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.

Her last name was originally Tong, but her great-great-grandmother changed it to Song in the 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, but her mother refused, saying that she would be lost without the sound of the ocean. After her banishment, Linh moved to theWildwood 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". They also have 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.

Personality
Linh is shown to be very compassionate, as she stayed with Wylie Endal throughout his recovery. 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.
 * Compassionate
 * Playful

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 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, 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, and he did not want Linh to go through it on her own.

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 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 when 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. In Flashback, Linh begged Sophie to let her ride on Greyfell as Sophie flew 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''

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.
 * 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.
 * BIANA (friend)

Biana and Linh met in Neverseen. They are friends and are on good terms. Marella and Linh are good friends. They trained together in their abilities, despite having control over two separate elements, Pyrokinesis and Hydrokinesis.
 * MARELLA

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.