Theories & Questions for Onyx Storm (CONTAINS SPOILERS!)

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on January 20, 2025 | 0 Comments


THIS POST CONTAINS EXPLICIT SPOILERS FOR FOURTH WING AND IRON FLAME.

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ BOTH BOOKS, LOOK AWAY CHILD!!

 

Violet’s second signet

  • Rebecca said we had everything we needed to figure out what it is.
  • Rebecca also said we would be disappointed when we found out. So does that mean it’s a lesser signet and not as powerful? Or just that it’s not what we think?
  • According to Violet (page 520): “Signets have to do with who we are at our core and what we need.” 
  • Theory #1: (page 544): “I am a person who needs information to center myself.”  Originally, I really thought she was either inntinnsic, or a truth-sayer. But, Rebecca saying we’d be disappointed leads me to believe it’s not that big.
  • Theory #2: My next guess is some kind of precog or premonition, because of my theory about Andarna (see below) paired with Violet’s need for the truth.
  • Theory #3: Distance wielder. (Many people seem to think it’s this one.) In addition to needing the truth, Vi also has the need to protect her friends. She made a comment somewhere about not being able to be two places at once, she trains so she can run faster (because of what happened in Resson when the venin drained on the ground), and more than once she’s wished she could move faster to help her friends. She also brought that signet up when she was guessing Xaden’s second signet, stating that there were only 2 distance wielders in history, and then Xaden said there hadn’t been one in centuries. Andarna waited six centuries to hatch, specifically for Violet.
  • Theory #4: Xaden said that he had trouble lying to her. I forget where, or the exact wording. But maybe she has some kind of power of influence over others?

Andarna

  • I’m convinced that Andarna has some sort of precognition. Not only her line “maybe I was saving you,” but she knew Violet would be a rider. (page 609: “You couldn’t have known I would be a rider.” “And yet, here we are.”) Someone else also brought up the fact that she apologized for Vi’s mom, but I think that was just a “I’m sorry but I can’t choose her over you” kinda thing, and she just felt bad because Vi wanted to save her mom and Andarna wouldn’t do it because it would mean Vi’s death.
  • Does she know about Vi’s dad’s research? Tairn said he didn’t know anything about it, but as mysterious as she is, maybe she hid it from him.
  • Andarna said she was left behind (from what she remembers), so are the others of her kind out there somewhere, or did they all die? I am DYING to know more about her and her breed.
  • I think Andarna is the key to defeating the venin and that’s why she was left behind.
  • If they left her behind for a reason, does her kind all have the ability of precog?

Brennan: good or bad?

  • It’s mentioned that he has a rune shaped scar on his palm. What is it for? Is it connected to the possibility that he is/was venin? Or is he being controlled by venin, like the wyvern?
  • Sgaeyl hates him (and I’m not buying the whole “she hates everyone” excuse that Vi gave). WHY?? I trust Sgaeyl’s judgement and am concerned about the reasoning. Is it just because of their history with Naolin?
  • I’m immediately suspicious of him because his dragon is an Orange daggertail. We don’t have good experience with Orange daggertails (with the exception of Imogen’s). The two nastiest dragons in the series – Baide and Solas – were both Orange daggertails.
  • Did Brennan turn venin during the battle that Naolin saved his life? Did Naolin actually burn out because he was trying to cure him of being venin (since we know Nolon was unable to cure Jack)? Is this why Fen shot him? (side note: I can’t figure how Tairn’s bond with Naolin was broken if Naolin is venin.)
  • One of my crazy theories from before was that Brennan poisoned their dad and that’s why his heart gave out. But now I have a new crazy theory: he drained him.
  • If Brennan isn’t venin, I think he’s working with them. I am almost certain that Naolin is venin, and I am also almost certain that Naolin and Brennan were a thing. So, if Brennan knows he’s still alive, why wouldn’t he be on the side of the one he loves?

General Sorrengail + Papa Sorrengail

  • I’m still convinced that Lilith either turned venin, or was drained by a venin when she was pregnant, and it has something to do with why Vi’s hair is silver.
  • Why do we not know her dad’s name?! It seems strange to me that we don’t.
  • Vi’s dad was researching feathertails before he died. Is the cure for venin related to feathertails? Was this what actually got him killed – he found the cure? Because we now know the government has been infiltrated by venin.
  • What if…her dad was venin, and that‘s why Violet’s hair is silver? And she is part venin? This would explain the missive between Nolon and Lilith (below)

Venin

  • Jack says “we are already among you” – how many venin are actually hidden within Basgiath?! Which (if any) of the professors are venin??
  • The guy who killed Nadine in place of Violet was venin, I’m sure of it. AND HE WAS SENT BY AETOS. I was already convinced in FW that the Navarrian government is in league with and/or controlling the venin (the “we were called here” line at Resson), but this is damning evidence. I’m pretty sure Aetos is venin. Is Nolon?
  • In the chapter 66 header there’s a missive from Nolon to Lilith: ‘We have tried every method we know of, as you requested. There is no cure. There is only control.’ We already know Nolon is corrupt. I think he lied in that missive. But why did Lilith request it? I’m convinced it was either what I mentioned above, or because Brennan turned venin and she was trying to save him. I really wish we had a timeline on that missive!
  • How much control do initiates have? In that missive (above) Nolon said there is no cure, only control. Xaden seemed pretty in control of himself at the end. And the fact that the initiates can infiltrate Basgiath with no one the wiser tells me they can blend in with “normal” people.

Xaden

  • Rebecca has already said Xaden is in all 5 books, and that Violet and Xaden are endgame, so I’m not super concerned about him dying (not yet, anyway lol). But it’s definitely going to be a hard journey ahead. I think the title Onyx Storm alludes to that (Xaden’s eyes are described as ‘gold-flexed onyx’ multiple times and his shadows were described as ‘shimmering onyx) , but I have hope because of the line “What we build together has to be strong enough to withstand a storm. Or a war.”
  • WHO is his mom?! She’s still alive, she just left him when he was 10 years old. Where is she??
  • I think his mom is venin, and that’s why they want him so bad. Also why none of them are allowed to kill Violet, because it would kill him. Is she a Maven, or their leader?
  • If she’s not venin, she’s probably on the isles. A queen or leader?
  • When Violet was dreaming of the Sage, I think she was actually seeing Xaden’s dreams.
  • Related to that, when she sees from his perspective in the throne scene, was it because of their bond or his ability, or is it because of her second signet? (This would add more fuel to my original inntinnsic theory)
  • How did he pass his grandfather for a great uncle in the records? (Twins??) And what side was his grandfather on, maternal or paternal?
  • If his “great uncle” is really his grandfather, is Bodhi actually his brother?!

Other theories/random questions

  • Why can so many of the marked ones sign? Liam, Imogen, and Xaden can all sign. Is this just something random they were taught, or is there a reason?
  • Was there a history between Varrish and Lilith? Page 180: (Rhi) “Is there some history with your mom, maybe? Some bad blood?”
  • I think Cat and Aaric would be perfect together. She was upset at her and Xaden’s broken engagement because she wanted the crown, and mentions it being hers multiple times. Well, Aaric is a prince, so there you go Cat!
  • Why does Imogen have an Orange daggertail, when they have a rep for being bad?! PLEASE don’t let her be venin, I love her and she’s one of my faves :(

Previous theories I had that have not yet been addressed

  • Naolin is a venin. Originally, I thought it most likely that he was the Sage they kept seeing in their dreams because Vi said something about his “surprisingly youthful face” and I thought the Maven would be older. I’d have her dad pegged as the Maven if Rebecca hadn’t said he was truly dead in an interview. (I’d think she lied, but she passed HARD on some of the things that were likely true!) BUT, at the end when Xaden finally meets him (at least I’m pretty sure it’s the same one from the dreams), and Xaden says he’s a Sage, dude says “A Sage? I am a general.” I’m still convinced the one in the dreams is Naolin, so I guess now my theory is that Naolin is a Maven, lmao.
  • Naolin and Brennan were together, or in love.
  • Did Brennan being a poison master have anything to do with their dad’s death?
  • How does Imogen’s power work? We haven’t really seen her use it much. Has she been erasing Violet’s memories?
  • Did Tairn bonding to Violet have to do with Brennan?

Other theories I’ve seen/heard

  • Andarna’s name means ‘second honor’ and therefore she is going to die. I VEHEMENTLY REJECT THIS THEORY. Although it wouldn’t surprise me, I think one of her dragons will die and it can’t be Tairn, because that would kill Sgaeyl too and trigger the chain reaction of them all dying. BUT STILL. NO. Not precious sarcastic baby Andarna :(
  • Liam put runes in his carvings
  • My coworker thinks Vi can amplify powers. I love this theory!
  • The crew will have to travel to the isles to meet Andarna’s kind
  • Cath is bad because he has bad breath. I think this one is silly, personally. None of the actual bad dragons are mentioned to have bad breath, and he’s a dragon so of course he has bad breath…
  • Marked ones have a second signet, therefore Xaden has 3 signets. Also that his 3rd is distance wielding. I personally don’t agree with this one, I think if he’d been able to distance wield, then Violet would know. Especially after their “no more secrets” talk.
  • Onyx storm is a reference to the onyx with runes that the venin use.
  • The cure for venin is related to Andarna and her tail – i.e. scorpiontail venom. I absolutely LOVE this theory! Tairn even said the tail is a matter of choice and need!
  • Vi’s dad found the cure and gave it to Lilith while she was pregnant, which is why Vi’s hair is silver. Also, she is part dragon because the cure was made with scorpiontail venom. I don’t like the “she is part dragon” theory, and also the scorpiontail thing doesn’t make sense because I think it’s linked to Andarna and she didn’t hatch until Vi turned 18.

 

Looking back at my theories for Iron Flame

See my original post for in depth bullet points on each theory

On Brennan being alive

I originally saw it coming that Brennan was alive, but the ending still shocked me because Xaden knew. His betrayal stung, but the fact that Tairn might have known hurt me even more.

  • Tairn had to know.
  • Does General Sorrengail know? ✗
  • There is an interaction with Professor Carr that sounds like he may know as well. [On page 288: (Carr) “Menders are so very rare, and to lose one so young was tragic.” (Violet) “I think losing Brennan is the tragedy” to which Carr only responds with “hmm.” His use of semantics was interesting – ‘lose’ instead of saying ‘died.’] ?? Not sure if he did or not.

General Sorrengail: Good or bad?

I kept running in circles between her being evil and her being a double agent. We know she’s cold to Violet, but how much was an act? I was leaning heavily toward her being a double agent.

✓ AND I WAS RIGHT! I fuckin knew it!! I always felt like she was in Violet’s corner in her own way. She did what she had to do, but ultimately, her main goal is the survival of her children. The scene where she sees Brennan? Her breaking over it broke me. She’s so strong and unflappable (and cold, usually), but seeing him is what made her finally show actual emotion.

Naolin

  • Naolin is the mysterious Sage we keep hearing about. ?? Haven’t figured out who he is yet.
  • I strongly believe that Brennan and Naolin were together or in love. ?? Also haven’t learned more about their relationship

Is Xaden an inntinnsic?

  • Violet’s scalp prickles almost every time Xaden turns up, sometimes before she knows he’s there, so I wonder if it’s him using his ability on her.

I KNEW IT!! Sooo many people INSISTED that the mind reading only happened because of their bond. I wanted to mic drop in the face of everyone who argued with me on this, haha.

Violet’s dad

  • I strongly suspect foul play involved in her dad’s death, making it look like his heart failed. ?? I don’t think it was explicitly mentioned, but Lilith wanted Violet in the rider quadrant instead of the scribes quadrant so she’d be safe.
  • Xaden calls Brennan a poison master. What if Brennan was the one who poisoned him?  ?? We still don’t have details on how her dad really died.
  • Is he even dead? One of my wild ass, out in left field theories is that he’s still alive but turned venin. ✗? I’ve not seen it myself, but many have said that Rebecca confirmed he is, in fact, dead dead. (She wouldn’t lie to us, right? Right???)

Dain’s ability

  • I 10/10 think he lied about how his ability works. [On page 51-52 he says “I have to put my hands on the person” but then a paragraph later he backpedals and says “I just put my hands on someone’s temples.” Toward the end of the book, Xaden also says that Dain has to touch someone’s *face* specifically. I feel like Xaden would know if he can read minds.] ✗ According to what he *says* in IF, he has to touch the face AND he has to have the intention to read. (If he’s not lying. I’d like to think he’s not, and Xaden read him, but I still don’t trust him despite his obvious redemption arc.)
  • So does any skin to skin touch work, or does it have to be face? I’m dying to know how it really works. Has to be the face, according to Dain.

Imogen & memory erasing

  • It’s only mentioned once in the entire book that Imogen’s signet is erasing recent memories. [How has this not come into play more often? Because she was likely erasing Violet’s memories all along, making Violet an unreliable narrator.] ?? We still haven’t really seen Imogen using her signet. With such a powerful signet, how is it never used?
  • How does her power actually work? [With it being only mentioned once in passing, there’s no telling. I’m not sure if she has to touch the person or not, but I paid attention to all of her lifting/training sessions with Violet, and Imogen physically touching Violet was never mentioned. The only occurrence of touching was when she broke Violet’s arm the first time they sparred.] ?? We still haven’t learned this detail.

Dragons

  • Melgren can see a battle’s outcome before it happens. BUT, he can’t see if more than 3 marked ones are together. I feel like Melgren’s dragon, Codagh, knows about the rebellion and marked the kids of the rebellion leaders for a reason. Why else would they be marked with something that is obviously a gift? Or did it just backfire? Codagh didn’t intentionally mark them, it was the stones they held with runes on them.
  • It also seems to give marked ones a second signet somehow (are they all bonded to Codagh?? Not sure how this works without another bonded dragon). [Imogen is fast and can wipe recent memories. Xaden wields shadows and can probably read minds. Liam has (had *cries*) farsight and could also wield ice – which was mentioned so casually mid-battle that I missed it entirely my first time through.] ✗ As mentioned above, Codagh didn’t actually mark them. And we find out that Xaden has a second signet because he is a direct descendant of the rider Sgaeyl had previously bonded.
  • Page 253: “they originally figured the dragons have unimpeachable honor, so they’d never bond to a marked one in the first place.” The dragons have know about the false history and that Aretia stands.
  • I am DYING to see Andarna full grown!! I’m curious as to why she’s the only gold dragon. [Are all babies gold until they reach full size? And are all feathertails babies? I swear Andarna said something about her tail changing when she gets big, but I can’t find it.] ✓ She was only a feathertail because she was a baby, but we still have no idea what color the other babies are!
  • Did Tairn bonding to Violet have to do with Brennan? [I’m pretty sure Brennan loved Naolin and vice/versa (I mean, he burned himself out for the dude, come on), so Brennan must have been important in Tairn’s life via Naolin. Tairn absolutely had to know Brennan was alive. What if that’s why he chose Violet?] ?? We don’t know why yet.

Random thoughts

  • The General was really sick when she was pregnant with Violet and almost died. This is what caused Violet’s silver hair as well as her pale eyes and skin. [Was she poisoned? I feel like there’s more to this story. Maybe something involving venin? (Also Violet does mention she saw her mom with “bloodshot red eyes” at an outpost and thought she was venin.)] I’m more convinced now than ever that she turned venin, and it’s related to Vi’s dad’s research on feathertails somehow. And why he was killed.
  • Violet is in the Fourth Wing of Flame Section, and their squad is the Iron Squad of that year (they had the most surviving members since Parapet). I think this is what the title of book 2 – Iron Flame – alludes to. Nope! It’s about the wardstone.
  • The Navarrian government is absolutely working with or controlling the venin. They sent Fourth Wing to Athebyne knowing full well the venin would attack. One of the venin also says “no wonder we were called here.” ?? This hasn’t been addressed yet, but Aetos sending an assassin that was clearly venin solidifies this idea for me.
  • On page 286 it’s stated that Fen Riorson put an arrow into Brennan’s chest, according to battlefield reports. [Is this actually true, or is it just what they want people to believe beause he was actually injured fighting venin? If it is true, why would Fen shoot him if they were both part of the rebellion? Unless it was to fake his death so he could get away from Basgiath and aid the rebellion effort. But why did Naolin burn himself out resurrecting Brennan if that part weren’t real?? Did Fen even shoot him at all, or is that just what they used as a cover up to execute him and explain Brennan’s disappearance?] ?? We haven’t discovered what actually happened when Naolin burned out.
  • The beginning states that the book was translated to modern language by Jesinia, who was Violet’s friend in the Scribe Quadrant, and that ‘names have been preserved to honor the courage of those fallen.’ DOES THIS MEAN EVERYONE DIES AT THE END OF THE SERIES? I would think it was in the future and they died of old age, but Jesinia is the same age as Violet. I’M SCARED.

 

Other theories I’ve seen

  1. Andarna traveled back in time to meet Tairn and Sgaeyl who are actually her parents, but died before she hatched. ✗ They said they adopted her.
  2. Andarna can see through time and was at Threshing to save Violet’s life, because she later tells Violet “maybe I was saving you.” ?? Hasn’t been addressed yet! I really hope we find out in book 3!
  3. Andarna saved Liam because can see through time, and she knew he would save Violet during the battle with the venin. ?? 
  4. Violet will gain time manipulation as her second signet (from Andarna) and will go back and save Liam. ✗ We may not know Violet’s second signet yet, but Rebecca has confirmed that Liam is truly dead. (Thank heavens! I’m sad he died, but it would cheapen his sacrifice.)
  5. Violet’s second signet will be the ability to wield the power of the sun (something about the greatest power comes from the sky), because of the whole ‘nature likes things in balance’ and she’s the light to Xaden’s dark. ?? 
  6. Liam’s sister is deaf.  I’m sad this wasn’t true. But now I’m wondering, why do they all know how to sign if she isn’t?

 

If you have anything you’d like to add to this, or anything to correct, please let me know!

Jessi (Geo)

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