Parallels Between Keeper of the Lost Cities and Harry Potter

The Keeper series was modeled after the Harry Potter series.  Many ideas from Harry Potter were incorporated into the Keeper series under different guises. 

I just finished reading through all seven Harry Potter books for the fourth time overall.  I have read the earlier books up to seven times each, but the final two books have been read just four times each.  This fourth read-through of the entire series was the first time I had revisited Harry Potter since becoming a Keeper fan.

I consider the Harry Potter series to be a masterpiece of juvenile fiction.  I find that the separation of years and additional readings have caused me to see what I thought were flaws as nothing of the sort.  The only quibbles I have with the entire series are that I still don't like the epilogue and that I still find some parts of Half-Blood Prince to bit a bit slow.  Otherwise, the Harry Potter series is just about perfect.

When I first read the Keeper series, I saw the obvious similarities to Harry Potter.  Reading Harry Potter again has caused me to notice even more of them.  Shannon Messenger usually cites X-Men and Lord of the Rings as her inspirations.  I'm not sure if Shannon has ever specifically mentioned Harry Potter, but she certainly hasn't since I've been following the fandom.  Even so, it's apparent that Keeper has strong echoes of Harry Potter.

Here are parallels that I noticed.  I assume that readers are familiar with both series, so I won't be explaining who all the characters are.  This post contains important plot spoilers for both series.  

Last warning:  Quit reading now to avoid spoilers.

Sophie lived with an overweight human family.  Harry Potter lived with the Dursleys, and two of them were extremely overweight.  In both series, the family's other child was obnoxious.

History is boring in both series.  

Harry isn't good at Potions, and Snape hates him.  Sophie isn't good at Alchemy, and Lady Galvin hates her.

Sophie tells the other kids that she's taking remedial studies to cover for her Telepathy sessions.  Harry takes Remedial Potions as a cover for Occlumency.  

Dumbledore and Forkle are the mentors to the protagonists.  Dumbledore is Headmaster, and Forkle is Principal as Leto.  Dumbledore dies, and one Forkle dies.

Alden explains his job:

"Humans are always doing crazy, dangerous things.  If they're not lighting something on fire, they're spilling oil in the ocean or blowing something up.  Every time they do, I investigate to make sure things don't get out of hand."  (Keeper of the Lost Cities, page 85)

Alden's counterpart is Arthur Weasley, who works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.  

In Harry Potter, potions are used to achieve certain results, and in Keeper, they are called elixirs. 

The light leaping in Keeper is usually compared to apparating from Harry Potter.  While that comparison is valid, I also see apparating as similar to teleporting.

Hermione twisted in midair and the thundering of the collapsing house rang in Harry's ears as she dragged him once more into darkness.  (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 21)

That sounds like teleporting to me.  Apparating parallels light leaping in another sense.

...a small wizard whom Harry took to be the Apparition instructor from the Ministry.  He was oddly colorless, with transparent eyelashes, wispy hair, and an insubstantial air, as though a single gust of wind might blow him away.  Harry wondered whether constant disappearances and reappearances had somehow diminished his substance, or whether this frail build was ideal for anyone wishing to vanish. (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 18)

Apparating excessively might cause fading, and too much light leaping causes fading.

Harry Potter is The Boy Who Lived.  Both Alvar and Keefe are The Boy Who Disappeared.

The names Cassius and Lucius are eerily similar, and both names are used for the unpleasant parent of a school acquaintance.

Dumbledore's Pensieve serves the same purpose as Kenric's cache with the Forgotten Secrets.  In both series, the plot device is used brilliantly.

Squibs can't do magic, and Talentless elves have no ability.

Both elves and wizards think they are better than humans/Muggles.

Exile is the elves' version of Azkaban.  When an elf is sent to Exile, their memory is broken, leaving them in a vegetative state.  The Dementors guard Azkaban and punish wizards by using the Dementors' Kiss to suck out the soul, leaving the wizard in a vegetative state.

In Keeper, Prattles candy comes with Prattles pins, featuring different kinds of animals.  In Harry Potter, Chocolate Frogs come with trading cards.  Both the Prattles pins and Chocolate Frog trading cards are collected by kids.

At Foxfire, the DNA strip on each locker changes flavor each day, and the flavor is sometimes gross.  This parallels Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Hermione introduces herself to Harry and Ron by rattling off a bunch of information before saying her name.  She says it all very quickly (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Chapter 6).  Jensi introduces himself to Sophie in the same fashion.

Both Snape and Alvar are treated similarly in parallel scenes from the two series.

Harry went right after Sirius, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling.  Harry had the impression Sirius was making no effort to prevent this.  (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 20)

"Here," Biana said, letting her mind take control—and smacking Alvar's body against the metal railing in the process.  "That was an accident," she insisted.  But a few minutes later she banged his shoulder.  Then his head.  (Nightfall, page 446)

Sophie can't read runes, and neither can Harry (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 16).

Nox is the spell to turn off the light at the tip of a wand.  In Keeper, Noxflares are fire-resistant, and fire is a source of light.

Hermione puts protective enchantments around the trio's camp:

Harry saw little disturbances in the surrounding air:  It was as if Hermione had cast a heat haze upon their clearing.  (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 14)

This is very similar to what happens when illusions are put in place in Keeper, and both plot devices serve to hide a location from everyone else.

He had made his choice while he dug Dobby's grave, he had decided to continue along the winding, dangerous path indicated for him by Albus Dumbledore, to accept that he had not been told everything that he wanted to know, but simply to trust.  (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 28)

Harry's thoughts remind me of what Oralie says in Legacy on page 157:

"And keep in mind," Oralie added, finally turning her azure eyes toward Sophie, "true trust does not require absolute transparency.  There is incredible power in accepting that there are some things you cannot know—and being willing to maintain your commitment to that person despite the secrets."

In Keeper, the Washers modify the memories of Sophie's human parents and sister so that they don't remember her.  The Fosters are given new names and are moved to a new house.

Hermione does the same to her parents to protect them from Voldemort.

"I've also modified my parents' memories so that they're convinced they're really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and that their life's ambition is to move to Australia, which they have now done."

In Chapter 17 of Half-Blood Prince, Harry learns that Slughorn tampered with his own memory to hide what he told Tom.

In Keeper, Kenric tampers with Forgotten Secret #4 with Fintan to hide what he learned when he entered Fintan's mind.

"Wizarding history often skates over what the wizards have done to other magical races, but there's no account that I know of that says Gryffindor stole the sword." (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 25)

In Nightfall, Mr. Forkle reveals that the elves experimented on humans in ancient times.  The elves then buried the information and pretended that humans caused the rift between the two species.

Voldemort is confident that Harry will come to him because of what he perceives as Harry's weakness.

"I know his weakness, you see, his one great flaw.  He will hate watching the others struck down around him, knowing that it is for him that it happens.  He will want to stop it at any cost.  He will come."  (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 32)

Vespera has a similar opinion of Sophie.

"...you are still trying to save everyone.  It is why you will always lose—time and time again.  You will always delay.  Always try for the impossible while ignoring the most logical options... every time you allow yourself to care... will only make you weak and vulnerable." (Nightfall, page 701)

Everything I've mentioned are the obvious similarities that most all fans should agree on.  There are more, of course.

Let's now cover the parallels concerning my belief that Forkle is Kenric.  I know he is, but the rest of the fanbase is in complete denial and refuses to believe it until Shannon directly reveals it.  She's actually already revealed Forkle's identity indirectly through the Forgotten Secrets, but fans will require a direct statement before they will accept it.  They steadfastly continue to ignore the classic literary clues.

Kenric is Forkle, and Forkle is a pair of twins.  More specifically, Forkle is a pair of redheaded twins.  The older twin dies in Lodestar.  

The Harry Potter series features Fred and George Weasley, who are a pair of redheaded twins.  The older twin, Fred, dies in Deathly Hallows.

Kenric is a lighthearted, smiling, and joking character.  And so are the Weasley twins.

I've mentioned this parallel once before on Reddit.  The response was that Kenric has more layers to his character than the Weasley twins do and so isn't much like the Weasleys.  That doesn't change my statement that the sets of twins parallel each other.  Just like Forkle and Dumbledore are parallel characters, but they aren't at all the same.  The Forkle twins and the Weasley twins have obvious parallels, but they aren't exactly the same.

The two series have parallel anagrams as well.  I discovered that "Kenric Elgar Fathdon" rearranges to form the phrase "Forkle grin and teach."  In the Harry Potter series, "Tom Marvolo Riddle" rearranges as "I am Lord Voldemort."

The anagrams parallel each other, but they do not have the same composition.  This is the crux of the problem.  Fans have said that if the Kenric/Forkle anagram were a direct statement like "I am Errol Loki Forkle" then they would believe it.  Since it doesn't, they think Shannon's anagram is meaningless.

This statement, which I know is just coincidence, is remarkable:

"Well, you weren't the first person riddle wormed things out of,"  Harry muttered.  "He could be charming when he wanted..."  (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31)

Oralie makes this statement about Kenric on pages 222 of Stellarlune:

"He could be quite charming when he wanted to be."

I do not consider Tom Riddle/Voldemort and Kenric/Forkle to be parallel characters, but they are the two key characters whose names are plot-relevant anagrams.  It's interesting that each character is described as "charming when he wanted."

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

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

I appreciate those who have commented on my posts.  If you ever want to comment, you can do so at the end of every post using a screen name.  First, click in the text box but don't type anything.  Look right above where you clicked to see a drop-down menu where one option is "Name/URL."  Enter a name (no URL needed), and that name will display on the comment.  

AI, Modern Technology, and Declining Reading Levels

In this post I use words like tend, some, and many as qualifiers in front of the word youth.  Please note those words and understand that I do not suggest that all youth fall under the umbrella of this commentary.

AI has turned education on its head.  Around 10 years ago, schools pushed for work to be done on Chromebooks or iPads.  That transition quickly finalized with the pandemic.  AI has worsened the situation.  Those devices—the Chromebooks and iPads now ubiquitous in schools—have become cheating devices.  Teachers cannot block all of the AI websites or the AI content.  Google has even embedded AI into its search engine as the default result.

Universities have pushed both faculty and students to embrace AI, and public schools have done the same.  Some universities have purchased ChatGPT for their students.

Companies are also embracing AI.  I mentioned in my previous post that eBay's default listing tool is now AI.  Hospitals are turning to AI for some tasks and are reducing staff to save money.  I have been to AI trainings offered by my school district.  AI is everywhere, and we have gone a bridge too far with it.  

While administrators are pushing for teachers and professors to integrate AI into everything, many educators are pushing for a return to paper and pencil.  Reading and math skills have substantially declined over the last 20 years.  The trend has considerably worsened since the pandemic.  

All students now in grades K-12 were born after the release of the original iPhone.  Their world is completely different from ours.  They know nothing other than constant attachment to phones and apps.  Children now become addicted to devices at a very young age.

Professors report that the average college student knows less about computers than people in the older cohorts.  Since youth use apps instead of computers, they often don't know where to save files or how to find them.  They struggle with sending messages containing attachments.  If an app does it, then they are fine.  Otherwise, they run into problems.

Youth tend to have a very short attention span.  They are used to watching 20 second video clips on TikTok and reading messages consisting of partial sentences.  Netflix has started making its programming very repetitive so that viewers can follow the story while on their phones.  Schools have changed their reading curriculum so that students analyze short passages instead of novels.

Even those of us in the older cohorts have a lower attention span than we did 20 years ago.  The pervasiveness of modern technology has impacted everyone.

Changes are underway, and schools are working to increase the amount of time students spend reading.  But this mess will take years to overcome.

Meanwhile, AI isn't going away, and the anti-AI zealots viciously attack anyone who dares to mention that they have used AI.  They attack because of the damage AI causes to the environment.  I don't disagree about AI damaging the environment but attacking me isn't going to change anything.  

Last year I created a subreddit for a certain modern series.  In April, some people said that something was "settled years ago" without explaining what they meant.  These people were almost certainly somewhere between the ages of 10 and 25, all part of the smart phone generation.  

I find it hard to understand what many of these people write, because they use partial sentences that contain lots of text-speak.  The overuse of phones and tablets has caused many people to now lack both communication and reading skills.  The people saying that the topic was settled made vague statements expressing annoyance and failed to offer any specific information.

After several Google searches, I couldn't figure out how this topic had been "settled years ago."  I used ChatGPT to figure out WHAT they meant and got my answer immediately.  I made the fatal error of mentioning in a post that I had used ChatGPT.  

Someone called me out on it and proceeded to post one comment after another criticizing me.  I quickly deleted the comments as they kept coming.  During the barrage, I finally managed to get across the fact that their anti-AI commentary didn't belong in the subreddit.  They took it to private messages and really let me have it.

They called me "lazy" and went on and on about how I should use the brain that they knew I had and how AI use damages the environment.  I told them to please stop.  They continued going off on me.  Finally, I told them I would have to remove them from the subreddit if they didn't stop.  I was giving them one last chance to back down.  

They increased the attack, saying that I was threatening them.  They said that me deleting their comments from the subreddit was "childish."  They told me my little subreddit wasn't that important.  They were making these statements in an attempt to manipulate my emotions.  I removed them from the subreddit and blocked them.

Reddit allows people to use the mod messages tool to contact admins about moderation, so this person used that to keep attacking.  They went to all caps and told me to have a horrible f---ing day and some other stuff I don't remember.  I then blocked them from mod mail and haven't heard from them since.  You can be darned certain that I won't be mentioning AI on Reddit again. 

The kicker is that theories have been posted in that subreddit that were obviously run through and heavily edited by AI.  The telltale signs of AI use are all through those posts, but members love the content.  In fact, they like those posts a lot more than anything I write, and that's because AI composes content that is designed to be addictive.  Since the AI-written posts don't mention AI use, fans readily accept the content with no concern.  Isn't that ironic?  They happily consume AI so long as AI isn't explicitly mentioned.  If someone says they used it, then they launch a war against the perpetrator.

The anti-AI zealots are hypocrites.  All major websites now run everything through AI.  As this person launched their attack on me, each one of their several dozen messages was run through AI.  If these people are as against AI as they claim, then why are they even online?  They might not be using AI directly, but their actions are causing AI to be used.

By the way, the posts in this blog—all 2400+ of them—were not written or even assisted by AI.  I write my own content, thank you very much.  Yes, I do use em dashes, but they are my em dashes.  They are not AI.  Because of the sheer volume of written content that I have placed online, I was deeply offended when this person called me "lazy" for using ChatGPT.  Me, lazy?  Hardly.

I mentioned that youth often have trouble reading more than short passages.  Interestingly, even the youth who love to read tend to have trouble reading between the lines and fail to spot when an author is deliberately misleading readers.  They read only at surface level and tend to take everything literally.    

I've also noticed that when someone like me writes a lengthy post on Reddit in any place frequented primarily by youth that the person posting is often accused of using AI.  Indeed, youth tend to think that good writing is AI.  

Reddit has really opened my eyes about how reading and writing skills have declined over the last decade.  Getting rid of AI is not the answer; rather, we need to strike a balance.

From MIT Says AI Is Forcing a Rethink of College Itself:

The University of Sydney has gone further operationally.  Its assessment system now uses what it calls a two lane model.  One lane contains secure, often in person work designed to verify what students can do independently.  The second permits relevant tools, including AI, so students learn how to use them in realistic settings.

That structure gets at a tension every university now faces.  Graduates need AI fluency as employers are already asking for it.  Yet a university that never verifies what a student can do without AI risks certifying the output of a machine rather than the capability of a person.

Students do need to know how to use AI, but they must first master the skills themselves.

Note:  Not all youth have poor communication skills or low reading skills.  I want to be clear about that.  Many of our youth are remarkably well-educated.  The AI crisis falls into the category of "the more things change, the more they stay the same."  There has always been something threatening the current societal order.  We've survived radio, television, video games, and internet.  Now we face struggles tied to smart phones, social media, and AI.  We will survive this as well, but the 2020s will be remembered as a time of great upheaval and change.

Be Wary of Listings for Strange-Looking Books

Series book format collectors look for variants to collect.  I fall into that group, and my attention is drawn to listings for books that have unusual bindings.  I have spotted a number of AI photos that could easily trick an unwitting collector.  

Click or tap the images to view them at a higher resolution.

The above photo is alluring, since the spines look like a new format.  Closer examination reveals AI hallmarks throughout the image (wrong titles, distorted cover art, and other oddities).

When I first spotted the above listing photo, I thought that the books were library editions.  Enlargement of the photo revealed that AI was used to enhance the edges of the books.  Book buyers just want an accurate depiction of the offered books.  We don't need special effects!

Recently, this image was posted on Facebook.

The book had been purchased, and it had not arrived.  The buyer asked about the cover art.  

The image is quite convincing, especially with the wear patterns seen along the bottom and right edges.  It looks like a real book.  I didn't think it could be, but it still took me a few minutes to home in on the telltale signs of AI output.

Nancy's left hand has six fingers altogether.  The marionette has extra strings that are just dangling.  Nancy's head has an outline along the top, as if it were cut out of another image.  This is definitely AI.  I am mystified by the seller's actions.  My best guess is that they used AI to create an image, unaware that AI hallucinated a new cover art for the book.  

From now on, we must all be very careful, especially because the online marketplaces are encouraging the use of AI to create listings.  Yes, eBay has no problem with it.  They are just happy to collect the listing fees from sellers.

eBay's listing form now defaults to AI, and sellers have to toggle the option off so that their listings aren't automatically created by AI.  That is where we are at now.

Since photos can no longer be trusted like they once were, I am very wary of listings that are for truly rare books or collectibles.  I am especially wary of listings that feature never-before-seen cover art.  I have come close to missing out on neat purchases because I took time to make sure that the listings weren't some kind of trick.  Here are some examples from recent years.

I saw this Hardy Boys book on eBay in early 2020.

I spent around 10 minutes trying to figure out what the book was before I finally purchased it.  I still wasn't sure when I purchased the book, but I was curious.  It turned out not to be a library binding but most likely a one-of-a-kind binding assembled at Kingsport Press during a bookbinding class.  Read more here:

The Library Edition That Wasn't

Earlier this summer, I saw a listing for a bulk lot of Grosset & Dunlap bookmarks featuring Nancy Drew on one side and Hardy Boys on the other.  The seller estimated that around 50 bookmarks were in the shrink-wrap.  

I considered the listing for a while.  I was pretty sure that the bookmarks were actual Grosset & Dunlap bookmarks, but I still hesitated.  With the bookmarks shrink-wrapped, they most likely were real.  I ended up purchasing the lot, because I wanted to have at least one bookmark.

I still haven't removed the shrink-wrap, because I have had other concerns during the last couple months.  I have examined the stack of bookmarks as best I can, and I believe that I have 100 bookmarks.  Not too bad.  

I also want to point out the age of the bookmarks.  The Hardy Boys bookmark says that the Hardy Boys have been "America's favorite detecting duo for over sixty years!"  Since the bookmark doesn't say "over seventy years," then we can assume that these bookmarks were produced between 1987 and 1997.  

I was a bit skeptical when I saw this photo of a bulk lot offered by an eBay seller.

Devil's Paw had the Mickey Mouse Club promo wrapper.  That wrapper is extremely scarce and has been reproduced by collectors.  The price for the listing was too low, considering that the wrapper was present.  Also, the wrapper was on the wrong book.  The main reason I hesitated is that the listing had already been up longer than I would have expected it to last without being purchased.  Since I am not a Hardy Boys expert, I worried that the wrapper had an obvious telltale sign that it was a copy.

Please read this post for information about reproduction dust jackets and the Nancy Drew promotional wrapper: Identifying Whether a Dust Jacket is a Reproduction.

I tried to figure out if the wrapper was real but couldn't even find photos online.  I've read past discussions about the wrapper, but those discussions likely occurred in the defunct Yahoo! Groups.  I went ahead and purchased the lot, figuring that I could sell the books for enough to cover my cost even if the wrapper was a reproduction.  

I am now fairly certain that it is real, since it doesn't glow under a black light.  Modern paper glows, so the wrapper is printed on vintage paper.  If the wrapper is a copy, then it is a vintage copy of an original.  More likely, it's the original.

The below photo shows a black light at the bottom.  A piece of modern white paper is underneath the jacket and wrapper.  The paper is glowing while the jacket and wrapper are not.

Collectors can easily purchase reproductions unwittingly, and not due to any fraud by the seller.  Unfortunately, reproductions created or purchased by collectors years ago are now appearing in the marketplace.  The sellers might have purchased the reproductions at an estate sale and have no idea that they are selling cheap copies.  All of us must remain vigilant in order to avoid purchasing reproductions.

I could give other examples, but these are sufficient.  I crave variants and scarce items, but I also try to avoid being tricked.

Keeper of the Lost Cities: More Sticking Points about a Certain Theory

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

I have addressed some of the sticking points that fans have about the theory that Kenric is Forkle.  These are my previous posts on this topic.

Fan Denial about Certain Theories
The Clues about Forkle's Identity
The Significance of the Forgotten Secrets
How a Certain Theory is Plausible
The Validity of the Anagram

In this post, I counter some of the other objections that I've seen.

Forkle's seed had a black hair wound around it, which proves that Leto is Forkle's true identity. 

On the surface, this information appears to prove that Leto is Forkle's true identity.  But does it really?  Could Shannon be using misdirection?  Yes, because elves use elixirs to change their hair color.  Many elixirs wear off quickly, but not all of them do.  Think of Iggy's fur color.  The elixirs used on Iggy last for days or weeks.  Readers assume that no elixir was used on the dead Forkle's hair, but it's possible that one was.

Fans also assume that Forkle's true hair color is black because Forkle changes to Leto when he eats callowberries.  The hair changing to black doesn't make sense in that scene.  Callowberries reverse the effect of ruckleberries, which cause the body to swell.  Callowberries don't change hair color, at least not as far as we have been told.  Shannon leaves out important information on purpose.  Forkle had to have done something to change the hair color.  He could have taken an elixir right before he entered Sophie's presence.  If so, the elixir could have been one designed to change hair color to black.  We just don't know.  

The black hair does not definitively prove that Forkle's true identity is Leto.  We must keep an open mind and not rule out theories when other explanations are possible.

The Wanderling trees for Kenric and the deceased Forkle don't look alike, so Kenric isn't Forkle.

I previously answered this one by pointing out that Shannon describes the leaves of one tree and the bark of the other.   We have no idea whether the trees look alike.  Another fan suggested that Sophie would have noticed.  I didn't have an answer to that except to say that it could have been a plot hole.

Now, I have a solid theory about the trees.

The Kenric and Forkle trees are not the same.  But Kenric is Forkle.

Yes, I'm serious.  But how can this be?  We know from Forgotten Secret #4 that Kenric was tired of being a Councillor.  This suggests that Kenric planned to step down eventually.  I believe it is a clue to the reader that Kenric faked his death.

If Kenric had a plan to fake his death once an opportunity presented itself, then he had to be prepared.  He had no way of knowing when that opportunity would arrive.  And he had a complication, mentioned by Forkle on page 184 of Nightfall:

"Neither of us wanted to be in the Wanderling Woods."

There is no way the tree in the Wanderling Woods is Kenric/Forkle's tree.  None.  The hair used for that tree was from someone else.

Kenric planned to fake his death, but he didn't want to be in the Wanderling Woods.  He got a red hair from some other elf and placed it where it would be found.  That hair was used for the Kenric tree that was planted in the Wanderling Woods.

It's possible that the Councillors each have a hair saved in a designated location just in case.  Perhaps all elves do.  Kenric would have submitted someone else's red hair.  I have a theory about where he got the hair, but that's a topic for another time.

The Kenric and Forkle trees are not the same, because the Kenric tree isn't Kenric's tree.

Forkle, Leto, and Astin have personalities that are completely different from Kenric.

Remember this scene from page 351 of Exile:

When she didn't move, he nudged her forward, and she tripped on her too-long cape and slammed against the door, which swung open and sent her toppling into the room.  She could hear Master Leto snickering...

Leto's behavior isn't very nice.  Leto nudges Sophie, and she falls.  He laughs about it.  Awhile back, I read a post where someone wondered why Leto is so rude in this scene, since he's Forkle.  It's because he's putting on an act.  He doesn't want Sophie to guess that she's met him before.  He's rude on purpose.

I see no problem with Forkle/Leto/Astin behaving differently from Kenric.  Of course they do!  

Oralie makes these two statements about Kenric on pages 222 and 232 of Stellarlune:

"He could be quite charming when he wanted to be."

"Kenric could be quite intimidating when he wanted to be."

Oralie's observations suggest that Kenric behaved in a certain way when he wanted to achieve a desired outcome.  Kenric had the adaptability and cleverness that was necessary for someone with multiple identities.

Kenric is an amalgamation of all of his identities.  He's been in multiple identities for his entire life, and he is adept at interchanging them.  Here's part of the description of Forkle's tree from page 214 of Nightfall:

The rest was such a hodgepodge of colors and textures, it almost felt like the Wanderling was trying to reflect all of Mr. Forkle's identities at one.

Indeed.  The varied behavior of the different identities is Kenric's cover.  It doesn't prove that Kenric isn't Forkle.  We know that Forkle plays different roles.  Why can't Forkle's true identity be Kenric?

It is impossible that Kenric could be a Councillor and also be Forkle, Leto, Astin, and the fertility doctor.  Even a pair of twins couldn't maintain that many identities.

The books say that the entire Lost Cities have the same time zone, which makes no sense.  Supposedly, the elves have prevented every species that has ever existed on Earth from becoming extinct.  Furthermore, all of those species live inside Mount Everest.  Oh, and elves live forever without aging.

If we are expected to believe all that, then why do we draw the line at Forkle maintaining five identities?  I know why: Fans just don't want Forkle to be Kenric because it doesn't fit their headcanon.  

Forkle's identities are no less implausible than anything else.  Let's break down how it might be possible.

During the years that Sophie lived in San Diego, a significant amount of time was spent in both the Kenric and Forkle identities.  Little time would have remained for the other identities. 

Lady Cadence points out that the Beacon of the Silver Tower, which was Leto's position when Sophie lived in San Diego, has very little to do (Nightfall, page 224).  Leto was easy.  He was likely not around most of the time when he was supposed to be in the Silver Tower.

Sir Astin has always seemed like the throwaway identity to me.  I suspect that Astin was not used much during the time that Sophie was in San Diego.

The San Diego years were marginally doable.

After Sophie arrived in the Lost Cities, Forkle did not have to be present in San Diego.  That identity was used minimally during the first three books.

Astin was used some, as was Leto.  I figure this combination is more plausible than when Sophie lived in San Diego.

After Kenric's alleged death, Leto becomes principal, so one big job is traded for another.  Astin seems to disappear.  Forkle resurfaces.  During each stage, identity use switches around to where some are used more and others less.

After one Forkle's death, it gets trickier for the remaining Forkle, and Shannon shows him exhausted or a bit frazzled at times.  It is at this stage where I feel the multiple identities are the least plausible, simply because I believe the fertility doctor identity was in play to a greater degree than apparent (see posts here and here).  

Kenric voted for the memory break on Prentice.  Kenric cannot be Forkle, because Forkle would have saved Prentice by voting against the memory break.

I see the situation a bit differently.  The Forgotten Secrets show that Kenric had a darker side to him.  He did vote for Prentice's memory break, and I don't see it as a contradiction.  

I want to remind you how hardcore Forkle actually is.  He's not a kind, grandfatherly type.  Forkle triggered Sophie's telepathy when she was five, which caused her to endure unkind human thoughts for seven years.  The entire Project Moonlark situation is ethically problematic.  Let's just be honest about that.  Sophie was created, placed with a human family, and then stolen away from them.  It wasn't nice.

Forkle's notes to Sophie during the first Keeper book weren't nice.  He taunted her at times.

Now, Kenric.  We saw hints of his darker side in the Forgotten Secrets.  Forkle as Kenric would have voted for the memory break to protect his position.  He couldn't be the only Councillor voting against the memory break.  Most likely, the rest of the Council were strongly for the memory break.  Kenric was protecting his own interests by going along with them.

No, it's not nice.  But do you consider everything Forkle has done to be nice?  I doubt it.  Does Forkle feel remorse now?  Of course.  That's why he says that he is responsible for what happened to Prentice.  Kenric/Forkle recruited Prentice, used Prentice to keep the Elysian secret safe, was therefore indirectly to blame for Prentice's arrest due to involving Prentice, and voted for Prentice's memory break.  Yes, Forkle feels very responsible.

I firmly believe that Forkle is Kenric.  I know he is, but I haven't been able to resolve one discrepancy.      

We know that Prentice became Kenric's keeper, because information about Elysian was found by Sophie in Prentice's mind.

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

My sticking point was mentioned by another fan recently.

In Stellarlune, Forkle doesn't know anything about Elysian and dismisses its importance.  Kenric knew about Elysian, so he can't be Forkle.

Kenric obviously had the memories of Elysian erased from his own mind, which would explain why Forkle doesn't know about Elysian.  But Kenric must have had trigger words, right?  This is the problem:

Stellarlune, page 253   "My training as a Washer has taught me how to hide memories in a very specific way, where the person holding them remains completely unaware—but the memories can easily be triggered if the need arises.  And I, as your partner, would know the triggers.  They would be carefully selected words or phrases containing enough of a clue about the secret that I'd be able to recognize any need to call for it, yet remain completely in the dark otherwise."

I know Kenric is Forkle, so how can this be?  How can Forkle have no idea that Elysian is important when Sophie mentions it to him?  He surely used a trigger word so that he could retrieve the information.  Unless it's this from page 343 of Legacy:

His frown deepened.  "Strange.  I planted details about all of this into your mind years ago... Odd that it didn't trigger with everything else—and it's even weirder that it's not triggering right now, given that we're actively discussing it."

Is there a flaw in Kenric/Forkle's method of triggering implanted memories?  I'm not sure that it explains Forkle's lack of knowledge.  I feel like the explanation is just outside of my grasp.  I can't quite put my finger on it.

My best guess at present is that Kenric did the one thing he should not have done.  According to Oralie, Kenric was frightened about what he knew about Elysian.  He said that he would have the information washed.  I believe he did, and I suspect that he was so frightened that he didn't use any trigger words.  

Wouldn't that be ironic?  Kenric told Prentice that it was wrong for Councillors to use their caches and have no idea what was in them.  He might have done the same thing with the Elysian information due to his fear.

I have an idea that Shannon is planning to show that the entire elvin world suffers from hypocrisy, even the members of the Black Swan.  Kenric/Forkle has been culpable in bad Council decisions; neglect of Talentless elves; neglect of twins; disdain of humans; erasing important memories without a fallback plan; and forcing Sophie to grow up with headaches after triggering her ability.  He is a fascinating, contradictory, and flawed character.  This doesn't mean that Kenric/Forkle is a bad person, but he has done many ethically problematic things.

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

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

I appreciate those who have commented on my posts.  If you ever want to comment, you can do so at the end of every post using a screen name.  First, click in the text box but don't type anything.  Look right above where you clicked to see a drop-down menu where one option is "Name/URL."  Enter a name (no URL needed), and that name will display on the comment.  

Keeper of the Lost Cities: The Validity of the Anagram

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

The purpose of this post is to explain my reasoning about the anagram that I decoded from Kenric's name in early 2023.  "Kenric Elgar Fathdon" can be rearranged to form the phrase "Forkle grin and teach."

I decoded the anagram during my first reading of the series from March 13, 2023, through April 13, 2023.  I did not view any online Keeper content during that month, and avoiding all online discussions allowed me to view the series through a different lens.

Here is a lengthy quote from my second blog post about the series:

An event occurs in one of the early books that I just didn't buy.  I felt that the author left out too many details, and that usually means that information is being purposefully withheld so as to mislead the reader.  As I read further, I couldn't get past that scene.  I kept wondering if I was right that what was believed to have happened did not actually happen.

As I continued reading, I searched the previous books for clues.  I noticed anagrams involving many of the names.  After a certain secret was revealed, I picked up on an important anagram that pointed to that secret.  I kept thinking of the one scene that bothered me, and I searched the books for a certain name, hoping to find the full name so that I could try to find an anagram.  I felt like I had seen the full name, but strangely, I was having trouble locating it through Kindle's book search function.

I wanted to see if this character's full name could be rearranged to make an anagram connecting with one or two other characters.  Remember, I mentioned that a certain character has three or four identities.  If I could draw a connection, then it would prove that I was right about the scene with missing details.

I finally found the full name that I needed.  I immediately pulled one character name out of it, and I felt that this was not a coincidence.  I was left with a group of letters that seemed to have no meaning, but I suspected that something was there.

I kept rearranging the letters, sometimes pulling out a word that then led to a dead end.  Finally, I pulled out a certain word that specifically described a second character.  Oh!  I now had the name of one character, a specific word that pointed directly to a second character, and then some more letters left over.  I pulled out the word "and."  I looked at the five remaining letters, and then I saw it.  That other word had significance as well...

I was astonished.  There was no way these words were a random coincidence.  I couldn't believe that I had solved an anagram by myself and that it had meaning.  It told me that what I suspected was true!  I was on such a high the rest of the day.  I was so excited!

I was perplexed when I finished reading the series and got online to find no mention of this anagram.  Seriously, am I expected to believe that I have solved an anagram that hasn't already been posted everywhere online?  I don't get it.  I am proud of myself, though.  It took me between 15 and 30 minutes to solve the anagram.

Fast forward three years, and fan resistance to the anagram is strong.  Last year, several unpleasant attacks occurred on fans who believe that Forkle is Kenric.  Several of those fans subsequently deleted their posts.

Since aggressive fan behavior has caused posts to disappear, the topic has never gained much traction.  I suspect that more fans believe the theory than is apparent. 

Fans in the discussion forums are in complete denial about Kenric and Forkle.  Last year, I was taunted.  One person rearranged Tiergan's full name as an anagram—a disjointed phrase making little sense—and then stated an unlikely theory based on it.  At first, I was confused.  I thought incredulously, they believe that?  I then realized that this person came up the anagram and conclusion just to ridicule me.  I'll admit that I was hurt.  It stung.

Around the same time, another fan said that I was stupid.

Fans reject the validity of the anagram for four reasons.

1.  The anagram doesn't fit their headcanon.

Fans don't like the idea, and they respond with hostility.

2.  The anagram removes all mystery, revealing Forkle's identity without doubt.

The anagram actually raises many questions that I set out to answer:

How could Kenric hurt Oralie by faking his death?  Could both Kenric/Forkle twins be in love with Oralie?  How would Kenric have time for all his identities?  How did the Black Swan procure Oralie's donation?  Could Kenric really be Forkle with that black hair on the seed?  Why do Kenric and Forkle's Wanderling trees appear to be different?  Why is Kenric acting like he doesn't like Oralie while implying that he does in Forgotten Secret #3 in the Readying Room?  Why is Kenric acting kind of mean in Forgotten Secret #4 with Oralie at Night?  What does all of this mean?

I have worked through answering these questions for over three years.  Knowing Forkle's true identity from nearly the beginning caused me to be intensely obsessed with KotLC and greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the books.  It added to my experience, rather than taking away from it.

I became hyper-focused when I realized that I had to work alone to figure it out, since fans summarily dismissed all of my observations.  

3.  Fans see Forkle as a physically unattractive and problematic character while Kenric is a cute, lovable suitor for Oralie.  

Fans can't reconcile these two ideas, so they go through the most amazing mental gymnastics to find any other explanation.  

In the Forgotten Secrets, Kenric is revealed not to be as different from Forkle as he initially appears.  We see that Kenric has a more cunning and conniving side, going so far as to manipulate Oralie in the Forgotten Secrets.  Kenric is not just a cute, lovable character.  He has a hidden agenda, and the Forgotten Secrets are Shannon's way of peeling back the layers.

4.  Fans take everything at face value.  They read the books at surface level and literally believe everything that Sophie believes, ignoring all contextual clues.

Fans hate Oralie.  You know why?  Because Sophie hates Oralie.  Fans say that Oralie is selfish, that she abandoned Sophie, and so on.  That's what Sophie thinks.

Fans think that the SoKeefe relationship came on suddenly in Stellarlune.  I could see clear signs of Sophie having subtle feelings for Keefe in Exile.  Sophie grew to rely more and more on Keefe, but she didn't realize it, due to her insecurity.  Since Sophie didn't see it, fans didn't see it.  They took everything at face value.

Fans say that Kenric isn't Sophie's father because Forkle said the parents don't know each other.  They use that as proof, because that's what is printed in the book.  It doesn't occur to them that the passage is classic author misdirection.

Let's get to the point of this post.  Here I explain to the disbelievers why I have faith in the anagram.

The consensus among fans is that the anagram is entirely unintentional and means nothing.  I argue that dismissing a plot-relevant anagram as meaningless is a greater leap of logic than simply taking it at face value.  But let's go with the idea of the anagram being truly random. 

Many anagrams can be formed with Kenric's name.  While most are incomplete phrases that don't use all the letters, I have found some complete phrases formed by all 18 letters.

fire charged not lank
father grin cloak den
fathering dark clone
grant fire land choke

While these are all suggestive ideas, they are disjointed and don't mean anything.  I mention them as acknowledgment that other anagrams can be found.

There are three possibilities regarding the anagram's validity.  

1.  The anagram is indeed random and means nothing.

We can calculate the number of possible permutations of "kenricelgarfathdon," most of which would be gibberish and not recognizable expressions.    

The name has 18 letters.  The letters A, E, N, and R each count twice.  The formula is 18! divided by (2!2!2!2!).  18! is the number of ways that 18 items can be rearranged.  It is calculated by multiplying 18 times 17 times 16 all the way down to 1.  The denominator represents the number of ways that each of the repeating letters can be rearranged and is 2 times 1 times 2 times 1, etc.  

"Kenricelgarfathdon" can be rearranged in 400,148,356,608,000 different ways—approximately 400 trillion different ways.  The probability of "kenricelgarfathdon" rearranging exactly as "forklegrinandteach" is just 1 out of 400 trillion possibilities. 

The anagram could be random, but the anagram is a complete phrase that makes sense and is plot relevant.  Is it really likely to be just random chance?

It's more likely that Shannon created the name as an anagram, since she likes anagrams.  Two names are obvious, meaningful anagrams.  Leto Kerlof's last name rearranges as Forkle.  Tiergan's first name rearranges as Granite.  Fans readily accept those two names as intentional anagrams.  If so, then why not others?

Nightfall, page 612:  "Maybe 'Vespera' is an alias," Biana suggested...  "I guess it could be Evespar," Linh said.  "Or Apreves, or Pravese, or... are those actually names?"  "We could play with ugly anagrams all night," Keefe told her.  "Or we could solve this the faster way."  

Do authors often mention anagrams in their books?  I don't think so.  This passage is a hint to look for anagrams.  Tiergan's identity as Granite and Leto's identity as Forkle have long been revealed.  Shannon is nudging readers to look for other anagrams.

The anagram in Kenric's name isn't random.  This leaves two possibilities.

2.  The Kenric/Forkle anagram is an intentional red herring. 

If so, then Shannon wants people like me to think that Forkle is Kenric in order to shock us when the actual truth is revealed.  If the anagram were the sole indication that Kenric is Forkle, then this could be it.  However, Shannon has placed too many clues in the books pointing to Kenric being Forkle for the anagram to be just a red herring. 

3.  The Kenric/Forkle anagram is an early series clue to Forkle's true identity. 

This rings true, because:

• In Everblaze, Kenric acts like he can read Sophie's mind (page 58).  That's quite odd, since only Fitz and Forkle/Leto/Astin can do so.  It suggests that Kenric is a Forkle identity.

• In the Forgotten Secrets, Kenric reveals that he knows the identity of Sophie's mother (Unlocked, page 531).  Forkle is supposed to be the only elf who knows the identities of both of Sophie's parents (Nightfall, page 170).  Kenric has to be Forkle to have that knowledge.  

• In Stellarlune, Leto and Kenric prop their feet up on objects (pages 217, 247, and 490).  For Leto, this is bizarre behavior, and it's a clue that Leto is Kenric.  Also in the later books, Forkle begins to act more like Kenric, smiling and laughing (Legacy, pages 3, 4, 591; Unlocked, pages 733, 734; Stellarlune, page 334).  In the early books, Forkle seldom breaks out of his gruff demeanor.

• Both Kenric and Forkle are Telepaths who are Washers (Neverseen, page 102; Unlocked, page 526).  Both Forkle and Kenric can implant memories, and they use trigger words to retrieve them (Exile, page 504; Stellarlune, page 253).  Implanting memories is a rare skill that few elves have, yet both Kenric and Forkle are capable of that rare skill.  What a strange coincidence.

Shannon placed a few early series breadcrumbs regarding both Kenric and Forkle to tie to information revealed much later in the series.  Legacy, Unlocked, and Stellarlune dole out answers to some of the loose ends and are part of the end-of-series payoff.  Shannon has set the stage for the big reveal that should occur in the very next book.  Read my post, The Clues about Forkle's Identity, for all the evidence.  I contend that there is too much for Kenric not to be Forkle. 

My next post will address additional sticking points that fans have on the Kenric/Forkle theory.

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

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

I appreciate those who have commented on my posts.  If you ever want to comment, you can do so at the end of every post using a screen name.  First, click in the text box but don't type anything.  Look right above where you clicked to see a drop-down menu where one option is "Name/URL."  Enter a name (no URL needed), and that name will display on the comment.  

Keeper of the Lost Cities: Who Is Wraith?

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

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

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

I appreciate those who have commented on my posts.  If you ever want to comment, you can do so at the end of every post using a screen name.  First, click in the text box but don't type anything.  Look right above where you clicked to see a drop-down menu where one option is "Name/URL."  Enter a name (no URL needed), and that name will display on the comment.  

Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #4 with Kenric, Oralie, and Fintan

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

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 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.  

........................................................

These posts provide information that will make this post easier to understand:

Forgotten Secret #4 Kenric and Oralie with Fintan
Forgotten Secret #4 Kenric and Oralie at Night

I want to begin with two fresh observations about this memory.

The part with Fintan has an orange crystal, and the part with Kenric and Oralie's private conversation has a blue crystal.  The Forgotten Secret with Prentice also has a blue crystal.  I assume that the blue crystal indicates that Kenric and Oralie's conversation takes place somewhere in the Forbidden Cities.  This could explain why Oralie keeps her circlet covered and why she looks behind her during the conversation.  I've always considered the desire for secrecy to be odd.

Near the end of Kenric and Oralie's conversation, Kenric tells Oralie that he will protect her.  He says, "I'll be right here by your side, even if I have to pretend that things between us are strictly professional."

That remark has always struck me as strange.  Kenric doesn't do a good job keeping their relationship professional.  I'm thinking about the scene right before Fintan's healing.  Kenric and Oralie show affection for each other right in front of everyone else.  That isn't "strictly professional" behavior.  

Could Kenric have been thinking more in terms of Forkle?  Mr. Forkle has undoubtedly protected Oralie, and he has behaved "strictly professional" around her.  This was just an interesting idea that I had.

Before I get into the rest of this post, I must remind you that I firmly believe that Kenric is Forkle.  The books give us sufficient clues to draw that conclusion.  Anything that is true about either Kenric or Forkle must be true about both of them.  We know that Forkle can divide his consciousness, which means that Kenric can as well.  We also know that Forkle has a twin brother.  The same is true of Kenric.  

I acknowledge that much of the content of this post could mean nothing, simply because of this passage about Forgotten Secret #1.

Stellarlune, page 207:  Dex jumped in.  "But I'm confused.  What happened to the first half of this memory?  Shouldn't it have started with the moment Kenric got to wherever that Neutral Territory was—not when Bronte arrived?"  "Caches don't need to contain the entire memory," Oralie told him.  "Only the significant information.  The rest is erased."

Shannon establishes right off that the Forgotten Secrets will be missing certain parts.  That's why this post could be pointless...  but I doubt that's the case due to the oddities found in both parts of this Forgotten Secret.

Both parts of Forgotten Secret #4 are strange.  As Fintan would say, something is missing.  Shannon is hiding something from us.

Note: I used two different colors for my comments about each part of this Forgotten Secret.  I hope that this helps make the post easier to follow.

We were given the "Kenric and Oralie" part of the memory first in #8.5 Unlocked.  We were given the "Kenric and Oralie with Fintan" part of the memory second in #9 Stellarlune.  Presenting the memories in reverse chronological order has helped Shannon to confuse the situation.

Additionally, splitting the memories has added to the confusion.  The secret in Oralie's cache is just part of Forgotten Secret #4.  What's in Kenric's cache is all of it—or so it appears.  Why would Kenric only store part of Forgotten Secret #4 in Oralie's cache?  Why not all of it?  

I suspect that Oralie, Sophie, and Dex make a big mistake when they fail to view the second part of Forgotten Secret #4 from Kenric's cache.  They don't view it because Oralie and Sophie had already seen it in Oralie's cache.  But what if the "Kenric and Oralie" part in Kenric's cache contains more information?

You need have Unlocked and Stellarlune handy as I dive into this.  This will be confusing, and I had to rework parts of the post as more pieces fell into place for me.  I hope you can follow the finished product.  In fact, you might want to stop now and read through both parts of the Forgotten Secret to freshen up your memory.  There's a lot to unpack.

Some of the content from Unlocked must be considered first, even though the portion of the secret from Stellarlune comes first chronologically.

In Unlocked, Oralie opens her cache, and they begin watching the memory.  Elysian is mentioned, and Sophie asks Oralie about it.

Unlocked, page 524:  "I truly have no idea," Oralie admitted.  "All of this feels strangely... detached.  It's like I'm watching someone else's life instead of my own.  I always thought accessing a Forgotten Secret would be like recovering any other memory, and after a few moments my brain would find enough cues to sync it back into my mental timeline.  But this doesn't connect to anything."

Oralie is struggling because something is missing, and that's why she can't sync it to anything.  Additionally, the memory was likely shattered so that it could not be retrieved.

Unlocked, page 526:  "The truly strange thing is," the real Oralie murmured, "I can't recall any part of the conversation I apparently had with Fintan.  And if the Washers erased it, there should be a second jewel in my cache—or this memory should start much earlier."

At this point in the timeline, Oralie hasn't seen the Fintan memory yet.  Let's go to the very beginning of that one, which shows Kenric and Oralie walking up to Fintan as he tends his garden.

Stellarlune, page 225:  The real Oralie pointed to the hood covering her projection's circlet.  "This must be the missing half of the memory we found in my cache—when Kenric dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night and brought me to Fintan to ask him about Elysian."

The Fintan part of the secret is actually just a portion of the missing half of the memory.  It's not all there.  But before I get to that, here's the very end of the memory with Fintan.

Stellarlune, page 243:  "And I'd recommend putting out these fires before the Washer gets here."  Fintan didn't acknowledge him.  He just stared at his Noxflares, murmuring "something's missing" as Kenric held up his pathfinder and he and Oralie glittered away.  "Let's stop the memory here," the real Oralie said as the scene shifted and her projection now stood facing Kenric.  "This is where the crystal in my case started, and... I can't watch that again."

Let's go back to Unlocked.

The very beginning of the Kenric and Oralie memory shows them facing each other in the moonlight.  Kenric is scowling.

Unlocked, page 523:  "For once, would you please just trust that I know what's best?" he pleaded, knocking back his hood and tearing his hands through his vivid red hair.

Okay, wait...  Kenric tells Fintan to get the fires put out, then he and Oralie leap away.  They appear facing each other, and Oralie shuts down the memory, because they had already seen it.  The other version of the same memory starts with Kenric pleading for Oralie to understand.  

Something is missing. 

We don't have the beginning of the private conversation between Kenric and Oralie, and Oralie clearly doesn't have any of the memory.

The very beginning of the conversation between Kenric and Oralie is likely in Kenric's cache, but Sophie, Dex, and Oralie don't view it.  

Unlocked, page 525:  "You don't get to show up at my door in the middle of the night, beg me to go with you to see a former Councillor—who seemed particularly unstable, by the way—ask him over and over about whatever stellarlune is, even after I told you he wasn't lying when he said he'd never heard of it, and then stand there, gray as a ghoul because you slipped and said something about this mysterious Elysian."

What Oralie describes in this passage is mostly absent from the Forgotten Secret with Fintan.  She mentions Kenric showing up in the middle of the night, but that part wasn't saved in the cache.  Also missing is the part where Fintan is asked "over and over about whatever stellarlune is." 

I wonder who washed the memory with Fintan. 

Stellarlune, page 242:  "I'll send a message to the washer instructing them to preserve that part of this evening."

Considering the nature of the secret and its oddities, I believe that Kenric sent a message to his twin, who then washed the memory, probably while wearing an addler.  Kenric is very secretive and paranoid about anyone learning about Elysian.  His twin is the only elf he would trust to wash the memory.

To recap, we are missing the beginning of the Fintan memory where Kenric wakes up Oralie.  She doesn't have that memory, so it was washed but not included in Kenric's cache.

We are also missing the first part of the private conversation between Kenric and Oralie.  This also must have been washed but not placed in Oralie's cache.  

There are also two other oddities.  

I covered one of them in Forgotten Secret #4 Kenric and Oralie with Fintan (see post):

Stellarlune, page 240:   The projection of Oralie sighed and repeated her question—but halfway through, the words turned muffled and distant.  "Is that the end of the memory?"  Dex asked when the hologram warped and faded.

Kenric tampered with the memory, which means that he shattered part of the memory before storing it in his cache.

Kenric didn't want any record of whatever he found in Fintan's mind, so he shattered it before saving it in his cache.

I found the other oddity in the part with Kenric and Oralie's private conversation.

So that I could analyze that part of the memory, I removed my previous highlights of the conversation in my Kindle book, and then I highlighted every line that is from the memory.  I did not highlight any of the remarks by Oralie and Sophie.  I exported the highlighted lines of the cached memory and then pasted them into Microsoft Word.  I read just the cached memory without the interjections of Sophie and Oralie as they watch the memory. 

I believe that Kenric also tampered with the Kenric and Oralie memory.  I had noticed the odd part before, but I thought nothing of it.  This time, I realized that it probably does mean something.

The conversation begins with Oralie trying to get Kenric to tell her what he knows about Elysian.  He won't say, but he does admit to breaching Fintan's mind.  Next, he mentions a leak.  I originally thought that the leak was Alvar, since he was later discovered to be the Council leak.  

I now believe that the leak is whoever breached Prentice's mind.  That elf is likely Gethen.  I believe that Prentice was compromised by Gethen, and the information about Elysian was taken from Prentice's mind.  That started a chain of events leading to Prentice calling swan song.  Kenric searches Fintan's mind to see if Fintan had information about Elysian that was saved in Prentice's mind.

Unlocked, page 526:  "I'm getting tired of your vagueness and riddles," the projection of Oralie warned.

Next, the real Oralie and Sophie begin talking.  And then:

Unlocked, page 526:  Oralie studied the tiny versions of herself and Kenric, who seemed to have entered into some sort of epic staring contest.

The real Oralie resumes talking.  The conversation between Sophie and the real Oralie lasts 2 1/2 pages.  Then:

Unlocked, page 528:  The two projections were standing so still that the image almost looked frozen.

This is strange.  Oralie and Sophie speak for a couple of minutes, and the image seems almost frozen.  It sounds like the image isn't frozen, but Kenric and Oralie are just staring at each other.  That doesn't make sense.  It took me some time to come up with a possible explanation.

I first wondered if Kenric removed part of the memory and then did a do-over.  When Oralie, Sophie, and Dex view Forgotten Secret #3 from Kenric's readying room, Dex wonders why Kenric erased the memory.  Sophie suggests that he wanted a do-over so that Oralie wouldn't hate him as much.

I thought that perhaps Kenric did a do-over and somehow spliced multiple memories together.  But that wouldn't explain the two figures appearing to be almost frozen, and besides, elves probably can't splice memories together like humans can with recorded media.  Since almost is included in the description, I must conclude that the figures aren't frozen.

I then thought about how Keefe continually makes jokes about Sophie and Fitz staring at each other when they speak telepathically.  Kenric and Oralie could be speaking telepathically during the part of the memory that appears to be almost frozen.  Kenric may have tampered with the memory, removing the mental conversation.  The entire memory including the telepathic conversation could be in Kenric's cache, which was not viewed by Oralie, Sophie, and Dex.

I read through my Microsoft Word document a few more times, and a telepathic conversation doesn't make sense to me either, at least not on the surface.  I don't see what could have been discussed telepathically during that part of the conversation.  Here's how it plays out with the lengthy Oralie/Sophie conversation removed:

"I'm getting tired of your vagueness and riddles,” the projection of Oralie warned.

[about 45 seconds of conversation between Oralie and Sophie]

Oralie studied the tiny versions of herself and Kenric, who seemed to have entered into some sort of epic staring contest.

[nearly 2 minutes of conversation between Oralie and Sophie]

The two projections were standing so still that the image almost looked frozen.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Ora."  He dropped his gaze toward the ground.  "I tried to avoid it. But I didn't know who else to trust."

Oralie's projection reached for his hands.  "If you really trust me, tell me what's going on."

I recited the conversation between Oralie and Sophie aloud, trying to pace it as a real conversation.  I skipped Sophie's interjected thoughts so as not to add more time.  Kenric and Oralie stare at each other for at least around 3 minutes.  That's a long time.  It would be even longer if Sophie's thoughts were included in the timing.  Kenric and Oralie's conversation flows just fine, but the time gap that occurs during the conversation is bizarre.

I also sense a tone shift in the conversation.  Oralie is angry up until the lengthy period of staring.  After that, Kenric seems contrite, and Oralie is much calmer.

Nothing is mentioned about Kenric touching Oralie's temple to wash her memory, but we don't know that he doesn't.  It's possible that Kenric washes Oralie's memory during the time they appear to be staring at each other, and then he continues along a different vein.  Sophie and Oralie were so involved in their conversation that they might have looked at each other while Kenric and Oralie were silent.  It is possible that Kenric could have touched Oralie's temple without them noticing.

I currently believe that during the lengthy time gap that Kenric washes the entire first part of the conversation from Oralie's memory, and he washes it because he mentioned Elysian.  He then resumes the conversation as if they had just leaped away from Fintan (or immediately after the missing first part of the conversation that must be in Kenric's cache).  He is contrite during this part, so Oralie isn't argumentative.

What we see in the cache is the first part of the conversation, and then we see Kenric and Oralie standing still as Kenric washes the first part of the conversation.  We then see Kenric resume the conversation.

Of course, I'm making an assumption that Kenric touches Oralie's temple, and Sophie failed to notice.

Regardless of what really happened, it's important that Oralie, Sophie, and Dex skip viewing the second part of Forgotten Secret #4 from Kenric's cache.  Kenric's cache likely contains a more complete version of the memory, whatever it is.  We'll learn something important when the rest of Forgotten Secret #4 is revealed.

After another reading of this Forgotten Secret, I drew another conclusion.  Kenric has Oralie query Fintan about stellarlune and then asks her if Fintan is telling the truth.  Oralie tells Kenric that Fintan is uneasy, suspicious, annoyed, and confused.  She doesn't detect a lie.

I read through the other part of the memory, where Kenric slips and mentions Elysian to Oralie.  I suddenly realized something.

I believe that Fintan hadn't yet heard of stellarlune at the time of this memory; stellarlune was part of Lady Gisela's plan.  Fintan told Sophie that Gisela never revealed much about her side plan with Ethan, which appears to have something to do with the prime sources and stellarlune.

Fintan's focus was on the Noxflares, which are found in Elysian.  Fintan knew about Elysian and knew nothing about stellarlune.

I believe Kenric is Ethan Benedict Wright, and he knows something about Gisela's plan.  He probably split his consciousness so that while Fintan was asked "over and over about whatever stellarlune is," the other part probed Fintan's mind for the leaked information about Elysian.  Asking about stellarlune kept Fintan distracted enough that he didn't know what Kenric was doing.  

It's important that the portion of the secret containing Kenric's invasion of Fintan's mind was shattered.  Kenric didn't want anyone to have access to what he was thinking or anything that he noticed.

This Forgotten Secret has many layers and is crucial for multiple reasons.  It is the Forgotten Secret that fascinates me the most.

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

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

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