⚠️ 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 put on your tin foil hat.
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, or more Fourth Wing conspiracy takes, I got you covered.)
These are the wildest Fourth Wing and Onyx Storm fan theories readers are still screaming about in 2026. And maybe we’ve got it all figured out? (After Onyx Storm, I think we all know that’s impossible).
The Theory Quick Reference
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?
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.
Is Violet part venin?
This theory says Lilith didn’t do anything herself while pregnant; she was attacked or drained by a venin while pregnant, and Violet survived that contact by absorbing the “darkness.” Which then would make her some kind of siphon naturally, I suppose.
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, like how? Like he recognises something familiar in her? Maybe so.
- 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 somehow.
Does the text confirm either version? No. Does the fandom plan to stop talking about it? Also no. Don’t be silly now.
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. 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 was love. Period.
- Tairn’s love of Violet is born from his last rider’s love of her brother. Sweet.
- 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. Ouch.
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 a bit of an upgrade, and there’s a lot of pay off for the character arcs to watch out for.
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 you.
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 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. Which I hope means we don’t lose her, that’s a line too far for Yarros, surely?
The Worst Twist Theory Ever: 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. (In fairness, Yarros has yet to have lines she doesn’t cross).
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. The author has to use him, comedic relief alone doesn’t make for a strong character arc, and Yarros knows how to write.
- The least egregious 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 when it comes to the unspoken detail. Every silver hair, every sad 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. And that’s how good writers write.
Some of these theories are completely insane and I’m completely here for it as a real thing honestly, because sometimes we all need a little madness in our books. No matter the truth, we won’t know until the 4th book drops sometime at the beginning of next year.
Well, some may be revealed in the book droppin in the next couple of months. What that book is? That’s a whole other rabbit hole.
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.
For the Writers in the Room
Writers know twists matter in fantasy. Readers know this too, which is the problem. One of the first things an experienced reader gets good at is spotting the obvious reversal: we thought it was this, but it was really that. And it is one of the first things a writer gets good at too. What if this, but really that?
The next level of craft is the red herring. That is where you set up enough evidence to make the reader look in the wrong direction, but not so much that they feel cheated when the truth comes. The reader thinks they are solving the mystery. Really, you are teaching them which clues to trust, which clues to doubt, and which ones they will be furious they dismissed.
The issue is that modern readers know red herrings exist, they know the trick you’re trying to pull. They have also gotten pretty good at spotting the obvious ones, especially when they fall into familiar trope shapes.
So there is a craft level above the standard red herring, and that is where writers like Yarros are operating.
Breaking the Reader Contract with Red Herrings
The reason Empyrean theories last this long is not only because the fandom is on another level, although, yes. Obviously. It is because the books give readers just enough evidence to feel like they have noticed something real, whether that is a clue or a herring, and just enough uncertainty to make them doubt themselves.
This is what you want. But how do you manage it? You collapse red herrings along the way.
Sometimes the main character figures out it was all fake, well before the end, sometimes that red herring morphs into a clue that belongs to another story thread instead, sometimes the red herring is just incomplete and one more piece of the puzzle makes the real clue finally make sense. This makes the reader feel satisfied, off balance, and ready to roll up their sleeves and re-read book 2 for the fourth time.
How to Hide Twists in Plain Sight
We don’t want tropey red herrings and twists to announce themselves wearing fake mustaches, and jumping up and down saying “look at me!” So how do we get around that?
World and character building. We build it into the shape of the character and the world, then you’re just telling a story right? Not a clue.
- Silver hair works as a clue because it is not introduced as a clue, it is introduced as character vibe. We absorb the vibe, and smack ourself on the forehead later when we realize it wasn’t just fantasy, colorful hair vibes. It meant something more.
- Tairn refusing to say Naolin is dead works because it also reads as grief, stubbornness, dragon-pride, and trauma. It’s just subtle enough.
- Andarna waiting 650 years works because it feels magical and emotional first. A part of this big epic world building. It takes you a minute to ask, 650 years?
- Papa Sorrengail’s research works because “dead parent left important notes” is a familiar fantasy shape, so readers accept it as an obvious twist, that a writer could turn into something more interesting later and subvert expectations.
That is what strong foreshadowing does. It hides inside storytelling, not as a big info dump somewhere. Build those in, use them as red herrings, break expectations by turning tropes on their head, prove them wrong, prove them right in other ways, and you have a satisfying story well worth the read.
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.
