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Flaws in the Logic of Xandra


by pragmatic1

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While I am a huge fan of this powerful Xweetok, I think it’s time someone pointed out the flaws in Xandra’s argument.

First of all, the idea that most faeries just lie around all day. Fyora imprisoned the Darkest Faerie. Psellia saved the life of both Jeran and another unnamed Blumaroo when they would have otherwise fallen to their deaths. Siyana of Talador saved an entire village of neopets at great cost to herself. The Tooth Faerie gives out money to pets who lose teeth. Taelia saved Hannah’s life. The Space Faerie saved Neopia from Dr. Sloth. Aethia taught inexperienced neopets to defend themselves. Marina, up until she was turned to stone, healed each neopet that came to her magical spring every half an hour. Even the Dung Faerie donates items to the rubbish dump in Meridell. I could go on and on.

Some Neopians do acknowledge the fact that the faeries have done all these things, but still think the faeries should have done more to help Neopia. The basis of this statement would have to be merely Xandra’s claim that the faeries have power that is greater than we think it is. Yes, she studied magic with the assistance of the faeries, and yes, they did not agree to do things Xandra’s way when she tried to “reason” with them. But what if the faeries withheld some information on purpose? What if the faeries had a very good reason to say no to her?

And that is assuming everything Xandra says at this point is true. But let's think about that a moment as well. Xandra has already tricked nearly everyone in Neopia into thinking she was good at some point earlier in the plot. She has deceived us all once, so who is to say she isn’t doing so again? Perhaps she is twisting the truth to attract more Neopians to help her in her cause. Her track record certainly merits at least a suspicion of this. She has everything to gain from stretching the truth to further vilify the faeries, especially when they can’t fight back.

Next, let us take a step back and look at Xandra’s plan of action. She claims faeries rule Neopia, but what about King Skarl, King Hagan, King Kelpbeard, King Jazan, Princess Amira, King Altador, and the Council of Elders in Tyrannia? Faeries rule Faerieland. Knowing this, it seems rather odd that Xandra destroyed Faerieland in order to take over Neopia and save it from the tyranny of a ruler that never really ruled them to begin with. Furthermore, since the faeries were not the sole rulers of Neopia, in order to accomplish her ultimate goal, Xandra will have to overthrow all the other leaders of Neopia as well.

Speaking of tyranny, Xandra’s argument is that faeries should become more involved in Neopia’s affairs. That sounds nice and all, but think of the consequences something like that could have. One of the main complaints I’ve heard from fellow Neopians is “the Fountain Faerie never visited me.” Well, the pool has limited magic, so she can’t let but a few in as it is. Another argument was that the Soup Faerie only feeds pets who are very, very poor. If she were to feed all neopets, not only would she be dreadfully overworked, but all the food shops in Neopia Central would go out of business, and the Neopian economy would deteriorate further. Again, I could go on and on. And anyway, since when did the faeries live to serve you? Sure, you fetch items for them from time to time, but they always give you a reward in return. But when was the last time you did something for a faerie without expecting anything in return? Taelia didn’t get a prize for lifting the curse on Hannah. Marina never asked for so much as a thank you when she healed your pets, and she didn’t say a word when you scowled at her for giving you a free snowball instead. And how many angry Neopians do you think the Fountain Faerie has to deal with on a daily basis? Has she ever complained? Let’s not forget the poor Dung Faerie, who donates items to the rubbish dump in Meridell despite the fact that half of Neopia doesn’t even know she exists!

All that said, it would be silly to try and say that all faeries are perfect. Just like any Neopian, they do make mistakes. Some are even corrupt, like the Darkest Faerie. But is lack of total perfection really a suitable reason to turn all of the faeries to stone, and then destroy their home?

Finally, how proficient of a leader would Xandra be? Let’s look at how she has done so far in carrying out her plans. She lost the artifact when Hanso stole it, temporarily upsetting her plan. She accidently summoned an army of soul sucking monsters when she cast her spell to turn the faeries to stone. Who is to say that she won’t make even more serious mistakes? She has demonstrated thus far that she is disturbingly careless when it comes to executing her plans. And I for one do not want the ruler of Neopia to be someone who doesn’t understand the power of her actions, and does not think things through. She is also motivated primarily by anger at the faeries, not by concern for her fellow Neopians. Anger is a fickle emotion that is highly volatile and therefore is not something a proficient leader would rely on as their drive to get things done.

The point is that , like it or not, the world needs balance, and faeries are a part of that balance for Neopia. Having one leader for all of Neopia would also upset this balance. Therefore, while I truly admire Xandra as a scholarly Xweetok who is highly skilled in the arts of magic, I do not think she would make a good leader. And just remember, what’s best for Neopia may not always be what is best for you personally.

 
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