A/N: This is not a normal chapter, but rather the notes I was keeping as I re-read the series recently. Any time I saw something that I thought indicated--or even hinted at--Tiergan being Sophie's biological father, I made note of it. I have it broken up by book. I wrote down the page numbers, though I didn't bother notating whether I had the paperback or hardback, so your page numbers may be different.
Some of these seem to very strongly imply that he's her father--and some of them simply caused me to speculate "maybe he's hiding more than just his involvement in the Black Swan".
Let me know what you guys think--and if I've managed to change anyone's mind and made you jump on the Tiergan Train!
KOTLC:
93–He 'learns' that Sophie's telepathy was triggered at the age of five and she had to hear all the thoughts of the humans around her. He mumbles the word "irresponsible"—talking about Forkle, probably. Could be that the Collective hadn't all agreed with that decision to trigger her telepathy, but I also think Tiergan's concern went deeper because he's her father.
183–She walks into her first Telepathy session and it describes Tiergan as "studying her superintently, like he was searching for something." This made me think of two options: he was either studying her face searching for a resemblance, or else memorizing her face now that he finally gets to see it. Either way...seems to indicate that he's her father.
184– She's starting to wonder about her identity since she doesn't know the truth about who she is or who her parents are--only that the Black Swan "created her" and hid her away--and is starting to worry about the implications of all of that. Tiergan tells her something about how she's exactly the way she was intended to be--and then he frowns and starts shaking. Is he frowning/shaking merely because of his involvement in the Black Swan or because this is his daughter?
324–She is discussing her concerns with Tiergan, and confesses that she believes her real parents just wanted to get rid of her. It says--"He closed his eyes, and pain seeped into his features. 'Trust me, Sophie—no one 'got rid of' you. Don't you know how special you are?'"
Now, obviously Tiergan is a nice guy who wouldn't want to see a kid worrying about something like that, but he didn't just comfort her--pain seeped into his features. He had to close his eyes and his pain was evident even to a kid. Because HE'S her father and he hates that she thinks he 'got rid' of her.
Exile:
310–Sophie begins feeling guilty about Alden after his sanity shatters, and it says that Tiergan shouts "don't you dare" and the fear in his eyes brings her back.
Probably just because he cares about her both as his prodigy and as the Moonlark—the one who could restore Prentice—but maybe it's also more than that?
312–When she pulls away from Alden's broken mind, she stumbles back and is surprised that Tiergan is the one hugging her. Again, he cares about her—but maybe with the added layer of him being her father. Tiergan isn't generally very warm or cuddly, and not the sort you would expect to hug anyone.
320-21– He takes her hand when she's dreading telling her parents about Alden, and it feels natural, not his "usual awkwardness around her". It even says that he seems to have stepped into Alden's role without thinking about it. And at first, Alden was more of a father to her than Grady. It took a while for Grady to take that place in her heart/mind. So it felt like Tiergan was stepping into Alden's role. Because he's her father and doesn't know how to act, it felt awkward at Everglen when she hugged him. But not now--now he takes her hand--because he knows she needs him!
322– Tiergan says, "I've known more loss than anyone." We don't know anything about his past, but we do know he's probably at least talking about losing both Prentice and Cyrah (and who knows what else he's lost) but I couldn't help but think maybe he meant Sophie too, since he didn't get to raise her? That may be why he "fiddled with the edges of his sleeves" as he said it—he was uncomfortable and it was an act of avoidance.
439–His voice gets thick at Alden's planting when talking about her funeral. Again, he cares about her, but he only seems to get emotional when talking about Sophie--or Prentice, who sacrificed himself for Sophie.
NEVERSEEN:
368– They're in Alluveterre and Della asks, "can't she know her family?" And it says "Granite and Mr. Forkle shared a look." Now, the Collective already knew they wouldn't share Sophie's parents' identities, so it seems the most reasonable explanation for why they would share a look is if Granite were directly involved--and since only Mr. Forkle knows the identity of the parents, Granite/Tiergan's involvement would be that of father.
NIGHTFALL:
181– At Brumvale, they are discussing Mr. Forkle's gadget that he passed along so he could share his last few memories with his brother. It was given to Tiergan. This gadget contained all their secrets, including everything for Project Moonlark. Tiergan told Sophie he didn't look because they weren't his memories, but also admitted here that he was tempted to take a peek. What else in there would he not already know about? At least that he would be that curious about, since Tiergan is a private person and would respect Forkle's privacy. Probably the identity of Sophie's mother. And he knows he's not supposed to know who she is. So he's tempted to look, but doesn't.
190– This is a big one!! After Sophie's friends find out the truth about the Forkle twins, Keefe looks at Tiergan and the following conversation ensues:
"Any life-changing pieces of information you've been holding back?"
Tiergan shuffled his feet. "No one ever reveals EVERYTHING."
"I take it that's a yes?" Fitz pressed.
"How did this become about me?" Tiergan waved his arms toward Mr. Forkle. "If it helps, I can assure you that I don't have a secret identical twin."
Keefe specifically asked about life changing information, not for Tiergan to share all his personal secrets. Tiergan's evasiveness and hinting at the "yes" indicates that he DOES have life-changing information—probably that he's Sophie's father.
STELLARLUNE:
386–"Tiergan's particularly adept at misdirection." I think it was Mr. Forkle who said this. Not proof, but definitely something that would indicate Tiergan's ability to hide the truth from her even with constant interaction. It also sheds a different light on the fact that he does sometimes—especially in the earlier books—get uncomfortable, fiddle with his cape, let his pain show, etc. He's an excellent liar, but this is a HUGE thing he's hiding, and sometimes his careful composure slips.
446–"I'm like you, Sophie. I value my privacy." Tiergan says this while discussing the necessity of the Cognate Inquisition. I was thinking about how earlier in this book she finds out how she and Oralie share the nervous habit of eyelash tugging, then we are given this mention of Sophie and Tiergan sharing a desire for privacy. Again, not proof in and of itself, but it definitely gave me pause.
One last thought is just how beautiful to think that Prentice sacrificed his sanity to protect Tiergan's daughter, even not knowing she was Tiergan's daughter, so the least Tiergan could do was adopt and raise Prentice's son. This would also explain why Tiergan was so angry with Alden—even more so than the rest of the Black Swan. It wasn't just his friend's sanity being shattered—while he had the hope of it eventually being restored—but it was also Tiergan's daughter Prentice was protecting. In fact, clinging to his anger at Alden might have been his attempt at staving off the guilt he felt for Prentice's sacrifice. Much like Grady clung to his anger and blamed the Black Swan for Jolie's death rather than feeling guilty for not joining them.