u/Weary_Confection1946

I just finished rereading Legacy and started reading Unlocked.

It seems to me that Oralie told Edaline that she is Sophie’s mother. That was when Oralie stayed behind at Havenfield, while Bronte, Grady, and Team Valiant headed to Loamnore.

And that is exactly why, many chapters later, Edaline asked Sophie this question:

“You don’t have to tell me what happened,” Edaline promised as she wrapped an arm around Sophie’s shoulders. “But I would love it if you’d be willing to answer one question for me, okay? Just so I have some idea of which direction to focus my worrying.”

....
So she forced herself to nod, and Edaline pulled her a little bit closer and whispered, “Did something happen with Fitz? Or Councillor Oralie?”

Messenger, Shannon. Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 8) (p. 685). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

At the very beginning of Unlocked, I also found a very important sentence:

And remember—these are the Council’s official records, so there may be times when you know things that they haven’t figured out yet. Don’t let that confuse you—just enjoy being smarter than the leaders of the elvin world. (*whispers* You might also notice that certain files have been edited, both by the registry and by a certain powerful Technopath—and some files can’t be accessed at all.… The elves have tricky security!)

Messenger, Shannon. Unlocked Book 8.5 (Keeper of the Lost Cities 9) (p. 3). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

Hi,

Recently I reread Flashback and noticed one detail that could be very important.

During the attack by Gethen, Ruy, and Umber on Sophie and Fitz, Gethen said something interesting — that Gisela was preparing a replacement for Sophie.

I’m wondering whether that replacement was supposed to be Glimmer (Rayni Aria).

It seems to me that she never really left the Neverseen. I think she is still with them and is carrying out the role Gisela planned for her.

First of all, at the beginning Glimmer does not want to cooperate until Sophie appears. Then Glimmer takes them to the Neverseen hideout, which is empty. No one is guarding Kenric’s and Fintan’s caches or Gisela’s archetype. I suspect they left those caches there on purpose. They were not able to read them, so they handed them over so Sophie would do it. They knew that sooner or later it would lead them to Elysian — and that is exactly what happened.

But I think one thing did not go according to Gisela’s plan. I mean the archetype — I suspect it was fake. And Rayni encouraged Sophie to take it. They did not expect Sophie to burn everything. Because of that, she did not fall into the trap Gisela had prepared. Rayni herself said that she thought they would take everything from the Neverseen hideout to read through it.

And that was the first failure of Gisela’s plan. I suspect the second failure is that Keefe is not there. I suspect Gisela ordered Rayni to charm her son. But there was never really an opportunity for that. Gisela knows that as long as Keefe is in love with Sophie, there is absolutely no chance of winning him over to her side. So that replacement Gethen mentioned in Flashback was probably Rayni.

What do you think of my theory?

Recently, I’ve been rereading the KotLC series. I’m currently on Nightfall, and I noticed something.

It seems to me that there may be another elf on the Neverseen’s side who doesn’t take part in the main operations: a kind of “gray eminence.”

Dimitar mentioned an elf who punished Lady Gisela. It’s someone who knows about the Vacker legacy.

I already have a certain idea in mind, but I still need to reread a few details in the next books. Do any of you have any ideas who it could be, or have you noticed any details that might point to someone?

Hi everyone,

You’ll have to forgive me, but I’m rereading the whole series, and every day I come up with new ideas and theories. This time it’s about Elysian. This is one of those shocking theories.

In Kenric’s Forgotten Secret—the one with Fintan—Kenric tries to learn something about Elysian from his mind.

From the second part of that secret—from Oralie’s memory—we learn that Kenric did, in fact, find something out, and that he was terrified. After that, he suggested to Oralie that they step down as Councillors together.

I think he hid that secret in Prentice’s memory. I don’t know whether Prentice is aware of these secrets, but if he is, that could be the reason for Swan Song.

I think it’s about this secret:

There was a fountain in the center of it all, two golden figures standing in a round pool, holding hands as colored streams of water showered them from every direction. A shadow of a girl appeared between them and took off through the buildings, shattering everything she touched before she dove into a sea of shards.

Messenger, Shannon. Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 2) (p. 240). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

I believe that the girl in that memory is actually Elysian. And I think she caused a great deal of destruction and death in her youth. It must have been a very long time ago. She is much older than Bronte or Fallon Vacker, especially judging by the length of her pointed ears.

I think the “two golden figures” are her parents, and I believe they were both Councillors.

That’s why Kenric was so terrified. He thought of Sophie—of the possibility that history might repeat itself. Another child of Councillors had been born. (I believe Kenric is the father.)

If Sophie realizes this, she’ll be horrified—especially since she has already set one place on fire and destroyed it.

What do you think of my theory?

[Edited]

For everyone who thinks Kenric cannot be Sophie’s father, here’s a special quote from the book:

“Have you considered that it’s easier for her because she’s just met you?” Mr. Forkle asked. “She’s never had to lie straight to your face.”

Messenger, Shannon. Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 4) (p. 291). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

Have you noticed that we all focus on figuring out who is hiding behind the rebels’ identities—Trix, Umber, Forkle, Wraith, and the others. Meanwhile, we hardly ever stop to think about who the Councillors actually are, even though, in truth, we know very little about them. Yes, we know what they look like, we know their names and talents, so it may seem like that should be enough. But that is only surface-level knowledge.

We do not know which families they come from or what truly motivates them. We know nothing about their pasts. We do not know whether they received their match lists, whether they had fiancés, or what relationships they had with others before joining the Council.

It seems reasonable to assume that most Councillors come from aristocratic families. I do not even know whether there is a single one among them who might come from a Talentless family. As readers, we already know part of the elvin aristocracy—not all of it, of course, but a fairly large group of those families involved in public life.

There are twelve Councillors, so this is actually a very large group. One of them is an Ancient—Bronte, who is over a thousand years old. The others are younger. The problem, however, is that elves do not age, so it is basically impossible to tell how old anyone really is, since they all look fairly similar. Their exact ages are never revealed. The very fact that someone is a Councillor automatically makes us see that person as more experienced, and therefore instinctively “older.” But that does not have to be true at all. Shannon used a simple literary trick here—because of it, at the beginning no one even considers the possibility that one of the Councillors could be the child of one of the characters we already know. And yet someone on the Council could just as easily be someone’s sister, brother, nephew, son, cousin, uncle, or aunt.

Taking that further: there could also be people on the Council who are related to the rebels. Do you think one of the Councillors could be related to Gethen, Tiergan, or Prentice?

And one more thing—is Oralie really the only Councillor who has a child? Or could Gethen be the illegitimate son of one of the Councillors? Maybe Tiergan has remained single all these years because his fiancée became a Councillor and had to leave him? These are only loose possibilities, of course. I have not devoted much thought to them, but they show how many different connections could exist.

On the other hand, if every major aristocratic family had one of its own on the Council, working in its favor, that would not be a good thing at all. Because how could you exile your own brother or nephew? How could you agree to the mind break of someone from your own family? And cases like that must surely come up. That is why I think the Councillors must take some kind of oath that separates them from their families. And I do not mean only a ban on having children or a spouse, but also a complete separation from the affairs of the family they came from—at least for as long as they sit on the Council.

So what do you think—is there a Vacker, an Endal, or someone related to Gisela, Della, Edaline, Juline, Cyrah, Gethen, or other known characters on the current Council? The Councillors are not from Mars—they come from the aristocracy.

Do you have any ideas?

We have 12 Councillors:

Councillor Alina - Ability: Beguiler

Councillor Bronte - Ability: Inflictor

Councillor Clarette - Abilities: Polyglot, Flasher

Councillor Darek - Ability: Phaser

Councillor Emery - Ability: Telepath

Councillor Liora - Ability: Conjurer

Liora is the second longest-serving Councillor—second only to Bronte, though she is still several centuries away from joining the Ancients.

Councillor Noland - Ability: Vociferator

Councillor Oralie - Ability: Empath

Councillor Ramira - Ability: Vanisher

Councillor Terik - Ability: Descryer

Councillor Velia - Ability: Guster

Councillor Zarina - Ability: Charger

Shortly after being elected, Zarina considered resigning. No one except the other Councillors knows why.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Personally, I think Councillor Terik may be related to Della Vacker—they are physically similar: the eyes, the hair. He could be her brother, uncle, or nephew. After Alden’s mind break, he seemed to feel responsible for taking care of Sophie.

Last Saturday, I figured something out.

And ever since then, I haven’t been able to stop smiling.

And it’s really SOMETHING.

It’s so...

WOW

Shannon is a genius.

Oh my God.

My mouth is still open, and at the same time, I can’t stop smiling.

I can’t write about it.

It feels too important, and honestly it changes everything, especially for Sophie.

I’m quite sure we’ll read about this in Summer 2027.

But for anyone who wants to try to figure it out earlier, I can share some clues from the books so you can solve it for yourselves.

Please, if you think you’ve figured it out, don’t write the answer in the comments. Just leave a smiley face or something else, so others can keep guessing too. This surprise is absolutely worth waiting for.

It’s something you have to figure out for yourself.

Here are the clues:

1. Edaline: Jolie

2. Juline: Dex, Bex, Rex, Lex

3.

“She does remind me of her.” A tiny sob cut through the silence. “How does she know about Jolie?”

Messenger, Shannon. Keeper of the Lost Cities (p. 377). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

4.

“The ogres are stirring—at least, that is what I fear. Which is why I came to give you this.” Oralie snapped her fingers and a small glass sphere appeared in her palm. Sophie hadn’t realized Oralie was a Conjurer.

“Your cache?” Alden said, taking a step back.

“Actually, this is Kenric’s,” Oralie corrected. “He gave it to me, before he…” She didn’t say the final word, but it cut deep all the same.

Messenger, Shannon. Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 4) (pp. 21-22). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

5.

“Does that mean I won’t be able to reach the cache without your help?” Sophie asked.

“Not if I do my job right. I can tie a new thread between your mind and the cache, which you’ll be able to pull on. I’ll also add an emergency command, to be safe.”

Messenger, Shannon. Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 4) (p. 333). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

6.

“Conjuring is a strange ability,” Edaline agreed. “But now your cache is safe. And to retrieve it, all you have to do is find the pressure in your mind, wrap your consciousness around it, and focus.” Sophie did as Edaline said and… SNAP!

“Okay, before we put it back,” Edaline said, “you need to think of a word or phrase—one you won’t forget, but also would never accidentally say.”

Messenger, Shannon. Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 4) (p. 336). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

7.

Edaline leaned wearily back in her chair. “That should do it. If you say those words and snap your fingers, the cache will find you.” “Does that mean you guys can call for it?” Sophie asked. “Since you know the words?”

“It has to be your voice,” Mr. Forkle said.

Messenger, Shannon. Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 4) (p. 337). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

And if anyone has trouble figuring it out, I can always give more clues in the comments — there are plenty of them hidden throughout the books.

Let me know in the comments if you want more clues.

Good luck — and have fun figuring it out. 😊

[Edited] These are 2 new clues:

8.

Some elves also have more than one ability—though that’s much more uncommon.

Messenger, Shannon. Unlocked Book 8.5 (Keeper of the Lost Cities 9) (p. 261). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

9.

Oralie nodded, still staring at the stars. “They’re good parents, Sophie. Far better than I ever could’ve been.”

“They are,” Sophie agreed. “But you don’t get to take credit for them.”

“Don’t I?” Oralie hesitated ...

Messenger, Shannon. Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 8) (p. 671). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

[Edited] I’ll give three clues — everyone should be able to figure it out by now.

10. To pull something out of the void without being a Conjurer, you have to either use your mind OR say a password and snap your fingers. As we can see, neither of those applies in Oralie’s case.

Do you really think Oralie walks around the house in fancy clothes, as Sophie noticed? I think she snaps her fingers when she hears the doorbell at her mansion.

11.

Reported Conjurers: Edaline Ruewen, Lady Cadence Talle, Jolie Ruewen, Councillor Liora

Messenger, Shannon. Unlocked Book 8.5 (Keeper of the Lost Cities 9) (p. 262). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

12. Shannon created the names in this family this way for a reason — I just noticed it:

Edaline, Juline - sisters

Juline: Dex, Bex, Rex, Lex

Edaline: Jolie

Am I the only one who thinks there’s something wrong with Elwin?

A lot of people adore him and want him to be Sophie’s dad. But I have a bad feeling about him. Something just isn’t right.

He is so kind to children and gives them stuffed animals. But at the same time, he betrayed Kenric in the gnome situation.

We know that someone has been spying from the very first books. And who would be better for that than a doctor?

He can go to every home, ask how everyone is feeling, and he can always bring new medicine or something else. He is welcome in every house.

I also wonder whether the stuffed animals he gave to children might have hidden listening devices in them. The Neverseen are always two steps ahead of Sophie and her friends.

Did he invite Keefe into his home out of the goodness of his heart, or because he wanted to learn more about his ability and report back to Lady Gisela?

Let’s also notice that Gisela always seems to be able to track someone, and they are never truly able to get rid of that.

And then there’s what he said about Sophie’s DNA — he sounded disappointed that he hadn’t come up with something like that himself. In the end, someone had to advise Gisela what to do, to give her those elixirs that she and Lord Cassius drank before conceiving Keefe. Do the Neverseen have their own doctor? Who treated Gisela after the torture in King Dimitar’s prison?

I think the tracker Sophie always carries with her is:
Still, Sophie reached for the Fade Fuel she wore around her neck in case of emergencies. It hung next to her allergy remedy, both vials tucked safely under her T-shirt.

Messenger, Shannon. Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 4) (p. 12). Aladdin. Kindle Edition.

What do you think?