plan and let the Neverseen into Everglen during the Celestial Festival.
Fitz almost killed him—twice—that night. And the second time, Alvar actually did look dead. But I guess he was using his skills to feign death so he could escape.
Last time I saw him was at Candleshade, and… he didn’t look good. I guess he’s dying from the stuff Fitz did to him during the troll battle at Everglen. In fact, he may already be dead now. That’s why I agreed to his deal and let him get away in exchange for a little information. He’s not going to be able to hurt anyone again. I hope…
Things I know about Ruy
He was expelled from Foxfire as a Level Four and sent to Exillium—which he ended up getting expelled from too.
His parents worked in Mysterium.
Nobody knows what he looks like—even after the Black Swan captured him! I guess he wears an addler to make sure no one can really see his face, and he’s destroyed any records of his appearance.
He’s a Psionipath.
He helped the Neverseen spread the gnomish plague by putting force fields around infected trees.
He helped capture Wylie.
He shielded Gethen, Fintan, and Brant (and probably Vespera) under force fields when they collapsed the dungeon in Lumenaria to free Vespera and bring down the castle.
His ability makes it really hard to fight the Neverseen—even when Tam and Wylie are there to break down his force fields. But that may be changing.
Tam did something to him during the battle at Everglen—something with shadows that seems like it might’ve wrecked Ruy’s ability. Though I don’t know how long that’s going to last.
Things I know about Umber
Umber wasn’t her real name.
She was a Shade.
She could control shadowflux.
She helped abduct Wylie.
She… hurt me pretty bad. Let’s just leave it at that.
She got crushed at Everglen by the newborn trolls, and the Neverseen just left her there. Didn’t try to get her help. Didn’t even take away her body. I guess that’s what you get for allying with selfish, evil people—and it’s not like Umber didn’t deserve it. But it’s still kinda sad.
Things I know about Trix
Trix isn’t his real name.
He’s a Guster.
He helped kidnap me—and helped abduct Wylie, too.
He used to be friends with Umber.
So I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say I’m not going to like this guy.
Things I know about the Neverseen’s plan
Honestly? Nothing.
I mean, I have a ton of bits and pieces—and a few theories based on everything.
But none of it actually comes together into anything coherent.
And their plans are constantly changing, so nothing I’ve learned matters anyway.
I do know they’re a million steps ahead of me. And it’s seriously frustrating.
BUT… maybe that doesn’t matter.
Maybe the real trick is to stop wasting time trying to figure out what they’re planning and come up with a plan of our own—make the Neverseen deal with that.
Maybe that’s the secret.…
The Intelligent Species
AUTHOR’S NOTE
ANYONE WHO’S READ THE KEEPER series knows that there are only six intelligent species in the Lost Cities:
ELVES
GOBLINS
OGRES
GNOMES
TROLLS
DWARVES
Humans lost that classification after they violated their treaty with the elves—that’s why the human world is called the Forbidden Cities. So you may have looked at this book’s table of contents and thought, Wait—why did Shannon put the human section with everyone else? They’re not an intelligent species! And I assure you, it’s not a mistake—nor is it because I wasn’t sure where else to put that section.
The truth is, while the elves have valid reasons to be concerned about some of the things humans do (like crime, pollution, wars, etc.), Sophie also discovered in Nightfall that the elves have hidden a very dark secret.
The kind of secret that might have prevented humans from losing their status as “intelligent species” if the Council hadn’t covered it up.
So, I put humans in the section where they rightly belong. Only time will tell if the elves are ever willing to do the same.
(And yes, I am aware of how strange it sounds to talk about humans like I’m not one of them. My friends are constantly teasing me about it. Writing is a weird job! )
GOBLINS
CAPITAL CITY:
Dorarspadera
(translates to Gildingham in the Enlightened Language)
RULED BY:
Queen Hylda
CULTURE:
The first time Sophie saw goblins, Fitz told her they were “the most dangerous creatures you’ll ever meet.” And while the ogres might take exception to that, Fitz definitely wasn’t wrong. Goblins start battle training as toddlers, and focus heavily on weapons and war tactics throughout their lives. They also have heightened senses to detect threats or intruders (though their senses can be fooled