Onyx Storm Excerpt from Cosmopolitan Magazine

Summary

Fantasy Fangirls Podcast Summary: "Onyx Storm Excerpt from Cosmopolitan Magazine"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Fantasy Fangirls
• Host/Author: Nicole and Lexi | QCODE
• Description: Two sisters delve into beloved fantasy books, discussing lore, characters, insights, and theories.
• Current Focus: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
• Episode Title: Onyx Storm Excerpt from Cosmopolitan Magazine
• Release Date: November 15, 2024

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1. Introduction and Episode Overview

In this special bonus episode, hosts Nicole and Lexi take listeners on an in-depth exploration of an excerpt from Onyx Storm, featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine. This episode centers around the A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series by Sarah J. Maas, particularly focusing on the Venin invasion detailed in the excerpt.

2. Content Warnings and Disclaimer

Nicole [01:37]:

"This episode focuses on the excerpt from Onyx Storm, but we will be discussing content from the entire Empyrean series, including Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. Spoilers for the entire ACOTAR series are included."

Lexi [02:10]:

"Rated R. We will be discussing mature themes and theories that might not be suitable for all listeners."

3. Summary of the Onyx Storm Excerpt

Nicole [04:09]:
Nicole kicks off the episode with a "Battle Brief," summarizing the events in the excerpt. The scene depicts Venin infiltrators within the walls of Bisgaeth, attacking injured individuals in the infirmary. Key characters Violet, Rhi, and Riddick attempt to thwart the invaders, leading to intense confrontations and the mysterious appearance of a silver-haired Venin.

Lexi [04:17]:
Lexi provides additional context, highlighting the chaos and the strategic infiltration by the Venin disguised as scribes. She notes Violet's tactical communication with her dragons, Taryn and Andarna, emphasizing their readiness to combat the Venin threat.

4. Detailed Analysis and Theories

4.1. Timeline Placement in the Series

Lexi [07:12]:
Lexi deduces that the excerpt likely occurs shortly after the events of Iron Flame, citing Sawyer's presence in the infirmary and the ongoing recovery from previous battles.

Nicole [07:57]:
Nicole agrees, estimating the scene takes place within the first few chapters of Onyx Storm, likely chapter three, based on the setting and character activities.

4.2. Venin Infiltration Strategies

Nicole [11:18]:
Nicole compares the Venin infiltration to previous attacks, noting the increased severity and strategic targeting of unsuspecting scribes to gain access to crucial areas like the archives.

Lexi [13:14]:
Lexi shares a fan theory suggesting that the Venin prioritize scribes as entry points due to their limited training, making them easier targets and disguise facilitators.

Notable Quote [12:31]:

"The Venin are targeting scribes because they're easy to pick off and kill, because they typically don't receive any training and because when Venin killed them, it would be easy for them to wear their clothes and have access to the archives." — Lexi

4.3. The Mystery of the Silver-Haired Venin

Nicole [24:42]:
Nicole explores the significance of the silver-haired Venin, proposing that her hair color signifies a higher rank and greater power within the Venin hierarchy. She connects the silver hair to Violet’s own partially silver hair, hinting at a deeper connection.

Lexi [25:30]:
Lexi concurs, suggesting that the silver-haired Venin might be a Sage—a higher-tier Venin with enhanced abilities. She references the compendium epigraph from Iron Flame to support this theory.

Notable Quote [24:56]:

"This silver haired Venin confirms that Violet's silver hair is tied to Venon in some way." — Nicole

4.4. Theories on Character Connections

Violet and Xaden:

Nicole [43:53]:
Discusses Violet’s inability to penetrate Xaden’s shields, theorizing that his Venin status has amplified his protective barriers. She speculates on the implications for their relationship and future interactions.

Lexi [47:01]:
Highlights the emotional dynamics, noting Violet’s continued love and support for Xaden despite his Venin transformation.

Notable Quote [44:48]:

"Xaden says, 'the day you can successfully block me out all the way is the day I'm dead.' We're both dead." — Nicole

Jack Barlow’s Rescue:

Nicole [21:06]:
Questions the Venin’s motive for rescuing Jack, a character perceived as untrustworthy, and ponders whether his knowledge poses a threat to the Venin’s secrets.

Lexi [21:23]:
Suggests that the Venin might value Jack for his unique abilities or knowledge, or alternatively, he might become a victim of betrayal within his ranks.

4.5. Signets and Magical Abilities

Nicole [42:05]:
Analyzes the role of signets in the Venin’s powers, discussing how magical abilities are amplified when Venin are freshly fed. She raises questions about the continuity of Dragon Rider signets post-Venin transformation.

Lexi [43:53]:
Elaborates on Violet’s potential second signet and its implications for her abilities, debating whether it relates to precognition or another form of enhanced magic.

Notable Quote [43:53]:

"Violet’s eyes are gold, flecked and onyx. But that doesn’t mean he’s cured." — Lexi

5. Character Dynamics and Development

5.1. Relationship Between Violet and Xaden

Lexi [54:03]:
Predicts that Violet and Xaden will work together against the Venin threat, overcoming previous communication barriers and uniting their strengths.

Nicole [55:17]:
Observes that while there may be tensions due to Xaden’s Venin status, their bond remains strong, with Violet showing unwavering support and love.

Notable Quote [53:10]:

"I love this man." — Violet (as interpreted by Lexi)

5.2. Secondary Characters and Lore

Nicole [57:25]:
Touches on the significance of Aaron Norris, the builder of Bisgaeth, and speculates on his contributions to rune weaving and the construction of the War College.

Lexi [58:52]:
Provides insights into potential Easter eggs and lore connections, discussing the implications of runes and their protection within the series’ magical framework.

6. Final Thoughts and Rapid-Fire Speculation

Nicole [56:43]:
Concludes the detailed discussion by highlighting Andarna’s unique ability to roast Venin, differentiating her dragon fire from others and emphasizing its strategic importance in combating Venin threats.

Lexi [56:50]:
Shares observations on the Second Wing’s involvement in the Venin infiltration, noting the significance of recurring symbols and character origins within the attacks.

Notable Quote [56:16]:

"We got a bet to win. I think he's gonna think he's gonna drain twice." — Lexi

7. Conclusion

Nicole and Lexi wrap up the episode by expressing their excitement for the upcoming release of Onyx Storm and encouraging listeners to engage with their community through Patreon and social media channels.

Lexi [61:45]:

"Do not forget to share this with your fellow Empyrean friends."

Nicole [61:27]:

"We love you so much and thank you."

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Key Takeaways:

• The episode provides a comprehensive analysis of the Venin invasion excerpt from Onyx Storm, exploring strategic infiltrations, character motivations, and magical dynamics.
• The silver-haired Venin stands out as a potentially pivotal character with deep connections to the series’ lore and main characters.
• The relationship between Violet and Xaden remains a focal point, with evolving dynamics influenced by Xaden’s Venin status.
• Signets and magical abilities continue to play a crucial role in character development and plot progression.

Notable Quotes:

• Lexi [12:31]:

"The Venin are targeting scribes because they're easy to pick off and kill, because they typically don't receive any training and because when Venin killed them, it would be easy for them to wear their clothes and have access to the archives."

• Nicole [24:42]:

"This silver haired Venin confirms that Violet's silver hair is tied to Venon in some way."

• Nicole [44:48]:

"Xaden says, 'the day you can successfully block me out all the way is the day I'm dead.' We're both dead."

• Lexi [43:53]:

"Violet’s eyes are gold, flecked and onyx. But that doesn’t mean he’s cured."

This episode blends meticulous chapter analysis with engaging fan theories, providing listeners—whether seasoned fans or newcomers—with a deeper understanding of the ACOTAR series' intricate lore and character arcs.

Transcript

[Lexi]

This episode is brought to you by Google Gemini. With the Gemini app you can talk live and have a real time conversation with an AI assistant. It's great for all kinds of things like if you want to practice for an upcoming interview, ask for advice on things to do in a new city, or brainstorm creative ideas. And by the way, this script was actually read by Gemini. Download the Gemini app for iOS and Android today. Must be 18 to use Gemini Live. This episode is brought to you by Dutch Bros. Big smiles, rocking tunes and epic drinks Dutch Bros. Is all about you choose from a variety of customizable handcrafted beverages like our Rebel Energy drinks, coffees, teas and more. Download the Dutch Bros app for a free medium drink plus find your nearest shop, order ahead and start earning rewards offer valid for new app users only. Free medium drink Reward upon registration. 14 day expiration terms apply. See DutchBros.com welcome, welcome welcome to the Fantasy Fangirls podcast where two sisters dive deep into beloved fantasy lore, character theme series and more.

[Nicole]

I'm Lexi. I'm Nicole and for today's bonus episode we're going back to Buzgaeth as we cover the Onyx Storm excerpt featured in Cosmopolitan magazine.

[Lexi]

What a fun surprise. Emphasis on surprise for us Empyrean fans.

[Nicole]

So if you're wondering what excerpt we are talking about, it is available to read for free on Cosmopolitan's website. The link is in our show notes as well.

[Lexi]

And of course it dropped when we were both out of town. Which is why this episode is coming to you a little bit later. It may or may not have dropped. When I was coming home from a wedding I was on a party bus. It was like midnight. I was like half drunk and I was trying to read this and it was just chaos.

[Nicole]

As always, we gotta start with our content warnings. While this episode focuses on the excerpt from Onyx Storm, we will be pulling anything and everything from the Empyrean series. That means fourth Wing, Iron Flame Additional bits about Onyx Storm interviews with Rebecca Yaros. It's all fair game.

[Lexi]

So with all that said, if you don't know why we are now very interested in a particular silver haired Venin, then please go finish the excerpt and the series. We will be here when you're done.

[Nicole]

Next, we at Fantasy Fangirls are adults who say adult things. Things about adult books. In other words, friends, this podcast is.

[Lexi]

Rated R. To be honest, our R rating is us going to be saying JFB's full name multiple times. Because why do they need a full rescue mission for him. We'll be speculating, so please be mindful of little listening ears.

[Nicole]

Additionally, we are so excited to see you at upcoming live events. We'll be dancing the night away and discussing empyrean theories at Swords and Shadows Masquerade next week on November 23rd in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

[Lexi]

We cannot wait to ring in the New Year at Fantastique Collection New Year's Eve Drop Party in Denver, Colorado.

[Nicole]

We are partnering with Barnes and Noble for the Onyx Storm Midnight release party on January 20, 2025 in Glendale, Colorado.

[Lexi]

We have so much in store as podcast partners at Romany BookCon in Los Angeles on February 20th through 22nd and October 23rd through 25th, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.

[Nicole]

We will also be featured guests at Enchanticon in St. Louis, Missouri August 15th through 17th in 2025. And last but not least, we will be back at the Dragon Gauntlet in Boyne City, Michigan September 12th. Again, that's in 2025.

[Lexi]

Links to all of these many events and more information are in the show notes.

[Nicole]

Lastly, if you love fantasy fangirls and have been dying as you also wait for Onyx Storm to come out, if you want more content, more community, more events and just more all around, please check out our Patreon in the lead.

[Lexi]

Up to Onyx Storm. Our hive mind of our Patreon Discord is working overtime, posting theories, sharing reread thoughts. So if you're looking for a community events like Q&As, trivias, read alongs and so much more in the lead up to this heart stopping, please check out the link in the show notes or visit patreon.com fantasy fangirls to learn more. And now it is time to re enter the world of the Venin infiltrated.

[Nicole]

Baz Guy let's officially kick off this episode with a battle brief AKA Nicole's summary of what happens in this excerpt.

[Lexi]

The Venin are in the walls after leaving poor still healing Sawyer in the infirmary. Violet, Rhi and Riddick run to stop the infiltrators, who looks like they've been having a yummy snack, draining a frightened full hallway of now desiccated bodies. Our trio is horrified, but continues their run down the eerily quiet hallway. All the while, Violet has a quick mind to mind convo with her dragons, Taryn reminding her that she does not have her conduit with her, and Andarna, true to fashion, is ready for blood and ready to breathe some fire on Venon scum. We may not eat our allies, but Venin are fair game. Our crew runs into a scribe. Uh oh, not a scribe.

[Nicole]

That's a Venin.

[Lexi]

Violet quickly, like really quickly, kills said Venin with an alloy hilted dagger. They're dressing as SW scribes now. Violet, Ri and Riddick go down to the torture chamber where a number of freshly fed dark wielders wait. Good times. And from the sound of it, they're trying to get a door open. Which can only mean one thing. The Venin have come to save Jack fucking Barlow. Because apparently people love saving this asshole. Walking into the antechamber, three fourths of second squad take stock of the situation. There are four dark wielders and two. Make that one guard. But one of the Venin, who has silver hair, sees Violet and disappears. What the fuck? The three remaining Venin engage in a fight with our crew. And Violet notices that one of the Venin moves unnaturally fast as he attempts to kill her. And we get the classic Venin, not that one. Because they need Violet assumably, to control Zaden. And now, just to really make sure we know that this is indeed Venon talking to Violet. They say that she is a long way from the sky Lightning wielder at this point. This is the Venin version of secrets die with the people who keep them. But before we can get any more taunts, shadows explode in the room and pause for a quick caress of Violet's cheek. Zaddy is back, baby. Violet's eyes meet her man's. Gold flecked onyx. Not a ring of Ven in red to be seen.

[Nicole]

Oh, I'm so excited. All right, friends, it's time to tap into our Signet powers and discuss this excerpt beat by beat and talk about all the theories. Let's start with where we think this excerpt is in the book, because it's safe to assume this is soon after the ending of Iron Flame and pretty early on in Storm. For one, Sawyer is still in the infirmary after his leg was chomped off by a wyvern. We know from Iron Flames last chapter that Sawyer had surgery after the battle. So we can gather here that he is currently in recovery, feeling good enough to sit up and talk, but obviously can't fight yet. I'm convinced he'll have a metal leg and it'll be really cool how he uses it with his metal wielding signet. The infirmary is was overflowing with injured and cuts out in the hallway, which is another indicator that this is soon, but not right after the final battle. Everyone's, I'll say a Little settled in here. Secondly, we get clues about the weather in this excerpt. It's been snowing outside and we know it had recently snowed on the winter solstice at Biscayath. So yes, we still have snowy conditions.

[Lexi]

The third reason we think that this is early on in the book is because the writing feels very catch up Y indicating a typical early in the book chapter. At the beginning of most sequels or sequel pluses, there's refresher moments where the author catches up the reader on something or reminds them what something is again, just in case they forgot or in case they don't reread it 10,000 times like we do. And we get that here with Conduit when Taryn mentions it to Violet and her inner monologue says how it is something that helps pinpoint her lightning strikes. But I will say one of the things that I love love about Rebecca's writing style is that her catch upy moments, her audience catch up moments, they always feel so natural to the story. It never feels like, oh, that was a catch up moment. Like for instance in Iron Flame, it was all with Brennan. It always feels so natural.

[Nicole]

Another one of these moments. Zaden and Garak are now temporarily stationed here to protect this guy.

[Lexi]

Which pause because this means no more long distance. At least for the time being.

[Nicole]

Thank fuck.

[Lexi]

I'm so excited.

[Nicole]

At the end of Iron Flame, Melgren and Devera were negotiating terms for the revolution's writers to return to Bisgaeth. I'm very curious about what the agreed upon terms ended up being. I do also think that this is a good indicator too that this is soon after Iron Flame. But it's not like the next day because there needed to be a little bit of time here like you were saying, Nicole, I think that it is definitely safe that Zading is not going anywhere, at least for the first part of this book and the other excerpt of Onyx Storm on the back jacket of it, Zaden is teaching Violet how to control her power and they seem to be at Bisgaeth. So I do think that we as a fandom can put the concern about Zading immediately leaving Violet, you know, Edward Colon style, to rest, at least for this first part of the book. All of this to say, I believe this excerpt takes place no more than a week after Iron Flame ended. Probably four, maybe five days.

[Lexi]

Yeah, my best guess here is if we're looking chapter number wise, we're looking at chapter three is where my gut's telling me I'll go as much to say four and I'll go even as early as two. Totally depending on how much happens in chapter one. No matter what, I think it's safe to say that this is chapter five or less. Like, absolutely.

[Nicole]

Oh, absolutely, yes. There has been some speculation that this is the opening of the book, which, wow, wouldn't that be insane for this to literally be the opening? We'd just be thrown right into the deep end. I do agree with you, though. I think it's a few chapters in, like you said, chapter two or three. Chapter three feels about right. There's a line about Violet and Emma Jen walking to the infirmary earlier. So I think that we will get that scene first. And like we said during our Denver Live show episode, we think that we'll get caught up on what happened after the battle in that chapter one. Violet will also be processing her mother's death a little more. We'll hear from Taryn and Andarna because this excerpt here does not feel like their introduction to the book.

[Lexi]

I will say, though, it feels like Zaden's introduction to the book because of his absolutely badass entrance, but also because Violet notices the second lieutenant rank on his uniform. So this basically does confirm. It confirms as much as it can confirm in my mind that Xaden is not going to be in the first chapter or so of this book. It's going to give us some time with Violet to process her feelings around Xaden's new Venin hood, so to speak. So I'm. Oh God, I'm so excited. But one of the things I loved most, absolutely most about this excerpt was the suspense. The horror movie that happens when we run into the first Venon.

[Nicole]

I was reading it and I was like, wait, did I actually just read that? I had to reread it. It's.

[Lexi]

Whoa.

[Nicole]

Same.

[Lexi]

Violet and co go out into the hallway, which is a makeshift infirmary with overflow extra beds from the battle. And these bodies who were alive, we should note, or at least they were injured, but they were breathing. We assume they're completely drained from freshly fed Venin. We have no idea how many people just died this early in the book. It does make me think of how many survivors are left at Bisgaeth after this and after the battle. It's not a small school. There's like probably thousands of students. But it's a taste for us readers as to how dark this book is about to be.

[Nicole]

I would say we just lost maybe 20 or so people with the cots in the hallway that if I had to say a number, that would Be my number. This excerpt teaser reminds me of the Iron Flame excerpt we got when Solas torched a bunch of people on conscription day. And we were all like, what? Yes. This just ups the ante. No offense to Kieran Rip, we never got a chance to really dunk on you. So we have to ask ourselves, how are these Venin within the walls in scribe attire? I think we're both in agreement that these Venin inscribed robes were not already scribes. These venoms seem like higher levels than say, Zaden and Jack fucking Barlow because they have these signature Venin veins at their temples, not just red rimmed eyes which initiates beginner Venin have. Don't worry, we'll get more into Venin levels later in the episode. So it would seem unlikely for these Venon to pull this much power to be this obviously Venin while still being a scribe. Is it possible for them to become a higher level Venin by all this feeding and draining the power from so many peoples out here, you know, in the hall? I guess that's one of our big questions about Venin and when these red rimmed eyes become permanent, plus, you know, the spiderweb veins. But sticking with our assumption that this is an invasion, how did these men get in? Did they sneak in during the chaos of the final battle? And have they been here all along since then?

[Lexi]

Because it's so early in the book, I am guessing that they've been here since the battle. My guess is maybe they regrouped somewhere nearby, like maybe in the forest or something and decided that the school was super vulnerable right now just being after battle and they wanted to take advantage of that as much as possible.

[Nicole]

Yes, I agree with that. So that leads me to reader's next question. Are some scribes Benin not these higher ranked ones, but other scribes? Or are Venin targeting scribes to sneak in unnoticed? For instance, does this mean an actual scribe is Venin and helped these Venin get inside and supplied them with all these scribe robes? Or the Venin on the inside knew the scribes would be left alone the most within this Gaeth, so they ensured the invading Venin had access to all the scribe robes.

[Lexi]

I think that the Venin are targeting scribes because they're easy to pick off and kill, because they typically don't receive any training and because when Venin killed them, it would be easy for them to wear their clothes and have access to the archives. I definitely think the Venin are wanting access to the archives. Why? I still haven't figured that out.

[Nicole]

Yet.

[Lexi]

But I'm. My gut is saying that I agree.

[Nicole]

That the Venin are targeting scribes versus there being real scribes who are Venin scribes tend to keep their hoods up. They are easily overlooked and they're underestimated. Like their job is to blend in. So it makes absolute sense that the Venin would target scribes to get inside Bisgaas.

[Lexi]

Chelsea on our Patreon had a great find though. In chapter 18 of Iron Flame, Xaden says, quote, there's a reason we don't fuck around in the archives. That's the beating heart of the enemy. What foreshadowing that would be if they're actually. I'm not saying they're like living in the archives, but I definitely think they're infiltrating the archives more than others.

[Nicole]

That would definitely be a whole new level of double meaning because I never blinked twice at that beating heart of the enemy. So I'm sorry, are you saying that Zaden would have known the enemy was Venon? Or it's potentially just really good unbeknownst to him foreshadowing the latter for sure.

[Lexi]

I think that is like a Rebecca Yarrows kind of foreshadowing.

[Nicole]

I don't think that they've gotten into the archives at all.

[Lexi]

Interesting.

[Nicole]

I think that's a fun theory.

[Lexi]

Okay, I do think that there's one thing we can agree on here, and that is that this is not the first time that Venom have snuck in as scribes. Snuck into best guys, not the archives. Oh, are we not agreeing on that?

[Nicole]

I don't know. I don't know. Convince me.

[Lexi]

Okay, I will. @shanilibrary4, one of our followers on Instagram reached out to us with a passage from Iron Flame. In the hallway after second squad escapes from their first RSC interrogation, quote, a scribe cadet walks by, but I can't see who it is with their hood up. That's odd. This is right before there is the pamphlets in Battle Brief that Devara planted that assumably a scribe helped her with. So I assumed on my reread that oh, this is the scribe who helped, you know, Devera Plant. The scribe helped her because Duvera would have had to work the printing press. And Violet assumes that she would have had to have had a scribe her working so well then if anything, you're disproving my point that I definitely do think that is what we're supposed to think in Iron Flame that the scribe cadet walking by is the scribe that helped Deva put the pamphlets out. About the Blue Dragonfire and yada yada. But I don't think that anymore on this reread because I'm now like, oh, my God, if the hood's up. And Violet literally says, that's odd. Like, that has to be an Easter egg.

[Nicole]

Well, okay. So taking this a step further, in that same passage, Violet goes on to think, quote, usually they're only in the Quadran death roll or whenever M4RKIM needs extra people. If we're talking about scribes and evilness, of course we have to bring up M4RKIM. Some people believe this venon infiltration means M4RKIM is a venin, or is at least working with the Venin. I don't know if I'm convinced yet of that. I like the storytelling complexity that he's a different kind of villain. Like, for instance, when Sirius points out to Harry that people aren't divided into good guys and Death Eaters. The same can apply here. It's not divided into good guys and Venin. And I do think that we as a fandom have to keep that in mind when we are trying to figure out who Venin with. All of that said, though, I'm also not convinced M4RKIM isn't connected to the Venin. I definitely don't think he is one. But he's on our working for the Venin suspect list.

[Lexi]

Wouldn't it be such poetic justice if he has spent most of his entire career working to hide this secret about the Venin and Venon are fucking coming in as scribes into Best Gaeth and trying to overthrow the government from the inside under M4rKim's nose. That would be delicious.

[Nicole]

You know, I'm leaning more and more toward that M4RKIM is not aware of this, that he is not helping the Vinnin with this because he's his own kind of villain? I don't know if the Venin have really been coming in and doing this kind of thing previously, like, maybe just like spying and things like that. And that's what Jack meant when he said, like, we're already within the walls. But remember how scribes don't have access to a lot of other places? Like, they're not even supposed to be in the writer's quadrant and things like that.

[Lexi]

But they are. They're not supposed supposed to be, but they are. I'm convinced.

[Nicole]

I did not know that. We all agreed that scribes had already been in here. I don't know if I put myself in that category.

[Lexi]

I am so sorry. I thought I, I, I thought I knew your mind better than that. Well, this brings me to what this passage right here. Absolutely confirmed for me. And that is, you know that scribe in Iron Flame who's always freaking asleep, Nasia, who's supposed to be guarding the the entrance to the archive and is always asleep. There's a running theme where in Iron Flame, whenever he is on watch, he is asleep. And even just then he is like, yeah, fucking nausea over here. I am convinced that he's been getting some kind of knockout potion. Or heck, maybe even that someone's signet is to pretend like someone's asleep, which what a signet. And that's how Venin have been able to sneak in and out of the archives. Now is that just because they want the information that's in the archives? Or is it because they're going to meet with Markham? I don't think so. Or is it because they're going to kill in there or going to get robes so that they can go to the rest of us? Guys, I don't know know. But I am convinced that Nasia is a victim of this.

[Nicole]

I think NASA could be a victim too. I don't think that the archives are the venom's main target though.

[Lexi]

I don't think you're saying that they're.

[Nicole]

Going to the archives, but they're going.

[Lexi]

To the archives to get robes or like get. Or maybe they're getting.

[Nicole]

That's not where the robes are. Captives.

[Lexi]

No.

[Nicole]

Remember how at night too, everything is sealed off? I don't think that they're targeting the archives because they are so, so power hungry. That's not where their version of power is.

[Lexi]

But what if knowledge is what they're searching for? Knowledge is power.

[Nicole]

Then why the hell are they going after Jack fucking Barlow right now? We gotta keep this going. We're gonna get way too hung up on the venom in the archives here.

[Lexi]

Keep going.

[Nicole]

I do have to point this out, and I don't even want to bring it up, because I firmly believe she is good. But you know who isn't? By Sawyer's side in the infirmary? His scribe girlfriend, Jinia. This excerpt reinforces some people's belief that she's actually bad and can't be trusted and that she's connected to this Venon invasion. How dare. No, I am just speaking for what the people are saying.

[Lexi]

We never theory shame here, but if you come after my girl Ticinia, I.

[Nicole]

Swear to God, I really am personally going to go with the belief that she's busy doing Research or other language translation. She's got a whole lot on her plate. As much as she does love spending time with Sawyer bedside. All of that. I just had to point this out because she, a scribe that we know, is notably missing from Sawyer's bedside here. Overall. Last thing I'll note here before we keep moving on. I do love how this theme of the scribes being untrustworthy that Violet has had to come to terms with in books one and two. It's amplified here. Previously, they couldn't be trusted because what is truth? What is propaganda? Now it's like, are you a Venin? Let's talk about this rescue mission for Jack Barlow. I have so many questions. Mainly, why do so many people care about this guy? I actually think we might get the answer in Onyx Storm. Yes, but I genuinely thought he was just a Venin lackey. This excerpt has me questioning his standing as a Venin. Now, for starters, we have to ask if this Venon invasion is solely a rescue mission for Jack. At least one of the Venom scribes was just outside of the infirmary. So maybe they targeted the infirmary first because that's where Jack had been most of Iron Flame, and that's where they assumed that he would be at first. But seriously though, all of my personal vendetta aside, why go through all of this to rescue Jack? Especially because it seems like there's way higher level than in here to get him.

[Lexi]

My best guess here is that they like how unhinged and crazy Jack fucking Barlow is. And they're almost like, you're one of us. One of us. My money, however, is still on him getting killed by one of his own because they just can't take him anymore. Now we also have to know I.

[Nicole]

Think Violet's gonna finally kill him. She's gonna have triple check.

[Lexi]

Though I do think that they're here because he was a huge, huge, huge, huge part of the battle. He got the Wardstone down. Obviously he killed his own dragon to do it. So my guess is that they see his potential. Maybe. But I agree. I thought he was just like kind of puppet Navarre food afterwards. Like, I didn't think they would give a fuck about him. And here they are, like a sage is here to come get him, which is insane. Which we'll get more into in a second.

[Nicole]

But that's crazy. So maybe they do want to ensure he won't spill their secrets, since their best guy takeover did not go according to plan. Remember, they did not anticipate that everybody would get the wards back up and Then they would lose that battle. And so now they're having to cover their own tracks by getting him out of there because he knows too much information.

[Lexi]

Okay, I can vibe with that.

[Nicole]

Yeah. And they don't trust him. Yeah. And they don't trust Jack, thank God, because they think that he'll actually now spill the beans to best guys. And they're like, no, no, no, he can't know the Venin secret. So we have to get him back.

[Lexi]

At that point, just fucking kill him. Like why? Why is he breathing?

[Nicole]

You know what, we don't know. If they were not gonna do that, maybe they were gonna open up the door and just kill him. Which by the way, by the end of this, Jack is still just on the other side of his door.

[Lexi]

He watched. He watched all of that and didn't say a peep. Which is actually very.

[Nicole]

I don't know if you can watch it. The door or was there.

[Lexi]

Oh, I thought it was just like bars, but I guess not. Maybe, maybe I'm thinking bars, but I think you're right. Wow. Why?

[Nicole]

I could see it like in the like of the rest of the passage. Once we, you know, actually get our hands on this book and be like Jack and feathered into the door, he's.

[Lexi]

Like, well, that went well.

[Nicole]

Yes. Whatever the reason, the Venin are here to rescue Jack. Violet, Rhea and Riddick go down to the antechamber of the brig and come face to face with four Venon. Two of these Venin are described as wearing scribe robes trying to yank at the unmoving door handle to Jack Sell. One of these two Venin has black hair and we'll learn very soon that he's super duper fast and the other has a sword. Then there is a female with short blonde hair and a ruby hilted sword who just killed the second lieutenant on guard. And we have a fourth Venin who has a hood, so I'm assuming is also inscribed ropes with a long silver braid standing at the edge of the shadows. Now, before we get into the silver haired Venin, because I know that's what you are all waiting for. For I'm curious why there is a corpse here wearing cream. AKA there is was a scribe down here in the antechamber. What was a scribe doing down here? It wasn't one of the guards. We know that. I'm assuming that the venom pretending to be the scribes forced this scribe to show them where Jack was being held. I'm not sure why a scribe would know that though. But just something to point out. But back to these Venin. It is so pointed that there is so much emphasis on these vents. Lenin's hair color. We have blonde, we have dark hair and we have the silver haired dark wielder who escape.

[Lexi]

We gotta talk about her first because we're just gonna break this down. She's got silver hair, she's got a fading tattoo on her forehead. She's standing at the shadows, she looks at Violet, smirks, and then disappears. We're breaking this down. Every single morsel, every single line. So let's start with her hair.

[Nicole]

I know there's a lot of theories around this, but I wonder if the lack of color in her hair shows how much she's drained from the source. So this is another indicator that makes her a higher rank and a more powerful Venin than the asm Venin with other hair color we've seen so far.

[Lexi]

Interesting. I wondered if it maybe meant she herself was partly drained, obviously not fully drained, and then she turned Venin. If she is a sage, which is our best guess, which actually I want to talk about that real quick because her red veins are described as going all the way out to her temples from Venin, a compendium epigraph in Iron Flame. We know that corporation quote sages, those responsible for initiates eyes are permanently red, their veins perpetually distend toward their temples, expanding with age. So yes, I think it's pretty firm that this is a Venin sage, which I think that this is maybe our first female Venin sage that we've seen.

[Nicole]

I think so. I will point out that all of the Venin we have seen so far in excerpt here have red veins distending toward their temples. So that description does match all of these Venin. Now while I do think that all of these are experienced Venin, they all did just feed. So right now they are all extra powerful. Which might be why that one venom's veins are, you know, pulsing. I do however think that this particular Venin is higher rank, not only because of the red veins going to her temples like you were just explaining, but also I do think that the silver hair is another nod and of course her power of disappearing. But before we get to that, to me, this silver haired Venin confirms that Violet's silver hair is tied to Venom in some way. Right after this silver haired Venin disappears, there is a description of Violet's quote, loosened strand of my braid. It's directly calling attention to her own braided, partially silver hair. In literally the next line, Violet's Bottom half of her hair is silver. And Rebecca Yarros has said in an interview that we will learn why. I think she said we'll learn at some point in the series. So there is no definitive that we will learn. In Onyx Storm, I'm sticking to my theory that Lilith was attacked or started to be drained by events in which is what led to her illness while she was pregnant with Violet. And that is why Violet's hair is silver. I think there's more layers to this reveal, as we've mentioned before. Like when we have, like gotten a theory right, it's only maybe 70, right? And then the last 30, it's like, whoa, what a plot twist. I think this will absolutely apply to that as well. But basically, that's the general gist. There's other similar theories that Lilith was turned Finn in while pregnant with Violet. I personally lean toward her being a victim of a Venice attack, though, because it aligns more with the description about how she almost died from that fever. But I totally see how people also think that her mother was a venom too.

[Lexi]

We've only seen a few people with silver hair before. We have Violet, obviously. Felix has a thick silver beard and Suri has a streak of silver in her hair. There's also a healer that's mentioned having silver eyebrows, but it's also paired with their face being wrinkled. So I'm assuming that's more to. To describe their age. If this Venin has silver hair though, and it's because she drained a lot or it's because she's a level Venon, what does that mean for Violet, Suri, and maybe Felix. But I'm leaning more towards Violet and Suri. I think Felix is also more of a telling of his age thing. Now. There have been a few theories that are being floated around the Internet, so I'm just gonna pull some, like, rapid fire ones that I saw. People are wondering now if Violet, like, maybe pulled from the source when she was super young. I don't think so, because we would have gotten some kind of I feel the need, or I feel like, because Rebecca has mentioned it is very similar to an addiction and we would have had some kind of internal conflict with Violet around that. Or people wonder if Lilith did pull from the source when she was pregnant and then just never pulled again. There is that line about her eyes being red, but she was really tired. She was coming back from work one day. So I don't think it's. I don't think it's that. I'm in full agreement with you, I think that Lilith, while pregnant with Violet, was a victim of some kind of Venin attack or venom draining and that's why Violet's hair is silver. But this absolutely confirms that they're connected somehow. Now here's my big question. Out of this silver hair though. Do you think we're going to learn about Violet's silver ha hair secret mystery in Onyx Storm? Because I think I'm leaning yes.

[Nicole]

I don't know if I would have said yes before this excerpt. Same with the silver haired Venin. That feels like such a big foreshadowing moment where it's gonna come up in some way. It's going to tie into Violet in some way. So now I do think yes. There's also so much else in Onyx Storm that we're going to be getting. But hey, remember we also thought that about Iron Flame. Like we thought the certain thing things were going to happen in books three and four and it all happened in Iron Flames. So I think that we have already underestimated how fast paced this series is and so I'm not going to do that again to ourselves. So yes, I do think that we will find out or at least we will get a few more clues, but not the whole story.

[Lexi]

Yes, I agree. I think that one of the big.

[Nicole]

Like I think there's going to be a little nod to it in Papa Sor and Gail's research.

[Lexi]

Oh my God. You said you say Papa Sar and girl's research and just chill. I had to bring it up in this excerpt somehow. Next we gotta talk about this faded tattoo on her forehead. At first I was thinking it was a rune, much like Brennan's rune on his hand. That's kind of scar like. But that was described as rune shape scar specifically. And that was long before Violet even knew what runes were. And someone in our Discord made a really good point on how Violet is now very familiar with runes and would probably notice this tattoo as a rune right away. So if it is a true tattoo, there are multiple mentions of tattoos in the series. Riddick's tattoo, which he got in between first and second year. And Brennan in Iron Flame says quote, the general's loyalties are so crystal fucking clear that she might as well tattoo, yes, there are venom. Now go back to class. On her forehead there's two mentions of forehead tattoos. This could be a total coincidence. Maybe Rebecca Yarros just was thinking about.

[Nicole]

Foreheads for reasons, but Rebecca Yarros maybe just watched some Game of Thrones season.

[Lexi]

Honestly, all I can Think of here. But I do think it's faded because of age. Like the fade. Yes, absolutely. @ megandelinebrock on Instagram mentioned how the faded tattoo might even be an old dragon relic. And it's faded because the silver hair venom is no longer capable of channeling power. No longer connected to a dragon. Maybe it's what Jack Barlow's relic looks like now. Or what it's going to look like now now that he's killed his dragon. I could totally see this. I do slightly giggle the idea of like, yes, I'm a dragon Rider. I finally got my dragon. I'm gonna get my relic, damn it. It's on my forehead.

[Nicole]

That would be a very interesting place to have a dragon, right? Yes.

[Lexi]

Like getting it on your ass or something by accident.

[Nicole]

I feel like they're all. No, they're not all on the backs because some are on the forearms and stuff like that.

[Lexi]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nicole]

I'm thinking we will see the same symbol again in maybe some of the research that Violet will uncover to help readers and Violet understand what it means. Like she'll be going through something and then it's like, oh my gosh. I recognize that symbol. It was the tattoo on her forehead. It might be a stretch, but I wonder if the silver haired Venin is one of the OG Vennon from the Great War. Like how we think General D'Armor is the General Venin and the faded tattoo is somehow tied to the war and the history. I could see that for sure. And then that dates her to be as old as the other two. Yeah. Which we do believe that that is him.

[Lexi]

I will be getting to that in a moment. And last but not least, homegirl, Silver haired Vennon just poof. Disappears. Goes bye bye into the ether. Toodle.

[Nicole]

Alakazam.

[Lexi]

Alakazam.

[Nicole]

We may have seen this at Resin when Liam said quote, one second the plane was clear and the next they were just there walking toward the gates. Again, that's not an actual confirmation, but it does seem like we have seen some version of this. I'm not entirely sure how to interpret it because I don't get the impression all of an ending can disappear and reappear like that. I actually positive that's not the case. Perhaps it's because the General Sage, not a sage, Venin was with them and able to group apparate at Resin no matter what. While this may not be the first time, Big question mark next to that may not be the first time we've seen this power from Venon. It is the first time we've seen it up close firsthand. And of someone who, who doesn't seem to hold as much power as the General with that giant staff, which poses the question, does this mean the silver haired Venin in this excerpt is a distance wielder or is this a Venin ability? If they're powerful enough.

[Lexi]

I go. I so go back and forth. But I think I'm going to lean towards these two Venin being. Being distance wielders, which I lean toward the other way. Oh, I love it when we disagree. Which would make this Sage centuries old plus because what we know from Zaden, he said, quote, in Iron Flame, there hasn't been a distance wielder in centuries. Now there's no number attached to said centuries. So maybe both her and General Venon are distance wielders. But I agree with you. I definitely don't think all Venin can do this. If anything, it would be like maybe only Sage plus level Venin can do this. But the.

[Nicole]

I don't think it's quite that black and white once you've pulled from the Source X amount of times or had this much experience that makes you like this. I do think that there is some more unique powers at play that I'll get into in a few minutes.

[Lexi]

Well, this does bring me to a question that does irk Minorkin and confuse me. Because this, if this is a Sage, like we are assuming the Sages are the ones who want Violet, they're always like, let me take you to my Sage. Like, why does she just disappear? Or even tell her comrades, like, hey, forget the Jack fucking Barlow kid and bring her to me instead. Like, if the Sages are the ones who want Violet, why does she just yeet on out of the chamber?

[Nicole]

I think that there's a connection to Violet and she disappeared. She smirked at her and she disappeared. And I will be getting to that in a little bit.

[Lexi]

Yeah, well, okay. So this brings me to my crack theory. You mentioned how you think that this Venin might be one of the OG Venin. I wonder if this silver haired Venin is actually Lira, one of the first six. Oh really? Let me explain because there's a line from Brennan about Naolin and how he didn't fail, but it cost him Naolin everything. And many people, ourselves included, believe that that is a neon sign that this dude is Ven. What does Lira say in one of her journal entries? Quote, it cost me everything. Now how did she go bad? No idea. This is screaming at me that this girl might Be lira.

[Nicole]

Okay, I see where you're coming from. I think that it's somebody who we haven't met yet.

[Lexi]

There's also a theory that this is Violet from the future using Andarna's unique time ability.

[Nicole]

Well, not necessarily Andarna's unique time ability, because she doesn't have that power anymore. So if this was time travel, it would more likely be Violet's second signet, or something along those lines, which I.

[Lexi]

Don'T think it's time travel, because we've heard that it has manifested. And I take that as Violet has used it. And Violet never time traveled in Iron Flame, at least to my knowledge. I've read the book a lot.

[Nicole]

She didn't do anything else with a second signet to our knowledge either. I disagree.

[Lexi]

There's also a lot of guesses that this is her second signet. And it might be precognition. Maybe she's even seeing herself in the.

[Nicole]

Future, which would be time travel. Not like a projection, right?

[Lexi]

I don't know. It could be projection. This is what I was seeing on people commenting on our video. It could be projection.

[Nicole]

I will also throw something else in here. Here. These venoms certainly seem good with daggers, too, with the way that the guard is pinned down. So if we're going down this route, it could be a nod to Violet's skill with daggers in the present and future.

[Lexi]

Now, some people also have the theory that this might be Violet's sister. Not Meera, but like a long lost sister. And that's why Mama Sor and Gail was trying to find a cure. However, I. I'm really leaning against this. Just. There's so much to the Sage level Venin that makes it not scream family member to me. There is also a theory that this is Violet's true Lilith. And Papa Sorrengail took her and raised her from young age. The emotional ending of Iron Flame with Lilith dying. I don't think this theory is going to be the case because it would weaken the sacrifice that Lilith gave at the end of the book. And I just don't see that happening in this writing style. Now, there's also people who think that, and this is probably the most popular, that this is Xaden's mom. And the Shadows, her standing in the shadows are almost foreshadowing, connecting the two of them together. Not saying that she's a shadow wielder, but it's more just a nod for us readers to start thinking about them together. And then she disappears. Because she knows that Zaden will be on his way soon.

[Nicole]

While I am not on the Xaden's mom is a Venom train, I would pick this speculation over it being Violet coming face to face with her future self.

[Lexi]

Agreed.

[Nicole]

And the reason I can't get behind the time travel is because I'm convinced that we got the time manipulation already in the first book. To be able to freeze time for a few seconds was a big deal. Time travel brings a whole new kind of magic into this fantasy world, which I don't feel like we've been primed for at all. Yes, we did get Andarna, but again, that was considered a huge deal for just those few seconds of being able to stop time. And this world certainly does have crazy unique magic, but it all feels relatively tangible. Take learning about the power of runes and iron flame for example. I think time travel is just too big of a magical jump and wouldn't fit within the storytelling telling. I could be wrong, but that's just the vibes that I get from this series here. I'm really curious why the silver haired Venin smirks at Violet and then disappears. The others stay to fight, so I don't think that they have the same ability, but if they are on this mission to get Jack, she dipped out pretty quickly, especially when they now have the opportunity to also get Violet too. So I will say this, as much as we're hung up on why they need to get Jack out, I'm not sure it's supposed to be a try or die situation. It's more of like a go try to get him out and if it doesn't work out, then peace out, then it's fine. Then at least you got a feeding frenzy buffet. I definitely do think that she disappeared because Violet arrived, adding to the mystery of who this silver haired Venin is and what is her connection to Violet. Again, I'm leaning toward it not being someone we already know about. Although it being Zealand mom is really cool.

[Lexi]

I would be really cool.

[Nicole]

I think that she's older than that though. And I I personally think that Xaden's mom is actually very loyal to Navarre, but that's a whole other tangent that I could go on. And this is a new Venom player in Onyx Storm. Remember everybody, we got to be introduced to new characters. I think this is a new character.

[Lexi]

I'm leaning towards this as a new character. My my fun crack theory of this is Lira is definitely living up there in my brain before it being Zayden's mom because I think that Zayden's mom is actually on the Isle Kingdoms. Or maybe Poor Million. You have a really good idea about Nav. Go listen to our live show from Denver if you want to hear Lexi's theory on that because it's really good. Moving on to the next Venin. And this is Blondie Venin with a ruby hilted sword, which first up, I originally thought that the ruby hilted sword was in the Silver Venom's hand when I was doing the silver haired Venin video. But no, it's in Blondie. Sorry about it. I got some things wrong. But we've seen one ruby hilted weapon before in fourth Way. One of Violet's daggers in fourth Wing that she won during a challenge was Ruby hill tilted. But gems gem watches back. Baby gems keep coming up in this world. Like the giant emerald ring that Suri. Yes, Suri with the silver streak in her hair who I think is super sus. She has it on her hand. And I can't stop thinking about that line in chapter two of Fourth Wing about the crystalline gems that amplify minor magics. I 1000% think that these small gem mentions are those exact gems of poor Emile. The crystalline gems amplify minor magics. Which means that maybe Violet had one. Her ruby dagger wasn't mentioned after she got her tearish daggers from Zaden though, so who knows.

[Nicole]

Yes, Lexi, I was under the impression crystalline means clear. Although a quick Google search just proved me otherwise.

[Lexi]

So I don't think it means clear as in like colorless. I think it means clear as in free of. This is not the right term, but like fog. You know how there's some. Yeah, yeah, a little bit foggy. I think it just means like a cleat. Like a really crisp cut gem is what I think it means.

[Nicole]

See, I was wondering if this dual hilted sword represents that these Venin are, for lack of a better word. This is not the right word, but you know what I mean. Royalty. I saw a theory that maybe they're here to get Jack because he's also been in royalty and that's why they are attempting this rescue mission. I would need a whole lot more convincing before I begin to lean in that direction. But I'm just sharing theories here. If we're zoning in on this ruby hilted sword, I figure that it's a weapon they got from Porter. Remember that they've been invading the poor meal cities, including Zolia. We know at least in Cordon it's very luxurious and wealthy. Like they would absolutely have jewel hilted swords. So I assume that these weapons aren't uncommon in poor meal and now the Venon have them because they've been invading. Now let's move on to this black haired Venin who can move super duper fast. It makes me think about his power being extra speed, which raises a whole bunch of other questions. Like was he previously a writer and super speed was his signet? Or is this another piece of evidence that Venin, if not already writers, have their own individual powers? Like writers have signets? Or how the Griffin flyers have their own version of signets as well? Will we learn more about these venom powers and how some can do certain abilities like disappear, while others have extra super fast speed like this guy? If we're getting clues this early in the book, I vote yes. We will learn a lot more about these powers of venom.

[Lexi]

I'm also like kind of stumped on this because technically Zaden, Imogen and even Violet too are considered super super fast. Like even there's that mention of Violet flinging her daggers really quick and Rhys like damn girl. Or even at the end of Iron Flame when Auric is like damn Sorengail. I've never seen you run that fast. There's a lot of mentions of specifically Violet, Zaden and Imogen being that really fast. So is this just an example of the minor magics being amplified as Venin? Especially being amplified as Venin who have been freshly fed?

[Nicole]

If that was the case, then wouldn't all of the Venin be that fast and not just this one guy being singled out as super fast?

[Lexi]

Not necessarily. Because Ry might not be as fast as Violet or as fast as Xaden like Zane and Imogen.

[Nicole]

So it's like their own abilities are amplified. Okay, so he's already super fast and then this makes him super duper fast.

[Lexi]

Okay, in the chapter 61 epigraph of Iron Flame, it says quote. Though there's some debate, it is greatly believed that turning Venon heightens one of the dark wielders senses. I think it's personally much more than one sense. Especially we saw Zaden's shadows in this sense scene. Holy shit. They were insane. I'm thinking that this is more any magic that you have, whether it's minor magic. A second signet is amplified when you turn Venon and more amplified when you're freshly fed. My biggest question though is if a dragon rider gets their signet and their magic, minor magic, specifically from their dragon, does that continue once they go venom and their dragon bond breaks? Now Zaden still is Bonded with Sigil as far as we know. So I'm not including that. I'm thinking more like, let's say I'm a Dragon Rider. I have all my minor magics, I have my signet. I pull from the source, become Venon. Let's say I go asym level and then my dragon breaks the bond. Would I still have my signet?

[Nicole]

I would say no.

[Lexi]

But if these distance wielders were dragon.

[Nicole]

Riders, I don't think they're distance wielders.

[Lexi]

I think they are. I don't know.

[Nicole]

When the dark wielder with the sword shouts that they need Violet, so don't kill her. We've been seeing that some readers are curious about a certain, certain line from Violet's thoughts. Quote, to control Xaden, that I'll never be used against him again. Now a lot of people are like, what does she mean by used against him again? We believe that this can be referring to two different incidences that we at least know of right now. Number one, Varys using Violet as bait to get Zaden back. During the interrogation and imprisonment at the end of part one, Iron Flame number two, the General Venin taunted Zaden how he was going to drain Violet and kill her, coaxing Zaden to turn Benin for love. I'm leaning toward the incident with Barish because that was firsthand experience for Violet. Plus, she's in the torture chamber right now and that memory is already triggering for her.

[Lexi]

I definitely think this is priming us for a good example of being in a limited pov.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

I don't think they want to use her to control Zaden in the slightest.

[Nicole]

Like, oh, I think, I think it's like 20% okay.

[Lexi]

I think it's for an entirely different reason. Why would they be like, I keep doing the fucking voice. You command the sky. I must take you to my stage. Why would they do that if they were like, we just, you command the sky, but you also command this guy. This is also just not the type of story with the badass women and the female empowerment that's so prominent in both book one and two. That would be like, oh, we just want you so that you can control a man. Like, I don't, I don't think that's it in the slightest. And God, I hope this mystery is solved in this book because it's killing me.

[Nicole]

I agree that the Venin definitely do want her her, but that silver haired Venin apparently doesn't want her hard enough to try to take her. Instead, she disappeared. Which to Me shows that yes, the Venin want Violet and especially want her alive, but they aren't willing to risk everything for a Violet kidnapping. Yet.

[Lexi]

Yet. But enter our. Our favorite shadow daddy, Zaden. Earlier, Violet tried to reach out to Zaden with their connection, their mind to mind connection. But his shields are up and impenetrable, which. Pause. Pause this right now. Because in Iron Flame, Xaden says, quote, the day you can successfully block me out all the way is the day I'm dead. We're both dead. I can't block you out entirely either. So I'm assuming that this is a new development. Maybe his shields are stronger now that he's venom again. Another example of the amplified magic. Not just one sense, all magic that you have. Because at the end of Iron Flame, this is after Xaden pulls from the source and Major Eric quotes kills the general. He's not dead. He's definitely not dead. Violet reaches out to him and can't because his shields are up. So I think that this impenetrable shield is only since he's been venomified. Wreath on. Our Patreon mentioned how at least at the beginning of Onyx Storm, Zayden is probably going to have his shields up pretty consistently just in case anyone is a potential intensic and he doesn't want anyone to find out his dirty little secret. Remember in Iron Flame he was all about about there's always someone better at magic than you. And I think he's going to have these shields up pretty consistently. Which makes me sad there's not as much mind to mind connection.

[Nicole]

It is a little interesting that he has a shield up like this when there's such a bad venom attack within the walls. You'd kind of think that the moment the alarm was sounded, he would seek out Violet mind to mind and ensure she's safe. I don't have much of an explanation for this. So maybe he either knows that she can handle herself, or he has no idea that she was possibly in danger. And when he's coming down to get the vent and he's like, Violet, what are you doing down here? Like why is always you. Yes, you know. Or he really can't risk lowering his shields even to check on her. Like you were saying there, that they have to be that impenetrable so that nobody else can even have the slightest possibility of getting in there. And I don't even want to say this. Please don't come at me. We are indeed seeing him distance himself from her. I still don't think this is the case for all sorts of reasons that we won't get into right now. We've talked about it on other episodes and I'm sure we will again soon. Soon. But it's all something to keep an eye out for. Also because we're always on the lookout for Violet second signet hints. Nicole. I'm really not trying to burst any bubbles here, but if she's unable to get through his shields, does that mean she's not an intensive?

[Lexi]

No, because remember in the meeting at ATH Bean in Iron Flame, Xaden was trying to use his intrinsic ability, and he was like, everyone has their shields up but one person. And he wasn't able to read their minds, except for the one person who doesn't. And she's like, I'm hungry. Hungry. So, no, I don't think that's what it means. Lexi shut down.

[Nicole]

Well, I was just wondering if it's a super subtle clue of what her signet isn't verse evidence of what it could be.

[Lexi]

Well, now, if we're on this train, there have been some people thinking that there was a little hint of Truthsayer in here because Violet sees the two scribes who are not Venin and Re is like, how did you know they weren't Venin? And Violet's like, well, because they were going to the archives and a violent of. That's just very scribe like behavior. Behavior. I personally do not think that this is science for her being True Sayer, but some people do think so. It's like it's her not even realizing that she was using her signet of True Sayer to know that they weren't Venom. I think it was just a reminder for us readers. Brilliant woman. That's exactly what I think it was.

[Nicole]

Honestly, I think that any of us could make any argument for any signet with any text, especially this fandom.

[Lexi]

Yes, I agree. And I put ourselves in very much included choir. I'm just saying, have you listened to our two Hours Violet second signet?

[Nicole]

Which, by the way, I don't believe any of that stuff anymore. It's all out the window. We got to start over. No, Also before Xaden's grand entrance, the silver haired Venin stood at the edge of the shadows before she disappeared. And Nicole touched on this about maybe it's a tie in with his mom. But I wonder if those shadows are like listening for Xaden, because then Violet knows Zaden is coming when the shadows quake at the edges of the chamber. So I wonder if, like they were Already there. Partly because, you know, it's Jack fucking Barlow and nobody can trust that guy. And so he always has. I'll call it ears in the shadows.

[Lexi]

And now he is Venon. So he does have that amplified magic. So I bet you anything that these shadows listening for him is going to be maybe more common or maybe more prominent because it's so much easier for him to use that part of his magic. I'm totally guessing, but that feels right to me.

[Nicole]

It does feel right. Right. And we have to wonder if that strengthened signet power will weaken back to, I'll say, his normal signet strength if he doesn't pull.

[Lexi]

I wonder if it's not even going to weaken to his normal signet strength. I wonder if it's going to weaken much more. Much, much.

[Nicole]

Oh, so it's really a dependency. Like, wow.

[Lexi]

Ooh, that's delicious.

[Nicole]

That he's still bonded to Sigail. We cannot forget that.

[Lexi]

Oh, yeah. So she. She is channeling magic into him right now. Yes, that is true. So I don't think they're going to go away, but I do think that there's going to be some kind of like, weird push and pull of his magic strength for sure. Oh, cool. Cool. I do want to point out some of the badass new shadow powers that we saw in action in the scene. Zaden's shadows explode in the room, and then when they recede, there is nothing but shriveled bodies of dark wielders on the floor, each with alloy hilted daggers in their chest. Chest. God damn, my boy. That's.

[Nicole]

Well, whenever they get the ally hilted daggers in their chest, they become husks themselves.

[Lexi]

Yes, exactly.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

So one thing is for certain, though. Zaden's eyes are gold, flecked and onyx. No rim of red to be seen. But we need to be very clear. And even Rebecca Yarrows has cleared this up in social media. Comments. He is not. Not cured. Let me say that one more time. He is not cured. Going back to the Venin Compendium, remember, initiates, which is the lowest level then, and the level that Xaden is. As even Violet notes in the scene, initiates have reddish rings around their eyes that come and go depending on how often they drain. However, this does give us a huge clue. A Zaden has not drained recently. I mean, it's probably been like what, three, four days, but yay. Good job, Michael.

[Nicole]

We got to celebrate every day. Okay.

[Lexi]

And two, we know that Xaden is using his shadows, which we can assume means he has not used the Venin serum, which stops your signet as we saw with Violet and CO in RSC last year, that is.

[Nicole]

I don't think he'll use it until he has to leave the wards. I'm still convinced of my theory that he will sacrifice his powers if and when he has to go beyond the wards.

[Lexi]

I don't think he's going to. I think he's going to try to do mind over matter and I. I don't think that's gonna end up very well because it looks right now like he is abstaining from using any kind of serum or protectant or anything like that. And he is doing the mind over matter trick. But my guy, you have to drain at least a few times because I've got a bet to win. I think he's gonna think.

[Nicole]

I think he's going to drain twice.

[Lexi]

I think he's gonna drain more than twice.

[Nicole]

I know you do. We're also finally inside Violet's POV with her knowing Zaden is Venon. Remember at the end of Iron Flame, claim her POV chapters ended with her seeing that his eyes were red rimmed. And then boom, it goes to Xaden's pov. So this is the first time that it's like, huh, Violet, what do you think about this? And to nobody's surprise, she still loves him.

[Lexi]

I'm definitely not surprised. In her inner monologue she says, gods, I love this man. So she doesn't seem angry or resentful. If anything, it's. Relieved isn't the right word because she's not relieved that he's Venon. It's more relieved that a, his eyes are clear and that he's alive, obviously.

[Nicole]

Yeah, well, and while she's mindful about whether he's pulled from the source, she knows that he is nothing like these evil Venin. And that was mostly our guess going into this, that she wasn't going to be extremely angry with him, that there was going to be a little bit more relief that he's alive. Maybe she is a little bit frustrated that he went to such lengths to stay alive, but she'd rather him be a tiny bit Van Canon than dead.

[Lexi]

Now, if this is the first scene that we get with Xaden, it does mean that we have not gotten a moment with her and him alone having this conversation of like, what, what happened? Like, like, talk me through this.

[Nicole]

There's a way to get through.

[Lexi]

And, and I'm gonna be honest, I don't know if we're going to get that scene to the level of drama that I think a lot of us thought it was going to be at the end of Iron Flame. I'm really leaning towards what you said at the live show, Lex, and that is that I don't think this is going to be as big of a relationship wedge as we assume. Now, don't get me wrong, it's going to create tension, it's going to create conflict, but I don't think it's going to be them fighting against each other. It's going to be the more them fighting together against this Venom. You know what I mean?

[Nicole]

Absolutely. And that'll be the big difference between Iron Flame. Yes. And Onyx Storm, where Iron Flame, they really were having issues with communication and they were kind of like butting heads a lot, even though they both wanted to be on the same page. And in this case, they both are on the same page. They've overcome those issues and now it's both of them going getting through this obstacle together.

[Lexi]

Now I am going to be curious though, if he does if slash, when he does pull again, is she going to be like, it's okay, honey. I don't think so. It's Violet. She's much more headstrong than that. So I do think that there's going to be tension against them in that way, but it's not going to be like you were saying with the miscommunication that one was Iron Flame, because I don't think Rebecca would do a whole other book with that.

[Nicole]

Now, I will say some readers are feeling that Xaden is a little bit cold toward Violet and how he's talking to her. I personally think it's more him not willing to show signs of worry that she was just in this very dangerous situation. I looked it up and Zaden hasn't called her violence on the page since she learned about his second signet. So perhaps this is his way of brushing off and re channeling his fear that she just could have died by making light of the situation and bringing in her nickname again. And yes, it does always seem to be her who gets involved in these situations because she is always the first to run in to protect and she's a lightning wielder and the Venin want her.

[Lexi]

And I'll also say, writing wise, this is a pretty badass entrance. And him being like, tell me something, Violence. Why is it always you like that is such a good. Oh yes, exactly. And so I think that that's more just like not saying it's to the writing style because it is still in Xaden's character, but it is like a really badass first line as you enter a battle scene.

[Nicole]

Basically bringing back the other excerpt from the back jacket of Onyx Storm where Zaden is helping Violet refine her powers. He also says she's the only one capable of killing him, which I don't believe he's referring to her being a Lightning wielder and him being Venn. I think that this ties back to the Iron Flame quote you said Nicole Nicole, where when they can block each other out entirely is when they're both dead. I have no idea what all of this means, but I can't wait to talk more about it as we continue with our Empyrean theories and lead up to Onyx Storm.

[Lexi]

Let's close out this excerpt with some quick thoughts and other rapid fire speculation. Rapid fire for us at least.

[Nicole]

So Andarna mentions roasting the dead Venon for fun and here I am again to talk about her dragon fire being different than the other dragon breeds. I stick by my theory that she is uniquely able to roast Venin like we saw at the end of Iron Flame right before she decapitated the Venin, its head was smoking when it went off, which venon are supposed to be fireproof as we saw at Resin and have frequently been reminded of throughout the series. So even though Indarna is referring to already dead then in here, I think this is another wink wink content that she is able to actually roast them unlike other dragon breeds fire. And this is another big thing in the fight against the Venin.

[Lexi]

Do not think think that I didn't notice the Second Wing mention and them making an appearance. In case you missed it, Always Gopher Nicole on TikTok pointed out that the first two assassinations that we know of I thought you were referring to yourself. I'm an always Gopher always go for Nicole on TikTok pointed out that the first two assassinations from Iron Flame were both writers from Second Wing. This is Violet's first assassinator and the guy who jumped Bode in the shower. It is pretty sus that two secrets die with the people who keep them are from second Wing. So this caused me to absolutely spiral. And look at any other mentions of Second Wing. Most notable is that Dane was originally from Second Wing before he got moved into fourth. Never forget that Cath's breath smells. And so did Bates and so did Solas's. And now here we are with riders from Second Wing during a Venin infiltration. They Run out of the infirmary right after Violet re and Riddick and recommends them go check the bridge. Is anything Sus? Not really, but I'm watching you. Suck it. I'm watching you.

[Nicole]

We learn the name of the person responsible for building Aaron Norris. Now, of course, we did some digging in Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, and the only mention in either of the books that we get about Norris is from Iron Flame. A first year cadet is named Baelor Norris, who has a stocky build with nervous eyes, so he might be a descendant of Buzgaeus Builder.

[Lexi]

I did look up the name Aaron, and the Hebrew meaning of the name is being watchful, vigilant and alert. I think that's a pretty good name for someone who's, you know, the creator of a war college. But did it tell me any Easter eggs? None that I can think of.

[Nicole]

Well, so let's go over the little we know about how Buzga was built. We know that the college was built on Tirish runes, and the wards of Navarre were woven by the first six at what is now Bisgaeth War College. Violet also mentions that the first the first Six founded Besgaeth. I don't think all of this means that Aaron Norris was one of the first six. I'm assuming he was more so the architect versus the Founder. But this does make me wonder about his rune weaving ability and how masterful it was if Bisgaeth was built on them. And all of these words. We also do know that runes were allowed back then. It was only several hundred years ago, not 600 years ago, that they were no longer allowed. Right after Violet sends this silent thanks to Aaron Norris for building Best Guy with Stone Stairs instead of wooden, we get a potentially intriguing line from Taran quote, pay attention to the present, not the past. There's some speculation that this indirectly refers to Violet's second signet and how her power might tie into her might of a scribe. Or it's time traveling foreshadowing that the silver haired finon is her from the future, which we already discussed. I read it as Taryn being like, nope, no. Thinking about how Buzz Gaius was built right now. Time to focus on the Venon you're about to come upon. It's a little out of the flow with the rest of the scene, which is why I do give it some pause and why I know other readers have as well. But it's also Taryn who likes to lecture.

[Lexi]

This is also classic Coach Taryn coming in with the hey, direct your thoughts right now. So it really it actually didn't give me pause. It felt very in character for Taran to do that. Now, last but not least, there is this small thing that I just love. Yet again, Garak comes in behind Zaden as he just killed basically every person in the torture chamber. And. And he's like, bro, you left me no one.

[Nicole]

Again and again. No sign of a signet. What is your signet, Garrick? I'm sticking to my theory. How many times have I said that this episode, that it has something to do with directions, like he's a human compass or a beacon or something like that. At the Columbus interview, when asked which character Rebecca Yaros would want to be stranded on a desert island with, she answered garrick. And we don't know why yet. Which makes me believe she's referring to a signet Power.

[Lexi]

I thought she just meant he's a good hang, but yeah, that would make sense.

[Nicole]

All right, friends, thank you so much for joining us for this bonus episode about the Onyx Storm excerpt. We appreciate your patience that it took a little bit longer to get it out for you. We love you so much and thank you.

[Lexi]

Thank you as always to our executive producer, AKA our sanity manager, Hayden, who is literally editing this episode as we speak right now.

[Nicole]

If you want lots more fantasy Fangirls content, including about the Empyrean and act, which we're currently deep diving, give us a follow at Fantasy Fangirls pod on TikTok and Instagram.

[Lexi]

And last but not least, do not forget to share this with your fellow Empyrean friends. If you, like me, were kicking your legs up in the air, maybe not half drunk on a party bus, but when Zaden walked in, you were like, go ahead and share it with them, because I bet you anything we all feel similarly.

[Nicole]

All right, thank you all so much. We will see you next time. Bye.