Sophie Elizabeth Foster

Sophie Elizabeth Foster is the main protagonist throughout the series Keeper of the Lost Cities. She is currently 15 years old in the Elvin world, as stated in Book 7: Flashback. She has attended Foxfire Academy, the only noble school in the Lost Cities, for levels Two (Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities), Three (Exile, Everblaze, Lodestar, and Nightfall), and Four (Flashback). She temporarily attended Exillium with Fitz, Dex, Keefe, and Biana, in Neverseen. She is allergic to limbium. She, after being adopted, did not take the last name of Ruewen, which is her adoptive parents' surname.

The name Sophie means "wisdom" "wise" "pretty," and "skill." Her middle name, Elizabeth, means "oath of God" and "God is satisfaction." Her last name, Foster, means "one who keeps the forest."

Physical Appearance
Sophie Elizabeth Foster is described as being very beautiful, a natural trait of elves. You can get mixed messages about the level of her beauty because of her low self esteem, a result of constant hearing of her human classmate's thoughts, opinions, and bullying. However, her beauty goes from that beyond the average elf, like her friend Linh. This is hinted at throughout the series. She has wavy blond hair flowing just past her shoulders. Her eyes are a warm brown with flecks of gold based on an alicorn's DNA. She is the only known elf without blue eyes. As of Exile, she has a star-shaped scar on the back of her hand. It was given to her by Mr Forkle when he used a needle that had an antidote to limbium in it to heal Sophie's abilities.

Many people have described Sophie as alluring and attractive; Dex has accidentally called her the prettiest girl at Foxfire on many occasions, Della has said that she will be a heartbreaker when she grows up, Keefe hints at thinking that she is pretty and calls her adorable, and Fitz implies many times that he thinks she's beautiful.

Sophie also has a Wanderling tree, a remnant from her kidnapping and presumed death in Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities. It has golden leaves that cover the branches and dark brown seedpods. It is a plain, basic tree with no flowers or colours.

 Photo 1: Sophie in Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger Photo 2: Sophie in Neverseen by Courtney Godbey Photo 3: Sophie in Lodestar by Laura Hollingsworth Photo 4: Sophie in Lodestar by Shannon Messenger Photo 5: Sophie in Lodestar by Shannon Messenger Photo 6: Sophie in Nightfall by Laura Hollingsworth Photo 7: Sophie in Nightfall by Laura Hollingsworth Photo 8: Sophie in Nightfall by Shannon Messenger Photo 9: Sophie and Silveny in Flashback by Laura Hollingsworth Photo 10: Sophie and Fitz in Flashback by Laura Hollingsworth Photo 11: Sophie and Keefe in Flashback by Laura Hollingsworth Photo 12: Sophie and Ella by Shannon Messenger Photo 13: Sophie on the cover of Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities by Jason Chan Photo 14: Sophie on the cover of Exile by Jason Chan Photo 15: Sophie on the cover of Everblaze by Jason Chan Photo 16: Sophie on the cover of Neverseen by Jason Chan Photo 17: Sophie on the cover of Lodestar by Jason Chan Photo 18: Sophie on the cover of Nightfall by Jason Chan Photo 19: Sophie on the cover of Flashback by Jason Chan Photo 20: Sophie on the cover of Legacy by Jason Chan

Nicknames

 * Curvebuster
 * Superfreak
 * Special Sophieflake
 * Dorktionary
 * Mysterious Miss F
 * Foster
 * Ultimate Splotching Champion
 * Girl Who Dropped Bronte on His Grumpy Butt
 * Lady Lectures-a-lot
 * Little Miss Heartbreaker
 * The Foster of Many Floods
 * Agnes McWeenie
 * Soybean
 * Brave Moonlark
 * Foster Grumpypants
 * Captain Mood Swing
 * Blondie
 * Moonlark
 * Lady Fos-Boss
 * The Droolmonster
 * Miss Go-Getter

Personality and Traits
Sophie's favorite color is teal, (because of Fitz's eye color). Sophie is first depicted as a lonely and shy girl, a 12-year-old among high school seniors. She was an outcast in the Forbidden Cities because she was incredibly intelligent, and was often called a know-it-all. All of this led to her getting a full scholarship to Yale University, which her parents denied to shield her from the attention. Her outstanding grades and photographic memory frequently annoyed her human peers. Because of this, she often wore dull colors, like black or grey. Too much attention still makes her uncomfortable even in the Lost Cities.

At first, Sophie had a hard time accepting the fact that she was an elf, but this did not deter her curiosity. Sophie often doubts herself and sometimes needs reassurance to boost her self-confidence. She has a habit of tugging out loose eyelashes when she is nervous. She usually cries when she's frustrated and needs to express her feelings, usually on her friends' shoulders. Her family is very supportive and understands her feelings. Despite this, she is also headstrong and brave. Even if something seems dangerous, she always wants to help, especially when her friends and family are involved. For instance, when Keefe joined the Neverseen, Sophie tried everything she could to get him back, straining her friendship with Fitz. She also has a high guilt level.

Sophie doesn't enjoy wearing fancy clothes, despite the fact that everyone always compliments her when she does, but after manifesting as an Enhancer she starts dressing more like Biana to camouflage the gloves she wears.

Sophie's most prominent trait is her protectiveness and willingness to help her friends, even if it harms herself. This is shown when she nearly faded away while light leaping without a nexus because she wrapped all of her concentration around Dex, who she thought was unconscious when they escaped the Neverseen in Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities.

Sophie is also very determined, refusing to give up despite any situation. A prime example would be during her capture in Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities, where she did not give up hope trying to contact Fitz. Sophie also has a photographic memory, which is very helpful in classes like The Universe.

Extremely oblivious.

Special Abilities
Sophie, as of Flashback, is a Telepath, Inflictor, Polyglot, Teleporter, and Enhancer. She is likely the most powerful known elf in the Lost Cities. However, it is hinted that she might have more undiscovered abilities. Even though it is not a special ability, Sophie has a powerful photographic memory, just like Keefe Sencen. According to Grizel, she is also a natural at throwing weapons. It has also been revealed that Sophie can perform a brain push (transforming mental energy into physical energy, giving Sophie a burst of superhuman strength). She can also speak to animals telepathically.

Telepath
Sophie has had the ability to read minds since the unusually young age of five. Her talent was activated by Mr. Forkle, the leader of the Black Swan when she was unconscious on a day she hit her head. However, Sophie cannot remember what happened to her that day because Mr. Forkle erased that memory. She is considered to be the most powerful Telepath in the Elvin world since she can communicate telepathically halfway across the world while being severely injured and heavily sedated. She is also the only elf who can safely enter and heal a broken mind. Sophie can also read the minds and hear the thoughts of animals, which has never been done before (though she later teaches Fitz how to) and use her abilities to pinpoint others' exact locations, which she first realized while playing a game of base quest at Everglen. Her Foxfire mentor is Tiergan, and before that, Mr. Forkle mentally trained her mind while she was asleep in the human world. Sophie is also able to access the minds of even those with phenomenal blocking and has such an impenetrable mind herself that even the most powerful and well-trained Telepaths are unable to penetrate her mind. Only Mr. Forkle and Fitz Vacker can read her thoughts, as they have a unique code that allows them to bypass Sophie's subconscious blocking. Sophie does not know their codes. Fitz transmits the code "It's me" (revealed in the Book 7: Flashback Fitz short story) to enter Sophie's mind. Fitz and Sophie are also Cognates.

Polyglot
Sophie showed signs of being a Polyglot as soon as she met Fitz (who was speaking in the Enlightened Language). Sophie realized that she is a Polyglot when she and Dex were escaping their kidnappers in France, and she spoke to someone in French without realizing it. Alden told her being a Polyglot will help her in Multispeciesial Studies, which she is taught at Foxfire. She struggles with Mimicry, though, an important skill in her Linguistics class. After Keefe uses Mimicry to give Kenric's cache to the Neverseen, Sophie decides to refrain from learning to Mimic. Her linguistics instructor is Lady Cadence.

Inflictor
Sophie has this ability because of the Black Swan's tweaking of her genes. The first time she used the ability was when she made her kidnappers fall to the ground in pain in Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities. She can harness her emotions by imagining them as thick strings that she keeps tied in a sort of knot beneath her ribs. She can inflict both positively and negatively. Normally, Inflictors can only inflict negative emotions, but because of the tweaks made to her DNA, which was loosely based on an alicorn's, she can inflict positive emotions as well. She can bring people's minds back from a mental break by inflicting positive emotions. Her instructor is Councillor Bronte, who was previously the only registered Inflictor in the Elvin world. Then in Book 8: Legacy she undergoes another lithium dose (which she is deathly allergic to) in order to reset her inflicting and enhancing. Hence making them both more powerful. After she does the treatment she is able to inflict on a specific person or people. So she doesn't bring her friends down when she inflicts anymore.

Photographic Memory
Sophie also has a photographic memory, which helped her excel academically in her human schools. When Sophie sees something, she can remember it in her mind exactly how she saw it in vivid detail. She uses her photographic memory for the memory log that Alden gave her, which keeps track of different moments for her to reference. She projects her memory onto the pages and often finds hidden messages in them when she looks closely at them. This ability helps Sophie a lot in classes such as The Universe, as she has the stars memorized. It also allows her to remember information the Black Swan planted in her mind while she was living in the human world.

Teleporter
Acquired from the similarities to alicorns in her genes, Sophie can teleport like Silveny, Greyfell, and, presumably, Luna and Wynn (the baby alicorns). Sophie is the only known elf who can teleport. When teleporting, Sophie must build momentum by falling from a high place, such as a cliff, or by levitating and then dropping, and, in Legacy(book 8) she gained the ability to enter the void by sprinting. After entering the void, all she has to do is imagine the place she'd like to go to and she will fall through the sky and out of the void to it. Sophie cannot teleport through anything solid (underground, such as Exile, into buildings, or into the Sanctuary, which is located in a mountain range). In Legacy, It is found out that she can teleport while building momentum and running really fast; she doesn't need to jump off a cliff.

Enhancer
Sophie has the ability to enhance, or temporarily improve, someone's energy and ability. Her body builds up energy in her fingertips and releases it through physical contact. This requires her to wear gloves whenever in public, so she doesn't accidentally boost someone's energy. Dex once attempted to give Sophie crush cuffs with a force-field that prevents the need for gloves, but she declined. In Book 8: Legacy she resets her enhancing and inflicting abilities with another dose of lithium. So they are much stronger than they were before and she needed to wear multiple pairs of gloves so she didn't enhance anyone. Edaline, Livvy, Biana, Dex, and Wylie all needed two pairs not to feel the effects of her enhancing. Stina needed three, Fitz needed four, and Keefe needed six layers and the fingernail gadgets. Although after all of that he still felt some of her energy. Mr. Forkle was convinced that if she wanted, she could find a way within herself to turn the enhancing off without any gadgets. After a freeing exercise with Councillor Oralie she found that she is able to turn them on and off at her will.

In Book 7: Flashback, Tinker invents a gadget attached to Sophie's fingernails to block her Enhancing. She can turn on and off this effect by simply tapping her fingernails together. Mr. Forkle informed her that there is no way for her to lock it at any time, placing her in a precarious position because an enemy could force her to turn off the force field and enhance them; however, she took the risk anyway because of the advantages the fake nails presented. This ability is not a result of her genetic modification, and it is stated that Mr. Forkle decided not to include this ability in her genetic code because of the risk it presents. Sophie may have never manifested this ability if Mr. Forkle hadn't triggered it in Lodestar.

Relationships
Sophie seemed to have had a very strong relationship with her human family, and still has one with her younger sister. She cried when the time came for her to be separated from them and was depressed for a short period of time. Her human father is William David Foster (changed to Connor Freeman,) her human mother is Emma Iris Foster, (changed to Kate Freeman,) and her sister is Amy Rose Foster (changed to Natalie Freeman). When Sophie left for the Lost Cities, Washers relocated her human family and wiped all their memories of Sophie so they didn't have to think their daughter died.
 * HUMAN FAMILY 

She used to think her younger sister, Amy, was annoying, but when the time came for her to move to the Lost Cities and have her family's memories erased, she realized she cared for her.

At the end of Lodestar, Sophie thought her family might be in danger from the Neverseen, so she visited their new home. She realized that the Neverseen had already been there. The Neverseen had kidnapped her parents, but her sister had successfully hidden from them. Seeing Sophie and hearing her speak returned Amy's memories of Sophie.

In Book 6: Nightfall, Amy came to live with Quinlin Sonden and Livvy. She learned about the Lost Cities and became closer to Sophie. Sophie rescued her parents from the Neverseen, and their memories were again wiped by Washers, except for Amy, who was allowed to keep her memories on the condition that she would never mention the Forbidden Cities.

Amy and Sophie don't see each other again until Book 8: Legacy, when Mr. Forkle gives both of them a painful memory back. They try to spend time catching up, but are rushed along so they can finish before Amy's parents come back. When they first met, Fitz instantly struck Sophie as cute, and it has been shown that she has had a crush on him ever since. Over time, their bond has grown stronger, partly due to the fact that they are currently Cognates-in-training and now know all of each other's secrets - including their romantic interests for each other. The two trust each other and understand the other's minds completely. When Sophie was in grave danger, the first person she thought of was Fitz. Sophie and Fitz have developed a bond so strong they are capable of transmitting thoughts to one another from great distances. Fitz is the only elf besides Mr. Forkle who is able to enter Sophie's mind by transmitting "It's me" to her subconsciousness. It has been shown in Nightfall that Fitz is very fond of giving Sophie gifts with no explanation.
 * FITZ (Cognate/close friend/former boyfriend)

In Exile, when Alden's mind broke, Fitz shut Sophie out, thinking she was to blame and that he should have been with his dad instead of her when Alden was injured. Despite this, Sophie thinks that he had every right to be mad at her because he may have lost his father forever. Right before she healed Alden, he took her outside and privately apologized to her. She immediately accepted.

In Lodestar, Fitz becomes more open with Sophie and began to show more affection for her. He gave her Cognate rings as a Midterms gift, which she thought she liked "a little too much." Sophie's crush on him continued to develop. Fitz may also have nearly kissed Sophie under Calla's Panakes tree at one point, but Keefe interrupted before he could.

In Flashback, Sophie and Fitz became extremely close. Fitz told Sophie that wanted only her to be on his match list, causing Sophie to tell him about her own crush on him. They almost kissed immediately after this; however, it was interrupted by Silveny's transmissions. They eventually decided to hold things off until Sophie was ready to start "dating."

In Legacy, Sophie is nervous about her 'unmatchable' state and avoids Fitz. When Fitz finally does find out, he seems intent on discovering Sophie's biological parents, so they could be matched. He also calls Sophie his girlfriend, and the two began dating. Later, they fought and broke up, and then decided to just be friends.

Keefe and Sophie first met in the halls of Foxfire. Sophie was heading to the Healing Center and Keefe was ditching class. Since then, the two have been in Detention together numerous times. Being an Empath, Keefe is able to feel Sophie's emotions much stronger than he can feel others', even when he is not in contact with her. Keefe enjoys teasing and jokingly flirting with Sophie at times, even self-proclaiming himself as president of the 'Foster Fan Club.' It is shown in Nightfall that the two balance each other out and make a great team.
 * KEEFE (close friend/possible love interest)

Instead of calling Sophie by her first name, Keefe frequently calls her by her last name, Foster, as well as often making comments about "Team Foster-Keefe." When the two, along with their friends, run off to join the Black Swan, Keefe reveals one of his biggest insecurities to Sophie, admitting that he hides behind jokes to cope with how he actually feels. It is how he deals with life. Sophie was the first person to see Keefe for who he actually is beneath all the jokes and flirts.

While staying at Alluveterre, Sophie was always there for Keefe, helping him deal with the possibility of losing his mother by allowing him to cry on her shoulder. On particularly bad nights, Keefe and Sophie had window slumber parties where they slept beside their windowsills facing each other. At the end of the book, Keefe gifted Sophie with a necklace he had originally made for his mother. They lean in close, almost kissing, before being interrupted by Grady and Edaline. Keefe joined the Neverseen after that, leaving Sophie heartbroken.

Throughout Lodestar, Keefe and Sophie had Telepathic check-ins every day where Keefe filled Sophie in on any important information regarding the Neverseen. She constantly pleaded with him to leave the organization, but he refused. At the end of the book, during the attack on Lumenaria, Keefe promised Sophie that he would always be there for her. This proved handy when things between Sophie and Fitz were tense and awkward, so she came to Keefe for moral support.

In the Barnes and Noble Special Edition Short Story of Nightfall, Keefe admitted that he had a crush on Sophie. Ro says that he "has it bad for her." Keefe tried to escape bed rest many times, and he even tried to escape just so he could know if Sophie was safe. He only felt slightly better when Elwin promised to give him an update on Sophie. While he was stuck on bed rest and Ro was destroying Candleshade, he dreamed about "golden flecked eyes." He also vowed to always be there for her as a friend until she was "ready for more." He also confirmed that there was a love square, not a triangle. Dex is Sophie's first and best friend, as stated in the books, although Biana also considers herself to be Sophie's best friend. Dex cares deeply about Sophie, and he often studies with her for their exams. He was with her when she was kidnapped and was also taken in the first book.
 * DEX (best friend/adoptive cousin)

In the earlier books, he strongly disapproved of Sophie associating herself with Fitz and his family, claiming that they are a bunch of distrustful people and often referred to Fitz as "Wonderboy." Although Sophie ignored his warning and later learned that Biana only became friends with her because Alden ordered her to, Dex supported her despite their previous argument.

In Exile, Sophie tried to talk to him privately about their kidnapping because she felt that they were the only ones who could understand it. During the conversation, Dex admitted he kept quiet and didn't scream for help so that the kidnappers wouldn't hurt Sophie. When Sophie needed his help opening the gate to the Cliffside pasture, he came and helped despite his reluctance and fear. He was also with Sophie when they found Silveny, one of two alicorns in the world at the time. It is also mentioned that he came around to Havenfield and Sophie often roped him in to help her with her chores, such as washing the various animals at the pastures.

In Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities, his ability as a Technopath was revealed and Sophie comforted him about it, often reassuring him that it was a cool ability. During the book, he began working with the Council and building gadgets (or as he slipped up and said, "weapons"). When Sophie had been issued a punishment for entering the ogre king's mind, he was ordered to make her an ability restrictor. Although he regretted listening to the Council, it still took time for Sophie to forgive him. When she was ambushed by Brant, he responded to her panic switch ring alert and took her circlet off even though it meant possibly being exiled. He joins her in running off to the Black Swan, showing his loyalty and friendship.

In Neverseen, their friendship was still a little bit complicated but she completely forgave him.

In Lodestar, all her friends gathered at his house, Rimeshire, for a sleepover to analyze scrolls and find out the Neverseen's secrets. Sophie commented on how nice his house was and they both blushed when the triplets teased them.

In Nightfall, Dex was absent for many chapters because of an "embarrassing" incident with Sophie. He had modified crush cuffs that had his name on them to act as restrainers for her Enhancing. He admitted that he had had the crush cuffs since the last year when he was too scared to give them to her at midterms; she told him that it was very sweet. She kissed him to determine if either of them truly had feelings for each other. They did not and they departed as best friends. Keefe later told her that in Dex's mind he wanted Dexphie to sail, but in his heart, he knew it wouldn't happen. It confirmed that starting in the first book, Dex has liked Sophie as more than a friend.

As of Flashback, Sophie and Dex remain best friends, and Dex has even begun to joke about his previous crush on Sophie, proving that he has moved on. Biana considers Sophie her best friend. She first became friends with Sophie because her father made her (which Sophie found out via Stina), but as she got to know Sophie, Biana became a genuine friend of hers, even crying when Sophie was taken. Biana has proven herself to be a fierce and loyal friend to Sophie. She always tries to include Sophie in her makeovers, but Sophie hates makeup, and avoids it as much as she can; Biana occasionally lends Sophie clothes, always saying she looks good in them. She is a Vanisher like her mother, Della, and bragged to everyone when she manifested. She has used her ability to go on secret missions with Sophie. Calla, a gnome, could see her even when she Vanished, and Biana worked hard to try and find a way to hide from her. Eventually, she figured out the secret and made it impossible for any gnome to know if she's there or not. During Nightfall, Biana Vanished and snuck off, only to get smashed into a mirror by Vespera. She now has many scars all over her arms, neck, face, and back. She sometimes hides them with long sleeves but lets them show when she wants to make a statement about how the Neverseen can't break her. Sophie and her friends first met Tam Song and his twin sister Linh in Neverseen, when they went to Exillium. Tam is a Shade, meaning he can sense the shadowvapor of others. Tam is rather cynical and protective of Linh. He went to be with his sister after she was banished for flooding Atlantis. Tam dislikes being referred to by his surname. Tam has hinted that he likes Biana. He also won’t trust anyone until he takes a shadow reading. In Flashback, he went to the Neverseen :( to take Umber's place in exchange for the antidote for the soporidine shot onto the alicorns, Silveny and Greyfell. At the end of Legacy, Tam returns from the Neverseen with Glimmer. Sophie and Linh have been friends since the first moment they met and are incredibly loyal in their friendship, shown in Lodestar when Sophie defended the twins when confronting their parents, Quan and Mai Song. She seems slightly jealous of the admiration Linh has for Fitz, making her feel bad because she likes Linh. Linh is a Hydrokinetic, which is what caused all the floods that banished her to Exillium. When Sophie became an Enhancer, Linh often put distance between them, fearing that she could flood again, but in Nightfall she used Sophie's Enhancing to save Atlantis. Marella is Sophie's friend and vice-versa. She and Sophie became friends in Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities, but later, when Sophie started hanging out with the Vackers, Keefe, and Dex more, Marella felt left out and started hanging out with Stina. However, in Lodestar, Marella had her hidden ability triggered by Mr. Forkle and started spending more time with Sophie as she uses her abilities to help fight the Neverseen. Her family name is Redek, and she dislikes nicknames, telling Sophie in the first book, "My name's Marella. Not Mare. Not Ella. Marella." However, in Nightfall, Marella was brought back with her unique talent as a Pyrokinetic and joined the Black Swan to help Sophie get back her parents. In Flashback, Marella is seen helping Sophie and her friends fight off the baby trolls with her powers.
 * BIANA (close friend)
 * TAM (friend)
 * LINH (friend)
 * MARELLA (friend)

Oralie is one of the Councillors who has always been supportive of Sophie and never been negative towards her. She often seems to be supportive of the Black Swan and is sometimes consulted in their decisions. She has helped Sophie with numerous projects, from getting her a visit with Gethen to fixing Exillium. In Legacy, Oralie was revealed to be Sophie's biological mother just after helping Sophie "fix" her Enhancing. After Sophie learns this, she gets very angry at Oralie for lying to her. However, Oralie's cache contains a secret that might be the only way to save Keefe, so in the last chapter, they agree to work together on opening it. Edaline is a sensitive mother when it comes to Sophie being burnt by something, as her first daughter, Jolie, died in a fire. Sophie reminds her of Jolie, as she has said a few times, and that makes it a little painful to look at Sophie sometimes. She had a hard time adjusting to having Sophie in Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities, but she eventually sees Sophie as her daughter. She is also known to be a great T-rex rider, as shown first in Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities. Edaline is a Conjurer, like her late daughter, Jolie. Edaline also became very aware of Sophie's safety in Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities and decides that she should not go into the pastures again to avoid getting hurt. After Sophie discovered that she and Grady were canceling her adoption, their relationship was very rocky to the point of Sophie never talking to them and ripping off the Ruewen crest on her cape. When Sophie saw Edaline and Grady in Jolie's old bedroom, she overheard part of their conversation and found it easier to try and forgive them. After Sophie was found and returned she decided to stay with them and become part of the family.
 * ORALIE (supporter/Councillor/biological mother)
 * EDALINE (adoptive mother)

Edaline is very supportive of Sophie's decisions, as stated in Flashback. She also often can't help but eavesdrop on Sophie and Fitz's conversations. Grady is fun, warm, and cheery, but when Sophie is in trouble, he becomes cold and stern. He, like Edaline, had a hard time adjusting to her, but at the end of Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities, he welcomed her with open arms. Grady is a Mesmer and Sophie gets nervous when he uses his talent. Grady doesn't like Keefe and he repeatedly calls him "That Boy" in the later books. He also becomes very protective of Sophie in Exile and in Everblaze, even going to the length of Mesmerizing the Council into smacking their faces, because the punishment they gave Sophie for reading the ogre king's mind was horrible (Dex's Ability Restrictor). Alden is Fitz and Biana's father. Sophie almost always goes to him with problems and concerns and clues on the Black Swan, but she has kept some things from him, like the Spyball (she was afraid he would take away her only access to her human family). Alden sent his sons on missions to find Sophie and had received a newspaper article leading him to Sophie. Sophie trusts him and he trusts her. In Exile, Alden asked Sophie to be his guide when he performed a memory break on Fintan. Sophie was very upset when Alden's mind was broken and she was determined to find a way to save him. Mr. Forkle was Sophie's next-door neighbor in the Forbidden Cities. He was one of the main Elves involved with tweaking Sophie's DNA and triggered her Telepathy when she was five. He trained her mentally at night so she would be an exceptional Telepath. He became quite involved with Sophie's life after she joined the Black Swan (which is under his guidance). He is the closest thing to a father that Sophie has (besides her human father and Grady). In Lodestar, Mr. Forkle died after being stabbed by Gethen in Lumenaria. Despite Sophie's protests, he said, "This is my swan song." He commanded her to live her own life, to not let grief break her, and he asked Keefe to help her. The castle in Lumenaria was destroyed, almost burying him and Councillor Oralie alive. He had told Oralie to "take care of my moonlark." When Sophie discovered "Mr. Forkle's" identical twin, she assumed that Mr. Forkle had not perished and had toyed with her emotions. When she learned about the brothers, she understood his decision and planted his tree. In Neverseen, he is revealed as both Sir Astin and Magnate Leto.
 * GRADY (adoptive father)
 * ALDEN (friend and father figure)
 * MR. FORKLE (creator/mentor)

(See also: Sophie and Mr. Forkle) Tiergan is very supportive of Sophie's Telepathy training. Despite his dislike for the Vacker family due to Prentice's memory break, he was the first to pair Sophie and Fitz together for Telepathy training because they worked so well together. Sophie calls on Tiergan when she's in need (like when Alden's mind broke) and trusts him with some of her worries. Tiergan was later revealed to be Granite, a leading member of the Black Swan's Collective. Sandor is a strong, stubborn goblin who was charged with taking care of Sophie after she was kidnapped. Though he has a prickly exterior, he has a good heart and cares about Sophie. He helps Sophie out during her investigations and does his best to protect her. His voice, according to Sophie, would better suit a bunny rabbit than a goblin bodyguard. In Lodestar, he was believed to have a crush on Grizel, which she returned. However, he refused her advances because he felt like he needs to be the best soldier possible and she hindered that. In Flashback, Grizel admitted she loved Sandor. Calla was a gnome and a member of the Black Swan. She was a part of the team that created Sophie. She taught Sophie how to make Starkflower stew and liked to call Sophie her 'Brave Moonlark'. She was always there to calm Sophie. In Neverseen, she willingly became a Panakes tree to provide a cure for a plague affecting the gnomes. Afterward, Sophie hung out around the tree often and Dex gave Sophie a Panakes perfume to always remember Calla by. Later Sophie got to know her great-niece, Flori, at Havenfield. Jensi was the first guy at Foxfire to come and talk to Sophie. She likes him, but he doesn't hang out with her a lot because he feels a little left out when she is with the group. Jensi went back to the "drooly boys" and abandoned the main group eventually. Jensi was later seen at the training that the Exillium Coaches provided for every Lost City citizen, and he was in the same Hemisphere as Sophie, Tam, and Linh (Ambi). Ella is Sophie's beloved Hawaiian shirt-wearing blue stuffed elephant that she brought from the human world. Sophie cannot sleep without the bright blue elephant. Ella comforted Sophie when she had to leave her human family. (This may have led to her friends receiving other stuffed animals, such as Mr. Snuggles, Fitz's stuffed dragon, Mrs. Stinkbottom, Keefe's stuffed gulon, and Lady Sassyfur, Biana's stuffed yeti, who used to be named Betty-the-Yeti). In Nightfall it is mentioned that her sister Amy has a similar favorite toy, a stuffed bunny, Bun-Bun. Bronte was always a mystery. He seemed to hate Sophie throughout the first few books but later became nicer to Sophie and more supportive. He is her Inflicting Mentor. In Legacy, Sophie had though Bronte was her biological parent because inflicting was very rare and Bronte was the only other inflictor. Bronte had very clearly denied this proposition. Kenric was another Councillor who has always been supportive of Sophie. He was also suspected to be Sophie’s biological father, and Mr. Forkle concluded he was not. He was killed at Oblivimyre when Fintan ignited Everblaze to stop Sophie from searching for his memories.
 * TIERGAN (telepathy mentor)
 * SANDOR (bodyguard/friend)
 * CALLA (former friend and supporter)
 * JENSI (friend)
 * ELLA (comforting stuffed animal)
 * BRONTE (former frenemy/Councillor/Mentor)
 * KENRIC (former friend/Councillor/supporter)
 * ELWIN

Project Moonlark
Sophie was originally an experiment by the Black Swan to acquire new perspective by having an elf grow up with humans and then come to the Lost Cities. Mr. Forkle monitored her closely during this time, and even handpicked her human family. They designed her to have as many strengths and as few weaknesses as possible. This is why she has so many abilities and also possibly why she has brown eyes.

The identity of her genetic parents was kept secret from her for a long time, causing her to grow very frustrated with Mr. Forkle. Only in Book 8: Legacy was it revealed that Councillor Oralie is her biological mother. After this revelation she stopped wondering who her biological father is. However, her DNA is not just from her parents. It was also modeled from alicorn DNA, which is why she can teleport and communicate telepathically with Silveny.

There were a few mistakes that the Black Swan made. Her inflicting and enhancing abilities were malfunctioning, so she had to have them reset through an operation. She's also allergic to limbium, which has never happened to an elf before and made all operations much riskier.

Books Featured In
Sophie starts the book in the human world, but a mysterious boy (Fitz) comes and tells her she is actually an elf. Sophie then must leave her family and life behind and come to Foxfire, a school for elves. That's where all of her adventures begin... The first part of the book sees Sophie finding an extremely rare Alicorn. Throughout the book, they develop a special connection. Silveny, the alicorn, accompanies Sophie and Keefe when they travel to the Black Swan's secret hideout later in the book. In the hideout, Sophie is finally fully healed from her mental "malfunction" she got when she faded away in Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities. Sophie starts in the preface of the book dropping a mirror on her bedroom floor while realizing her kidnapper was right in front of her the entire series.
 * KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES
 * KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: EXILE
 * KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: EVERBLAZE

Sophie is later seen in chapter one with Keefe, trying to teleport, only to realize that they are trapped in the void because of a "no teleporting" force field around the Sanctuary. Keefe suggests that he and Sophie should go home, hoping to end up in Sophie's adopted home, Havenfield, only to end up in San Diego, Sophie's old human home. Sophie tries to explain to Keefe about "the Mysterious Disappearing Boy" and Mr. Forkle and his garden gnomes, when she realizes that the garden gnomes are set up in the pattern of the constellation Cygnus, which is a swan. She digs up the dirt where the last star of the constellation would be and finds a note from the Black Swan saying that she should "Wait for instructions and stick to the plan," telling Keefe that Prentice is the plan and that she had to wait for the Black Swan before she could heal him. Getting back on track, Sophie convinces Keefe that they should leap to his house, Candleshade. There they could leap to the Sanctuary. Keefe reluctantly agrees, and they leap to Candleshade. In this book, Sophie and her closest friends from the Lost Cities go to join the Black Swan and find out about the Neverseen. The ogres, who have allied with the Neverseen, unleash a plague which infects the gnomes. They also discover that Alvar is a member of the Neverseen and that Fintan is alive.
 * KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: NEVERSEEN 

In this book, Sophie and her friends return to the lost cities. Sophie struggles to maintain her relationship with Keefe, now that he joined the Neverseen to work as a double agent. Under the assumption Grady and Edaline are in danger, Sophie forgets she has another set of parents. Sophie takes a journey to the forbidden cities, only to find out her parents have gone missing. When Sophie discovers her sister hiding in a closet, she is forced to break the law and take Amy to the Lost Cities. In this book, Sophie is on a mission to get her human family back. Her human sister, Amy, is hidden by her replacement guardians, Quinlin and Livvy. Sophie with the help of her friends and the Black Swan and other unexpected members, they go on the tough journey to gain back her family. The journey isn't smooth either, they run into unimaginable beasts at the "second" Nightfall and a mysterious prisoner from Lumenaria. In this book, Sophie is severely physically and mentally injured by the Neverseen; she gains four more bodyguards as a result and has training sessions with three of her five bodyguards. Fitz and Sophie confess their feelings to each other; Sophie decides to register for matchmaking because of it. She is, however, discovered to be Unmatchable at the end of the book. It is currently not known why, but is assumed to be because she might be related to someone, but doesn't know as her genetic parents are still unknown. She learns about troll hives and much happens because of it, including Silveny's twins being healthy. In this book, Sophie finds out who her biological parents are and has a showdown with the Neverseen at the gnomish capital. Flori one of Sophies body guards and king of the dwarf is held hostage until she find a way to free them. Then it turns out king Enki turns out to have been planing with the never seen. Keefe‘s Mother has tam do something that makes Keefe go into some sort of coma. Sophie ends up breaking up with Fitz.t It is currently unknown what happens in this book being unnamed and everything.
 * KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: LODESTAR
 * KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: NIGHTFALL
 * KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: FLASHBACK
 * KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: LEGACY 
 * KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES: UNKNOWN

Trivia

 * Sophie means 'wisdom'.
 * Some of her genes were modeled after those of alicorns, which is most likely why she has brown eyes and can track thoughts to their exact locations.
 * She is the only elf who can teleport, quite possibly another side effect of her alicorn modeled genes.
 * She has such strong emotions that they can be felt by some empaths without contact
 * She has manifested five abilities; she is a Telepath, Polygot, Inflictor, Teleporter, and Enhancer, although more are hinted at.
 * For a while, Shannon Messenger called Sophie Alexandra, which means "defender of mankind". Shannon originally believed that was what Sophie does, until realizing the name Sophie means "wisdom", which is what Sophie really does: gain wisdom and make everyone around her wiser.
 * Agnes McWeenie is the original name Shannon Messenger gave to Sophie Foster. She said she originally wanted the name to sound dorky. She has stated this at many of her book signings.
 * Sophie's human family (the Foster/Freeman family) had two pets before they were relocated: Marty (a cat) and Watson (a dog).
 * Sophie has only visited the Healing Center 27 times by the end of Nightfall, yet everyone says she's there all the time.

Quotes

 * "Fine. I'm an elf. Am I supposed to help Frodo destroy the ring and save Middle Earth? Or do I have to make toys in the North Pole?" -Sophie Foster, Keeper of the Lost Cities
 * "I'd rather be punished for making the right decision than live with the guilt of making the wrong one for the rest of my life." -Sophie Foster, Keeper of the Lost Cities
 * "Let's go join the Black Swan!"-Sophie Foster, Everblaze
 * “He’s not all bad. No one is. That’s what makes villains so scary. They’re not as different from us as we want them to be.” -Sophie Foster, Neverseen
 * "What I'm trying to realize is it's okay to be different. If everyone were the same, we'd all make the same mistakes. Instead we face our own things, and that's not so bad because we have people who care about us to help us through."-Sophie Foster, Neverseen
 * "She was a girl with strange abilities and a different way of looking at the world. What she decided to do with these things was up to her."-Sophie Foster, Flashback

Character Bio by Shannon Messenger
Sophie is the main character of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series—a girl caught between two worlds, struggling to fit in and still live up to the complicated role she was created for. Her numerous abilities are shockingly powerful—especially for someone her age—and she tends to see things differently than everyone else, in large part because of her human upbringing. She’s also fierce and brave and never backs down from what she believes is right. And while she may have been an outcast among humans, in the Lost Cities she’s surrounded by friends and family—which is good because she also has some incredibly powerful enemies and needs all the help she can get.

Sophie Elizabeth Foster