With the Empyrean series now a worldwide phenomenon, emerging from BookTok, romantasy fans of the series—ever the restless cadets—cannot wait for the third of five fantasy books to be released in January 2025. In the magical but also terrifying world of Basgiath War College in Navarre, thrilling tales unfold as our favorite riders try to survive and prepare for war. But the most exciting stories are always the ones left untold, the ones that have been alluded to but never properly explored. As we wait for Onyx Storm to solve our burning questions, let’s put on our tin foil hats for a second and try to connect the dots between the moments that gave us pause and made us think there must be a deeper connection that the author is yet hiding from us.
Beware: Fourth Wing and Iron Flame spoilers ahead!
So we all remember the major plot twist at the end of Fourth Wing when we learned that Brennan was alive and hiding at an outpost in Aretia. However, upon closer inspection, Rebecca Yarros had dropped a few subtle hints about that throughout the book. For example, When Violet talks to Liam during the Reunification Ball, she mentions her brother would hate this kind of celebration, to which Liam replies, “Yeah, that sounds like…” before catching himself short of revealing he actually knows Brennan, who is hiding with the rebels in his own—supposedly burned-down—city.
Xaden Riorson’s secret signet has also been hinted at, long before it was actually revealed in Iron Flame. Namely, it had been implied that there are dangerous implications to dragons bonding riders of the same family line. We already knew Sgaeyl had bonded Xaden’s grandfather before Xaden, so we knew that would mean something life-threatening for Xaden—like manifesting the only signet that amounts to a death sentence.
Fourth Wing also contained clues that Jack Barlowe is alive as venin. When Violet spars with him on the mat, she states that the power he’s using is far stronger than the lesser magic riders have access to, and he is “forcing his power into her body,” a sign that he had already turned by then.
Following this logic, bookworms have been on the hunt for new clues after reading the second book, and have come up with quite a few interesting theories.
Following Violet Sorrengail’s journey from an inexperienced young cadet to a seasoned, powerful rider, the most burning question of all is the one that keeps following her since Threshing: Does she get a second signet after bonding two dragons, and if yes, what is it? Iron Flame has further complicated this question by implying Andarna is a special kind of dragon, so we can only expect an equally unique signet from her.
This is only one of the 10 + 1 Iron Flame theories we will be exploring, so strap into your dragon-harness as we soar through the skies into the uncharted territory of Onyx Storm.
At the beginning of Fourth Wing, it was mentioned that Violet’s mother, General Lilith Sorrengail, suffered a fever during her pregnancy that almost killed her and stole the child’s coloring and strength. Violet’s two-toned hair might be more than just an aesthetic choice made by the author to make the character stand out, as it could very well be a sign of a venin draining her while still in the womb. We’ve seen this happen before in the Barrens, where the venin and their wyverns drained the magic from the land and took out its life and color. This could mean that Lilith was attacked during her pregnancy, which led to the tragic consequence of the child being drained. If we want to take this theory one step further and count on Lilith’s motherly instincts, we can imagine her sacrificing herself and turning venin to stop the draining and save her daughter. That would be highly unlikely, though, as we have seen no signs of Lilith actually being a venin—and it’s certainly not something you can easily hide!
But where does that leave Violet now? If she has been drained before, could she now be immune, just like the ground in the Barrens has been drained from its magic and venin cannot touch it again? Could Violet be the ultimate shield in the venin’s path to chaos and destruction?
From the first book of the series, Violet’s father has made sure that she learns all the necessary lore to confront the venin. In the stories he passes down to her, we learn the tale of three brothers: the first one bonded with dragons, the second one with Gryphons, and the third one, in a fit of jealousy, decides to draw power directly from the source in exchange for his soul to triumph over the other two.
Although dead, Violet’s father has a clear connection to the venin which he uses to protect his daughter. A man with such knowledge would definitely be a target for the venin, who could have captured him and turned him. This has led fans to speculate that the sage Violet kept seeing in her dreams could be none other than her own dad. Even though Rebecca Yarros herself has clearly rejected this theory, saying it would be ridiculous for her not to recognize her own father, it still has left us with questions like how much did her father know, and how did he learn it? And since we’re talking about fathers busying themselves with venin politics, where does Dain’s father, the infamous Colonel Aetos, stand in all of this?
Since the day the weak underdog Violet Sorrengail bonded not one but two(!) dragons at Threshing, the question on everyone’s lips—us included—is clear enough: what is Violet’s second signet? After a spectacular roller-coaster of emotions, we learned—and keep learning—about Violet’s first signet from Tairn, so we already know she’s a lightning-wielder. We also know that a rider’s signet does not depend entirely on the dragon, but on the rider themselves, playing on the strengths of their character.
While Violet has already managed to stop time channeling Andarna’s power, we cannot recklessly assume that this is her second signet, especially since it has stopped manifesting once the stubborn gold feathertail hit puberty. The author has stated that there are plenty of hints to the second signet in Iron Flame, where she insists that Violet is a very truth-oriented character. Even from the first book, we see that she values honesty and cannot stand lying, especially to the people she loves. Even when she can’t reveal the truth to protect them, she opts for “selective truths” instead of lying. Her need for honesty is also highlighted in her relationship with Xaden as it’s the most important—and infuriating—problem in their communication. Xaden needs to know everything, so he’s an intrinsic, Violet needs honesty, so she’s a truth-sayer.
Naolin was Tairn’s former rider, whose death caused him so much trauma that he refused to bond another rider, until Violet. Naolin was a siphon, and during the Tyrrish rebellion, he tried to revive Brennan using his signet. Brennan has mentioned that when he tried to save him, he didn’t fail, but it cost him everything. As we’ve gotten to know—and love—Tairn for his wisdom and critical thinking, it’s hardly possible that he would choose a reckless rider, who would put his life at stake for no good reason. So, the reason he sacrificed his life must have been good enough for even Tairn to step back and allow him to get that far. We know that dragons do not allow riders to lose their soul to their own power, so Brennan and Naolin’s relationship must have been a lot more complex and meaningful than mere comradery. The optimistic side of this theory is that they were lovers, and we will get to see more of their story in the next books. However, there is a darker path we can take following this logic.“Bonding makes you a rider, but resurrecting someone from the dead? Now that makes you a God.” Is it possible that Naolin really had to bring Brennan back from the dead? If he did, that would require a great amount of power, far greater than that of a rider. Is it possible that Naolin, just like Xaden, turned for love?
Andarna is a special kind of dragon. She is not referred to as the seventh kind but rather “the one with the six”. So what kind of dragon is she?
Theories say she could be a Silver dragon as she reflects color and Tairn always calls Violet, her rider, the silver one. This could be attributed to her hair color, but could it have a deeper meaning, especially since Andarna has mentioned that she had been delaying her hatching for six hundred years, specifically waiting for Violet?
Something sets the silver dragons apart from the others. Since the Empyrean hides so many secrets from the humans, the secret could be that the silver ones are the leaders. If we go into name semantics, her full name, Andarnaurram, means ‘the second honor’ in Gaelic, so she could be second in command and become leader of the Empyrean if Codagh dies.
Basgiath’s rules on signets relating to mind manipulation are very strict. Being an intrinsic and reading people’s minds is a death sentence, Dain’s signet of reading memories is only allowed—and classified—because, according to leadership, he can be easily manipulated. So why isn’t Imogen’s signet of reading memories a big deal, even though she has a rebellion relic that marks her as the enemy? Does she wipe out the memories of those that find out about it? When she wipes out the memories of a rider, does their dragon forget as well? This naturally makes us question how much of the characters’ memories have been manipulated, especially Violet’s, whose POV we’ve been following all along. It also places Imogen in the center of action, so we can’t wait to see how her signet will be used in the future.
“We have tried every method we know of, as you requested. There’s no cure. There is only control,” says Nolon’s missive to Lilith at the beginning of Chapter Sixty-Six, Iron Flame. So we know Lilith has looked for the cure and wasn’t successful. However, with Xaden now having turned venin, Violet has a new personal interest in the cure. Felix has told her that her signet isn’t just lightning but pure power, so that could make her a power amplifier to Brennan’s mending signet. Together, they can join forces and look for the cure more efficiently. Also, the sage has told Violet that she has all this power, and she doesn’t even know what to do with it, so that could mean that she’s not a real threat to him because she doesn’t even know she can use her powers to take them down.
While being tortured and interrogated by Varrish, Violet saw Liam in the room with her, even though he’s dead. Of course, this could be attributed to her horrible mental state at the moment, but it could also lead us Liam fans to believe that our favorite bodyguard is coming back in the next books. There is a connection with Liam and the ancient runes. It has been stated in Iron Flame that the runes can be carved into wood, and we can’t forget Liam’s habit of carving wooden figures. The wooden figure he was making of Andarna was given to Violet after his death, even though the objects of the dead are supposed to be burned. Could he have carved a protection rune in it? In an interview, the author has stated that she prefers to keep the characters that have died dead, but we sure hope she could make an exception for a character as beloved as Liam, whose tragic death has united the fandom in heartbreak.
It has been highlighted that Navarre’s rules require that the items of a person must all be burned after their death. If we combine the powers of the signets and the runes, that brings up questions on why that rule exists. Can these items be used to resurrect them? What if resurrection is possible, but it takes a lot of energy or has dangerous implications, so Navarre set this rule to avoid people trying to do it without actually telling them it’s possible? If that’s true, which character could we expect to see coming back?
In the prelude of the books, there is an ominous statement that the events of the book have been transcribed by Jesinia. The text names Jesinia the Curator of the Scribe Quadrant, so we know Jesinia not only lives but also achieves her dream of rising to the position. The author has said that Jesinia is a device to show what Violet could have been if she hadn’t left the Scribe Quadrant for the Riders Quadrant. However, she is narrating Xaden and Violet’s story, so does that mean they are not alive to narrate it themselves? Is it retrieved from their journals? This theory gets even more ominous if we consider Jesinia has also included Xaden’s personal letters to Violet, something that is highly unlikely to have happened if they were both still alive.
We already know that the third book of the series will be Onyx Storm, but what does the title actually mean? Of course, there’s the obvious connection to Xaden’s eyes and the onyx flecks in them, but what about the storm part? Could it mean that his eyes finally turn full onyx and darkness takes over him in a storm of power? Or does the “storm” part connect Xaden’s onyx with Violet’s power to “command the skies”?
As we eagerly await the release of “Onyx Storm” in January, book clubs and TikTok are buzzing with speculations surrounding the Empyrean. From the hints about Violet’s potential second signet to the mysterious connections to venin and ancient lore, the action-packed series has left us at the edge of our seats for more, so let’s keep connecting the dots and letting our imagination run wild as we prepare to return to Navarre.
For more Fourth Wing content, check out our latest article Steamy & Hilarious Fourth Wing Memes For Die-hard Fans.
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Eirini is a passionate book nerd with a keen penchant for the whimsical and the witty. She holds a degree in English Literature - because what's better than reading books for homework? - and delights in dissecting the subtleties of storytelling. When it comes to fiction analysis, she is determined to turn every stone and go through every theory of the stories that excite her. Known for her playful approach and keen observations, her contribution offers readers a delightful exploration of literary themes that resonate with enthusiasts and casual readers alike.
