It was with this belief that Soren, Gylfie, Twilight and Digger had when they set out from the Desert of Kuneer after having defeated the St.Aggies force sent after them. After much tribulation, the Band (as they called themselves), reached the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and discovered that Ga'Hoole existed and was very much real.
The Rescue
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The Siege
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The Shattering
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The Burning
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The Outcast
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The Golden Tree
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The River of Wind
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Exile
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The War of the Ember
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Trivia
- In The Coming of Hoole, it is Grank who comes up with the name Ga'Hoole but in To Be A King, the owls in Hoole's company came up with the name. This could be due to an inconsistency or because two different owls were said to have written both stories in "The Legends of Ga'Hoole" and may have had different understandings of how the name came to be.