Hawkwind was born a Feathyr: descendant of the wild griffins who ended a war by swearing a pact with the humans of Northnest. From birth she was raised to protect and defend the human royal family with her life, but she never expected she'd have to. For generations the tiny kingdom of Northnest, with its unique alliance with griffins, had been ignored or avoided by conquerors and villains, until now. The only griffin to escape the slaughter at the castle, with only four tiny human children, Hawkwind must flee for her life and theirs, but a lone griffin cannot raise helpless human children on her own. She turns her path the only direction she can, into the wilds, to seek others who descended from her ancestors: the griffins who did not join the Northnest pact but instead retreated into the deepest mountains-somewhere. With nothing but a lullaby and a legend to guide her, she must take the last of the Northnest children and find a way to keep them alive, to make a new home, until she can someday help them take back their kingdom. (Author's Note: this book's text was updated in 2016 to correct typos and a few minor continuity errors, so it is now better than ever!)