This article is about Mr. Forkle. You may be looking for Sir Astin or Magnate Leto Kerlof. The corresponding disambiguation page is Errol Loki Forkle. |
Mr. Forkle was an identical twin, was and is one of the leaders of the Black Swan and part of the Collective. He was the one to tweak Sophie Foster’s genes. He was also the fertility doctor of Sophie's human mother, Sophie's next-door neighbor in San Diego, and in Neverseen was revealed to be Magnate Leto Kerlof and Sir Astin. His full name is Errol Loki Forkle. He chose the name because Forkle means disguise in Norwegian and because he inspired the stories of Loki. His initials spell out E.L.F. He is also known to start sentences with the words "You kids...". Sophie thought he was her biological father since he was listed as her parent on many documents, but he denied it.
Physical Appearance[]
His appearance varies from his original form because of the ruckleberries he eats to make it harder for someone to recognize him. He looks wrinkly, bloated, and old. As he has several identities, he changes his appearance to hide from the Council.
Abilities[]
Mr. Forkle is a Telepath and, like Sophie, he also has an impenetrable mind. He's able to have strong thoughts like a human and is one of the only people who can transmit into Sophie's mind other than Fitz Vacker and the alicorns. Mr. Forkle can control other people using mind tricks, though he is not a Mesmer. It is not confirmed if he has any other abilities, but it is a slight possibility.
- Inflictor (dormant, not biological)
Although Mr. Forkle is not an Inflictor himself, while testing Sophie's DNA for the experiment, he injected himself with Inflictor genes to examine the effects. He does have the ability to harness that Inflicting when enhanced by Sophie, but it normally remains dormant. The only time this ability was used was when Sophie was getting out of control while experiencing an erased memory.
History[]
Pre-Keeper[]
Mr. Forkle was the one who put Sophie's embryo in her mother. He also called 911 when Sophie hit her head and triggered her telepathic abilities. When she was nine, Sophie manifested Inflicting and Enhancing early. As a result, he gave her Limbium, not knowing that it would cause a deadly allergic reaction. He sent her to the hospital, clearly not knowing what else to do. When the Neverseen set the fires in San Diego within the shape of the Sign of the Swan, Mr. Forkle believed that Sophie was now in danger. So, he gave Alden and Fitz a newspaper with Sophie's picture on the front page so they would find Sophie and introduce her to the Elvin world.
Book 1: Keeper of the Lost Cities[]
Mr. Forkle posed as Sophie's next-door neighbor who always grumbled, moved his garden gnomes around, and started sentences with, "You kids." He gives Sophie the necessary equipment to bottle some of the Everblaze burning in the Forbidden Cities, including sending Gildie the Flareadon. He saves Sophie and Dex from the Neverseen but leaves them in Paris, France. Sophie realizes he is an elf once she and Dex return home.
Book 2: Exile[]
In Exile, Mr. Forkle sends clues as rhyming notes to Sophie. He guides her to accompany Alden to Exile in order to fix Prentice, the Black Swan's Keeper. When Sophie can't heal Prentice, she realizes she has a broken mind and is negatively affected by light. She eventually goes to the Black Swan to get fixed. Mr. Forkle gives her Limbium and human medicine to essentially 'reset' her brain (to get rid of the weakness that has formed in it) by nearly killing her and then giving her an antidote. Then, when the Neverseen tries to steal Silveny, he stops them so that Sophie, Keefe, and Silveny can escape.
Book 3: Everblaze[]
Mr. Forkle continues to communicate with Sophie via notes. He is distant, however, because he had feared the Black Swan was compromised by a spy. He was the one to figure out that they were being spied on using ogre enzymes attached to Keefe's family crest. At first, Mr. Forkle believes the spy is Lord Cassius, like everyone else (because of his reputation as a not-great person, and because he gave it to Keefe in the first place); however, the spy ends up being Lady Gisela. He then sets a trap for the Neverseen using Keefe, Biana, and Fitz as the "bait" of sorts. The Neverseen somehow knows about the plan. This all leads to a fight on Mount Everest. Mr. Forkle reveals he captured Gethen, a member of the Neverseen.
Book 4: Neverseen[]
Sophie, Dex, Keefe, Biana, Fitz, and Della join the Black Swan after Mr. Forkle gives them the opportunity. While he is initially protective of them, later he lets them help in the organization's missions. This is because some other characters point out that they could be useful in doing things. As an act of trust, he reveals to Sophie that one of his identities is Sir Astin, Sophie's year two Universe mentor. Later, she learns that he is also Magnate Leto, the principal of Foxfire, and a former Beacon of the Silver Tower.
Book 5: Lodestar[]
Keefe becomes a double agent, telling Sophie whatever he finds out about the Neverseen. Although Sophie feels like she has to get mad at him sometimes, Mr. Forkle says to trust her feelings as they could be the most important of all. Sophie (and Edaline as her guardian) and Mr. Forkle attend a Peace Summit in order to create peace with the ogres and other intelligent creatures. Mr. Forkle is invited to represent the Black Swan, while Sophie is just there because of her importance in their world. While they are there, the Neverseen make the building collapse which is part of Fintan's vision. Sophie and Mr. Forkle originally get out safely, but then Mr. Forkle goes back in to find Edaline, who was missing at the time. He is stabbed by Gethen (who pulled the sword out from the stone in his cell) after killing Brant. He then requests that Sophie would not plant his seed in the Wanderling Woods. He doesn't want anyone to know he died. Instead, however, he instructs her to save the seed until the time and place are right. He then tells her that she will know when that is.
Book 6: Nightfall[]
It is revealed that Mr. Forkle has an identical twin, and his brother passed away in Lodestar. They were forced by their parents to share one name, one registered strand of DNA, and one life. Even before they manifested as Telepaths, they would share each other's memories by discussing the day's events each night. That is one of the reasons they could be in two places at the same time. However, they share everything, so their memories are the same. While the dead Mr. Forkle saved Sophie and Dex in Keeper of the Lost Cities, the living Mr. Forkle was there when Dex made the circlet and was the one that gave Sophie her "cure" in the second book. The living Mr. Forkle was also the one to heal Sophie's abilities in Exile. Mr. Forkle tries to restore the space left behind by his brother and does twice as many things as he has to do now. He does not want the Neverseen to know that Mr. Forkle had a twin because then it would allow the Black Swan to have an upper advantage.
Book 7: Flashback[]
Mr. Forkle visits Sophie and Fitz many times when they are in the Healing Center at Foxfire, after getting attacked, yet again, by the Neverseen. He mostly visits in his Magnate Leto form, but has, on a few or fewer occasions, visited them in his Mr. Forkle form.
Book 8: Legacy[]
Mr. Forkle identified Loamnore as the Neverseen's likely next target and assisted in the planning and diplomatic visitations involved in protecting it. He repeatedly refused to tell Sophie about her biological parents, even when Sophie confronted him about her unmatchable status. Later on, he returned Sophie and Amy's stolen memory, then offered Sophie a choice to reset her inflicting so it would operate correctly. Sophie initially refused this offer but later accepted it, and Mr. Forkle assisted Livvy and Elwin in managing the ability reset process.
Book 8.5: Unlocked[]
Mr. Forkle was the only person to support Sophie burning down the Neverseen's warehouse (besides Glimmer). Throughout the book, he continues to urge Sophie to step into her role as a leader and views her choice as her finally doing so.
Book 9: Stellarlune[]
Upon recovering a stolen memory, Sophie leaves a demanding note on the door of Watchward Heath, Mr. Forkle's office. Mr. Forkle tells Sophie that he hid the memory with no ulterior motive, but Sophie is still mad at him. Despite being supportive of Sophie's decision to burn down the storehouse, he doesn't like Sophie's new attitude. He tells Sophie of his theory that Cadfael is going to overthrow King Dimitar, along with the news that Brumevale has been destroyed. Throughout the second half of the book, he (in Magnate Leto form) calls Sophie into his office multiple times, sharing different news (such as the Trolls' separation from the Lost Cities and the meeting with Trix.)
Aliases[]
Identities[]
Mr. Forkle being identical twins pretending to be one child made it possible for them to hold multiple identities. When asked, Mr. Forkle said he had five identities. After the death of his identical twin, Mr. Forkle had to end some of his identities. Which identities he chose to no longer continue are unknown.
Mr. Forkle's Sir Astin identity introduced Sophie to Elementine in Keeper of the Lost Cities.
Mr. Forkle's Magnate Leto Kerlof identity was first the Beacon of the Silver Tower but then became the Foxfire Principal. On a few occasions, Magnate Leto had started some sentences with "You kids...", (E.g.: You kids always need me when I'm eating my lunch) possibly hinting towards his identity as Mr. Forkle. It is worth noting that "Forkle" is an anagram of "Kerlof."
- Mr. Forkle
Mr. Forkle's Mr. Forkle identity was the first identity of his that Sophie consciously knew, that we know of. He posed as Sophie's next-door neighbor for 12 years in San Diego, making sure the Moonlark grew up safe, constantly asking about her headaches. He scared the jogger who tried to steal Sophie, later revealed to be Gethen.
- True/Original Identity
Mr. Forkle's true identity is currently unknown.
- Fertility Doctor
Mr. Forkle posed as Emma Foster's fertility doctor and implanted Sophie's embryo in her, as well as fixing her infertility, making Amy's conception possible.
Nicknames[]
- The Forklenator (as Mr. Forkle)
- Principal Pillowhead (as Magnate Leto)
- The Guy Who Eats All The Ruckleberries (as Mr. Forkle)
- Fork Man (as Mr. Forkle)
"The Forklenator" was given to Mr. Forkle because Keefe was just playing around. The nickname "Principal Pillowhead," however, was because Sophie aimed a pillow wrong and ended up firing it at his head when he was Magnate Leto. Keefe made a joke about it. The Guy Who Eats All The Ruckleberries was what Kesler called him in Lodestar.
Trivia[]
- He seemed to spend a lot of time in Norway.
- His Wanderling was planted in Trolltunga in Norway.
- He might be the source of some of the Loki myths.
- Mr. Forkle's father was a physician and helped deliver the twins at home.
- Mr. Forkle is a twin, and technically two people.
- His sentences usually begin with “you kids.”
- The name Forkle means “disguise” and “an apron” in Norwegian.
Quotes[]
“You Kids ....”
“Time is a funny thing. Once it's gone, it's gone. Then it passes on to someone else. You'll do great things with it, Sophie.”
“Sometimes the greatest power comes from showing mercy.”
“It seems like we are attempting to drain the ocean with a leaking spoon. But even if that is the case, we can either give up or we can continue one leaking spoonful at a time.”
“More isn't always better. Sometimes it's simply more.”
“And for all of the 'what-ifs' that led him to that moment... there's nothing we can do about them. The past is the only finite thing in this uncertain world, and in a way that's somewhat comforting.”
“This is my swan song.”
“Thank you for being brave enough to find me this one last time. You gave me the gift of goodbye.”
“The best places to hide are the places no one wants to go”
“Take care of my moonlark”