for help, but as they grew stronger and more desperate, he decided to confide in both his sister (Biana Vacker) and his best friend (Keefe Sencen), who encouraged him to check the place where Sophie’s “voice” was telling him to go. The three of them leaped to the Four Seasons Tree in Lumenaria and found Dex stunned by multiple melder blasts and Sophie fading away from an unprotected leap—but Fitz was able to keep Sophie conscious by communicating with her telepathically while Biana and Keefe brought Elwin back to help. Sophie and Dex needed time to recover, and it’s likely that neither of them would be alive today if Fitz hadn’t acted when he did.
SHADOWED DAYS:
Sophie Foster’s kidnapping was a world-changing event for the Lost Cities in so many ways. But for Alden Vacker, her rescue proved that he (and the Council) had been wrong about the Black Swan. The organization was technically composed of rebels—but they were not behaving as enemies, like Alden had initially suspected. Which meant that Prentice Endal’s arrest, memory break, and subsequent exiling had technically been unjust—particularly since Prentice had simply been trying to protect Sophie. And while the Council maintained (and still maintains) that they based their decision on the information they had been given at the time and therefore are not to be blamed, as the source of that information, the realization proved to be too much for Alden. He tried to fight his emotions—even pulled himself back from a smaller breakdown during a Council-assigned mission to [LOCATION REDACTED FOR SECURITY] with Sophie. But after watching Prentice’s son (Wylie Endal) performing during the Foxfire Opening Ceremonies, the guilt shattered Alden’s mind, leaving him in an unstable, unconscious state that is almost worse than death. His wife (Della Vacker) tried her best to hold her family together. But all three children (Fitz, Alvar, and Biana) were devastated over essentially losing their father. And many reports indicate that Fitz’s grief manifested primarily as anger, and that most of that anger was directed at Sophie, whom he blamed for what happened to his father, since she’d known about Alden’s smaller breakdown and hadn’t warned anyone. (It should be noted that Elwin Heslege, who’d been assisting the family as a physician, reported seeing some improvement in Fitz’s temperament with the use of what he calls an “Emotional Support Stuffed Animal.” Elwin gifted Fitz with a sparkly stuffed red dragon, which he instructed Fitz to call Mr. Snuggles, and recommended that Fitz try hugging Mr. Snuggles whenever he was upset, or if he couldn’t sleep. Numerous reports indicate that Fitz still has Mr. Snuggles in his possession and finds a great deal of solace and comfort from his stuffed dragon.) Even though Alden was technically still alive, a planting was held for him in an attempt to provide his family (and our world as a whole) with some sort of closure for his loss. His Wanderling continues to grow—but it has thankfully turned out to be yet another unnecessary tree casting shade in the Wanderling Woods (along with the Wanderlings for Sophie Foster and Dex Dizznee). Sophie discovered that her unique telepathy allowed her to heal broken minds, and she brought Alden back to consciousness. Since his “reawakening,” it’s been as though Alden were never gone, which was naturally a huge cause for celebration, both for his family and for everyone in the Lost Cities. And reports suggest that Fitz apologized to Sophie before she healed his father, because he wanted her to know that he valued her friendship even if she couldn’t save the day.
COGNATES—AND POSSIBLY MORE:
Fitz was already an exceptional Telepath, but his ability improved exponentially once he was granted the rare opportunity of sharing a telepathy session with Sophie Foster and her Mentor (Sir Tiergan). The closer Fitz worked with Sophie, the more Tiergan began to suspect that a significant connection existed between his two prodigies, particularly since Fitz is one of the only Telepaths who can breach Sophie’s mental blocking. It seems the reason that Fitz can do so is because Sophie subconsciously chooses to let him into her mind, which then allows Fitz to transmit his thoughts, search her memories, and hear what Sophie’s thinking. He’s also able to send Sophie bursts of mental energy when her own strength is weakening. And together, Sophie and Fitz have been able to accomplish impressive feats, like performing a mental healing on the shattered, ancient mind of an exiled member of the Neverseen (former Councillor Fintan