Mez in The Lost Rainforest: Mez's Magic

 

The Lost Rainforest: Mez's Magic is a book about an unnatural cathemeral (shadowwalking) panther named Mez who must leave her home with her sister and aunt to help various other unnaturally cathemeral animals stop an evil Ant Queen from emerging and destroying their home, Caldera. Mez's mother died when Mez was at a very young age, and left Mez and her sister Chumba to live with their aunt and cousins. Because of this, Mez holds her sister very dear and is always thinking about and trying to protect her. In the novel, an important plot element called the Veil stops nocturnal species, or nightwalkers, from roaming the day, and diurnal species, or daywalkers, from roaming the night. The only cathemeral species are the ants, associated with evil because their queen is said to have threatened Caldera's existence. Because of this, any animal who can cross the veil and be awake at the wrong time is considered unnatural and must be killed or exiled. Mez was coincidentally born during an eclipse, so she gained the ability to cross the Veil. Her aunt found out and exiled her, and she's been separated from her sister Chumba since. Mez instead meets up with another nocturnal animal, a bat named Lima, who she repeatedly realizes the similarities between Chumba and Lima. Mez uses this similarity to comfort herself in strange environments.

Mez is a very small panther cub who was separated from her only family. Her life in her Aunt's den was hard enough since her mother died and there has been no mention of her father. However, Mez is fine living through it all as long as she has her beloved sister, who she'd "do everything she [could] to keep her sister safe and happy"(Schrefer 14). It is clearly shown in the novel that Mez values her sister greatly, and if any of them were to be separated, she would be greatly affected. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens. Mez was caught daywalking so she had to leave her sister. A shadowalking boa constrictor then takes her away to journey to the Ziggurat of the Sun and Moon to help the other Shadow Walkers save the world.

Throughout Men's entire journey, she worries and thinks about her sister Chumba. "I hope you’re thinking of me like I’m thinking of you"(Schrefer 54). Mez is also shown in many other ways to be missing the companionship of Mez, such as not having someone to help her groom her fur. Although she is very downcast because she is not with her sister, she is determined to help the Boa Constrictor named Auriel save Caldera from the Ant Queen. She believes that if she returns home a hero, her Aunt will accept her back into her den and she will be reunited with Chumba. Because of this single thought, she is shown throughout the journey to be a leader and to push forward, however sad she may be. Along the way to the Ziggurat, Mez and Auriel recruit many other shadowwalkers, including a bat named Lima. Lima has many traits that remind, such as her optimism, excitement, and care for Mez. "'How cool!' Just what Chumba would have said, Mez thinks." Mez can't help thinking about her sister at all times, especially while her drive for completing this mission is for her. Mez leans on Lima for support, since her and Chumba are very similar, and she will use this relationship to bear being apart from her sister until she has returned to her Aunt's den.

Mez is a very small Panther Cub who values her sister very much. She was separated from her when she was all she had left after her mother died. Because of this, she saw the similarities between her beloved sister and the bat Lima that she was travelling with. This shows that despite her bravery during the events of the novel, she is still a small cub without a mother. She took the journey to defeat the Ant Queen to return to her sister, and that is what she truly cares about.

-Belal Alawini