⚠️ Full spoilers for Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm. If you’re not caught up: close this, go read them, and come back when you’re ready to be emotionally compromised.
Part one of this series was for the “sensible” Fourth Wing theories, the ones with receipts, decent internal logic, and a reasonable shot at becoming canon. This is not that post. (If you want to see that post, check out the top theories for book 4 here.)
These are the wildest Fourth Wing and Onyx Storm fan theories readers are still screaming about in 2026. Maybe we’ve got it all figured out? (After Onyx Storm, I think we all know that’s impossible).
Check out the Romantasy Recs hub if you’re looking for more recs while waiting for book 4 to drop, or check out Books Like Fourth Wing to scratch that itch.
Takeaways
- Theories about Violet being part‑dragon, part‑venin, or something even stranger have moved from maybe to probably in a lot of corners of the fandom.
- Whether Naolin is the Sage, a god, a Source‑tether, or Brennan’s lost love, he sits at the centre of the wildest Empyrean theories.
- Andarna has gone through many changes, and turns out she’s connected to a lot of theories. Is there something going on with her tail we should all keep an eye on?
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The Theory Quick Reference
| Theory | Insanity Level | The “Red String” Connection |
| Hybrid Violet | 🌶️🌶️🌶️ | Silver hair & prenatal venin attack & Andarna’s 650-year wait. |
| Naolin is the Sage | 🌶️🌶️🌶️ | Siphon signet “burnout” hands & Tairn’s refusal to say he’s dead. |
| Brennan & Naolin | 🌶️🌶️ | The “forbidden love” motivation for a rider to turn venin. |
| Living Wardstone | 🌶️🌶️🌶️ | Andarna’s shifting tail-type and scales acting as a magical prism. |
| Scribe-Rebel Dad | 🌶️🌶️ | Papa Sorrengail’s “fable” research was actually a venin survival guide. |
| The Ridoc Twist | 🌶️ | The “comic relief” character hiding a massive power or trauma. |
Violet’s origin: dragon blood or venin exposure?
Is Violet part dragon?
The core idea is that Lilith Sorrengail did something nuts and very magical while pregnant — anything from consuming dragon egg shell to making a bargain — to keep her sickly baby alive.
The evidence fans keep circling:
- Violet’s silver hair has no tidy genetic explanation and reads more like a magical side effect than a recessive trait.
- Tairn — who tolerates almost no one — doesn’t just “accommodate” her disability. He lowers his body for her, shields her obsessively, and understands intrinsically she is not like other riders.
- Andarna waited centuries to hatch specifically for Violet, yet the timing isn’t explained enough to be satisfying. Standard dragon bond mechanics do not explain that kind of pre‑destined, time‑delayed soul tether.
Put together, it’s not hard to see why a chunk of the fandom likes the idea that Violet is carrying dragon blood, dragon magic, or some ancient weaponised Empyrean DNA that technically makes her a little less human than everyone assumed.
Is Violet part venin?
This theory says Lilith wasn’t playing with dragon magic; she was attacked or drained by a venin while pregnant, and Violet survived that contact by absorbing the “darkness.”
The evidence fans point to:
- Lilith’s history with venin looks a lot murkier when read backwards from Onyx Storm, especially if you buy into the fact that “Lilith Sorrengail was venin” article’s argument that she crossed more lines than she admitted.
- The Sage reaches Violet in dreams with terrifying ease and interest, like he recognises something familiar in her.
- In Onyx Storm, we see Violet survive things that should be biologically impossible. Some readers think she isn’t just “Light” in opposition to venin’s dark; she’s a reclaimed venin‑adjacent soul, born from both powers and sitting precariously in the middle.
Does the text confirm either version? No. Does the fandom plan to stop talking about it? Also no.
Want to deep dive this one?
- Reddit: “The WILDEST 4th Wing fan theories” and “Give me the craziest theories” threads, which both obsess over hybrid Violet.
- Article: Empyrean Riders’ “Lilith Sorrengail was venin” theory for the baseline argument that kicks half of these ideas off.
The Naolin theories: it starts sad, then gets worse
Naolin is the patron saint of wild Empyrean theories. Every time we think we’ve exhausted the options, someone finds a new way to make it more upsetting.
Naolin and Brennan were lovers
In large parts of the fandom, this is basically treated as soft‑canon now. The logic is simple and vicious. I mean, why would a Siphon rider — supposedly the most disciplined, price‑aware signet holders — draw directly from the earth and risk his soul just to save a general’s son?
The vibe people read between the lines:
- It wasn’t just duty. It was love.
- Tairn’s love of Violet is born from his last rider’s love.
- Brennan’s “hollow” looks and refusal to talk about certain memories post‑resurrection make a lot more emotional sense if he’s looking at a world where the man who loved him may have paid the ultimate price to pull him back.
Naolin is the Sage
Then there’s the Naolin‑is‑the‑Sage theory. The evidence people cling to:
- The Sage in Violet’s visions has twisted, parchment‑like hands…the exact physical cost we’ve been shown for a Siphon over‑pushing their limits and drawing too deeply from the earth.
- Tairn has never explicitly said, “Naolin is dead.” He says he “lost” him. In Yarros‑speak, that could be deliberate.
- If the man Brennan loved is now the same being leading the venin and trying to tear down the wards, the emotional math of the final books gets significantly crueller.
Counter‑theory: Naolin became a god
Maybe, just maybe, Naolin didn’t turn venin at all. He “crossed the third threshold” by resurrecting Brennan and became something else, a living god, a Source‑tether, or some other category we don’t have proper language for yet, because it’s yet to be introduced.
In that version, the Sage is a red herring, and the real Naolin is somewhere (or something) we haven’t seen on the page yet.
Want to deep dive this one?
The “Tail-Shift” Theory: Why Andarna’s new look is a Warning
If you thought Andarna’s transition from a golden feathertail to a multi-hued, “seventh-den” powerhouse was just a glow-up, the Onyx Storm theorists would like a word with the rest of the fandom yet to be in the loop.
The evidence:
- The Scorpion Tail vs. The Morningstar: In Fourth Wing, she was a feathertail (no tail weapon). In Iron Flame, she developed the scorpion tail. But post-Onyx Storm, readers have noticed her tail-type and scales don’t just change, instead they reflect the Source magic she is currently channeling.
- The “Camouflage” is actually a Conduit: Andarna can change her scale color to blend in, but a popular Reddit thread argues this isn’t camouflage. It’s absorption. She’s acting as a prism for the wards.
- The Dreamless Sleep Trigger: Andarna’s growth spurts always follow massive magical expenditures. Theories suggest that every time she “levels up,” she is actually rewriting her own DNA to become the specific weapon Violet needs to kill a Sage.
Why it matters: If Andarna’s tail and scale type are shifting to match the “Six and the One” (the seven dragon breeds), it confirms she is a Living Wardstone. If the stone in Aretia or Basgiath shatters, the theory is that Andarna becomes the anchor.
The “Heartbreak” Twist: If Andarna has to become the permanent anchor for the wards to save the Continent, she might have to return to a “Dreamless Sleep” forever. Which means Violet loses her heart-dragon to save the world. (I am not okay.)
Want to deep dive this one?
Ridoc has a secret
This is mostly just vibes and narrative pattern recognition.
People’s logic:
- Ridoc is too funny, too observant, and too consistently present around Violet not to be carrying something more than banter.
- In a series where “comic relief” characters tend to be hiding trauma, rare signets, or future plot twists, readers are very suspicious.
- The mild version is that he has a quietly overpowered signet or bloodline connection. The extreme version is that he’s tied into the new brother or venin twist in ways we haven’t seen yet.
Want to deep dive this?
- Reddit: “Onyx Storm Theory — What if Ridoc?” for the darkest version, the one suggesting he might have been venin through the entirety of Onyx Storm, which is the theory that makes you go back and reread every scene he’s in.
Why do the wild Fourth Wing theories last?
Yarros is a bonafide top tier level torturer with the unspoken detail. Every silver hair, every hollow look from Brennan, every suspicious letter from Papa Sorrengail is a breadcrumb, she is working with a whole team to come up with this series, and they’ve had years to map it out. What ever is in the pipeline, it’s going to be unexpected, but the clues will be there.
Some of these theories are wearing full emotional‑support‑delusion trench coats, and I’m completely here for it honestly, because sometimes we all need a little madness in our books. Some are probably true. But we won’t know until the 4th book drops sometime at the end of this year, or the beginning of next.
Which of these unhinged Empyrean theories are you actually willing to bet your dragon on? Drop a comment below, or send a panicked voice note to your group chat and see who agrees with you.
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Frequently Asked Questions: Empyrean Series Theories & Lore
While not explicitly confirmed by Rebecca Yarros, the “Hybrid Violet” theory is the most searched mystery in the fandom. Following the revelations in Onyx Storm, fans point to her silver hair and her ability to survive lethal magical strikes as evidence of a “Source-aligned” biology. The theory suggests Lilith’s contact with venin magic during pregnancy, combined with Andarna’s 650-year wait for her, means Violet is the biological bridge between dragon and venin power.
Naolin was Tairn’s previous rider, a Siphon who reportedly “died” resurrecting Brennan Sorrengail at the Battle of Aretia. The leading theory—which gained massive traction after Onyx Storm—is that Naolin turned venin to save Brennan and is now the primary antagonist known as the Sage. Supporters point to the Sage’s “twisted, siphoner-style” hands and Tairn’s conspicuous refusal to ever use the word “dead” when discussing him.
Andarna’s physical transformation in Onyx Storm has sparked a theory that her tail-type and scale colors are no longer static. Because she is the “Seventh Breed,” readers believe she is mirroring the elemental magic of the other six dragon dens to act as a Living Wardstone. This implies that if the physical stones at Basgiath or Aretia fail, Andarna herself can act as the anchor to keep the venin out—but potentially at the cost of her own life.
This is widely considered “soft-canon” by the community. The theory suggests that Naolin’s motivation for drawing from the earth (a venin act) was not duty, but love. Brennan’s emotional distance and his “hollow” reaction to certain memories in Iron Flame and Onyx Storm support the idea that he is mourning the man who sacrificed his soul to pull him back from the dead.
The search for a venin cure is the driving plot of the later books. High-level theories suggest the cure is hidden within Papa Sorrengail’s “fable” research or that a powerful Siphon, like Sloane, could potentially draw the corruption out of a soul. However, the “Price of Magic” rule suggests that a soul-level mend would likely require a life-for-a-life sacrifice.
Despite his role as comic relief, Ridoc is consistently present during major world-shifting events. The “Secret Ridoc” theory suggests his limited backstory and high emotional intelligence are a setup for a major reveal—either that he possesses a rare, hidden signet or that he is tied to a bloodline Navarre tried to erase.
This phrase refers to the seven dragon breeds required to fire the wards. Since Andarna is the “One” (the seventh breed), she is the missing piece of the puzzle. The theory is that the “Six and the One” isn’t just about dragons, but also refers to seven gods or seven original riders whose balance must be restored to end the venin war permanently.