The Magic Between Us: Camlin
When we first meet Camlin Grimshaw, he is revealed as the villain of In Sleep You Know, the shadowy leader of an aggressive faction of Fae that have named themselves after him. He and his followers have a deep, burning anger that comes from many years of isolation and being othered, both from the mortal world and their own, and that manifests as hatred of the Fae social classes and mortals in general. If they can’t belong, then they’ll seize or destroy the systems that keep them out.
In the course of ISYK we learn that Camlin is skilled at manipulation, and when that doesn’t work, he compels using his mind. He secretly uses members of the Gwyliannan faction as spies and for some of his dirty work, and isn’t above being cruel to those he uses, because in his eyes they’re part of the system he despises. Genaine in particular suffers at his hands, and it’s implied that he draws her into a relationship with and uses that as a way to further twist her to his will.
Camlin is cocky, self-assured, and willing to do anything to achieve his goal of gaining control of The Maithe—or is he? We see several times where his confidence has cracks, and his fear and uncertainty peek through. It’s not until Cast a Shadow of Doubt do we explore this, and his motivations for how he acted, in any detail; in ISYK he’s a bit more mysterious and very unlikeable. He would say that he’s used to playing that role, but the truth is, as always, much more complex.
In CASOD, he first appears at the front door of The Maithe, holding an unconscious mortal, Emmaline, in his arms. He begs the Eleriannan to help her, at whatever cost to him it might incur. This is our first inkling that something has changed for Camlin Grimshaw, though not the extent of it.
Why am I recapping all of this, with potential spoilers? Because to understand what made Camlin who he is, it’s important that we look at his terrible choices and actions before he started down a path to redemption.
Vali says that she believes no one is beyond redemption, which is why she gives Camlin a chance by letting him in the door—even if she doesn’t consciously understand that as the reason at first—and this is his second advocate on the road to turning his life around. The first is Emmaline, who gives him space to be flawed and messy without judgement, which in turn encourages him to care about nurturing over destruction. Until that point in his life, he’d suffered through being feared and reviled by mortals for what he was, a magical anomaly that lacked control over his powers. He was rejected by his Fae father as well, who neglected to teach him how to use his magic properly or even how to blend in for safety, and who eventually left Camlin and his mother to fend for themselves. This was the catalyst of his hatred for mortals and the so-called Gentry; though he still wasn’t quite comfortable with the “lower class” Fae, they didn’t judge him for being a half-blood like the Gentry did.
Neither Vali nor Emmaline excuse Camlin for what he’s done. Vali was there and suffered at his hands. She watched her friends suffer as well, unable to aid them. But she’s seen people do terrible things, often when they felt like they had no other choice or when they’d fallen so far that they no longer cared. She tries to meet people where they are, leaving them room to grow and explore the possibility of change. That confuses Camlin at first, because he knows that she has no reason to forgive him. None of the folks that he waged war against do. Being able to accept that he deserves whatever punishment he receives when he offers himself in exchange for helping Emmaline is all Vali needs to hear to give him leeway. In turn, she works to convince the others that they too should consider allowing him a chance to atone for his transgressions.
But it’s Emmaline’s unblinking acceptance of him, terrible faults and all, that sets him on the road to change. When he first encounters her, he’s still leaning on his arrogant persona for an illusion of strength, despite being laid low in the aftermath of ISYK. She sees right through it, same as she sees him while everyone else in the coffee shop does not, and she interacts with him fearlessly—something he had not experienced in a long time. As two people who were living on the fringes of the world, even though for different reasons, they clicked right away.
And when Emmaline scoffed at the idea of trusting people who claimed not to lie, saying that the ones who protested loudest were usually the least truthful, Camlin was desperate enough to keep his connection with her that he acted rashly. He swore to always speak the truth to her. What I don’t say directly in CASOD [though there’s some implication of it] is that this is the first time he’s ever allowed himself to be vulnerable for someone else. It’s a rash but heartfelt decision, and it’s the first step to redemption for Camlin.
He’s given her a way to have some power over him, in a way that levels the field at least a little. For once, he’s more interested in someone else’s comfort and safety than his own.
After the couple come to The Maithe, Camlin begins to share with others the past that damaged him and led him to the terrible choices that he made. And then he reveals his worst secret: in his anger and hatred and despair, he allowed a mysterious entity that whispered half-truths and offered seductive powers under the guise of achieving similar goals to have control over him. In turn, it used him to control the faction he’d gathered. The abuse pattern he’d been a part of was cyclical, and he was both the victim and the abuser, as all too often happens.
The difference for him being that he’s ready to risk himself to set things right, if he can. He makes this choice knowing that he could lose everything, including his life, or possibly worse, his ability to fight the mycelial Mealladhan and regain his free will. Still, he chooses to try. In the process he puts himself completely at the mercy of those he hurt in the past, trusting them to make decisions that could save him or doom at the end of his task. Even when the Mealladhan once again takes control of him, he does his best to protect and warn the people he cares about.
One of the lessons that he learns in all of this that I think sometimes gets overlooked is that he must trust and work with other people in order to have any hope of this plan succeeding. Every bad thing that happens in Camlin’s life is because of being alone, by choice or not. When he begins to lean on others, he grows exponentially.
Camlin is a character I enjoy exploring, because he’s very much not perfect; he’s quite aware of how flawed he is but is willing to do whatever he can to make amends and work toward becoming a better person. Some villains are unredeemable, and there are things one can never come back from. Camlin himself understands that he can never undo what’s been done, and he doesn’t expect to be forgiven. Instead he chooses to make the best of his second chance at life by doing what he can to keep the Mealladhan from regaining power, no matter the cost to himself. That’s fucking brave, and maybe not everyone will agree that it’s enough to be redeemed—Camlin might be on your side there—but I think Vali, the conscience of the Eleriannan, would argue that he deserves some happiness.
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