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.  

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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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