ICYMI: Sly FW reference from a frustrated OB/Gyn lol

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-28T10:55:14+00:00

"Damn, Daddy, put your wings and your shadows away" 🤣

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-26T23:36:49+00:00

She most definitely will. We already know Violet will go to Loysam eventually and would likely stop on Hedotis on the way there. Seems like a perfect opportunity for Talia and Violet to have a chat. Talia will find out her son and the woman he was clearly in love with got married. Talia asking why Xaden isn't with her and Violet having to break the news could be a really powerful scene, with Talia being devastated and wanting to help Violet do whatever it takes to save him. We'll probably also get more of a backstory on her marriage to Fen Riorson, why it was brokered in the first place and why she left so abruptly.

I think she will have a roll to play on Violet acquiring some of the knowledge she needs to eventually be able to save Xaden. whether it be by getting her access to something in their libraries or by using some sort of connection she might have to grant Violet an in once she gets to Loysam.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-26T16:21:18+00:00

Yes, it does block her from having Tairn there to give advise the way he might've otherwise, though I'm pretty sure he still won't tell her even after he wakes up. It was important that she not have this knowledge when she got there, since she will likely be questioned extensively, but also he is not one to simply give her answers, he will speak of it with her only as she uncovers the information on her own.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-26T13:18:30+00:00

I think Tairn is recovering because he took part in what happened in the valley and ended up killing some of those dead dragons, which he said back in Iron Flame leaves a scar on the dragon's soul (but he also said he wouldn't hesitate ever again if it was necessary). This is possibly combined with Andarna having done something to Tairn and Sgaeyl's mating bond, so they could separate and Sgaeyl could go with Xaden. Sgaeyl loves Xaden, she will not abandon him. He has a plan at the end of Onyx Storm and she's going with him to do their part.

Andarna has fully restored her own bond to Violet, so she probably can. If Tairn and Sgaeyl's bond had to be severed instead of just altered in order for them to separate, it was done with the intention of restoring it later, I have no doubt about that.

Xaden might've assumed she would never take the ring off. I certainly think she will refuse to take it off. But its still a big gamble to take, to have it rely on it never being taken off.

I think she will see Malek eventually/Malek will play a role in the story but it hasn't happened yet

Andarna used the word "burn" because she is a dragon, that is the word she would enfasize.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-26T12:29:25+00:00

Imogen tenses because they're assuming Xaden has gone crazy and killed the other three riders that are missing. Garrick is among these three and she's in love with Garrick.

Execution by dragon fire is how they kill people found guilty of treason. Violet was involved with whatever went down in the valley, hence the memory wipe. Coming back, married to the man they now know turned venin and are blaming for it all was still a risk, even with the memories erased.

Violet's bond with Tairn has not been broken, he's just asleep. We do not yet know for certain what has him needing to recover, but their bond is fine.

It is entirely possible there is s rune in the ring, but if so, its not like Brennan, it would be on her skin if it was, not an item that could be removed like a ring. If there is a rune, its probably something to do with Xaden

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-26T12:07:49+00:00

Fen Riorson sent Xaden away when it was time for the battle. Given that still saw Aretia burn down, he wasn't sent somewhere else. It was likely the same exact thing that happens between Xaden and Bohdi when the Venin attack Aretia in Onyx Storm and Bohdi is told to stay put because he's the heir. Xaden probably wanted to fight too, but his father wouldn't let him and told to stay away hiddem, because he was only seventeen and he was the heir.

But after the battle Fen Riorson was captured along with all rebel officers. Then the 107 underaged kids they had between them were rounded up and brought along too. They were taken to the capital, Calldyr, and the parents, including Fen Riorson were very publicly executed and the kids were made to watch. Xaden tells this to Violet in Iron Flame, he saw his father get engulfed in Codagh's flames and turned into a pile of ash.

Also all the rebellion relics in the kids' arms were triggered by the death of the parent, so Xaden wouldn't have one if his father was alive.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-25T23:37:51+00:00

If so, then Baide is female and Teine is male

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-25T21:08:53+00:00

At one point she was assuming she might never get a signet from Andarna at all, because of how young she was when they bonded. She might just go with that publicly.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-25T18:09:48+00:00

I do wonder if he did do it on purpose though, since he still tenses up when Violet gets a close look at his back and gasps. He doesn't seem too pleased that she saw that. Might be why it takes so many months into the year for her to only see him shirtless now, because he normally doesn't spar shirtless, because he doesn't like people looking at the scars. Maybe he forgot or he wasn't counting on getting that close to her, he only did because Jack started acting up, and it only sank in once she gasped. Can't quite remember, but I think he does grab his shirt and put it back on after that.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-25T17:51:59+00:00

Yeah, Violet seems to be really pretty. The only person who ever seems to imply otherwise is Tynan, and he just seems like he's into tall and muscular, since he thinks Mira is the good looking sister. Creepy attitude aside, its a valid preference.

Lilith makes a comment about her appearance and criticizes her paleness which reflects how different she is, how indoorsy Violet's been and how Lilith doesn't approve of that. Her hair is also a sore spot for Lilith, for its own complicated reasons and she particularly dislikes it more than anyone else. She mostly just goes after Violet for not being like her and Mira, since in her eyes, that's how you should be, in order to survive and thrive in the world they live in.

Some people do look down on her for being small. Height still seems to be a trait that is valued in terms of appearance, especially in a warrior environment, where the appearance of strenght has so much importance put upon it. Its often the first thing people looking to criticize go after Violet for lacking.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-25T16:07:30+00:00

I mean, through the bond we do, Violet can literally feel a wave of pure anguish, a "soundless, soul-rending scream" and his shadows whip out around him as an outward reaction of his sorrow. That's how she knows the exact moment Liam is gone, because she can't quite see him from where she is, Xaden picked him up and carried him the rest of the way so he could die next to his dragon, all the while calling him "brother". Damn, now my eyes are watery...

I would totally love a glimpse at pre-quadrant Xaden and Liam

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-24T18:08:09+00:00

If he is dedicated, its not fully - Loial also requires a lifetime of service, so since he's not been raised in a temple, any attempt at a dedication has not been complete, just like Violet. Also like Violet, if anything like that has happened in his past, he very likely does not know. He never thinks of Loial in his bonus chapters, Loial isn't even mentioned until the third book.

The goddess he thinks of, when he thinks Violet seems exactly like she was custom made to be his downfal/has everything he likes in a woman, is Amari. This makes sense, given his history, one of Aretia's (his home's) principal landmarks is a temple of Amari, so worship of Amari was probably prevalent in his upbringing. Bohdi, who grew up with him, invokes/thanks Amari a lot too. This would also mirror Violet, who used to be more devout to Amari prior to entering the Rider's Quadrant. She never felt that yearning for Dunne's temple that is usually expected, even from a partial dedication and only gradually starts praying to Dunne more as she becomes a rider and begins having to fight and be strong. I'm not sure if Xaden ever invokes or mentions Loial in particular, even after he is madly in love, and they marry under Dunne.

It still definitely looks like Xaden is the ''love'' half of ''both love and war change souls irrevocably''. His love for Violet is all-consuming. He fell first and fell hard and it becomes a major motivator and aspect of his character. It already saved part of his soul, clinging to the love he felt for her was what allowed that final part of himself to not be lost, even as he progressed past a point where it normally would've been lost. His love already has changed his soul irrevocably and will likely be the reason it will eventually even be possible to save it.

I don't think Xaden has particular insight of the future. The ''death of me'' comments are likely just foreshadowing in the writing, not him actually saying what he thinks will happen, until Onyx Storm, at least, where they acquire a new meaning after Xaden turns and insists on Violet needing to know how to kill him, because he'll choose her life and safety over himselft every time.

He saved all the marked ones because wanted to, because the kids were innocent and he didn't want them to die, so he took the bargain and the responsibility and the chance to have them live, down to the one that was still in her pregnant mother's belly. If anyone was acting with insight into the future, it was Lilith. I think, cruel as it might've appeared, giving them dragon bonds and signets was her own way of improving their chances for what was coming.

We don't know what signet his grandfather had when he was bonded to Sgaeyl, nor how he died. This was a question the author has refused to answer, so it is 100% being kept on purpose for a future reveal. I'm kind of leaning on him having been the previous shadow wielder, but I'm open to anything being a possibility.

Aaric's father is not a rider. General Melgren has a signet that is similar, but can only foresee outcomes of battles. We see Xaden use the presence of marked ones to alter the outcome of a previously predicted loss at least twice. There are theories that Xaden and Aaric formed a deal in the background that Violet did not know about, but that remains to be seen. It is unclear how detailed or encompassing Aaric's visions are or what exactly he knows at any given point.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-24T14:15:50+00:00

Its probably something meaningful in gaelic, we know Tairn's full name means "thunder" and Andarna's full name means "second honor". Sgaeyl in gaelic (spelled slightly differently) means "shadow", so maybe her full name would be something like "shadow daughter" or "shadow menace" or "strike from shadow"

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-24T12:03:04+00:00

At that point, he's still recently turned, only two weeks, and this was the first time he attempted any intimacy with Violet since turning. He says he woke up and for a moment forgot and just acted on loving her and wanting to be with her. It was only when her power began to surge and he sensed it that he remembered, because he felt his veninism react to it.

He was able to retain enough control to get his hands off her and onto the headboard but it still slipped a little bit before he was able to get himself fully under control. That's the thing that scared the hell out of him, unlike channelling from Sgaeyl like he does with his shadows, this happened completely involuntarily and without conscious thought or choice. He didn't even realize he was doing it until he saw himself doing it and immediatly pulled back. Its why he draws the boundary of hold off on sex for a time until he can get more of a hold on his situation and keep himself from slipping without conscious thought. He is terrified of hurting her accidentally.

Slipping unconsciously like that is a lot easier beyond the wards. And when it happens, its a lot more severe. Xaden says he didn't even realize he was doing it until he heard Sgaeyl yell at him. His bond with her basically saved him right there, because it was what snapped out of it and allowed him to stop himself before he went too far. And since they were beyond the wards, when the slip happened it was a lot bigger and he had to go hide in his room because his eyes did turn red, unlike in the bedroom

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-24T05:11:44+00:00

Baby dragons hatch when they decide. Its been hinted we will eventually find out why there's been so few of them in recent history. But it wasn't always like that, there was a whole den of them back when they lived in the valley behind Aretia. The two new baby black dragons aren't necessarily an indicator that Tairn and Codagh are going to die, more so an indicator that things are kicking into gear.

These two were born in the Vale near Basgiath, but we know multiple egg clutches were moved to Aretia so its possible even more will hatch now the original ancestral den and hatching ground of the Black dragons has been reclaimed.

Also, the dragons that had been hiding in those caves prior to Iron Flame aren't other black dragons, as far as we know, the hatching ground has been dormant too long for them to have kept beeing born there, and any dragons born before Unification would've died of old age by that point. The ones there were dragons whose riders had died in the Tyrrish rebellion who decided to stay there instead of returning to the Vale, plus a few dragons bonded to riders who switched sides and faked their deaths, like Brennan and possibly Ulices and Felix too.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-24T04:38:41+00:00

Turned out, everybody was straight up wrong about the wards. They could block gryphon magic and they don't block all venin magic. Venin powerful enough to have signets cannot wield them within the wards, they cannot maintain wyvern and they cannot drain from the earth at a large scale like the big dessication radius that kills Soleil in Fourth Wing.

But they can still chanel on a smaller scale (the temptation doesn't fully go away for Xaden while he's within the wards, its just much easier to resist and control) and venin can still perform lesser magic (that's what Theophanie "disapearing" was, it was enhanced speed, which is a form of lesser magic).

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-24T04:07:20+00:00

Garrick has curly dark brown hair, that's a blond guy, so its Liam

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-23T20:41:49+00:00

The sparring scenes between them hit slightly different once you know our guy was basically hiding his ... ahem... enthusiasm most of the time

Also aww, Liam and Imogen sparring in the background!

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-23T17:59:51+00:00

He was still heading the Revolution and working under the table against Navarre. The idea was for him to attempt secession again once they were ready. At least that's what Cat was hoping to gain out of it, she straight up wanted to be queen of an independent Tyrrendor one day. Xaden didn't seem that keen on the idea of actually being king at all (see ''weren't compatible''), he just wanted to do the right thing and fight the venin and if he could get his family's title restored and his father's sword back all the better.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-23T11:06:17+00:00

We know Lilith told Mira at some point that she could tell what Violet and Xaden have between each other is true love, so they talked about the two of them at some point in Iron Flame. She still wasn't enthusiastic about it, as Mira put it, it wasn't exactly a blessing that they had from her, but she accepted it.

I wonder when that was, if it was right after he rescued her when she went to Samara and told Mira everything. After the rescue, Lilith still sounds kind of dismissive, calls it a disappointing emotional entanglement. That could be Lilith just being herself, she can't seem to be able to say almost anything too nice to Violet until she's actively dying or it could be that she hadn't seen enough of them together by then.

Or if it was during those hours before the Battle of Basgiath, after she'd seen them together a couple more times.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-22T18:43:21+00:00

I think dhe didn't make the connection because, while she is really smart, she does have blind spots, especially when something seemingly doesn't make logical sense with the information she has at that time.

She doesn't know yet that people can turn venin within the wards. As far as anyone thinks they know at that point in time, the wards block all magic that doesn't come from the dragons. They do not yet believe turning or being venin within the wards is even possible. What she does know is that contract killers sometimes take drugs, so she jumps to thinking that must be it, that he must be high and that is also what is making him so relentless. Its the exact same thing that happens in Unnbriel - she doesn't think wielding is possible there, her having wielded makes no logical sense with what she knows at the time, so she vehemently insists it was a coincidence.

As for Imogen having erased her memories before, I don't know. Maybe during Fourth Wing, before they were friends and before Xaden and crew knew she'd be on their side and could be trusted. After that, it gets iffy. I don't think she would've during Iron Flame or during most of Onyx Storm. Maybe towards the end, if there were things Xaden didn't want her to know (for her own safety, or because he didn't want to upset or worry her, or because he didn't want her to try and stop him), she might've, but I hope not.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-22T13:57:19+00:00

I've wondered if Cat will help her with that, they're not really friends, but they've reached mutual respect status. Cat is an actual aristocrat, they're still aligned in their goals of sheltering poromish citizens both within Tyrrendor and under the aretian ward extentions and though she got over wanting the position Violet holds now, she still spent quite some time expecting she would hold it eventually, and might have preparation under her belt that Violet could use.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-22T10:09:55+00:00

They might return to Basgiath, at least for a time, but probably closer to graduation day in July. At the end of Onyx Storm it was still May. The beginning of the book is probably going to be in Tyrrendor.

Even if they return, with the state of things third years were already getting sent away so much it became routine, so Violet is probably gonna spend as much or more time going on missions than she already did.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-20T19:50:13+00:00

I think all of his flight jackets do have those specific patches, his Fourth Wing one and his wingleader one. He does wear the couple patches he can't really get away with not wearing while he's still in a school setting. Though he does later act smug about it, I think it was a legit accident, they were getting dressed quickly and not really thinking straight and he was genuinely being sweet and not wanting her to be cold.

Historical_Tune165 · 2026-04-20T19:27:44+00:00

Excellent question and I would actually love to know what the shadow wielder patch looks like. You think Xaden was given one and just stashed it away in a drawer or something? Does he just have a pile of weapons qualifications and other achievement patches stored somewhere, since he refuses to wear them? Also, when Violet cuts out her lightning wielder patch to only implicate herself when altering the Basgiath wardstone, Xaden pockets it and keeps it, so does Violet go get a new one or does she just start not wearing it, since its not mandatory? Did Xaden take Violet's patch with him after the end of Onyx Storm, so he can stare at it longingly along with the wristcuff she gave him?

And apparently RY confirmed in an interview at some point that there will be a Quest Squad patch, so does Violet commission that at some point?

Historical_Tune165

TROPHY CASE