do something.
That’s where the Black Swan and the Neverseen come in.
Yes, one group is definitely bad, and the other strives to be good—but they’re both right about the problems their world is facing. They just have drastically different plans to fix the situation.
And their plans are always changing—which was another thing that made me want to write this story. To me, the scariest villains are the ones that grow and adapt, abandoning things that aren’t working and changing the game again and again. And the smartest heroes are the ones who are always trying new things.
But I do realize that it can be hard to keep everything straight (especially since the books are quite lengthy). So the next section of this guide is sort of a cheat sheet, to catch you up on what each of the rebel groups has been up to—or what Sophie knows, at least. Since she’s the one stuck in the center of it all, it seemed only fair to let her be the one to explain everything.
Think of the next few pages as her notes to herself, trying to make sense of what she’s learned—so she’s ready for what comes next.
THE BLACK SWAN
This is the “sign of the swan,” which is the Black Swan’s fancy symbol
(though sometimes they only use the head/neck portion ).
I guess they picked their name because a really long time ago, humans used black swans as an example of “something impossible,” since they thought swans were always white. Aaaaaaand then they discovered that black swans were a thing, so black swans became a symbol of “something that shouldn’t exist, but does.” Which, I guess, is pretty fitting for the Black Swan, since they’re a group of rebels in a world that thought it was too perfect to ever have a rebellion.
Plus, it gives them an excuse to use phrases like “swan song” for when they’re about to take a big risk or make a sacrifice, and to put dwarven poems about swans into the little notes they give me, and use the Cygnus constellation as clues, and all kinds of other swan-related stuff.
Pretty sure by the time this is over, I’m never going to want to see a swan again.
(Or a moonlark…)
THINGS I KNOW ABOUT THE BLACK SWAN
They’re the “good guys.” (I hope…)
They “created” me and hid me with humans.(And then helped Alden find me so he could bring me to the Lost Cities.)
They planted information in my brain.(And I still don’t know exactly how much they hid. It pops up at random times.)
They stole two of my memories.(And only gave them back because I forced them to.)
The first memory was about “the Boy Who Disappeared” (who turned out to be Alvar).
The second memory was about me manifesting as an Inflictor before I should have and accidentally hurting my sister.
They’ve been around for a really long time.(But it sounds like they’ve been stepping up their game for the last few decades.)
They used to communicate with me through a bunch of vague notes and riddles. (Definitely not sad those days are over—though it’s not like they actually tell me anything now.…)
They have a ton of hideouts, but so far they’ve only let me see: The High Seas facility (a huge cave on an island in the middle of nowhere, where they healed my abilities—and where they did a lot of the genetic work for Project Moonlark. They had to abandon it after the Neverseen tracked us there).
Alluveterre (the underground cave we stayed in when we were banished. It’s also abandoned now, since the Neverseen have a crystal that leaps to it).
Brumevale (the lonely tower where Mr. Forkle hid after what happened in Lumenaria, which is apparently also where he first came up with the idea for Project Moonlark).
Watchward Heath (one of Mr. Forkle’s offices. It’s like a giant underground egg, with walls that project what’s going on with every species all over the world. There’s also a 3D map of the Lost Cities).
They’re ruled by a “Collective” of five different leaders, each using weird code names and disguises: Mr. Forkle
Granite
Squall
Blur
Wraith
Other members are: Livvy Sonden (Physic)
Timkin Heks (Coiffe)
Tinker (No idea who she is—but I guess she goes by “Tinker” to everybody.)
Lord Cassius Sencen (He doesn’t have a code name, but I bet Keefe would say it should be “Ugh.”)
Lady Cadence Talle (She doesn’t have code name either—but she should totally be “Grump.”)
Della Vacker (Since I’m apparently making up code names for everyone, let’s go with “Dazzle.”)
Huh… I just realized I should be including all