Mirabel

Mirabel Miller was the older sister of Christabel Miller, and a former resident of Darkholm. She was directly involved in the events that led to the rediscovery, and subsequent assembly, of the ancient World-Breaker.

Standing at 5' 2", Mirabel bore a striking physical resemblance to Christabel. She lacked her sister's technical skills, but she possessed a talent for deception, and was not above using her feminine wiles to manipulate others. Mirabel had a fear of heights. She also claimed to have an impeccable memory.

Childhood and Early Life[]

Mirabel was the eldest daughter of Ulric Miller, having worked in her father's paper mill in Darkholm for most of her life. As an infant, she had been nicknamed Baby Bel. She was five years old when Christabel was born. She said that when she was an only child, her parents adored her, with her father doting on her regularly. When Christabel was born, however, Mirabel became the troublemaker, the one who was always being scolded. Christabel had also stolen the nickname Baby Bel. Mirabel resented her younger sister because of all this, secretly wishing the infant would die. At one point, she even deliberately gave little Christabel a bad haircut because she had been jealous of how fast her hair grew.

As a child, Mirabel once went exploring through the marsh lands with some friends and accidentally stumbled upon the nesting grounds for some goblins. (The experience would later give her the idea to return there when she found herself in need of a ship's complement.)

At age 18 or 19, Mirabel decided to leave home, a turn of events that proved emotionally devastating for her father. Mirabel and Christabel had not been particularly close, and Mirabel made no contact with them after she left.

Special Power[]

Mirabel possessed the ability to compel people to believe what she told them. The ability seemed to work on Goblins in addition to other Humans; she could also use it on Dwarves, though it placed a tremendous strain on her and she said that doing so made her brain hurt.

The duration of its effect seemed to depend at least partly upon how believable her statements were. A patently absurd statement was accepted for only a moment before her subject realized it couldn't possibly be true. A believable suggestion, one containing a grain of truth, was more readily accepted.

The Quest for the World-Breaker[]

After Christabel was appointed Mistress of Science in Torlynn Castle, Mirabel learned of Christabel's discovery that the Moon's orbit had become unstable. Christabel recorded her findings in a journal, which she eventually hid in the new airship she had been working on. After Christabel's death, Mirabel arranged to secure the unfinished airship for herself. She contacted Forever the dragon and agreed to pay him one thousand gold ingots if he would sneak into the castle, abscond with the airship, and make the castle's denizens forget that they saw him. Forever agreed only because he detected Christabel's scent on the airship and, mistaking it for Mirabel's, assumed that she was the rightful owner of the craft. Mirabel paid the dragon a down payment but never followed through with the other half.

Using the notes she found in her sister's journal, Mirabel was able to get the airship operational, which she named Xanthippe, though it was still prone to malfunctions and required frequent stops for repairs. She enlisted a crew of goblins as her ship's crew, promising Puke-Eater and the others revenge on Torlynn Castle to avenge their oppressed ancestors in exchange for their services aboard the ship. Mirabel shouted at them constantly, reasoning that they despised weakness and that a show of verbal abuse was necessary to win their respect. Mirabel also learned about Christabel's fondness for a person named Four, whom she had written about frequently.

At some point, Mirabel learned that the Dwarves had unearthed an ancient artifact in Stonekeep, a fragment of the weapon known as the World-Breaker. Recognizing it as a tool by which she might destroy the Moon and stop it from colliding with the Earth, Mirabel traded a chunk of valuable diamondite to the Dwarves in exchange for their piece of the weapon. Mirabel then began searching for the remaining parts in order to reassemble the device, utilizing the goblins' acute sense of smell to determine the other locations. Mirabel had competition from the Moth Dominion in her search for the pieces of the weapon. Frequently, her crew was spotted leaving a possible artifact site just as the moths arrived. The moths came to know Mirabel's group as The Travelers.

Mirabel also discovered Christabel to be very much alive, having been transformed into a terragon following her consumption of dragon's blood given to her by Forever. By Mirabel's account, Christabel broke out of her own grave as a baby dragon, terrorizing the citizens of Darkholm before Mirabel found her and took her aboard Xanthippe. Mirabel would later explain that her intent was to keep Christabel the dragon safe, though she kept the dragon, which she called Baby, in chains below decks, feeding it only enough to keep it alive and using its ability to project psychic bursts to her advantage. One such instance was when Xanthippe flew within proximity to the Golden Desert, where the Royal Knights of Torlynn had launched an attack on the Moth Dominion. Affected by Baby's mental projections, the knights were unable to accurately recall what had happened to King Wheeler after he disappeared from the fight.

During a maintenance shop, "Four" Wheeler, the erstwhile King of Torlynn, snuck aboard the ship, intending to reclaim it. Mirabel was unable to stop the goblin crew from accosting him and attempting to throw him overboard. The goblins traced his scent to the Great Divide, where Mirabel recovered him, nursing him back to health aboard the ship. Though he was reluctant at first, Mirabel eventually convinced Four to join her in her quest to find the pieces of the World-Breaker. She also gave him Christabel's journal.

Four would argue with Mirabel about the course they set, the methods they used, and even the true name of the airship. Mirabel, meanwhile, proceeded to deceive Four about a great many things—not the least of which was keeping the true identity of Baby from him. In the interim, they continued to recover parts of the World-Breaker, one of them near the Darklands from pixie clan leader Nyx and another from Copycat Rock. When the goblin crew decided to mutiny, Mirabel and Four escaped Xanthippe aboard the aerial lifeboat, landing close to Torlynn Castle. Four was promptly arrested for murder, leaving Mirabel to reconnoiter with the goblins. Under her command once more, Xanthippe attacked the castle, under which the final piece of the World-Breaker was buried. Mirabel used a breech-loader to blast through the hidden chamber where it was located. After Four was freed from the dungeon and confronted her, Mirabel emptied the remains of the breech-loader's shrapnel into his gut and absconded back to the ship with the final piece.

Unbeknownst to Mirabel, High Priestess Axziss had snuck aboard the ship. When she emerged, Mirabel confronted her but was eventually forced to jump ship, the trees of the castle orchard breaking her fall. She encountered the disembodied head of Syzygy, who warned Mirabel of the dangers of the World-Breaker's activation. Dazed and disoriented from the fall and confused by the existence of a talking wooden head, Mirabel nonetheless found Four and his other companions in time to convey Syzygy's warning that the weapon was incapable of launching and would explode on Earth. Mirabel then absconded with Syzygy's head to parts unknown.

The Curse of the Fate Shifter[]

Mirabel conducted a dangerous expedition to the ruins of Torlynn Castle to recover Christabel's journal. She was successful, but the trip had almost cost Mirabel her life.

In the year or so that followed, Mirabel curried favor with the Elves of the Elvenwood, becoming the concubine to Elladan. She remade her image, dying her hair black, gaining weight, and speaking in an affected accent in order to appear as exotic and alluring as possible to him. She agreed to act as a spy, reporting information to him about the Dwarves, with whom she sometimes visited. He eventually entrusted her with an Elven talisman, which she would later use to break the seal on the Ancient One's tomb, believing that she was freeing some kind of dog-like animal.

Mirabel then retreated to Altus Rock, a town close enough to the Dwarf settlement of Stonekeep to allow her to establish a rapport with the Dwarves, particularly the clan leader Gerrick. She distinguished regular old diamonds from the far more rare and valuable diamondite, providing the precious commodity to the Dwarves in return for their camraderie and, eventually, access to the Digger machine. She intended to offer her services to the Dwarves so that they could recapture the Ancient One. It was Mirabel's plan to seize control of the Digger and use it to burrow holes into the Earth, later convincing the sorcerers of White Mesa to magically jettison the resultant debris into space. She hoped this shift in the Earth's mass would be sufficient to change its orbit and prevent its collision with the Moon.

Mirabel also attempted to rebuild Syzygy, having collected most of his component parts. Lacking the knowledge and materials to effect a full reassembly, Mirabel had been forced to improvise, cobbling together a new arm and leg for him and fastening his body together with staples and tourniquettes and chewing gum.

Alternate Reality (Various)[]

Using the fate-shifter, Four created a different unfolding of events in which he had never ascended to the throne of Torlynn Castle. In this version of reality, Mirabel acquired the Mermaid's Bliss and used it to collect the pieces of the World-Breaker. She launched it, destroying the Moon. The resultant shower of meteorites killed hundreds of thousands of people.

In another alternate unfolding of events, Four went back to the point before Mirabel unleashed the Ancient One with her Elven talisman. He persuaded her not to free the demon, and in exchange, he promised to help her fulfil her plan to prevent the Moon's collision with the Earth.

Before Four could leave, however, he and Mirabel and Syzygy were captured by the Dwarves, who had been alerted by the pressure plates in the flooring to someone tampering with the Ancient One's tomb. She and Four were thrown into a prison camp and sentenced to hard labor. They were later rescued by Syzygy, but their attempts to flee failed. After Four helped Mirabel to realize she possessed a special power, she convinced the Dwarf guards to take them to see Gerrick.

Mirabel and Four were recruited by Gerrick to work aboard the Giant war machine, though their true mission was to sabotage the machine and stop it from destroying the Elvenwood (and trampling towns like Sellerdore along the way). Mirabel struggled with overcoming Four's limerent effects on her, eventually succumbing to her feelings and professing her desire to be with him. At this point, Syzygy intervened, following her previous orders to prevent her from coming to harm; he predicted emotional harm would befall her if she entered into a relationship with Four. Mirabel felt this was an unforgivable act on Syzygy's part, proclaiming "you're dead to me."

In the aftermath of the Giant's disposal, Mirabel absconded with Syzygy to Darkholm, unaware that her home town had been destroyed. Despite saving the world, she felt as though she had failed—she had been willing to literally move Heaven and Earth to save Four, and yet he still wasn't hers. She took an assumed name and got a job on one of the farms, intending to earn enough money to pack up and move somewhere. She was surprised to get a parcel delivery with her name on it; inside was the extra arm and leg for Syzygy that Four had acquired. Also inside a scroll, written by a Mirabel from another reality, which Four had not read before sending. Its contents convinced Mirabel that if she ever encountered Four again, she would most certainly have to kill him.

Embarrassment of Riches[]

Mirabel and Syzygy eventually parted ways, prompting the apparatoid to wander the countryside in search for a new home.

At some point prior to unctual year 3892, Mirabel fell under the spell of Deorwynn Fletcher, who used sorcery to compel Mirabel to do her bidding. After Four was successfully lured to the Forgotten Basin, he grabbed Doerwynn's scepter and accidentally used it to create a portal that sucked him and Mariposa into the Old Age. Mirabel and Brian Devonhyre were recruited as Deorwynn's bounty hunters, given a scepter of their own and sent to the Old Age with instructions to stop them from interfering further.

Mirabel and Brian made their way through an unknown land populated with strange flying machines. While Brian was predominantly occupied with completing their mission, Mirabel found the environment strange—though not as strange as the fact that she had no recollection of when or why they had agreed to serve Deorwynn in the first place.

When they arrived at the delapidated Diamond Bridge, leading to a sprawling megalopolis, Mirabel was unable to jump across the missing piece of the bridge. She had the idea for Brian to throw her across, which briefly reminded her of the way her father threw her into the lake back in Darkholm.

Meat tracked Four and Mariposa to somewhere outside the megalopolis. Brian and Mirabel prepared for a confrontation, but heavy rainfall forced them to retreat. Also, Mirabel accidentally dropped their scepter, forcing her to scramble to recover it—and inadvertantly revealing to Four and Mariposa one way in which they might get home.

Searching for supplies to replenish their dwindling rations, Mirabel and Brian investigated a nearby residential area. They found no one living there, but Mirabel acquired a nifty new jumpsuit as well as a fancy electronic breech-loader.

After Meat tracked Four and Mariposa to Hobbs Hospital, Brian attempted to scale the building with Mirabel tied to his waist. Mirabel began to suffer from a panic attack, attempting to unfasten the straps against all better judgement. When Brian's foothold came loose and they both fell, Meat leapt into the air, breaking Mirabel's fall with his body. She survived with only minor scrapes, attempting to tend to the dog before she was forcibly dragged into the hospital, screaming in protest, while Meat was left to die.

After awakening in the hospital, Mirabel and Brian found Mariposa's unconscious body, believing her to be dead. After an enraged Brian went hunting to seek revenge on Four, Mirabel bumped into Four and warned him that he should run. Four scrambled to the roof of the building, but Mirabel accidentally set off her pulse gun, zapping Four and sending his unconscious body down into a construction site, where a metal beam pierced his skull. With both of their targets seemingly dead, Mirabel and Brian returned to their own time.

The Veil of Souls[]

Deorwynn commanded Mirabel and Brian to follow the remaining members of Four's group who had escaped from the Forgotten Basin. Mirabel pretended to remain under Deorwynn's control, agreeing to hunt down Four's friends but with the true intention of joining forces with them against Deorwynn. Mirabel chased down Jessyka and Wazzipaloo, stunning them with her pulse gun. After joining forces, the group traveled to the Elvenwood. Mirabel was uncomfortable with facing Elladan again, as she had left him on bad terms. Elladan threatened her with sanctions but eventually allowed her to travel via volley-launcher to reach the Swordedge Mountains. The journey was terrifying for Mirabel.

She regrouped with Brian and entered the dragon's lair where they met with Christabel the dragon—much larger than when Mirabel had seen her previously, and now capable of speech. The dragon refused to involve herself in mortal affairs, and strongly suggested that Mirabel and Brian leave. She did, however, suggsest that Four and Mariposa were still alive, frozen somewhere in Novapangaea.

After realizing that the dragon had provided her with these vital clues, she traveled to the cabin of Tha'aron the wizard, along with Brian and Arienne, to see if there was some way that Four and Mariposa might have endured the Cataclysm and survived. Tha'aron appeared to be going senile and was quite insulting, particularly toward Mirabel. The wizard offered Mirabel a moonstone as an apology, suggesting that it would match Mirabel's blue eyes. Mirabel accepted the apology, but she still smuggled Tha'arons cat out of the cabin as she left.

Later, while playing with Hissy-Fitt, she discovered that the cat was capable of detecting magical objects. She tried to get Hissy-Fitt to detect the presence of Syzygy, which would lead them to Four and Mariposa as well. They followed the cat into the Badlands, where they encountered, and were forced to fight, a twisted, mutated Ogre.

Mirabel and her group bumped into Jenna, who seemed not to be affected by the Dark Energy of the Badlands. Jenna suggested they could find Four and Mariposa through the power of love. Arienne realized she could use her magic to amplify the heartlink in members of their existing party. Mirabel was quick to volunteer. The magic filled her with a renewed, overwhelming affection for Four, and gave her the ability to sense his presence.

While hunting for Four, Mirabel was accosted by some kind of mud creature, which turned out to be the upper half of Syzygy. He had come from the ancient laboratory in which Four and Mariposa were sleeping, using his lower half to prop open the doors. He led the group the rest of the way to the Rose Law Cryonics Facility, where Four and Mariposa awaited.

After Four awakened, he responded to Mirabel as if she were still a bounty hunter. She had to convince him things had changed and that she was firmly on his side now. She attempted repairs to Syzygy until such time as the air began to run out and the group was forced to venture outside. At the mercy of the Dark Energy of the Badlands, Mirabel planted a kiss on Four's lips, reasoning that it was probably her last chance to ever do so. The group was unexpectedly rescued by Jenna, arriving on board an aerial castle-ship.

On board the ship, Mirabel was assigned the role of Chief Engineer, though it pained her to be so far away from Four.

Mirabel was part of the mission to Breckenridge to collect the fabled gemstone. Mirabel was the first to realize that the gem on display was a fake; the real gemstone was hidden in a vase that was discovered by Hissy-Fitt. After the cat destroyed the museum, however, Four warned her not to go on any more missions.

After Endeavor was attacked by Dreadnaught, Mirabel suggested lowering the anchor and swinging it at the dragon. The strategy was not successful. She then suggested plunging the ship into the South Oceanic sea to escape.

During the mission to Wyvern's Nest, graduates from Arkingston Military Academy cornered the group, training breech-loaders on them. When Four asked Jenna to shield Mariposa from harm with her body, Mirabel realized Four's priority would always be Mariposa, and never Mirabel.

Mirabel told Four she was leaving the ship, and took the cabriolet. Shortly after landing, however, she was arrested by Arkingston officials and thrown in prison in Heaven's Cradle. She spent the hours pouring dirt into her seemingly unfillable pockets. It was there that Mirabel met Jax, a fellow prisoner who had been incarcerated. Mirabel told Jax her story up to that point. After the Endeavor arrived to break Mirabel free, she suggested they take Jax with them as well.

Later, Arienne convinced Mirabel to join the mutiny against Four, reasoning that Mirabel could help save Four from himself. Mirabel used two of the focusing crystals to subdue Jenna and Syzygy before helping Brian lock Four up in the brig.

After Endeavor approached the Forgotten Basin and the moth people were already patrolling the area, Mirabel suggested crashing Endeavor into the volcano to catch Deorwynn by surprise. After they discovered the craft was out of fuel, Mirabel proposed crashing into the lava surrounding the volcano, jettisoning the gold to give them a softer landing.

Mirabel and Four encountered reanimated cadavers outside the Forgotten Basin, fighting their way through them until they finally entered the volcano to confront Deorwynn.

Mirabel fired on Deorwynn with her pulse gun until the weapon expired. After Deorwynn levitated Mirabel's body, Mirabel opened up her jumpsuit pockets and poured the soil from the prison cell onto Deorwynn. She was thrown aside for her efforts.

In the aftermath of the fight, in which Four's neurosphere had been destroyed, Mirabel and Guzzler collected Four's body and traveled south, hoping to find someone who could help Four recover.

Trivia[]

Mirabel was ambidextrous. She also had a fear of heights.

By the time we meet her in The Quest for the World-Breaker, her age is given only as "older than Four by a few years." One timeline written by the author places her departure from home at age 18 during the year 3877, making her 29 years old in her first appearance.

In The Veil of Souls, Mirabel claims she will turn 35 on her birthday in April, which is consistent with the above citations.

Behind the Scenes[]

Book one, A Butterfly's Tale, mentions that Christabel had an older sister, but Mirabel's name and elaborate back story were not developed until book two, The Quest for the World-Breaker.

Mirabel will also appear in the sixth book, Invasion of the Thought Stealers.