The saga of Shade Silverwing begins with four bat-friends hanging out in the trees: Shade, Chinook, Todd and Breeze. Shade had chased a tiger moth through the trees but Chinook swooped in and grabbed it first. Shade is mocked frequently for being a fatherless Silverwing runt that has no chance of making the big migration, but tonight he has had enough. He stuns his friends when he announces his plan to watch the sun rise, which is a direct violation of an ancient law that forbids bats from flying in the daylight. Shade baits his rival, Chinook, into joining him, but Chinook quickly chickens out and leaves Shade alone in the tree tops. Shade waits too long, though, for no sooner does the sun appear but an owl chases him. Shade evades the owl's claws by flying around trees, through logs, and is even forced underwater for a moment, but he manages to get back to the Silverwings' summer roost, Tree Haven, in one piece. Todd is impressed that Shade actually did it and laughs at the thought of Chinook getting punished, too. Shade's mother, Ariel, and the other adult Silverwings are concerned, though, for they know that more trouble has yet to come. Ariel reassures Shade that his father was a brave, strong and sometimes foolish bat, but no matter what Chinook had said, his father was no coward. The two go to sleep, but are later aroused by Mercury, the messenger for the colony elders, and tells them to go before them. Ariel and Shade go up to see them, where Frieda asks Shade questions about his motivations for taking such a risk, while Bathsheba rants about handing him over to the owls immediately. Frieda decides it best to take Shade to the Echo Chamber, where the history of the colony can be heard. Shade learns of the great battle of the birds and the beasts, and how bats refused to take a side in the war. In the end, the bats were the real losers in the war as they were banished to the night forever by the owls. Shade states his opinion to Frieda about the law being unf
With Tree Haven now destroyed, Frieda announces to the colony that they must start their winter migration earlier than planned. The mother Silverwings use their echolocation to transmit a sound map into the minds of their children, that way they will be able to find the winter roost. Ariel transmits the map to Shade, although he is not totally sure that he got it all. Still, Shade is determined to prove himself by making the migration. Filled with both hope and despair, the Silverwings take off on migration. As they fly along, Todd flies up to Chinook and gives him a cold reminder that it was just as much his fault as Shade's for losing Tree Haven; if he hadn't taken up Shade's bet, nothing would have happened. Meanwhile, a brutal storm erupts and an untimely lightning bolt causes Shade to drop out of formation. Bathsheba sees this as an opportunity to build a case against Frieda's leadership, as she had said before that Shade was too small to make the migration, so they should have just given him to the owls anyway and saved their roost. Shade wakes up and finds himself on the shore of a deserted island, and narrowly avoids an attack from three crabs. After navigating a series of trees and totem poles, Shade stops to rest in the wreck of an old boat. There he meets Marina, a young, forest-wise female Brightwing with a silver band on her forewing. Having never seen another species of bat before, Shade does not know what to think, but Marina eventually decides he can hang out with her. The two go out hunting and share life stories. Marina was living alone on the island because her colony banished her for having a band. They felt that her band would bring bad luck to the colony. Shade recalls his looking at the sun and being separated from his colony. Marina leads him out to sea where orca whales swim. She shows him how to ride the spray from their blowholes. Unfortunately, Marina gets caught off guard and is swallowed by one! Shade gets on the orca's back and covers
Shade and Marina depart the island and head for the mainland. Shade is still having difficulty keeping up with Marina but he picks up some flying tips from some passing sea gulls. The two soon arrive in the city, ahead of Shade's colony, and begin to search for the landmarks on Shade's sound map. They find their way to a clock tower but Shade doesn't believe it's the one they're looking for. Shade and Marina smell a vile aroma coming from the tower and are immediately captured for interrogation by the inhabitants: a flock of pigeons. A wounded pigeon claims that Shade and Marina are not the ones that attacked him and killed his friend, as the real culprits were 'huge' bats. Suddenly, Brutus arrives and demands an explanation. Shade claims they didn't kill any pigeons and the pigeon captain indirectly agrees by repeating the testimony of his sentry. Brutus doesn't listen to either of them, as he declares war on the Silverwings and orders the pigeons to torture Shade and Marina. Only a few flaps behind, the Silverwing colony also arrives in the city, but they are greeted with the unusual sight of owls flying in battle formation and pigeons standing guard by the bell tower they normally stop at. Frieda had promised Ariel they'd stop and wait for Shade to catch up, but the bird presence forces her to break her promise. The skies are not safe and the colony cannot wait at the Cathedral spire as planned, so the colony moves on to the next landmark. The pigeons are now sharpening their beaks in preparation for torturing the bats, but Shade and Marina escape the birds by cleverly using their night vision, and disabling the only light source in the tower. The pigeons become disoriented in the dark and can't recapture them. Shade manages to get out, but Marina gets stuck inside. Flying back in after his friend, he helps Marina tackle one of the pigeons and escape the tower. Shade rips a wing in the process, but they are able to continue. When the two bats finally find the rig
The voice inside the gargoyle is revealed to be Zephyr, the oracle and "bat traffic controller" of the night skies. The blind but sharp-eared Albino bat takes Shade and Marina into his home inside the spire of a cathedral, where he explains his job of keeping track of all the bat colonies' migration patterns. Shade wants to leave but can't because of his ripped wing, so he reluctantly stays to be healed. Zephyr is determined to provide Marina and Shade with the life skills needed to complete their journey including herbal medicine, star navigation and echoprojection -the ability to sonically project an image. Meanwhile, the Silverwing colony waits for Shade under the eaves of a sawmill's water tower. A passing cardinal asks Frieda why they're in his territory and realizes they're Silverwings. Ariel goes out to hunt but is soon joined by Chinook. With a tear in his eye, he confesses to her that he and Shade were equally at fault for losing Tree Haven. He had been showing off and didn't want to be shown up in front of Todd and Breeze. Ariel comforts Chinook by wrapping her wing around him, and he tells her that he thinks Shade is still alive, too. Shade is having trouble taking Zephyr seriously, mostly because his emotions are controlling him. After escaping a flock of pigeons, Shade finds another pigeon hiding in the spire. Overcome with rage, he threatens the pigeon until it slips and falls to its death, and then discovers that it was an echoprojection by Zephyr. Realizing how useful echoprojection could be, Shade agrees to listen to more lectures from Zephyr, although he is anxious to jump straight to echoprojection. Chinook goes out hunting alone and meets some flying squirrels that are angry at being mistaken for bats. Not realizing Chinook is a Silverwing, they inform him that Brutus has closed the skies to all bats and that all Silverwings are to be captured. On his way back to the tower, he sees some owls approaching, being led by the cardinal that spoke with
What was thought to be an echoprojection by Zephyr turns out to be a real owl that grabs Shade in its talons. But no sooner does the owl have its prey but a giant bat appears and begins to fight the owl off. Forcing it to the ground, the bat delivers a fatal blow and the owl lays dead behind a vent. Shade and Marina are shocked and relieved as the giant bat politely introduces himself as Goth, and then introduces his oafish brother in-law, Throbb, who is also a huge bat. Despite the fact that they saved Shade's life, Marina is suspect of the motives of the two giant bats. Goth explains that he and Throbb can't read the northern stars and need help getting back to their home in the south. Mistaking Goth for a friend, Shade discloses details of his colony's Sound Map and migration route to the giant bats and then offers them the opportunity to join them. Goth agrees and offers their 'protection' in return. Meanwhile, Chinook warns the Silverwings of the oncoming owls, so Frieda leads the colony into a sawmill and through a lethal obstacle course of conveyor belts and whirring blades. They manage to dodge the blades, logs and owls and escape through the doorway. Goth shares his life story with the small bats; how he was a prince back in the South American jungle where it was always warm and there was a never-ending supply of food, until the humans captured him and Throbb, banded them, and imprisoned them up north. The Silverwing colony hears what Chinook heard from the flying squirrels and decide they must not wait at the water tower, forcing Frieda to break her promise of waiting to Ariel again. Bathsheba takes the opportunity to openly criticize Frieda's decisions of waiting for Shade, but is apparently not well-acknowledged. Brutus meets with the beasts and announces that he is closing the skies to all bats until the bats that killed the owl in the city are captured. He informs the beasts that they are either with him or with the bats, but most of them have their ow
With Goth and Throbb aware of the Silverwings' next resting spot, Shade and Marina know that catching up and warning them is more important than ever. Brutus' son, Orestes, is mocked by the other owls for being runty and wimpish. When Brutus orders Atlas to go out on patrol and take Orestes with him, Orestes complains about his wing aching and refuses to go. Brutus, disgusted by his son's lack of interest, leaves him behind. Shade and Marina are alerted by the cry of a trapped bird and discover Orestes, hanging in a human trap between two trees. Marina convinces the reluctant Shade to help set him free, which they do so by flinging him into the trunk of another tree. As they inspect the dazed Orestes for injury, Atlas descends upon them and brings them to his boss. The Silverwing colony has endured much to date, especially Frieda, Ariel and Chinook, who have been forced to listen to Bathsheba's endless complaining. After the sawmill incident, they were thrown off schedule and need to make up for lost time. Shade and Marina try to tell Brutus about Goth and Throbb, but the big owl sarcastically dismisses both their testimony and Orestes' claim that the two bats saved his life. Shade and Marina are thrown in prison, but peaceful Orestes tricks the guard and springs them. Orestes claims that after being ignored by his father, he could no longer care less about the war and offers to guide the two bats to the Towers of Fire. Brutus discovers Shade and Marina gone and, convinced that the bats kidnapped Orestes, vows to personally make the bats pay for their crimes, while at the same time, throwing the guard Orestes tricked into prison for his mistake. Shade, Marina and Orestes arrive at the hydroelectric plant, which contains the towers of fire. They land on the roof of a small tool shed and are looking for a spot to rest when things turn dangerous. Goth and Throbb appear from below and ambush them. In a game of divide and conquer: Shade takes on Goth, Marina distracts Th
Leaving Orestes behind, Shade and Marina fly onward feeling a sense of relief now that Goth is apparently deceased. If Brutus believes Orestes' story, they may not have to worry about owls either. Brutus calls a another meeting of the beasts and informs them they need to select a leader for the war. Both Remus and Luger volunteer for the position, but Brutus sees neither of them fit due to conflict of interest. Luger, the scheming alpha wolf, nominates Ursa, the Kermode bear, as leader, knowing she won't care what anyone else does. Not realizing Luger's devious plan, Brutus decides that Ursa, being one of a kind, can represent the beasts fairly and appoints her leader. Shade and Marina meet up with Luger and two other wolves in the forest who inform them that they don't want the owls to catch the Silverwings, because as long as the war is on, the wolves can hunt as much as they want and expand their territory. After not being able to land at the power station, Bathsheba criticizes Frieda again, even through she had convinced Frieda to go there in the first place. Ariel and Chinook take Frieda's side in the debate, but Bathsheba is as determined as ever to make Frieda look bad. Shade and Marina escape the wolves and soon find Ursa, a black bear with white fur and a tag on her ear. Ursa shows no interest when they tell her that bats are being blamed for the wolves' carnage and that in order to stay alive, animals are heading to the Eastern Valley. Instead, Ursa goes off to quietly indulge in some food deliberately left out by humans. The Silverwing colony arrives at Stonehold as planned, but when Chinook enters the cave and reports that all the males are gone, it does not look good for the colony. Shade and Marina find themselves caring for an orphaned bear cub whose mother was apparently killed crossing a highway. They decide to take the cub to Ursa, who shows no interest in caring for it. As the two bats ponder their next move, Luger and his wolves threaten them. Sh
Brutus banishes Ursa to The Eastern Valley as punishment for high treason when she attempts to clear Shade and the Silverwings of the charges against them. Disgusted by Brutus not believing her, Ursa and a group of followers don't argue as they head off, leaving the wolves as the unofficial leaders of the beasts. The Silverwing colony arrives at Stone Hold where the males were supposed to be waiting, but their absence is the final straw for most of the colony. When Mercury discovers that the owls had been there, the colony voices its displeasure with Frieda's migration decisions and elects Bathsheba as their leader. Shade and Marina fly onward with a false sense of security, but the calm of their peaceful flight is shattered when Throbb swoops in and grabs Marina. Shade's arrogant behaviour in the face of their recapture shocks Marina. Her horror turns to relief, however, when Shade engineers their escape by duping Goth and Throbb with a series of increasingly clever bluffs and putting Zephyr's teachings to good use. Thanks to the sleep-inducing leaves, Goth and Throbb are left sound asleep while Shade and Marina continue onward in search of the Silverwings.
After eluding Goth and Throbb again, Shade and Marina fly onward over a mountain and through a blizzard. While looking for a roost, Marina's need to belong threatens her friendship with Shade when they discover a cabin filled with banded bats. They meet the charismatic leader, Scirocco, and Penelope, a Brightwing bat cast out of Marina's colony because of her band. Offered a home and faith that her band is special, Marina decides to accept their invitation to stay although, the invitation doesn't include Shade. Meanwhile, Mercury and Ariel wonder if they belong in a colony run by Bathsheba, especially when she decides to stop and roost at a dangerous human airfield. A close call with a landing passenger jet leaves a subtle feeling of doubt in the colony over Bathsheba's leadership. When Scirocco demonstrates how bats will one day transform into humans, Shade recognizes the wavy human image as an echoprojection and accuses Scirocco of being a fake. Shade tries to convince Marina, but her desire to belong prevails. Shade leaves the cabin and Marina, but as he stops to rest, he sees Goth and Throbb fly overhead and towards the cabin. Shade realizes the depth of his friendship with Marina and rushes back to save her. Using an echoprojection of his own, Shade ultimately saves Marina, Penelope and most of the banded bats from Goth and Throbb. After another narrow escape, Penelope leads the rest of the banded bats to the Eastern Valley in search of Ursa while Shade and Marina continue onward to Hibernaculum.
Goth and Throbb are now sporting collections of bands stolen from the bats they killed as they continue searching for Shade and Marina. Shade and Marina think the cannibals are ahead of them but realize they are wrong when they find the bands on a tree branch. After avoiding a passing owl, they finally get over the snowy mountains and head down towards a big city, where they discover a junkyard. Hungry from the last chase, the two bats fly into the yard in search of bugs. As they fly around, they begin to feel like they are being watched. Their hunches are correct, as they are soon found and chased through the yard by Goth and Throbb, who are still hungry even after their massacre of Scirocco's colony. Shade and Marina hurtle themselves through a sewer grate to escape the two cannibals, and are successful as Throbb crashes into Goth and knocks him out cold. Shade and Marina find themselves in a new predicament, though: they have fallen into the slimy world of the rats ruled by twin kings, Romulus and Remus, and taken as prisoners. Above ground, Bathsheba's choice of roost spells disaster when it's revealed to be an airfield wind tunnel. Frieda gets her wing caught on a fixture while trying to save a young bat from the fierce wind, prompting Ariel and Mercury to fly to her rescue. They call for Bathsheba's help, but the leader, who couldn't care less for Frieda, thinks it's no use and tells them to leave her behind. But Ariel and Mercury, showing tremendous grit and courage, rescue Frieda from certain death and escape the tunnel. Remus, the war-mongering, paranoid rat king, informs the two teenage bats of his plan to give Shade and Marina to the owls in trade for leadership of the beasts. He and Romulus then settle down to guard but they both fall asleep. Shade and Marina quietly interrogate the two kings separately and, upon discovery that Romulus is the one true king, realize they must convince the deformed winged rat to fight against his insane brother. They do so
Shade and Marina heave a sigh of relief when the shadow turns out to be Orestes. However, the reunion turns tense when Shade and Marina learn that Brutus is also trying to find Hibernaculum. With Goth and Throbb nowhere to be found, the three friends set off again in hopes of finding Hibernaculum before the owls or cannibals. Bathsheba pleasantly announces to the Silverwing colony that Frieda died in the wind tunnel, but is left shocked when Frieda arrives with Mercury and Ariel. Once the Silverwings resume their migration, they find themselves pursued by owls, but the colony refuses to follow Bathsheba when she tells them to go back to the woods. Instead, they follow Frieda to a nearby tree, where they avoid detection. In the process, Bathsheba is relieved of her leadership duties and Frieda is reinstated. Shade, Marina and Orestes stop to rest near an abandoned silver mine after a slight misinterpretation of Shade's sound map. Unfortunately, Shade alerts a nearby Throbb to their presence when he creates an echoprojection of Goth. Both cannibal bats chase Shade, Marina and Orestes into the rickety mine; Goth goes after Shade while Throbb pursues Marina and Orestes. After evading the cannibals for several minutes, Throbb has a run-in with an ore cart, causing it to roll through the tunnel, smashing the support beams and creating a cave-in. Trapped inside cheek to jowl, Shade makes Goth swear on Zotz to let them go if he helps him escape the mine while Orestes and Marina baby-sit an unconscious Throbb. While moving heavy rocks, Goth vents his feelings on the survival of the weak and describes Cama Zotz to Shade. Shade cannot believe anyone could feel the way Goth does about the world, bt keeps his wits about him as they continue working on the rocks. Once the tunnel to freedom is clear, Goth shows no intention of honouring his word by taking Shade hostage. But Shade, remembering Goth's earlier description of Zotz, creates an echoprojection of the king of darkness rig
Shade, Marina and Orestes stop to rest after escaping the mine and see Brutus and his forces flying above. They decide to keep going to Hibernaculum and warn the Silverwings that Brutus is out searching for them. The rest of the colony, with Frieda as their leader once again, meet up with the missing males just before arriving at Hibernaculum. Frieda explains to male elder Hector (Chinook's father) that the war is beginning to escalate, but none of them have been able to determine what caused it in the first place. Shade uses his soundmap and leads his two friends to the edge of a waterfall, but can't seem to pinpoint the entrance. Thanks to some encouragement from Marina and Orestes' keen eye, they discover that Hibernaculum is behind the waterfall. Inside, Shade is greeted warmly by an enthusiastic Chinook, who alerts the rest of the colony of Shade's survival. Shade is finally reunited with his mother and introduces Marina to everyone. However, the reunion turns sour when he announces that Hibernaculum is under threat of on owl attack and that he is traveling with a witness: Brutus' son. When Mercury returns to the colony with news that he's seen wolves in the vicinity, Orestes snatches Shade in his talons and flies into the Valley. Marina, Ariel, Frieda and Bathsheba are shocked to see Orestes carry Shade down towards the wolves, and begin to torture him in front of the intruders. What they don't see is that Orestes is actually pretending to torture Shade, and thanks to a convincing set of bluffs by the two friends, the wolves are sent off looking for Hibernaculum in the opposite direction. Frieda then agrees to allow Marina and Orestes to stay with the colony, and bans Bathsheba from the council after getting sick of her incessant criticizing. While the council meets to decide whether or not to abandon Hibernaculum, Bathsheba, in the ultimate act of treachery, goes to Brutus and reveals his son is in cahoots with the Silverwings. In exchange for the colony's sa
Acting on Bathsheba's tips, Brutus and his troops inform the wolves of their plan to storm Hibernaculum and capture the traitors. The wolves then inform Goth and Throbb of the attack, acting on the deal they made of the cannibals ruling the sky and the wolves ruling the land by killing all the owls. Shade and Marina recount some of their encounters with Goth and Throbb to Chinook and Todd. Chinook can't believe that Shade could have beaten anything so tough until he's frightened by Shade's echoprojection of a tiger moth. Ariel and the elders are most impressed. Hector reveals to Shade that his father is alive, and a remorseful Ariel explains she had always intended to tell Shade the truth. Just then, Brutus and his lieutenants storm the roost demanding the traitors. They grab Frieda, Shade and Marina and reveal Bathsheba as the new leader, much to everyone's dismay and disgust. Orestes tries to convince his father that no Silverwings killed any owls, but Brutus still refuses to listen. They fly out of Hibernaculum and into a terrifying sight: Goth and Throbb killing owls in the air and letting them fall to the ground for the wolves to carry away. Brutus is utterly shocked, but manages to order his troops to attack. Brutus and Goth engage in one-on-one combat, while Atlas and Throbb do battle. Orestes flies into the frey and knocks Goth off his father, only to have the giant bat throw him to the ground and get carried away by a wolf. Shade and Marina throw stinging leaves on the wolf's eyes to drive it away. Orestes wants to keep fighting, but he's hurt. Ursa and a group of bears arrive at that moment and set to work at protecting Orestes and keeping Luger's pack at bay. Up at the roost, Frieda and Hector rally the adult males to join the battle and help fight the cannibals and wolves. Bathsheba gets so angry at being ignored as leader that she flies off and vanishes into the night. Atlas, meanwhile, is still chasing Throbb. Throbb tackles him, forces him to the grou