“Humans lie so often they can’t tell when they are doing it to themselves.”
Welcome back to day 2 of our Book Club Read-Along of The Mirrorwood by Deva Fagan. I’m really loving how twisted this story is getting and how I can’t figure out who’s telling the truth, and who may be lying.
Remember, this is a spoiler discussion for chapters 9 - 17, so if you aren’t quite there yet, look away! You have until Friday, May 27 to get caught up and join in on the discussion questions below. Anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate Jr box, one per post!
The story continues . . .
Fable is unable to move from the place where she made her deal with the Bannon. Although he claims he doesn’t necessarily want to stop the two girls from breaking the curse, he doesn’t want them to gain the Withering’s Tooth either. Vycorax is unwilling to make a deal with the Bannon and abandons Fable, causing him to follow after her. Left alone, Fable throws the pocket watch away, breaking her deal, just as Vycorax returns. Now that Fable is released from place, she and Vycorax continue on their quest and track down the Withering to its barrow.
Inside, Fable, Vycorax, and Moth meet an extremely talkative skeleton named Dendonderus Vale. After Fable helps Dendonderus finish his song, the skeleton allows her to pick up his skull so he may lead them to the Withering, humming all the way. Coming up to the shimmering creature, Vycorax is able to get two big whacks in before the Withering awakens.
Fable distracts the monster away from Vycorax, and she and Moth desperately try to escape. Then suddenly the Withering starts talking in Fable’s head, much like Moth does. It tells her the Mirrorwood is corrupt and must be destroyed “if the schism cannot be mended.” Just when it looks like Fable and Moth are done for, the same masked boy Fable met in Fenhollow arrives on the back of a giant owl and saves them.
As the boy flies them away, Fable sees just how much of the Mirrorwood has been obliterated by the Withering. Arriving at Glimmerdark Castle, the masked boy is revealed to be the demon prince, which causes Fable and Moth to run.
She accidentally steals the face of a fox-faced girl in the castle and runs into a library of flying books. There she meets the inhabitants of the castle: Odessa, a girl blighted to be lighter than air; Phoula, the fox girl; and Lyrian, the demon prince. Lyrian insists that Prince Rylain is actually the cause behind the blight and that only someone from beyond the thorns can end the curse. Lyrian explains he was created by the Bannon to take Rylain’s place, and in doing so corrupted the wish Mirachne was trying to fulfill, throwing the entire realm into chaos. Now either Rylain or Lyrian has to die, or the Withering will consume everything.
That night, as Fable tries to decide which of the stories she believes — the one Lady Mirachne told her or the one Lyrian claims is the truth — she worries about Vycorax alone in the Mirrorwood. Moth offers to find her and bring her back to the castle.
The next day, Lyrian takes Fable to witness a heartbreaking timespun scene where a stable boy pleads with his father to not give the prince another puppy as Rylain had injured another a short time earlier. We learn that because Rylain was blessed to never know pain or sorrow, he doesn’t have the capacity to understand another’s pain at all or to learn from his own pain. And so he became monstrous.
Later on, Odessa interviews Fable about her encounter with the Withering and reasons that the beast stays asleep when it hears the song of the dead, meaning Dendonderus is very important in acquiring its tooth.
Lyrian goes out in search of the Withering and discovers its heading straight for the town of Fenhollow. Fable goes with him and convinces the townspeople that Lyrian is their prince. Although Lyrian says he’s not sure if breaking the curse will cure those affected by the blight, the only way to pull the people out from the timespun curse and save them is to blight them. They agree.
Just as the newly blighted townspeople are about to leave, the Withering arrives.
Discussion Questions:
- Fable has gotten opposing information from both Lady Mirachne and the Bannon. Though both beings are not exactly trustworthy, who are you more likely to trust currently?
- Why do you think Fable is the only one who can hear and speak to the Withering?
- Let's say you're able to enter the Mirrorwood and are able to head to only one place, either Fenhollow or Glimmerdark Castle. Where would you go?
Join us again on Friday to discuss the exciting finale of The Mirrorwood!
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