Fourth Wing Chapters 1-4

Okay. Here we are! It’s my first official post about Fourth Wing!! Let’s dive in!

I will be very upfront about a few things before I start. First, I feel like I need to give the same content warning as they do in the Fantasy Fangirls podcast. This is an adult book with adult topics that I am going to discuss. I'm going to assume that if you are reading this blog, you already know this because you've read all the books, but I still feel the need to say it. And that leads me to my second thought. Do not read any further if you have not finished all three books in the Empyrean series!!!  Unlike the Fantasy Fangirls podcast, which are done after each individual book, I am doing this after I have finished all three books and am now rereading each of them. So there is the potential for spoilers from Iron Flame and Onyx Storm. So if you haven’t read those yet, bookmark this page, go enjoy the hell out of the books, and come back when you’re ready. And now to my third point. I read these books so fast and without fully paying attention because I didn't actually know I needed to until I was deep into Onyx Storm and it was already too late. So there are a lot of things I have forgotten. A LOT. All I ask is that you don't judge me too harshly. There are a lot of important details that I should remember and I'm going to have to admit throughout that I simply don't. So, while I'm not reading these for the first time, sometimes it feels like I am. 

One of the reasons I decided to embark on this journey was because, not only did I absolutely love these books and realize after Onyx Storm that I needed to reread these to fill in all the gaps and start trying to unravel this mess. But I had also convinced a friend of mine to start the series and I found myself being so unbelievably jealous of her because she was able to read this story for the first time, and I was never going to be able to experience that again. I wanted so badly to be able to wipe my memory (Imogen, much?) and to be able to read this again for the very first time. What I found during this reread, however, was that the beauty of reading through this so quickly was that a lot of this was like reading it for the first time. There was so much information in the first chapter alone, that I did not remember reading the first time around. I think a lot of this first post is going to be centered around those things that really stood out to me that didn't stand out the first time. It’s a little early to start connecting dots and spouting theories…sort of ;) 

Now that that is out of the way…it’s time to cross the parapet and get into chapters 1-4!!

Blame it on Imogen

Well, this first thing isn’t something I had forgotten, it is something that I was missing entirely from the first time I read this book. When I read this book the first time, I didn’t read the physical book, I listened to the audiobook. It allowed me to read the book faster because I could listen to it in the car and while doing chores and even showering. But it turns out, there was one key thing that was missing from the audiobook. THE MAP. There was a map!! This whole time! And I never knew it!! When I sat down to read this for the second time and opened the physical book and saw a map, I was furious with myself! What a difference it makes! I spent so much time studying it just to make sense of the provinces and the cities and the geography of the continent. And you know what I saw on that map that had me dying laughing? Lewellen. Lewellen. On. The. Map. Lewellen was one of the biggest jokes while reading Onyx Storm because everyone was asking the same questions…WHO the fuck is Lewellen? WHAT the fuck is a Lewellen?? WHERE the fuck is Lewellen??? And here it was, labeled on the map the entire time. That at least answered one of the Lewellen questions ;) 

Something else I had forgotten, that I won’t go into a ton of detail on here, but I think it bears mentioning, is how much history of Navarre and Poromiel were in these first few chapters. Things about the fact that there are these two kingdoms on the Continent and within those kingdoms are all of the different provinces. I struggled the entire first read to keep track of what were the kingdoms and what were the provinces, and which belonged to who and I found myself writing down a list just so I could keep it straight. (speaking of making a list, there’s also a section in my notebook, just dedicated to characters, who they are, who their dragon is and what their signet is, because there are far too many people to keep that straight, and I am not about to get confused or forget certain very very important signets this time around!) There also was a very brief, but very important part about the history of the Continent and how Navarre and Poromiel had been at war for 400 years. And Tyrrendor was the last province to join the alliance, and it was the only province to attempt succession 627 years later. Not that we don’t all know about the rebellion, but just reading it again and putting all the pieces of history together is something I didn’t even remotely care about the first time. It all gets lost because Violet is spouting all these facts on the parapet and you just want to make sure she makes it across, so all of this seems secondary. 

The other thing I had forgotten about was how much we all hated Dain in this book! Or how much Violet yearned for him in the beginning. The way she flirts with him when she's in his room wrapping her knee and joking with him about having a thing for leather and how she keeps making sexual innuendos towards him. It’s hilarious on a reread. And, while I love Dain now because I've read all the books, I did start to remember how deeply I hated him in Fourth Wing and I couldn't decide if I wanted to laugh or vomit as I'm watching her shamelessly flirt with him. While we're on the subject, I'm going to steal (or politely borrow) Nicole and Lexi’s amazing phrase regarding Dain for these posts…”God-Fucking-Dammit-Dain!” However, it’s a little hard for me to go back and reread and truly hate Dain the way I did the first time around. I don't know how she did it, but Rebecca Yarros is such an incredible writer that she was somehow able to redeem him throughout the next two books and I never thought that would be possible. So I don't have as deep of a hatred as those two do as I'm listening to the podcast, but it is still infuriating the way he refuses to support Violet. Even Mira, who fights her mother tooth and nail to keep Violet from joining the rider's quadrant, realizes it's not going to change and she does everything she can in the limited time she has, to teach and prep Violet so she can survive. But Dain can't be bothered to see that that's even a possibility. He just needs to protect her and get her out. It’s utterly exhausting! And I'm only four chapters in, and I know it gets so much worse! So watching her fawn all over him was ROUGH. 

Venin, Wyvern and Dragons, Oh My!! 

There were several other things that were mentioned in this first set of chapters (but really just the first two) that I either completely ignored or just didn’t question before. And now, having read all three books, and having a much better understanding of venin, even if I don’t fully understand everything, they really stand out to me as being extremely important in being able to eventually answer a lot of the questions that we have going into the fourth and fifth books. I am referring to a comment about Papa Sorrengail’s mythology book, a few comments made about Violet and her mom before she even leaves with Mira for the parapet, and of course Jack-fucking-Barlowe. 

First is Papa Sorrengail’s book of myths and legends. Of course I remembered that that book existed and it talked about wyvern and venin, but what I didn't catch on the first read was a very minor line where Violet says, “Maybe it’s childish, just a collection of stories that warn us against the lure of magic, and even demonize dragons, but it’s all I have left.”  I found that line very interesting. Demonize dragons. While it is a book of myth and legends, we know that everything in it about the venin and the wyvern turned out to be very true and very real. So I have to wonder about this part about dragons. And I have a few more thoughts on that, but I want to wait until I read a few more chapters to sort of solidify what’s floating around my brain right now. 

Now let’s talk about Violet and Mama Sorrengail. Because there is a lot to unpack in this first interaction with them. Something that I honestly did not pick up on at all the first time was the mention of Violet's hair being silver at the end. I legitimately wondered why Tairn kept calling her silver one for a very long time because I had blown right past that detail. Embarrassing, I know. When I read it this time, I noticed a few important things in this sequence. Lilith is touching Violet’s hair and scoffs at the part where it starts to lose all of its color and become silver. Lilith then mentions “the fever” and we find out that she nearly died from some sort of illness when she was pregnant with Violet. These two things got me wondering. For a while, people have been theorizing that her silver hair has something to do with the venin because silver always seems to have something to do with them. And when I first read this thing about the illness and the fever it seemed, on the surface, like that was the explanation for her hair and that was that. But then I started thinking about the silver-tip haired girl in Onyx Storm, as well as some of the other people on the isles with full on silver hair. I can’t imagine all of those people‘s mothers had a sickness that almost killed them when they were pregnant too. So I almost feel like this sickness/fever is being used as some sort of a cover-up for the truth of what really caused violet’s silver hair. There’s also a mention about Violet’s hazel eyes having amber in them. And when Xaden becomes Venin, Violet notes that the gold flecks in his eyes become amber. I’m not saying that Violet is venin. I don’t think she is. But I do feel like there’s some major venin connection from her mom or potentially her dad because there’s some weird, sketchy shit from Onyx Storm with him too. All of these things feel like things we need to remember. Rebecca doesn't put anything in her books that isn't important in some way. I feel like she's letting us know that something bigger is at play here.  Definitely something that needs to be remembered.

And while we're on the subject of venin…let's talk about Jack-fucking-Barlowe. Obviously we all know he’s venin now because he so AGGRAVATINGLY comes back in Iron Flame and we learn a lot of things from him in that book, which I am so excited to read and pick apart when I get there. But the thing that I didn't question on the first read was, why does he have such an unbelievable hatred for Violet right off the bat? We know why Xaden does. This history between his dad and Violet's mom and Brennan and all of that is laid out for all to see right away. But as far as we know, Jack doesn't have a history with Violet. I'm going to say that again…as far as we know. But knowing everything that has come together over these three books, I can't help but question whether or not Jack is already venin when he joins the rider’s quadrant. There is such a hatred just toward Violet that doesn’t make any sense. I know he throws that other kid off the parapet too, but I don't think that was personal. I think that was to intimidate Violet and show her that he means business. But the only person he actually targets is Violet, and as far as I can remember, that continues throughout the entire book. It’s as if there’s some prior agenda to get rid of her, and only her, that has yet to be explained. But the fact that he is so fixated on her the entire time, I remember him knowing things that he had no business knowing, and just the fact that he turns venin and he isn’t instantly killed by leadership seems like a major red flag. For whatever reason, they spent months trying to heal him, and then allowed him back into the quadrant, which makes absolutely no sense, and that’s getting me into a possible theory that I’m not ready to talk about yet because I don’t have enough information, but there is a lot of background venin shit that we don’t know about yet. And I feel like Jack was a part of that puzzle before any of us knew it.

Our Squad

And now for my favorite part of today’s post…it’s time to talk about our squadmates and wingleader!! Something I have to say before I get into this, though, is just a major shout out to Rebecca Yarros’ incredible writing. Not only does she weave these unbelievable tales and find the most ingenious ways to slip us important information, or leave an Easter egg for us to find later, but she also writes THE MOST dynamic characters! And I have no idea how she does it. In a span of four chapters, she not only introduces us to this amazing female character of Violet and we instantly adore her. But we also get Dain, Mira, Lilith, Rhiannon, Jack, Sawyer, and Ridoc. Is that all? Am I forgetting someone?? I feel like I'm forgetting someone. Oh, right! XAYDEN WELL-THE-FUCK-AWARE RIORSON!!! It’s amazing to me that, in just this short span of time, we already start to feel like we know these people. 

Lilith is a hard-ass mom who appears to not give a shit about her kids, but there's also clearly a lot more to that story. Mira is a badass who loves the hell out of her sister. We've already discussed Dain, but we know he's an overprotective ass. Rhiannon is tough as nails and already an incredible friend to Violet. Jack has a whole fucked up history we don't know anything about but we know he's terrifying. Ridoc is obviously a smart-ass, and Sawyer has incredible determination and resolve to be able to come back after not bonding the first year. And then we have Violet and Xaden. 

Violet is absolutely brilliant, determined, kind, generous, and so much tougher than she realizes. She is the perfect FMC. And then there is Xaden…gorgeous, terrifying Xayden. And even without knowing much about him after these chapters, other than his dad led the Rebellion and he's out for revenge and plans to kill Violet, we see instantly that there has to be something more to his story because he doesn't flat out kill her right away. He has a conversation with her, eyes her up and down noting her boots are switched, and he lets her cross the parapet. Which, I want to talk about for a second. This whole lead-up to Xayden and everyone telling Violet to stay away from him because he'll kill her as soon as he finds out who she is, he's dangerous, whatever, is never actually seen by us. He's made out to be this monster who literally will just kill her on site. Not only is it immediately suspicious that he doesn't, he, I don't want to say flirts with her before the parapet, but he's definitely less vicious and more mysterious with her than expected, which I always found to be interesting. Having read the entire series, we obviously know now that Xaden is a form of inntinnsic because he can read intentions. I still don't totally understand how that works, but it did get me thinking about this interaction. I do think there was truly a part of him that thought he might kill her. But, I think that when he read her intentions when he first met her, he didn't get what he expected. I think he expected that she would be like her mother. That she would be this ruthless, cunning bitch who hates all Rebellion kids and it would almost give him a reason to kill her. But that's not what he got. He got this woman who doesn't even want to be there, but she's doing it anyway. She gave up one of her boots to a complete stranger just so that she would also have a chance at survival. He found that, even though she was absolutely terrified of him, she also stood her ground and didn't back down. And I think that was really intriguing to him, because it was so different from Lilith. 

After just these four chapters it is glaringly obvious that there's more to him than Mira tells Violet. And I think that's the genius of Rebecca Yaerros. She can tell us so much about a person by really just one or two actions or interactions with these people. I find that so enviable as someone who loves to read and would love to be a writer. Clearly, I'm trying my hand at it here with this blog and I don't know if I'm any good at it…I hope that I am, or that I grow and evolve into something great. But to see that genius unfold on the page first hand is truly incredible. It makes me so excited to reread all of this and be able to appreciate it even more.

The Podcast

When I listened to my very first Fantasy Fangirls podcast after reading these chapters, I really didn't know what to expect. I couldn't figure out how these girls were going to be able to talk about four or five chapters for an hour and a half to two hours each episode. After this first episode, though, I was floored at just how flawlessly they had put it all together. I don't know how long it takes them to plan, but whatever amount of time they put into it is well worth it. It so seamlessly flows from one topic to the next and the way they bounce ideas off of each other is incredible. If you have not yet listened to it, I highly recommend it! And what's really fun, for me especially, is listening to it through a lens of, what do I want to share from this in my post? And what they have been able to figure out about these books on an unbelievably deep level is nothing short of miraculous to me. I love these books and I love finding all these little puzzle pieces and these little Easter eggs and trying to form theories of my own, which is extremely difficult at this point because the internet is filled with everybody else's theories. But listening to these two come up with not only theories but to really break down and analyze each of these characters just based on their limited interactions so far, is really impressive. 

A lot of what they talked about in the first podcast was similar to some of the things that I had thought about myself, but there were definitely things that stood out that I felt were very noteworthy. The first one right off the bat seems so glaringly obvious and I'm not even sure why I didn't put this together. It isn't a secret to anyone that Violet has a body that is not like everybody else's. She has joints and ligaments that don't work and she is injured so much easier than everybody else. It's clearly not a secret. But what I didn't realize or even think about was the fact that she has a chronic illness and it's mirrored after the illness that Rebecca Yarros herself suffers from…Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. And I just find that so cool that she would write this into such a badass character. It so naturally becomes the way Violet is and what she has to deal with day to day. I feel kind of embarrassed that I didn't look at it as a chronic illness or something bigger than just weak joints, like I did. It makes her character so much more dynamic and real and I love that. I also thought it was really interesting that they pointed out that everybody else around Violet seems to use that against her. Dain mentions it and calls her unhealthy and Mira is talking about how she's so much weaker than everybody else. But what I hadn't picked up on, or really thought about too much, was the fact that her mom is the only person who uses that as a strength. She says something in the book about how Violet feels more pain before lunch than Mira does in an entire week. And then she goes on to say that if any of her children is capable of surviving the rider's quadrant, it's Violet. I really wish I could remember everything I need to remember about Lilith and Violet's relationship, but it is fascinating that she views this as something that makes her stronger than everybody else. 

Until Next Time

Well, if you made it this far, I thank you with everything I have. I'm putting myself out there in the hopes that I might reach even one other person who cannot get enough of these books and who is just interested in reading more and hearing more from someone else's perspective. Because that's what I love about these books. I love the connections that are formed when you share what you've read…or you're waiting for someone to read as far as you are so you have something to talk about or someone to talk about it with. I think the connections that are formed in this community are beautiful and I just want to be a part of that. If you have things you want to share, I encourage you to reach out to me. Send me an email. Comment on my post. Share something that you missed the first time around that you thought was super important on your second read. Or something that you've been dying to share with somebody but don't have anyone else to talk to. That's what I want. I want to forge connections. And even if it's only one or two people, I will be thrilled that I reached anyone at all. I thank you so much for reading through my first post because it may not be as good as it could be and I know that each post will grow and improve as I find my way along this journey. But I have to start somewhere and I appreciate you starting with me. I found these books during a time when I needed to do some very serious healing and these books were a big part of that healing process for me. So this is my way of saying thank you and hoping that sharing these in this way can maybe help someone else. 

Before I end this very scary (In a great way!) first post of this journey, if you want to read along with me, my next post is going to be about chapters 5 - 10. So feel free to go back and reread those next chapters and see what I have to say, see what the Fantasy Fangirls podcast has to say, and send me what you have to say! Thank you for the umpteenth time and I'll see you after chapter 10 with more fantasy feels!