Mai Song

"Please. I never asked for the situation that was handed to me. I've never claimed that I handled it well." —Mai, in Book 5: Lodestar

Mai Song

Mai Song is Tam Song  and Linh Song's mother and the wife of Quan Song. She is first seen in Book 5: Lodestar, when she attends Exillium training with Quan in the Ambi Hemisphere. Her name "Mai" means blossom of the apricot tree. In the book Nightfall, when Linh and Tam go home, they notice paintings of themselves done by their mother, except there is no silver in their hair, and they were separated.

Personality
Mai, as shown in Lodestar, is capable of feeling regretful for letting the Council banish Tam and Linh from the Lost Cities. While in Exillum training, she had grabbed Tam's arm, pleading if they could talk it over, and looked hurt when he rejected her. However, she still went on begging them, admitting that she had not handled the situation well that time. This seems she is not self-righteous but she wants to correct her ways so that Tam and Linh might accept her as their mother again. She whispered that they looked so much older, showing that she still thought about her children and that she was remorseful over what she had done to them to make them turn out like that.

She also seemed proud of Tam when she heard that he had used his ability to break Fitz and himself out of Ruy's force field so that they could take the Neverseen down and escape from Valkonian, as she asked Tam if it was true that he was a hero.

In Nightfall, when Tam visited Choralmere to help Alvar, she suspected Tam might have done something bad, but later showned that she cared for them and wanted to show them she was sorry. She is willing to prove to her kids that she can make up her mistakes and be closer.

Relationships
Quan Song (husband)- It was mentioned that they both appear to love each other very much. He shows lots of affection towards her and cares for her.

Linh Song (Daughter)- When Linh was struggling as a hydrokinetic near the water, Mai refused to move away from the sea.

Tam Song (Son)- It can be noted that she feels responsible for letting Linh and Tam be banished. Tam has some hateful feelings towards her but Mai is trying to apologize.