Keeper of the Lost Cities: Thoughts on Chapter 1 of Elysian

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sophie wonders about their missing abilities.  She thinks:

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

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

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

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

The Elysian debacle is foreshadowed on page 538 of Lodestar:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A moment later:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gisela makes this statement in Stellarlune on page 55:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

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