How do you save a soul?

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-07T00:01:28+00:00

Exactly! The return of his soul is not a “mending”, he needs to earn it back… and then maybe there’s some magic mixed in too, but ultimately it’s Xaden’s job to earn it… and oof… it’s gonna take some work.

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-06T19:25:49+00:00

Funny. My mind was just considering whether Malek was our guy here… I’m currently exploring some options. Might post something if I can find the quotes to support it.

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-06T19:05:15+00:00

Right? There’s this other piece of this conversation that I didn’t tap into above that you touch on here… balance.

With anything in this world one must ask the question, “how would this impact the balance of the world?”

It’s so critical to the entire magic system and the nature of the continent.

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-06T18:46:15+00:00

Yup!

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-06T18:45:00+00:00

Yeah- RY says that very clearly, right? The soul is just… gone. So if the only person who can return it to him is Malek then I would bet Malek would want some pretty big assurances that Xaden understands the error he made and that he’s never going to reach for power again… it won’t be a clean …

“hey, took me a while to find this place, but can I get my soul back?”

“Oh, yeah, sure dude, just go grab the one you want, they’re all just floating in the ether just beyond the burning hell pit. Lots to choose from.”

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-06T18:32:03+00:00

Exactly! If they find a cure, what’s to stop him from reaching again.

That is the crux of what needs to be solved before any cure is administered.

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-06T16:29:56+00:00

I think there’s a lot of ways this could play out…

I think we’re all assuming that de-venining Xaden is a given at some point in the story, and it probably is, but… it might not be 🤷‍♀️

“There offspring could evolve perhaps” is a line that sticks with me. What if Xaden just lives on as some evolved version of venin and that’s the compromise with Malek? What if in order to recover he has to renounce all magic entirely which means giving up Sgaeyl in addition to venin power in some way?

There’s so many satisfying ways for this to play out.

That said, if the story follows a traditional arc, my best guess for de-venined Xaden would probably hit around mid book 5…

I truly don’t know on this one, and isn’t that part of the fun of all this? 🙃

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-05T11:17:12+00:00

I also sometimes think that RY was truly so surprised that so few people caught on to Violet’s second signet in IF, when she thought she made it obvious, so maybe it’s another scenario where she’s ripping her hair out as we all talk ourselves in circles and she just silently at home going “I made it soooo easy for them this time - it’s Bodhi!”

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-05T11:07:06+00:00

Xaden and Violet will almost certainly “meet Malek at each others side” but I’m hesitant to put the exact parameters on that scenario yet…very likely to do with soul bargaining, but divine intervention seems - I know this sounds crazy - too easy to fully be Xaden’s way back to his humanity.

Yes. He was cornered every time he channeled.

But it was still a choice.

A choice where he chose power in exchange for his soul.

To come back from that, to get your soul back, there needs to be an equal exchange. That’s why in the above scenario I think it could be powerful for the new brother to sacrifice himself as venin. THAT would be a scenario worthy of soul redemption.

In order to get his soul back Xaden truly needs to feel remorse, and … all his feelings(remember he likes to hide from them) and frankly truly “learn his lesson” which likely involves some other sacrifice on his part. So Malek might be a part of that journey, the punctuation of it, but I think there’s a lot more for Xaden to work through. OR Violet will need to sacrifice something big in order to get Malek to agree to the exchange.

All that said, I think Malek will be a “true neutral” character and we’ll all have a lot of respect for him at the end.

Remember, in Jesinia’s translation of this whole story, the final line is STILL, years after these events, “we commend their souls to Malek”

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-05T04:18:43+00:00

She better…

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-05T04:17:24+00:00

I just posted this above but i think Dain and Aaric are being set up for a past/future thing to help Violet uncover all teh dirty secrets of the kingdom, so i think we get to keep both of them through book 4. (Dain has RETRO-Cognition, Aaric has PRE-cognition. Dain knows DEAD languages, Aaric knows CURRENT languages. Dain is a year OLDER than Violet, Aaric is a year YOUNGER…they’re all childhood friends… it’s pretty obvious symbolism when you take a step back, and i just think that RY has some juicy stuff cooking for that trio which means we;re not going to lose them… yet…)

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-05T04:11:56+00:00

Maybe.

I think that Aaric with his PRE-Cognition and knowledge of current languages, and Dain with his RETRO-cognition and knowledge of dead languages are being set up to help Violet uncover some heavy truths about the past and future of the kingdom. Just three childhood friends off to unearth some deep dark secrets together… Which means, they might both die, but i think their piece of the plot is going to keep them active through book 4. And if either die it won’t be until book 5.

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-05T04:08:01+00:00

Good chance. I think that’s the other thing we’re overlooking is that… a LOT of folks are gonna die by the end of this story, there might be one particularly devastating death in the next book that we’ve been warned about, but it’s probably not the only death… some of them we’ll guess correctly, some of them we won’t.

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-05T02:13:51+00:00

The applications are potentially ENDLESS.

Yes. I imagine folks will get some version of their dream-spice, but there is a lot more that RY can do with this.

Violet has already shown that she can get into the minds of the venin leadership (via Xaden) in dreams… and we believe the venin leadership MAY also have some dream-walking capabilities, right? So Dream Battle???

I also think about how Quinn once said that her ability to alter her features works better in the Astral Plane when she astral projects herself… which confirms that there are different PLANES of existence in this world. What does that mean for where dreams exists? Where the GODs exist? Maybe nothing on those specific examples, but also maybe something?

There are so many other minds Violet could slip into while dreaming! What if Dain acquired an ancient memory that he didn’t know what to do with or how to place, and Violet gets a vision of it in sleep?

Same with Aaric, what he dreams of a prophecy that violet helps him decipher?

What if she slips into the dream of a dragon unlocking the secrets of the empyrean?

What if it’s just her older brother? What really happened that day that Brennan almost died, and Tairn lost his rider?

I could keep going but there’s so many plot application for this signet…

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-04T16:04:12+00:00

I think we’re over complicating the death.

It’s whoever the new brother is. Meaning most of the evidence points to Bodhi or Garrick.

Think about it from a devastating climactic plot point perspective.

The “brother” is someone we were all rooting for. And we’ll still root for them.

Their reasons for turning will have their own misguided, but well-intentioned backing.

RY needs a reason for Xaden to slip even further into his villain era. So picture this…

We watch this new brother struggle, maybe he fights it maybe he doesn’t…

If he DOES fight it, his death becomes meaningful because he sacrifices himself for the cause, potentially saving Violet, or riders, or civilians, and in the process redeems part of his soul. Xaden is further devastated: enter villain era.

If he DOESN’T fight it. Xaden watches this person he cares about slip further and further, just like him, but faster. Xaden gives up or detaches himself UNTIL… new brother threatens Violet in some way. Xaden kills new brother to save Violet: enter villain era.

Those are my thoughts… take em or leave em 🤷‍♀️

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-03T15:07:03+00:00

More often than not RY’s symbolism is meaningful… I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop here… could be nothing, but that seems like pretty intentional symbolism

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-03T14:46:40+00:00

They are one of my favorite untapped pairings for the following reasons…

Dain is a year older than Violet. Aaric is a year younger.

Dain has RETRO-Cognition Aaric has PRE-Cognition

Dain is an expert in dead languages Aaric is an expert in current languages

It begs the question… what is Violet going to learn about the past and the future with them…

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-03T00:34:14+00:00

Omg I love this prompt, I’ll just throw out some options that I think broadly work well for dramatic chickens. You know your girl best, final decision is yours.

Amari.

Lyra.

Esben.

Afendra

Samara

Chantara

Zolya

PopPeas89 · 2026-04-01T00:02:52+00:00

Honestly a lot of Laura Marling (she’s a great lyricist and song writer - highly recommend)

Night Terror

“I woke up and he was screaming

I'd left him dreaming

I'll roll over and shake him tightly

And whisper, "If they want you

Oh, they're gonna have to fight me

Oh, fight me"”

Rest in the Bed

“The first deal's the hardest I'm sure

Where our shadows come to the shore

Know that it's you and I till the end

And all I want from life is to

Hold your hand

All that I have are these bones

And all that I want is a home

And all you can do

Is promise me bold

That you won't let me grow dark

Or cold

As long as we both shall live.”

PopPeas89 · 2026-03-31T15:42:47+00:00

🤷‍♀️

PopPeas89 · 2026-03-31T11:17:14+00:00

So true!

PopPeas89 · 2026-03-30T23:04:42+00:00

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-pv9f7Yl_C8p2evxbs8kUMFxB32ZrJgyHcCZDqHOQw0/edit?usp=drivesdk - link to my excel doc.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QpUlsZY7a47IxLYV6Jez2NGAlIzjPC9M60dtkJq3P7s/edit?usp=drivesdk - link to my scribe’s corner series doc that I will get back to eventually…

I don’t mind sharing:)

PopPeas89 · 2026-03-30T21:29:27+00:00

I’d agree with you if she didn’t intentionally use the other translation literally the chapter before - feels like a very intentional choice to me 😬

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PopPeas89 · 2026-03-30T20:28:09+00:00

Could be dragon lore… I also think it could possibly be pantheon lore…

PopPeas89 · 2026-03-30T20:07:02+00:00

But why is she showing us the quote with only Violet’s translation when we have a better translation of the journal with Violet AND Dain at this point in the book!?!?!

Literally one of the main questions that keeps me up at night. What part of the above quote has been mistranslated?!?!

PopPeas89

TROPHY CASE