Silverwing

Shade and his mother escape from the owl and make it back to Tree Haven, the Silverwing colony’s roost. Every bat is shocked that Shade stayed out to see the sun, and he’s taken to see the elder bats at their request. There is a law in place that bats must never be outside during the day, and if any bat breaks the law, it’s punishable by death from an owl. One elder bat, Bathsheba, says that Shade must pay the penalty for breaking the law, or she fears that the owls “will feel cheated; they will want justice” (20) and take it out on the whole colony. The highest elder, Frieda, shows compassion toward Shade. Shade notices that Frieda has a silver band on her leg.

Frieda asks Shade to follow her down into the depths of Tree Haven and into a cave. Once there, she teaches him how to listen to the echoes of their ancestors from long ago. This echo chamber preserves the colony’s history. Shade listens to the echoes and learns that the law that keeps bats out of the sun was established long ago during the great battle between birds and beasts. Bats refused to take a side and remained neutral during the battle. After the fighting was over, both birds and beasts blamed the bats and banished them to a life without sunlight. Nocturna, the “Winged Spirit” who created the world (29), felt compassion for the bats and gave them gifts to survive at night, like dark fur and echo vision. She also gave them the “Promise” that they will one day live in the sun again.

Frieda reveals that she once saw the sun when she was younger, and that Cassiel, Shade’s dad who they believe is dead, was also obsessed with seeing the sun. A messenger suddenly breaks into the room to alert Frieda that the owls are coming with fire.

The owls arrive and demand that the colony surrender the bat who broke the law and saw the sun. Bathsheba wants to give Shade up, but Frieda won’t let her. The owls seek their revenge by burning Tree Haven to the ground. The colony is forced to fly away to a nearby barn to roost for the day. Before they go to sleep, Ariel shows Shade an echo picture of the flight path they will take to hibernate in Hibernaculum to calm his nerves about the impending journey. Shade can’t sleep and hopes that he somehow finds his dad one day. Frieda told him that his dad had the same band on his leg that she has, and he can’t help but think that the bands have something to do with the Promise. He imagines bringing “his colony the greatest gift of all. He would bring them the sun” (46).

The Silverwings leave the comfort of the barn to begin their long journey to Hibernaculum. They fly along a body of water, and a ferocious storm blows in. Shade’s small frame has a difficult time flying against the storm, and it blows him off course. He almost nosedives into the water, but he saves himself by landing in a boat. He falls asleep, and when he wakes up, the boat is docked on an island. He flies around, looking for his colony, but instead he meets a Brightwing bat named Marina. She admits that she’s the only bat on the island. He asks if she can help him get back to the mainland, and she agrees.

Marina confides to Shade that she’s been living on the island as an outcast. She has a band on her forearm, just like Frieda and Cassiel, and the elders in her colony told her that it’s a bad omen. They banished her because they didn’t want the bad luck to rub off on them. But Marina doesn’t think the band is bad luck. Instead, she feels “There was something…important about having it. Something good. I felt it” (62).

Marina and Shade fly over the ocean to get to the mainland. Shade has never flown that long and is exhausted by the time they make it across. They finally make it, eat, and keep flying. They come across a colony of Graywings, but they seem afraid of Marina’s band.