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Mavlyn
Mavlyn tried not to betray her nerves as she walked into the basement of the Earth Guardians Club one week after Roylan had invited her to the next club meeting. The place was packed with students—all earth fae, since the water and air fae who had been attending had returned to their home cities once rumors of civil war began circulating.
Mavlyn wasn’t certain whether it was because all these people were packed into a small room, or because she’d already had an unpleasant experience with public speaking, but she could feel a panic attack coming on. Her heart was palpitating, and beads of sweat slid down her spine to gather at the small of her back.
“Mav,” Leap said in a low voice from behind her. “You’re sprouting.”
Mavlyn glanced down and nearly swore at the sight of the dream weed unfurling from a pouch on her belt. Wrestling for control, she used her magic to undo the rapid plant growth, then forced her power into a box inside her and clamped it down with several heavy locks.
Thankfully, no one was paying any attention to her, as they had no idea who she was or that she had come to speak.
“Do you need a minute?” Emelie whispered. The three of them were hanging back by the entrance, so they hadn’t been noticed yet. Several students shuffled into the room, and Mavlyn pressed her back against the wall so they could pass by. “I can ask Roylan to give you some time.”
Mavlyn shook her head. “The longer we drag this out, the more nervous I get,” she said. “I’d rather do it sooner than later.”
“Good evening, my friends!” Roylan called out in his booming voice. The room quieted at once, and he gave everyone a beaming smile. Mavlyn wished she had even an ounce of his charisma—Roylan had a way of lighting up a room, drawing everyone’s attention regardless of what they had been occupied with before he’d entered. “And welcome to the weekly Earth Guardians Club Meeting!”
Roylan took a few moments to address some general news, announcing a few new members as well as the general agenda for the meeting. “Before we get into this week’s projects,” he said, “I have a special guest I’ve invited to speak. Please welcome Mavlyn of Fenwood!”
The audience clapped politely as Mavlyn walked up to the front of the room to address them. There weren’t as many people here as there had been in Fenwood when she’d addressed her fellow villagers, yet because of the room's compact size, the audience before her seemed larger. Trying not to be intimidated by the dozens of eyes on her, she focused her gaze on Emelie, who gave her an encouraging smile from her place in the audience.
“Hello everyone,” Mavlyn said, and she took pride in the fact that her voice didn’t crack when she spoke. “I’ve come to talk to you about the upcoming draft. Many of you will have heard by now that Lady Mossi is calling for more able-bodied fae to join the army because the water fae are planning to invade and take over our farmlands.” She paused for effect, then said, “But I have come to warn you that House Ithir has been lying to you about not only the reason for the draft, but the conflict between the fae realms in general.”
Mavlyn went on to explain that the true conflict between the fae centered on the line of succession, and also the truth about King Aolis’s use of shadow magic and the demon he’d loosed into the world upon his death. The students reacted predictably to this news—most shocked, many angry, others skeptical or disbelieving.
“How can you be sure Lady Mossi is lying to us, and that the water fae aren’t planning to invade?” a female student called from the back.
“Because during my journey here from Lochanlee, I ran across a water fae village destroyed by General Slaugh and his army,” Mavlyn said. Shocked murmurs rippled through the students as she added, “There have been no reported attacks on Domhain from either the water or earth fae, which means Lady Mossi, or rather Nox through her, has struck the first blow. She aims to antagonize the water fae so that we will fight each other.”
“But doesn’t that mean the water fae are going to retaliate?” someone else asked. “We can’t just allow them to destroy one of our villages in return! We have to be prepared!”
“Lady Mossi has plenty of soldiers in the earth fae army already, and not to mention the Griffin Riders,” Roylan interjected. He’d retreated a few paces away to give Mavlyn the floor, but he stepped forward now, commanding the room’s attention. “She does not need to draft the fresh young minds here at Talamh University to patrol our borders. And while the water fae may try to retaliate, the answer is not to redouble our attacks against them.”
“How do you know this Shadow really exists?” another student challenged, “and that she is manipulating Lady Mossi? Mossi isn’t some pushover—she’s centuries old, and one of the most powerful fae in Ediria. I find it hard to believe a fae as ancient and powerful as her could be taken over by a Shadow.”
“Lady Mossi hasn’t been possessed,” Mavlyn said. “At least not yet. Nox has the power to use her shadow magic to influence the minds of others to a degree, and the fact that she is impersonating one of Mossi’s own granddaughters makes it that much easier to manipulate her. But if Nox can get us to kill each other, she will use the dark magic generated by that bloodshed to bring others of her kind into our world. And if that happens, she will be unstoppable."
“That still doesn’t explain how you know all of this,” the student said, sounding exasperated. The others nodded and voiced their agreements. “How do you expect us to trust your word over Lady Mossi’s?”
“I don’t,” Mavlyn said simply. She’d thought the disagreements from the students would discourage her—instead, she found their skepticism strangely motivating, some hidden part of her rising to the challenge. “What I do expect is for you to think for yourselves. Even if you don’t believe me regarding Nox and the shadow magic infection, it’s easy enough to see the throne is true conflict here. Are you all willing to risk your lives just to make General Slaugh the next king of Ediria? Why does Slaugh even deserve to be king? King Aolis before him was also a general, and that didn’t make him a fit leader. Look at where we are now, because of him!”
The room exploded with chatter, the students arguing amongst themselves and shouting more questions at Mavlyn. Excitement thrummed in her veins as she fielded the questions as best as she could—this kind of discourse, the exchange of ideas and debates, was something she could handle. It was why she’d enrolled at Talamh University in the first place, why she’d been so eager to attend and get away from the close-minded villagers she’d grown up with. And while there was no guarantee she would be able to convince the students of her argument, at least they were actuallydiscussingwhat she’d said, rather than threatening to imprison her for daring to challenge authority.
“Oi!” a voice shouted, and Mavlyn started as she realized Leap was standing at her elbow. She’d been so caught up in the room's energy, she hadn’t noticed his approach. When none of the students responded, he puffed out his chest, then tried again. “OI!”
The sound exploded from his mouth, along with a blast of wind that knocked everyone against the backs of their chairs. The students stared open-mouthed at Leap, who crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.
“Now that I have your attention,” he said, “I wanted to add to what Mavlyn was saying about supporting General Slaugh earlier. Even if you decide to fight for him, it’s going to be the earth fae against both the air and water fae. The water fae have their own candidate, and the air fae have declared that they are going to withdraw from the Edirian alliance, so they aren’t supporting Slaugh either. And in case it’s escaped you,” he added with a drawl, sending another gust of wind around the room, “the reason I know about this is that I’m an air fae myself. So you could say I have some insider knowledge.”
“And how do we know that the air fae didn’t send you to spread lies and disinformation?” the same student from earlier challenged. “That you aren’t trying to get us to lay our arms down, to make it easier for the Gaoth Aire’s army to invade?”
Leap snorted. “I’m fourteen years old,” he pointed out. “Don’t you think Lord Oren would have sent someone of age to infiltrate the university, someone who would fit in, instead of sending in a kid with dyed green hair?”
“He has a point,” one of the other students said.
The students debated this for another ten minutes before Roylan called them to order again. “We’ve got to get on with the rest of the agenda,” he said, pointing to the black board where he’d written said agenda out. “But if anyone would like to talk to Mavlyn about joining the anti-war effort, and what they can do to help, she’ll be here at the end of the meeting.”
Mavlyn thanked the students for their time, then rejoined Emelie. Her friend gave her hand an encouraging squeeze, but even though the meeting moved on, Mavlyn could feel eyes on her from all around the room. Had she done the right thing by coming here in person to spread this message? Or had she just painted a target on her back?
