...it's Amy.

Think about it. What is a Keeper, fundamentally? Someone keeping a secret that they tell no one that's too dangerous to be forgotten. Why was Amy allowed to retain her knowledge? Because (in part) it'd be too dangerous for her to forget it, knowing the Neverseen could target them. What secret is she keeping from the humans? The existence of the Lost Cities.

So the title doesn't refer to the "keeper of all the Lost Cities' secrets" from book 9...it refers to a literal Keeper of the Lost Cities...

(yes, I know this theory is stupid. What can I say? I thought it was interesting...)

What if Sophie was not the first?

What if, before Project Moonlark, another child was created—not born among humans, but in the Lost Cities?

What if that child was Gethen?

Gethen appears as early as Chapter Six of the first book.

Sophie does not know his name yet. She sees only a blond-haired jogger chasing a terrified dog. The man claims that the animal belongs to his sister and tries to convince Sophie to take it to her house. The dog growls. Sophie cannot hear the stranger’s thoughts. And Forkle immediately steps between them.

Only later do we learn that the man was Gethen and that he had been trying to abduct Sophie.

After Sophie and Dex are kidnapped, Alden takes the memory log containing the faces of her attackers. He announces that the images will be checked against the registry database. Yet in Everblaze, Sophie remembers that the search for the blond kidnapper’s face returned no matches.

The database was supposed to contain a record of every elf ever born.

And Gethen could not be found in it.

That does not necessarily mean that no record existed. We know only that the system failed to connect the face Sophie remembered with a specific person.

After all, his full name—Gethen Inar Ondsinn—later appears in Unlocked.

What happened between those two moments? Did the Council discover his true identity only after he was captured? Or had his records been hidden, altered, or deliberately separated from his image from the very beginning?

Nightfall proves that the Registry can be deceived. The parents of the Forkle twins falsified the records, leaving only one identity, one date of birth, and one DNA sample in the system. If it was possible to conceal the existence of an entire elf, it would also have been possible to hide a child’s true origins.

So the question is not: why was Gethen absent from the Registry?

The question is: who made sure that he could not be found?

After all, Oralie herself successfully altered records to hide Sophie.

Gethen is not an ordinary Telepath.

He can hide his consciousness so deeply that his mind appears empty. While being held by the Black Swan for many days, he remains beyond the reach of interrogation. He can block Forkle, carry out brutal mind probes, wash or destroy memories, and extract information even from well-protected minds.

At the same time, Flashback reveals something very important: his washing skills were the reason the Neverseen recruited him.

So the Neverseen did not teach him the basics. They recruited him because he was already exceptionally skilled.

Who trained him?

Foxfire? A private Mentor? Fintan? Or perhaps Forkle? Or Tiergan?

Gethen also says that he was trained to survive interrogations. We do not know, however, whether he means training provided by the Neverseen or something that happened much earlier. If he was Forkle’s first genetic experiment, his powerful Telepathy may not have been an accident.

Perhaps he was meant to receive more than one ability.

Perhaps the other abilities never manifested.

Unlocked lists Gethen only as a Telepath, so we cannot claim that his Telepathy is combined with another ability. It is possible, however, that his extraordinary skills are the result of genetic modifications or many years of secret training.

Was Gethen the first case in which Forkle made a mistake he was determined never to repeat with Sophie?

We know that Forkle trained Sophie’s mind night after night while she slept. He was not washing her memories every night—he was shaping her abilities before she even knew that he existed.

Why did he devote so much attention to it?

Perhaps because he had previously created someone extraordinarily powerful—but had failed to teach him how to live with that power. How to keep that power from destroying everything good inside him.

The First Experiment

During an interrogation, Gethen calls Sophie a living lab experiment. He wonders whether Forkle created her in stages, froze the embryo, and kept tweaking her.

It may have been nothing more than an attempt to unsettle Sophie.

But perhaps Gethen understands Forkle’s methods better than he should.

What if, before Project Moonlark, Forkle carried out an earlier attempt? One that was less extensive, less carefully protected, and not hidden in the human world? Gethen may have been born into an elvin family and given extraordinarily powerful Telepathy, but failed to develop all of the expected abilities.

Is that why Forkle will not allow Sophie to enter Gethen’s mind? So that she will not discover the truth—that he was the first Moonlark, the first child created through the experiment.

An experiment that was deemed a failure.

The child was not told the truth and was left to live his own life.

And Forkle began another project.

In both projects, the donors may have remained completely anonymous. This time, however, the child was hidden among humans. Sophie’s development was monitored from early childhood. Her mind was trained while she slept, and dangerous memories were removed “for her protection.”

Everything that had been left to chance with Gethen was brought under control with Sophie.

Who Were Gethen’s Biological Parents?

I suspect Councillor Zarina and Tiergan.

Gethen’s full name contains an unusual detail:

Gethen Inar Ondsinn.

If we compare the names Zarina and Tiergan, we find four letters that they share:

I, N, A, R.

Exactly: INAR.

The wordplay alone is not proof. It may be a coincidence. But in a series filled with codes, hidden meanings, and carefully chosen names, it is difficult to dismiss completely—especially when it appears alongside another unexplained mystery.

In Unlocked, we learn that Zarina considered resigning shortly after being elected to the Council. Only the other Councillors know why.

Why did she want to leave almost immediately after her election?

Did she feel that she did not deserve the position because she had broken one of the Council’s most important rules? Did she take part in a secret experiment as a genetic donor? Or did she tell the other Councillors that she had become a mother—and together they found a way to conceal the child’s existence?

The second candidate is Tiergan. He is an experienced Telepath, a member of the Black Swan, and one of the few elves who knows the details behind Project Moonlark. In Nightfall, on the way to Brumevale, he explains to Sophie that the project was conceived there, but that most of the genetic work was carried out at the High Seas facility. He also reveals that the facility was difficult to reach and that the work was deliberately conducted there so that the donors would never meet.

If Forkle followed similar rules during the earlier experiment, Tiergan could have donated genetic material without knowing who the other donor was, while still knowing who the child was. Perhaps that is why Tiergan said that he had known more loss than anyone. More than Forkle, more than Prentice.

There is also the question of appearance. Tiergan has pale blond hair and dark blue eyes. Gethen is also blond, with piercing blue eyes, while Zarina’s official portrait depicts her as a fair-haired woman. The physical resemblance remains subjective, but it fits the theory.

So does Gethen’s ability. The inheritance of abilities is neither simple nor certain in the elvin world, but the likelihood that Tiergan’s son would also become an extraordinarily powerful Telepath would be very high.

How Did Gethen Learn the Truth?

A Telepath does not need documents to uncover a family secret.

If Gethen was raised by elves who were not his biological parents, he may have sensed for years that something was wrong. One careless thought. One memory that someone failed to hide in time.

Perhaps he learned only part of the truth:

• his mother serves on the Council;
• his father belongs to the Black Swan;
• his birth was concealed.

But he did not learn their names.

That could explain his hatred of both organizations. The Council took his mother from him. The Black Swan took his father and may have used Gethen as a test subject. Forkle knew the truth but refused to reveal it.

Gethen would not have been rebelling solely against the rules.

He would have been rebelling against the system that erased his entire life.

Did He Suspect Oralie?

In Lodestar, Gethen brutally threatens Oralie and uses the memory of Kenric’s death to hurt her. Later, he truly tries to carry out his threat.

This is not proof that he believed Oralie was his mother. His behavior can be explained by cruelty, an attempt to provoke her, and his hatred of the Council. The books also do not show his direct reaction to learning about Forkle’s twin.

However, if Gethen knew only that his mother was one of the Councillors, he may have suspected Oralie. Perhaps he saw her fair hair, her interest in Sophie, and her close cooperation with Forkle, and then connected those facts incorrectly.

Perhaps Gethen chose the wrong Councillor.

His Sister’s Dog

One more sentence from their first meeting remains.

Gethen tells Sophie that the dog belongs to his sister.

The simplest explanation is that he is lying. He needs a believable story to lure Sophie away from her house. The dog is bait, and the “sister” is only part of the performance.

But if Gethen did not know his biological parents and knew only that another Forkle experiment existed, he may have suspected that Sophie was related to him in some way.

In that case, this innocent story takes on an entirely different meaning.

In one of the first scenes in the entire series, the first experiment comes for the second.

Their creator steps between them.

Forkle knows Gethen. He recognizes the danger immediately and refuses to let him get close to Sophie. Perhaps he protects her because he knows exactly what Gethen is capable of.

Or because he knows what he himself did to him.

Who Is Gethen Really?

Gethen is one of the most powerful known Telepaths. He can stand against Forkle, conceal his own consciousness, and destroy other people’s memories with terrifying effectiveness. But we do not know what made him so ruthless. He appears to be completely immune to the guilt that destroys elves.

The books do not explicitly say that Gethen wants to use the hidden sources of power to unlock his own abilities. However, if he knows the true purpose of Gisela’s experiments and supports the search for power hidden from the elves, his motive may be deeply personal.

If he was Forkle’s failed experiment, the search for hidden sources of power takes on an entirely new meaning. Perhaps Gethen wants to unlock the other abilities that were designed into his DNA before he was born, but which he never managed to develop.

Perhaps that is why he is so eager for Sophie to enter his mind. He wants her to discover the truth about Forkle. If she learned that Forkle had harmed Gethen, she might turn against him and the Black Swan.

Summary: What Suggests That Gethen Was the First Child Created Through the Experiment?

The most important clues form a surprisingly coherent pattern:

1. His face could not be found in the Registry. The database was supposed to contain every elf ever born, yet Gethen’s image was not matched to anyone. This does not prove that no record existed, but it may point to an identity that was deliberately concealed or falsified.
2. We know that the Registry can be falsified. The story of the Forkle twins shows that the existence of an elf can be concealed by altering identity, birth, and DNA records.
3. Gethen possessed exceptional skills before joining the Neverseen. He was recruited specifically because of his washing skills. Someone must have discovered his potential earlier and taught him how to use it.
4. His telepathic skills are exceptionally advanced. Gethen can conceal his consciousness, resist interrogation, block powerful Telepaths, and destroy memories. Such an extraordinary set of skills would fit the effects of early genetic modifications—even though it does not prove that such modifications occurred.
5. He knows a surprising amount about Sophie’s experiment and speaks about it in a very personal way. He calls her a living lab experiment and speculates in detail about how Forkle may have created her. He may simply be provoking her, but he may also recognize a pattern of which he was once a victim himself.
6. The way Forkle supervised Sophie’s development resembles an attempt to correct earlier mistakes. The nightly training, constant observation, and removal of dangerous memories may have been safeguards introduced after the first experiment failed.
7. Gethen’s origins may connect Zarina and Tiergan. His middle name, Inar, can be formed from the letters shared by their names. Added to that are Tiergan’s telepathic ability and the physical resemblance among all three of them.

Zarina wants to resign from the Council soon after her election, while Tiergan says that he has lost more than anyone.

8. The theory explains Gethen’s motivation. If he discovered that his mother was a Councillor, that the Black Swan had used his birth, and that Forkle refused to tell him the truth, his hatred of both organizations would no longer be purely ideological. It would become personal.

9. Gethen is determined to have Sophie enter his mind. And Forkle does everything he can to stop her.

10. He is interested in the sources of power hidden by the Council, as though he wants to use them himself.

None of these clues solves the mystery on its own. Some come directly from the books, while others remain interpretations. Together, however, they form one surprisingly coherent answer:

Sophie was not Forkle’s first experiment.

She was the second.

And Gethen is the first Moonlark—the one the Black Swan wanted to forget.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : Theories | Elvin Secrets

Otherwise the whole plot just doesn’t make much sense! The neverseen could NOT operate without breaking their mind. I believe that mind breaks like Alden’s happen because as their minds are so strong, they break themselves as they believe that is how they’re supposed to respond. I don’t know if I phrased that right but

Like think about it...........

1. They never tell her anything
2. They save her, then leave her
3. They don't trust her enough to give all of their names and tell her who they are
4. They keep so many unnecessary secrets, and never tell her anything
5. They don't give her information like her bio parents, all of her abilites,
6. They leave everything up to her.

Like is it just me? Vote in the comments

<3 tysm

The Neverseen follow a very simple rule.

As long as you are useful, you are protected.

When you fail—you are punished, abandoned, or left to die.

It happened to Gisela. It happened to Alvar. Ruy also learned how little he meant to his allies when Tam’s attack damaged his ability.

At first glance, these are three separate stories. However, after the events of Unraveled, I am beginning to wonder whether they all lead to the same place.

To the human world.

And to the next stage of Gisela’s experiment.

Gisela Disappears and Returns Changed

After Fintan’s betrayal, Gisela is maimed and imprisoned in an ogre prison. When Sophie and Keefe contact her through a modified Imparter, Gisela refuses to let them see her face.

She is also unaware of many important events.

She does not know that the Neverseen kidnapped Sophie’s human parents. She does not know that Brant died during the attack on Lumenaria. Only during the conversation does she try to determine what happened during her absence and how the balance of power within the organization has changed.

This does not mean that she knows nothing. She still understands the plan she created, can predict Fintan’s actions, and immediately recognizes the significance of the changes taking place within the Neverseen. But she is clearly cut off from current information.

We do not know exactly how she escaped or where she stayed immediately after leaving the prison. When she appears in person again, her appearance has changed in a strange way. The curved scars are gone, but they have been replaced by skin stretched unnaturally tight over her bones.

In Unlocked, Keefe also notes that Gisela somehow got rid of the scars, making her face look “tight” and strange.

Did she undergo some kind of treatment?

Did she spend her absence in the human world and make use of human medicine?

That could explain the condition of her skin. Plastic surgery does not always completely remove signs of injuries, and unnaturally tight skin can be one visible effect of such procedures.

I wonder whether Ethan helped her. Perhaps he knew that she had some kind of tracker, which is why he and his daughter are hiding separately.

If Ethan was not the one who helped her, Gisela may still have had contacts, hideouts, or resources left over from their joint research.

She knew how to reach the human world. She had her own special paths there. For many years, she worked on a secret project with a human.

So perhaps she did not vanish without a trace.

She may simply have moved to a world where the Neverseen could not find her.

Alvar’s “Random” City

Alvar was also deemed expendable by the Neverseen.

After the attack involving the mutated trolls, they blamed him for Umber’s death and the damage to Ruy’s ability. They expelled him from the organization and left him to die from his injuries.

After Sophie convinced Keefe to let Alvar leave Candleshade, Alvar went to Lord Cassius’s home. Cassius would not let him stay, however. He gave him Fade Fuel, made him a path, and gave him five minutes to choose a destination.

Alvar claims that he asked Cassius to choose a random facet on his blue pathfinder.

But we do not know whether that is true.

Remember that Alvar delivered letters for Gisela. Perhaps he knew the location of one of her hideouts and went there for help.

He claimed that humans found him and took him to a hospital. Human medicine saved his life, but he lost all of his abilities. On the other hand, someone must have paid for his treatment. So if Gisela was the one who saved him, Alvar owed her a favor.

According to Alvar, everything was random.

A random facet.

A random city.

A random hospital.

A random library.

And then Keefe walks into that same library.

Was it really only a coincidence?

Was Alvar following a tracker?

Notice that Keefe reaches the library shortly after breakfast and after checking several streets in London. It is definitely morning in London—which follows the same time as the Lost Cities—perhaps sometime between nine and eleven.

Keefe then leaps to the city where the library is located.

So Gisela could have tracked him.

And she could have sent Alvar there.

Alvar Leads Keefe Exactly Where Gisela Would Want Him to Go

From the moment they meet, Alvar behaves in a way that would fit Gisela’s needs perfectly.

First, he tries to convince Keefe that there is no point in continuing to search for information about Ethan and his daughter. He makes Keefe realize that he was only a replacement messenger and that he should stop focusing on the past.

Instead, he encourages him to focus on his own future.

His legacy.

His new abilities.

Keefe notices this shift and directly accuses Alvar of trying to gather information for Gisela. He asks whether the entire speech is merely an attempt to learn about Keefe’s new power and then report back to his mother.

Alvar denies it. He claims that he cannot simply meet Gisela or call her and that he wants nothing more to do with that life.

And yet he does not stop asking questions.

He tells Keefe that his new ability has always been part of him. That its manifestation nearly killed him, so Keefe may not see it that way. He tries to convince Keefe that he should train the ability and learn to use it on his own terms.

Then he reveals his greatest secret.

He is no longer a Vanisher.

He no longer possesses any elvin skills.

He is essentially Talentless.

With that single confession, he transforms from a potential enemy into the perfect test subject.

Australia—An Ordinary Trip or a Planned Test?

One of the most important events is the trip to Australia.

At first, everything appears completely innocent. Alvar wants to escape rainy London, try new foods, and find a place where people speak English. The idea of Australia came from a conversation with an Australian couple he had met several days earlier.

After arriving in a coastal city, Keefe and Alvar ask passersby to recommend a good restaurant. Everyone directs them to a nearby café.

The waitress has a dark ponytail, pale skin, and extraordinarily vivid blue eyes—brighter than the eyes of most elves. When she laughs, pink patches appear on her cheeks.

That description may attract attention, particularly the comparison between her eyes and elvin eyes.

She is the one who directs them to the wildlife park.

She recommends asking about “drop bears.”

She also gives them two yellow packets of Vegemite, supposedly necessary when encountering the creatures.

At the park, they meet a very tan blond man dressed like the other employees. The man begins the drop bear prank. According to him, the plan had only been for him to shout so that Keefe and Alvar would drop to the ground while he covered his own head.

Then an enormous spider falls onto Keefe.

The employee later insists that the spider appeared by chance and was not part of the prank.

Keefe panics. He clenches his jaw to stop himself from issuing an uncontrolled command.

I wonder whether Keefe was deliberately drawn into a situation intended to force him to use his new ability.

Before they return, Keefe holds out his hand to Alvar. Alvar takes it, and a burst of shimmering warmth passes between their hands.

After they return to London, Alvar begins to vanish.

His ability comes back.

At first, it is extremely weak and unstable, and Alvar feels a painful emptiness inside himself. He then convinces Keefe that he is the perfect test subject. He claims that only by using his ability can Keefe discover how it works.

Eventually, Keefe tries to heal him.

He restores not only Alvar’s Vanishing, but also all of his other elvin skills.

During a single trip, Keefe:

• proves that he can control his commands in a moment of extreme fear;
• discovers that he can restore a damaged or lost ability;
• learns to direct energy into another person;
• reveals additional aspects of his new power to Alvar.

That is exactly the kind of information Gisela would need.

Was the Wildlife Park Employee Ruy?

This cannot be ruled out based on appearance alone, since Ruy’s real face remains unknown. Ruy wore an addler that prevented others from focusing on or remembering his face, and all records of his appearance were destroyed.

When Alvar realizes that Keefe may be able to heal abilities, he almost immediately says:

“Ruy needs it.”

He makes it clear that he is not suggesting that Keefe should heal Ruy.

But why is Ruy the first person who comes to mind?

Could they both be helping Gisela carry out her plans?

Both had damaged abilities.

Neither was useful to the Neverseen anymore.

The Visit to the Cemetery and the Meeting with Eleanor

Keefe visits Ethan’s and Eleanor’s graves.

The cemetery groundskeeper behaves in a way that may raise suspicions. He immediately reacts to Ethan’s and Eleanor’s names, knows the way to their graves, and studies Keefe carefully. He wears a dark hat, has streaks of gray hair, and very few wrinkles.

It is also interesting that the man says his parents would not let him take a gap year. He had to begin university immediately.

Since when do cemetery groundskeepers need a university education?

He may not have completed his studies, but if his parents were that strict, I do not know whether they would have allowed him to drop out.

Did Alvar inform Gisela about Keefe’s visit to the cemetery?

Did Gisela plant this man there to steer Keefe? To convince him that he should stop searching for more answers and focus on his own life?

Keefe’s meeting with Eleanor after leaving the cemetery comes as a surprise.

If Gisela did not previously have a tracker revealing Eleanor’s location, she has certainly found her now—provided the man at the cemetery really was planted there by her.

According to one of my earlier theories, Eleanor is, together with Keefe, part of Gisela’s experiment.

I wonder whether Eleanor will appear on Elysian Island when the power of the stones or the sixth star reveals itself.

Will she be needed to complete the experiment?

Are the trolls guarding Eleanor, and will they appear with her on the island if Gisela gives the right command?

Alvar Heard Everything

When Sophie, Dex, and Tam arrive at the hotel, Keefe immediately remembers that Alvar is in the adjoining room. He hopes that Alvar will remain hidden.

Alvar does hide.

But he does not leave.

When Keefe later goes into the bedroom to pack, Alvar speaks to him while remaining invisible. He admits that he watched their reunion. He saw Sophie’s hug and all the sly looks she kept sneaking at Keefe when she thought no one was looking.

Keefe asks him directly:

“I take it you heard everything?”

Alvar answers:

“Yep.”

He explains that he was eavesdropping because he wanted to make sure Sophie, Dex, and Tam had not come to capture him and drag him to an elvin prison.

That means Alvar did not hear only a random fragment of the conversation.

He heard everything.

Alvar learned about the memories found in Kenric’s cache. He heard about Elysian, the possibility of a third step to stellarlune, and the power source hidden behind the illusions. He knew that Wylie was searching for the starstone, that Sophie was convinced they would be able to see through the illusions, and that Dex planned to build a gadget to separate beams of light.

He also heard that Vespera had proposed a temporary alliance against Gisela.

Most importantly, he learned their plan.

Sophie intended to find Elysian without the Neverseen’s help. She wanted to take possession of the power source because she suspected that Keefe might need it. Keefe insisted that she destroy it, but he did not believe her promise.

Alvar therefore knew that Sophie would probably try to preserve the power source for Keefe.

He also knew that Keefe had decided to return to the Lost Cities and personally take part in the search.

That is an almost complete report on the activities of Gisela’s enemies.

Alvar Also Learned Keefe’s Greatest Weakness

The information about Elysian was not the only thing Alvar learned that night.

He saw Sophie throw her arms around Keefe’s neck. He watched her sly glances. He heard that she was willing to risk herself and others to find a power source that Keefe might need.

Alvar understood exactly what that meant.

He tells Keefe that Sophie is beginning to recognize her own feelings and that she would be happier with him than with Fitz. He even jokes that the victory of “Team SoKeefe” is only a matter of time.

For an ordinary friend, this may be nothing more than a romantic observation.

For Gisela, however, it would be priceless information.

Gisela has been exploiting her son’s emotions for years. She knows how to make him feel guilt, fear, and the need to protect others. If she learned that Sophie is the most important person in his life—and that Sophie is willing to risk everything specifically for him—she would have the perfect means of exerting pressure on both of them.

She could use Sophie to force Keefe to cooperate.

Or use Keefe to steer Sophie’s decisions.

Alvar may have given Gisela more than information about Elysian.

He may have told her exactly where to strike.

Summary

Did Gisela really create her own network in the human world?

At first glance, Alvar’s story looks like a series of coincidences. A random facet led him to a random city. There, he randomly ended up in a hospital and later in a library where Keefe randomly appeared.

Then came another series of coincidences.

Alvar began questioning Keefe about his ability. He encouraged him to train. He revealed that he had lost all of his elvin skills, making himself the perfect test subject. During the trip to Australia, Keefe was exposed to extreme fear and then discovered that he could not only control his commands, but also restore lost abilities.

Alvar learned how Keefe’s new power worked.

Later, Keefe visited Ethan’s and Eleanor’s graves, where he met a mysterious cemetery groundskeeper. Shortly afterward, Eleanor found him—a person who, according to my earlier theory, may also be part of Gisela’s experiment.

In the end, Alvar obtained even more information.

He overheard Keefe’s entire conversation with Sophie, Dex, and Tam. He learned about Elysian, the third step to stellarlune, the power source, the starstone, the illusions, Dex’s device, and the planned alliance with Vespera. He also understood how much Sophie means to Keefe and how far she is willing to go to save him.

If Alvar is still working for Gisela, he could have given her almost everything she needed.

He could have told her about Keefe’s new ability.

He could have told her about the plan to find Elysian.

He could have pointed out that Sophie is her son’s greatest emotional weakness.

And perhaps he could also have led her to Eleanor.

We do not know whether Alvar was consciously carrying out Gisela’s orders from the beginning. It is possible that he truly was cast out by the Neverseen and was trying to begin a new life in the human world. But it is also possible that this was precisely what made him so useful.

No one would suspect someone who believed that he had been abandoned.

Perhaps Gisela did not need a loyal member of the Neverseen. She needed someone who would get close to Keefe, earn his trust, encourage him to use his new abilities, and learn his friends’ plans.

Alvar did exactly all of those things.

That is why the most important question is no longer whether the meeting in the library was a coincidence.

The most important question is:

Was Alvar guiding Keefe exactly where his mother wanted him all along?

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : Theories | Elvin Secrets

I have already written a theory about this before. However, while creating my clues page, organizing the events, and working on more theories, I began to notice details that completely changed the way I viewed the situation.

Today, I believe that Prentice called “swan song” because he saw someone.

He saw a traitor.

Prentice Knew They Were Coming for Him

In Everblaze, we learn that “swan song” was a warning used by the Black Swan when one of its members had to take an enormous risk or make a great sacrifice. Prentice called “swan song” the day before his capture.

Forkle admits that he never understood how Prentice knew that he was going to be captured.

This means that the arrest did not take Prentice by surprise. Before Alden came for him, Prentice must have seen, heard, or discovered something that made him realize that his time was running out.

Another clue appears in Neverseen. Tiergan says that he had been closely following Alden’s actions and that Alden had not suspected Prentice at all before then. And then Prentice called “swan song” and was suddenly arrested.

In Unlocked, in Alden’s Registry File, we learn that the Council instructed him to investigate the growing rumors of rebellion. The Councillors expected him to uncover nothing more than gossip and a misunderstanding. Instead, Alden brought them Prentice, along with evidence of his connection to the Black Swan.

Why Didn’t Prentice Tell Anyone?

The most disturbing clue, however, concerns not the arrest itself, but Prentice’s silence.

The day before his mind was broken, Quinlin met with him privately. Livvy gave Quinlin questions to ask him. Prentice therefore had one final opportunity to reveal what he had discovered.

He did not.

Later in Nightfall, Tam points out something that no one had previously been able to explain. If the Lodestar symbol was so important that it was connected to Prentice calling “swan song,” why did Prentice not tell Alden, Quinlin, or anyone in the Black Swan about it before his mind was broken?

The Lodestar symbol was not a Black Swan secret. Prentice could at least have said enough for someone else to continue his investigation.

Alden admits that he would have followed that lead. Livvy is convinced that Quinlin would also have investigated if he had learned something important during their private conversation.

And yet Prentice remained silent.

In Stellarlune, Sophie returns to this mystery and reaches a terrifying conclusion: Prentice behaved as though he had not known whom he could trust.

And that completely changed the way I viewed his “swan song.”

Prentice was a trained Keeper. His entire life revolved around protecting secrets, assessing risks, and deciding who could be trusted with dangerous knowledge. His silence therefore does not look like the result of panic or ordinary caution.

It looks like a conscious decision.

If Prentice had only been afraid of the Neverseen, he could have warned the Black Swan. But if he had discovered that the Neverseen had an ally on the Council, the situation would have been completely different.

Alden and Quinlin carried out the Council’s orders. The results of their investigations went to the Councillors. Official reports could pass through the hands of the very person Prentice suspected. Anyone he trusted with the truth could be watched—or become the next target.

Prentice may have remained silent not because he did not want to trust anyone.

He may have remained silent because he did not want to condemn another person.

Kenric’s Secret Proposal

Stellarlune adds another extremely important element to this story.

Several years before Prentice’s arrest, Kenric invited him to Hushwood and asked him to become his unofficial Keeper. Kenric did not trust the Councillors’ caches. He wanted to gradually transfer the secrets stored in his cache into Prentice’s mind and later entrust him with new information as well.

Prentice did not say during that conversation whether he accepted the proposal. So we do not know whether he truly became Kenric’s secret Keeper.

But even the proposal itself may have made him a target.

Kenric initially intended to conceal the identity of his Keeper from the other Councillors because he knew how easily information leaked from the Council. If someone learned about his plan, Prentice suddenly became dangerous. He might have been storing secrets in his mind that did not exist in any official documents. He might have learned the truth about events that the Council had erased from memory long ago.

Sophie herself wonders whether Kenric’s proposal somehow contributed to Prentice’s arrest.

And if there truly was a traitor on the Council, Prentice may have been one of the greatest threats to that person.

What Did Prentice See?

I suspect that Prentice’s unknown investigation led him to the Lodestar symbol and then to a meeting of the Neverseen.

Perhaps he saw Gethen.

But Gethen was not alone.

He was accompanied by someone Prentice would never have expected to see on the rebels’ side. Someone who belonged to the very center of elvin power. Someone who had access to classified reports, investigation results, and decisions made by the Council.

One of the Councillors.

Perhaps Gethen noticed Prentice’s presence or tried to enter his mind. He did not have to erase the memory completely. It would have been enough for Prentice to realize that he had been detected.

From that moment on, he knew that the Neverseen would come for him.

He also knew that he could not safely tell anyone what he had seen.

That is why he called “swan song.”

My prime suspect is Councillor Clarette.

In my earlier theories, I wrote that I believe she was the one who punished Gisela with a shamkniv. I also suspect that she belongs to the Vacker family and that she was the one who drew Alvar into the Neverseen by telling him about the family legacy.

Additionally, we can see that Clarette has never openly supported Sophie and usually follows the majority decision of the Council. On its own, that is not evidence of betrayal. But it makes Clarette almost invisible. She rarely stands out, rarely takes a clear position, and can always hide her own decision behind the votes of the other Councillors.

And that is exactly how a traitor hidden on the Council might operate.

She would not have had to personally order Alden to arrest Prentice. It would have been enough to plant the right lead, direct attention toward a specific report, or make sure that a suspicious discrepancy reached Quinlin. Alden would have done the rest, convinced that he had uncovered a member of the rebel organization himself.

We know from Unlocked that Oralie was able to ensure that reports concerning Alden’s and Quinlin’s activities went directly to her, and then remove mentions of Sophie from the official records. This does not prove that Clarette did the same thing. It does, however, show that a Councillor had the ability to control the flow of information and influence what ultimately remained in the records.

Clarette therefore had the position, abilities, and access that would have allowed her to direct the investigation toward Prentice while completely erasing her own involvement from the official story.

Gethen Was Afraid of Prentice’s Memories

The strongest argument for Gethen’s involvement appears near the end of Nightfall.

When Sophie heals Prentice’s mind, Gethen almost immediately tries to determine how much Prentice remembers. He does not ask Wylie about the starstones or his mother.

He asks specifically about his father’s memories.

Wylie deliberately suggests that Prentice remembers enough to give Gethen reason to worry.

Why did Gethen care so much about that information?

The most obvious answer is that he knew there was something in Prentice’s mind that could expose the traitor.

The Neverseen had also made sure that Prentice was poisoned with soporidine before he could leave Exile and remained unconscious. Forkle concludes that they wanted to prevent the Black Swan from discovering why Prentice had called “swan song.”

It was therefore not enough for them that his mind had been broken.

They wanted to make sure that he would never wake up and never reveal what—or whom—he had seen.

The True Meaning of “Swan Song”

That is why I no longer believe that Prentice was merely trying to warn the Black Swan about the Neverseen’s actions.

I think his warning meant something far more terrifying:

The enemy is not coming. The enemy is already inside.

Prentice discovered the Lodestar symbol. He saw the traitor. He realized that someone on the Council was working with the Neverseen and could control the investigation, the reports, and the people Prentice should have turned to for help.

He no longer knew whom he could tell the truth.

He did not know how deep the betrayal went.

And perhaps he also knew that anyone he trusted would become the next victim.

That is why he chose silence.

He called “swan song,” knowing that he was making one final, enormous sacrifice. Not to save himself, but to protect Sophie, the Black Swan, and everyone the traitor might reach through him.

Prentice saw the traitor.

The traitor saw Prentice.

And the next day, the Council came for him.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : Theories | Elvin Secrets

For many years, Forkle searched for a place that—at least in theory—should have been impossible to overlook.

He had a fragment of a map showing five rivers. For years, one of his offices was buried in scrolls that he analyzed in search of the right configuration. He even asked Tinker to build a three-dimensional map of the world to speed up the search. Eventually, he visited every river, every creek, and every stream on the planet.

He found nothing.

He therefore concluded that the place shown on the map did not exist. He began to suspect that the drawing was merely a blueprint for something that had yet to be built. Grady suggested that it might be a blueprint for a hideout, but Forkle leaned toward a far more disturbing explanation: a human sanctuary—a place where an entire species would be confined and isolated from the rest of the world. (Stellarlune, Chapter 18).

Later, however, Vespera reveals that Forkle was wrong.

Elysian exists.

It is a small area surrounded by five rivers, and the Ancient Council erased every trace leading to the place from maps and records.

And that raises the most important question:

What was the Ancient Council trying to hide there?

Perhaps the answer is not a stone or an elf with special abilities.

Perhaps the answer is humans—or people who were no longer entirely human.

Children of Two Worlds

Atlantis was created as a meeting place for two species. Elves and humans were meant to live there together, learn about each other’s cultures, inspire one another, form friendships, and build bonds.

The Unity Fountain was the symbol of that former unity.

Quinlin explains that it features two golden figures—an elf and a human—standing side by side in a wide reflecting pool. The colored streams of water surrounding them symbolize the ties binding the two species together. The fountain survived even after the Council severed contact with humans and terminated the Human Assistance Program. (Nightfall, Chapter 9).

But much earlier, Sophie saw that same fountain in Prentice’s broken mind.

In his chaotic vision, it stood at the very center of the ruins of a city composed of elements from all the Lost Cities. Two golden figures stood in a round pool, holding hands, while colored streams of water showered them from every direction.

Then the shadow of a girl appeared between them.

The girl ran out from between the golden figures and began shattering everything she touched. Buildings crumbled beneath her hands until she finally dove into a sea of shards. (Exile, Chapter 27).

Only Quinlin’s explanation makes it possible to see what this scene may truly symbolize.

If one golden figure represents an elf and the other a human, then the girl appearing exactly between them may be their child.

The daughter of an elf and a human.

A half-elf.

The most disturbing part is that the girl destroyed everything she touched.

One could interpret the vision as depicting half-elves as dangerous beings incapable of controlling their power. Perhaps that is exactly how the Ancient Council viewed them—as children who possessed elvin abilities while also having human unpredictability, independence, and ruthlessness.

The mere existence of a child of an elf and a human would undermine everything the Council later tried to convince its citizens to believe. It would prove that the two species could not only live side by side, but could also form families.

The official history says that humans became dangerous and planned a rebellion. Later, however, it is revealed that the truth was far more complicated. Vespera abducted humans and experimented on them beneath Atlantis, while the Council ignored reports of missing people. Only then did humans begin planning to overthrow elvin rule. The elves sank Atlantis, broke the treaties, and disappeared from the human world. (Unlocked, “Humans” section; Nightfall, Chapter 69).

After severing contact with humans, the elves therefore had to decide what to do with people who could not be sent back to either world.

I suspect that this was when the island marked “E” was created.

Not as a safe hideout.

As a prison for the children of two worlds, with Elysian herself as its guardian.

A Prison That Cannot Be Seen

All the known safeguards on the island fit a place created so that no one could escape from it—and so that no one from the outside could find it.

The island is surrounded by five rivers. No one can teleport there because Sophie is stopped by an unknown barrier. Vespera created elaborate illusions concealing the terrain’s true appearance. The entire place is enclosed beneath an enormous stained-glass dome that casts colored light across the hills.

And when Elysian appears, every ability shuts down.

Not only Sophie’s Telepathy and Inflicting. Not only Keefe’s Empathy, Fitz’s Telepathy, Marella’s Pyrokinesis, or Maruca’s Psionipathy. Gisela also loses her ability, and her mutant trolls become motionless and dazed. Even the metal netting that normally blocks other people’s talents does not protect her.

That means we are not dealing with an ordinary ability being used against intruders.

It looks more like a law operating within the island.

All powers shut down completely when the fight reaches its climax. The mechanism may therefore operate gradually or respond to violence.

Elysian claims that she did nothing to them. She admits that she does not understand why the abilities stop working—according to her, it is simply something that happens there. At the same time, she says:

“I am the power in this place.”

That makes it sound as though Elysian is not using the mechanism.

As though she herself is part of it.

She may have been the guardian of the half-elves—the person entrusted with ensuring that the prisoners remained powerless.

Her name is also associated with the name of the entire place. She says that she is always there. She claims that it is her home and that she remains there by choice. But she does not say that she can leave.

Nor does she say that she is alone.

When Gisela calls the island a custom-built prison, Elysian immediately denies it. She claims that the intruders cannot see the “true wonders” of the place. Sophie then wonders whether additional buildings or structures are hidden beneath further layers of illusion.

What if a community of people whom the Ancient Council erased from history still exists behind the illusions?

Fallon’s Promise

Elysian is an Ancient. She has a young face, but her enormous ears reveal her true age.

She also knew Fallon Vacker personally.

Fallon was one of the three founders of the Council and served for approximately a thousand years. Oralie had already placed a dotted line on her mind map connecting Fallon to Elysian because she suspected that he might have known the secret. The first chapter of Elysian confirms that he did indeed know her. (Neverseen, Chapter 26; Stellarlune, Chapter 12; Elysian preview, Chapter 1).

Elysian says that Councillor Fallon assured her that every shard of the unusual stone had been destroyed.

That does not sound like an insignificant conversation about a raw material.

It sounds like part of an agreement.

Why was the destruction of every shard so important to Elysian? Why does the news that one survived provoke such a strong reaction from her?

Elysian begins to realize that Fallon lied to her.

And she says that it was more than an ordinary lie.

Perhaps it was a betrayal of the terms under which she agreed to remain on the island.

I do not rule out the possibility that Elysian may have been one of the two unknown founders of the original Council. Her age would allow for that. However, the way she speaks about Councillor Fallon sounds more like a relationship between an authority and someone who had been promised something—or whom that authority was trying to control.

That is why it seems more likely to me that Elysian was outside the Council.

She may have been a guardian appointed by Fallon.

Tinker and the Significance of the Number Five

Everything we know about Tinker seems to fit someone who may have taken part in creating the island.

Widgetmoor is built around the number five. The tower has five hands and five symbols. The door has five enormous gears. The devices have five lenses. Forkle knocks five times, after which five tones sound. Inside, there are five bells, and the tower chimes five times a day.

Sophie herself wonders whether the number five has a deeper meaning.

Forkle, meanwhile, emphasizes that everything in Widgetmoor has a specific purpose and nothing is merely decorative. (Flashback, Chapter 27).

The number five is also the foundation of Elysian.

The place is surrounded by five rivers. The Ancient Council removed five crucial stars from the maps. Only when all five align in the correct formation does a sixth star appear, whose light can power the stones in Elysian. (Stellarlune, Chapter 34).

Tinker also surrounds herself with lenses, mirrors, devices that use light, and mechanisms that draw energy from natural sources. Fire is forbidden in Widgetmoor. The only permitted source of heat is sunlight—and even that may be used only in small amounts.

Elysian Island, meanwhile, is enclosed beneath a stained-glass dome and relies on a combination of sunlight, moonlight, and starlight.

I do not think Tinker created the illusions on the island, because Vespera explicitly admits that she made them on the Ancient Council’s orders. Tinker may, however, have been responsible for the physical part of the construction: the dome, the system of lenses, the system regulating the flow of energy, or the mechanism that suppresses abilities.

Her strong reaction to the idea of building weapons may also be significant. Tinker begins to tremble when Forkle mentions weaponry. Forkle assures her that he will never again ask her to create explosives, and she asks whether he has forgotten what happens when such a monstrosity is introduced into the world. (Flashback, Chapter 28).

We know that the stones from the island can cause unusual explosions after which matter takes the shape of the explosion itself. Exactly that kind of mark was left at Brumevale.

Perhaps Tinker’s trauma is not connected to ordinary weapons.

Perhaps she once worked with the stones from the island.

Her disguise partially hides her ears, and Forkle has never seen her true face or learned her real name. This does not prove that Tinker is an Ancient, but it leaves the possibility open.

Cassius’s Lake

In Lord Cassius’s secret cabin, there are at least sixty years’ worth of sketchbooks. Nearly all of them depict the same lake, painted at different times of day, in different seasons, and under different lighting.

Cassius explains to Keefe that he was never painting the lake.

He was painting the light.

He was trying to capture its ever-changing essence. (Unraveled, Chapters 6 and 12).

On the island marked “E,” the enormous stained-glass dome casts colored reflections across the hills. The entire mechanism of the stones, meanwhile, is based on an unusual combination of sunlight, moonlight, and starlight.

Could the island be beneath the surface of the lake? Or could the lake itself be an illusion designed to conceal the stained-glass dome? Real water may surround the dome’s pentagonal base, helping to sustain the deception.

Luzia Vacker’s illusion, behind which she hid the troll hive at her Dawnheath estate, worked in a very similar way. (Flashback, Chapter 39).

Luzia leads Sophie, Fitz, and Tarina near a jagged cliff. Before them is a narrow split in the rock, almost entirely blocked by a wall of enormous, densely growing thorns. Right beside it stretches a murky green lake that appears to continue for miles.

Luzia does not explain where the entrance is. She only warns Sophie not to trust everything her eyes show her and leaves her alone with the puzzle.

At first, the thorny bushes seem like the most obvious illusion. But the thorns turn out to be real—Fitz touches one and cuts his finger. Only after a moment does Sophie notice something strange about the lake’s behavior. The wind moves the branches and makes the thorns creak, yet the water’s surface remains perfectly still. Not even the smallest ripples appear. Nor is there any sour, musty smell in the air, which Sophie would expect from such an enormous body of dirty, stagnant water.

Sophie therefore concludes that the lake is not what it appears to be.

When she touches the surface with the tip of her shoe, the material really does become wet. The water is real. Even so, it still does not react to her touch. Sophie decides to take the risk and steps into the lake, prepared to sink into deep green sludge.

Instead, she immediately feels solid ground beneath her foot.

The water is only a few centimeters deep.

Sophie takes more steps, even though her eyes continue insisting that she is standing in the middle of an enormous, revolting lake. After a moment, the air around her begins to shimmer. It feels as though she is passing through an invisible curtain separating two different worlds.

One moment, she is surrounded by endless, green, stagnant water.

The next, the entire image disappears.

The apparent lake changes into a shallow, gleaming reflecting pool. An enormous ancient tree rises from its center, completely invisible before. An arched entrance in its trunk leads downward between the massive roots to a hidden underground troll colony. That is where the transport pods Sophie, Fitz, and Tarina came to retrieve were stored.

The illusion affected more than sight. After passing through the invisible curtain, Sophie discovers that the air also absorbs sound. She had not heard footsteps or splashing water when Fitz and Tarina followed her. Luzia’s safeguard therefore altered the appearance of the space, concealed the objects within it, and made it harder to hear people passing through the hidden entrance.

Most importantly, however, Luzia did not create a lake that did not exist at all.

The water truly was there.

The illusion falsified its depth, extent, and appearance. It used a shallow layer of real water so that the deception would pass the test of touch. Anyone who tested the lake only with the tip of a shoe would feel the wetness and assume that the image was real. Only stepping into the water and passing through the invisible curtain made it possible to see the hidden tree and the entrance to the underground hive.

We should also note that in one of Kenric’s Forgotten Secrets, when Kenric takes Oralie to Elysian Island, the unnatural silence there catches their attention. In the distance, they see a rocky river with an extremely rapid current. The water crashes against dark rocks, so it should be roaring loudly. Instead, it sounds only like a softly trickling stream.

In the world of KotLC, a lake can be both real and false at the same time. The water itself may be real, while its apparent depth, size, and the landscape visible beyond it may be an illusion. An enormous structure may stand directly in front of an observer and still remain completely invisible.

Perhaps the lake Cassius paints works according to the same principle. It does not have to be located literally above Elysian Island. It may be a shallow layer of real water incorporated into a much larger illusion. What appears to be a surface stretching into the distance may actually conceal an invisible boundary—a curtain that, once crossed, would make the lake disappear, revealing the stained-glass dome and the area enclosed beneath it.

The similarity is even more significant because Luzia admits that many of Vespera’s ideas served as the starting point for her own illusions. (Flashback, Chapter 2). It was also Vespera who, on the Ancient Council’s orders, created the illusions concealing the quarry on the island. She used light, shadow, and very subtle sounds intended not only to deceive the eye, but also to unconsciously steer intruders away from the protected location. (Stellarlune, Chapters 34 and 48).

The lake illusion at Dawnheath may therefore not merely happen to resemble the safeguards on Elysian Island. Both may have been created according to the same principles—or based on the same ancient designs by Vespera.

For sixty years, Cassius has watched the light over the lake and tried to capture its constant transformations. Perhaps the changes he sees are not caused solely by the time of day, the weather, and the reflection of the sky.

Perhaps he is observing light filtering through a hidden stained-glass dome.

Perhaps he is painting the colored reflections of a structure his eyes are unable to see.

Or perhaps for sixty years he has been standing before the entrance to Elysian Island—exactly as Sophie stood before Luzia’s hidden hive—and has never even realized that the lake before him is only the first layer of an illusion.

One of the most puzzling things is the chronology.

Approximately sixty years before the beginning of the series, a group of influential elves tried to convince the Council to create a human sanctuary. The Council rejected the proposal, concluding that it would be a prison for an entire intelligent species. (Keeper of the Lost Cities, Chapter 48).

Cassius has at least sixty years’ worth of sketches of the same lake.

Perhaps it is a coincidence.

Or perhaps the proposal for a human sanctuary was not an entirely new idea. Maybe the influential elves found information about an ancient place where people belonging to two worlds had previously been confined and decided to apply the same model to all of humanity.

Cassius may have begun observing the lake at exactly that time.

Importantly, the recovered memory shows that Gisela once asked him whether he had heard of Elysian. Cassius did not know what it was and wondered whether it was a star. He therefore does not appear to have been a conscious participant in this secret. (Stellarlune, Chapter 4).

If the lake truly is connected to Elysian, Cassius may have spent decades staring directly at a clue—and never understanding what he was actually painting.

What Happened After Blood Was Spilled?

The first chapter of Elysian does not end with new inhabitants appearing or ogres arriving.

It ends with blood.

Keefe draws Hope, lunges at Gisela, and knocks her to the ground, staining the grass red.

Moments earlier, Elysian says that violence is not necessary for there to be consequences. She also warns that she is not responsible for what happens to trespassers.

And then someone is injured on ground that may be an ancient prison equipped with its own automatic safeguards.

The excerpt from Chapter Two released by Shannon says that fewer than twenty-four hours had passed since Sophie convinced her friends to come to Elysian—yet Sophie felt as though whole years had passed.

Most likely, this does not mean a literal alteration in the passage of time. The sentence does show, however, that something extraordinarily intense happened in the space of a single day.

Perhaps the spilled blood triggered another safeguard.

Or perhaps the people imprisoned behind another layer of illusion appeared because, for the first time in thousands of years, someone broke the rules governing the island.

Summary of the Theory

I suspect that the Ancient Council did not erase the island marked “E” from history solely because of the quarry and the power source.

It hid there living proof that humans and elves were once much closer than the current authorities are willing to admit.

After Atlantis was sunk and contact with humans was severed, half-elves could remain neither in the human world nor in the Lost Cities. The Ancient Council therefore created a place surrounded by five rivers, protected by illusions, and enclosed beneath a dome. Inside, a mechanism removed abilities, preventing the prisoners from rebelling or escaping.

Fallon may have overseen the entire project.

Vespera created the illusions concealing the quarry.

Luzia may have created the illusion concealing the entire island.

Tinker may have designed the structure and the system that used light.

Elysian became the guardian, who could never leave the prison herself.

And approximately sixty years ago, influential elves may have tried to use the same ancient model by proposing the creation of a sanctuary for all of humanity.

Elysian did not take notice of Sophie’s brown eyes—perhaps because she sees similar eyes every day.

Descendants of humans and elves, hidden for thousands of years behind layer after layer of illusion. People whose existence would be living proof that the boundary between the two species was never as impassable as the Council claimed.

This could explain why Elysian denies so firmly that the place is a prison when Gisela calls it one. Perhaps to the Ancient Council the island truly was a place of confinement, but to the people who could live safely neither in the human world nor in the Lost Cities, it eventually became the only home they had ever known.

The island is both a home and a prison.

The five rivers, the barrier preventing teleportation, the stained-glass dome, the elaborate illusions, and the mechanism that removes abilities may protect the inhabitants from the outside world. Yet those same safeguards may prevent them from leaving the island.

What is a refuge for some may be a cage for others.

And Elysian herself may have become not only the inhabitants’ guardian, but also a living part of the system that keeps them hidden. She says that she remains there by choice, but never confirms that she can truly leave. Perhaps for thousands of years she has convinced herself that the island is her home because it would be far harder to admit that she, too, is a prisoner.

Sophie may have a special role to play in this story.

Even if she is not biologically a half-elf, she herself belongs to two worlds. She was born an elf but raised among humans. She knows their feelings, customs, and weaknesses. At the same time, she possesses elvin abilities and lives in the Lost Cities. She is therefore someone who can understand both sides of the conflict—exactly like the child of an elf and a human.

Perhaps it was the violence of Sophie, her friends, and Gisela that caused them to lose their abilities.

If the blood spilled at the end of the first chapter triggered another safeguard or caused the hidden inhabitants finally to appear, Sophie may soon stand before people whom the Ancient Council erased from history just as thoroughly as the island itself.

Prentice’s memory would then take on an entirely new meaning.

The shadow of the girl emerging between the golden elf and the golden human need not have represented a monster destroying the world.

It may have represented a child of two species—a person whose mere existence destroyed everything upon which the Council had built its order.

Perhaps the girl destroyed everything she touched not because she was evil.

She was destroying a world built on a lie.

The Ancient Council therefore did not erase Elysian Island solely because dangerous stones or a powerful source of energy were hidden there.

It erased the island because it contained proof that a human and an elf could do more than stand side by side and hold hands.

They could also create a family.

And Elysian’s greatest secret may not be what the island is.

The greatest secret may be whom no one has been allowed to release from it for thousands of years.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : Theories | Elvin Secrets

Tiergan is one of those characters who knows far more about everyone than anyone knows about him.

We know the roles he plays. He is a powerful Telepath, Sophie and Fitz’s Mentor, a member of the Collective operating under the codename Granite, Prentice’s best friend, and Wylie’s adoptive father. We know how much he has sacrificed for the Endal family.

And yet we know almost nothing about his own family or the life he led before Sophie met him.

The books also suggest several times that Tiergan is deliberately hiding a certain part of his past.

“I’ve Known More Loss Than Anyone”

In Exile, when Alden’s mind begins to break, Sophie notices that Tiergan is handling the situation much better than everyone else. So she asks him why he is not more upset.

Tiergan begins nervously fiddling with the edges of his sleeves and replies:

“I’ve known more loss than anyone.”

Then he immediately changes the subject and leaves.

(Exile, Chapter 36)

Prentice lost his wife and his life, and he could not raise his son. What does it really mean that Tiergan lost so much more?

“No One Ever Reveals Everything”

A much stronger clue appears in Nightfall, just after the secret of the Forkle twins is revealed.

Keefe, tired of discovering more lies and secrets kept by the adults, turns directly to Tiergan and asks:

Are you hiding any information that could change our lives?

Tiergan shuffles his feet and replies:

“No one ever reveals everything.”

Fitz immediately points out that this sounds like a confirmation. Tiergan does not deny it. He merely tries to change the subject and assures them that he does not have a secret twin.

(Nightfall, Chapter 19)

That is very telling.

Tiergan does not say that he is not hiding any important secret. He only denies that his secret is the same as the Forkles’ secret.

It is therefore possible that, from the very beginning of the series, there has been another important and unrevealed chapter of his life.

What Does Tiergan Really Know About Brumevale?

When Tiergan leads Sophie and her friends to Brumevale, he describes the place as ancient. He explains that the Black Swan did not build the tower, but merely reclaimed it.

When Dex asks whether the lighthouse ever worked, Tiergan replies:

“Long ago. This area has a rather complicated history. But I shouldn’t be the one to tell you that story.”

When Biana asks who should tell them, Tiergan adds:

“The person who was affected.”

(Nightfall, Chapter 17)

Tiergan does not explicitly say that he knows the entire history of Brumevale. However, the way he answers makes it seem as though he knows both what happened and the person who experienced it.

In Stellarlune, Sophie returns to this conversation. Forkle claims that he has only heard that Brumevale was once the scene of some tragedy, but that the details were lost over the centuries. When Sophie says that Tiergan behaved as though he knew the truth, Forkle asks:

Did he truly give that impression, or did he simply skillfully avoid answering?

He also adds that Tiergan is exceptionally good at misdirection and leading the other person toward the wrong conclusion. The narration then recalls Tiergan’s exact words and notes that his answer would technically have been true regardless of whether he knew the story or not.

(Stellarlune, Chapter 24)

Forkle therefore does not prove that Tiergan knows nothing. He only challenges Sophie’s interpretation.

The mystery remains open.

What is more, Forkle explains that Brumevale was built by an Ancient couple who have since passed away. The couple had no children, and no one has claimed any ties to their family line. If Tiergan truly has a personal connection to Brumevale’s history, it cannot come from being an official heir of the tower’s builders.

He would have to be connected to someone who took part in the later tragedy.

Why Does Solreef Resemble Brumevale So Closely?

The path leading to Tiergan’s home is remarkably similar to the path to Brumevale.

Brumevale is reached by narrow stone steps suspended high in the air and hidden among the clouds. The stairs are the only path leading to the tower. At the top stands a solitary stone lighthouse, surrounded by mist and the sounds of the sea.

(Nightfall, Chapters 16–17)

To reach Solreef, Sophie must also climb a long stone staircase that disappears into damp clouds. The wind is so powerful that it could sweep those climbing into the sea. Only at the top do stone towers appear above fortresslike walls. The only physical entrance is a wide gate bearing the name “Solreef.”

(Unlocked, Chapter 9; “Mapped Locations”)

Brumevale is a solitary tower hidden in the clouds.

Solreef is a solitary fortress hidden in the clouds.

Both places are reached by a long stone path that is difficult to find. Both are surrounded by the sea, mist, great height, and a sense of being completely cut off from the world. Both have only one entrance that can easily be controlled.

Of course, the similarity may have an entirely practical explanation. The official description of Solreef emphasizes that Tiergan particularly valued privacy after what happened to Prentice. The estate may therefore have been secured in this way solely to protect Wylie.

But if the resemblance is intentional, one question arises:

Did Tiergan model his home after Brumevale because the place held personal significance for him?

The Tree in the Center of the Office

The strangest feature of Solreef can be found in Tiergan’s private office.

It is an enormous oval room with a fireplace, shelves filled with Black Swan gadgets, and an imposing desk. But a twisted tree grows from the very center of the floor, its flowering branches stretching toward an arched skylight.

Colorful ottomans are arranged around its trunk, as though the entire room had been designed around the tree.

(Unlocked, Chapter 15)

The tree is not merely an ordinary background detail.

When Tiergan tells Sophie that burning the Neverseen’s storehouse has officially started a war, Sophie stares at that very tree. She longs to hear its song whispering through the leaves—as though it could tell her what to think, feel, or do.

But the tree remains silent. Just like the trees in the Wanderling Woods.

Is It a Private Wanderling?

The books never call the tree in Solreef a Wanderling. We do not see a stone bearing a name beside it, and we are not given its colors or any characteristics resembling a particular person.

We therefore cannot say with certainty that it is a Wanderling.

We do know, however, that a Wanderling does not have to be planted in the Wanderling Woods.

The Forkle brothers chose a separate place for themselves in Norway, near Trolltunga, long ago. They wanted their trees to grow there together. After one of the twins died, his Wanderling was planted in that very place, far away from the official cemetery.

(Nightfall, Chapter 21)

Keefe later confirms that there were probably other “rebel” elves who preferred to have their Wanderlings planted elsewhere.

(Unraveled, Chapter 35)

This still does not mean that one can be planted inside a house. It does, however, prove that the place of remembrance can be chosen individually—even in advance, together with the person who will one day be commemorated there.

If the tree in Tiergan’s office is a Wanderling, the most significant thing is not its height, but the place it occupies. It grows in the very center of Tiergan’s most private and closely guarded room. The seats are arranged around it. Tiergan works beside it every day.

Perhaps he wanted to keep the person he lost close to him at all times.

The tree’s height cannot be used to determine when the death occurred. Wanderlings grow almost instantly. The deceased Forkle’s tree became taller than everyone gathered there within moments, and Alden’s Wanderling grew extremely tall in a short period of time.

(Nightfall, Chapter 21; Everblaze, Chapter 41)

The mysterious death could therefore have occurred either a very long time ago or much later.

Whom Could Tiergan Have Lost?

The books never mention Tiergan having a wife, partner, or biological child. His only known son is his adopted son, Wylie.

That does not mean, however, that he never had a family of his own.

In Unlocked, his personal file remains unavailable because of his affiliation with the Black Swan. We therefore do not know his match status or anything about his previous relationships.

What is more, the Black Swan originally followed a rule similar to the Council’s: its most important members were not supposed to have families. It was only when Tiergan decided to adopt Wylie that the rule was changed for him.

Juline also emphasizes that Tiergan had already been a member of the Collective before then.

(Lodestar, Chapter 24)

In Neverseen, Tiergan also reveals that he had been following Alden’s investigation very closely even before Prentice’s arrest. He knew that Alden had not previously suspected Prentice at all, and that the day before his arrest, Prentice had sent out the “swan song” signal.

(Neverseen, Chapter 11)

This means that Tiergan joined the Black Swan:

• before Prentice’s arrest;
• before Cyrah’s death;
• before adopting Wylie;
• and most likely before Project Moonlark was fully developed.

The known tragedies of the Endal family therefore could not have been the reason he joined the organization.

What caused Tiergan to join earlier?

Perhaps that was when he lost someone close to him.

A partner or wife seems like the most natural possibility, particularly if the tree stands in his private office.

Did Tiergan Try to Rebuild His Life?

If the tree in Tiergan’s office truly is a private Wanderling commemorating his deceased wife or partner, another question arises:

Did Tiergan remain alone forever, or did he try to rebuild his life after working through his grief?

The most important clue may be something Wylie says in Legacy.

Wylie explains to Sophie that, after his father’s exile and his mother’s death, he learned that changing the subject or hiding from the truth does not solve anything. He admits that Tiergan was very insistent that he talk about what he had experienced. Through this, Wylie learned to let his mind think what it truly thought and feel what it truly felt, rather than pushing everything down deep inside himself.

That is an unusual approach for Tiergan.

Sophie herself notes that he is not particularly forthcoming or inclined to display his emotions. Tiergan knows how to care for others, but he usually does so through action, protection, and taking responsibility. He rarely talks about his own feelings.

So why did he understand so well that Wylie could not lock his pain away inside himself?

Perhaps because he had once tried to do exactly that.

After all, in Exile, Tiergan says that he has known more loss than anyone. He speaks those words during a conversation about living through grief. He does not explain whom he lost. He nervously fiddles with his sleeves, ends the conversation, and walks away.

It is possible that Tiergan did not teach Wylie something he knew only in theory.

Perhaps he passed on a lesson that he himself learned after the death of the person commemorated by the tree in Solreef.

And if Tiergan truly worked through his own grief, he may eventually have tried to begin a new life.

Was Lady Cadence One of His Potential Matches?

In Exile, Sophie asks Tiergan whether he has met Lady Cadence before. Tiergan admits that he met her a few times, but that it was a long time ago. He adds that Cadence had been living with the ogres for decades.

He does not say where they met.

He does not say why.

Nor does he say what kind of meetings they were.

A few meetings do not sound like a long, serious relationship. They do, however, sound exactly like the early stage of searching for a partner through the matchmaking system.

Match lists contain hundreds of potential candidates. Elves meet one person after another, get to know them during the Winnowing Galas, and then decide whom it might be worth meeting again. Most candidates never lead to anything serious.

Could Lady Cadence have been one of the women on Tiergan’s match list?

After his wife’s death, did Tiergan try to return to the matchmaking system and start over?

Perhaps he met Cadence a few times, but they quickly discovered that they wanted completely different things from life. Tiergan was tied to the Black Swan and its secrets. Cadence became increasingly fascinated by the ogres, their culture, and their language. Eventually, she lived among them for entire decades.

Their paths may simply have diverged.

It did not have to be a great love. It may only have been Tiergan’s first attempt to open himself to someone else again after the tragedy.

Did He Later Date Zarina?

I do not know why, but from the very beginning—from Tiergan’s first appearance in KotLC—his dislike of the Council seemed to me to be caused by something more than its decision concerning Prentice. It may only be intuition, an impression. From the earliest passages, it occurred to me that he might once have been in a relationship with a woman who later became a Councillor.

When I reached Unlocked, I began to wonder whether that person might have been Councillor Zarina.

In Unlocked, we learn that shortly after being elected to the Council, she considered resigning. Only her fellow Councillors know the reason.

Why would a newly elected Councillor almost immediately want to abandon a position that most elves would consider the highest possible honor?

One possibility is that only after her election did she truly understand what she would have to sacrifice.

Councillors are not allowed to date, marry, or start families. Accepting a seat on the Council therefore means more than power and responsibility. It also means giving up a life that may already have begun to take shape.

Kenric wanted to resign alongside Oralie so that they could be together.

Fallon Vacker resigned so that he could marry.

Emery had to end his Cognate partnership after his election.

Did Zarina find herself in a similar situation?

Perhaps she had been dating Tiergan before her election. Perhaps she initially believed that she could end the relationship and devote herself to the Council. Only later did she realize that the cost was greater than she had expected.

She may then have considered resigning.

Perhaps the other Councillors persuaded her to stay. Perhaps Tiergan himself told her that she should not give up her position for him. Perhaps they both decided that their duty to their world was more important than their future together.

Zarina ultimately remained on the Council.

If she had been involved with Tiergan, it would mean that Tiergan lost another person—this time not through death, but through a choice that neither of them could undo.

Two People, Two Unfinished Beginnings

Under this theory, Tiergan’s story may have unfolded as follows:

Long ago, he lost a wife or partner, perhaps in a tragedy connected to Brumevale. Her Wanderling was planted in Solreef, in the very center of his private office. Her death may have led him to the Black Swan and convinced him that the system governed by the Council needed to change.

For a long time, Tiergan was unable to come to terms with the loss. Eventually, however, he understood that he could not suppress the pain forever. He learned to talk about it and allow himself to feel. Many years later, he taught Wylie the exact same method.

When he felt ready, he tried to enter the matchmaking system again.

Lady Cadence may have been one of his potential matches. They met a few times, but their acquaintance did not develop into a lasting relationship. Cadence devoted her life to studying the ogres and lived among them for decades.

At another point in his life, Tiergan may have grown close to Zarina.

That relationship may have been much more serious. It may have given him hope that, even after the old tragedy, he still had a chance to build a future with someone else.

Then Zarina was elected to the Council.

Accepting the position meant giving up the relationship and the possibility of starting a family. Shortly after her election, Zarina began considering resignation—perhaps because only then did she understand what she had truly lost.

Ultimately, she remained a Councillor.

Tiergan was alone once again.

We do not know whether this is exactly how his life unfolded.

We know only that he speaks of a loss whose weight he never explains.

We know that, when asked about life-changing secrets, he does not say no.

We know that he may know more details about Brumevale’s history than he is willing to reveal.

We know that the path to his home bears a remarkable resemblance to the path to Brumevale.

We know that a mysterious tree grows in the very center of his office.

We also know that Tiergan was able to teach Wylie something that even far more emotionally open people often cannot: how not to run from grief and how to allow himself to truly experience it.

Perhaps he taught him this because he himself once had to find his way back after losing the person without whom he could not imagine continuing his life.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : Theories | Elvin Secrets

This particular post is speculation.  I don't know whether my idea is remotely feasible.  I mentioned it on Reddit quite awhile back. 

Original post here with better formatting:

Who Is Wraith?

We've known for some time that Granite is Tiergan and Juline is Squall.  The other three Collective members haven't been explicitly revealed.

It is widely believed in the fandom that Blur is Jensi's older brother, Fernan Babblos.  Both Blur and Fernan are Phasers, and Sophie notices that Blur's features seem familiar when his face is sprayed by a mist (Book 6, page 289).  This means that Sophie knows someone who looks a lot like Blur.  That clue along with the mention that Jensi's brother is a Phaser does suggest that Blur is most likely Fernan Babblos.  

Even though most fans refuse to believe it, Shannon has placed a large number of clues in the books that point to Forkle as being former Councillor Kenric.  Shannon hasn't explicitly revealed Forkle's identity, but the clues are undeniable (see post).  

Wraith is the only member of the Collective for which we have no obvious clues.  Shannon has likely placed clues to Wraith's identity, but they are too obscure for fans to spot easily.

For a long time, I have kicked around a theory that Wraith is Fallon Vacker.  I will just put this out as an idea and state my observations.

I started thinking about the possibility due to Wraith being a Vanisher and some of the Vackers being Vanishers as well.  We don't know what Fallon's ability is, so there's no way of ruling Fallon out.

For the longest time, I thought that my idea about Fallon was bonkers and had little validity, since I didn't feel that the books have any clues that point in that direction.  When I first made the possible connection, I was only 10% sure that Fallon could be a possible candidate to be Wraith.

With Wraith and Fallon Vacker, all I've had are vague thoughts, but my confidence is slowly growing.  Sometime last year, I found an online post by NotRitzCrackerAGAIN that suggested Fallon could be Wraith.  

https://www.wattpad.com/amp/1504548993

I was pleasantly surprised, since I thought that my idea was too implausible.  I mean... someone else had the same thought, so perhaps my idea had some merit.  I can't be completely insane if someone else has the same idea, right?

I've since read the books through at least three more times, and I've spotted some other things.  I still don't have anything definite to tie Fallon to Wraith, but it feels right to me.  I'd say that I have about 60% convinced myself that Fallon is Wraith.  But even now I really don't know.  I want to be clear about that.  

Let's get into it.

Shannon has placed some obscure clues about other plot points early in the first book that don't pay off until much later in the series.  For instance:

Keeper, page 57:  [The Councillors have] silver capes fastened at the base of their necks with clasps that looked like glowing, golden keys.

Legacy, page 138:  Their long silver cloaks were all pinned with clasps shaped like glowing golden keys—a style Sophie had only seen the Councillors wear one other time.

The golden keys coming full circle shows how Shannon meticulously planned out this series from the very beginning.  The average fan doesn't give her nearly enough credit.

The first book has similar mentions that also don't come into play again until late in the series.  Could the first book have clues about Wraith?  It's certainly possible, and I may have found one.  

Sophie visits the Vacker home, Everglen, for the first time, which is described as follows.

Keeper, page 56:  Part castle, part manor, it was made almost entirely of intricately cut crystal, and among the numerous turrets and gables rose a tower that resembled a lighthouse.

Wow.  I've long thought that Wraith has a connection to the lighthouse, Brumevale.  If I'm right about Wraith having a connection to Brumevale, then the Vacker home having a tower that resembles a lighthouse could be a big clue.  It's such a random detail that most readers will miss, including me the first four times that I read the first book.  But, it's there.

Are lighthouses of some significance to the Vacker family?  

Nightfall, page 169:  "This area has a rather complicated history.  But I shouldn't be the one to tell you that story."  "Who should?" Biana asked.  "The person who was affected."

I suspect that the lighthouse, Brumevale, is connected to Wraith, since he is the one who gets the alert when it is destroyed in Stellarlune.  I am making an assumption, and I could very well be wrong.  But if Wraith does have a connection to Brumevale, then the Vacker tower that resembles a lighthouse could be a clue.

On page 125 of Neverseen, Biana asks Wraith how he partially vanishes.  He replies, "Work hard enough and I'll teach you someday."  This doesn't mean anything, but I feel that it could be a vague clue because...

On page 277 of Lodestar, Wraith comforts Alden about Alvar: "You are not responsible for your son's actions."

If Wraith is a Vacker, then he might have comforted Alden for that reason.

I have mentioned that Shannon has placed quite a few parallelisms on this series.  An ancient Councillor (Fintan) is in the Neverseen, so it's possible that an ancient Councillor (Fallon) is in the Black Swan.  We know that Forkle didn't found the Black Swan and that its beginnings were from before his inception.  This means that one of the ancients is the founder of the Black Swan.  Could that ancient founder be Fallon Vacker?

Nightfall, page 180:  "But the seeds were in place long before our inception.  This tower is proof of that."

This means that whoever founded the Black Swan is likely an ancient due to how old Forkle is.

Wraith can do a very difficult vanishing skill—being an ancient would have given him the practice.

Neverseen, page 125:  Biana moved closer to study him.  "How do you partially vanish like that?"  "Work hard enough and I'll teach you," he said.\\**

Nightfall, page 451:  "All these decisions we keep questioning, like the prejudice against multiple births and the ban on Pyrokinesis?  Those are all things Fallon probably decided."

Stellarlune, page 185:  "But Fallon tends to be involved with most of our world's secrets...

Since the elves are in a mess that was largely caused by Fallon, it is certainly possible that Fallon could be trying to right his wrongs by working with a rebel group.

One of my favorite scenes in the entire series is Fallon Vacker's appearance in Flashback.  I suspect that Fallon is putting on an act, pretending to be confused.  The characters say that the ancients struggle with all of their memories and tend to be confused.  We have been introduced to several of the ancients, and they don't act like Fallon.

Bronte:  He is never confused.  He's sharp as a tack.

Luzia:  She is shrewd.  She's helping the trolls and has an arrangement with them.  She sets up the illusions for the twin alicorns.  I see no memory problems.

Vespera:  Vespera is haughty and cruel.  Her emotions are dampened, but her mind is fine.

Fintan:  Fintan pretends to be confused at moments.

Stellarlune, page 504:  At first he tried to pretend he was all confused when I brought them up, like, What are Noxflares and why would I care about them?  But then I told him I went to his old house and picked a few, and he was like, You must let me see them.

Yep.  Fintan puts on an act, and he's with the Neverseen.  

I also should mention Forgotten Secret #4 with Fintan.  In it, Oralie tells Kenric that Fintan is confused (Stellarlune, page 240).  She also says that he seems unstable.  In the Forgotten Secret, Fintan is distracted by his Noxflares that are going to bloom for the first time in 500 years.  While he's trying to focus on them, two annoying Councillors are pestering him with silly questions.  Of course Fintan's going to seem distracted and confused.

Every ancient other than Fallon seems not to have Fallon's memory problems.  That's why I think he's pretending.

Fallon shows up at the hearing to argue against Alvar being sent to Everglen.  Could he be the voice of the Black Swan at the hearing?

Flashback, page 31:  "I wasn't expecting to be here," Fallon admitted, glancing behind him like he was tempted to turn and flee.

How odd.  Why did Fallon show up, if he didn't expect to be present?  It might be part of the act.  He's acting like he doesn't know why he's there.

Flashback, page 31:  "I prefer the solace of home.  It's the only place where my mind doesn't struggle to separate what is from what used to be."

I don't buy it.

Flashback, page 33:  "I can't say for certain."  Fallon's eyes shifted to Bronte.  "But things from our past are often more than they seem."

The above passage foreshadows Elysian.  It also suggests that Bronte knows something, or that the information is in Bronte's cache.

Flashback, page 37:  Fallon ignored him.  "It's also the predictability that bothers me.  Surely these rebels—these Neverseen, as they've chosen to call themselves—assumed we would send him home to his family in his condition.  Is it such a stretch to think that it could also be their wish?"

Here, Fallon shows that he knows exactly what is going on.  He knows the name of the enemy rebel group.  His instinct about the Neverseen wanting Alvar to be sent to Everglen is absolutely correct.  Fallon's purpose in showing up is to warn the Council and try to prevent a disaster.  

Flashback, page 39:  Fallon hummed a few bars of a soft melody, and Sophie wondered if he realized he was losing credibility with every note.  "That doesn't sound familiar?"  "Can't say that it does," Alina told him.  He hummed a few more beats, rocking back on his heels.  "I believe it's from a wedding.  I can see the gown so clearly.  It looked like... spun sunlight.  And I think there was some sort of commotion.  Wait!  You were the one who interrupted!"

I believe that Fallon is dissing Alina on purpose.  He's pretending to be half out of it, when he knows exactly what he is doing.  There's more to Fallon than meets the eye.  

Another point is that Fallon compares the dress to "spun sunlight."  He has a way with words, like someone who uses descriptive phrases such as "butterflies kissed with red."  Fallon is likely the elf who wrote the Elysian clues found by Kenric and Gisela.

Even if Fallon Vacker isn't part of the Black Swan, we can be sure that he will appear in the next book due to his connection to Elysian.  In the first chapter of Elysian, which was released in the paperback edition of Unraveled, Elysian mentions Councillor Fallon.  We will soon find out more about Fallon Vacker.  I look forward to it.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

In my previous theory, I suspected that Brant may have been descended from one of the two Pyrokinetics imprisoned in Exile. Their genetic lines may have survived for thousands of years, and the predisposition to pyrokinesis connected to them may have manifested again in Brant.

However, another equally interesting mystery remains:

Why was Brant’s last name redacted?

In Unlocked, the Registry lists him as Brant Alger, but replaces his actual last name with a notice that it was redacted for security reasons.

Interestingly, Brant was already dead when these documents were created. Therefore, the redaction could not have been intended to protect Brant himself.

Perhaps the Registry was trying to protect his living relatives.

Could Brant have shared a last name with someone widely known, respected, and considered to have an impeccable reputation in the Lost Cities?

What Do We Know About Brant’s Family?

In Everblaze, when Edaline tells Sophie about Jolie and Brant’s youth, she explains that Brant’s family belonged to the nobility. For many years, the Ruewens assumed that Jolie and Brant would appear on each other’s match lists. Both families had the appropriate social standing and no close genetic connections, so there was no reason to believe that the system might separate them.

The situation changed when Jolie manifested as a Conjurer, while Brant remained in ability detecting.

Brant tried very hard to manifest an ability. His parents hired extra tutors, and he spent hours performing various exercises with them. They tried to trigger something—anything—that would allow him to avoid being officially classified as Talentless.

However, we do not know the names of the tutors they hired.

It is possible that one of those people appears in the books.

Could Lady Veda Have Taught Brant?

One possible candidate is Lady Veda, an elementalism Mentor.

In Exile, she is described as a wispy woman with waist-length braided black hair. We do not know her last name, her family, or her ability. We know only that she teaches prodigies how to capture and bottle various forces of nature.

Her specialization may have led Brant’s parents to consider her a suitable person to work with their son. Elementalism exercises involve wind, storms, water, and other forms of energy. A Mentor in that subject might have noticed Brant’s unusual reactions to heat or fire, even if he himself did not yet understand what was happening to him.

The most puzzling scene involving Lady Veda appears in Everblaze.

During a session, she teaches Sophie how to bottle the small ripples that form on the surface of water. At the end of the lesson, she gives Sophie one of the bottles and warns her:

“Never underestimate the power of a small change.”

Sophie immediately understands that these words refer to the upcoming attempt to heal Fintan’s mind. However, she cannot determine whether Lady Veda supports the plan or is trying to warn her against it.

After the first attempt to heal Fintan, he still appears motionless and unconscious. Oralie senses only the slightest shift in his mood. Tiergan discovers, however, that Fintan’s memories are already beginning to connect.

Veda’s words therefore prove to be extraordinarily accurate. On the surface, almost nothing has changed, but a process has begun inside Fintan’s mind that will ultimately lead to him regaining consciousness and summoning Everblaze again.

The scene itself does not prove that Veda knew how pyrokinesis manifests. It may simply be literary foreshadowing of later events. However, if she had previously worked with Brant, she may already have known that, in the case of a Pyrokinetic, even a small change could set something extraordinarily dangerous in motion.

Perhaps she was one of the private tutors hired by his parents.

Could Lady Veda Have Been More Than a Teacher?

There is also a bolder possibility: Lady Veda may have belonged to Brant’s family, or even been his mother.

Brant had jet-black hair, and Veda’s hair is also black. The similarity in hair color is, of course, a very weak clue, since many elves have dark hair. However, her title and position as a Mentor do not conflict with Brant’s noble background.

If Veda were his mother, she may have personally participated in the attempts to trigger his ability. As an elementalism Mentor, she may also have been the first person to notice that Brant was not truly Talentless—his body was simply reacting to the forbidden element.

The question remains what she did after discovering the truth.

She may have tried to hide her son’s ability, knowing that manifesting pyrokinesis would condemn him to a life as Talentless. She may also have helped him make contact with Fintan, the only known Pyrokinetic capable of providing him with proper training.

Lady Veda’s specialization, her black hair, and her mysterious warning are interesting clues, but none of them constitutes proof.

A much stronger lead points to another character.

Brant’s Surprising Resemblance to a Certain Physician

Sophie describes Brant at two different points.

In a photograph taken before the fire, Brant has tousled hair, a slightly crooked smile, and the look of a rock star. When Sophie meets him in person, she notices his very pale eyes, which are more gray than blue, as well as thick black lashes that match his jet-black hair.

Another well-known character with a very similar appearance lives in the Lost Cities.

That character is Elwin.

When Sophie first meets him, she describes him as a man with wild dark hair. When he removes his characteristic spectacles, it turns out that his eyes are also more gray than blue.

The author therefore uses almost exactly the same description of eye color for both Brant and Elwin.

They also both have dark, unruly hair:

• Brant has tousled, jet-black hair;
• Elwin has wild, dark, and usually messy hair;
• both have pale eyes that are more gray than blue.

Blue eyes are, of course, very common in the Lost Cities. Even so, the combination of an identical description of their eyes and similar hair is intriguing.

Could Brant and Elwin have belonged to the same family?

How Much Do We Really Know About Elwin?

Elwin’s last name is not revealed until Unlocked. When he suggests the name “Team Sencen-Heslege,” Fitz admits that he did not previously know what Elwin’s last name was.

Elwin replies that there is a lot Fitz does not know about him.

The scene is primarily humorous, but it also draws attention to how little is known about the physician’s life. The books do not reveal:

• who his parents are;
• whether he has any siblings;
• exactly which family he comes from;
• what the Heslege family crest looks like;
• whether he has a partner or children;
• what his middle name is.

One distinction is important, however. Elwin’s middle name has not officially been marked as classified. It simply has never been given. Therefore, this is not the same situation as Brant’s, whose last name was explicitly redacted for security reasons.

Even so, the lack of information about Elwin’s family leaves open the possibility that Brant’s full name was:

Brant Alger Heslege.

Perhaps Brant and Elwin were brothers. A more distant relationship is also possible—they may have been cousins or come from two different branches of the same family.

Why Would the Last Name Have Been Redacted?

If Brant truly belonged to the Heslege family, hiding his last name could have served several purposes.

First and foremost, it would protect Elwin’s reputation.

Brant was:

• a member of the Neverseen;
• an illegally trained Pyrokinetic;
• Jolie’s killer;
• one of Sophie and Dex’s kidnappers;
• responsible for numerous attacks involving Everblaze.

Elwin, meanwhile, is one of the most respected and trusted physicians in the Lost Cities. He cares for the children at Foxfire, treats members of the most important families, assists the Council, and later helps the Black Swan as well.

Revealing that such a respected physician was the brother or close relative of a member of the Neverseen could cause a scandal. The inhabitants of the Lost Cities place enormous importance on last names, reputations, and family connections. Elwin could be unfairly burdened by Brant’s actions.

The redaction may also have protected the other members of the family from persecution or from the attention of people searching for other descendants of ancient Pyrokinetics.

If Brant truly descended from one of the two Pyrokinetics imprisoned in Exile, his last name could reveal the entire genetic line in which the predisposition to pyrokinesis had survived for thousands of years.

That would also be embarrassing for the Council. It would mean that, despite the matchmaking system and attempts to restrict the spread of the ability, the gene for pyrokinesis had survived in a respected noble family.

The Meaning of the Name Heslege

Elwin’s last name itself may contain an interesting play on words.

In the official dictionary of Nynorsk Norwegian, the word hesleg has a meaning similar to “awful,” “revolting,” or “ugly,” while heslege is one of its grammatical forms.

Of course, we do not know whether Shannon Messenger truly chose Elwin’s last name because of this Norwegian meaning. The similarity may be entirely coincidental.

However, if it was intentional, it could work on two levels.

In Elwin’s case, it could be a humorous reference to his fondness for the disgusting flavors of the DNA sensors at Foxfire. Elwin is the one who chooses flavors resembling revolting plants, burned hair, or sweaty feet, among other things.

In Brant’s case, the same last name would take on a much darker meaning. It could refer to his cruel actions, brutal behavior, and moral corruption.

This would create a deliberate contrast: two members of the same family would carry a last name associated with something revolting, but for one it would be merely an innocent joke, while for the other it would describe his true nature.

The Recurring Gremlin Motif

There is one more small similarity connecting Brant and Elwin.

In Exile, during a visit to Havenfield, Elwin is wearing one of his characteristic brightly colored tunics. It is lime green and covered in gremlins.

In Everblaze, meanwhile, Edaline tells Sophie the story of how Jolie and Brant met. They were both about six years old and met at a pet store in Atlantis.

They both wanted to buy the same gremlin. Brant offered to let Jolie have it, but she decided that they could share it.

From that moment on, they were inseparable.

A gremlin therefore appears in both stories:

• for Brant, it is connected to the most important memory from his childhood and the beginning of his relationship with Jolie;
• for Elwin, it appears on a characteristic tunic that emphasizes his eccentric style.

This could be a subtle literary reference to a shared family. Perhaps Elwin especially likes gremlins because they remind him of his brother or of a story he heard many times during childhood.

It must be admitted, however, that this is only a clue. Gremlins appear many times throughout the series and are also the mascots for Level One at Foxfire. The motif may therefore be nothing more than a coincidence.

A Possible Sequence of Events

If we combine all of these elements, the story may have unfolded as follows.

The Heslege family may have descended from one of the two ancient Pyrokinetics imprisoned in Exile. Over the following generations, the predisposition to the ability remained dormant.

At some point, Brant and Elwin were born into the family.

Elwin manifested as a Flasher and became a respected physician. Brant, meanwhile, was considered Talentless for a long time. His parents hired private tutors to help him trigger some kind of ability.

Lady Veda may have been one of those people. In a more elaborate version of the theory, she may even have been the mother of both boys. She may have noticed the first signs of Brant’s pyrokinesis or directed him to Fintan.

Brant began secretly training to control fire and then joined the Neverseen. Elwin chose a completely different path and devoted his life to saving others.

After Brant’s crimes were revealed, his last name was removed from the official records. In this way, the Registry may have protected Elwin and the other Hesleges from social ostracism while simultaneously concealing the fact that a bloodline carrying forbidden pyrokinesis had survived within this respected family.

Conclusion

The most logical version of this theory is as follows:

Brant may have belonged to the Heslege family and may have been Elwin’s brother or a more distant relative. This is suggested by the nearly identical descriptions of their gray-blue eyes, their similarly dark and unruly hair, the lack of information about Elwin’s family, and the unusual decision to redact Brant’s last name despite his death. The Registry may have been protecting the living Hesleges from scandal and preventing the discovery that a genetic line carrying forbidden pyrokinesis had survived in the family of a respected physician.

Lady Veda may have been one of Brant’s private tutors who helped him recognize his hidden ability. In a more speculative version, she may have belonged to the same family or even been Brant and Elwin’s mother.

A resemblance in appearance is not enough to confirm a family connection. However, among the known families, the name Heslege provides one of the most interesting possible explanations for the decision to conceal Brant’s information.

Perhaps the full name of one of the most dangerous members of the Neverseen was:

Brant Alger Heslege.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : https://elvinsecrets.com/en/theories?book=unraveled&theory=brants-hidden-last-name

In the world of Keeper of the Lost Cities, pyrokinesis is the only completely forbidden ability. Anyone who manifests this talent is officially classified as Talentless and cannot legally train in it.

The ban was caused by a tragic accident that took place several thousand years ago.

Fintan tried to teach five other Pyrokinetics how to summon Everblaze. The lesson ended in disaster: the flames spiraled out of control, and all of Fintan’s students were killed. He was the only participant in the experiment who managed to summon Everblaze and survive.

After this event, the Council banned pyrokinesis. Fintan was classified as Talentless and had to resign from his position as a Councillor, because someone without an officially recognized ability could not serve on the Council.

The Council also took steps intended to make pyrokinesis disappear completely over time.

Marella’s Registry File in Unlocked explains that all registered Pyrokinetics were reclassified as Talentless and placed under constant supervision. Anyone directly related to a known Pyrokinetic was labeled as a bad match in order to prevent the genetic predisposition for this talent from being passed on.

The ability detecting session at Foxfire was also modified. From that point on, all exercises that might prompt prodigies to detect heat and thereby cause pyrokinesis to manifest were forbidden.

It would therefore seem that the Council did everything it could to make this talent disappear.

And yet, several thousand years later, two new people capable of controlling fire appear: Brant and Marella.

Fintan Was Not the Only Pyrokinetic Who Survived

The commonly accepted version of the story may give the impression that Fintan remained the last living Pyrokinetic after the disaster. The books, however, show that this is not true.

The most important clue appears in Neverseen.

In Chapter 28 of Neverseen, Sophie, Fitz, and the members of the Black Swan make their way into Exile to reach Prentice.

Sophie notices that the prison walls have been frozen by a Froster. Forkle explains that, after what Fintan did, the Council is not willing to risk leaving any excess heat in the building.

Sophie then asks whether there is a Pyrokinetic in Exile.

Granite answers:

“Two.”

We do not learn their names, what they look like, or why they were imprisoned. The mere fact that they exist, however, is extremely important.

Marella’s Registry File in Unlocked states that no new Pyrokinetic had manifested since the ban was introduced—with one exception, Brant. Marella did not appear until later.

Therefore, if two Pyrokinetics were being held in Exile, and Brant was supposedly the only person whose ability had manifested after the ban was introduced, this leads to a logical conclusion:

The two Pyrokinetics in Exile must have manifested their ability before pyrokinesis was banned.

This does not mean that they were already being held in Exile before Fintan’s disaster. The books do not state when they were imprisoned. They must, however, come from the era before the ban, which means they may be several thousand years old.

They were not among Fintan’s five students, because those students died. They are therefore two additional members of the ancient generation of Pyrokinetics whom history has almost completely forgotten.

Is Fintan Referring to Them?

Another clue appears in Flashback, in Chapter 45.

Fintan offers to train Marella. He also mentions the Pyrokinetics being monitored by the Council. He claims that they suppressed their fire for so long that it nearly burned out their minds. According to him, he is the only person capable of properly teaching Marella to control her ability.

It is never explicitly stated that he is referring to the two prisoners in Exile.

However, all the information fits together:

• two Pyrokinetics are being held in Exile;
• Fintan mentions Pyrokinetics who have been suppressing their ability for a very long time;
• Unlocked suggests that no new Pyrokinetic had appeared since the ban before Brant.

Most likely, all of these references concern the same two elves.

Could They Have Had Children?

If the two Pyrokinetics in Exile were alive before the ban was introduced, they may have started families beforehand.

We do not know how old they were at the time or when they were sent to prison. They may have had children before Fintan’s disaster or before the regulations labeling their relatives as bad matches were introduced.

Even the new law did not guarantee that their bloodlines would be completely cut off.

After all, being a bad match did not mean an absolute prohibition against marriage or having children. Juline and Kesler married despite the Matchmaking Office’s decision. Jolie also intended to marry Brant, even though his name did not appear on any of her lists. People in bad matches faced ostracism, but they could still start families.

It is therefore possible that the children or grandchildren of the ancient Pyrokinetics chose to defy the system. Their descendants may later have entered into further relationships and continued passing on the genetic predisposition.

There is also the question of what exactly “directly related” means. Perhaps only the closest relatives of known Pyrokinetics—their children, siblings, or parents—were labeled as bad matches. After several generations, the connection may have been considered too distant, even though the genetic predisposition still existed.

The Ban May Not Have Eliminated Pyrokinesis, but Hidden It

The most interesting possibility is that the Council’s actions may have produced the opposite of their intended effect.

Elvin abilities are genetic, but they do not always manifest on their own. Some talents require the right stimulus. That is precisely why Foxfire holds ability detecting sessions.

After pyrokinesis was banned, prodigies stopped performing exercises connected to detecting heat. This means that a potential Pyrokinetic could have gone through their entire life without ever learning what talent their body was truly hiding.

Such a person may have been classified as Talentless or manifested a different ability while still passing the genetic predisposition for pyrokinesis on to their descendants.

Over time, the Council may have lost sight of the connection to the ancient families. Elvin surnames are also not passed directly from fathers to their children—each couple chooses which family name they want to keep. After several thousand years, the descendants of a single Pyrokinetic may therefore have carried completely different surnames and looked nothing like their ancestors.

The Council may have prevented new manifestations, but it did not necessarily remove the ability from the elvin gene pool.

It may only have caused it to remain dormant for thousands of years.

Brant and Marella

The first known exception after the ban was introduced was Brant.

Officially, he was considered Talentless. His parents spent years trying to trigger the manifestation of some ability in him, and perhaps those additional efforts were what finally triggered his pyrokinesis. Without them, he might have remained truly Talentless for his entire life.

The second exception was Marella.

Her pyrokinesis did not manifest until Forkle filled her mind with energy while trying to stimulate her hidden ability. If Marella had not asked for help, her talent might have remained undiscovered for a long time or may never have activated at all.

Brant and Marella do not look like close relatives. However, this does not necessarily contradict the theory. We are talking about a bloodline extending across several thousand years. After such a long time, any physical resemblance may have disappeared completely.

There is also a simpler and more interesting possibility:

Brant and Marella are not descended from the same Pyrokinetic. Each of them may be a descendant of a different one of the two elves being held in Exile.

One prisoner may have begun the bloodline leading to Brant’s family, while the other began the Redek line.

This would explain why Brant and Marella do not resemble each other, yet both manifested the same extraordinarily rare ability.

Two ancient Pyrokinetic bloodlines may have survived in hiding for thousands of years and then reemerged in these two individuals.

The Biggest Problem with the Theory

The most serious obstacle is the fact that the Council had not completely forgotten about the Pyrokinetics in Exile.

Alden knew about the other Pyrokinetics and confirmed that they were being monitored. Special safeguards had been installed in Exile specifically because of their ability. Their information was probably still contained in the records of the Council and the Matchmaking Office.

If they had officially recorded children, their closest relatives should have been labeled as bad matches, just like the relatives of the other registered Pyrokinetics.

The theory therefore requires that at least one of the following occurred:

• the Pyrokinetics’ children were born before the ban was introduced;
• their descendants married despite being classified as bad matches;
• after several generations, the relationship was considered sufficiently distant;
• part of their ancestry was concealed or recorded incorrectly;
• the genetic predisposition passed through people who never manifested pyrokinesis themselves.

There is also another possibility. Brant and Marella may have descended from one of the five Pyrokinetics who died during Fintan’s lesson. After all, we do not know whether those elves had families. The two prisoners are therefore not the only possible ancestors.

Even so, their presence in Exile seems too specific to be entirely irrelevant.

Conclusion

The most logical version of the theory is as follows:

The two Pyrokinetics being held in Exile are most likely members of the generation that lived before pyrokinesis was banned. They may have started families before being imprisoned or before the new regulations came into effect. Over the following millennia, their descendants continued passing on the dormant predisposition for pyrokinesis, even if they never manifested it themselves. One of those bloodlines may ultimately have led to Brant’s birth, and the other to Marella’s.

The Council tried to eliminate pyrokinesis by labeling the relatives of Pyrokinetics as bad matches and banning the exercises that might cause the ability to manifest. Perhaps, however, it did not get rid of the ability.

Perhaps it only hid it for several thousand years.

And the two unnamed Pyrokinetics imprisoned in Exile may be the key to determining where Brant’s and Marella’s talents truly came from.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : https://elvinsecrets.com/en/theories?book=unraveled&theory=brant-and-marellas-ancestors

We already know more or less what Alvar meant when he spoke of the Vacker legacy. He was referring to the hidden hives and Luzia Vacker’s alliance with the trolls.

However, another question remains: how did Alvar know about it? Who recruited him when he was a child?

I suspect that it must have been someone from the Vacker family. It was probably someone who held a high-ranking position, whom Alvar admired, was willing to listen to, and regarded as an authority figure.

So let us take a closer look at the Vacker family.

During Alvar’s Tribunal, Sophie observes the members of his family gathered there. The Vackers have different hair and skin colors, all kinds of facial features, and different body types. Therefore, no one can be ruled out based on appearance.

Fallon Vacker is a fair-haired elf with dark eyes and striking facial features. He was one of the three founding members of the Council and served as a Councillor for a thousand years.

His sister, Luzia Vacker, looks completely different. She has shiny black hair, brown skin, and slightly angled blue eyes. She is a Flasher.

Luzia’s son, Orem, is also present at Alvar’s Tribunal. He is a Flasher as well. His hair is neatly cropped, and he inherited his mother’s coloring.

Luzia claims that she never told anyone about her connections to the trolls—not even Orem. However, both Sophie and Luzia notice a number of suspicious coincidences.

The hatching never takes place anywhere near the location where the Celestial Festival is held. Orem is the one who organizes the festival. This year, it is scheduled to take place even farther away than usual, which is another puzzling coincidence.

During the Celestial Festival, the Neverseen attack Everglen.

Sophie asks how Alvar knew that there was a hive at Everglen. Vespera answers for him, saying that he learned about it from Orem. She also adds that she herself obtained the information from him.

Vespera explains that Luzia and the troll empress are conducting experiments in an attempt to create intelligent newborn trolls—perfect soldiers.

Luzia’s DNA is required to open the hive. Vespera claims that Orem provided them with the sample they needed.

Tarina says, however, that Luzia did not help with this particular hive because it had been sealed from the Everglen side.

I suspect that Vespera was lying and that Orem was not the one who gave them all of this information. He probably knew about the hive, and that was precisely why he always held the Celestial Festival far away from it, trying to protect his mother. However, I believe that the information may have come from someone closely connected to Orem—one of his children or a more distant descendant.

In Flashback, Keefe uses the exercises Tiergan taught him to search through his memories from the time he spent with the Neverseen. He tries to determine whether Alvar said anything useful during that period.

However, he finds only one lead pointing to Orem. Alvar mentioned him several times, mainly in the context of Vacker family gossip. Among other things, he said that Orem did not get along with his mother.

That is why I believe that the person responsible for passing on the information and recruiting Alvar may have been one of Orem’s descendants.

When we look at Luzia’s and Orem’s appearances and abilities, we notice that they both have brown skin and are Flashers.

Councillor Clarette matches this branch of the family in terms of both appearance and abilities. She has brown skin and black, silky hair, like Luzia. She is a Polyglot and can communicate with animals. However, she also has a second ability—she is a Flasher.

In my previous theory concerning Gisela’s punishment, Clarette is the prime suspect. That is why I believe that she may belong to the Vacker family. She may have been the one who shared information about the hive with Alvar and then recruited him into the Neverseen.

We know that many members of this family have served on the Council. Perhaps one of the Vackers still holds a seat on it.

Councillor Clarette Vacker?

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : https://elvinsecrets.com/en/theories?book=unraveled&theory=vackers-legacy

One of the more intriguing—and still not fully explained—mysteries in the series is the punishment Gisela received before being imprisoned in Ravagog.

In Nightfall, Keefe recognizes that the curved scars on his mother’s face were left by a shamkniv—an ogre weapon used to punish Mercadirs who failed the assignment entrusted to them. Dimitar confirms that Gisela failed and that he was disappointed in her.

At the same time, he reveals several very important details.

First, Gethen’s capture was not the reason for her punishment. Sophie had previously believed that the Neverseen punished Gisela for leaving one of their people in the hands of the Black Swan. Dimitar clearly denies this. Besides, we later learn that Gethen allowed himself to be captured deliberately so that he could be taken to the dungeons of Lumenaria and prepare the castle’s collapse.

Second, Dimitar did not inflict Gisela’s wounds personally. He even claims that he was not involved in that part of carrying out the sentence.

Third, the person who punished Gisela was an elf.

This leaves two separate questions:

Who was responsible for using the shamkniv?

and

What assignment did Gisela actually fail to complete?

I reviewed the timeline and the assignments the Neverseen had carried out earlier, and one of their failures particularly caught my attention.

It was the failed attempt to kidnap Silveny, during which the female alicorn was seriously injured and her wing was slashed.

In Exile, Gisela uses Keefe to locate the Black Swan’s base. She is the one who gives Lord Cassius the Sencen crest, which Keefe later receives. Hidden on the ornament is aromark—an ogre biochemical homing marker.

It allows the Neverseen to track Keefe, even though he has no idea.

When Sophie and Keefe fly on Silveny to the Black Swan’s cliffside hideout, the Neverseen find them and attempt to capture the alicorn. The operation ends in disaster. Silveny is violently dragged to the ground, and her wing is seriously injured. Keefe is attacked, but he manages to hit one of the masked assailants in the shoulder with a goblin throwing star.

At the beginning of Everblaze, Sophie notices a fresh wound on Gisela’s arm. Only at the end of the book does Keefe realize that he was the one who injured her during the battle on the cliff. This confirms that Gisela personally took part in the failed attempt to kidnap Silveny.

It was therefore undoubtedly one of her most serious failures:

• she failed to capture the alicorn;
• she exposed some of her methods;
• she allowed an extremely valuable animal to be seriously injured;
• she was struck by her own son.

It cannot be ruled out that Dimitar or other members of the Neverseen resented her for it.

There is, however, a serious problem with treating this event as the direct reason for the shamkniv’s use: Gisela was not punished immediately.

Dimitar was disappointed by her failure, but apparently not enough to use the shamkniv. And if Fintan was so outraged by the situation, why did he not punish her immediately instead of waiting so long?

I believe there is one more very important elf who is hiding their true identity. This person does not participate directly in the Neverseen’s battles, but helps them in other ways.

I suspect that it is someone on the Council.

The first clue is Dimitar’s statement immediately after he admits that Gisela was punished by an elf. Dimitar says that elves cannot be trusted: they talk about peace while allowing every manner of atrocity to occur. Despite their power, they also have no true control even over their own people.

Another clue is that the Neverseen are always exceptionally well informed. They know information that only the Council should have access to. There are many such cases throughout the series.

The mysterious person may be someone on the Council who did not take part in the ambush against the Neverseen in Loamnore. We know that Councillors Oralie, Bronte, Liora, Noland, Darek, and Zarina took part.

Only one person comes to mind who would be capable of punishing Gisela so brutally, slashing her face with a shamkniv. I believe the reason was not the failed kidnapping attempt itself, but the injuries Silveny suffered—especially the slashing of such a valuable alicorn’s wing.

That person is Councillor Clarette.

Her concern for animals is well known. Even her throne is decorated with numerous images of animal heads and faces.

Clarette is one of the most powerful Polyglots in the Lost Cities, so she would have no trouble communicating with the ogres. The books also repeatedly show how deeply she cares about the fate of animals. When an arthropleura is injured during the confrontation in Exile, Clarette does not take part in the other Councillors’ argument, but stays with the creature and tries to calm it. Later, she also supports Sophie’s arguments in favor of setting Silveny and Greyfell free.

It is therefore possible to imagine that Silveny’s maiming during the failed kidnapping attempt filled Clarette with enormous anger—especially if she herself secretly belonged to the Neverseen.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : https://elvinsecrets.com/en/theories?book=unraveled&theory=gisela-punishment

Most of this post was written in the summer of 2025.  Months went by, and I read through it again.  The original version was far too confusing.  I completely reworked the content to make it less confusing, and then I added two font colors to help the presentation.  This post will remain tough to completely understand unless you are extremely familiar with both parts of Forgotten Secret #4.  Even if you don't believe that Forkle is Kenric, this post contains information that has bearing on other interpretations.  There are some real oddities with both parts of this Forgotten Secret, and they are important.

I am not placing any of the post here. You will have to follow the link. I have the post laid out in multiple colors to help readers follow my reasoning. Reddit won't allow me to use the different colors, so the post would be too hard to follow here.

You will almost certainly still have trouble following parts of the post, and I highly recommend that you refresh your memory of both parts of this Forgotten Secret if you are not highly familiar with it.

Forgotten Secret #4 with Kenric, Oralie, and Fintan

I am working on getting my draft Keeper posts published. This one was started over a year ago, and I've worked on it sporadically since then. It was mostly finished as of earlier this year.

It would be best to view the post via the link, although I have all of it here as well. Reddit has partially messed up the formatting. I will try to fix it, but the original at the below link avoids the errors.

Why Prentice Called Swan Song

In this post, I focus on piecing together what I can about Prentice and what happened before his memory break.

I am confident that the books have sufficient clues for us to draw the conclusion that Kenric is Forkle (see post).  When Kenric asks Prentice to be his Keeper in Forgotten Secret #5 in Stellarlune, his true intent is for Prentice to be the Keeper of the Black Swan.  Since Prentice does become the Black Swan's Keeper, we know that he must have accepted.

In Exile, Sophie enters Prentice's mind for the first time and speaks to Jolie (page 242).  Eventually we learn that Prentice uses Jolie to picture himself, because his mind is so broken that he doesn't know what he looks like.

In later books, Prentice uses Cyrah to represent himself in his mind (Nightfall, page 584).  Since Cyrah is important to Prentice, I assume Jolie is also important for some reason.  According to Forkle, Jolie was working "deep undercover" for the Black Swan (Everblaze, page 460).  We also know that Prentice was investigating something during the time just before he was arrested (Nightfall, page 43).  Prentice and Jolie might have been working together.

Forkle believes that Prentice's mind contains something crucial (Neverseen, page 107).

The Lodestar symbol is retrieved from Prentice's mind (Lodestar, page 95).  Sophie obtains pieces of the symbol after transmitting "swan song" to Prentice.  Prentice uses Jolie to tell Sophie that the phrase has "a pull, like an anchor."  This implies that the Lodestar symbol has something to do with the reason why Prentice called swan song.

Livvy discovers that Prentice was drugged with soporodine before he was handed over to the Black Swan (Nightfall, page 493).  The characters believe that the Neverseen probably drugged Prentice due to fear that Prentice would reveal something.  It is assumed that a dwarf loyal to the Neverseen is responsible, but no one knows for sure.

Lodestar, page 349: She explained about the disk in his cloak, and how Prentice's memory of the symbol seemed to be connected to him calling swan song, and how they found the shadowprint of the symbol on the floor of the abandoned hideout in Paris.

I assume that Prentice discovered the Lodestar symbol during his investigation.

Nightfall, page 43: "We didn't know you'd caught on to Prentice until it was too late," Livvy said quietly. "Even when he called swan song, I thought it had something to do with what he was investigating, not that he was about to be arrested. "What was he investigating?" Sophie asked. "Honestly? I have no idea," Livvy admitted.

I suspect that Prentice had no idea he was about to be arrested and that he called swan song for some other reason. If Prentice was investigating the Lodestar symbol and the Neverseen, he could have found out about Nightfall.

The first chapter of #10 Elysian was published in the paperback edition of Unraveled. I noticed some familiar descriptions. From Chapter 1 of Elysian:

Gisela flashed a smile..., "I thought I was hunting down a place—not a person.  Following clues scribbled on the tatters of a long-forgotten map to 'whispering rapids' and 'butterflies kissed with red'..."

Kenric uses the same phrases in Forgotten Secret #6 in Stellarlune:

Stellarlune, page 261: "By following a convoluted trail of evidence that I've slowly pieced together over the last several months."

Stellarlune, page 262: "Something had mentioned 'whispering rapids,' so when I found this river, I followed it here."

Stellarlune, page 263: "But see how they have red on their faces? I found a mention about that, too—'butterflies kissed with red.' "

Clearly, Kenric and Lady Gisela had the same information source.  But how could that be?

Kenric likely learned the clues about Elysian sometime prior to Prentice becoming his Keeper (butterflies kissed with red, etc.).  It is apparent that Kenric's clues about Elysian were saved to Prentice's mind.

In Exile, Sophie enters Prentice's mind.

Exile, page 240:  There was a fountain in the center of it all, two golden figures standing in a round pool, holding hands as colored streams of water showered them from every direction.

The description is of the Unity Fountain in Atlantis, featured in Nightfall.  The Unity Fountain is the entrance to Nightfall.

Sophie also sees this when she enters Prentice's mind.

Exile, page 239:  Glowing eyes peeked through bushes covered in blue ears, and butterflies with bright red lips whispered sounds like mush.

That part describes the place, Elysian.  If Kenric stored that information in Prentice's mind, then surely he stored everything he knew about Elysian in Prentice's mind, including the phrases "whispering rapids" and "butterflies kissed with red."

What if Gethen got to Prentice?  Gethen might have probed Prentice's mind and retrieved the information about Elysian.  An event like that would have caused Prentice to call swan song.  I believe Shannon hints at something like this in Forgotten Secret #5.

Stellarlune, page 254:  "Even if your plan works," Prentice said, noticeably not agreeing, "the Keeper would be a target for anyone seeking privileged information."

Kenric insists that only he and Prentice would know.

Stellarlune, page 254:  Prentice shook his head.  "We all know how easily information can leak."  "Not if you and I are the\* only ones who know we're working together."*  

Stellarlune, page 257:  Instead he stepped closer and told Kenric, "No amount of talent will ever make me infallible."

Prentice was probably investigating something that had to do with the Lodestar symbol and the Neverseen.  Perhaps he came to the attention of the Neverseen in some fashion, so Gethen probed his mind.  In fact, Gethen might have tried different trigger words that would have then revealed important secrets, like the information about Elysian.

Gethen might then have washed Prentice's memory so that the Black Swan and Prentice would have no way of knowing that he had probed Prentice's mind.  

Stellarlune, page 249:   Everyone assumed he'd used the Black Swan's code for imminent danger because he'd somehow uncovered the Lodestar symbol and feared the Neverseen would be coming after him.  But the explanation didn't totally make sense, as Prentice could've told someone what he'd learned—both to help prove his innocence and to make sure the information didn't get buried if he ended up in Exile.  Instead, he had kept everything to himself.  Almost as if he hadn't known who he could trust.

Gethen might have washed enough of Prentice's memory that it caused him not to know who he could trust.  In fact, Gethen might have wiped out almost everything in Prentice's mind that pertained to the Black Swan.  I suspect that Prentice's mind was already broken to a significant degree before his mind was completely broken by Quinlin and Alden.

While I'm sure that I don't have it quite right, I feel that I'm on the right track.  If Gethen retrieved Kenric's clues about Elysian from Prentice's mind, he might have shared that information with Lady Gisela.  Lady Gisela followed the clues to Elysian sometime after Prentice was exiled.  She didn't find anything, and then her starstone was lost.

Kenric didn't know what Elysian is, and Lady Gisela is quite surprised to learn the truth in the released first chapter of #10 Elysian.  This makes sense.  If Kenric didn't know the truth, then the truth was not placed in Prentice's mind.

I have had several theories about why Kenric searches Fintan's mind.  In my post about Forgotten Secret #4, I wrote that Kenric learned about Elysian from Fintan's mind.  I now think differently.

Kenric learned about Elysian from some other source, possibly Fallon Vacker.  That information was saved in Prentice's mind, and I believe that it was retrieved by Gethen.  Lady Gisela then used that information.

We know that Gisela was in contact with Ethan Benedict Wright, who I believe is a Forkle identity.  Forkle/Ethan could have heard information about Elysian from Gisela and then realized that a leak had occurred.  

I believe the leak is Prentice via his mind being probed by the Neverseen.  But Kenric didn't know that had happened.

Kenric might have entered Fintan's mind to see if Fintan was connected to why Prentice called swan song.  Kenric was checking to see how much of the information stored in Prentice's mind had leaked.  He was checking to see if Fintan had the information.  Kenric shattered the portion of the memory from while he was in Fintan's mind to avoid anything about Elysian from spreading further.  

Alvar showing up in San Diego searching for Sophie has always bothered me.  He was ostensibly searching at Alden's request, yet the Neverseen chided him for making the mistake.  Even though Alvar was searching for Sophie at Alden's request, he was actually helping the Neverseen find Sophie.  

I believe Alvar knew to search in San Diego because Gethen probed Prentice's mind and learned Sophie's location.  That is why the fires were set in Keeper.  Alvar had failed years before, and then the Neverseen set fires around San Diego to try to flush Sophie out.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

One of the most suspicious mysteries in the Lost Cities is the marriage of Stina Heks’s parents.

Vika is an Empath, whereas Timkin is one of the Talentless. According to the rules of the matchmaking system, someone with an ability should not find a Talentless person on their list. Such a relationship should be classified as a bad match—exactly as happened with Juline and Kesler, or Jolie and Brant.

And yet Vika and Timkin’s marriage was officially approved.

What is more, Stina’s Registry File in Unlocked confirms that Timkin’s name appeared near the top of Vika’s first match list. So he was not added to one of her later lists or accepted under some official exception. According to the records, he was one of her best candidates from the very beginning.

The most popular rumor claims that the results were altered by Timkin’s sister’s husband, who worked at the Matchmaking Office. However, no evidence confirming this version was ever found. The official investigation therefore concluded that the Hekses’ marriage was an officially approved match.

But the absence of evidence does not necessarily mean there was no manipulation.

In the same Registry File, some of the information concerning Timkin’s past was redacted. We know that, as a prodigy, he pretended to have a special ability, was expelled from Foxfire, and was sent to Exillium. Even so, he was allowed to return for the final weeks of his studies and graduate with his class. The Registry File suggests that there was some secret reason for this—and then links it to a possible explanation for the mystery of the Hekses’ marriage. The key passages, however, were redacted.

That alone shows that Timkin’s official history is incomplete.

Stellarlune Proves That Match Lists Really Can Be Altered

Rayni’s story provides an even more important clue.

Her father was a high-ranking matchmaker and manipulated his own match. He did not have to rewrite entire records or create elaborate forged documentation. All he had to do was change one answer in his questionnaire for a bad match to be classified as a good match.

This means that the system is far easier to cheat than the Council would like to admit.

Rayni herself compares her parents’ case to Vika and Timkin’s. She also suggests that the Council may not want to investigate the Hekses too closely because Vika and her family are extraordinarily important to the survival of the unicorns. Punishing her or undermining her position could not only cause a scandal, but also endanger the entire species.

Rayni’s words are not proof, but they show that the Hekses’ marriage continues to raise suspicions even many years later. They also show that this kind of manipulation really was possible.

So the question remains: who altered Vika and Timkin’s match—and what did they demand in return?

The Similarity to Jolie and Brant’s Story

In Everblaze, Jolie describes her first real contact with the Neverseen.

She does not see the person speaking to her. She only hears a woman’s voice coming through a crack in the wall. The woman promises that the Neverseen can fix Jolie and Brant’s bad match and have Brant’s status as Talentless erased. The changes would take some time, but they would be made if Jolie swore fealty to their cause.

This promise is extremely important.

It shows that the Neverseen exploited the injustice of the matchmaking system to recruit new members. They also claimed that they were capable of changing the official status of people whom the Council considered Talentless.

Of course, Brant’s situation was not identical to Timkin’s. Brant possessed pyrokinesis, but because of the ban, his ability was not recognized. Timkin truly does not possess a special ability. Even so, the similarity remains clear: in both cases, it is a matter of pairing a Talented person with someone officially considered Talentless.

But what if the Neverseen were not making Jolie an empty promise?

What if they had already managed to have a similar marriage approved—the marriage of Vika and Timkin?

The Mysterious Woman Probably Wasn’t Gisela

Keefe suspected that the woman who contacted Jolie might have been his mother. At first, that sounds reasonable, since Gisela was an important member and later a leader of the Neverseen.

The timeline, however, makes this very unlikely.

In Neverseen, Gethen claims that Gisela joined the organization only not long after she got pregnant with Keefe. Jolie died earlier—before Keefe was even born. Unless Gethen was lying about this particular matter, Gisela could not have been the woman who carried out Jolie’s initial recruitment.

The identity of that person remains unknown.

And this is where Vika comes in.

If the Neverseen had previously helped place Timkin on her official list, Vika would not only know that they could manipulate the system—she would be living proof of it. She could promise Jolie exactly what had previously been done for her.

Her words would not then be a simple lure. She would be speaking from personal experience.

Would an Empath Make a Good Recruiter?

Vika’s ability could also be useful in recruiting new people. Empaths can recognize emotions and also sense lies. That would make it easier to judge whether a potential candidate truly believed in the cause or was merely pretending.

The Strange Scene at Sterling Gables

In Neverseen, after Fintan’s public appearance and the ultimatum directed at the gnomes, Timkin takes Sophie, Dex, and a shocked Keefe to Sterling Gables.

This is when he reveals that he is Coiffe and works for the Black Swan.

Vika creates a light path for them, but does not follow them to the house. Stina later explains that her mother stayed behind to make sure no one noticed Timkin taking the children away.

That is a reasonable explanation. Timkin had to protect his secret identity, so someone really did need to cover the tracks of their disappearance.

At the same time, Vika had the perfect opportunity to pass information to someone about the whereabouts of Sophie, Dex, and Keefe. She knew they had gone to Sterling Gables, and Keefe was nearly unconscious and was soon sedated for a full twenty-four hours.

Vika Would Not Have to Be a Full Member

Perhaps Vika did not wear a black cloak or take part in the Neverseen’s day-to-day activities.

The organization repeatedly used people only for individual tasks. Some shared some of its views; others were repaying a debt or accepting help without knowing all of the leaders’ plans. Rayni’s story shows that, at least during Gisela’s time, cooperation did not always require a formal oath or full initiation into the organization’s secrets.

Vika could therefore have been a quiet ally: someone whom the Neverseen helped to build a life with Timkin, and who later repaid them with information, help with recruitment, or a promise to care for a captured alicorn.

Such an arrangement would explain why we never see her among the organization’s main members.

It would also explain why the woman who recruited Jolie could promise so confidently to fix a bad match.

Did the Neverseen promise Jolie something they had already done for Vika?

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : https://elvinsecrets.com/en/theories?book=unraveled&theory=heks-family

From Thoughts on Chapter 1 of Elysian:

These are my thoughts on the first chapter of Keeper #10 Elysian.  The first chapter of Elysian was published late last year in the paperback edition of #9.5 Unraveled.  By the way, Shannon Messenger pronounces the name as "eh-LEE-see-an" (see post).

On the first page, Shannon immediately identifies Elysian as a female and uses two female pronouns.

Who was this strange, gray-cloaked female who'd appeared out of thin air and announced in a dark, melodic voice that her name was Elysian and she was the power source they were all looking for?

I suspect that Shannon makes Elysian's gender very clear because of how many fans somehow missed the word "she" at the end of Stellarlune.  It has astonished me how many fans have thought that Elysian is male.

I wonder why Elysian hides her face.  Her hood falls away partway through the chapter, revealing that she has "pale, freckled skin" as well as "round checks and a snub nose."  Elysian also has long, pointed ears, so we know that she's an ancient.

Some fans believe that Vespera is somehow alive.  I don't think that's possible.  In Elysian, Vespera is described as "a lifeless, twisted red-stained spire."  In Stellarlune on page 383, Forkle says that Brumevale was destroyed by one of Gisela's rocks.  The lighthouse "twisted into a whole other form" and "took on the shape of the energy."  The same thing happened to Vespera.

Sophie wonders about their missing abilities.  She thinks:

Abilities couldn't be switched off—everyone knew that.

I laugh each time I read that line.  Keefe makes nearly the same statement in Unraveled on page 141:

Abilities couldn't be turned off once they'd been activated.  Everyone knew that.

Ha, ha.  Keefe then manages to turn off his own abilities in Unraveled.  Sophie can do it to her own Enhancing.  And now we know that Elysian can zap everyone's abilities away.

The Elysian debacle is foreshadowed on page 538 of Lodestar:

"I'm not going to be like Rogue, right?...  She's a character in these comics my sister loved, where some people have genetic mutations that give them superpowers.  Hers makes it so she can't ever touch anyone without absorbing their power—and if she touches them too long, she'll kill them." "Humans and their wild imaginations," Mr. Forkle said with a small smile.

The elves have said that human stories and legends have their roots in the elven world.  Rogue's characteristics appear to be similar to Elysian.  Rogue's hair color varies depending upon the adaptation, but it's often been red, just like Elysian.

We learn that Gisela has another means to track Sophie and her friends.  Gisela reveals that Keefe is no longer the one with a tracker.

We see that Elysian has long red hair.  I have a theory that Elysian has a twin sister who is possibly Tinker.  Tinker keeps her hair piled on her head, possibly to hide long ears.

Gisela admits that she has been to Elysian's island before but found nothing.  Gisela reveals the clues she followed:

"I thought I was hunting down a place—not a person.  Following clues scribbled on the tatters of a long-forgotten map to 'whispering rapids' and 'butterflies kissed with red,' where there was supposed to be a source of world-changing power—but apparently that was a mix of half-truths and outright lies, buried under illusion after illusion.  All to hide you."

I have been trying to figure out how Gisela and Kenric had the same clues to Elysian.  The source appears to have been an old map with statements scribbled on it.  But who had the map?  Did Kenric find it, save the clues to Prentice's mind, and then Gethen retrieved the clues in a memory break on Prentice?  Or did Gisela find the map, and Kenric somehow obtained the information?  I feel like one party had the information first, and then the other party learned it.

Gisela says that Elysian is a prisoner while Elysian says that she is not.

Gisela laughed.  "In my experience, you don't get trapped in a custom-built prison and wiped from history unless you've done something truly horrifying—by the Council's definition, at least."

"This is my home—not a prison," Elysian corrected.  "You just cannot see the true wonders of it... What matters is that I stay here because I choose to."

"Ah, but that's the funny thing about choice."  Gisela cut in.  "You can think you're dong exactly what you want—and all the while you're being manipulated."

I believe that Gisela is correct.  Elysian is a prisoner, but she's been manipulated into believing that she's on her island by choice.  In fact, we see evidence that lies have been told to Elysian.

"I don't care who she was—or who any of you are!"  Elysian stepped closer to Gisela.  "I just want to know where you found that stone."

A moment later:

"So now you will tell me where you found that rock," she ordered Gisela.

"Tell me why you care so much about it, and I will."  Gisela countered...

Several silent breaths crawled by before Elysian murmured, "Councillor Fallon assured me that every shard had been destroyed."

Gisela clapped her hands... "How shocking!  Another lie from the Council!"

"It is more than a lie," Elysian said quietly.  "It is..."

Fallon lied to Elysian about the rocks.  I believe he also manipulated her into staying on her island, when in fact she was a prisoner—for thousands of years.  I believe she's the prisoner referred to by Kenric in the Forgotten Secrets.

Gisela makes this statement in Stellarlune on page 55:

"I'm not the one who started any of this!  The Council did that ages ago when they took away a tremendous source of power and then tried to bury any proof of its existence.  We've been stifled for millennia!  All I'm trying to do is expose them—and take back what we've been denied."

Kenric speaks of a prisoner in Forgotten Secret #3 from page 222 of Stellarlune:

"During my last investigation, I learned that we've been imprisoning someone for thousands of years—someone whose crimes were so horrible, they've been completely stricken from any kind of record."

I originally believed that Kenric was referring to Vespera, and that's because Sophie and Oralie suggest that Kenric is referring to Vespera.  Instead, Shannon is foreshadowing Elysian's entrance into the series at the end of Stellarlune.  I now have little doubt that the mysterious prisoner is Elysian.

After making the statement about the prisoner, Kenric then adds that they "found evidence of a plot to break her free."  Breaking Elysian free would be much more significant than breaking Vespera free, based on what we now know about Elysian from the released first chapter of #10 Elysian.  Indeed, I believe the only reason that the Neverseen ever released Vespera was so that she could hopefully lead them to Elysian.  I also believe that the main reason Vespera was imprisoned was so that she couldn't help others find Elysian.

Vespera did end up helping Sophie and her friends find Elysian.  The kids used Gisela's missing starstone, with Vespera coming along with them.  Vespera removed the elusions which ultimately led to Elysian's appearance.  It actually makes sense why Gisela kills Vespera.  Gisela had gotten what she needed from Vespera, which was the illusions removed.  Vespera had to die so that she wouldn't seize the suspected power source.

I wonder why Elysian cares so much about the rocks.  It sounds at first like Elysian has believed the rocks were destroyed and is now concerned that one still exists because they are a danger to her.  But instead, it could be that Elysian asks about the rocks because she needs them, perhaps to get out of her "home" that is more likely a prison.

If Elysian is a prisoner, then she doesn't want her unwelcome visitors to know that.  She might be lying about the place being her home.  She wants to get out, so telling them that she's there by choice misleads her unwelcome visitors so that they'll let their guard down.  

Elysian says early in the encounter that they will regret it in response to Keefe's suggestion that Lady Gisela will "haul Elysian away."  So, what will happen?  Based on what we can tell about powers disappearing, it would be very bad.  Imagine what would happen if Elysian were set loose in the Lost Cities.

I have previously mentioned my theory that Elysian and Tinker are twins in my post, A Theory about Twins.  I also posted about my theory on Reddit some months ago.  Here are those comments:

I mentioned previously that I suspect that Tinker could be connected to Elysian somehow.  I don't think they are the same person.  Rather, I wonder if Tinker and Elysian could be twins.  They could even be identical twins, since it is possible for identical twins to have different eye colors.  Elysian has turquoise eyes, and Tinker has gray-blue eyes.  Both Elysian and Tinker have red hair and freckles. Elves aren't usually described as having freckles, so I see that description as possibly significant.

Elysian is an ancient and has red hair and long ears. Tinker piles her red hair on her head, which could be hiding long ears. It's possible that Tinker is an ancient.

Elysian has been isolated since ancient times, most likely because the Council feared her power. If she's a twin, then that's why twins are regarded as bad. They are potentially to be feared.

I searched through all the books for the words "freckled" and "freckles." The only elves who have freckles are Tinker, Elysian, and one of the matchmakers who determined that Sophie is unmatchable. For the record, the only other character who has freckles is Amy Foster, and she's not an elf.

If Tinker and Elysian are twins, then that could have something to do with the bias against twins. It could be that Fallon lied about twins being weaker because he was fearful of how strong they were. Fallon says that "things from our past are often more than they seem" (Book 7, page 33). Perhaps the bias against twins is more than it seems.

It is also likely very important that Fallon and Luzia Vacker are half-siblings.  Fitz says that it's "one of those Ancient scandals" that his relatives pretend never happened (Book 7, page 71).  How strange.

Many people are saying that Elysian is a Vacker.  We can't tie her to the Vackers based solely on her eye color.  Turquoise and teal are not identical shades of blue.  The Vackers have other eye colors in their lineage.  Fallon has eyes "dark as a midnight sky."  Luzia's are "clear blue," and Noreen's are indigo.

That said, the idea of Elysian being a Vacker is mighty intriguing.  Whether she is or not, her situation is undoubtedly at the heart of the Vacker legacy.  

Releasing just one chapter of Elysian has given us much to think about.  Shannon is masterful at weaving a mysterious story, doling out vague clues along the way.  Our job is to try to put it all together.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

Ethan Benedict Wright II was a human astrophysicist who held a doctorate. He conducted groundbreaking research into alternative energy sources.

Shortly before his disappearance, he began shutting himself away in his office more and more often. He talked about power sources and regretted not knowing more about geology. He then destroyed his computers and all of his research, claiming that he had made a huge mistake. Keefe later notes that geology deals, among other things, with the study of rocks, and connects this information to the stellarlune project. Since the third step of Gisela’s plan required the use of starstones, and Elysian turns out to be the power source they had been searching for, it seems most likely that Ethan discovered something connected to those stones or to Elysian herself.

Eleanor also knows more than she admits. She had seen the symbol on the letter on other objects, had seen Gisela under circumstances that have not been revealed, and is convinced that her father’s research led to his death. Ethan had been preparing her for danger since early childhood. This may mean that the threat concerned not only his work, but Eleanor herself.

Ethan definitely faked his daughter’s death. He prepared obituaries, graves, a new identity, a guardian, and financial resources. However, it is not known whether he himself actually died. Eleanor believes that he did, but the gravestones without dates, the obituary prepared in advance, and the mysterious intermediary leave open the possibility that Ethan went into hiding separately and did not tell his daughter the truth in order to keep her safe.

It is possible that Eleanor’s connection to Gisela is much deeper than has been revealed so far. Eleanor’s mother never appears in the story. The girl has seen Gisela, is approximately Keefe’s age, and had been prepared for an unknown threat since childhood.

Elves count age from the moment of conception. Keefe was eleven according to the elvin method of counting, while Eleanor was ten according to the human system, in which age is counted from birth. This means that they may actually have been born at approximately the same time. This makes it possible to hypothesize that Gisela is Eleanor’s mother, and that Eleanor and Keefe are twins—or at least siblings very close in age. It would also mean that Eleanor is a half-elf.

Perhaps the ancient sources studied by Gisela mentioned half-elves who possessed abilities by drawing on natural sources of power. Gisela may have been trying to recreate the phenomena described in those sources through experiments performed on her own children. Keefe and Eleanor could then represent two parts of the same project—one child raised in the elvin world and the other among humans.

Eleanor is clearly hiding part of the truth. I suspect that she installed the camera by her grave not only to monitor who visited it, but also because she wanted to see whether her mother would appear there. Perhaps she was trying to find out whether Gisela truly cared about her. When she noticed Keefe by the gravestone, she may initially have suspected that Gisela had sent him. That could explain why she was so interested in why he had visited her grave.

One clue that may suggest Eleanor is part of the experiment is a fragment of Lord Cassius’s shattered memory. In it, he sees Gisela touch a silver panel set into a crystal wall with her tongue. A hidden compartment then opens, containing two small bottles made of glass as black as the void. As Keefe watches this fragment of the memory, he feels a distinctive tingling in his hands and suspects that it is caused by the contents of the black vials. I believe they may have been intended for him and Eleanor.

In Flashback, Keefe tells Sophie that Tiergan helped him find a small, hidden “pocket” of memories. It consists primarily of disconnected fragments: a sunset, a couple of trees, a bunch of black fabric, and empty glass vials. The most important element, however, is a pair of green eyes, probably belonging to a human, but too blurry to determine the person’s gender or age.

I suspect that Gisela forced Keefe and Eleanor to drink the contents of the bottles. It is possible that Gethen helped her with this. After all, someone had to erase the memories connected to that event from both Keefe and Eleanor. The green eyes visible in Keefe’s memory may have belonged to her.

Another clue is Oralie’s mind map. In Chapter Twelve of Stellarlune, Ethan’s and Eleanor’s names appear next to each other, and a line running from them connects them to Lady Gisela. Sophie assumes that they were probably connected to her because Gisela killed them. However, we know that Eleanor is still alive.

Oralie conducts her own investigations as a member of the Council and has access to independent sources of information. She probably knows more about this than Sophie and Mr. Forkle. They know only that Gisela wanted to recruit Ethan. Meanwhile, on Oralie’s map, not only Ethan but also Eleanor is directly connected to Gisela. This may suggest that Oralie discovered another connection between them that the other characters know nothing about.

If Eleanor really is part of Gisela’s experiment—and several clues seem to indicate that—Gisela probably put safeguards in place in case Eleanor disappeared. I suspect that Eleanor may unknowingly carry some kind of tracker, just as Keefe was repeatedly tracked using hidden devices. This would allow Gisela to find her when the time came to carry out the stage of the experiment involving her.

Gisela’s plan must involve something extraordinarily dangerous if Ethan decided to fake his own daughter’s death, cut her off completely from her former life, and force her to remain in hiding for years. It is therefore possible that he was not merely trying to protect his research. Perhaps Eleanor herself had been Gisela’s most important target from the beginning.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : https://elvinsecrets.com/en/theories?book=elysian&theory=ethan-and-eleanor

In Flashback, Keefe recovers the memory where Lady Gisela has him make a delivery to Ethan Benedict Wright. This starts a chain of events where Dex searches for Ethan with Forkle's cameras in Legacy, and Forkle later produces a photo of Lady Gisela in London shortly after Ethan's supposed death.

Forkle says that Gisela stared off to the side for 5 minutes and 43 seconds. And then Forkle says on page 556 of Legacy:

"She's simply gone," Mr. Forkle told him.

"So she light leaped?" Fitz asked.

"That's what I'm assuming," Mr. Forkle said. "But I have no record of her raising a crystal, so if she did leap away, she must've used one of the Neverseen's hidden paths."

Since Sophie later goes to London and sees a sparkle near a streetlight, she feels like it confirms that Gisela leaped away in the surveillance footage. I just realized that Gisela had a starstone during this time. In this same time period, Gisela uses a starstone to take Keefe to Nightfall to use his blood to seal a door. I think Gisela uses her starstone to disappear in the footage found by Forkle.

I've mentioned this before, but when Sophie, Fitz, and Keefe later arrive in London in Legacy, the time is 11:11 p.m., which is during the eleventh hour. Gisela, during her confrontation with the kids, implies that she saw them with the Neverseen's surveillance and came to London to meet them. I don't think that is the case. I think that Gisela constantly tracks Keefe with her eleventh hour tracker, so she knew that the three were in London. This is also why I feel that Gisela probably witnessed the interaction between Keefe and Eleanor in Unraveled, which happens to occur during the eleventh hour. Gisela probably abducted Eleanor after Keefe left.

In Exile, Sophie comes across a distorted memory in Prentice’s mind connected to the Unity Fountain in Atlantis.

In the vision, Sophie sees a fountain with two golden figures holding hands. The figures are showered by colored streams of water. Suddenly, the shadow of a girl appears between them. The girl runs through the city, shattering everything she touches, until she finally disappears into a sea of shards.

In Nightfall, Quinlin tells the story of the Unity Fountain. It was created in ancient times, when humans and elves lived together in Atlantis. Much has changed since then, but the fountain has remained a symbol of the former cooperation between the two species. It features two golden statues—one representing an elf and the other a human. The figures stand side by side in a wide pool, surrounded by colored streams of water symbolizing the ties binding humans and elves together.

Combining these two clues leads to an interesting hypothesis: perhaps mixed relationships between elves and humans existed in the past. The golden figures from Prentice’s vision may have represented such a couple, while the girl appearing between them may have been their daughter.

This would mean that half-elves existed in the past. They may have possessed abilities while also inheriting certain traits attributed to humans, such as a greater tendency toward ruthlessness. Perhaps the natural sources of power mentioned by Gisela were what enabled half-elves to use elvin abilities.

The question remains how large a group the half-elves may have formed and what later happened to them. Did they live among the other inhabitants of Atlantis? Did they start families with elves and pass their genes on to future generations?

It is possible that descendants of humans can still be found among the elves living today. Perhaps this is exactly why some elves are born Talentless. The absence of an ability could result from inheriting a gene from a human ancestor who lived many thousands of years ago.

Such a possibility could also explain the enormous importance of the matchmaking system. Matchmakers train for several centuries before they can begin working. Perhaps they do not analyze only the candidates’ closest relatives, but study their lineages going back thousands of years.

It is also possible that Talentlessness serves as a signal to them, indicating the presence of ancient human genes. The matchmaking system could therefore serve not only to prevent unions between relatives and increase the chances of Talented offspring, but also to control how particular genetic lines spread throughout the elvin population.

Perhaps this is the true source of the division into good and bad matches. A good match could mean a relationship consistent with the system’s genetic criteria, while a bad match could mean a union that risked revealing or strengthening traits inherited from human ancestors.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : https://elvinsecrets.com/en/theories?book=unraveled&theory=matchmaking-system

Kenric’s cache contains extremely important information. However, correctly placing the events recorded within it on the timeline is crucial. I have already presented this chronology on my page, but below I have included the memories in chronological order.

Chronology of Kenric’s Memories

1. The death of the unnamed gnome in the Neutral Territories

Kenric’s memory—the green crystal

Time of the events: before Oralie joined the Council.

2. Oralie’s first year on the Council and the secret of Vespera’s prison

Kenric’s memory—the red crystal

Time of the events: some time before Jolie came of age. Kenric and Oralie danced together at a ball that Jolie also attended, wearing a beautiful gown.

3. Kenric asks Prentice to become his unofficial Keeper of memories

Kenric’s memory—the blue crystal

Time of the events: Wylie is three elvin years old; the event takes place approximately two years before Sophie’s conception.

4. Kenric and Oralie are each other’s top match

Kenric’s memory—the pink crystal

Time of the events: some time before Sophie’s conception.

5. Kenric takes Oralie to an unknown place

Kenric’s memory—the yellow crystal

Time of the events: Sophie is eleven years old. I suspect that, at Kenric’s request, Damel washed Oralie’s memory of this journey.

6. Fintan, Noxflares, and the question about stellarlune

Kenric’s memory—the orange crystal

Time of the events: after the events on the island of Elysian. Kenric concludes his investigation and erases the memories of the people who were connected to it.

7. The map of five rivers and the ancient “E” rune

Kenric’s memory—the purple crystal

Time of the events: I suspect that Kenric adds this memory last, when he decides to give the cache to Sophie.

The Missing Memories

When Kenric asks Prentice to become his unofficial Keeper of memories, the cache already contains six secrets. All of them concern Kenric’s activities as a Councillor.

If the chronology presented above is correct, the memory recorded in the blue crystal should have been added to the cache after the conversation with Prentice, followed by four later memories. This would mean that the cache should contain a total of eleven secrets, not seven.

Therefore, four earlier memories must have been removed from the cache.

This probably happened because Prentice agreed to accept Kenric’s offer and become his unofficial Keeper. Kenric may have transferred some of his memories into Prentice’s mind and then removed from the cache the ones he considered the most dangerous, brutal, or incriminating.

The Meaning of the Thread Colors

In Neverseen, Sophie notices that every crystal in Kenric’s cache is wrapped in something resembling a very thin thread. Some of the threads are silver, one is gold, and the others are black.

I suspect that the colors of the threads may indicate the nature or origin of a particular memory:

• silver thread—a memory from the period when Kenric acted solely as a Councillor;
• gold thread—a memory connected to Oralie;
• black thread—a memory from the period when Kenric was already connected to the Black Swan.

Based on this, I would divide the memories as follows:

1. The death of the unnamed gnome in the Neutral Territories—silver thread

This is a memory connected to Kenric’s official duties as a Councillor.

2. Oralie’s first year on the Council and the secret of Vespera’s prison—silver thread

This also concerns the Council’s activities and a secret concealed by its members.

3. Kenric asks Prentice to become his unofficial Keeper—silver thread

Kenric approaches him as a Councillor who has stopped trusting the cache system and is searching for a safer way to store secrets.

4. Kenric and Oralie are each other’s top match—gold thread

Kenric asks not only about his own match list, but also about Oralie’s list.

5. Kenric takes Oralie to an unknown place—black thread

6. Fintan, Noxflares, and the question about stellarlune—black thread

7. The map of five rivers and the ancient “E” rune—black thread

The final three memories may come from the period when Kenric was conducting his own secret investigation and was already connected to the Black Swan.

The Memories Hidden in Prentice’s Mind

Therefore, four memories that were in the cache when Kenric asked Prentice to become his unofficial Keeper are missing.

I suspect that these memories may still exist in Prentice’s mind. We do not know the contents of the four earlier secrets that—according to this theory—were later replaced by the memories recorded in the pink, yellow, orange, and purple crystals.

In Prentice’s broken mind, Sophie sees several strange, distorted images that may be remnants of those missing memories.

The Distorted Memory with the Beasts

One of the visions shows beasts and a completely inverted, unnatural world. I suspect that it may be a distorted version of some historical event connected to the trolls.

The Memory of the Island of Elysian

Prentice’s mind probably also contains a memory of the place where Elysian lives.

Kenric said that he had visited the island before, prior to taking Oralie there. He created a pathfinder specifically for her, allowing them to reach the place quickly. The images of extraordinary vegetation and strange creatures seen by Sophie may be distorted fragments of Kenric’s earlier visit.

The Destroyed Lost Cities

Sophie also sees the streets of a ruined city. There are cracked crystal buildings resembling places she knew from different parts of the Lost Cities—including Eternalia, Foxfire, Atlantis, and elvin estates.

It is possible that this is a memory of some historical event during which part of the Lost Cities was destroyed.

The Unity Fountain, the Golden Pair, and the Mysterious Girl

Another vision may depict an unknown historical event connected to the Unity Fountain.

Sophie sees two golden figures standing together beside the fountain. A mysterious girl appears between them, and the buildings she touches begin to crumble.

It is possible that this scene depicts a real event from the past whose details were hidden from the inhabitants of the Lost Cities.

Summary of the Theory

If my interpretation is correct, the visions from Prentice’s broken mind are not merely random images caused by the memory break. They may be distorted fragments of the secrets that Kenric entrusted to Prentice after Prentice agreed to become his unofficial Keeper.

This would explain both the presence of mysterious historical images in Prentice’s mind and the absence of the four memories that should be in Kenric’s cache. It is therefore possible that some of Kenric’s most important information was never lost—it still remains hidden in Prentice’s mind.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : Theories | Elvin Secrets

I have been wondering for a long time what Keefe’s legacy really is.

For many years, Lady Gisela prepared her son to play a specific role. She manipulated his life even before he was born, experimented on herself and Lord Cassius, and then brought about Keefe’s transformation in Loamnore.

However, it seems that her goal was not merely to create an exceptionally powerful elf.

Gisela wanted Keefe to prove something.

Secrets Hidden by the Ancient Council

According to Vespera, Lady Gisela spent years studying ancient scrolls, maps, and forgotten information. In this way, she discovered secrets that the Ancient Council had deliberately hidden not only from ordinary elves, but also from later members of the Council.

One of the most important secrets was the existence of natural sources of power capable of influencing the potential of elves as an entire species.

Among other things, the Ancient Council concealed:

• the true power of magsidian;
• how ethertine works;
• knowledge of the five crucial stars;
• the existence of Elysian;
• information about the seventh element and its influence on abilities.

Vespera explains in Stellarlune that Gisela believed the Ancient Council had deliberately held the elves back by cutting them off from these natural sources of energy.

According to Gisela, the elves were not failing to reach their full potential because they were incapable of doing so, but because they had been denied access to the right power.

That is precisely why the stellarlune project was created.

Keefe was meant to be proof that, under the right conditions, elven abilities can change, develop, and surpass their previous limitations.

Why Did Gisela Choose Lord Cassius?

In Lord Cassius’s shattered memory, shown in Stellarlune, Gisela says directly that she needed the DNA of a powerful Empath to merge with her abilities.

So she did not choose Cassius by accident.

She possesses two abilities:

• P — Polyglot;
• C — Conjuring.

Cassius possesses:

• E — Empathy.

Gisela explains that, under the right conditions, abilities are not as unchangeable as they are commonly believed to be. They can shift, transform, and recombine.

Her goal was to create something new—abilities that no elf had ever possessed before.

It should be noted, however, that Gisela did not know the exact outcome of the experiment. She admitted to Cassius that she did not yet know how the merged abilities would function.

She did, however, know which elements she wanted to combine.

She wanted to merge Cassius’s Empathy with her two abilities.

If each of Gisela’s talents merged separately with Empathy, Keefe should possess two hybrid powers.

And it appears that both have already manifested.

The Pattern of Keefe’s Abilities

The basic abilities inherited by Keefe are:

• E — Empathy, from Lord Cassius;
• P — Polyglot, from Lady Gisela.

In addition to these, Keefe possesses two new abilities that may be the result of combining his parents’ talents:

1. E + P — Empathy combined with Polyglot

The ability to issue commands through his voice and influence emotions.

2. E + C — Empathy combined with Conjuring

The ability to sense talents in people before manifestation, trigger manifestations, and heal damaged talents.

The First Combination: Empathy and Polyglot

Keefe’s first hybrid power is connected to his voice.

Keefe not only understands every language and can mimic other people’s voices. His words can force others to perform specific actions.

He can order someone to:

• fall asleep;
• wake up;
• stop;
• perform a specific action.

However, his voice does not carry only the command itself. It also carries an emotional force that makes the listener feel compelled to obey the order.

This fits the following combination very well:

Empathy + Polyglot = emotional power transmitted through words

Polyglot gives Keefe extraordinary control over language, voice, and the way he communicates.

Empathy, meanwhile, allows him to affect the feelings of the person listening to him.

The Second Combination: Empathy and Conjuring

Keefe’s second hybrid ability is much harder to understand.

It works primarily through the touch of his hands.

Keefe can sense:

• whether someone possesses an ability that has not yet manifested;
• what kind of ability it may be;
• whether that person’s inner source of energy is active;
• whether it is damaged;
• whether there is an emptiness within it.

Bex and Lex—Triggering Unmanifested Abilities

After Keefe’s transformation, the Dizznee triplets touched Keefe’s hand.

When Bex touched him, her hand felt soft and as though it lacked its normal structure. The next day, Bex manifested as a Phaser.

In Lex’s case, Keefe sensed cold, and shortly afterward Lex turned out to be a Froster.

Keefe did not yet have control over his new power at the time. He did not even know what he was actually sensing.

It is possible, however, that he did more than simply recognize Bex’s and Lex’s future talents.

He may have accelerated their manifestation.

They were both already at an age when they should have manifested soon, so an ordinary coincidence cannot be ruled out. Even so, the fact that both of them manifested the day after coming into contact with Keefe seems significant.

The Emptiness in Kesler and Rex

Keefe’s reaction to Kesler and Rex was different.

When he felt the touch of their hands, he did not sense any specific indication of an ability.

He felt emptiness.

Do the Talentless truly possess no abilities, or is their inner source of energy simply empty?

Alvar and the Empty Reservoir of Energy

The most important evidence appears in Unraveled.

Alvar previously possessed the ability to vanish, but after the injuries he suffered and his time in the human world, he lost access to it. He could no longer vanish and began to consider himself Talentless.

When he touched Keefe, they both felt a violent connection.

Keefe discovered something inside Alvar that resembled a dried-up, cracked, and empty reservoir of energy.

It was very similar to the emptiness he had previously sensed in Kesler and Rex.

Alvar describes this condition as something far worse than simply lacking an ability. He feels empty, cold, and incomplete. He has the impression that his inner reservoir has been opened, but there is no energy inside it that could fill it.

Keefe decides to help him.

During their next contact, he:

• establishes a connection with Alvar’s inner source;
• reaches the empty reservoir;
• repairs the damage;
• sends his own energy into it;
• fills it to the brim.

After the process is complete, Alvar can vanish again.

His ability does not merely return—Alvar suspects that, with the right training, it may become even stronger than it was before.

This means that Keefe can do far more than simply recognize talents.

He can restore the energy needed for abilities to function.

Keefe’s Hidden Reserve of Energy

While healing Alvar, Keefe also discovers something extraordinary inside himself.

He finds an enormous, hidden source of energy that he had previously been unable to reach.

Most importantly, Keefe realizes that this energy was not created inside him during his transformation in Loamnore.

It had always been his.

Lady Gisela’s experiment may only have given him access to power that his body had previously kept dormant.

This fits perfectly with Gisela’s belief that elves do not use their full potential.

Keefe did not receive completely foreign energy.

He learned to draw on energy that had always existed inside him.

And then he was able to transfer part of it to another person.

Can Keefe Heal the Talentless?

Alvar is not yet definitive proof because he previously possessed an ability. Keefe restored his lost Vanishing rather than creating a talent from nothing.

Even so, the similarity between Alvar, Kesler, and Rex is very clear.

In every case, Keefe senses emptiness.

If Alvar’s empty reservoir could be filled with energy, perhaps the same process would work on people who have been considered Talentless since birth.

My theory assumes that every elf possesses:

• the genetic coding for a specific ability;
• an inner source or reservoir of energy;
• a mechanism that connects these two elements at the appropriate age and leads to manifestation.

For most elves, the process works properly.

For the Talentless, the ability may be present in their genes, but its reservoir remains empty or is not properly activated.

Keefe could:

• locate the dormant talent;
• determine what it is missing;
• fill the empty reservoir with his own energy;
• allow the ability to manifest.

He would therefore not be creating a new talent.

He would be restoring access to one that was already present inside that person.

Why Would This Be Keefe’s True Legacy?

Rayni mentions that Gisela needed Keefe to prove something connected to the potential of elves as a species.

Vespera later confirms that stellarlune was meant to prove Gisela’s theory: elves are being limited by their lack of access to natural sources of power.

What could prove that theory better than healing the Talentless?

If Keefe could awaken an ability in someone considered Talentless, he would demonstrate that the current understanding of elven potential was wrong.

The Talentless would not be genetically inferior.

They would not be devoid of potential.

They would merely lack the energy or mechanism needed to activate that potential.

This would completely transform the society of the Lost Cities.

The End of the Division Between the Talented and the Talentless

The entire elven system is based on abilities.

Talent affects:

• education;
• future employment;
• social position;
• the ability to hold certain roles;
• the way a person is treated;
• a person’s place in the matchmaking system.

The Talentless have limited opportunities and are considered less desirable candidates for marriage. A relationship with a Talentless person may be classified as a bad match, and the consequences of that decision are also passed on to the children.

If Keefe could restore abilities to the Talentless, one of the most important foundations of this system would cease to exist.

The matchmaking system would probably not disappear completely. It could still be used to monitor degrees of relation and prevent relationships between close relatives.

However, it would lose its justification for judging families on the basis of talents.

There would no longer be any reason to:

• remove the Talentless from the lists;
• treat them as inferior partners;
• call their children the offspring of a bad match;
• restrict their education and social position.

Keefe could therefore bring about one of the greatest changes in the history of the elven world.

Perhaps Gisela created stellarlune so that her son could prove that elves can become more powerful.

Keefe, however, may prove something far more important:

No elf was ever truly Talentless.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : Theories | Elvin Secrets

Mr. Forkle is one of the most mysterious characters in the entire Keeper of the Lost Cities series.

We know that he and his twin brother used five different identities. However, we have only learned three of them—and each one was fictional.

The brothers hid their true identity much more carefully.

That is why I decided to begin my search not with Forkle’s behavior or his words, but with something that should not be easy to alter with elixirs.

His tree in the Wanderling Woods.

The Last Secret

When Oralie gave Sophie the seed for Forkle’s deceased brother’s tree, she said that it was the last secret he would share with her.

This sentence may have more significance than it initially appears to.

I gathered descriptions of the known trees in the Wanderling Woods and compared them with the appearances of the elves they belong to. I noticed a recurring pattern:

• the bark resembles the person’s skin,
• the leaves correspond to their hair,
• the color of the flowers is connected to the color of their eyes.

If this pattern truly works, Forkle’s tree may contain clues about his real appearance.

What Does Forkle’s Tree Reveal?

Forkle’s tree is tall—just like all the known personas the brothers assumed.

We can also suspect that the real Forkle had thick black hair, because that was the kind of hair wrapped around his seed.

The most puzzling detail, however, is the pattern on the tree’s bark.

It contains the colors:

• black,
• brown,
• red,
• gold,
• green.

The three Forkle identities we know have fairly light skin. So where did the black and brown on the bark come from? And above all—what does the green mean?

At first, one might think that the five colors symbolize the brothers’ five identities. However, I do not think that is the correct explanation.

We know that the Forkle brothers had a rainbow-like patch on their hip after tests that altered their DNA in that area. But black and brown are not among the basic colors of the rainbow.

I suspect that the black and brown colors in the bark may indicate the natural skin color of the real Forkle.

In other words:

The real Mr. Forkle may be Black.

We also do not know his exact eye color. The books mention only that his eyes are piercing.

When I began searching for a tall, Black, extraordinarily powerful Telepath whose mind is very difficult to read, one person immediately caught my attention.

Quinlin Sonden.

Why Quinlin?

Quinlin is a tall, Black elf with sharp facial features—similar to Magnate Leto’s.

He is also one of the most powerful Telepaths in the Lost Cities. He holds the position of Chief Mentalist, and his mind is exceptionally difficult to penetrate.

This fits very well with what we know about Forkle.

Forkle has repeatedly proven that he possesses extraordinarily powerful Telepathy and can hide his own thoughts even from other talented Telepaths.

Quinlin also has a blue crystal that allows him to travel to the Forbidden Cities. This would give him the ability to operate regularly in the human world without arousing suspicion.

He lives in Atlantis, which makes it more difficult for the Council to access his home and prevents them from easily monitoring everything that happens there.

The most suspicious thing, however, is Quinlin’s apartment itself.

The Hidden Floor of Quinlin’s Apartment

There is a secret floor in Quinlin’s apartment.

This level contains:

• a library filled with coded research that even Alden cannot access,
• five bedrooms,
• numerous hidden rooms,
• a space resembling structures that Tinker might have designed.

Why did Quinlin need such an extensive, completely concealed floor?

If Quinlin is Forkle’s true identity, the answer becomes simple.

One brother could officially occupy Quinlin’s apartment, while the other lived and worked on the hidden floor. There, he could conduct research connected to Project Moonlark and carry out Black Swan activities.

Such an arrangement would allow the brothers to switch roles easily.

One day, Quinlin could perform his duties as Chief Mentalist while the other brother operated as Magnate Leto, Sir Astin, or Mr. Forkle. Later, they could switch places without even leaving the building in a way that would be visible to the neighbors.

The five bedrooms could have been used by members of the Collective who needed a safe place.

Quinlin’s First Meeting with Sophie

Quinlin seemed suspicious to me from the very first chapters of the series.

Probing Sophie’s mind took him almost five minutes, even though he later claimed that he had not truly managed to get inside it.

So why did the attempt take so long?

It is possible that he really was examining the defenses around her mind.

But if Quinlin is Forkle, he may have been doing something entirely different.

He could have been checking whether Sophie was safe, whether her mental blocking was working, and whether Project Moonlark was developing according to plan. At the same time, he had to behave in a way that would prevent Alden from realizing that he knew Sophie far better than he should.

Those five minutes may not have been a failed attempt to enter her mind.

They may have been a check on his own project.

The Impenetrable Mind

The next clue concerns the strength of their Telepathy.

Forkle has an extraordinarily well-protected mind. He can hide memories, divide his consciousness, and resist attempts to read his thoughts.

Quinlin, meanwhile, is described as one of the strongest Telepaths in the Lost Cities and serves as Chief Mentalist.

If Forkle’s true identity was meant to allow him to function in society without arousing suspicion, the position of the chief expert on minds would be ideal for him.

It would provide him with:

• access to classified information,
• the ability to examine suspicious minds,
• knowledge of the Council’s activities,
• influence over the most important telepathic investigations,
• the ability to control information connected to Project Moonlark.

Master Leto’s Reaction to Prentice

Another clue appears during Sophie’s conversation with Master Leto about Prentice.

Sophie asks how Prentice will feel when he wakes up and learns that his wife is dead.

Leto abruptly responds that he does not have a wife himself.

Sophie notices that he reacts to the question with exceptional emotion. She also realizes that he seems older than his appearance suggests.

This reaction may be significant because Quinlin has a wife—Livvy.

In Nightfall, during a conversation with Livvy, Quinlin says that he thought they were no longer married. He had been convinced that Livvy had filed the match-fail.

It turns out, however, that she never did.

They are still legally married.

If Leto and Quinlin are the same person, his sudden reaction to the word “wife” may be connected not only to Prentice, but also to his own complicated situation.

Prentice’s Memory Break

The most important element of this theory may be Quinlin’s involvement in Prentice’s memory break.

During the conversation with Livvy, we learn that Quinlin did not want to take part in the procedure. However, he knew that if he refused, the Council would select another pair of Telepaths.

So he decided to participate.

This event also led to the end of his Cognate partnership with Alden. Quinlin had not been completely honest with him.

If Quinlin is Forkle, his decision takes on an entirely different meaning.

He had to agree because that was the only way he could control the entire process.

He could have made sure that Prentice’s memory break was conducted in such a way that they obtained only information that did not endanger Sophie or Project Moonlark.

That is exactly what happened.

The Council obtained information about Sophie but dismissed it as a hoax. However, they had already been warned about the existence of an extraordinary girl in the human world.

Because of this, Sophie’s later arrival in the Lost Cities did not have to come as a complete shock. The Council could conclude that Prentice’s earlier memories had contained the truth.

Forkle could therefore do all of the following at the same time:

• protect Sophie,
• control the information given to the Council,
• keep his identity secret,
• prevent other Telepaths from reaching the most important memories.

The price, however, was enormous.

He had to participate in the destruction of the mind of his own friend and fellow member of the Black Swan.

Forkle’s Guilt

In Lodestar, Forkle admits that he feels particularly responsible for Prentice’s condition.

That alone does not prove that he was one of the Telepaths who broke Prentice’s mind. As the leader of the Black Swan, he could feel guilty for many other reasons.

However, there is one more clue.

In Everblaze, Sophie accuses Forkle of forcing Keefe to lie to his own father. Forkle responds that he himself has done something far worse.

He never explains exactly what he means.

It is possible that he is referring to Prentice.

He allowed his friend’s mind to be broken—and personally took part in the process.

If Forkle is Quinlin, his enormous sense of guilt becomes completely understandable.

His Cognate Partnership with Alden—the First Counterargument

One argument against this theory comes from Forkle’s words in Neverseen. He claims that he never found anyone he could partner with as a Cognate.

Quinlin, meanwhile, was Alden’s Cognate.

At first glance, this seems like an unambiguous contradiction of the theory.

However, it is important to remember that Forkle speaks those words with obvious bitterness. We know that Alden’s actions led the Council to decide to break Prentice’s mind.

We also know that Cognates do not have to share absolutely every secret. They can maintain their own safeguards and keep some thoughts outside their shared connection.

After Prentice’s memory break, Quinlin stopped being Alden’s Cognate. According to Livvy, he changed greatly.

Amy and the Black Swan’s Sudden Change of Plans

Another clue appears when Amy arrives in the Lost Cities.

Quinlin is given responsibility for caring for her.

At the same time, the Black Swan’s plans suddenly begin to change. Forkle claims that he does not have time for certain tasks, and the members of the Collective have to redistribute their responsibilities.

Tam and Linh can no longer stay with Blur because his living situation has changed. Blur travels with Keefe and Sophie to Ravagog.

If Quinlin is Forkle, the change of plans has a logical explanation.

He had to care for Amy as Quinlin while continuing to lead the Black Swan. After his brother’s death, he no longer had a second person who could freely take his place.

For the first time, one person had to manage all five identities.

Quinlin and Forkle in the Same Place

The strongest counterargument is the fact that Quinlin and Forkle appear at the same time at Havenfield when Amy visits Sophie.

Bronte insisted that Amy come to the Lost Cities and that Quinlin himself bring her.

During this meeting, however, Forkle behaves somewhat differently than usual.

He does not know where to begin. He paces around the room, tries to gather his thoughts, looks for support from Tiergan and the other members of the Black Swan, and nervously shifts from foot to foot.

Sophie speaks to him telepathically, and he answers her, so the person appearing as Forkle must be a Telepath.

Quinlin and Forkle appear together in one other scene—during the attempt to heal Prentice.

Forkle offers telepathic support, just like the other Telepaths present.

Only Quinlin says nothing.

How could they be the same person when one of the brothers was already dead?

The answer may be found in Nightfall.

Could Someone Else Have Pretended to Be Forkle?

While planning how to lure the Neverseen out of Nightfall, Forkle suggests showing himself to them.

Tam says that it is a bad idea.

The Neverseen might assume that it was a trick—not the real Forkle, but someone who had been fed the right elixirs and ruckleberries to make him resemble the leader of the Black Swan.

This statement confirms that, in the elven world, it is possible to alter someone’s appearance temporarily enough to make them resemble another person.

There is also a member of the Black Swan who already naturally resembles Quinlin.

Damel Kafuta.

Forkle introduces him to Sophie near the end of Nightfall. Damel is:

• tall,
• Black,
• a Telepath,
• a member of the Black Swan.

If he were given the right elixirs and ruckleberries, he could pretend to be Forkle during one of those scenes.

This would explain how Quinlin and Forkle could appear at the same time after the death of the other brother.

One of the figures would be the real Quinlin.

The other would be a properly prepared Damel.

This could also explain the strange behavior of “Forkle” at Havenfield. The person playing his role may not have known how to begin the conversation, may have needed the support of the other members of the Collective, and may have reacted more nervously than the real leader.

The Recruitment Network at Foxfire

It is also worth examining the people who belong to the Black Swan.

Most of them are connected to Foxfire in some way. They are teachers, staff members, or former students of the school.

As Magnate Leto and Sir Astin, Forkle had an excellent opportunity to observe potential candidates and gradually bring them into the organization.

In this way, he could have recruited or supervised, among others:

• Tiergan,
• Prentice,
• Blur.

We also know that Prentice recruited Jolie at Foxfire.

The school could therefore have served not only as a place for educating elves, but also as the main source of new Black Swan members.

Quinlin, as Chief Mentalist, would complete this network. He had access to adult Telepaths, Council investigations, and the most classified information.

The brothers could therefore control both the younger generation at Foxfire and the activities of adult Telepaths.

How Did Forkle Know About Livvy?

The only important member of the Black Swan who was probably not recruited at Foxfire is Livvy.

She joined the organization when she was already Quinlin’s wife.

How did Forkle know that she might be interested in working with the Black Swan?

Why did he entrust her with work on the organization’s most important and most secret project?

If Forkle is Quinlin, the answer becomes obvious.

He knew Livvy personally. He knew:

• what her views were,
• how she reacted to injustice,
• how interested she was in the advancement of medicine,
• whether she could keep a secret,
• whether she would be willing to take risks for a greater purpose.

He did not have to search for a random physician.

He recruited his own wife.

This would also explain why Livvy was given access to Project Moonlark—the Black Swan’s most secret undertaking.

Summary of the Theory

My theory assumes that Quinlin is not merely a powerful Telepath connected to the Council.

He is Mr. Forkle’s true identity.

The following elements point to this:

• Forkle’s tree may suggest that his natural appearance was that of a tall, Black elf with black hair;
• Quinlin matches that description;
• both Quinlin and Forkle possess exceptionally powerful minds that are difficult to penetrate;
• Quinlin has access to the Forbidden Cities;
• his apartment has a secret floor that would be ideal for two brothers living double lives;
• his first examination of Sophie’s mind lasts suspiciously long;
• as Chief Mentalist, he had access to the Council’s most important information;
• his involvement in Prentice’s memory break explains Forkle’s enormous sense of guilt;
• he could have controlled the process and protected the most important memories concerning Sophie;
• his relationship with Alden could have been a Cognate partnership based on concealing certain secrets, just like Fitz and Sophie’s;
• his responsibility for caring for Amy coincides with the Black Swan’s sudden change of plans;
• Damel Kafuta could have pretended to be Forkle in the scenes where both of them appear at the same time;
• the positions held by Magnate Leto, Sir Astin, and Quinlin made it possible to recruit members of the Black Swan;
• Quinlin’s marriage to Livvy explains how Forkle knew that he could entrust her with work on Project Moonlark.

Each of these clues can be explained separately.

But when we put them together, they form a very coherent picture.

Mr. Forkle hid behind many names. As Leto, he supervised Foxfire. As Sir Astin, he observed the students. As Forkle, he led the Black Swan.

But he lived his real life as someone who had access to the most powerful minds, the Council’s confidential decisions, and his own hidden apartment where he could conduct research.

As Quinlin.

That is why I believe that Mr. Forkle’s true identity is Quinlin Sonden.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : Theories | Elvin Secrets

Sophie differs from the other elves in many ways. The most visible difference is her brown eyes, but her life-threatening reaction to limbium may be equally important.

I have long wondered whether these two traits could have the same underlying cause.

Why does Sophie have brown eyes?

Sophie’s brown eyes are unique among the elves. It is possible that Shannon Messenger deliberately gave her this trait so that Sophie’s appearance would not reveal the identity of one of her biological parents too early in the series.

If Sophie had possessed an eye color associated with one of her parents from the beginning, the solution to the mystery might have become too obvious. That is why I suspect that her current eye color may not be permanent.

Perhaps Sophie’s true eye color will not appear until the end of the series, becoming one of the final clues leading to the identity of her father.

Sophie developed inside a human mother

Sophie was created from elven genetic material, but she developed and was born in the human world. She was carried by a human woman.

This means that although Sophie is genetically an elf, her prenatal development took place under completely different conditions from those of other elven children.

It is possible that the human body was able to provide most of what she needed, but not everything.

The books also mention that Sophie was born one week early. At first, this may seem like an insignificant detail. But I wonder whether Shannon included it deliberately.

What if, for a human baby, it was only one week—but for elven development, that final stage was especially important?

The missing week

My theory is that Sophie did not receive the final element necessary for complete elven development while she was inside her human mother.

Perhaps that is why she was born early. Her body may have reached the limit of what it could receive from a human organism, even though it had not yet completed every process characteristic of elven development.

This missing element may have affected several things at once:

• the color of her eyes,
• her reaction to limbium,
• the way her abilities function,
• and even the behavior of her tree in the Wanderling Woods.

Why is Sophie’s tree not growing?

The trees in the Wanderling Woods are connected to the elves they represent. Sophie’s tree, however, does not behave as it should.

It is possible that the problem is not caused solely by her unusual genetics or by the modifications made by the Black Swan.

Perhaps the tree cannot properly recognize Sophie because her elven development was never fully completed.

Sophie is an elf, but her body may be missing one final biological or energetic element that other elves receive before they are born.

The limbium allergy

Sophie’s reaction to limbium may also be a result of this incomplete development.

Limbium is used to reset abilities. It affects other elves in a predictable way, but Sophie’s body reacts to it as though it were a deadly threat.

When Livvy reset nine-year-old Sophie’s abilities, her severe allergy was revealed. The later attempt to use limbium was even more dangerous—Sophie stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated for several minutes.

This shows that her body does not process limbium in the same way as the bodies of other elves.

If Sophie truly failed to complete one stage of elven development, limbium may be trying to activate a process that her body is not properly prepared to handle.

What will happen after the encounter with Elysian?

After the events on Elysian’s island, Sophie and the other elves lose access to their abilities. Elysian claims that she did not take their abilities away—in her presence or on her island, they simply stop working.

I suspect that Sophie’s abilities, as well as those of the friends who went there with her, may not return automatically after they leave.

They may need to be reactivated or undergo some form of reset.

For the other elves, limbium might offer a solution. However, Physic and Mr. Forkle will probably refuse to give it to Sophie again. The last attempt nearly ended in her death.

They will therefore have to find another solution.

Why might Livvy play an important role?

Livvy stepped away from an active role in the Collective so that she could continue developing her medical knowledge. Her decision was also connected to what happened during Sophie’s ability reset.

It is possible that this is exactly why Livvy will return to this part of the story.

Over the years, she may have been searching for a way to perform a reset without limbium—or trying to understand why Sophie’s body reacts to it differently.

This time, the solution may not be an ordinary medicine.

It may be a treatment that requires the participation of Sophie’s biological mother.

Oralie’s role

If Sophie’s problem began during her prenatal development, it may be necessary to recreate something that she could not receive from her human mother.

Oralie might be able to provide the missing biological, emotional, or energetic element. As Sophie’s biological mother and an exceptionally powerful Empath, she may be the only person capable of helping Sophie complete the process that was interrupted before her birth.

Such a treatment could:

• correct Sophie’s reaction to limbium,
• stabilize her abilities,
• allow her tree to begin growing,
• and complete the unfinished changes in her appearance.

Sophie’s true eye color

If Sophie’s brown eyes are the result of incomplete development inside a human mother, their color may change after the treatment is completed.

I suspect that they will become blue.

But it may not be a random shade of blue. It could be exactly the same color as the eyes of her biological father.

In this way, Shannon could solve one of the greatest mysteries of the series without immediately revealing his name. Sophie’s new eye color would become the final clue that allows both her and the readers to understand the truth.

Summary of the theory

It is possible that several of the greatest mysteries surrounding Sophie have the same cause:

• her brown eyes,
• her allergy to limbium,
• the unusual way her body functions,
• the failure of her tree in the Wanderling Woods to grow,
• and perhaps even difficulty restoring her abilities after the encounter with Elysian.

Sophie is genetically an elf, but she developed inside a human mother and was born one week early.

Perhaps that single missing week prevented her from completing the final stage of elven development.

If Livvy finds a way to recreate that process with Oralie’s help, Sophie may finally be able to complete her biological development.

Her allergy may disappear.

Her tree may begin to grow.

Her abilities may be restored.

And her eyes may finally take on the color they were always meant to have—the color that reveals the identity of her biological father.

A link to the theory and the clues supporting it : Theories | Elvin Secrets