Linh Song

Linh Song is a member of the Black Swan and an ex-Wayward at Exillium. She is a Hydrokinetic and is known for being the infamous "Girl of Many Floods," after she flooded Atlantis.

She was banished from the Lost Cities when she was eleven, but as of Neverseen, Linh's banishment has been lifted by the Council after Calla convinced them to.

Her last name was originally Tong, but her great-great-grandmother changed it to Song in honor of her profession.

For the first eleven years of her life, Linh lived in her parents' beachside residence, Choralmere. Since she was only a fledgling Hydrokinetic at the time, Linh's parents were told to move her to a place with less water until she learned to control her ability, but her mother refused, saying that she would be lost without the sound of the ocean. After her banishment, Linh moved to the Wildwood Colony where she attended Exillium, the school for the "Unworthy". Then, due to the Black Swan's generosity, she was relocated to the former residence of Ermete, a dwarf who passed away in the battle at Mount Everest. She moved to Alluveterre shortly after, before settling in the Lost Cities with her guardian, Tiergan, and her twin brother, Tam, when her banishment was lifted.

In Nightfall, when Linh and her friends are about to enter Vespera's Nightfall in Atlantis, she and Tam discover that their mother is aiding in the mission by playing one of her compositions in order to distract the crowd away from the gold statue. Linh appears to care a little bit for her mom, as she pales and whispers that their mother is in Atlantis. Tam, on the other hand, does not seem to have any emotions about this at all.

The name "Linh" appears to be a Vietnamese name, along with Tam and her parents'. It means "spirit" or "soul". The name "Linh" also has a lot of other meanings.

Ability
Linh is a Hydrokinetic and often has trouble keeping her ability under control, which has only led her to fear it. The fear was brought upon her when she accidentally flooded part of Atlantis at the age of eleven. Her fear of the water only elevated after her banishment, which is shown when she had difficulty with underwater breathing lessons during her time in Exillium, despite the fact she can control water. She kept muttering "I can't, I can't" to Tam whenever he encouraged her to hold her breath underwater. By book seven, she has gained a little more control and understanding of her ability.

Personality
After Wylie Endal was tortured by the Neverseen, Linh stuck by him during his recovery and even aided with his healing.
 * Compassionate

She is shown to care deeply about other people, especially her allies, and puts their needs before hers. Several times throughout the series, Linh has mentioned another character in need of help when everyone else forgot about them. Throughout Neverseen and beyond, Linh has been known to collect water from the air around her for the sole purpose of splashing Tam in the face.
 * Playful

In Flashback, Linh and Sophie joked about Tam saying "happy shadow thoughts." Linh even made a bright pink tunic for Sophie with the words embroidered on it along with a few smiley faces. The words "Angry Echoes - Beware!" are written on the back. In Flashback, when Tam was doubting his capabilities in helping Sophie, Linh grabs her brother by the shoulder and reassures him that she'll "stand by [him] through whatever comes" just as he stood by her through her banishment.
 * Loyal

Also, Linh has mentioned several times through the series that she is frightened or uncomfortable with some of the things her friends do. But still, along with her brave attitude, she sticks with them and helps them to the end. Even though Linh may not seem strong at first glance, her spirit is not easily broken. She’s also willing to risk her life in dangerous situations and fight for her friends.
 * Strong/Brave

In Neverseen, "The Boobrie Dude", as Keefe calls him, reveals that by saving Sophie from the fire, she "should've gotten...ejected", and was only pardoned because she put out the rest of the fire. Linh is willing to take risks for a complete stranger, which shows that she follows her own morals, and isn't swayed by anyone.

In Nightfall, she had the willingness and courage to save Atlantis with her Hydrokinesis. Linh managed to hold the water up until the Psionipaths arrived.

History
Linh Song (pronounced: Lin) had a difficult childhood. Her parents were ashamed that they had twins, which is a rarity in the Lost Cities, and that is seen to be a curse and disgrace. As a result, they did not like her nor her brother very much and tried to convince other elves that Tam was actually a year older than Linh. Both twins bravely refused to go along with this lie.

She was banished from the Lost Cities and sent to Exillium before she almost flooded Atlantis. She was still new to her powers as a Hydrokinetic at the time, and was not yet in full control of her powers, as stated by Mr. Forkle. The incident that almost flooded Atlantis was after a few other previous ones, and at that point, her parents decided they had to let her go. Tam, her brother, disagreed with this and says that "They had a choice, all right." This is why she had difficulty with underwater breathing lessons held in Exillium, even though she is a Hydrokinetic. She kept muttering "I can't, I can't" whenever Tam encouraged her to hold her breath underwater. Tam was not sentenced to Exillium, but instead did not want to have his parents lie about him being an only child, also not wanting Linh to go through it on her own. this is one of the reasons their bond is so strong.

Linh states that "Water begs for (her) attention, but too often it's a trick." She says that sometimes she can not fully control the element, so in order to prevent that as much as possible, she looks for "fixed points," for example, "tiny drops of steady among the chaos". It gives her "something to focus on" and helps her "keep a tighter hold." However, she also added that the more water there is, the more it slips beyond her control.

Tam, her twin, was angry at their parents, who would attempt to pass him off as an only child. He chose to go with her to Exillium and leave their parents. Linh and Tam both melted their registry pendants, and they dipped the ends of their hair in the liquefied substance, creating silver streaks in their hair. For Tam, it was a sign of rebellion, while Linh wanted a reminder of what can happen if she loses control. She states this in her first meeting with Sophie in Book 4: Neverseen.

Linh's personality itself tends to be one of a kind nature, but she tends to be strong-willed when faced with certain situations. For example, in Lodestar, when most of the Collective and Tam were doubting Keefe's intentions, Linh firmly told her brother that she did not agree with his thoughts, saying, "Actions never tell the whole story. Good can be done for the wrong reasons. And bad can be misunderstood." She is also not comfortable with violence, gore, blood, and war, as seen in Neverseen, when she screamed after she accidentally knocked the ogre off the cliff in Ravagog (she hadn't wanted to kill anyone), and in Lodestar, when she became frightened and disgusted when she learned that she was very close to dead human bodies buried beneath her.

Linh is shown to be very fond of animals. In a bet started by Grizel, the boys and girls had to compete to find something important left by Keefe in Candleshade. Because the girls won, Tam knew that he had to go to Claws, Wings, Horns and Things to get Linh a pet, a murcat. Linh is seen to be excited about owning this murcat, even though Tam states that it is poisonous and can be deadly. In fact, Linh could "lose a few fingers" in the process of training one. In the book Flashback, Linh begged Sophie to let her ride on Greyfell when she saw Sophie preparing to fly on Silveny.

Physical Appearance
Linh has waist-length jet-black hair with silver tips, created after she was banished to remind her what happens when she loses control. Silver-blue dramatic eyes, soft pink lips and a creamy complexion with soft pink cheeks. She is implied to be more beautiful than the average elf.undefined

''Photo 1: Linh by Laura Hollingsworth Photo 2: Linh and Silveny by Laura Hollingsworth Photo 3: Linh by Laura Hollingsworth Photo 4: Linh by Courtney Godbey'' Photo 5: Linh on the cover of Nightfall by Jason Chan

Relationships

 * TAM (twin brother) 

Tam is very protective of Linh, and although he didn't have anything to do with the almost-flooding of Atlantis unlike his twin sister, he still chose to be banished from the Lost Cities with Linh, foiling their parents' plan to make Tam an only child so they wouldn't have to be ashamed of bringing twins into the world. Tam attended Exillium with Linh before the ban was lifted from them by the Council.

Since they grew up together and wanted to rebel against their parents, they have an incredibly close brother-sister bond. Their parents wanted people to think they were not twins, but they chose otherwise - even if it meant going away from the protection of the Lost Cities.
 * SOPHIE (friend/benefactor/possible love interest)

Sophie attended Exillium with Linh when she was banished from the Lost Cities. When Linh couldn't keep calm enough to breathe underwater, Sophie helped her by inflicting calm across the water to tranquilize her. Sophie was also the one who told Mr. Forkle about the twins' situation and made him offer Linh and Tam a proper place to stay at Alluveterre.
 * FITZ (friend/possible love interest)

Fitz, along with Dex, stares at Linh and says "Wow" when Linh crosses the river at Wildwood, when they first meet her, or whenever she uses her ability. It is unknown whether he is impressed by her ability to raise up the whole river, or whether he truly has a romantic interest for her. He also catches her when she trips from concentrating on forming a bubble around them to keep them dry from the rain, and then compliments her abilities. He helps steady her when she lifts the river in Ravagog. She 'blushes prettily' when Fitz asks her to help him, too.
 * DEX (friend/possible love interest)

Dex, along with Fitz, stares at Linh and says "Wow" when Linh crosses the river at Wildwood or whenever she uses her ability. It is unknown whether he is impressed by her ability to raise up the whole river, or whether he truly has a romantic interest for her.
 * MR. FORKLE (benefactor)

After hearing from Sophie about Tam and Linh's situation, he said that they should probably keep themselves serrate, but as Tam and Linh continued to prove themselves, he immediately offered them a place to stay in Alluveterre, where they could be safe, and at the same time avoid facing their parents until they were ready. After hearing about their organization, Linh became interested in the Black Swan and even took the initiative to ask Mr. Forkle what she could do if she wanted to join the Black Swan. As of Lodestar, she has officially joined the Black Swan with her twin, Tam.
 * KEEFE (friend/possible love interest)

In Lodestar, Linh defends Keefe in front of the Black Swan when Tam, Wraith, and Granite were speaking against him.
 * WYLIE (friend/possible love interest)

In Lodestar and Nightfall, Linh helps heal Wylie after he was attacked. It's implied that they share a friendship and that they trust each other. Linh is noted to have visited Wylie several times.

In Flashback, Wylie glared at Bo for glaring at Linh at Havenfield. Linh also has a pendant that leaps to Wylie's house of which she hangs around her neck.
 * BIANA (friend/possible love interest)

Biana and Linh met in Neverseen. They are friends and are on good terms. When the team goes down to Atlantis to look for Vespera's Nightfall, Biana trusts Linh in going below the waters, even though she is known for flooding half of the city. Marella and Linh are good friends. They trained together in their abilities, despite having control over two separate elements, Pyrokinesis and Hydrokinesis. They are seen to get along fairly well.
 * MARELLA (friend/possible love interest)

Quan Song is Linh's father. The two do not have a healthy relationship due to many years of abuse because of Linh and Tam being twins, as well as Linh's incident being "The Girl Of Many Floods" and accidentally flooding Atlantis. He seems to care about his reputation more than his own kids, even going so far as trying to convince everyone Linh and Tam were not the same age, and even going so far as to tell the twins they had their inception date wrong.
 * QUAN (father)

In Lodestar, he appears to try and reconcile with his children but is still harsh.

In Nightfall, he acts rude towards them and complains about them ruining his home as they try to find a place to hide Alvar.
 * MAI (mother)

Character Bio by Shannon Messenger
Linh may be the soft-spoken, easily blushing counterpart to her twin brother’s surly moods—but that doesn’t make her any less of a force to be reckoned with. In fact, she’s one of the most powerful characters in the series—which sometimes causes problems for her. But she’s moved beyond her days of being the Girl of Many Floods and is ready and willing to prove her incredible control whenever the need arises, whether it be with awe-inspiring tricks or life-saving rescues.

Linh Song