User:Miner1212/Hagsfiends

Hagsfiends are fictional characters from the Guardians of Ga'hoole series by Kathryn Lasky. Hagsfiends were first seen in the series in book No. 9, The First Collier.

Description
A hagsfiend is a creature that is part owl and part crow. They came into the Guardians of Ga'hoole world in The Time Of The Beasts. They are a "leftover" of when birds split into different species, and what is known is that the most early accounts of a Hagsfiend is in the N’yrthghar, or the Northern Kingdoms, as it is referred to by the inhabitants of th S'yrthgar (Southern Owl Kingdoms). There are some reports of a Hagsfiend in the region known as Beyond The Beyond, the home of many volcanos, the Ember of Hoole, and the (previously to book eleven) thought to be extinct, Dire Wolves. But beside remote sightings in St. Aegolius Canyons and around the Broken Talon Point, Shadow Forest, and the Border between the Southern Kingdoms and the Beyond, there have been no “real” sightings of a Hagsfiend, and only one account of one actually living, and she is now thought to be dead, however, among the Owl world, it is impossible to be sure.

Religious Beliefs
The Glauxian Brothers and Sisters (Religious group of owls in the N'yrthgar) believe that Hagsfiends came into the world of owls through a tiny rip in reality caused by lack of belief in Glaux (The owl god). At that time, many creatures started to believe that they came to be through evolution, or through good magic brought about by a mage known as Hoole, instead of believing that Glaux had created everything. And so, Great Glaux punished the beasts of the N’yrthghar and the S’yrthghar by creating a tiny tear in the fabric or reality and life, and through this tear, and little faith, hagsfiends came to be.

Nachtmagen
Nachtmagen is the dark and horrendous magic used by all hagsfiends. They are/were many spells that the hagsfiends created or used, most beginning in “nacht”. The most used and dangerous nachtmagen spell used by the Hagsfiends is something called The Fyngrot. The Fyngrot is a yellowish, luminous, glowing liquid-like light that comes out of the hagsfiends eyes during the casting of this spell. Once a creature begins to look at the fyngrot, it are entranced and cannot look away. The Fyngrot makes a beast or human to become a willless being controlled by the hagsfiend who had cast the Fyngrot. The only way to stop the Fyngrot is with great concentration, and great "Ga'"(Spirit). Other spells include the "Nacht Blunken", and the "Nacht Ga’", and many, many more. The "Nacht Blunken" is a spell that transforms a hagsfiend into a Great Horned owl for one day and one night only. The Nacht Ga’ is a spell that takes control of any creature and lets the Hagsfiend possess the body for an uncountable time. The only way to stop the Nacht Ga’ is to take an ice splinter(A weapon taken from the Ice Dagger, a large iceberg sticking up out of the center of the N'yrthgar's sea), and stab the being in the gizzard with it. This does not kill them, but it releases the hagsfiend that is possessing them. The only problem is, however, to keep them from bleeding to death while pulling the splinter out. The ancient Hagsfiend witch known as Kreeth created uncountable spells for hagsfiends, but, the only spell she had not perfected and got to work, was the one to keep saltwater (a hagsfiend’s only weakness) from harming them. She only perfected it on her death bed, and had not had the chance to tell or show anyone, making the spell lost forever. Also, even being around hagsfiends will make another owl begin to acquire a "haggish" appearance such as their crow-like smell and black feathers.

Weaknesses
Hagsfiends lack the oils on their skin and feathers that shed saltwater from the seas. So when a hagsfiend is touched by salt from the sea, they immediately plummet into the sea to drown.

Famous Hagsfiends
Lord Arrin - Spotted Owl, traitorous Chieften, killed H'rath(King of the N'yrthgar), also had a large army of hagsfiends, part hagsfiend himself. Penryck - Male Hagsfiend, right hand of Lord Arrin, also known as Skarldrog, which in Krakish means Sky Dragon. Pleek - Great Horned Owl, Enemy of King H'rath, known to consort with hagsfiends, Ygryk's mate, part hagsfiend himself. Ullryck - Female hagsfiend, deadly assassin to Lord Arrin. Ygryk - Female Hagsfiend, Pleek's mate, powerful, evil, and merciless hagsfiend.

Nyra- In Guardians of Ga'hoole books through 4-8 Nyra is viewed as an owl, however in the books 12-15 she grows more haggish.