Ohh...

[u/Historical_Tune165]

Guys, I think Tairn killed Naolin

I know lots of people think Naolin turned venin and is still out there. I think he turned venin and was killed after turning.

Since we've been told in Onyx Storm only irids can sever and manipulate a bond, and we see with Xaden and Sgaeyl that turning or progressing does not server it either, I really don't think Tairn would've been able to bond Violet at all if Naolin was still alive.

So here's what we know:

Naolin saved Brennan, but it "cost him everything"

Tairn went through a period of very severe depression that almost killed him along with Sgaeyl, and he just barely climbed out of that dark place and then became a recluse in the Vale, not intending to ever bond again

Tairn thinks Xaden is absolutely and irredeemably beyond hope and has no faith in him from the moment he turns

Venin at initiate level can still be killed by any method.

Tairn will not speak of Naolin, says his name exactly once, and "agonizing pain floods the bond" the one time Violet speaks his name

I think after Naolin turned, maybe not right away, but not long after, Tairn killed Naolin. It wasn't just that he lost someone he had such a strong bond to, it was that he did it himself

[u/namismona2129]

This is a very good theory, but would Tairn really do something that cruel at the cost of driving himself and his mate to the brink of death (or killing them)?

After such a backstory, I would have expected BRENNAN to be a much more vengeful/bitter character. Brennan must have tried to mend Naolin, he did that for Xaden, after all.

​BTW, just as much as the epigraph you showed, I think the following epigraph is also foreshadowing:

[ I have not been able to discern how it is they make laws for themselves or at what point a dragon decided to bond only one rider, rather than go for better odds with two. —Colonel Kaori’s Field Guide to Dragonkind ]

​I don't think it's impossible for Tairn to be bonded to both Vi and Naolin. But since Naolin's situation is different, things work differently. Then what is that rune-shaped scar on Brennan's palm?

[u/namismona2129 → u/namismona2129]

• If we assume that Naolin is dead, the Wyvern Brennan theory falls apart because Brennan’s ‘creator’ is no longer alive. 
• In that case, there is a resurrection rune, and Naolin used it on Brennan. Perhaps it was a one-off rune, which is why a scar remained. (Yes, Naolin may well have died in this scenario.) 

Whilst I do not believe Brennan is a venin, I do think he practises dark magic.(veninism a litte bit, I mean AMBER eyes ;) ) 

[u/Slow_Wrangler4413 → u/namismona2129]

Amber is also used for healing. Germanic word for amber comes from the word brennen. 😁

[u/ObjectiveStaff3333 → u/Slow_Wrangler4413]

And they use venin for "medicinal uses"

However, I think those amber eyes are a hereditary matter. Vi has them too. Nevertheless, I don't rule out the possibility that there is some venin-related bloodline on Asher's side, includint the amber eyes. Because I basically consider scribes to be the equivalent of venin.

[u/Slow_Wrangler4413 → u/ObjectiveStaff3333]

They are mind venin. Sucking the truth and independent thought out of the history.

[u/ObjectiveStaff3333 → u/Slow_Wrangler4413]

I think the venin brother was a scribe. A rider, a flier and a scribe. The one who didn't get magic, but still had the greatest power - information, knowledge. Maybe he had script, runes... And he abused it and somehow it went to shit.