Mayan
From The Babylon Project
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Shaal Mayan was a Minbari poet and master of Ti'la.
[edit] History
Mayan was a childhood friend of Delenn and a member of the Minbari Religious Caste. Even as a child, Mayan was a gifted poet. In adulthood, she was considered one of the most gifted poets among the Minbari. She traveled extensively, studying the other races in the galaxy, and coming to believe that a common, defining aspect about all races was their ability to love.
In 2258, she traveled to Babylon 5 and gave at least one public reading. Afterwards, she stayed up late with her old friend Delenn, who was then acting as Ambassador for the Minbari Federation. When she finally left, she was stabbed by a masked assailant and branded with a pro-human tattoo on her forehead. Her injuries were not severe, though she did have to stay in Medlab for a day or two. Even though Dr. Stephen Franklin offered to remove the tattoo, she decided to keep it to "remember the lesson."
Delenn voiced her outrage over the attack, saying that an attack on Shaal Mayan was an affront to the entire Minbari Religious Caste. The assault was one of a series of anti-alien attacks occurring by a pro-human group known as the Homeguard. While she was recovering, a Centauri named Kiron Maray was attacked and nearly killed by the same criminals. His lover, Aria Tensus, stayed at his side until he recovered. Mayan offered some words of wisdom to Londo Mollari that moved him to help the young lovers stay together.
Commander Jeffrey Sinclair and his crew managed to unmask the culprits and take them into custody.
Shaal Mayan would return to Babylon 5 for another visit later in the year.
[edit] Notes
- Mayan's sole appearance and storyline occurred in The War Prayer.
- There is often some confusion over Mayan's name with many believe "Shaal" to be her given name. This is inconsistent with Minbari naming conventions and in actual fact "Shaal" is her title as a poet master. Note that when she and Delenn are alone and speaking informally, she is simply addressed as "Mayan". This follows in the same vein as other Minbari who are formally referred to by title, for example; "Satai Delenn", "Alyt Neroon" and "Entil'Zha Valen".
- She was mentioned as coming back to the station in Eyes, but not seen.
