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.
On page 37, Fallon Vacker knows that Alvar can't be trusted and believes the Neverseen want Alvar to be sent to Everglen. Fallon is rather aware of the elves' current political environment for someone who disdains modern existence and claims that it fatigues him. We learn later in this story that Fallon is completely correct about the Neverseen and Alvar.
On page 74, we learn that the Celestial Festival is in "a little less than three months." This means that Book 7 spans a time frame of around three months.
On page 211, Magnate Leto transmits this to Sophie: Most elves manifest before they turn fifteen, so you're outside of that window.
Page 446 "Fake caches," Mr. Forkle corrected. "Or so we've been told. I'd like to verify that information, since it could be a misdirection."
Mr. Forkle says that he needs to verify if the caches are really Fintan's and Kenric's. This gave me pause, since I believe that Kenric is Forkle. Wouldn't he be able to tell if the cache were his? I then realized that Kenric's cache requires Oralie's eyelash to open it. Unless Mr. Forkle has one of Oralie's eyelashes on hand, then he wouldn't be able to verify if the cache is indeed Kenric's. He has no idea.
Page 450 "He's right," Mr. Forkle added softly. "The Neverseen have all but declared war. And war is a messy, horrible thing. It requires crossing lines that probably shouldn't be crossed but must be in order to survive."
This is more evidence that Forkle understands that they are already in a war. I mention this because of how everyone other than Forkle reacts to Sophie setting the Neverseen's storehouse on fire.
Page 619 Sophie also didn't love knowing that the whole time Tarina had been helping search Everglen, she'd had her own secret agenda—or that she hid that agenda so perfectly. Tarina was smooth. Maybe a little too smooth.
Indeed.
On page 757, Gethen acknowledges that Fintan was trying to ruin the Neverseen's plans for the Celestial Festival.
This is a collection of quotes concerning Keefe's damaged memories. These passages are clues to events depicted in the later books.
Page 351 This was the first memory I got back, Keefe explained. Why is it all crackly and distorted? Fitz asked. Keefe shrugged. I guess it got a little damaged by the Washer.
Page 364 "No, they were washed. Tiergan corrected. "And washing is mostly about knocking memories loose and burying them out of reach—usually under the person's deepest fears, since they instinctively avoid that section of their mind."
Page 367 Keefe sank onto the nearest cot as a memory flashed to the front of his mind—a scene so distorted that Sophie couldn't tell what she was supposed to be seeing. Some parts were too dim and others were too bright, and there were strange flickering gaps, like trying to watch a really old, scratched-up piece of film with some of the frames missing. Even the soundtrack was warped, with voices fading in and out.
Page 368 Not yet. I can't figure out where the memory's supposed to fit. I guess that's what Tiergan meant when he was rambling about "mental ripples."
Page 368 I keep trying to see what books are on my shelves, since that'll tell me when this was. But the background's too blurry... This one's way more damaged than the other memory.
Page 372 His reply was lost to a crackle of static. Then the scene blurred again, jumping to when Lady Gisela removed his cape and examined the rest of his outfit.
Page 373 "Some parts were missing or distorted," Sophie explained. "Can I take a look?" Tiergan asked, reaching for Keefe's temples. Keefe nodded and Tiergan closed his eyes, and the creases on his forehead grew deeper and deeper until he murmured, "A recovered memory shouldn't look like that. Once a memory triggers, it should be every bit as clear as it was before it was washed."
Page 374 "Okay, Keefe agreed. "So why are two damaged and one's fine?" "Because the damaged memories weren't washed," Tiergan said quietly. "They were shattered."
Page 377 "Think of it like smashing a piece of glass. Gethen would've aimed his blow at the most critical spot, and that section would shatter far more than the outlying area."
It was fortunate that I read through Book 7 this time without skimming like I did the second and third times that I read it. From my November 25 post, Keeper of the Lost Cities Reading and Book Release Update:
Right after I finished reading Book 7 again, I was mulling over the Fintan memory as I drove to work one morning. I believe it was on the morning of November 12. Yes, it's weird that I know this, but it was a watershed moment. I thought about that Forgotten Secret and some of the oddness of it. It reminded me of a scene in Book 7, which led me to a significant revelation.
The descriptions of Keefe's damaged memories caused me to realize that Forkle purposely damages one of Sophie's memories before he returns it to her in Book 8. He does this so that Sophie doesn't know what Amy's insults were in that memory. Additionally, Kenric damages the memory of him entering Fintan's mind before he places it in his cache. This is yet another example of Kenric and Forkle behaving in exactly the same fashion.
All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:
Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories
