Pyren)—though that healing did lead to an unanticipated inferno of Everblaze, which destroyed nearly half of Eternalia and caused the death of Councillor Kenric. They’ve also been able to successfully navigate the complex mental landscapes of other intelligent species, as when they searched King Dimitar’s thoughts during a mission to Ravagog, and read the minds of two gnomes. Additionally, with Sophie’s help, Fitz has been able to communicate with the alicorns, even over great distances. All of which is why Sophie and Fitz officially began training as Cognates during their time living with the Black Swan. Once their banishment ended, they continued the lessons with Sir Tiergan at Foxfire (though Tiergan had technically been working with them the whole time, since recent reports indicate that Tiergan is a member of the Black Swan’s Collective, who goes by the name Granite). Fitz even gifted Sophie with Cognate rings as a Level Three midterms gift. And now that Sophie has manifested as an Enhancer, the two of them are able to accomplish truly incredible tasks, like recovering fragments of memories that had been shattered and buried in the darkest depths of Keefe’s consciousness. Trust has occasionally been noted as a barrier for their Cognate connection (particularly for Sophie), but they’ve managed to find a way of working through it—though it will be interesting to see if the Cognate relationship can survive the matchmaking process. Rumors often circulate about Fitz and Sophie, and the terms “Fitzphie” and “Sophitz” seem to suggest some sort of romantic pairing. One of the matchmakers assigned to Fitz even wondered if certain answers in Fitz’s match packet might’ve been an attempt to steer his match lists a particular way (though the process is of course designed to ensure a bias like that won’t interfere with the matchmakers’ recommendations).
A BANISHED VACKER—AND THE FIRST WAYWARD:
As mentioned earlier, Fitz chose to go with Sophie when she fled the Lost Cities to join the Black Swan. And his involvement in an attempted prison break in Exile led to him (and the rest of his friends, as well as his sister) being officially banished, expelled from Foxfire, and assigned to Exillium—which was definitely a first for his prestigious family (and quite the scandal, until he and his sister were allowed to return home and resume their studies at Foxfire, thanks to the role they played in stopping the gnomish plague).
FURTHER VACKER SCANDALS:
There have been murmurings of a “Vacker legacy” for some time—though the term has been used in both positive and negative ways. As such, it’s unclear exactly what the label is meant to imply—but it should be noted that the legendary family is not without its share of controversy. Rumors have circulated for centuries about Fallon Vacker—though it’s difficult to locate any specific accusations. And Luzia Vacker worked closely with Vespera before Vespera’s scandalous arrest. Luzia also had a secret alliance with the empress of the trolls, which recently caused a deadly scandal. Evidently Luzia allowed the trolls to hide hives at both of her residences (Everglen and Dawnheath), and the trolls used at least one of those hives to breed an experimental army. Luzia claimed to have no knowledge of the trolls’ experiments, but her son seemed to suspect otherwise. Orem even helped the Neverseen expose his mother’s activities by providing the DNA they needed to open the hive at Everglen—which unfortunately unleashed a band of mutant newborn trolls, who then went tearing through the property on a deadly rampage. The Council has yet to punish Luzia for those crimes, because her sentence is still being determined—and investigations into Orem (and other Vackers potentially involved as well) remain ongoing. And then, of course, there’s Alvar Vacker—but he needs his own section.
A TRAITOR IN THE FAMILY:
After the Neverseen’s defeat in Ravagog, Fitz’s older brother, Alvar, boldly declared himself to be a member of the Neverseen. He was also directly involved in the destruction of Lumenaria and the abduction (and torture) of Wylie Endal. He’s additionally suspected to have been involved in Sophie Foster and Dex Dizznee’s kidnapping, as well as the Everblaze infernos that tore through the Forbidden Cities and Eternalia—and he likely fought with the Neverseen in their skirmish with the Black Swan on Mount Everest and helped with the Neverseen’s attempts to capture the alicorns. But all of those accusations unfortunately remain speculation because of severe damage that occurred to Alvar’s memories. He was found in a cell in the Neverseen’s “Nightfall” hideout, seriously wounded and heavily drugged with soporidine