Firewing
Kenneth Oppel
 Griffin Silverwing is the son of Shade and Marina, a Brightwing bat. Griffin has difficulty relating to the other newborn bats because he is a hybrid of a Silverwing and a Brightwing. Griffin's only real friend is Luna, a popular newborn. However, Griffin views his tendency to worry about everything as a sign of cowardice and fears that his father, Shade, will reject him when he returns from Stonehold with the other male adult bats. Upon discovering a group of human campers in the forest, Griffin decides to steal some of the camp's fire for his colony, hoping that the act will impress his father. Unfortunately, Griffin’s plan goes horribly wrong when Luna is accidentally set on fire and burned. Upon discovering that Luna's injuries may be fatal, a guilt-stricken Griffin flies off into the lower levels of Tree Haven. While hiding in the Tree's lower levels a crack appears, possibly the result of either a natural earthquake or Cama Zotz' influence, and Griffin is drawn into the Underworld. Shade has also felt the earthquake and discovers another crack that leads to the Underworld. Sensing Zotz's presence in the crack, Shade becomes convinced that something is wrong and flies to Tree Haven. Upon reaching Tree Haven, Shade finds that the tree has been devastated by the earthquake and that Marina's wing has been injured. Shade searches for Griffin and eventually discovers that he has been pulled into a crack in the ground. Shade decides to go into the crack and rescue his son. Marina, unable to go with Shade because of her wing injury, begs Shade to bring Griffin back. In the Underworld, Griffin discovers a colony of bats that are unaware that they are dead. The bats are wary of Griffin, because as he is still alive he appears to glow to them. Griffin discovers that the recently deceased Luna has become a member of the colony and has no memory of him. Fortunately for Griffin, a group of Pilgrims (bats who attempt to convince the other inhabitants of the Underworld that they are dead) appear at the colony to try to convince the colonists that they are dead. One of the Pilgrims is Frieda, a former elder of Griffin's colony. Frieda recognizes Griffin as Shade and Marina's son and tells him of a gigantic, incandescent Tree which supposedly sends dead bats that enter it to another, more enjoyable afterlife. Frieda believes that the Tree will send Griffin back home, as he is alive and not dead. Griffin decides to follow Frieda's advice and travel to the Tree, but refuses to leave without bringing Luna with him. Frieda provides Griffin with a sound map (a map created by echolocative images in his mind) to the Tree and then leaves to preach to more dead bats, warning him that it is difficult for many bats to accept their deaths. Griffin manages to get Luna to remember him and convinces her to travel with him to the Tree. Meanwhile, Goth, the antagonist of the previous two books, awakens in the Underworld and discovers that he is dead. Confused by his surroundings, Goth is easily captured by a group of Vampyrum Spectrum, who set him to work hollowing out a tunnel in the Underworld's "sky" with a group of enslaved bats, including a vampyrum met in Silverwing, named Throbb. Goth manages to escape from his captors and cries for Zotz to come to him and explain to him why he is being punished. Zotz does appear and reveals that Goth's failure to free Zotz during the last eclipse has displeased him and that Goth will spend the next few thousand years working to create a tunnel to the world of the living before being condemned to an eternity of torture. Goth manages to bargain with Zotz to spare himself from such a horrible fate. Zotz agrees to give Goth another chance, provided that he proves his loyalty to him. Zotz sends Goth to go kill Griffin and sacrifice his life to Zotz, and Goth also to take Griffin's life as his own. Shade meanwhile, has encountered a group of dead bats who are attempting to reach the Tree. The group later encounter a dead Vampyrum Spectrum named Murk, who is also travelling to the Tree. Despite their misgivings at having the cannibal bat traveling with them, the group allows Murk to travel with them. Shade eventually discovers the colony of dead bats that Griffin had just left, thus allowing him to know that his son is still alive. Goth eventually manages to catch up with Griffin, but discovers that Griffin is much stronger than he because Griffin is still alive. Griffin manages to fight off Goth and then flees with Luna, leaving Goth behind. Zotz taunts Goth for his failure and then tells him that Griffin's strength will decrease during his time in the Underworld, while Goth's strength will only increase. Zotz also tells Goth that Griffin is Shade's son, in order to give Goth extra incentive for killing Griffin. Griffin and Luna eventually enter a cavern, which contains an odd light. This light traps dead bats in the cavern by causing them to see their past lives. Griffin is unaffected by the light, presumably because he has not lost his life. Shade manages to catch up to Griffin but has a difficult time convincing his son that he is real, as Griffin believes that Shade is actually an illusion the light is creating. Shade eventually manages to convince Griffin that he is real; however as Shade begins to remove Luna from the cavern, he is attacked by Goth. Griffin manages to escape from the cavern with Luna. Shade is lost in a black river that flowed through the cavern while Goth's back is broken during the struggle. Griffin and Luna continue on their journey to the Tree with Shade's allies, while Shade manages to escape from the river. Unknown to Shade, Zotz heals Goth's wounds and carries him off to set a trap for Shade. Griffin and Luna discover another colony of dead bats that are aware that they are dead. A member of the colony named Dante explains that they have chosen to spend the rest of eternity contemplating philosophy rather than enter the Tree, of which they are wary as no bat who has entered the Tree has ever returned. Luna meanwhile has regained all of her memories of her old life and realizes that Griffin was responsible for her death. Luna angrily lashes out at Griffin and injures him, which shocks her out of her anger. Griffin forgives Luna for her assault and realizes that it has shown him that he does not want to die in the Underworld. The two then set off for the Tree again. Shade meanwhile is lured into a trap by Zotz and finds himself facing off against imprisoned. Realizing that he is no match for Goth in physical strength, Shade mutilates Goth's ears, effectively blinding Goth's echolocation and preventing him from locating Shade in the pitch black darkness. Zotz intervenes and tells Goth that his plans have now changed. Goth is to kill Griffin, take his life, and then return to the Upper World. He will be joined by Phoenix, the Vampyrum Spectrum bat who had been Goth's jailer during his time as a slave. Phoenix will return to the Upper World by taking Shade's life, whereupon she and Goth will restart the worship of Zotz on the Upperworld. Zotz disguises Goth as Shade in order to fool Griffin, and then dispatches him to kill Griffin. Zotz then tells Shade that he and Nocturna, the god of Shade's people, had once ruled the world equally, with Nocturna ruling over the living and Zotz ruling over the dead. However, many of the dead became unhappy with their lives; therefore Zotz asked Nocturna to allow him to merge their two kingdoms so that the dead could become happy again. Nocturna refused, as she believed that such an act would upset that natural balance of the world. Zotz thus killed Nocturna, whereupon her body transformed into the Tree, which Zotz cannot destroy. The Tree has provided the dead with an escape from Zotz' realm, which infuriates Zotz. During his story, Zotz informs Shade that the entire Underworld is built out of pictures created in the bats' minds by echoes. Shade uses this information to his advantage and uses his echo vision to bore a hole in the cathedral and allow himself to escape. Zotz attempts to stop Shade, but Shade realizes that Zotz cannot harm him as he is still alive and Zotz cannot harm the living. Shade also comes to realize that what he is facing is not the 'real' Zotz, but a construct made out of echoes similar to those that constitute the Underworld. Shade destroys the construct of Zotz and then frees his imprisoned allies, including Murk. Griffin and Luna reach the Tree and are about to enter it when Goth, disguised as Shade, reaches them. Griffin is fooled by the disguise and is killed by Goth, who devours Griffin's life and then enters the Tree just before Shade and his allies reach him. Shade apologizes to Griffin for failing to save him and then tells Griffin to stay where he is while Shade flies up into the sky. Whispering an apology to Marina, Shade then commits suicide by allowing himself to fall to the ground, which kills him and releases his own life force, which he wishes for Griffin to take. Both Griffin and Luna are able to absorb Shade's life force and return to life. Griffin apologizes to his father for all the trouble he has caused; Shade tells him not to blame himself and that he is proud of him. Shade, Griffin, Luna, and their allies all enter the Tree. Despite Griffin's efforts to hold on to his father, the two are separated and Griffin and Luna are returned to the Upper World. Meanwhile, the newly reborn Goth, under the directions of Zotz, discovers the ruins of the temple which was once used to worship Zotz. Goth also discovers a group of Vampyrum Spectrum, whom he begins to indoctrinate with the teachings of his god. Griffin and Luna return to Tree Haven and are met by Marina, who is overjoyed to see that Griffin is alive. Unbeknownst to them, Shade is also present, in an invisible and immaterial form, which allows him to experience the sensations of anything into which he passes. Content with his new existence, which Nocturna is suggested to share, Shade merges himself with Marina and Griffin, thus experiencing their joy at being reunited.