Rebecca Yarros’ Onyx Storm finally answered some long-burning questions regarding the venin and their plans for both Violet and Xaden — but one of the biggest revelations was the fact that they could develop their own signet abilities. Yarros’ latest Empyrean Series novel goes into this in great detail, explaining that signet abilities – both at Basgiath and among the venin — act as counters to one another. Which basically means that many of the signet abilities rider’s manifest are likely in direct opposition to a venin with the same power.
Yarros makes sure to explain this throughout the novel, and even has Lynx, a first-year rider in Violet’s squad, manifest Xaden’s shadow-wielding signet he’s had since Fourth Wing in opposition to him becoming venin. Magic within the scope of Onyx Storm’s narrative has an understanding of good and evil, and for all Xaden has done to hold onto his humanity, Lynx wielding shadows confirmed he is the balance to Xaden’s abilities, as Xaden is turning venin. This storyline not only helps to draw a better depiction of the venin versus rider power dynamics, but opens the door for readers to examine what other venin signet abilities Yarros confirmed or teased.
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Storm Wielder
The Silver-Haired Venin, Theophanie
Pretty early on in Onyx Storm‘s narrative, we learn that Theophanie, the silver-haired venin, has a signet ability — although it is first believed to be akin to Violet’s lightning. However, it’s later revealed that Theophanie wields storms like Violet’s mother, General Sorrengail, not lightning. Being a storm wielder, Theophanie has the ability to influence the weather, allowing her to create the giant and deadly tornadoes seen time and time again in Onyx Storm. Violet explains that this was something her mother was never able to create and doing so would require immense power.
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Everything Onyx Storm Reveals About The Venin
Rebecca Yarros put a lot of detail into Onyx Storm, further exploring the nature of the venin and their unique traits, powers, and abilities.
It’s assumed that, due to the venin’s stolen power from the earth, their signet abilities manifest stronger than those of a Basgiath rider, making them even harder to fight against. However, Theophanie’s storm-wielding ability is not the only signet thought to be in her arsenal. When Yarros first introduces her character in the dungeons of Basgiath, Violet sees her abruptly disappear. Many theories suggest that this makes her a distance wielder like Garrick, granting her the ability to “walk” across great distances. Yarros has yet to confirm this, and now that her character is deceased, we may never know.
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Dream Walker
Xaden’s Venin Sage, Berwyn
Onyx Storm reveals that the venin sage Xaden fought at the end of Iron Flame is not only still alive, but has been haunting his dreams for months on end. At first, Violet believes these nightmares to be her own, but as we’ve learned with the revelation of Violet’s second signet, she was actually entering into and witnessing Xaden’s dreams. Dream walking gives one the ability to enter into a person’s dreams or nightmares at their most vulnerable state, and is apparently a dangerous type of inntinnsic ability.
Given the nature of Xaden’s nightmares, it seems Berwyn, as well as Violet, have been entering into Xaden’s mind — especially as Berwyn seems to control the dream more than Xaden can.
Given the nature of Xaden’s nightmares, it seems Berwyn, as well as Violet, has been entering into Xaden’s mind — and seems to control the dream more than Xaden can. This suggests that, like Violet, Berywn is a dream walker, although this has yet to be confirmed by Yarros. Berwyn has been trying to get to Xaden since the early chapters of Iron Flame, and now that he has him, it’s possible he might turn his dream walking attention to Violet in future books — or perhaps have them cross paths again inside Xaden’s dreams.
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Fire Wielder
Hinted At In Fourth Wing
The idea that there are fire-wielding venin has yet to be truly confirmed by Yarros, but there are several hints from the end of Fourth Wing that suggest it’s a possibility. During the battle in Resson, Violet describes the fight in great detail and, at one point, explains how a venin “raises a staff of some sort, sending balls of blue flame” at Liam and Deigh. The fact that the venin is using a staff to wield might appear to contradict signet claims, but the staff may operate similarly to Violet’s conduit — helping to control and direct the power.
“The dark wielder pivots, whipping to face us with an unnatural speed even I can’t match, and swings his staff in our direction. Fire erupts, barreling toward us in a deadly stream.”
—Onyx Storm, Chapter Sixty-Three
Fire-wielding in Basgiath is typically thought to be a common signet power, but after learning in Onyx Storm that riders manifest signets as a balance to the venin, it no longer seems so generic. If signets do always manifest in this way, it could mean that the most common signet ability among the venin is also fire-wielding. Onyx Storm also supports venin fire-wielding signet claims, as Imogen and Dain fight against yet another venin wielding flames with a staff.
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Earth Wielder
The Venin Creates A Rock Slide In Resson
Thanks to the ending chapters of Onyx Storm, we know Imogen, in addition to being a memory eraser, is also an earth wielder — as she turns a metal shield into a stone one capable of fighting off the venin’s blast of fire upon the battlements in Draithus. Yarros’ introduction to earth-wielding has barely scratched the surface of what the signet can really accomplish, but it may not actually be the first time she has alluded to it.
At the end of Fourth Wing, when Violet and her squad are battling the venin in Resson, one dark wielder lifts her arms and causes a rockslide.
At the end of Fourth Wing, when Violet and her squad are battling the venin in Resson, one dark wielder lifts her arms and causes a rockslide. Initially, this is thought to sit within their abilities to cause mass destruction. But after learning that earth-wielding is a powerful signet ability, it would make sense for Yarros to use this short scene to introduce some of the signet’s capabilities. Whether this ends up being true or not, Onyx Storm certainly set up the remainder of the series to see some crazy signet powers from the venin.
- Genre
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Fantasy
- Publisher
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Entangled: Red Tower Books
- Publication Date
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2025/01/01
- ISBN#
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1649374186
- Author(s)
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Rebecca Yarros