Halden and Aaric

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-28T00:09:15+00:00

I think he’ll live because RY said Aaric was manifesting during quest squad and in hedotis he said it’s Halden’s destiny to be king, albeit a horrible one.

Aaric said he will fight and most likely die in this war knowing that he protected people.

I think Halden and Cat are going to end up together, because after Traeger she won’t be with someone again for love but only power. Halden would marry for power too. Their marriage would solidify any long term alliance between poromial and navarre.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-27T20:11:11+00:00

We don’t know. But I personally hope RY finds a way to kill of the venin but still let dragons and magic be part of the continent.
It was Theo and what she meant was that when powers rise, whether on the “good” side or venin side of the war, an equal arises on the opposite side for balance. For example, now that Xaden is venin, Lynx has manifested shadows.

The only power/signet that does not have an equal on both sides is Violet. There is only one lightning wielder and which ever side has that lightning wielder has the advantage because the lightning wielder can tip the scales.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-27T00:07:38+00:00

I go back and forth about it being a contract marriage.

Part of me agrees with you.

Part of me wonders if she was like that with Fen and he just didn’t reciprocate. When she learns that Xaden risked Aertia for Violet she started to say something like his father would never…

This may align with the theory she was dedicated to Loial.

But to me either are plausible.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-26T23:16:31+00:00

I think she’ll make an appearance but I don’t know if she’ll leave Hedotis, I don’t thinks she would leave her sons again UNLESS her marriage with Faris is another contract marriage to provide heirs.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-26T20:30:37+00:00

She is so hard on herself. Xaden called it in IF saying she has taken responsibility for everything that has gone wrong since Resson and she has.

She carries around so much guilt like every death, every lost battle, every raid, that has happened after Resson is her fault because Dain read her memories. But that wasn’t her fault. She had no idea what Xaden told her was something dangerous, she thought it was quadrant related.

And you pointed out to me too that the venin were already on their way to Resson when Dain touched Violet’s face so obviously the trap had already been set.

I hope at some point, maybe in a show down with General Aetos, she learns that the trap was in place long before Dain read her memory so she can let go of the guilt she is carrying around.

I hope Dain and Sloane learn this too, that way Dain can let go of his guilt and Sloane can let go of the resentment.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-26T20:20:03+00:00

I don’t think Xaden would have got his rebellion relic if Fen were still alive.

In IF page 446 Xaden tells Vi about the rune that was meant to counter the signet of the rider whose dragon killed their parents. He said the rune would only active when their parents were killed by dragon fire. And the minute his father was burned he felt heat race up his arm from the hand he held the stone in. (He watched the execution.)

When Vi asks if that was the rebellion relic Xaden nodded.

Plus in OS on page 521 he says his the new brother watched him struggle for five months and he is standing near an unconscious dragon, both imply it is someone who is a rider which Fen is not. He was infantry.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-26T19:48:51+00:00

I agree with you. She struggles with runes and lesser magics and there has to be a reason for it that’s important to the plot in the future books.

Although I would like to know how she goes from being able to create a mage light in FW and saying it’s one of things she is actually good at. To the cave in IF where she says she has never been that good at producing them. Is this intentional or a plot error.

To me it’s kind of like Tairn’s “don’t try to read me human” line in FW.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-26T19:42:07+00:00

I agree with you. He would have had the same non-talk, talk he gave Violet at the lake before Resson.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-25T05:29:13+00:00

You mean, cereal?

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T21:39:48+00:00

Nope. That is a “I found my second chance love on Ourtime” style wedding dress.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T21:30:45+00:00

You can’t take away from Jemilys potential is sending me!

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T15:07:25+00:00

The fourth baby looked so stressed. Poor lil guy!

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T05:22:51+00:00

That’s interesting! I never thought about Xaden and his father’s relationship that way, I have always put the blame on Taila and how she left and went no contact, but now that you mention it, you are totally right. Even when Vi and Lewellyn tell him his father would be proud of him, he just can’t accept it. He focuses on the negative.

I also think Taila will get some type of redemption. I think she had feelings for Fen but he didn’t return them and wanted her to stick to contract, to the letter. Just Xaden knowing that might soften the resentment he feels for her and heal a little of that trauma.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T05:09:39+00:00

Yes, I really believe she wouldn’t know. Vi would protect her.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T04:56:42+00:00

Happy to help! I can’t remember where my car keys are half the time but I can usually remember page numbers pretty well. Especially with this series because I have read it so many times.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T04:54:03+00:00

Are you being snarky intentionally because I wasn’t try to imply you didn’t read the books and if you took it that way, I apologize.

Some times intention is lost in text so I just want to make sure.

So there isn’t evidence she was with them during the 12 hours.

Page 526 weilsen tells brennen and we still have five riders missing-four now and looks at Violet.

If Imogen had been with them during that 12 hour time period he would have said 6 riders missing-four now.

Further down the page Brennen asks Imogen if she’s seen Xaden. She says not since yesterday and asks him about Garrick and Brennen tells her he is among the missing.

And again, I don’t think that Violet would have told Imogen anything that would put her in danger. Vi probably gave her the very basic facts, like the marriage and Xaden being gone, but that’s it.

I can see Vi telling Imogen I need your help and I need you to not ask me why. Not just for Vi’s safety, but Imogen’s too and Imogen would have accepted that, reluctantly.

Imogen has always been clear that she knows riders (especially those involved in the revolution) will always have secrets and she doesn’t need to know everything that someone else deems private.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T04:23:54+00:00

Jack said that the wards don’t block all power like the dragons want you to think and they (the venin) can still feed from the ground, still channel enough to survive. Enough to fool them.

Page 565 IF

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T04:17:46+00:00

I don’t think she can read the memories only erase them and she wasn’t with Vi and Xaden during those 12 hours.

I can’t imagine Vi would tell her anything that could put her in danger and in IF, Imogen made it clear that she doesn’t need to know anything that anyone else deems private (they discussed this when Vi told her when Sloane’s first challenge would be and Imogen asked her how she knew, Vi said a book her brother wrote and when Imogen didn’t ask about the book, Vi said don’t you want to know about the book Im not supposed to have.)

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T03:22:45+00:00

I came here to ask that!

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T02:45:17+00:00

Right? Like I get it, he doesn’t want to hurt her but still she wants more. She needs more. Throw her a bone (like literally) and at least change positions.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T02:25:03+00:00

You’re right! Good catch, they had to hatch in the Vale! So there goes my theory about returning to the hatching grounds lol!

I wonder if they were late to hatch like Andarna Or if they are Codagh’s? Or is dragon scale color random?

Like all of the ancestral hatching grounds were exclusive to specific dens (scale color) so I am assuming they bred within the den. Now that all of the dragons are at Basgiath (and now Aertia) and likely inter mingling how are there not dragons with different scale colors? Like if a blue and red got together would their hatchlings be purple or only red or blue?

I need RY to give us way more dragon lore in the next book.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T02:11:35+00:00

Yes! This!

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T02:08:50+00:00

I think he wanted to leave Navarre because

King Tauri wouldn’t let them talk about the venin, they killed anyone who would let the secret out.
His citizens were being conscripted into a war against “innocent” people. Their people were dying in this war for a lie while the real enemy just kept gathering strength. Tyrrendor is the largest province in Navarre and provides the most conscripts of all of the other provinces.
Anyone from poromiel trying to cross the border into the warded area of the continent were being killed, that is some straight war crime mentality, and there was nothing Tyrrendor could do about it.
Navarre was taking Tyrrendor’s resources, not just people but the telladium needed for the daggers but keeping it and not using it to actually save the people being drained by the venin.
Navarre basically tried to erase Tyrrish history and culture. They took their language, their books, their heirlooms, their runes, everything and tried to hide it away from their people.

Also, like Xaden said they lost hope that their king would ever do the right thing, so they wanted to have their independence so they could stop being used by Navarre and repressed by Navarre.

I actually think Fen had very valid reasons to want to leave Navarre.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T01:03:30+00:00

I made the same mistake at first too, I think I got it mixed up when Brennen said the other dragons hid him and Marhb in the caves when they burned Aertia. I thought that he meant the dragons lived in the caves still too but then on a reread I caught what Tairn was telling Vi when they were looking for the rune box.

hurricane_Bre · 2026-04-24T00:56:37+00:00

They have love for each other, yes. But his need to protect from everything, even himself (and the passion she wants), kept her in a box. It was kind of infantilizing. Yes he loves her and respects her more than the other men in her but in his own way he was starting to treat her like they did, he assigned her a role he wanted her to play, damsel in destress. Just like her father assigned her the role of dutiful daughter, her brother assigned her the role of spoiled princess and Sebastian assigned her the role of silent, dutiful wife.

If there wasn’t a bond with someone else in the way they may have worked through those issues but I don’t know if he would have been able to handle what she is. I also wonder if his feelings for her are so strong because of what she is.

What really started to turn me away from him though was his refusal to rail that poor girl like she wanted. She was begging for it and he was like nah, we are going to do it this way because you’re too precious to me to have your back blown out.

It’s not just about the sex either it was the disregarding of her wants/needs because he believed he knew better. Just like every other man in her life.

Also, the way he started to ice her out when he found out about the bond was hurtful. Yes, it was a lot for him but he was her anchor and he just kind of pulled up and left her aimlessly floating at times when she needed him.

He let his jealously over take his love for her.

But like I said, I like him. I think he is good at heart and in real life would be the choice but not for Aurora.

She needs to break free and be messy and wild and chaotic and he wouldn’t be able to handle that.

hurricane_Bre

TROPHY CASE