| Spoiler warning! This article contains plot details from the latest book. |
Sophie Elizabeth Foster is the result of Project Moonlark. Thus, her genetics were tampered with by The Black Swan, causing her abilities to be unnaturally strong and numerous. Her biological parents have remained unknown - until Legacy (when she discovered that Councilor Oralie is her biological mother). Because Mr. Forkle is still alive, there is hope that Sophie will learn who her biological father is. Sophie has said, however, that she does not want to know who he is and will stop looking for him. She has since resigned herself to the fact that she will forever be unmatchable, causing her breakup with Fitz Vacker.
In Legacy, Councillor Oralie is revealed to be Sophie's biological mother while Councillor Oralie is assisting Sophie in an exercise to give her better control over her enhancing, allowing her to switch the power on and off at will. However, Sophie brings up the topic of her biological parents, noting Councillor Oralie's discomfort during this conversation. Oralie answers that she hadn't put any thought into this topic, but as Sophie previously learned from Lord Cassius that an Empath pulse skips three beats (one for guilt, one for fear, and one like holding breath to see if someone will catch them) when they tell a lie, Sophie realizes Oralie is not being truthful. Sophie confronts Oralie, and while the Councillor initially denies it, she eventually admits that she is Sophie's biological mother, having donated her own DNA to Project Moonlark. Since Oralie is a Councillor, Sophie decides to keep Oralie’s identity as her biological mother secret as revealing this would result in her being removed from the Council, subsequently giving the Neverseen an opportunity to strike.
During Sophie and her friends' search for her biological parents' identites in Legacy, there is also a suggestion from Lady Candence that Sophie's parents do not have the same abilities as her. This may be true as Councillor Oralie does not share any abilities with Sophie at the moment. Their abilities could still have some kind of strong connection to each other, as with Oralie’s Empath abilities and Sophie‘s Enhancer abilities.
Sophie’s biological father is still unknown. Oralie does not know who Sophie's biological father is and does not have a strong personal connection with him, though it is possible that she knows of him.
Other clues given regarding their identities:
- They have/had important reasons for remaining anonymous.
- Telling Sophie their identities could "topple the elvin world." Since Oralie is a Councillor, this makes sense. This may or may not fit with Sophie’s biological father.
- They wish they could be a part of Sophie's life.
- They know she is their daughter.
- Sophie got her ability as an enhancer from her biological father.
Sophie's Theories
- Prentice (Disproven)
- Jolie (Disproven)
- Councillor Kenric (Disproven)
- Mr. Forkle (Disproven)
- Councillor Bronte (Disproven)
- Lady Cadence (Disproven)
- Oralie (Sophie technically didn't have her on her theory list until she started realizing that she was lying to her--so, no she was not one of the elves Sophie thought was her mother.)
Quotes
“These were people who'd been okay with letting their child be part of an experiment knowing it would likely put her in constant danger. People who'd let her grow up in a forbidden world without them. People who hadn't made any attempt at contacting her now that she was back in the Lost Cities. In fact, for all she knew, she saw them all the time and they never gave her the slightest clue that she meant anything to them. Probably because she didn't. She wasn't their daughter. She was the Black Swan's creation. And as far as Sophie was concerned, they were nothing more than DNA donors.”
Fan Theories for Sophie's Father
Fintan has blond hair and is described as thin or lean, which is similar to Sophie's appearance. He has always expressed interest in her but has no problem with causing her pain, which does not disprove this theory as he has shown no concerns in hurting other people he is close to. However, Mr. Forkle said that he made sure she was not a Pyrokinetic, and as Mr. Forkle knew that the project could have unexpected results, he likeley would not risk using a Pyrokinetic's DNA for Project Moonlark. It also unlikely because Fintan seemed to be friends with the Council, which includes Sophie's mother, Councillor Oralie.
Lord Cassius, like Sophie, is blond. Lord Cassius is also one of the few, among Keefe and Oralie, who can feel Sophie's emotions without physical contact even prior to Sophie becoming an Enhancer, which would make sense if they were related. Lord Cassius often attempts to understand more about Sophie and seems fascinated by her. On page 270 in the first book, Keeper of the Lost Cities, Sophie states: "But she really didn’t like the way he was looking at her. Like he knew something she didn’t." This was before the public knew about the Black Swan, hinting that Cassius realized she was his daughter. On page 634 of book six, Nightfall, he says, “The Black Swan told me. I have offered to swear fealty several times.” The Black Swan would have a good reason not to allow Cassius into the order but still keep him posted if he was one of the elves who donated DNA to Project Moonlark. Cassius also tried to interrupt when Sophie and Keefe got together to search for her biological parents. In book three, Jurek remarks that he thought Lord Cassius was Sophie's adopted father, presumably because she has Keefe's cape but potentially because they resemble each other. However, multiple details hint at this theory being incorrect - for example, Lord Cassius has made a few comments on Sophie and Keefe's compatibility, something that he would not do if they were both related, and Mr. Forkle would most likely not let Keefe develop feelings for Sophie if they shared DNA through Cassius.
Elwin always does his utmost to fix her and her friends' injuries, clearly caring about her. He also goes out of his way to help her by getting Mr. Snuggles for Fitz in Book Two, giving Keefe Mrs. Stinkbottom in Book 4, and giving Biana Lady Sassyfur/Betty-the-Yeti. He as always been kind and reassuring to Sophie. He saves Sophie’s life many times, but as he is a physician, this could simply be him doing his job. Elwin also said in Legacy that Sophie deserves to know who her biological parents are, and is quite skeptical about Mr. Forkle not telling Sophie their identities, so he most likely would have told her if he was her biological father. Sophie already thinks of him like an uncle because of how well he treats her. It does, however, say in Sophie’s medical records during Unlocked that Elwin is surprised to meet her. This could mean that he didn’t think they had moved her yet or that he was truly unaware of her existence.
Quinlin was very surprised to find out Livvy was with the Black Swan, which might be because he contributed his DNA to the creation of Sophie. He was also shocked when Sophie turned up at his office for a probe. However, this theory is unlikely because he was involved in Prentice's memory break. He also searched for Sophie with Alden, which he would not have done if he knew more about Project Moonlark.
Sir Tiergan is Sophie's Telepathy Mentor and is close to her, and he tries to help her in every way. Also, when he accepts to be Sophie's Telepathy Mentor, he appears to accept because of Prentice (though it is later hinted that he agreed so he could protect her), but he could also be accepting because he feels a connection with Sophie. In the first book, he also shows affection for Sophie. His personality also appears to be similar to Sophie's - they are both known to be rather secretive, they both will help people in need, and they both prefer to wear less noticeable clothing. Tiergan and Sophie share a hair colour, being blond. He is also Granite of the Collective. Tiergan is a powerful Telepath, an ability he shares with Sophie. Since Mr. Forkle wanted Sophie to be a Telepath, having telepathy in her genetics from the start would make sense instead of trying to create it from scratch.
Gethen could be Sophie's father, as he is blond and has great telepathic strength. Some fans think though he fights against her, it may be some sort of ploy, or he wishes that Sophie would become part of the Neverseen. Additionally, Gethen’s motives and backstory are completely unknown.
Alden is shown to care about Sophie, and Alden and Sophie are both powerful Telepaths. However, this seems unlikely because Alden spent 12 years searching for her, and he probably wouldn't have done that if he knew more about Project Moonlark. He was also involved in Prentice's memory break. Furthermore, Keefe stated that Mr. Forkle would've stopped all Sophie-Fitz feelings if they were related.
Brant was close to many people in Sophie's life. This is also connected to the fact that Mr. Forkle said that if people found out who Sophie's biological parents are, the world would collapse. Brant is in The Neverseen and panic could ensue if he is revealed as Sophie's father. This is a contradictory theory because Mr. Forkle said that he made sure she was not a Pyrokinetic.
Councillor Terik seems to support the Black Swan and Sophie. Sophie has access to his Imparter, and he has helped Sophie out in the earlier books. He was against the ability restrictor in Book 3: Everblaze. Terik is a Descryer, a unique Elvin ability like Sophie's teleporting. However, this is unlikely because Mr. Forkle told Sophie that her parents did not know each other, and Oralie and Terik know each other well.
Councillor Emery is a suspect because, in Everblaze, he tells Dex to put the ability restrictor on Sophie. While it harms Sophie, it could be Emery's way of trying to protect Sophie. However, this is unlikely because Mr. Forkle told Sophie that her parents did not know each other. Also, Emery doesn't seem to want to be part of Sophie's life.
- Any of her Foxfire mentors
Interestingly, most of them gave her automatic 100% for her subjects at the end of her first year (except Lady Galvin). Any of them - Sir Conley (elementalism mentor), Sir Caton (one of the PE mentors), Sir Faxon (metaphysics mentor), or Coach Bora (coach of right hemisphere; unlikely as he has dark skin).
It was stated in the books that revealing who he was would require a long story. Additionally, Oralie does not know Blur as he has been in his disguise when he met her. However, Blur hasn't interacted with Sophie as much as the other Collective members, which contradicts Mr. Forkle's statement that her parents wish they could be a part of her life. So far all we have discovered is that "Blur" may as well have been Jensi's brother, as he has been mentioned so many times throughout the series.
He was never particularly connected to the Black Swan but was also never against them, which was evident when it was revealed that his wife was collaborating with them. He goes as far as to mention that he would join the Black Swan, though this is likely because he is against the Council and has strong opinions about them.
This theory is probably wrong, as Mr. Forkle said her parents wanted to be a part of her life, but his appearance hasn't been confirmed, so he could potentially have donated some of Sophie's genes.
Timkin is a genuine candidate, with theories about how he wasn't deemed a bad match despite being Talentless involving him being an Enhancer, which would explain why Sophie is an Enhancer even though Mr. Forkle didn't give her that ability. Timkin is also, quite mysteriously, already a member of the Black Swan, even given his family's lack of appearance in the organisation. But even then, his lack of being in Sophie’s life (though Sophie's improved connection with Stina should be noted) and the fact that this theory is mostly based on other theories as well as not being the nicest person to Sophie, brings this theory down. He also has a different hair colour to Sophie, as a further rebuttal to this theory.