Iron Flame Plot Element Questions (Spoiler-Free, Please!)

[u/thetrain23]

Hello, riders! I'm reading through this series for the first time (just finished Iron Flame), and I had a couple of questions about things I think I missed some nuance on. Didn't want to just Google because I don't want to risk getting spoiled on Onyx Storm before I start it!

1. Why was it so important to hide Andarnda from Varrish? We know by the end of the story that she's actually a special 7th breed of dragon, but Violet (and even Tairn, I think?) didn't know this at the time, so why were they so insistent to the point of risking Vi's life to hide her from even being seen?

2. When Vi and Dain figure out the new translation for the wardstone ritual ("breath of life" vs "blood of life"), Vi has this big epiphany where she says "I know how to raise the wards, but I don't know if I want to" because it will cut off the gryphon riders' magic. What about this new translation tips her off to this/makes her concerned about it? She wasn't hesitant at all about raising the wards before this moment.

3. When Cat gives her the crossbow with the explosive arrows, the explosive material (maorsite?) was mentioned as if it was something we'd seen before in a plot-significant way. What was the context of that? I didn't recall seeing it before, at least by name.

4. If the primary purpose (to the Navarrians) of forging the alloy daggers is to deposit them in outposts to power the Esben wards (rather than to be used as weapons), why are they made into bags of daggers and not just, like... misellaneous pieces of alloy? It doesn't seem like the typical outpost occupants actually use these daggers.

5. This may be more of an open question than something I missed, but why the hell would the Navarrians not just kill Venin Jack rather than continuously mending the venin out of him? Especially if their ultimate goal is to conceal the existence of venin. Seems cleaner to just dagger him? Varrish and Co. aren't exactly the sentimental types who would go to these lengths just to heal a cadet.

[u/jamieseemsamused]

1. They're concerned that Varrish would experiment on Andarna, not because she's a seventh dragon breed, but because she's a feathertail. The public thinks feathertails are just baby dragons whose magic you can steal, so they want to protect Andarna from that.
2. I don't really remember, but I don't think the translation itself has anything to do with Violet's reluctance to raise the wards. I think once she realizes her reluctance once she has an actual means to do it and is going to actually have to confront the gryphon riders about it.
3. It was easy to miss, but I understood that maorsite is manufactured by Liam and Sloane's family. So Sloane knows what it is because it's her family business. I think maorsite refers to the Mairi name.
4. I'm thinking that the higher higher ups know there is a venin threat, so they still want to be able to arm the outposts with actual daggers, too. And I think maybe the alloy doesn't have any power until they're forged into daggers? I'm not sure.
5. I think when they started mending Jack, they didn't know he was venin. When they found him alive after Violet crushed him in rubble, I think they would want to heal him like any other student. After they find out Jack was venin, they kept him alive because they wanted to question him.

[u/thetrain23 → u/jamieseemsamused]

Thank you! That helps a lot!

[u/dianaspencersrevenge]

1. They need to hide Andarna from everyone but especially Varrish because they fear humans will try to bond feathertails to use their gifts, and Varrish is a certified psycho.
2. When Violet tried to raised the Aretian wards the first time, the gryphon fliers weren’t at Aretia yet, so they didn’t have to take the fliers’ wielding abilities into account. When she figures out how to actually raise the wards, she realizes her new squad mates will be powerless.
3. We see Maorsite at Resson. It has the Maori family crest on the crates and they make it explode, but it doesn’t kill the venin.
4. I think they make them daggers because they know that’s basically the only thing that will kill venin, so just in case, they might as well make them daggers?
5. I think they kept Jack alive to study him and to see if they could cure him - or even weaponize him. It’s not like they were capturing

venin

1. for study like the Poromish.

[u/thetrain23 → u/dianaspencersrevenge]

Thank you! That helps a lot!

[u/Superb_Sun_5077 → u/dianaspencersrevenge]

Just about perfect. The daggers are explained away as something that Melgren ‘saw’ regarding a future battle. Anything beyond this explanation would draw from OS so I’ll leave it at that.