#Leothan

[violentdelightshavevioletends]

Sgaeyl and Tairn defending Andarna and Violet like the proud parents they are in Chapter 53

Violet defending Andarna like the proud mama bear

My heart going from whole to broken in a single chapter

"I will not leave them unprotected." — THEM, he means both of them. Andarna and Violet, his heart💔.

"She is a credit to our riot," Sgaeyl hisses. — the way she defends Andarna… that’s a lot for Sgaeyl. And she defends Violet too, again! And she says OUR😭

"None of which is her fault, You set her up for what you consider failure when you left her here to be raised in the ways of the Empyrean." "You really want to yell at the massive unknown dragon?" Rhi whispers. "I do," I answer, looking straight at him. — remember in the first book when they said never look a dragon (especially one that isn’t yours) in the eye… yeah she broke that here. Even Rhi warns her. But it’s mama bear mode so…

"There is nothing wrong with her." — the way she defends herself in that line too… theirs nothing wrong with them. Violet or Andarna (cause they really are a mirror💞).

"We can never thank you enough for what you've done tonight in firing our wards, but if you've only come to point out all the ways you believe her to be lacking, you'll find Feirge's greeting warmer than mine." — YES VIOLET or should I say VIOLENCE 👏

"Your motives are honorable," he says. "That was what I was going to say before I was interrupted by the blue.— "Sgaeyl," Andarna corrects him, her tone a knife's edge softer than before. — even in that little line it shows how she loves her family and defends them too, even Sgaeyl harsh as she can be, that’s her Sgaeyl (help I love them too much🥺) — "Sgaeyl,"

"We are separated by many but share the same bloodline. Unlike the others you encountered who are of a more distant line, we are of the same den, or would have been had you been raised among us." — Andarna always wanted a den mate😭 she wouldn’t have waited 600 years

He's her family. My heart clenches. — CAUSE THEIR HER FAMILY NOT THE IRIDS😭😭😭 my heart is breaking.

I love you and I want you to feel complete — SHE FINALLY SAID I LOVE YOU… and she really does because she just wants her to live even at the cost of her feeling incomplete

All that's left is a gust of wind as her scales blend into the sky. —She turns black, her scales matching the sky like Tairn— A roar vibrates my very bones, and my ears ring as the edges of my vision darken. —Who is the roar from; Andarna or Tairn? Who is it for; Violet or Andarna? Does Tairn feel it? Gods forbid does Andarna?— My heart stutters, and my lungs cease their struggle. There's no air and no reason to seek it. —was it for Violet who stops breathing because something in her dies then too, infinite and nothingness, existing but without the sun— I was infinite yet moored, and now I'm hollow and adrift in waters too vast to comprehend. — and it’s not even Andarna who breaks it; she couldn’t do it, couldn’t leave her, that’s why she goes to Violet and realizes she can’t hear her or understand😭😭😭 …and then Tairn goes and lets Violet hear everything so she isn’t alone… and she has to survive, exist, live; for Xaden (even Tairn is fine with it if it keeps her alive, because he knows the grief too) it’s why Sgaeyl is furious and accuses Andarna of leaving — How could she do this? — she feels the pain Violet through Tairn feels, she’s a little mama bear too for Violet that time.

[finnoodlee]

meow meow meow

(are you ready for the beast?) (good cuz me neither)

I finally finished this rrrraaaaahhhhhh

CREDITS!! TO SOLMARE!! FOR THE BACKGROUND!! (If i tried doing it myself, it would have taken me months,, sigh)

Peep a random interaction between Levi and Leon! My MC depiction/self insert/oc/blah blah blah

Hope you like it :3

[pjo-ship-polls]

Ethan Nakamura

These are only for romantic pairings, not platonic.

The ships in the polls are the twelve (12) most popular ships for each character based on the number of fics on AO3.

F.A.Q.

Ship List:

Luke/Ethan (lukethan) 

Percy/Ethan (perthan) 

Nico/Ethan (ethanico) 

Bianca/Ethan (ethanca) 

Ethan/Octavian (ethavian) 

Annabeth/Ethan (ethabeth)

Jason/Ethan (ethason) 

Ethan/Drew (drethan) 

Ethan/Travis (ethavis) 

Ethan/Chris (chrethan) 

Ethan/Leo (leothan) 

Ethan/Pollux (ethollux)

[leothanitc]

Léo, Ethan, Billie, Maya

[withabeeart]

pretty boy (this man is 27)

[widebrimmedhatsblog]

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the ending!!

I'm soooo sorry nonny. This took 5ever. For some reason, I mentally decided that the completion of this ask would be the end of my Onyx Storm era, and then I didn't want to go near it because I didn't want the book to be done :(. However, I was brave, and I did it. This got insanely obscenely long, so you're getting Xaden's chapter 65 now, and then I'll reblog with Vi's LAST chapter some other time.

Chapter 65: Xaden

Veninism: I think the first thing that comes up in this chapter is the insight into the venin mindset. Xaden's significantly more intense (both than earlier in the book, and in his previous POV chapters). At first, I wasn't a huge fan of the "ice" thing, because I missed the part where he explains it (perks of reading till 5 in the morning) and I thought it was some anachronistic hockey reference. (Fun fact: I wrote this out before Rebecca gave that interview revealing that, yes, it WAS an anachronistic hockey reference. I know that lady WELL.) HOWEVER! The way it's explained here, (essay below the cut)

"Wrath courses like a current under the ice I willingly skate onto, cutting my emotions like the burdens they are so I can be the weapon she needs." (Yarros, 520)

reminds me a lot of a PTSD flashback/trauma event. Not only does this make significantly more sense with the metaphor at hand, but it makes a lot more sense with Rebecca's body of work. I know she's made addiction comparisons, and I can see some lines, but, frankly, I think it's a much more intricate web than a 1-1 metaphor. Especially with the use of the word "triggered" to describe what happens to him when he is "on the ice" as it were, I think (if anything) it's about using an addiction to cope with PTSD-type trauma.

Bond Fuckery: After revealing that Xaden cannot kill the sage himself, he goes on to say,

"I could no more raise a blade to his throat than I could Violet. The bond between Violence and me is the kind of magic that has no explanation." (Yarros, 521)

Which....is weird! Given that we have a precise explanation for said bond in Fourth Wing, maybe something else is going on? #the power of love?? I'm not trying to say they're soul mates in any real tangible way because this is not that kind of story, but I do think it means something. I just don't know what yet.

Further bond fuckery themes are found earlier in the book. There's the entire situation with Andarna leaving, in which Leothan says,

"Bonds are merely magical ties. You are irid. You are magic. Bend it, shape it, break it as you see fit." (Yarros, 443)

I've definitely seem some people floating the idea that perhaps Andarna broke Tairn and Sgaeyl's mating bond, re: Tairn's suspicious period of rest on page 526, (I personally thought he was tired from killing some dragons!) and I definitely think that's a possibility. However, I think it's really interesting that, specifically, Leothan also says bend it and shape it. I know we're supposed to finish the book thinking that Andarna/Leothan severed Violet's bond with Andarna, and then re-forged said bond mid-battle. To me...that doesn't really make sense? There was no real moment where you can say, okay, bond re-forged. It just kind of happens? Which I suppose is also how it happens at threshing, so maybe I'm the problem. Still, I think the idea that perhaps Andarna (or another irid??? given her 1 week of training???) bent or reshaped Tairn and Sgaeyl's mating bond (in order to protect Xaden/Xaden's mission/Violet from the consequences of Xaden's mission) is worth considering.

There's also the entire element of modern AU no magic isles. I know a lot of people thought that entire quest section of the book was filler, but I disagree. I definitely think that insertion was meant to demonstrate that the bonds are not as infallible as we've been led to believe, to show their importance to Xaden and Violet, and to further show just how much Andarna is not like other dragons, and therefore able to do shit with the bond.

Xaden's new brother! Xaden starts off describing the new venin by saying,

"and now that my sage has a new sibling he can use against me...I'm screwed." (Yarros, 521)

Then, he goes on to add:

"...my new brother and the unconscious dragon lying in the valley...how could he do this? Choose this after watching me stumble and fall over the last five months. How could he willingly walk the path I've fought like hell to leave? He's the last person I ever would have expected to turn, and yet here we are." (Yarros, 521)

My money's on Bodhi! There's a lot of "brother" mentions surrounding Bodhi, given the repeated descriptions of how similar he and Xaden look. He's "the closest thing (Xaden) has to a brother since Liam." Garrick even thought Theophanie called Bodhi his brother beforehand! It's Bodhi. Further nuance to Bodhi turning is found, in my opinion, in his frustration with Xaden's over-protection at the end of Onyx Storm. This feeling of impotence combined with something potentially happening to Cuir (re: unconcious dragon lying in the valley/Bodhi puking his guts up wherever that quote is) gives him a reason to turn.

I know @skyfallscotland thinks Xaden's new brother is actually Aaric, which is also super intriguing. Specifically, Amy suggested a scenario where Aaric knows he needs to be venin in order to win the war, and is willing to do whatever it takes to get to the future he sees. I do lean more towards Bodhi than Aaric, if only because of the element of knowing for 5 months (which Aaric does not--even if he finds out about Xaden's veninism from his signet, RY has confirmed Aaric didn't manifest in IF, and therefore it cannot have been five months prior to Battle of Draithus), Xaden really seems to care about this new brother. I know he says he has a "complicated sort of loyalty" to Aaric, but I don't think he and Aaric at the friendship level where Aaric can be used against him in the same way Bodhi can. There's also the whole having to give Vi Tyrrendor ordeal. I know some people think Xaden may have had a change of heart and decided to listen to Bodhi in regards to not forcing him to lead Tyrrendor in his stead, and/or Xaden just felt giving Vi the province directly (what a wedding gift!) was the best possible way to protect her. Who knows, not me. I think of Xaden as someone not particularly inclined to listening to people when he doesn't feel like it, but I also know he'll prioritize Vi regardless, so it could go either way.

Slayer! This is just for the one line mention of Berwyn killing the dragons with the alloy dagger. For one thing, I think this draws parallels between the venin and the dragons (which have been a theme the entire series). For another, I think this is how Xaden, Vi, and co. go about killing the dragons and elders in order to get to the eggs. Seems a lot less messy!

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once: Throughout the text, there's a couple mentions of individuals inability to be everywhere all at once. Theophanie, in chapter 60, for example: (from my Kindle copy, so no page numbers, sorryyyy)

"You're just another lightning wielder, mortally incapable of being everywhere at once."

Or, the slightly different take from Mira in Chapter 23:

"Even if he did, we can't be in two places at once."

I have no idea why this got me so bad, but every time I read it, my spidey-senses tingled. I really feel like it means something. Xaden then wraps things up with saying he IS everywhere at once, on page 522 in regards to the veninism amplifying his shadow powers.

Do I know what this means? No! Of course not! At first, I thought it was a papa sorrengail is venin hint, but I don't actually believe in that. I have been holding out hope that perhaps Vi is somehow venin from Lilith (this is why I think papa sorrengail had her dedicated. it doesn't really make sense to me for Rebecca to write her with a real disability, and then have that real disability be a birth defect when it isn't one in real life. that just seems odd?) and I think this COULD be a hint there. Although, as always, who knows.

What is a soul if not love? Some of you may know, I've been getting a wee bit heated about the implications of the corporeal soul. I get a bit gagged by this because it makes no sense. I ask @maethologies probably once a day, what IS a soul? And to that question, I raise you this: what is a soul if not love?

page 523 has this:

""I love you.' Violet's voice cracks the cold, and a silken thread of warmth wedges itself in the opening before it seals shut, locking it in place. No. Wait. I grab for that thread with desperate hands, clawing to keep her as more of my pieces are blown away, lost to the void. She is warmth and light and air and love."

For starters, I think "she is warmth and light and air and love" is my favorite quote from the entire series. It makes me want to cry!!! There's definitely something to the fact that being venin makes Xaden colder, and Violet only seems to get warmer in this book (her lightning being hot enough to blister, for example). But really, my focus here is that he's so aggressively in love with her. I genuinely do not know how people read this line, or the rest of the novel, and somehow thought Xaden was just going to go join up with the venin. Genuinely! I am REALLY not trying to be mean, it just makes no sense to me.

I'm going to go a bit out of order here to further contextualize, but other Xaden Riorson bangers include:

"What even am I? Hers." (Yarros, 524)

And, far earlier in the text, when Courtlyn asks to whom Xaden swears his fealty:

"Violet. (...) My loyalty is to Violet first above everything, everyone else." (this is a Kindle page number because I don't want to find it in my book, LMAO, but it's 326 in that format!)

Again, he's constantly making it as clear as humanly possible that SHE comes first for him. He is not going to spontaneously gain venin loyalty. Whatever soul-fuckery is going on here, it doesn't make him incapable of love. If anything, the presence of love is what is going to continue to save him. In the chapter 48 epigraph, in which a scenario is described wherein a venin returns to their village, desiccating an entire village except for her husband and two children. Clearly, the theme here is that the feeling of love helps venin gain control of themselves when lost to the thrall of power, if you will.

Frankly, there's a LOT of issues with venin as a concept and how willing the fan base is to accept the characterization of the entire "enemy" as evil, soulless, and incapable of feeling and love. Just on the most basic level, think about the real world implications of that ideology for about ten seconds. If you can't do that, think about it in-universe. The entire point of books one and two were that Navarre's government perpetuated a narrative of dehumanization in regards to the Poromish people so that Navarrians could see them as the enemy. This tactic of dehumanization is then DIRECTLY applied to the venin. The narrative on the surface-level is: These people ARE human, but these other guys are the REAL monsters. Please kill THEM instead. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen people say "Violet's never killed anyone in the series, she only kills venin!" The very fact of saying these people aren't human; therefore they can die...do you see what I see? I know I'm a bit more thematically minded than the average romantasy reader, but it's really VERY in your face here.

The most obvious narrative purpose for Xaden choosing to turn is that it gives Violet and the reader a way to humanize the venin, just like working with the gryphon fliers in part two allowed us all to humanize them. After I finished IF, there was not a doubt in my mind that this was where Rebecca was going.

And she went there...a little bit? She's about halfway there, I'd say. Violet has started to internally reconcile with the fact that Xaden being a venin makes it impossible for her to generalize venin any further, but there's definitely still an undercurrent of "he's not like other venin!!" I think this COULD be a logical progression of the story, and, partially, I think it makes sense for it to take a minute for her thought processes to shift. However, I think it needs to be better layered? And I think that when you have a book like this one with such a low barrier to entry, you need to do a bit more thematic hand-holding if you want people to really get things.

Anyway, this was all to say: Xaden loves her, and so, his soul is fine. HE's fine. He's not evil, he didn't marry her just to leave, he's not "team venin". Etc! I could go on about this further, and I think before book 4 I'll be pushed over the edge and do so. But, for now, I do think the direction Rebecca is pushing for is the "cure" being the power of love et. al.

Mommy Issues: We come back to Sgaeyl! I know some people think Sgaeyl breaks the bond with Xaden as part of his 12 hour plan, and again, I ask: literally how.

Basically, unlike his mother, Sgaeyl isn't leaving Xaden. When he breaks through the pulling from the earth haze, he asks Sgaeyl if she forsakes him, and she says:

"'What is there left of you to forsake?' Sgaeyl lowers her head and steam gusts down the canyon, reminding me of the moment she found me in the forest at threshing. (Yarros, 523)

My direct annotation here is : threshing! Threshing = choice. And I'm right! Threshing does equal choice. She has the option to forsake him, and she doesn't! Case closed. I will say, just as a side note, the idea that she'd leave him for being extra venin is wack as hell when he became extra venin for her. I don't think she was that heated about him being venin in the first place: the focus of her ire at the end of IF was that he "picked" Violet. "You cannot! I chose you!/ But Violet chose me too." She's just a pick me dragon at heart.

Quest Squad (Xaden's Version) I touched on this in response to my other ask about the ending, but now we're gonna go beat by beat.

Xaden starts what I call the quest intro by responding to Sgaeyl's threshing part 2 with:

"'You tell me.' I lower the ice and let her in."

Clearly, this is Xaden showing Sgaeyl whatever plan he's been concocting in his head.

Sgaeyl's response:

"Her next breath is laced with sulfur, and her eyes widen. 'You cannot mean to--'"

Now, this is just needlessly vague to make sure we buy the next book. Like we weren't going to anyway. Thank you for extorting me, Red Tower. However, at the very least, it reveals that his plan is, shall we say, problematic? Controversial? Illegal?

Then, we have (from Xaden)

"'You saw what happened. It is the only way.' She glances over her shoulder. 'And you think she'll help?' 'She loves me.' 'Tairn does not, and you haven't looked in a mirror yet. The red veins branching from your eyes look like her lightning.' 'She'll help.' It comes out with a hell of a lot more certainty than I feel. 'She promised.'"

Line by line time!

"it is the only way" is mad interesting from Xaden "the right way isn't the only way" Riorson. It could just be the influence of being venin on his psyche---everything feels more serious now, and he himself is more intense. But it's such an interesting switch, especially since Violet's assumed his way of thinking from FW.

At first I thought the pronoun fuckery in SHE'll help/SHE loves me was meant to indicate that the she in question was not actually Violet, but I don't think so anymore. I do think it's intentionally misleading! Again, for the money. But, more than that, I think Sgaeyl is glancing over her shoulder AT Violet and Tairn to indicate who they're yapping about.

Now, how will she help? I think this is a separate quandary than the marriage (hence where I broke up the text). Personally, I think this is him saying Vi goes with him to get the eggs/kill the dragons/etc.

The veins branching from his eyes are intriguing. I know he says he's no longer an initiate on this page, but I don't think he's an Asim either? According to Mr. Drake Cordella's venin compendium, Asim's veins distend only when riled, but Sage's veins are perpetually distended. (Iron Flame chapter 47 epigraph). I guess we'll see? I don't know, it would make sense to me if he was a sage, but who knows.

And, finally, what the hell did she promise?

WAY earlier on in the book, Xaden says:

"Swear you'll sound the alarm if I go too far, that you'll keep it safe, even if it's from me." (Yarros, 58)

This is what I think he's referring to! I know @hockeyspiral23 thinks the 'it' in question is actually the sword of Tyrrendor (correct me if I'm wrong!!) and not Tyrrendor itself. I definitely think there's something to that theory.

A few pages later, Xaden says:

"I'll use Tyrrendor to protect you, not you to protect Tyrrendor." (Yarros, 102)

Not to be a broken record, but again: Intentionally! Misleading! Content! I think you're SUPPOSED to interpret the promise as Violet saying she'll protect Tyrrendor from Xaden, and Xaden saying he's "gone too far". But when you actually look at the text, there's no way that's what he's saying. First of all, why would Sgaeyl think THAT plan wouldn't work with Tairn? Tairn does NOT fuck with Xaden right now. And then, why would Xaden Riorson, president and CEO of the Violet Sorrengail fan club, prioritize Tyrrendor over Violet? He cares about Tyrrendor, sure, but in the face of VIOLET? It doesn't compare. It just doesn't! ("I love you more than this city. Do not die defending it.") He's not winning any king of the year awards with those priorities, but that doesn't make it any less true. I basically already have a post ranting about this, (here! If you're curious) so I'm going to cut myself off here. Basically, we have to remember who Xaden actually is when we try to contextualize this vague ass chapter.

And then, wedding bells!

"'Even if she agrees, no one will--'

'Someone owes me a favor.'" (Yarros, 524)

This is the part of the quest that I think is more directly the marriage issue. This has already been covered elsewhere, but the Priestess from Dunne's temple says she owes Xaden a favor earlier on. She goes on to officiate their marriage. I just think the wording makes it clear that this is a multi-step plan. (How can Violet "help" with her own marriage?)

I already quoted the absolute banger "What even am I? Hers." But I'm going to bring it up again! His loyalty, primarily, is to Violet. Whatever quest he's going on, it's FOR HER. He steals the eggs FOR HER. He''s taking them somewhere FOR HER. I don't know how to make that any clearer, but if I keep seeing people misinterpret it, I'll probably try again.

Agency!

The final bit I'm going to pull is Sgaeyl saying:

"And her decision will determine our fate." (Yarros, 524).

I think this just really succinctly makes clear my 573938503 argument above. Violet gets final say on Quest Squad (Xaden's Version) but whatever he does do, he's doing it with Sgaeyl. I know there's some good bits Rebecca's said throughout the tour that support this interpretation, but I don't think I need them quite yet. Maybe next time!

For now, that's all. I'll see y'all back here with Violet's chapter in a bit!

[mysterylilycheeta]

“She’s gone,” I whisper to Rhi, then crumple under the weight of the unbearable truth. Xaden catches me, tugging my shoulder against his chest, and his brow furrows as our gazes collide. “Andarna’s gone.”

NOOOOOO, WHYYYYYYY. ANDARNAAAA😭😭😭😭😭 FUCK LEOTHAN, YOU COULDN'T WAIT YOU BITCHY LITTLE DRAGON😭😭😭 poor violet.

At least Andarna will be safe now🥲🥹

[isheamiable2008]

🚨Onyx Storm Spoiler/Theory🚨

.

.

Everybody’s worried about Tairn and Sgaeyl

having broken their mating bond, but maybe they didn’t. Maybe Andarna just blocked it rather than completely breaking it.

When Andarna left with Leothan, I don’t think her bond with Violet had been completely broken. The irids had previously said something about Andarna being Magic and being able to bend or break bonds. So I think Leothan just “bent” or blocked Andarna’s bond with Violet so she would go with him. Violet was still able to use her second signet and didn’t lose any power, which Mira pointed out, so I don’t think the bond was completely broken. So maybe Andarna has done the same thing with Tairn and Sgaeyl’s bond (just “bent” or blocked it) so that they can be away from each other while Sgaeyl goes with Xaden without killing them. Obviously it is still painful for Tairn, just like it was for Violet, but she recovered after a few days and so will he.

[v1olent-l1ttle-th1ng]

Weekly Empyrean/Onyx Storm Theories Week 2: Tairn and Sgaeyl

I think Andarna helped Sgaeyl break her bond with Tairn at the end of the book. Xaden says that “everything depends on it” when talking about persuading Tairn to let him and Violet get married. Sgaeyl then tells him, “WE will ask, and her decision will determine OUR fate.” Meaning she’s aligning herself with Xaden. Also, when Violet wakes up, Andarna tells Violet “He needs a cycle of rest to recover. To which Violet replies, “recover from what?” Having your mating bond broken seems like a reasonable thing to need to recover from. Then, Violet attempts to “fling herself down the bond” but “there’s nothing there. It’s gone.” She only had the bond with Xaden because of Tairn and Sgaeyl, and up until this point, even when Xaden was venin, they still had it.

It might not necessarily be broken, but I do think Andarna dampened it or at least silenced it. Leothan tells her “bonds are merely magical ties. You are irid. You are magic. Bend it, shape it, break it as you see fit.” And then goes on to say “only an irid can do that”.

Continuing on, Sgaeyl went with Xaden, meaning she’s not gonna be with Tairn, and in Onyx Storm we find out they’ve been separated “10 days, and are at their wits end”. So if Sgaeyl really does go with Xaden, she wouldn’t be able to be separated from Tairn for longer than a few days, which makes the bond breaking (or dampening) a lot more likely.

Finally, when Ridoc finds out Xaden’s venin, and they’re having the conversation in the woods about his conditions to keep it a secret, Violet realizes that if the wrong people find out Xaden’s turned, they’ll kill him. She states that, “killing me is the easiest way to kill you.” Sgaeyl and Xaden could have easily put the needs of Violet above their own, and broke the bond so that Violet isn’t a target.

Anyways, those are some more thoughts!

[saddleseatollie]

Onyx Storm Spoilers:

So everyone is coming up with their own theories about why Violet was still able to speak with her dragons and even wield while on the islands with no magic.

Personally I don't think it has anything to do with Violet herself. It was Andarna. Leothan tells Andarna that the irids are magic, that they make the rules. So the magic that allowed her and Violet to keep communicating on the islands came from Andarna.

That's probably why there was magic on the island where the Irids found them, they probably created it.

I think the Irids create magic. They might even be the ones that brought magic to the continent in the first place.

[violentdelightshavevioletends]

Chapter 53 Onyx Storm quote SPOILER

"I…" Warmth drains from my face, but I keep my eyes on her, memorizing every detail like it might be the last time I see her. The possibility is unfathomable—I developed my signet out of sheer need for her—and yet it feels like we're hurtling toward some kind of precipice. "I love you and I want you to feel complete," I tell her, and she slowly meets my gaze. "I want you happy and safe and thriving. I want you to live." My voice breaks. "Even if it's not with me."

[watchnrant]

Is Violet a Descendant of the Brother Who Wielded the Sky? And What Does That Mean for Tairn, Andarna, and the Irid Dragons?

SPOILER WARNING

Alright, let’s break this down. We’ve known since Fourth Wing that Violet’s abilities—her instinctive, overwhelming connection to storm magic—aren’t just strong. They’re different. By the time Iron Flame rolled around, it became undeniable: Violet isn’t just powerful; she’s tied to something much older than we understand.

So, let’s revisit the Fables of the Barren. Specifically, the brother who wielded the sky. If Violet’s power stems from an ancient bloodline, could she be his direct descendant? And if so, what does that mean for her dragons?

Because, let’s be real—Tairn and Andarna aren’t normal either.

Tairn’s Connection to the Past

If Violet is connected to the sky-wielding brother, then what about Tairn? We already suspect that dragons carry their own lineages, much like riders. If Tairn is part of the same bloodline as the dragon who originally bonded to the sky-wielding brother, then his and Violet’s bond isn’t just powerful—it’s fated. A rekindling of an ancient connection that’s been buried for centuries.

But that still doesn’t explain Andarna.

The Truth About Andarna’s Origins

For two books, Andarna’s 650-year-old egg was a mystery. Why was she left behind? Why did she choose Violet? And why does her fire burn venin—something no other dragon has done?

Then, in Onyx Storm, we finally got answers.

Andarna isn’t just rare. She’s irid—one of the mysterious, long-lost seventh breed of dragons. But more than that, she was deliberately left behind.

When Violet and her squad track down the missing breed, they quickly realize the irid dragons weren’t lost. They were hiding. They had been following the squad undetected, using their natural camouflaging abilities until they chose to reveal themselves to Violet, Andarna, Tairn, and Ridoc (and his dragon, Aotrom).

That’s when the irids confirm what Andarna has always suspected—she is one of them.

Leothan, an irid dragon, even shares the same markings as Andarna, proving they are from the same den—they are family. But there’s a difference.

Andarna isn’t a feathertail like the rest of them. She’s a scorpiontail.

And that seemingly small detail? Turns out, it’s everything.

Irid Dragons: What Makes Them Different?

The irid dragons are unlike any other breed in Navarre.

They can camouflage—changing their colors or turning completely invisible.

They don’t use magic—they are magic.

They bend, shape, and break magic at will

That last part is huge.

When Andarna burned a venin to ash, she didn’t just breathe fire—she reshaped magic itself in that moment. That’s why no other dragon has been able to do the same.

Leothan explains this to Andarna:

“You are irid. You are magic. Bend it, shape it, break it as you see fit.”

Meaning Andarna didn’t even realize what she was doing. She instinctively rewrote the rules of magic to suit her needs.

And that makes her—and by extension, Violet—incredibly dangerous.

But here’s the problem: The other irids want nothing to do with the rest of dragonkind.

Why Did the Irids Leave Navarre?

Unlike Empyrean dragons, who fight to protect their own, irid dragons see war as beneath them. They withdrew from Navarre and hid away in a remote southern archipelago—so well hidden that their islands aren’t even on maps.

And there are hundreds of them.

They’ve thrived by avoiding battle, choosing instead to live in isolation, believing themselves to be the only “evolved” breed of dragon.

To them, the endless war between humans, venin, and dragons is proof that the other breeds are primitive, violent, and doomed.

Which brings us to Andarna.

Why Did the Irids Abandon Andarna?

When the irids finally meet Andarna, one of them calls her “the criterion.”

A criterion is a standard for judgment—which is exactly what Andarna was meant to be.

The irids left Andarna behind on purpose.

They wanted to see if she would grow up in human society and prove that humans were capable of peace. If she had returned to them as a reflection of wisdom and restraint, they would have taken it as evidence that humans had evolved.

Instead?

Andarna became a weapon.

She bonded with a human.

She fought in battle.

She killed.

Even her tail was weaponized.

To the irids, this meant humans had not changed at all.

And so, they rejected Andarna.

“You have weaponized your magic, even your tail. You’ve become the very thing we abhor, the horror we fled from.”

They saw her as corrupted, defective, and unworthy of learning their ways.

Why Did Leothan Change His Mind?

At first, the irids abandoned Andarna completely. But later, Leothan returned—breaking ranks—to help fire the wardstone at Tyrrendor and to train Andarna.

Why?

Was an exception made for her? Did he defy the other irids? Or is there something bigger at play?

What we do know is that the irids are not done. Their magic is capable of reshaping reality itself. And their decision to step away from the world may no longer be an option.

So What Does This All Mean?

Violet is likely a descendant of the brother who wielded the sky, which explains her raw, instinctive power.

Tairn may be tied to that same ancient bond, making their connection fated rather than random.

Andarna’s breed doesn’t just use magic—they are magic.

Andarna’s fire burned a venin because she reshaped magic to do so—something no other dragon has done.

The irids left Andarna behind to judge humanity—and they believe we failed.

Leothan’s choice to return raises huge questions about what’s coming next.

With everything we now know about the irids, Violet’s lineage, and the growing threat of the venin, one thing is certain:

This war is bigger than Navarre. It’s bigger than the riders. It’s bigger than dragons.

The irids can change everything—but whether they will remains to be seen.

So… what do we think? Did Leothan break rank? Will Andarna ever be accepted? And how much further can Violet push her magic before she reshapes more than just lightning?

[leothanitc]

Leothan

[cupidragon]

I might be cancelled (no one knows her) but I have to tell y'all something that's been triggering my mind and heart since I finished Onyx Storm.

We all know Andarna left Violet for the best, but still, the way she acted was very off to me, she allowed Leothan to disrespect Sgaeyl and Tairn, and even stopped Sgaeyl when she tried to stand up for her, I mean Sgaeyl and Tairn raised Andarna as she was theirs, they gave everything to her, Tairn bonded Violet because she protected Andarna with her life (alongside with other things) and she acted that way just because she wanted a family, which she already had.

I don't know about you, but my love and respect for Andarna changed so bad I really wish she didn't come back at the end, she doesn't deserve none of them and their love.

[withabeeart]

Gather your party and venture forth?

who needs mages when you're hot?