Thoughts on Faerieland’s Wraith Resurgence

     Given the latest incident where Kaia was discovered to allegedly be the Darkest Faerie incarnate, our regular Faerieland correspondents decided to weigh in with their thoughts.

     The Last Straw for Faerieland

     By Dr. Lucia Walker

     Throughout many years, Queen Fyora has ruled Faerieland, a kingdom of peace. Her rule has been mostly stable. However, her latest decision to trust Kaia, resulting in Kaia’s betrayal of the faeries, should be the last straw for anybody that cares about the welfare of Faerieland. For too long, Neopia has watched the queen’s mistakes send shockwaves impacting the stability of the world. Her trust in Xandra resulted in the tragedy of the planet coming under the assault of Wraiths. Her confidence in Kaia has resulted in a hard betrayal that has again put Neopia under siege.

     And let's not forget that the Darkest Faerie was a problem that Fyora should have eradicated had she elected to use her most powerful magic, but she did not. Instead, she let her emotions get in the way. We all love Queen Fyora for the fact that she is kind to all and rules with a gentle hand. Unfortunately, such kindness has gone far enough to allow evil to infiltrate the highest ranks of Faerieland. I’m not saying that Fyora should have stopped being kind, but she should have been more careful in trusting individuals that come to her asking for help. She should have been wiser in choosing advisers close to her. For a queen that’s lived for a long time, Fyora does act dangerously naïve in certain situations, which is quite shocking. She is surrounded by other faeries that could give her advice, namely Aethia, Psellia, Siyana, Illusen; yet it seems that she’s making unilateral decisions without consulting them. Aethia was less than trusting of Kaia, and her suspicions proved correct. Had Fyora confided with Aethia before trusting Kaia, we would likely not be in this scenario. Perhaps asking another faerie for advice would have also prevented Xandra from becoming a monster. It’s inconceivable that she wouldn’t take the advice of other faeries in her government.

     Also, Fyora often allows her emotions to make decisions for her. Her emotions were to take Xandra and still trust her, even though she showed signs that she was inclined to destroying Neopia’s peace. Her feelings were to trust Kaia because she felt sorry for her due to the bullying she endured in the Faerieland Academy. Xandra, Kaia, perhaps if Fyora paid attention, she would have been able to help those individuals from succumbing to evil. Instead, she allowed that evil to perpetuate and eventually became action.

     Queen Fyora has also partially failed in the recovery effort. Parts of Faerie City still lie in ruin after many years of promises to repair buildings and infrastructure. We have little to no idea on how funds were spent on rebuilding the city. Faerieland taxpayers demand answers and always receive incomplete results. What is going on with our dollars? Where are they being spent? To build a lavish beach along Faerieland’s new coast?

     With all this chaos, it is with a heavy heart that I call for the resignation of Queen Fyora and a process to select a new Faerie Queen for Faerieland. One with experience; one that can balance kindness and gentle rule with discernment and the rule of law. One that can assure that Neopia will remain at peace. It is the responsible thing to do. It is the just thing to do. That does not mean that Fyora can’t still serve in the Faerieland government, but her role should be lesser than her current position. Maybe she could serve as an ambassador for Faerieland. Perhaps she could also teach other faeries as a professor in the Faerieland Academy.

     Of course, with the resignation of the Faerie Queen, there should be a process to choose a successor. There are potential candidates that could fill her shoes.

     Aethia would likely be an excellent ruler. Her experience in leading the Faerieland Army would be precious in her role as queen. Of course, there might be questions on whether her experience as a military leader would turn the Faerieland government into another branch in the army. Those questions are valid. Aethia may be quick to evaluate a military solution to a problem and would need to transition into a civilian role. There may need to be some protection from Aethia declaring war on any entity, although Aethia is known for her wisdom to keep the army restrained unless necessary. Under Aethia’s guidance, the Faerieland Army quickly came to the rescue when Faerieland fell, and she ensured that nobody perished during the tragedy. As soon as she noticed Faerieland was sinking, she instructed her troops to help assist with evacuations efforts, especially for those living in the underclouds. Without her leadership, things could have been a lot worse.

     Another possibility would be Siyana. She has experience in King Altador’s government and has served in the capacity of King Altador’s right-hand faerie, managing most of the city's day to day operations as well as participating in critical meetings about Altadorian policy. She orchestrated an effort to ensure that the city was managing water resources efficiently and enacted a master plan to overhaul the city’s infrastructure. In this government, Aethia could continue serving as the leader of the Faerieland military which would complement Siyana’s broad civilian experience.

     The ruler of Faerieland could also potentially be a Neopet, although such a change may be considered too radical for the faeries to accept. Such a division may do more harm than good at this time. However, Queen Fyora has been slow in elevating Neopets to higher positions in government which would certainly allow the government to be more reflective of the population. This is also a shortcoming of the current administration which may have quelled some of the unrest in the hearts of Neopians that sympathize with Xandra’s cause.

     One thing remains true, Faerieland needs a new leader. Whether the process is to democratically elect one or for the Faerieland council to appoint one, it is imperative that Fyora allow Faerieland to decide for its future.

     The Injustice Against Queen Fyora

     By Dr. Anna Lynne, Esq.

     It has come to my attention that after the latest incident during the Wraith Resurgence War that my colleague, Dr. Lynne, published a column calling for the resignation of Queen Fyora and implying that Fyora’s rule is the reason for Neopia’s troubles.

     There is no place in Faerieland for such fear-mongering, which is offensive and indecent. For many, many years, Fyora’s rule has brought peace across Neopia, and these latest incidents are an anomaly. Let's not forget that there is no evidence that any of these acts were due to Queen Fyora’s negligence. We acknowledge that there exists evil in Neopia and total eradication of that is not entirely possible. It would be unfair to expect perfection from Queen Fyora to keep that evil at bay for one hundred percent of the time.

     It is also quite incredible that all these past incidents be blamed on Fyora’s alleged inability to take advice. Surely the queen doesn’t have council meetings just to have meetings. Based on meeting notes, there are real decisions made collectively. Fyora is the queen, but she is not a dictator. None of the faeries in the council raised any particular red flags about Xandra and Kaia. Perhaps there needs to be a change in how Fyora’s students are vetted without putting off any future students from requesting the audience with her. Regardless, it would be unjust to blame all these problems on Fyora alone.

     As far as calling for her resignation, it would be severely irresponsible for one to do so without the completion of the investigation into Kaia. She may be bewitched or under control from outside forces. Why would she have helped the faeries defeat the Wraiths and then suddenly stop supporting them? We ought to respect the principles and rights of due process here in Faerieland. I find it shocking that Faerieland lawyers are sidelining those rights. It is also incomprehensible to call for her resignation during a time of immense turmoil where there is no viable transition plan considered by the council. If Fyora were to resign today, we wouldn’t be ready for it. It would be better to wait for Aethia and Fyora to get this ordeal resolved before we jump to rash decisions.

     Although my colleague's suggestions on potential successors appear decent, none of them have any idea on how to run a kingdom. None of them have the magical prowess of the Faerie Queen. Should we require someone to fight off the evil forces, Fyora’s strength would sorely be missed by all if we were to dismiss her. Yes, Fyora rarely shows her dangerous side because she doesn’t want to strike fear into the hearts of all Neopians, it is essential we retain her in case of an emergency situation. Again, we should not be naïve to think that Fyora is readily replaceable by others. We would need to find one that is not only capable of being a head of state but also capable of defending Neopia from any forces of evil that would threaten the world.

     I hope that we aren’t so naïve to allow fleeting emotions to factor into decisions about the future of Faerieland. I hope that we aren’t so rash to call for Queen Fyora’s resignation during the moments where we need her the most. We as fellow Faerielanders are indeed better than that. We ought to strive to be more decent than that.