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 believe Forkle is Kenric (see post), which means that the Forgotten Secrets are Forkle's secrets. The Forgotten Secrets are Shannon's way of revealing that Forkle is Kenric and that Kenric is Sophie's father. When I first read through the Forgotten Secrets, I already believed that Forkle is Kenric. Even so, I still had to read each Forgotten Secret multiple times to discover the hidden meaning.
This is what Sophie and readers know before the Forgotten Secrets are revealed:
1. The ancient Councillors knew about the ogre plague.
2. Tiergan said that Mr. Forkle alone knows who Sophie's parents are (Nightfall, page 170). Not counting Sophie's later knowledge, just three people knew the identities of one or both of Sophie's parents: Mr. Forkle, Oralie, and Sophie's father.
3. Oralie is Sophie's mother.
4. Sophie shares an odd trait with her mother, Oralie. Both of them pull out eyelashes.
5. Prentice was the Keeper of the Black Swan.
6. Forkle is a Washer and knows how to implant memories.
If we keep in mind what we already know as we read through the Forgotten Secrets, then we can draw certain conclusions.
Sophie is so fixated on Elysian that she fails to make the connections. Since Sophie says that the Forgotten Secrets are pointless, many fans feel the same way (see post).
I've written about the Forgotten Secrets and what I think they reveal, but I want to take a slightly different approach. What is the primary purpose for each secret? What does Shannon want us to learn?
Forgotten Secret #1: Bronte and Kenric dealing with a dead gnome (see post)
This secret is the only one that someone other than Kenric saved to his cache. The biggest reveal from this secret is that Kenric counts the seconds like Sophie does.
We already were aware that Bronte knew about the ogres and the plague (Neverseen, page 527). Bronte might have known other ancient secrets, like the truth about Elysian. The information might be in his cache.
Key takeaway: Kenric counts the seconds, which means that he and Sophie share an odd habit. Bronte might have information about Elysian.
Forgotten Secret #2: The Matchmaker Memory (see post)
Behnam Aria reveals that Oralie received all five of her match lists. Kenric apparently never registered for the match. Aria provides the match lists for Kenric and Oralie, showing that they are number one matches.
Key takeaway: Kenric and Oralie are number one matches.
Forgotten Secret #3: Kenric and Oralie in Kenric's readying room (see post)
This secret reveals that Kenric voted three times to keep Oralie off the Council. He and Oralie did not get along at all. Kenric implies that she's wrong to criticize his taste in everything, which suggests that he might like her but hides it with hostility.
Kenric left Oralie's first-year dinner, reappearing later. Oralie takes it as a personal affront, and Kenric lies about why he left the dinner.
Oralie complains that Kenric keeps her from being assigned difficult tasks.
Key takeaways: Kenric disappears at strange times and lies about why. Kenric protects Oralie because he probably loves her, but he acts abrasive to keep her from sensing his feelings.
Forgotten Secret #4: Kenric and Oralie with Fintan (see post)
Noxflares are mentioned for the first time and are said to be fire resistant.
Sophie has a moment of insight when she wonders if Fintan is being evasive (Stellarlune, page 231).
We learn that Fintan served as Councillor during the same time that Fallon did.
The portion of the memory from inside Fintan's mind was shattered before being placed in Kenric's cache.
Key takeaways: The presence of noxflares means that either Fintan knows something about Elysian, or the information is in his cache. Kenric is so secretive about what he learned in Fintan's mind that he shattered that portion before placing it in his cache.
Forgotten Secret #4 Kenric and Oralie at night (see post)
We learn that Kenric is a Washer. Kenric says that he might someday leave the Council. He admits that he knows that Oralie is Sophie's mother.
Key takeaways: Kenric is a Washer. Kenric knows that Oralie is Sophie's mother. Kenric has considered resigning as Councillor.
Forgotten Secret #5: Kenric and Prentice (see post)
Kenric asks Prentice to be his personal Keeper. He tells Prentice that he would implant the secrets in Prentice's mind and that the secrets would have trigger words which would allow Kenric to know when they were needed.
Key takeaways: Kenric recruits Prentice to be his personal Keeper. Kenric can implant memories using trigger words.
Forgotten Secret #6: Oralie and Kenric in Elysian (see post)
Kenric mentions "whispering rapids" and "butterflies kissed with red." Oralie mentions places that can mess with one's senses.
Kenric has Oralie's memory washed. The Washer arrives wearing an addler.
Key takeaways: We learn some of Kenric's clues, "whispering rapids" and "butterflies kissed with red." Kenric calls a Washer who wears an addler so that Oralie won't recognize him.
Forgotten Secret #7: Map of Elysian (see post)
This secret is a map presumably of Elysian (her location).
Key takeaway: Kenric had a map of Elysian, and this secret triggers Sophie's memory of a similar map hidden in her mind by Forkle.
Now let's put it all together, comparing what we knew to what we learned in the Forgotten Secrets.
1. The ancient Councillors knew about the ogre plague.
Forgotten Secret #1 reveals that Bronte also knew and hadn't said anything about it.Conclusion: Bronte might know other secrets from ancient times, such as information about Elysian. The information could be in his cache.
2. Tiergan said that Mr. Forkle alone knows who Sophie's parents are (Nightfall, page 170). Not counting Sophie, just three people know the identities of one or both of Sophie's parents: Mr. Forkle, Oralie, and Sophie's father.
Forgotten Secret #4 reveals that Kenric also knew. A secret known only to Forkle and to Sophie's parents is also known by Kenric. This implies that Kenric is Sophie's father. The suldreen explanation is likely a lie, since Kenric steps away from Oralie before he reveals it.
Conclusion: Kenric could be Sophie's father.
3. Oralie is Sophie's mother.
Forgotten Secret #2 reveals the match lists for Kenric and Oralie, showing that they are number one matches. Kenric gives a flimsy excuse about his need to "move on" to explain his request. Kenric's stated reason makes no sense.
Conclusion: Kenric was likely involved in Project Moonlark as the male DNA donor. He needed to confirm his number one match so that she could be recruited. This indicates that Kenric is likely Sophie's father.
4. Sophie shares an odd trait with her mother, Oralie. Both of them pull out eyelashes.
Conclusion: Kenric is probably Sophie's father, since he shares an odd trait with Sophie. Kenric might be Forkle since Forkle mentions counting the seconds.
5. Prentice was the Keeper of the Black Swan.
In Forgotten Secret #5, Kenric asks Prentice to be his personal Keeper, and Prentice must have accepted, since Sophie sees a memory in Prentice's mind that mentions the Elysian butterflies (Exile, page 239). By a strange coincidence, Prentice also becomes the Keeper of the Black Swan. This means that Prentice became both Kenric's Keeper and the Keeper of the Black Swan.
Conclusion: Kenric was likely recruiting Prentice to be the Keeper of the Black Swan, and Prentice accepted. Kenric is probably Mr. Forkle.
6. Forkle is a Washer and knows how to implant memories.
In another strange coincidence, both Kenric and Forkle are Washers and know how to implant memories. Implanting is said to be a very rare skill that only a few people can achieve (Everblaze, page 377).
Kenric is the likely male DNA donor for Project Moonlark. He recruited Prentice to be his Keeper around the time that Prentice became the Keeper of the Black Swan. Kenric is a Washer just like Forkle. Kenric can implant memories just like Forkle. Kenric had a map of Elysian, and Forkle implanted a map of Elysian in Sophie's brain. All of these taken together lead us towards the conclusion that Kenric is Forkle.
Also, the name "Kenric Elgar Fathdon" rearranges to form the phrase "Forkle grin and teach" with all letters used exactly once. Shannon is fond of anagrams, and fans have found some obvious ones (Granite/Tiergan and Kerlof/Forkle). Shannon wrote a passage in which the characters mention anagrams (Nightfall, page 612). The Kenric/Forkle anagram is the smoking gun.
While we don't know for certain that Kenric is Forkle, we have compelling circumstantial evidence. But there is still one problem with all of this: It seems impossible that Kenric would have purposefully faked his death and caused Oralie so much pain. I'll tackle that next.
All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:
Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories
