#what if coryn had a sister and she was the false king to his true savior

[battleclawed]

What if the Sacred Orb survived and was the most doomed girl to ever live... long-ish OC lore under the cut

In my AU, the Battle of the Burning is pushed back a little bit, so Kludd gets to be an alive dad to both the Sacred Orb and Coryn for a while. Don't worry he still dies

I've named my Sacred Orb OC Guinevere as a nod to Kludd and Nyra's Lancelot/Guinevere-ness (bonus points because the root for "Guin" means "white"). She goes by Gwen in daily life, though Nyra likes to use her full name.

Gwen is Kludd's mini-me, right down to her appearance. When Gwen is still very young, she's closer to her mother, but as she gets older and her parents tell her about their plans and her role as heir, her father becomes her entire world.

(As far as Kludd's parenting goes, I can't imagine he likes babies at all so he's in distant father mode until Gwen starts actually having a personality, at which point he's like "Wait. This thing (my child) worships me and I get to tell it what to do and mold it into whatever I want? Sick this rules")

Gwen's worldview and sense of self are entirely built upon the idea that she is not only superior to all non-Tyto owls but also superior to everyone--she hatched from the Sacred Orb, she is the most Pure, she is the perfect heir who will inherit her father's kingdom.

The first crack in this view is the birth of Coryn (who's still Nyroc at this point). Nyra starts paying more attention to Coryn because he's born on the eclipse, which irks Gwen. She's the one who hatched from the Sacred Orb; who cares about some moon magic?

Gwen develops a complex about not being an eclipse baby and takes it out on her little brother, but otherwise ignores him. She thinks he's weird in classic mean big sister fashion. They are not close.

Before Kludd dies, Gwen is unshakably confident; she is, after all, the perfect heir, a great fighter, a Tyto Most Pure, just like her invincible, infallible father, right? The world will be hers one day. She is perfect, her family is perfect, and nothing will ever go wrong.

(Also, there's no way Kludd and Nyra are letting their precious heirs kill each other, so Gwen's TUPSI is her friend Cinder, a Lesser Sooty. Cinder was born into the Pure Ones, completely buys into their ideology, and is perfectly honored to be a sacrifice.)

("I'm honored that my death will make you purer," Cinder whispers. "I'm so happy to die for you." Gwen can't afford to hesitate. Her father is watching.)

Kludd dies in the AU equivalent of the Battle of the Burning, which completely shatters Gwen's worldview. After his death, she takes on the title of High Tyto, dons his mask and his battle claws, but they don't quite fit. She tries to be strong just like her father, but she slowly starts to crack.

Coryn still has firesight, so he still leaves for the Great Tree after seeing visions in the flames of Kludd's final ceremony. Nyra is deeply upset by this. Gwen is glad her mother belongs only to her again, but also plagued by the idea that maybe her mother would prefer for Coryn to have become the High Tyto instead.

In the wake of her father's death, sometimes Gwen wishes her mother would hug her and hold her like she's a chick again, but she knows that can never happen. She's the High Tyto now. She can't afford to show weakness.

Gwen is a good soldier but not as talented of a commander as her father was (or at least, she believes he was). The Pure Ones lose battle after battle after battle under her command, which only makes her spiral even further. (She puts on a facade of confidence to mask this. It mostly works.)

Nyra and Gwen argue constantly after Gwen becomes the High Tyto. Nyra wishes her daughter would obey her. Gwen wishes her mother would trust her abilities. They're all the other has left and yet they make each other miserable.

("I'm the High Tyto," Gwen says. "I'm the one in charge." Nyra counters by pointing out that she is the one born on the eclipse, the one with the great enchantment. Gwen resents her mother more and more, but she has no one else to rely on.)

She wonders if maybe Nyroc would've been better. Maybe it should've been him after all? Maybe this is all because she wasn't born on the eclipse. Maybe she was the wrong choice, except she can't be wrong because that would mean Cinder died for nothing. She can't be wrong because that would mean her father (who taught her and raised her and believed in her) would be wrong too, and that just isn't possible.

Coryn obtains the Ember of Hoole and becomes king of the Great Tree. Gwen wishes she'd been allowed to kill him in her TUPSI after all.

During their final confrontation, Gwen corners Coryn and tries to kill him--tries to avenge her father, defend the legacy he left her, justify her entire existence--but can't go through with it. (It's all too much. She wishes she was still a hatchling. She wishes her father was still alive. She wishes none of this had ever happened at all.)

Gwen surrenders, but, seized by the need to not disappoint her father even after his death, tries to kill Coryn one more time in an act of betrayal. She almost succeeds, but is stabbed through the back by Twilight.

Gwen dies a bloody death, just like her father. As the world grows dark, she wonders if he's proud of her.