Sophie Elizabeth Foster

Sophie Elizabeth Foster is the main protagonist throughout the series Keeper of the Lost Cities. She is currently 16 years old in the elven world, as stated in Book 7: Flashback. She has attended Foxfire Academy, the only noble school in the Lost Cities, for levels 2 (first book), 3 (Exile, Everblaze, and Lodestar), and 4 (Nightfall and Flashback). She temporarily attended Exillium with Fitz, Dex, Keefe, and Biana, in Neverseen. She has a limbium allergy. She, after being adopted, did not take the last name of Grady and Edaline Ruewen.

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 Foster is described as being very beautiful. She has wavy blond hair flowing just past her shoulders, and her eyes are a warm brown with flecks of gold. 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 Linmbium in it to heal Sophies abilties.

Many people have described Sophie as alluring, attractive, and smart; Della told her that she would become a heart-breaker when she grew up. Dex has accidentally called her the prettiest girl at Foxfire on many occasions. Keefe hints at thinking that she is beautiful. Fitz also implies many times that he thinks she's pretty. In the Forbidden Cities, she often wore dull colors such as black, brown and grey to avoid attention; however, Fitz was able to identify her as an elf, partly because she is so naturally beautiful. With elves, however, she has no choice but to wear their colorful clothing to enhance her already stunning appearance and occasionally enjoys it.

She is not as stereotypically girly as Biana, who loves to give makeovers; Sophie often dislikes fancy gowns, tiaras, extravagant skirts, makeup, shopping, and similar "girly" items. She is not a fan of wearing fancy gowns because of the many overly girly aspects of the dresses, unlike Biana. After she manifested as an Enhancer, Biana encourages her to wear fancier clothes to steer any attention away from her gloves.

Many people have said that Sophie resembles Jolie; she reminds Grady and Edaline of her. Vertina also mentions that Jolie resembles Sophie, except that Jolie had "the most gorgeous turquoise eyes" unlike Sophie's brown ones, and that "Jolie's hair was shinier" leading Sophie to wonder if Jolie could be her mother. However, it turned out to be false.

Sophie also has a Wanderling tree. It has golden leaves that cover the branches and dark brown seedpods. It is a plain, basic tree with no flowers or colors.

''Photo 1: Sophie in Book 1 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 Shannon Messenger Photo 8: Sophie in Flashback by Laura Hollingsworth Photo 9: Sophie with Ella by Shannon Messenger''

Personality and Traits
Sophie's favorite color is teal (because of Fitz's eyes' color). Sophie is first depicted as a lonely and shy girl, as she was a 12-year-old among high school seniors. She was an outcast because she was very quiet but incredibly intelligent, and was often called a know-it-all due to this intelligence. Her outstanding grades and photographic memory frequently annoyed and aroused the jealousy of her human peers. Because of this, she often wore dull colors, like black or grey. Attention still makes her uncomfortable.

Sophie had a hard time accepting the fact that she was an elf, though 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 (most of the time crying 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, she tried everything she could to get him back, staining her friendship with Fitz.

Sophie hates wearing fancier clothes, despite the fact that everyone always compliments her when she does, and 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 she escaped the Neverseen in the first book.

Sophie is also very determined, refusing to give up despite any situation. A prime example would be during her capture in the first book, 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.

Special Abilities
Sophie Foster, as of Nightfall, and continuing in Flashback, is a Telepath, Inflictor, Polyglot, Teleporter, and Enhancer. However, it is hinted that she might have more to come, unless she passes the manifestation age before she can receive more abilities. Even though it is not a special ability, Sophie has a photographic memory. Keefe Sencen also shares this ability. According to Grizel, she also has a natural ability for throwing weapons.

Telepathy
Sophie Foster has had the unique ability to read minds since the young age of five. Her talent was activated by Mr. Forkle (The leader of the Black Swan) when she was unconscious on the day she hit her head. Sophie struggles to 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 could communicate telepathically halfway across the world while being severely injured and sedated. She is also the only elf in the world that can enter and "heal" someone that has been broken safely. Sophie can also read the minds and hear the thoughts of animals, which has never been done before, and use her abilities to pinpoint others' locations, which she first learned in a game of Base Quest. Most Telepaths can get a general idea of someone's location, but Sophie can pinpoint their location exactly. Her Foxfire mentor is Tiergan, and before that, Mr. Forkle mentally trained her mind while she slept as a child in the human world. Sophie is portrayed as indestructible, and she has such an impenetrable mind that even some of the most powerful and well-trained Telepaths are unable to penetrate into her mind. Only Mr. Forkle and Fitzroy Avery Vacker, who she allows into her mind subconsciously, are able to read her thoughts, they each have a code Sophie's mins subconciously accepts to let themselves in, Sophie does not know the code. Fitz transmits the code "It's me" (revealed in the Flashback Fitz short story) to enter Sophie's mind. Fitz and Sophie are also cognates.

Polyglot
Sophie discovered she was a Polyglot in Book 1: Keeper. She and Dex were escaping their kidnappers in France, and she spoke to someone in French without realizing it. Alden tells her being a Polyglot will help her in Multispeciesial Studies, which she is taught at Foxfire. She struggles with mimicking, though it is important in her Linguistics class, and after what Keefe had to do to steal Kenric's cache (though he didn't ever intend to hurt her), she decided that she would refuse 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; however, she didn't know about it until Dex told her afterwards. 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 while telepathically inside their head. She uses this ability several times throughout her adventures in the Lost Cities, for varying purposes. Her instructor is Councillor Bronte, who was the only registered Inflictor in the Elvin world before Sophie.

Photographic Memory
Sophie also has a photographic memory, which helped her achieve greatly in her human schools. When Sophie sees something, she can remember it in her mind exactly how she saw it, detail for 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 her a lot in classes such as The Universe. She knows all of the stars. She once burned her hand while capturing light from an unknown star. It also allowed her to remember information the Black Swan planted in her head while she was living in the human world. She sometimes finds this annoying, but in the end, it is usually helpful. Her friend, Keefe Sencen also has this "ability," which his mom, Lady Gisela, claims he got from her.

Teleporter
Acquired from the similarities to Alicorns in her genes, Sophie can teleport with her mind, like Silveny, Greyfell, and, presumably, Luna and Wynn (the baby alicorns). Since Sophie has DNA loosely based on an alicorn's, she has brown eyes just like Silveny. Sophie is the only elf who can teleport. When teleporting, Sophie has to built up momentum by falling from a high place, such as a cliff. 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).

Enhancer
Sophie has the ability to enhance or temporarily improve someone's energy and special ability just by touching them. 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 prevented the need for gloves, but she declined, and, in the process, found out about his feelings for her.

In Book 7: Flashback, Tinker made her an invention that blocks her enhancing. The invention attaches to her fingernails. She can turn on and off this effect by simply tapping her fingernails together. Mr. Forkle told 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. She took the risk anyway because of its advantages. This ability was not a result of her genetic modification, and it was stated that Mr. Forkle "paused" when he discovered she would have this ability because of its danger. Sophie may have never manifested this ability if Mr. Forkle hadn't triggered it in Lodestar.

Relationships
Sophie seems to have a very strong relationship with her human family. She thought her younger sister, Amy was annoying at first, but when the time came for her to depart, forever losing contact with them, she expressed fondness for the young girl. She realizes that the times spent with her fighting were actually fun. She and her mother share mutual love, her mother had gone through twelve hours of labor to bring her into this world, which Sophie was grateful for. Sophie and her father got along very well too, and her father had the annoying habit of calling her "Soybean"(which was what her dad thought Sophie said as a child, not knowing that she was saying Suldreen the Elvin word for moonlark). Sophie's favorite human food is fettuccine. Sophie loved her cat companion, Marty, and his crackly purr. In Lodestar, she finds Amy (Natalie Freeman), and Amy remembers her.
 * HUMAN FAMILY 

Sophie cried when the time came for her to be separated from them and fell into a depression which she eventually recovered from under the tender care of Grady and Edaline. Even though their relationship was rocky at first, she finds that they all need each other. While living at Havenfield, Sophie receives an unauthorized Spyball along with the new names of her family, Connor, Kate, and Natalie Freeman. She uses the Spyball to watch over them and comfort herself.

In Lodestar, Sophie thinks her family might be in danger from the Neverseen, so she visits their new home with Keefe, Fitz, Alden, Sandor, and Grizel. She realizes that the Neverseen were already there when Sandor smells ash and sees that the whole house is in disarray. It turns out that the Neverseen kidnapped Sophie's human parents, but her sister hid from them and they weren't able to find her. When Sophie turns around and her sister sees her, it triggers her sister's memories (that were erased in the first book) of Sophie.

In Book 6: Nightfall, Amy comes to live with Quinlin Sonden and Livvy. She learns all about the Lost Cities and becomes closer to Sophie. Sophie rescues her parents from the Neverseen, and their memories are wiped by Washers. Although Fitz struck Sophie as very cute, at first, the two have a bond that becomes stronger and stronger, helping them grow as both Cognates and great friends. For their cognate training, they have to reveal all of their secrets, which makes their relationship even more intimate. One of the reasons Sophie and Fitz fit so well together is because they both know pain, so they comfort each other in troubling times. They trust each other a lot and understand each other's minds completely. They are always there for moral support, often crying or laughing together.
 * FITZ (cognates/Crush) 

Sophie and Fitz developed a bond so strong they were capable of transmitting thoughts to one another from a great distance.

Fitz was the elf that found her and showed her the Lost Cities. He was there when Sophie had to drug her family and leave them permanently, so he knows the pain she went through that day. Sophie now thanks Fitz for everything that day, saying that he introduced her to a new life. Sophie and Fitz are on friendly terms (though Sophie seemed to have hoped for more, despite stating she clearly wasn't ready for a boyfriend). Sophie thought long and hard when she went out shopping for his present and was severely disappointed when Fitz did not get her anything special. She had gotten him something that was to thank him for her first day in the Elvin cities. It is heavily implied that Sophie has had a crush on Fitz since they first met, having eagerly anticipated meeting him the day after they first met. She thought he had beautiful eyes, and when she nearly lost hope, when she thought she was about to die, she thought of Fitz as he could transmit back to her.

Fitz mourned deeply and blamed himself, thinking that she'd died and was deeply aggrieved; however, he was one of the first people to find her after her escape because Sophie telepathically told him where she had leaped, and Keefe convinced him to look for her. Fitz was overjoyed by Sophie's recovery after the light leaping incident but remained worried about her welfare afterward.

Throughout Exile, Sophie and Fitz are able to telepathically transmit to each other, because of Sophie's impenetrable mind fracturing. Fitz can get into Sophie's head, and Sophie doesn't exactly enjoy that because his voice was very loud and gave her very painful migraines. When Alden's mind breaks, he completely shuns out and gets angry at Sophie thinking she is to blame and that he should have been with his dad instead of her, but she nonetheless thinks that he has every right to be mad at her considering that he may have just lost his dad forever. Right before she heals Alden, he takes her outside and privately apologizes to her, and she immediately says that it's okay, and that "she was never really mad at him in the first place". He also feels sad because they can no longer transmit (her mind was fixed) and she agrees with him. She also feels much more confident while healing Alden because of his and Biana's apologies.

Over the period of Everblaze, they grow close together, and Mr. Forkle shows Fitz how to get into her mind, so he can now get into her mind using a "keyword" that is later revealed to be "It's me", as well as Mr. Forkle's "keyword". They both enter a Telepathy class with a mentor, Sir Tiergan, which Sophie seems embarrassed about. They also practice many trust exercises, which involve many embarrassing secrets and unexpected answers to come out.

In Neverseen, when they join the Black Swan along with Dex, Keefe, and Biana, Mr. Forkle and Granite say that they are going to train Sophie and Fitz as Cognates. Fitz seems extremely excited about the idea, but when Sophie hears that they have to share all their secrets with each other, she acts a little nervous because she would have to tell him her crush. During Cognate training one day, Sophie almost tells Fitz that she likes him, but Keefe interrupts it. Throughout the rest of Neverseen and Lodestar, Fitz keeps on pestering and bugging her to tell him the secret.

In Lodestar, he holds Sophie's hand a lot. Before they obtain the knowledge that Keefe is a spy, and after they know Alvar is with the Neverseen, she and Fitz console each other. He also gives her Cognate rings as a Midterms gift, which she appears to "like a little too much". He seems a lot more open to Sophie in the book and begins to show a lot more affection for her. In her head, Sophie also always thinks about Fitz's "glittering teal eyes", or his "movie screen worthy" smile. When Sophie and Keefe meet up again for the first time, Fitz seems slightly jealous. When they were sitting under a tree talking, Fitz almost kissed her, but Keefe saw them and interrupted. When Keefe says that the Neverseen might've targeted her human family, Fitz goes with Sophie (along with Keefe) to check on them.

During Nightfall, Fitz often gives Sophie gifts even though it isn't midterms or finals. She also promises that after they save her parents, she will come clean with the secret she's been hiding from him, which is Sophie’ crush on Fitz.

In Flashback, Sophie and Fitz became extremely close. Fitz also told Sophie that he only wanted her to be on his match list, causing Sophie to tell him about her own crush on him. They almost kissed at a certain point. However, it was interrupted by Silveny's transmissions. They eventually decided to hold things off until Sophie was ready to start "dating." It turns out, he liked her since around when he was stabbed by the arthropluera in Neverseen, and after weeks of bed-rest at the Healing Center in Flashback after the Neverseen's latest attack. Sophie no longer denies it when people call her his girlfriend or he her boyfriend. Biana also bent her "best friend code" for Sophie and Fitz, stating that they are perfect for each other.
 * KEEFE (close friend/possible love interest)

Keefe is one of Sophie's closest friends. He first met Sophie when she had to go see Elwin after alchemy and he was skipping class. Keefe and Sophie have been in detention together numerous times. He is an Empath and can feel Sophie's emotions much stronger than others, even when not in contact. Keefe likes to tease Sophie and sometimes even flirts with her. He's also the president of the 'Foster Fan Club'. At the end of the first book, Keefe is the one who figured out that Sophie light leaped Dex and herself to the Four Seasons Tree as they were escaping the Neverseen. He is the only other person (besides Sophie and Fitz) whom Silveny allowed to be close to her, and he calls Silveny 'Glitterbutt'. He likes making Sophie blush, as well.

Instead of calling Sophie by her first name, Keefe frequently calls her Foster as well as making common comments about "Team Foster-Keefe". Keefe goes with Sophie to the Black Swan's hideout and is one of the main people Sophie trust with her secrets during Exile. He usually plays Base Quest with Sophie, Biana, and Fitz. Sophie and Keefe develop a deeper relationship in Exile, as he played as her escort to the Black Swan base on Silveny, and he admitted to her that he hid behind jokes because that's how he dealt with life because it was easier for him. In Everblaze, Sophie and Keefe go on many mini-missions together, and nearly all the time when she wasn't at school or practicing Telepathy with Fitz, she was with Keefe, deciphering messages from the Black Swan.

When Keefe finds out that his mother is part of Neverseen, Sophie is the first to comfort him.

At the beginning of Neverseen, whenever Keefe says or does certain things, Sophie's heart switches to "hummingbird mode", and she feels fluttery things in her stomach. Keefe becomes a darker version of himself, and Sophie helps him deal with the possibility that he lost his mother, even going as far as to let him cry on her shoulder. On especially bad nights for Keefe, Sophie convinces him to sleep on his windowsill, as she does the same on her own, deeming them "window slumber parties". Keefe becomes exceedingly darker and is filled with more anger as the book goes on, and Sophie is constantly tailing him to make sure he doesn't do anything reckless. Near the end of the book, Keefe gifts Sophie a beaded necklace he had originally made for his mother. Keefe and Sophie lean close to each other as if to kiss but then are interrupted by Grady and Edaline. After a meeting with the council and letting Silveny and Greyfell go free, Keefe prepares to light leap away, but Sophie sees Keefe holding a yellow leaping crystal (yellow crystal only go to neutral territories), so she grabs him at the last second and leaps with him.

Sophie follows him only to find that he is planning to join the Neverseen because he believes that his mother had set him up to be evil all along. He explains sadly to Sophie that he was never supposed to be the hero, and that his mother had ensured that. Keefe steals Kenric's cache by mimicking Sophie's voice, and when he is pressured to brand her as a traitor by Brant, he secretly sends her on her way back home with a one time leaping crystal in the necklace he just gave to her, while he, nonetheless stays behind breaking her heart. Sophie is heartbroken by Keefe joining the Neverseen, but she knows he would never hurt her, and decides to stay true to her promise to not hate him, although it's tempting.

At the beginning of Lodestar, Keefe comes to Foxfire and impersonates Magnate Leto in order to talk to Sophie and she learns that he only joined the Neverseen as a double agent and to gather important information that could be used to destroy them. After that, they have Telepathic 'check-ins' several times a day (usually late at night and early in the mornings) where Keefe fills Sophie in on any information he learns. Throughout the book, Sophie pleads with him several times to leave the Neverseen because it's getting too dangerous, but he refuses because his goal is to steal Fintan's cache and he thinks he's getting close to getting it. He finally leaves the Neverseen towards the end of the book and manages to steal Fintan's cache, along with Kenric's cache (which are later found out to be fakes). He finds Sophie in Lumenaria after the Peace Summit and was with her when Mr. Forkle dies and made the promise to always be there for Sophie and prevent Mr. Forkle's death from overwhelming her. He's also there, along with Fitz, when they go to the Forbidden Cities to check on Sophie's human family and promises her that he will do anything to find them and bring them back to her.

During Nightfall, Keefe subtlety shows his interest in Sophie through his compliments and finding different ways to get close to her. Their relationship grows stronger and stronger as they spend more time together. He's there for her as both a friend and... something more. Besides his many jokes to keep Sophie's spirits up, Keefe also sacrifices himself in the fight against King Dimitar, earning himself a scar. Sophie also develops feelings for him during this chapter, noticing both his physical appearance and bravery (and stupidity in fighting the King.) Later on, Keefe admits that Sophie's feelings are stronger for him as an Empath, and he can feel her pain. Sophie believes he shouldn't hurt himself, but Keefe leaves her speechless saying he, "likes a challenge." It is shown that they balance each other out as Keefe is able to send calming breezes of the same color of his eyes to Sophie.

In the Barnes and Noble Short Story, Keefe admits that he has a crush on Sophie. Ro constantly teases him about his crush and how he acts towards her. Keefe tries to get out of bed rest many times and even tries to escape just so he could know if Sophie was safe, he only felt slightly better when Elwin promised to give him an up to date update on Sophie. While he was stuck on bed rest and Ro was destroying Candleshade, he was "dreaming about a pair of golden flecked eyes" (which were Sophie's). He also vows to always be there for her as a friend until she was, "ready for something more." He also confirms that there is a love square, not a triangle.  Dex is Sophie's best and first friend, as stated in the books. Dex cares deeply about Sophie and he often studies with her for their exams, helping her through thick and thin.
 * DEX (best friend/adoptive cousin/possible love interest)

He is also with her when she is kidnapped and is also taken.

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 calls Fitz "Wonderboy," though that may be caused by jealousy. Though Sophie ignores his warning, when she later learned that Biana only became friends with her because her father ordered her to, Dex supports her despite their previous argument.

In Exile, Sophie tries to talk to him privately about their kidnapping. She feels that they're the only ones who understand it. During a conversation, Dex admits he kept quiet and didn't scream for help so that the kidnappers wouldn't hurt Sophie. When Sophie needs his help opening up the gate, he comes and helps despite his reluctance and fear. He is also with Sophie when they find Silveny, one of two alicorns left in the world. It is also mentioned that he comes around to Havenfield and Sophie often ropes him in to help her with her chores, such as washing the various animals at the pastures.

In Everblaze, his ability is revealed and Sophie comforts him about it, often reassuring him that it's a cool ability. During the book, he begins working with the council and building gadgets (or as he slipped up and said, "weapons"). When Sophie has been issued a punishment for entering the ogre king's mind, he is ordered to make her an ability restrictor. Although he feels regretful and sorry for listening to the council, it still takes time for Sophie to forgive him. When she is ambushed by Brant, he responds to her panic ring alert and takes her circlet off even if it would mean being exiled. He joins her in running off to the Black Swan, showing his loyalty and friendship.

In Neverseen, their friendship is still a little bit complicated but she completely forgives him.

In Lodestar, all her friends gather at his house, Rimeshire for a sleepover to analyze scrolls and find out the Neverseen's secrets. Sophie comments on how nice his house is and they both blush when the triplets tease them.

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

Dexphie remains a platonic ship and they currently maintain a healthy friendship as both best friends and adoptive cousins. Biana is Sophie's best friend and vice versa. She first became friends with Sophie because her father made her (which Sophie found out via Stina), but as she gets to know Sophie, Biana becomes a genuine friend of hers, even crying when Sophie is 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 lends Sophie clothes occasionally. 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, can see her even when she vanishes and Biana works hard to try and find a way to hide from her. Eventually, she finds out the secret and makes it impossible for any gnome to know if she's there or not. During Nightfall, Biana vanishes and sneaks off, only to get hurt by Vespera. Now, she has scars on her body that she sometimes tries to hide. Sophie and the gang first meet Tam Song and his twin sister Linh in Neverseen, when they went to Exillium. Tam is a Shade, meaning he can sense the shadow vapor 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. Sophie and Linh are friends since the first moment they meet. In Lodestar, Sophie even defends Linh and Tam against their parents. She seems to like the idea of Tam liking Biana but is kind of jealous of the admiration Linh has of 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 becomes an Enhancer, Linh often puts distance between them fearing that she could flood again, but in Nightfall she uses Sophie's enhancing to save Atlantis. Marella is Sophie's friend and vice - versa. She and Sophie become friends in the first book, but later, when Sophie starts hanging out with the Vackers, Keefe, and Dex more, Marella feels left out and starts hanging out with Stina. Later, in Lodestar, Marella has her hidden abilities triggered by Mr. Forkle. 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 is brought back with her unique talent as a pyrokinetic and joins 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 unique powers. 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 made it a little painful to look at Sophie sometimes. She had a hard time adjusting to having Sophie in the first book, but in the end, she sees Sophie as her daughter. She is also known to be a great T-rex rider, as shown first in the first book. Edaline is a Conjurer, like her late daughter, Jolie. Edaline also becomes very aware of Sophie's safety in Exile and decides that she should not go into the pastures again to avoid getting hurt. After Sophie discovered that she and Grady were un-adopting her, their relationship was very rocky to the point of Sophie never talking to them and ripping off the Ruewen crest. When Sophie sees Edaline and Grady in Jolie's old bedroom, she overheard part of their conversation and finds it easier to try and forgive them. After Sophie was found and returned she decides to stay with them and become part of the family.
 * BIANA (best friend/possible love interest)
 * TAM (friend/possible love interest)
 * LINH (friend/possible love interest)
 * Marella.jpgMARELLA (friend/possible love interest)
 * EDALINE (adoptive mother)

Edaline is very supportive to Sophie's decisions, as stated in Flashback. She also often can't help eavesdrop on Sophie and Fitz's conversations. Grady is fun and 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 the first book, he welcomes her with open arms. Grady is a Mesmer and Sophie gets nervous when he uses it. Grady didn’t like Keefe as he repeatedly calls him "that boy". He also becomes very protective of Sophie in Exile, and in Everblaze, even goes 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 circlet). 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 had kept some things from him - like the Spyball because 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 asks Sophie to be his guide when he does the 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 making 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 was the closest thing to a father that Sophie had (besides her human father and Grady). Sadly, in Lodestar, Mr. Forkle died when four Neverseen captives broke out, and one known as Gethen stabbed him. Despite Sophie's protests, he says, "this is my swan song," and tells her to live her own life, not letting grief break her. The castle in Lumenaria is destroyed, almost burying him and Councillor Oralie alive. He had told Oralie to "take care of my Moonlark." When Sophie discovers "Mr. Forkle's" identical twin, she assumes that Mr. Forkle had not perished and had toyed with her emotions. When learning about the brothers, she understands his decision and plants his tree. In Neverseen, he is revealed as both Sir Astin and Magnate Leto.
 * GRADY (adoptive father)
 * ALDEN (friend/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 mind break, he is the first to pair Sophie and Fitz together for Telepathy training because they work 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 is later revealed to be Granite and a leading member of the Black Swan. Sandor is a strong, stubborn goblin who is charged with taking care of Sophie after she is kidnapped. Though he has a prickly exterior, he has a good heart and really 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 is believed to have a crush on Grizel, which she returns. However, he refuses her advances because he feels like he needs to be the best soldier possible and she hinders that. Calla was a gnome and a member of the Black Swan. She was a part of the team that designed Sophie. She taught Sophie how to make Starkflower stew. She liked to call Sophie her 'Brave Moonlark'. She was always there to calm Sophie. In Neverseen, she willingly becomes a Panakes tree to provide a cure for a plague affecting the gnomes. Afterward, Sophie hangs out around the tree often and Dex gives Sophie a Panakes Tree perfume to always remember Calla by. Later Sophie gets to know her great-niece, Flori, at Havenfield.  Jensi is 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 goes back to the "drooly boys" and abandons the main group eventually. Valin is a greasy-haired guy that has a crush on Sophie. He gave her a note at Midterms saying he really liked her. He is one of the 'Drooly Boys,' and as Marella says, hanging out with him is 'social suicide.' Valin previously was one of Jensi's old friends. Ella is Sophie's beloved blue stuffed elephant with a Hawaiian shirt 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 lead to her friends receiving other stuffed animals, such as Mr. Snuggles, Fitz's stuffed animal dragon, Mrs. Stinkbottom, Keefe's gulon stuffed animal, and Lady Sassyfur, Biana's stuffed yeti, who used to be named Betty-the-Yeti.) Oralie is the only Councillor that was always supportive to Sophie, (besides Kenric) and was never was negative towards her. Oralie has been suspected to be Sophie's biological mother, as she has always been understanding towards the Black Swan.
 * TIERGAN (telepathy mentor)
 * SANDOR (bodyguard/friend)
 * CALLA (friend/supporter)
 * JENSI (friend/possible love interest)
 * VALIN (embarrassment)
 * Sophie postcard front.jpgELLA (comforting stuffed animal)
 * ORALIE (friend/supporter)

Books Featured In
Sophie starts out 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. And that's where all of her adventures begin... The first part of the book has 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. Sophie starts out 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: 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, where from 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. She learns about troll hives and much happens because of it, including Silveny's twins being healthy. It is currently unknown what happens in this book. It is currently unknown what happens in this book.
 * 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 is able to track thoughts to their exact locations. She can also teleport.
 * She has such strong emotions that they can be felt by some empaths without contact
 * She is the only elf who can teleport, quite possibly another side effect of her alicorn modeled genes
 * She has manifested five abilities; she is a Telepath, Polygot, Inflictor, Teleporter, and Enhancer, although more are hinted at.
 * Agnes Mecweenie 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.

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 has a tendency 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 Foster