- "I have flown through the heart of ice-storms, battled albino rotsuckers over the Mire, fought against sky galleons amidst blazing ironwood pines, the air black with choking smoke . . . And throughout it all, I kept my sky ship afloat."
- —Maugin
Maugin was Cloud Wolf's, Wind Jackal's, and Twig's Stone Pilot aboard the sky ships Galerider, Stormchaser, and Edgedancer. She was a Termagant Trog who missed her ceremony of transformation, and therefore resembled a twelve-year-old girl all her life.
Role in The Lost Barkscrolls
Maugin, dressed in her Stone Pilot uniform.
In The Lost Barkscrolls, Maugin was the main character in the second barkscroll. At the start of it, Maugin was a young termagant trog who was due for her transformation. However, she had a Prowlgrin called Blink, and she insisted that she would always love him after her blooding. Her mother, Loess, told her that if she really loved Blink, she would let him go.
When she released Blink, Maugin heard a yowl, and dashed out from the caverns to find that the her pet had been killed by a barbed arrow. Before she could dash back to safety, Maugin was attacked by trained Whitecollar Woodwolves belonging to a slaver known as Zelt Pink-Eye. She was kidnapped and put on sale, causing her to miss her transformation.
Maugin was purchased by a leaguesman named Ilmus Pentephraxis, who wished to experiment on her and discover the secrets of termagantation. Before Ilmus escorted her out of the slave market, however, Quint attacked the leaguesman and took Maugin aboard the Galerider, intending to bring her to safety. Ilmus Pentephraxis and Zelt Pink-Eye gave chase in the league ship Scourge of the Weak, and the Galerider's Stone Pilot, Ramrock, was killed by a crossbow bolt. Maugin took his place on the spur of the moment, and her new-found skills as a Stone Pilot allowed Wind Jackal to destroy the Scourge of the Weak. From that point on, Maugin remained on the crew as a permanent Stone Pilot.
Maugin, standing at Riverrise.
(See also: Errors and Inconsistencies in the Edge Chronicles.)
Role in the Quint Trilogy
During her time as a Stone Pilot, Maugin never removed her gear or said a word, out of shame that she never became a Termagant. On many occasions, Maugin saved the Galerider and its crew. During one notable incident, when the flight-burners were completely extinguished, she set herself on fire (trusting her gear to protect her) and clung to the flight cage to prevent the flight-rock from becoming too cold. She survived, but spent several days convalescing, and several weeks after that on crutches.
After the disparition of the Galerider, Quint returned to the Knights Academy of Sanctaphrax while Maugin, together with Tem Barkwater and Spillins, joined Duggin, helping him with his sky ferry business in Undertown.[1]
Role in the Twig Trilogy
Maugin also served aboard Quint's own ship, the Stormchaser. She was injured during the encounter with Screed Toe-Taker, but recovered and was the only crew member to survive the stormchasing voyage, apart from Twig. Twig and Maugin worked together to restore Screed's ship, the Windcutter, to working order. Once it was somewhat functional, they flew back to Undertown. Maugin then served aboard Twig's sky ship, the Edgedancer. At this point she was already in love with her captain. When it exploded inside the Mother Storm, she was blown all the way to Riverrise. Twig eventually found her, and she conveyed Quint's final message to him. She was the only one who remembered the message, because she had been wearing her protective Stone Pilot gear when the Mother Storm erased the rest of the crew's memory.
Role in The Immortals
Maugin spent many years at Riverrise with Goom and Woodfish, waiting for Twig to return. During their adventures together, Maugin had fallen deeply in love with the young sky pirate, and was desperate for him to return for her. However, Twig got lost in the Deepwoods, and could not find his way back to Riverrise. After many years, Goom left Riverrise to join the Great Convocation of Banderbears, and Woodfish set off a while later. However, Maugin refused to leave, and grew to almost ninety years of age during her steadfast, patient stay in the Garden of Life.
The stone carved by Twig when he buried Maugin in The Garden of Life.
Eventually, a waif by the name of Golderayce settled in the Garden of Life, attracted from his residence on the mountainside by Maugin's thoughts, and fell in love with her at a distance. When he realized that she remained faithful to Twig, however, his affections gave way to a murderous, malevolent jealousy.
When Twig finally appeared on the horizon, mortally wounded from a Guardian of Night's crossbow bolt and carried to Riverrise in the talons of the Caterbird, Golderayce shot Maugin with a blackroot oil dart, killing her rather than allowing her to be reunited with her captain. Twig buried her in the Garden of Life.
References
- ↑ Clash of the Sky Galleons, Epilogue