The Collective are leaders of the Black Swan. They consist of five leaders: Mr. Forkle, Blur, Granite, Wraith, and Squall. The Collective makes the big decisions for the Black Swan. Mr. Forkle mentioned that it is ultimately their plan for Sophie and her original group of friends to take their current places in the future. They, like the Councillors, cannot have children or a family, but that rule has been broken for Squall and Granite.
It's revealed in Nightfall that Mr. Forkle had a hidden twin brother that went by the exact same name. Sometimes Sophie was in the company of one, and sometimes with the other. Unfortunately, one of the brothers was killed by the Neverseen at the end of Lodestar, so now there is only one. This has made a lot of confusion and chaos among the Collective, and some of Mr. Forkle's multiple roles are now harder for him to take on.
Mr. Forkle makes a comment that the five friends, Sophie, Biana, Fitz, Dex, and Keefe are intended to be the successors of the current Collective. Saying that if they died, they had a set of Proxies ready to fill in until they were ready.
Contingency Plan[]
All the members of the Collective have matching black rings filled with some sort of special poison that they can take to completely erase their memories if they're ever captured. They say it'll be okay if that happens because they all have Proxies.
Identities of the Collective[]
Mr. Forkle - aka Magnate Leto Kerlof, Sir. Astin, original identity, and a Human Fertility Doctor[]
Mr. Forkle is the leader of the Collective and was the head of Project Moonlark. His full name is Errol Loki Forkle. He is a very talented Telepath, who is one of the few Telepaths to breach Sophie's blocking. He disguises himself by consuming ruckleberries, causing him to appear as a wrinkly old man. He also had a secret twin who died during Lodestar. Kerlof is an anagram of Forkle.
Granite - aka Tiergan[]
Granite is a very powerful Telepath and is Wylie's legal guardian. He frequently assists Sophie and Fitz on their path to being Cognates. His disguise consists of turning himself into a stone statue by consuming indurite powder which turns him into a living statue because his ability as a Telepath cannot disguise him. Tiergan is an anagram for Granite.
Blur - Identity(s) unknown[]
Blur is a highly skilled Phaser who is able to only partially reform, causing him to appear blurred. It was also mentioned that he has a recognizable round face.
Wraith - Identity(s) unknown[]
Wraith is an experienced Vanisher who is able to make only his body disappear and leave his clothes to appear to be floating which is known as partial vanish. It was mentioned that he helped Biana and Della train in Neverseen.
Squall - aka Juline Dizznee[]
Squall is the most recent Collective member, who took Physic's place. She disguises herself by covering her body in a thick layer of ice, with her ability as a Froster.
Physic - aka Livvy[]
- Formerly
Physic is a previous Collective member who wears decorative masks to disguise herself, who stepped down after Sophie's allergic reaction. Her ability remains unknown. What is known, however, that she is not a Flasher, like Elwin, for if she was, her job would have been easier. She is Quinlin Sonden's wife but the couple are separated.
Quotes[]
“Okay, I figured you guys were going to be weird, but I wasn't expecting this weird.”
“I do think they might be onto something with the code names.' Keefe said as she searched all the shadows. 'In fact, after I swear fealty I should have you all call me Emo. Fitz can be Brainwave. Biana and Della can be Blink and Wink. Dex, you're Gears. And Foster? Hmm. That's tricky.... Maybe Enigma?”