| The Last Days of Lorien | |
 | |
| Author | Pittacus Lore |
| Publication date | 9th April 2013 |
| Publication Order | |
| Preceded by The Search for Sam |
Followed by The Forgotten Ones |
I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: The Last Days of Lorien is an E-book that was released on April 9, 2013. It follows Sandor, the Cêpan of Number Nine, not long before the Mogadorian Invasion of Lorien begins.
About the Book[]
In this stunning 144-page prequel novella to the New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series, discover what really happened in the final days of the doomed planet from the eyes of Sandor—who would go on to become the reluctant Cêpan to Number Nine.
Sandor was tired of being a teenager, tired of going to school and obeying his teachers and playing by his parents' rules. He enjoyed breaking the rules rather than following them. But when he makes one mistake too many, Sandor's life takes an unexpected turn, and he is forced to join the Lorien Defense Academy.
Sandor had never believed in the crazy idea that Lorien needed to defend itself—Lorien was a peaceful planet, with no apparent enemies. But when Mogadorians suddenly attack, Sandor learns how real that threat was. Now Sandor is one of only a handful of Loric left alive, and the fate of Lorien is in their hands.
Plot[]
The story begins with Sandor at a nightclub known as The Chimæra. Despite being a minor to enter the club, Sandor was able to fool security by using his engineering skills to make him appear older on identity bands. While having fun with his friends, Paxton and Teev, Sandor spots one of his teachers from school, Endym, and tries to escape out the back door to avoid being spotted. Along the way, he accidently spills a guy's ampule on him and is forced to hide in a dressing room. While hiding, Sandor meets a famous Garde named Devektra, who is known for her music and dancing. After having a small chat with her, he gets to listen to her sing on stage with the best seat in the house. When Devektra leaves without him knowing, Sandor tries to go after her but is caught by Endym, who reports him to the school council.
Facing punishment for his false identification and among a few other things, Sandor is left alone when his parents refuse to help him, and choose to send him to a Kabarak location instead of a Munis one. While preparing to leave, Sandor is approached by Brandon, who offers him a place at the Lorien Defense Academy for engineering work. Deciding it was a better fate than Kabarak, Sandor chooses to accept the offer. While at LDA, Sandor meets his roommate, Rapp, whom he becomes friends with over the course of the book. A few weeks pass and Sandor starts to warm up to the academy. It is explained that those who live at the academy believe in an ancient prophecy, made by the original Nine Elders, that Lorien will be attacked and destroyed by an unknown enemy. While the rest of Lorien believes it to be a myth, many others at the academy and out believe it to be a warning. It is also explained that the Elders are the highest authority in all of Lorien and protect it from hostile forces. Pittacus Lore, the most powerful Elder, is considered to be the most mysterious but well-known Elder of the nine.
While on a grid maintenance in the Capital City with Rapp, Sandor meets Devektra again, who actually starts taking an interest in him, possibly romantic in nature. During the course of the conversation, Devektra calls Sandor one of those people, sensing that he is starting to believe in the prophecy. She invites him to come to The Chimæra again, for the Quatermoon, and leaves soon after. Sandor is left with confused feelings over the invitation and questions whether it was a way of teasing him or actually being friendly. While heading back to the Academy, Sandor meets a Cêpan named Daxin, who goes to meet his Garde. During the trip, Sandor learns that the Elders have been out of reach for a few days, the grid maintenances were failing all over the planet, and a bright light that looks similar to a celebratory Herald can be seen close to the planet's gravity surface. Sandor is left with a change of heart about what the Academy believe, after his second encounter with Devektra and his meeting with the young Garde,
On the Quartermoon, Sandor sneaks out of the academy and goes to The Chimæra in the Captial City, he did this by stealing Daxin's ID band. While there, he meets Paxton and Teev again. Sandor is summoned by Devektra and goes to her dressing room. Sandor sees that she is worried, which is very out of character for her. Devektra expresses that she senses something is going to go wrong and that she worries for the dark night ahead of them. Sandor communicates with her through Devektra's Legacy of Telepathy and learns that she likes him because he is like her, somebody who can't fit into their own world because they are different. Feeling a moment between him and Devektra, Sandor kisses her. However, when Sandor opens his eyes, Devektra has already left to get ready for her performance.
Sandor watches from the balcony as Devektra sings to the crowd, but he realizes that something is different about her. He comes to realize that she is singing to him, providing poweful hints that she may harbor the same feelings for him as well. But he also realizes that the song is also to Lorien, like as if it was a warning. Daxin's ID band is buzzing the world "Alert" simultaneously. When she finishes the song, the roof of the building collapses on the crowd below. When Sandor comes to he is helped to his feet by Devektra's bodyguard, Mirkl, who leaves soon after. It is revealed that Teev died during the collapse.
Outside, Sandor realizes that the planet is under attack and Daxin's wrist ID band warns him of a second wave of missiles coming their way. Before leaving on an Egg vehicle back to the Academy, Sandor meets Devektra and Mirkl again. Both Sandor and Devektra have a moment again when they hug. She explains that she knows they will never see each other again and plans on going to meet up with the rest of the Garde to battle the invaders. They both say goodbye for the final time and depart.
Arriving at the Academy, Sandor finds the place destroyed, along with everyone dead, including Rapp and Daxin. Brandon arrives and takes a shocked Sandor with him. Brandon explains that an alien race known as the Mogadorians have invaded their planet and that all the Elders, except for Pittacus (who is missing in action) and Loridas, are dead. Arriving at the airstrip, where the rest of the next generation Garde are being evacuated off planet, Brandon tells Sandor that he can't come and that it is all about saving an entire race now. Before Brandon leaves Sandor, it is revealed that Daxin's Garde is not accounted for.
Taking a chance, Sandor uses Brandon's vehicle to head to the young Garde's location. When he finds the boy with his grandfather, he reveals that Sandor will die but that his death will spark the boy to become very important. After leaving, Sandor and the boy are attacked by a Mogadorian but are saved by an unseen Devektra. When they arrive at the airstrip, Sandor hands over the Garde, Number Nine, to Brandon. Believing himself to die on Lorien, Sandor plans to help the others fight against the Mogadorians, but is stopped by Brandon, who forces him to go on the voyage for Earth.
A full month passes, the ship that Sandor and the others are in heads for Earth. It is revealed that within a week of the invasion, all life on Lorien has been destroyed, leaving the planet to be nothing but a barren wasteland. Sandor becomes Nine's new Cêpan and a powerful bond is formed between them. While Nine heads off with Brandon and a young Number Four to do precombat training, Sandor meets a few of the other Cêpans, including Hessu. The story ends with Sandor promising to play with Nine, while acknowledging a dark road ahead of them.
Trivia[]
- A number of quotes were released in the run up to the release.
"This is Lorien. It’s 'perfect' here. That’s what they say, at least."
--Sandor
"Why couldn’t I have been born a Garde and get to do something actually fun with my time?"
--Sandor
"Though Garde are revered as a collective—a 'treasured gift' to our planet—there was a widespread conviction, shared by Garde and Cêpan alike, that the Garde’s amazing abilities belonged not to them alone, but to all of us."
--Sandor
"Her voice rose to a roar. The sound pummeled my chest, so hard I felt like the noise could hollow me out. Then, suddenly, she slammed her fists together and the club’s lights surged into an overwhelming blast just as the noise disappeared, as if sucked out of the room by a vacuum."
--Sandor
"Right then, I wished again that I’d been born a Garde—one with the Legacy to go back in time and undo all my mistakes of the previous night."
--Sandor
"The only people at the academy who interested me at all were the Garde kids, who were just coming into their powers and gave the school what little sense of life it had."
--Sandor
"Every year on Lorien there were stories about young Garde perishing in grisly accidents, killed by powers that they didn’t know how to control, or in some cases, didn’t yet know they even had."
--Sandor
"The bond between a Mentor Cêpan and his Garde mentee is considered almost sacred—almost as strong as the bond between a parent and child. And it lasted for life."
--Sandor
"It didn’t seem like the Elders did very much at all, and most people at the LDA, along with the rest of the Lorien defense operation, were telling themselves stories about prophecies that would never come true."
--Sandor
"Soon I wouldn’t have to pretend to be an adult. I would just be one, and I’d be able to live my life the way I wanted."
--Sandor
“Isn’t it obvious? I make men fall in love with me."
--Devektra
"What, you've never seen a girl putting makeup on her legs before?"
--Devektra
"We were never perfect. There's no such thing as perfect. But it's not too late for us. We still can be good."
--Devektra
“Great Elder Prophecy, threat to Lorien, eternal vigilance, blah blah blah. Aliens are going to land tomorrow and take us all back to their home planet to clean their toilets unless you fix that box up there right this second!”
--Devektra
"Oh, cheer up. I don't care if you're a Cépan. Anyway, I'm just kidding, thank the Elders. What a boring third Legacy that would be. My real third Legacy is much more exciting."
--Devektra
"Thanks, but you know, they lock those doors for a reason- to keep big fans out."
--Devektra
"You gonna tell me what you're doing in my dressing room? I don't need to call security, do I?"
--Devektra
“It’s like standing waist-deep in a rushing river and trying to catch a million tiny floating leaves as they race past you. Some of them you catch. Most of them you don’t.”
--Devektra
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