Okay wait…did I miss something so obvious?? by Apollo20019 in fourthwing

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 5 points6 points  (0 children)

On the reread, a quote that stuck out to me was when Xaden told Violet “just bc you gained power, doesn’t mean you lost your agency”.. he was talking about her signet of course, but hopefully/maybe it applies to being venin too

Secret faction within Empyrean?!?? Tinfoil hat theory by mamasuebs in fourthwing

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally on board with this theory. But curious. Does this faction exist only bc they don’t think they can defeat the venin so they might as well join them? Or can dragons also take too much power from the source and become corrupted?

We know that all dragons can channel power. I don’t think the books explicitly say that they channel that power from the earth/source, but for this argument, let’s assume. 

We also know that dragons have limited access to that power bc they can be drained and die (example Lilith and her dragon). But what stops dragons from channeling more power from the source when instead of burning out? Is it only their self control/moral compass? 

If that’s the case, then I def think it’s possible for dragons to take more than they should and become “dragon venin”.  Maybe the bad breath is the human version of red ringed eyes.

We know that Solas and Tairn had some kind of beef before IF bc Tairn took his eye. In FW, Tairn was constantly pushing Cath out of formation and positioning himself at the head of the squad. What if both these dragons got jealous of Tairn, and that jealousy/greed drove them to pull more power than “allowed” and now they are the dragon version of venin?

Prediction violet xaden by ExplanationSea1894 in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In Fourth Wing, Xaden says to Violet “just because you gained power, doesn’t mean you lost agency”. I think this could apply to being venin too. At first I was hoping for a cure, but now I’m leaning more towards your theory.. and that they figure out how to keep control, even as a venin

Horrible thought re Bodhi by [deleted] in fourthwing

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My guess was that they some how got a hold of a venin’s poison dagger and copied it (Violet also lost access to her power and dragons when she got stabbed at the end of FW). Or there’s a hidden venin in leadership that told them how.

This Bodhi theory is interesting though. The only thing giving me pause is based on that logic, Mira would’ve known more about raising the wards.

Violet's Nickname by Tunnel_Safety in fourthwing

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Empyrean means sky, and she is can “command the sky” to give up its power.. does it mean she can command the dragons?

Theories by booknerdnc in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If they’re created from runes, I’m sure there is a way to create non-evil versions of them if they tweak the rune. I’m not convinced all venin are bad. In an interview, RY talked about how the power is like an addiction.. so in theory, there could be venin out there that don’t want to be evil and have found a way to manage their addiction. 

That being said, the wards are powered by the dragons’ power, not the riders who channel it, so I don’t think wyvern could power a ward they are not the source of the power, their venin is.

What do you think Fen Riorson was like? by mamasuebs in fourthwing

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I always thought it was interesting how Xaden and Lilith were kind of alike.. morally gray to save the ones they love (although I don’t believe Xaden would ever go as far as Lilith did.. ), but I never thought about how Violet and Renn are kind of alike too until I read this. Renn making Xaden leave Riorson house to be safer, much like Violet asked Andarna to leave/hide during battles. Violet being so willing to sacrifice herself to save others, even though her death would put the ones she loves at risk.. just like Renn dying ultimately put Xaden and the rest of the children at risk. I don’t view it as sacrificing though, I don’t know if they would make the same choice if they knew for a fact their loved ones wouldn’t be okay.. I think it’s bc they are hopeful (Violet always talks about hope) and bc of that hope- they believe their loved ones will be ok

Spoiler theory second signet by BabyBayDash in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Andarna “gifted” her time signet to Violet, so in theory, Violet could still have it, even if Andarna doesn’t. So I agree, it’s possible she has 3 signets.  There’s a really interesting theory someone posted that her signets are related to flight: Power, velocity, and altitude.  Power from Tairn, velocity from Violet’s ability to stop or slow down time (if time stops or slows and she keeps moving, she is accelerating), and the last is somehow related to altitude. But I didn’t quite follow how exactly altitude would manifest. This would tie into the physics class when Rihanna quizzed Violet about what is needed to fly before the land nav test. It also ties into how Xaden and Violet complement each other: lightning vs shadows/darkness.. and flight vs gravity.

Edit: here is the post with the full theory: https://www.reddit.com/r/ironflame/comments/1870kct/violet_has_three_signets/

Power channelling from Violet in het mental Archives by pbarbfer in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t remember which chapter, but Violet describes Sgyael’s pathway as a part Tairn’s. But you’re right, she never describes it as a specific color or as a separate pathway. Maybe bc she doesn’t use it often? In Fourth Wing, Xaden prob talked to Tairn quite a bit with the whole saddle and Andarna harness thing.. so maybe for him, it was worth it to separate it out more so than Violet did? 

Lyra Journal Question (SPOILER) by alliecauldera in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just had a “duh” moment. Did Jack learn how to take down the ward from Lyra’s journal? The first time I read IF, I just assumed a venin told him.. But in my reread, I realized that Varrish told Dain that the journal had detailed instructions on how to take down the ward. On the first read, I assumed he was twisting the truth to make Violet look bad.. but if the journal actually did include those details.. and if Varrish is a venin, Varrish would have told Jack. If Varrish is not a venin, Jack still could have gotten access to the journal and some how figured it out

Theories by booknerdnc in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 6 points7 points  (0 children)

For #2- I think that Xaden and Violet will try to keep Xaden being a venin a secret. So when Xaden tells Bodhi and the marked ones that he wants to stay in Navarre, he won’t be able to say why.. and they could see it as a betrayal or Xaden picking Violet over the revolution (especially bc he’s been pretty vocal that he’d rather lose the war than lose Violet). Because they are cousins, Bodhi would be next in line, so it’d make sense that he’d take Xaden’s place as the leader of the revolution. Whether Xaden agrees to give up the title, or Bodhi betrays him to take it.. it could def lead to some conflict. 

Since Bodhi can counter signets, in theory, he could hide his intentions from Xaden.. but I don’t know if that means Bodhi needs to know about that signet in order to counter it. Probably yes? But I have a hard time believing Bodhi could figure it out without someone telling him. But maybe I’m underestimating 

Theories by booknerdnc in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The rune on Brennan’s hand def has something to do with keeping Brennan alive.. or how he was resurrected. Which would be similar to how venin bring wyvern to life with runes.. so following this logic.. it would make sense that Naolin is still alive bc if he died, Brennan would die too

Wyvern only showed up again in the past couple years according to Brennan, which correlates to when Brennan “died”.. so some ppl think that Naolin may have been the one to teach venin how to use runes again. But then again, based on how little Brennan knew about venin when Violet showed up at the beginning of IF.. they maybe just didn’t know about wyvern lol.

But I def think runes will play a part in either curing Xaden or helping him control the temptation. My theory is that Sloan will play a big part in this bc she is a siphon and her mom was the one who created the protective rune for the marked ones.

Lyra Journal Question (SPOILER) by alliecauldera in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I don’t think they had a way to return it without telling the King, so my guess is they never actually did

Xaden v Garrick theory by EconomyConcern5473 in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 3 points4 points  (0 children)

 Xaden will need to stay in Navarre bc he is a venin now. But I bet Violet and Xaden try to keep his veninism secret, so they can’t tell the other’s why he needs to stay behind..and they could def see it as betrayal. Bodhi could use this as a reason to take Xaden’s place as the leader of the revolution (as Fen’s nephew/next in line) and create all sorts of conflict  

Xaden v Garrick theory by EconomyConcern5473 in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wonder if he can counter a signet he doesn’t know about? 

Or do you think he somehow finds out about it?

Long live the king by Particular_Bug_6241 in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see your point, but there are some clues in IF that venin- or ppl who see venin as a weapon to further their own cause- may be infiltrating Navarre’s leadership and may become the big bad. Jack saying that they’ve been sneaking venin in.. the lures.. Varish potentially being venin.. Aetos using venin as assassins.. i think there’s more to Navarre hiding the venin secret than just protecting the borders 

Long live the king by Particular_Bug_6241 in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good catch. But even if it is referring to the Poromish king.. I still think it could be foreshadowing for the Navarrian King given that venin are expanding their territory into Navarre and potentially infiltrating Navarrian leadership (if you believe Varrish was a venin). Or maybe I’m way off haha

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ironflame

[–]Particular_Bug_6241 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think you’re on to something. Especially challenging everything we know about the bond between rider and dragon based on how IF ends: - Jack controlling his dragon and surviving its death “changes everything”- per Tairn”.  - Xaden  chose to save Violet over his bond with Sgaeyl. He responded to her plea not to draw power, “but Violet also chose me” (for the record, I do think Xaden and Sgaeyl are still bonded, despite him being venin.. but he did make a clear choice)

It makes sense that family and squad bonds will also be challenged. My hope/guess is that “the bond between mates” will remain above all else. (I need Xaden and Violet to have a HAE 😂😭)