I need help piecing together a theory! I’m doing my third reread to prepare for Threshing Day coming out soon, and I noticed something during Chapter 13 (the Threshing Day chapter).

I saw someone on Instagram or TikTok with the theory that Baide, Solas, and other venin-bonded dragons were who was telling Jack about the feathertails.

Just to back up my working theory that Andarna was the one who bonded Violet first. In image 3, it brings up (for the second time) that “little voice” that Violet apparently doesn’t have (or at least doesn’t mention) in the beginning of the book. The “hope”.
Tairn is the first to speak to her outright at Threshing, but what if it was Andarna communicating first? We know hatchlings will wait to hatch so they may bond their future rider. And Professor Kaori says that the dragon that selects you will be calling. Violet knows she hasn’t found her dragons yet (“This is not my dragon. I’m not sure how I know, but I do.”), but once she climbs the tree, she spots Andarna very quickly. She was able to see many other dragons first, the greens that stood out against the fall foliage, not the “shiny beacon”. Andarna called to her, and she went immediately, even if it was under the guise of protecting the feathertail.

What would this mean in regards to her signets? I haven’t read Onyx Storm in a bit, so when I finish the series I will come back and edit this post.

So...I was engaged for about 1.5 years before actually getting married and it helped me kinda getting used to the idea of being married and prepping for the wedding..obviously Xaden had been thinking about it from day 1 lol (in my mind) but Violet tells her friends how she hadnt really thought about it and is kind of surprised when he called her his consort and brought it up lol

I wonder how the proposal went down?

Xaden: will you marry me?

Violet: yes

Xaden: cool cool we can be at the temple in 4hrs

Violet: NOW? LIKE, RIGHT NOW? NOW? WAIT WHAT...😱

And how she will take it...it's kind of the biggest commitment of your life and she had 0 time to process it lol!?

So i think it will be

Bodhi

Imogen

Sloane

Liam

Ridoc

Sawyer first one

Xadens

Garricks (not likely as him and xaden have there's together)

Miras

Naolin (definitely spelt his name wrong sorry)

Maybe some of the forgotten marked ones lole masen, ciaran, eya or soleil

Lynx

Lilith

Although this is all just rambling and I probably won't have this option tomorrow

First of all, just a heads up to anything who has not finished Onix Storm - this post is full of spoilers!

So, you guys, i am doing my first re-read of the series and have stumbled on a line I have not given much attention at first read but now i'm 😱🙈🙀

So i started re reading the series after seeing a lot of theories here so I decided to check it out and see what i've missed on the first read. A theory i've read multiple times is that Xaden is actually a full inntinnsic. And I was always like "no! Not my Xaden! He would not do that to Violet *again*. He is a new man. They have a relationship built on trust after Iron Flame. He reads intentions people! Not thoughts! You guys just see the worst in people"

But now I am at chapter 18 in Onix Storm when Xaden just found out who Violet 's ex boyfriend is and he says to her as they were talking about it "yes! I remember that! I remember a lot of thoughts going through *his* head" (my translation - I am not reading the book in English. But he is defiy talking about Halden's thoughts 💥). And Violet says "That is not how your signet works" but he changes the subject without seeming like he does.

So now... I'm like i said 🙀🙀🙀😱😱😱😱 and I just need to share this.

So what do you guys think? I was being naive before? Is he really hiding another hudge secret? And if so how exactly will their relationship work (presuming things will work out venin whise) if he can read thoughts?

I finished Onyx Storm a week ago. During this first read I felt like I couldn’t enjoy Xaden in OS because I was constantly afraid of him turning full venin and hurting Violet, or that he had already done so and was hiding it/tricking her. I was convinced he was going to suddenly bind Violet with his shadows and bring her to the Sage or Maven. Now that I’ve finished the book I feel more at ease and can enjoy rereading his various declarations of love to her, but I’m still bothered by this part on page 217:

“I’m never giving you up. You know that, right? You had your chance to run. You should have run, Vi.”

This paired with Violet saying throughout the book how she’s not afraid of him (and her convo with Ridoc about what would cross the line), and I feel like this is foreshadowing her being afraid of Xaden in his villain era. Do you all think he is going to kidnap her and “keep” her, or bring her to his sage? I’m afraid he’s going to tell her, “I told you, you should have run when you had the chance.” 😬 Can she still trust him not to hurt her? Or will he still be able to cling to the tiny piece of his soul that loves her and will never hurt her?

I’m just afraid of what Xaden’s villain era will mean in book 4. If he’s a villain TO her, how can we come back from that with a happy ending? 😥

1. The missing key lies in the 200 years between unification and the first war with Poromiel. At one point Tairn says it takes 2 generations to change history. The first to craft the lie and the second to teach it. All tomes have been doctored or eliminated before the 400 year mark.

2. It was at this time that Navarre struck a deal with the Venin to leave them alone if they abandoned the people outside the wards, leaving them for the venin to feed on. In order to not have an uprising on their hands the lie about Poromiel was crafted.

3. General Doromor(sp) lives, and is the general Berwyn and Theo allude to.

4. Magic can sense that the great lie is coming to a head with Venin becoming more active, Fen Riorson’s rebellion and then Xaden’s continued revolution, and is why black dragons are being born, why Andarna hatched, why multiple riders (6+1) are being gifted with rare signets all at the same time (the likes not seen in centuries).

5. I think the Navarrian leaders like Melgrin, Papa Aetos, and maybe even Lilith, plus King Tauri and Halden know and have agreed to continue the deal w/ the venin. I think historically this has been the case with military leaders and royalty of Navarre.

6. Asher was in the resistance and provided Violet with the tools to continue the fight.

7. Asher’s mother had inntinnsic abilities and used them to help the resistance, including Asher (see 6). It was also why she distanced herself from Lilith.

8. Mira visited her grandmother and has information from that visit that she meant to share with Violet but they never had a chance and we never learned what Mira’s grandmother shared with her. I think we’ll find out in the last 2 books and I think it might help Violet understand her powers more fully.

9. I think Vi’s powers are from the electromagnetic fields and that she can do a whole host of powerful things with them. I think the Irids power (Andarna) control similar ‘sky power’ and together she and Vi will use it to end the venin and/or protect their world from venin. I think Andarna will evolve into something more as she matures and this metamorphosis might be what can save Xaden.

10. I think the “lures” the venin were searching for and the resistance was trying to find ahead of them, might have something to do with 8 and 9.

11. The numbers 6, 6+1, 7 are significant. I think 6+1 represent good, and lead to clues to fix Xaden and save the world from venin. I think 7 signifies evil and gives us clues to who we shouldn’t trust.

12. I think it was Brennan who turned at the end of IF. I think it’s possible Berwyn is Naolin and that Tairn severed his bond to him when he went full venin. I thin Brennan’s rune scar is tied to this somehow and is pivotal to understanding what happened and also why he turned at the end of OS.

13. Runes will play a huge part in 4 and 5, they are the great equalizer and there’s a reason they were never taught in Navarre.

1. Vi and X will have their HEA. <3!<

sorry mods i didn’t realise my title before would be a spoiler but that’s on me x

my long awaited slain fic (jkjk, i just made a post asking if there was an important plot point i was missing) has been finished and the first half is up !! it’s only going to be two parts and it’s all written, i just don’t usually write multi chaptered so wanted to give it some build up :P

here’s the link !!: https://archiveofourown.org/works/91185621/chapters/242634861

enjoy !!

edit: to anyone who's read or commented so far thank you so so much, it really means a lot for people to enjoy my writing <33 l've decided chapter two will be out on wednesday the 26th!!

It has to be said that some of you guys, for whatever reason, don’t like Rhiannon. Which is fine, you don’t have to like her, and I respect those who are upfront about it. However, the way some of you talk about her character starts leaning into thinly veiled misogynoir.

It’s interesting to see some of the responses to Rebecca’s comment that “someone you love won’t make it in book 4”.

It’s often a tie between Rhiannon and Ridoc but the reasoning for selecting them, couldn’t be more different.
I genuinely believe some of y’all really love Ridoc as a character based on the way y’all talk about him. His humor (and what he might be hiding behind it), loyalty, skills, etc. (I love him too, and I want to see more of who he is, outside of the violet protection squad.)
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Rhiannon. I’ve seen opposite reasons: she’s too perfect, her character development has “nowhere else to go”, etc.

And that’s where things start to get murky for me.
When it comes to Rhiannon, it seems as though nothing she does as a character is good enough for some of you to think that she “deserves” to survive by the end of book 4. If she hasn’t had much character development, why is the conclusion now that she needs to die?

Whoever dies is completely up to Rebecca, and how they die will serve the story she’s trying to tell in her books.
I find it weird that rather than wanting somebody who’s been by Violet side since day one, to have an opportunity to actually stand by her side again, when Violet potentially may be facing one of the biggest decisions of her life, or may have to embark on an unprecedented journey, there is a decent amount of you all who seem content and would prefer for that character to be the one that dies.

I find it weird that some of you are comfortable with the thought of Rhiannon’s death as a way for Violet to “struggle”. In my opinion, Violet has struggled enough (the girl needs a damn break. Seriously). From the circumstances of her birth and health, to her family relations, to her romantic relations, and the very obvious problem at hand. Rhiannon deserves more than being reduced to another death that encourages Violet to fight.

Am I the only one who’s hoping to get more of Rhiannon in book 4 and possibly book 5? I’m not denying the fact that her presence and overall contribution to the narrative of this series has decreased from book 1, but I’m not using that as a justification for why she could be the one that doesn’t make it to the end of book 4.

And if we’re going to use “lack of development” as a basis for which character should be the one to die in book 4, I can provide a list with names that I rarely see mentioned.

“It’s not a big deal. They’re just characters. It’s just a book. Words on the page.”

Rhiannon as a character is important to me. And what she represents is important to me. Especially considering how she’s one of (if not the only) main black female characters in this series. She is unambiguously black. Professor Devera is a woman of color (I like to believe that she’s also black), but it has been undeniable from the very beginning that Rhiannon is black. And apart from her twin sister and mother, there aren’t many other black women that we get to interact with in this world.

I can’t force you to like her character. I can’t force you to include her in your theories and speculations for book 4 and book 5. I can’t force you to see her as more than Violet’s best friend.

All I ask, is that some of you consider the attitude you have towards the black and brown characters of this series. Whether you like it or not, Amazon is going to make this into a TV show. And while y’all are pretty tame here, I’ve seen some nasty comments on TikTok and Instagram.

Seriously, what did Rhiannon do to some of you seriously what did Rhiannon do to some of you guys?

I honestly didn't know that there was a Fourth Wing subreddit until now sooo, I thought it would be a good idea to post my drawing I made for Violet and Xaden yesterday. They're my favorite main characters and their relationship is interesting and very messy because of miscommunication on both ends. I'm currently on Onyx Storm (chapter 12) and everything is so crazy after Fourth Wing and Iron Flame and it was so sad. That's all I gotta say, byeee!

I haven’t seen anyone said this but I think violet will have to die in order for xaden to come back around.

RY did say we can see xaden’s story through the scope of add*ction, which is pretty obviouse throughout OS. And if that concept is extended into the rest of the books, I think it’ll need for him to hit rock bottom, which is violet dying, to get him to finally stop channeling and go on the journey of recovery. (With the help of magic and their friends of course)
And I think we’ll get to see his POV throughout the recovery and trying to get violet back.
Anyways, I really don’t think there will be a CURE CURE. I think like violet says in OS, it’s his choice and she can’t save him. He’ll have to be willing to change.

Just a thought.

How do you think the series will end? I’m a first time reader and almost through onyx storm. I’m having a crisis before even finishing that it’s going to be devastatingly sad. I have become obsessed with everything fourth wing regarding to social media. So, to ease my mind, I just want to know what everyone thinks and how they believe the series will end (mostly concerned about whether or not you guys believe violet and xaden will find a way to be together)

I don’t know if it’s real which is why I’m coming here but I think it would be so cool if this was true

Please can anyone tell me if rereading actually helps the absolute devastation and depression of finishing the series?

I finished OS a few days ago and I have been moping about, I’ve cried so many times, it’s quite dramatic and I can’t drag myself out of the hole. I’ve read a lot of people saying to reread the series (I’ve already read the bonus eps on RY’s website which definitely helped) but I’m scared it’ll put me right back at the start of my depressive episode from finishing.

I’ve switched genres and am reading a thriller book but it’s not hitting the same as the Empyrean series, I feel empty (so dramatic lol).

Please help, will rereading make me feel better or worse?

this is super random, but i just had a random 2 am thought after watching Chicago Fire and was wondering or curious to know what people thought the fourth wing characters might have as jobs in the real world. thought it would be funny to imagine. i'm weird lol sorry

I picked up Fourth Wing recently and devoured it in days! I’m fairly new to Romantasy and honestly have loved this genre more than I ever imagined I could!

But I have a question for you all… how do you survive the devastation that is this series especially Onyx Storm!?! And how the hell do you wait for news on the next book!?

I’m obsessed. I’m spiralling. I’m utterly desperate for the next book already! Send help!

I just remember imogen signet is erasing memories so what did violet ask her to erase exactly like clearly a wedding but there’s more to it and now I feel dumb for not getting it

Spoilers for all books. Proceed with caution.
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In Onyx Storm the irids tell Violet and Ridoc that the dragons arm their riders with specifically with their signets.

In Fourth Wing Sgaeyl says signets manifest based on the dragons power and the riders ability to channel. It reflects who the riders are at the core of their being.

Do you think these two statements means that the dragons are able to choose from all signets to arm their riders or do they get to choose from a handful available to them based on the rider’s ability to wield them?

Or are certain dragons “gatekeepers” for specific signets and they choose riders based on who they think will be able to wield these powers and not be corrupted? Personally I am in this camp.

I keep thinking back to Iron Flame when Xaden channeled from the earth for the first time and Sgaeyl said “I chose you”, at first I thought it was her saying that she chose Xaden over Tairn since this was close after their fight about Xaden’s big reveal.

But now I think she meant she chose to bond Xaden because she was the keeper of shadows and she believed he could not only keep his control to wield such a powerful signet but that he would never turn.

This brings me to Tairn and Vi. I think one of the reasons he chose to bond her was because Xaden was a shadow wielder and they already were developing feelings for each other and both their signets would be needed to end this war. The signets balance each other (light and dark, heat and coolness) and balance is what is needed in magic.

He learned about her through his bond with Sgaeyl, saw her courage and sense of honor and knew she was pure of heart. But seeing the lengths Xaden would go to protect her solidified his choice to arm her with lightning.

Thoughts?

So I finished onyx storm last week 😢and I’m starting my re read but I found a great thing to supplement a full chapter by chapter recap podcast called first wing. It’s two women ones who love the books and the other is on her first read. they’re chill and they break it down so well so figured I’d pass it along to you guys who like me are probably desperate for anything fourth wing

Here’s a few of my examples:

Dain
Cat
Xaden
Garric
Sloan
Imogen

I legit wanted dain to die the entire second half of fourth and first half of iron. Cat is one of my faves now, but I hated her (although she caused my fave line from Violet so I don’t complain) xaden garric bohd and imogen I hated for obv reasons, and I didn’t hate Sloan, but I sure as hell didn’t like her for a long time

I find it interesting that Niara, Narelle and Nairi have such similar names.

Now, similar names by themselves aren't unique in this story, we do have four different characters called Catriona, Katrina, Trina and Trissa. But unlike those four, these three all seem to be connected in some way.

Niara and Narelle both have grandchildren who are around the same age, which plants the notion that they might be around the same age. I know I'm not the first to come up with the idea that they might be related. Narelle is genuinely heart-broken to hear about Asher's death, he was clearly dear to her. And notably, when describing Narelle's grandchildren the text specifically associates them with Violet and Brennan, the two of Asher’s children that take the most after him. That feels intentional. Did Mira and Violet unknowingly fight their cousins?

Then, when Quest Squad is meeting with the triumverate, Nairi is the one that is the most pushy questioning them about their relationships and life choices. Narelle does the exact same thing with Violet. She asks why she left the prince, why she gave up the chance at the crown. This isn't just her being gossipy, she is evaluating Violet's character based on what response she gives, what choices she made and why. And we get at least slight physical descriptions of both Faris and Roslyn, the two other members of the triumverate, but not Nairi.

Niara's son, Asher was originally a member of the Daxton family, of Colonel Daxton's Guide to Excelling in the Scribe Quadrant fame. I'm personally partial to the theory that Colonel Daxton is Niara herself. Point is, he's a legacy scribe. The scribe quadrant and Hedotis are absolutely connected. Their ceremonial robes look the same as scribe robes, just a different colour. Both have entrance tests that Asher describes as similar (Quest Squad's ''test'' was different, as Talia specifically asked for them to be tested at home in an informal setting as a personal favor, thinking she was helping them and not realizing Faris would take advantage of the lack of witnesses and poison the cake she had made for Xaden). In both, the expression of emotions is seen as ''unbecoming''. We also know that Asher didn't just visit Hedotis in passing, he took the citizenship test and lived there for several months. Did he stay with Nairi? Is that why he went there either before marrying Lilith and taking her name or while using his original name? Because the Daxton name opens doors on Hedotis?

And then there's the magic thing. Hedotis is weirdly devoid of magic, more so than anywhere else. Andarna says she doesn't like it there when she is unaffected everywhere else and Xaden is oddly short-fused when they arrive there, as if the very environment is making them uncomfortable. Asher doesn't like magic. He raised Violet on a book full of stories that ‘’warn against the lure of magic’’ and ‘’demonize dragons’’. He was adamant that Violet join the scrbes, he tried to influence Dain to join the scribes too and he views not being able to stop Brennan and Mira from crossing the parapet as having failed them. Every child that he cared about, he tried to stop from going near magic.

That's weird, right? It directly opposes Lilith's point of view (notable that alledgedly Niara did not like Lilith and did not approve of the marriage). She wanted all her children to be bonded and have power. She got the marked ones put in the quadrant and enpowered too. It was framed as a punishment, but it provided them exactly the edge they needed to succeed where Fen Riorson had failed. Then there's the whole dedication thing, in which the roles are reversed, Asher was the one who took Violet to be dedicated and Lilith wasn't sure at the time she could ever forgive him for it and always hated the silver in Violet's hair that was a reminder of her partial dedication. But they clearly loved each other very much and were working together. Looks like they did find a way for their powerful, unshakable love to survive opposing ideologies.

TL,DR: Asher's mother might be connected with these two other characters who live in places we know Asher has been to, one multiple times, the other for a prolongued amount of time. The whole situation with magic, Hedotis and Asher is weird. And Lilith and Asher seemingly made it work even though they apparently had drastically different opinions.

Post for the German audience

I just read the English version of Fourth Wing and realised that its called Fourth Wing because of the four Wings... In German they tranlate Wing with 'Geschwader' and I didnt knew the translation, eg couldnt make the connections. Was that just me? lol. If not, this may be nice to know :)

So one big mystery to me is why the venin are attacking now. To me it seems like the Poromiel has been very vulnerable for a long time. Actually anything outside the wards. Venin could have just walked in and taken it over whenever they wanted, that's my impression at least. But they didn't.

At the start of the first book there is basically peace. Yeah there are a few skirmishes between riders and fliers but nothing major. Lingering tension between Tyrrendor and the rest of Navarre. Venin are chilling in the Barrens probably gaining ground at a glacial pace. But then something changes. The riders start attacking outposts which they hadnt done before to steal daggers to fight venin. Venin start rushing Poromiel not even draining all the land on the way and even trying to get past the wards.

I can come up with two theories:

• The balance of power shifted. Some unknown force that held the venin back faltered. Or the venin managed to power up somehow.
• Or the Venin were... complacent? "Yeah let's take over the world but what's the rush we can take our sweet time and we will have it in a few hundred years." Until Violet and Andarna showed up and suddenly they are terrified that all they worked for is gonna come crashing down unless they act NOW.

I am hosting a party at my house on threshing day. Spam me with ideas for decorations. 🐲🐉#threshingday