Unlocked 8.5 (Keeper of the Lost Cities) Read online

  ACCIDENT-PRONE:

  While living with humans, Sophie was hospitalized at least twice—once when she was five human years old, after she fell and hit her head (which was also when Mr. Forkle triggered her telepathy), and once when she was nine human years old, after a severe allergic reaction to something the doctors could never identify. (The substance was later identified as limbium, which was given to her by the Black Swan.) And since arriving in the Lost Cities, Sophie has set a record for injuries, many of which were nearly fatal—though most can’t be considered her fault, since they were the direct result of attacks by the Neverseen. See Sophie’s medical record for more specifics.

  A GIFT WITH ALICORNS:

  Sophie’s unique telepathy allowed her to track the thoughts of what turned out to be an incredibly rare female alicorn—the only creature capable of resetting the Timeline to Extinction—and bring her safely to Havenfield. And since Sophie could communicate with the creature (the alicorn even informed Sophie that her name is Silveny), the Council opted to leave her in Sophie’s care, which allowed Sophie to discover Silveny’s ability to teleport. Unfortunately, Sophie also followed the Black Swan’s instructions and took Silveny to one of the Black Swan’s hideouts, where the Neverseen managed to track them down and stage an ambush. Silveny’s wing was broken during the attack, but Sophie used her teleporting to get herself, Keefe Sencen, and Silveny safely back to Havenfield. And Silveny’s injury did heal completely, much to everyone’s relief. Afterward, Sophie convinced Silveny to move to the Sanctuary, both for Silveny’s protection and to unite her with the male of her species (Greyfell). And Sophie discovered soon after that she was able to remain in contact with Silveny telepathically, despite the distance between them—which turned out to be a very good thing. The Neverseen tried numerous times to steal both alicorns from the Sanctuary, and when Sophie learned that Silveny was pregnant (which would surely make the Neverseen even more desperate to capture her), she convinced the Council that it would be safer to set the alicorns free so that no one would know where they were. She promised to maintain regular contact with Silveny and Greyfell and provide detailed reports on their safety and wellness—though Silveny made that promise difficult for Sophie to keep. She started ignoring Sophie when she reached out to her telepathically and refused to come to Havenfield for any medical checkups, all of which turned out to be some sort of protective instinct related to the fact that Silveny was pregnant with twins. But she did call on Sophie for help when she went into labor early. And Sophie relied on Vika and Stina Heks—as well as the trolls—to save both babies (a male named Wynn and a female named Luna) and ensure that Silveny survived the delivery. The alicorn family currently lives at Havenfield but is free to go whenever and wherever they want. Sophie remains their point of contact.

  A MAGNET FOR TROUBLE:

  Since Sophie’s arrival in the Lost Cities, she has had numerous—occasionally heated—interactions with the Council. She was tested by a committee of three (Councillor Oralie, Councillor Bronte, and Councillor Kenric) and granted provisional attendance to Foxfire—which she nearly lost due to poor performance in several of her sessions. But as of now, she maintains her standing at our prestigious academy. She has also faced Tribunals for accidentally bottling quintessence—and bringing the dangerous substance to school—as well as for illegally leaping to the human world to bottle a sample of their firestorm in order to prove the flames were Everblaze (a charge she was sentenced to “time already served” in light of her kidnapping). Several members of the Council also suspect that she has possession of an unregistered Spyball, but no proof has been found to support these theories. After her abilities were reset, Sophie requested permission from the Council to attempt a “healing” on Alden Vacker’s shattered mind, which turned out to be wonderfully successful. As a result, she was ordered to perform a healing on a former Councillor (Fintan Pyren) in the hope that she would be able to retrieve the secrets he’d protected during his memory break. Unfortunately, that healing resulted in Councillor Kenric’s death and Fintan’s escape, along with an inferno of Everblaze that destroyed half of Eternalia. And while Sophie was at Kenric’s planting, she attempted to read King Dimitar’s mind (she evidently considered him to be suspicious) and was nearly dragged away to an ogre work camp for violating the elvin-ogre treaty. But final punishment was left up to the Council, and the Councillors voted to constrain her abilities with a prototype “ability restrictor” designed by Dex Dizznee instead. The gadget appeared to cause Sophie some discomfort, but it also succeeded in limiting her power. And Sophie cooperated with the punishment—until she “lost” the ability restrictor through suspicious circumstances, right before illegally teleporting to the human world. She—and all of her friends—fled the Lost Cities not long after, hiding with the Black Swan until they were captured while attempting to liberate Prentice Endal from Exile. During the confrontation, Sophie revealed her possession of Councillor Kenric’s cache and bartered a deal for her and her friends’ freedom by agreeing to formal banishment and attendance at Exillium. Her group’s role in finding a cure for the gnomish plague restored their citizenship and admission to Foxfire. Sophie also convinced the Council to free Prentice from Exile and performed a healing on Prentice’s mind—but she was unable to recover any of his memories. She was also selected to participate in the ogre treaty renegotiations at Lumenaria, and her warnings during the Neverseen’s attack on the castle saved numerous lives, including the Councillors’. Despite that, her relationship with the Council has remained tenuous. Sophie often questions their authority and refuses to play by their rules—particularly after her human parents were captured by Vespera. Miss Foster’s desperate rescue led to the discovery of one of the Lost Cities’ more dangerous secrets, and she continues to advocate for that information to be made public, despite the chaos that would likely ensue. She and her friends have also become the “faces” of the revolution, both for saving Atlantis from flooding, and because they were broadcast standing up to the Neverseen during the troll attack that occurred at the most recent Celestial Festival. In light of Sophie’s growing support, the Council elected to begin working with her and appointed Sophie and several of her friends as Regents in the nobility, forming Team Valiant, which Sophie was assigned to lead. The team was sent to Loamnore to negotiate with King Enki, to mixed results—though King Enki has since been outed as a traitor, so it’s possible the lack of success was not Team Valiant’s fault. As of this writing, the Council remains committed to the project, but only time will tell if it will find true success, or whether Sophie will fall back into her ways of disobedience and rebellion and finally end up exiled.

  DECEASED BUT NOT DEAD:

  Sophie was kidnapped by the Neverseen, along with her best friend (Dex Dizznee). But their disappearance at first seemed to be a tragic accident. Evidence at their last known location, as well as the recovery of their registry pendants from the bottom of the ocean, led the Council to believe that both Sophie and Dex had been washed away by a tidal wave. With no evidence to suggest any alternative, both Sophie and Dex were declared “deceased.” Plantings were held, and their Wanderlings remain in the Wanderling Woods to this day, since it would be wrong to destroy innocent trees simply because they were planted prematurely.

  AN ABUNDANCE OF BODYGUARDS:

  After Sophie escaped from her kidnappers and returned to the Lost Cities, the Council reached out to Queen Hylda and requested that she supply Sophie with a goblin for protection. Queen Hylda complied, assigning one of her best warriors (Sandor) to serve as Sophie’s bodyguard—and he takes his job very seriously. Sandor’s motto appears to be “I go where you go,” and he does his best to never leave Sophie’s side. He’s also reportedly hidden trackers in her clothes in case she’s ever abducted again—or tries to sneak away. And while Sophie doesn’t always appreciate being shadowed by an overprotective, seven-foot-tall goblin (particularly since so many of her “investigations” into the Neverseen require a hefty amo
unt of risk), she and Sandor have still managed to form a unique friendship. In fact, when Sandor considered resigning after what he viewed as “failing Sophie” during one of the Neverseen’s recent brutal attacks, Sophie begged him to stay and even agreed to adding additional bodyguards to her detail to make Sandor feel more confident about her level of protection. Sandor in turn surprised everyone by opting for a multispeciesial approach, which is how Sophie ended up with an ogre bodyguard (Botros), a gnomish bodyguard (Flori), a dwarven bodyguard (Nubiti), and a trollish bodyguard (Tarina). (Because of certain dramatics in the trollish and dwarven worlds—as well as one of Sophie’s friends needing a bodyguard—her detail is currently reduced to only Sandor and Flori.) It was quite the spectacle when her full group of protectors was gathered, and almost inspiring in a way. Proof that our world could be so much stronger if all the intelligent species truly found a way to work together.

  NEXUS AND REGISTRY PENDANT EVENTS:

  Sophie was given Fitz Vacker’s old nexus when she was first brought to the Lost Cities, and she kept it as her primary nexus until it was stolen during her kidnapping—which was also when her first registry pendant was removed by the Neverseen (in a somewhat successful attempt to “fake” her death). Upon her escape and recovery, Sophie was given an updated registry pendant with heightened security measures to prevent tampering or removal—though Alden Vacker managed to cut it off before Sophie fled the Lost Cities to join the Black Swan. She was issued a third pendant when the Council lifted her banishment, and that one seems to have lasted (but sometimes the feed appears to get interrupted). Della Vacker also gave Sophie a new nexus after her kidnapping, which Sophie was ordered to wear despite how strong her concentration had gotten, as a precaution after Sophie nearly faded away. Additional leaping problems resulted in Sophie being given a second nexus to wear on her other wrist, but neither turned out to be necessary once her abilities were reset. Alden Vacker removed both before Sophie joined the Black Swan, to prevent anyone from tracking her location.

  UNMATCHABLE:

  If school gossip is to be believed, then Sophie has “liked” or dated (or may currently be dating) a number of different prodigies—but none of that has been confirmed. What has been confirmed is that Sophie has attempted to register for the match (according to a report from the Matchmaking Office), and the system has denied her request. Without record of her genetic lineage, she cannot be safely matched, as there is far too great of a risk that she could be paired with a biological relative. And a second investigation into her genetic parents’ identities (in addition to one performed when Sophie first arrived in the Lost Cities) has been recently completed by the Council—and turned up nothing. So unless Sophie’s biological parents come forward—or she discovers their identities on her own—her status will remain unmatchable.

  THE “FOSTER OBLIVION”:

  Admittedly, there is little actual fact to report on this subject—but given how often the term is used (particularly by Keefe Sencen’s ogre bodyguard), it seemed necessary to include a brief mention. Theories suggest that what the phrase means to imply is a certain lack of understanding on Sophie’s part when it comes to the feelings of others—and her own feelings as well. Which does make one wonder why the Black Swan didn’t also make her an Empath. Little is known on that subject either.

  FINAL NOTE:

  Tampering has occurred in the past—and possibly still occurs—to Sophie’s pendant feed, both for her protection and to hide certain activities she’s participated in. For that, and numerous other reasons, the Council remains divided on whether Sophie is trustworthy.

  MEDICAL RECORD FOR

  Sophie Elizabeth Foster

  INCIDENT: Emergency House Call to Everglen

  DETAILS:

  Rushed over to check on someone that Alden found hidden in the Forbidden Cities—and I’ll admit: Part of me wondered if this was going to be some sort of prank. But… I just met a girl with brown eyes and elvin DNA.

  SYMPTOMS/INJURIES:

  Poor kid. I can’t imagine leaving my whole life behind like that! She seemed pretty tough, though. And she was surprisingly healthy, given all the chemicals she’s grown up with—but she needs a major detox.

  TREATMENT:

  Gave her what I’d brought and made a list of elixirs to get from Slurps and Burps. Also told her to drink two bottles of Youth every day.

  NOTES:

  I need to check on her in a couple weeks, and she did not look happy about that. I can’t blame her, given what I know about human medicine. But hopefully I can prove it’s different around here.

  INCIDENT: First Healing Center Visit

  DETAILS:

  Sounds like Sophie’s first attempt at alchemy was an adventure. (Really wish I could’ve seen the explosion!)

  SYMPTOMS/INJURIES:

  A pretty nasty acid burn on her wrist.

  TREATMENT:

  Tried my favorite balm, and it worked perfectly. Also checked Sophie’s detox progress, and her cells are looking much happier.

  NOTES:

  Starting to think I’ll be seeing a lot of this kid, which will be tough since Sophie’s still afraid of me. It’s a good thing Keefe was there to distract her this time.

  INCIDENT: Second Healing Center Visit

  DETAILS:

  Things got strange during the Ultimate Splotching Championship, and Sophie (and Fitz) ended up launching backward across the room and slamming into the wall.

  SYMPTOMS/INJURIES:

  Nothing major—which is surprising, considering Sophie was unconscious when they brought her in. I’m sure she’ll be sore tomorrow.

  TREATMENT:

  Cool compresses and a painkiller—and taking it easy for the rest of the day.

  NOTES:

  I don’t think Sophie has any idea how powerful she is. It sounded like she did a brain push today—and if I’m right, I’m betting that’s only the beginning of what she can do.

  INCIDENT: Emergency Call to Moonglade

  DETAILS:

  I’d just settled into bed when Sophie hailed me. Somehow she hurt herself bottling starlight for her Universe assignment. (Always an adventure with this girl!)

  SYMPTOMS/INJURIES:

  Major burns with blackish, purplish blisters. Looked super painful. Glad she set aside her fears and hailed me.

  TREATMENT:

  I started with my strongest burn salve mixed with painkiller and a Youth soak. But her skin still looked raw, so I ran home for something a little more extreme. (I figured Sophie wouldn’t want to know that her hands were covered in yeti pee, so I left out that detail—but I did warn her to wash her hands thoroughly.)

  NOTES:

  I also wrapped up the starlight to make sure she couldn’t hurt herself again. Weird thing was, it felt cold—not hot. And I’ve never seen light like that before—or heard of

  UPDATE:

  Sophie stopped by early (I think she didn’t want her friends to see her in the Healing Center again), and her hands looked perfect! But I still gave her one more elixir, just to be safe.

  ADDITIONAL NOTES:

  In the category of Proof That Things Keep Getting Weirder Around Here, a couple of Councillors showed up and asked me a billion questions—and made me black out the star’s name from this record. Pretty sure I know what that means.…

  INCIDENT: Third Healing Center Visit

  DETAILS:

  Sophie was unconscious and covered in blotches when Fitz brought her to me. Dex said it was an allergy, probably caused by the limbium in the Nogginease he gave her.

  SYMPTOMS/INJURIES:

  Difficulty breathing. Hives. Swelling. Projectilevomiting.

  TREATMENT:

  Never treated an allergy before, so I threw together an elixir to address the symptoms I could see. Thankfully, it worked, and I cleaned Sophie up and brought her home to rest. Also gave her a vial of the elixir to wear in case anything like this ever happens again.

  NOTES:

  Not
gonna lie—this was close. Bullhorn screamed his head off when Fitz brought her in, and curled up against her chest the whole time I was making the medicine.

  INCIDENT: Emergency House Call to Havenfield

  DETAILS:

  Sophie snuck away to the Forbidden Cities to bottle a sample of their fires.

  SYMPTOMS/INJURIES:

  Minor burns (well… minor for Sophie). Her lungs also showed signs of smoke inhalation.

  TREATMENT:

  Only needed my regular salve this time. Elixirs and Youth took care of her lungs.

  NOTES:

  Not sure what’s going to happen to Sophie after this, but if there’s a Tribunal, you can bet I’ll be offering to testify. I know what she did was illegal—but it was also incredibly brave. Looks like she was right, too, and the fires were Everblaze.

  FILE CLOSED.

  PATIENT… DECEASED.