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alyshiba · 2 months

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Violet second signet Theories and Facts

So, I've posted this on the Fourth Wing Reddit Sub. Then I felt like resuscitating my tumblr and posting this on here as well, just to see if any of you would like to add to this conversation.

So, ofc spoilers ahead for the entirety of Iron Flame. I also apologize for my bad spelling, vocabulary and grammar, English is not my native lenguage. So feel free to correct any errors, I greatly apreciate it if you do.

As everyone else is I'm going crazy trying to find out what Violet's second signet is, so I'm trying to sum up in one place all of the information about it I could find in the books (easter eggs, foreshadowing, odd stuff etc) and online. If you all want to participate it would abe awsome, maybe we'll crack the code.

What we know as a fact so far:

I'll be quoting the books directly, in my case it's an ebook, so please be warned that the page number might vary

1. What we know about singets and how they relate to the rider:

A rider's signet is "the result of the unique chemistry between rider and dragon and usually say more about the rider than the dragon", this is what professor Kaori tells the class in page 127 of FW (ebook, so might differ) when our beloved Jack Barlowe inquires about Tairn. This is later confirmed also by Sgaeyl in page 233: "A signet is a combination of our power with your own ability to channel. It reflects who you are at the core of your being" (Sgaeyl, FW p. 233). In general we are often reminded that a signet is influenced more by the rider, and by their needs/desires, as Violet herself confirms, again, in page 415 of FW "What had Sgaeyl said about signets? It reflects who you are at the core of your being. It makes sense. Mira is protective. Dain has to know everything. And Xaden…has secrets." So: Mira is protective and her signet is warding, Dain has to know everything so his signet is to read memories, and Xaden has secrets... and gives us shadows.

So What does Violet need in Fourth Wing ? During the entirety of the book Violet need power: the power to defend herself, to survive, to keep herself saddled and so on. She needs power so that she'll survive and won't be seen as the weakest link. Not something specific, just power, strenght, or what you want to call it. She wants to be strong, and she struggles when she's not. And that need manifest in her lightning wielding, or pure power as we later understand. This is a concept I want to focus on, since Violet uses it in this passage of IF (P. 592-594) to figure out Xaden's second signet: " “Signets have to do with who we are at our core and what we need,” I think out loud. If he won’t tell me, then I’ll figure it out my damn self. “You are a master of secrets, hence the shadows.” [...] “But what do you need?” I ponder, ignoring the tense set of his jaw. “You need to question everyone to make your own impressions. You need to be a quick judge of character in order to know who to trust and who not to in order to have run those smuggling missions at Basgiath for years. More than anything, you need control. It’s woven into every aspect of your personality.” “Stop,” he demands. [...] He has to have full control. He has to make snap character judgments. He has to intrinsically know who to trust and who not to. In order for the movement to have been as successful as it was within the walls of Basgiath, he has to know…everything. Xaden’s most pressing need is information. Tairn shifts, angling his body toward Sgaeyl instead of beside her. Oh gods. There’s only one signet riders are killed for having. Fear churns in my stomach and threatens to bring up what little I’ve had to eat today." This here is the explanation of how this process works. The basic, most pressing, need of the character creates the signet.

Fourth Wing, as we said before, is focused on Violet's problem with strenght and being the weakest link = the most powerfull signet maybe ever. Iron Flame is focused on Violet's trust problems, her problem adapting in the entire new situation, her problem with the fear of being caught by the venin, her problem wanting to protect everyone, defeat the bad guys. This is what we are working with in order to pinpoint which second signet she has manifested.

2. Time stopping, or slowing, is NOT a signet.

In the same page of the Sgaeyl quote I mentioned above, Andarna tells us: "Feathertails shouldn't bond because they can accidentaly gift their power to humans. Dragon's can't channel - not really - until we're big, but we're still born with something special." and again, few lines later "I gave my gift to you. Because I'm still a feathertail". So this passage is confirmation enough that Andarna gave Violet the gift of slowing time. We don't know if this gift can be trained.. it's never mentioned in the books, yet. But from IF we know that since Andarna is not a feathertail anymore she no longer has her gift, and therefore we all assumed that Violet could no longer stop time entirely. But is it truly the case? Remember that we know nearly nothing about feathertails, the info we're given through the books are not actually that many. Anyhow, the conversation in that page moves on and keeps confirming that stopping time, is in fact not a signet: - Here Sgaeyl answers the question directly: " “Like a signet?” I ask out loud so Xaden can hear. “No,” Sgaeyl answers. “ " - Here Tairn elaborates: "Bonding too young allows them to give their gift directly, and a rider could easily drain them and burn out. " - And here we have confirmation from Xaden "If leadership knew riders could take her gifts for themselves, rather than depending on their own signets…"

Then they move on and Tairn tells Violet this "there’s no saying how long you’ll have the ability. Most feathertail gifts disappear with maturity when they begin to channel." So basically we don't know how much time will this gift stuck to Violet. Tairn doesn't know, and as readers we are not meant to either. BUT that's why in Iron Flame we have passages in which Violet counts second, heartbeats or in which generally time seems to slow. It's becouse it likely does thanks to Andarna's gift. Not to a second signet.

3. No signet can be used while riders drink the serum, therefore, the visions of Liam are NOT part of a signet

When Violet saw Liam she had been drinking the signet-blocking serum for a while, she was cut off from both the mental bond with her dragons, Xaden, and from her/their power. IF talking to Liam was a consequence of her 2nd signet.. then she would've been able to wield lightning too as well, don't you think?

Page 167 of IF is the first time we're introduced to the serum by Professor Grady, and this is what he has to say about it: "You’ve all been dosed with a particular mixture of herbs that dulls not only your connections but your signet as well As frustrating as it is, we’re actually pretty proud of the concoction, so let us know if you feel any side effects". Then a few pages laters Sawyer points out that they were cut off from bond and signet until they were given the antidote: "Does it bother anyone else that they just took away our bonds? Our signets? And then handed them back like it wasn’t…”". So we know that they cannot wield when the serum, or elixir as they call it, is in their sistem.

The inability to wield and communicate with Tairn is what made Violet realized she's been dosed in the aftermath of being caught, as written in page 359: "Terror expands the pressure in my throat. I can’t reach Tairn or Xaden. Can’t call on my signet or even my knife skills, since my hands are bound. I’m alone and fucking defenseless. Nolon walks in, his steps sluggish, his eyes heavy with sadness. “We just need you to answer a few questions, Violet.” “You drugged me.” My voice cracks. “I trusted you. I’ve always trusted you.”" And we now from Violet's POV that she got contstantly dosed while prisoner of Varrish. This is why the visions of Liam in those passages are just that, hallucinations, and not a signet.

Not to mention that we have this interview in which Rebecca herself sais that it was just an allucination. I'll quote the part here so that you don't have to scroll and search, since it's quite a lenghty interview: "Why did you choose Liam as the one that Violet would hallucinate during her long interrogation by Varrish, when she could have also imagined Mira or Xaden or anyone else she loved was there? Because Liam is the one who protected her. He spent the entire end of his life, from the time he’s placed in another squad, protecting her and being her bodyguard. And naturally, she has this immense guilt. Part of her just floundering in this book and not thinking things through and not being as logical as she is is because she’s gotten someone killed, someone that she deeply cares about. At least she feels like she got him killed. It was Liam’s choice to go into that battle. But in her mind, especially after Sloane accuses her and things like that, she thinks that it’s her fault. So in that moment, you would draw from the person that had kept you safe. And logically, if Xaden had been there, it would have confused readers — is he there, is he not, what’s going on? But you put Liam and the readers know that, OK, she’s hallucinating. Plus, I wanted to see him again, selfishly."

These are the informations we know for certain. As well as, from the same interview, confirmation from Rebecca that Violet's second signet actually manifested sometime during Iron Flame.

And those are also the reason why I think two of the most popular theories I've seen around are in fact wrong.

So, after all of this facts, what we are left with ?

A pretty bullet point. Violet's second signet:

Reflects who she is at the core of her being;

Answers her most pressing need;

It isn't neither time bending or speaking / visualizing the dead;

So, let's analyze the first two points:

Who is Violet at her core? We have the simple answer at page 352 of FW: "the Riders Quadrant stripped away the fear and even the anger about being thrown into this quadrant, and it revealed who I really am. At my core, Dain, I’m a rider. Tairn knew it. Andarna knew it. It’s why they chose me." That doesn't give us many information, doesn't it ? Andarna kinds of does at the of IF in page 688: "I waited six hundred and fifty years to hatch. Waited until your eighteenth summer, when I heard our elders talk of the weakling daughter of their general, the girl forecasted to become the head of the scribes, and I knew. You would have the mind of a scribe and the heart of a rider. You would be mine." Violet is supposed to be the best of both worlds, a fierce warrior and the most intelligent scholar. In Fourth Wing we see her struggle to become the first, while in Iron Flame we see her fight for lost knowledge (Amogst other things). She is someone who values honesty, and for the best part of the second book she is either miserable becouse she's keeping secrets from her friends, or enraged becouse secrets are kept from her. She wants to protect everyone, including those who had beed her enemies literally since the day before, or innocent strangers. And doesn't esitate to put herself at risk to archieve that. Therefore as many before suggested there's a duality in her that has a lot to do with her signets: there's the warrior, the part that bonded with Tairn, that needs power, strenght. And wields lighning. And then there's the scholar. The one that needs to see the bigger picture, to have all of the informations. These parts are then unified by Violet's need to use both to protect and fix (people and, more generically, the world).

What is Violet's, unanswered, most pressing need? We already dealt with her struggle for strenght in Fourth Wing which resoulted in her lightning signet. In the second book we're met with more pressing needs: Violet needs informations (in general, about everything, I mean, she just found out that everything she knew was false), but she also needs for everyone to stop lying to her, she needs to build back her trust towards a lot of people (Dain, Xaden, her mother.. these are just the first that come to mind), to know the extent of Xaden's smugglery, how to power the wards, to protect, how to defeat the Venin.. and so on. Are you already seeing the pattern ? She needs to understand, and to do it quickly becouse there's no time.

There's another point I'd like to analyze, and this has to do with the writing of the books. I noticed how Rebecca likes to make Violet struggle by exagerating her wants or her needs: as I said about a thousand times, in Fourth Wing, Violet needs to be strong, to survive. So Rebecca gives her a signet that is a plain weapon. And the strongest of her generation at that (if not ever). And right after the signet manifested, Violet immediately strarts to struggle because she knows that from that moment on she's a weapon, her signet kills on strike. In Iron Flame her needs shifts, so I can totally see how, by the same logic, she will make Violet struggle with a signet that exagerates the needs that we pinpointed above.

So ? After all of this jibber jabber, what the hell is her signet ?

Distance Wielding: It does not answer to any of her needs, and that is a point that also Xaden makes, when his second signet is revealed: " “Are you a distance wielder?” I’ve only read about two riders in all of history who could cross hundreds of miles in a single step. “There hasn’t been a distance wielder in centuries, and don’t you think if I was one, I would have spent every night in your bed?” " that's about all of the confirmation we need. Aside from the fact that Tairn and Sgaeyl wouldn't be affected by this signet, and would in fact have to fly anyways, we would have had instances where Violet would just be in one place, and immeadiately after another, very far away. She would've use it during the heist, for example, or when she faced the Venin when they were at Tecarus's or, since signet manifest (or strenghten) in moments of high emotions, when her mother was dieing and she was held back. It makes more sense with Aaric's character. Even though, I have a feeling we already have a kind of distance wielder: " “I’m fine. I promise. You guys have a great time.” I force a smile. “I’ll let you know if I need your help burying a body later.” Ridoc sputters into a cough, and Sawyer pounds him on the back. “I think she might mean you,” Rhiannon says as she gives Xaden an arch look. “I’m certain she does.” “Let’s go,” Sawyer says, leading the three of them out of the doorway. “I’ll do it, too,” Rhiannon says over her shoulder. “I’ve never moved anything as big as you, but I bet my signet could put you in the ground without even disturbing the dirt if I’m pissed enough.” She shoots a look at him before walking down the hallway" Doesn't that sound a little to much like distance wielding ? I know that Rhiannon moves things (or people, just saying) and not herself but... that's an odd thing to throw there Rebecca.

Siphon: The main argument that people make to back up this theory is that some secondary character's signets seems to get more powerfull in passages of the book when Violet is nearby. The moments that immediately comes to mind are: Mira shielding at Tecaru's palace and Rhiannon pulling a dagger through a wall when Violet is first interrogated in her room. I personally don't buy into this theory, because one it also doesn't answer any of the pressing need Violet has, and second we have some evidence (at least I interpret it that way) against this theory. First we have the opening quote of chapter 53 of IF "The art of imbuing comes naturally to only a handful of signets" in which we're met with the only second confirmed siphon so far: Sloane. This sentence I believe serves to justify the fact that Violet can Imbue the alloy orbs she's given without being a siphon, then we have the first description of Sloane siphoning: "I claw at Sloane’s grip, but the harder I fight, the weaker I feel, and the insufferable heat of my power lessens as Sloane starts to scream, letting me fall to the ground" here we see that Sloane is touching Violet while siphoning. And the second time she did, at the end of the battle: " “You can’t imbue something this big in an instant. Not without hundreds of riders, which we don’t have. If you want to save your friends, you’ll do this!” she shouts at Sloane, her fingers wrapped around the firstyear’s wrist as she drags her to the wardstone. [...] Mom nods, picking up Sloane’s left hand and putting it on the lowest circle of the massive rune carved into the stone [...] “Mom!” My voice cracks as she laces her fingers with Sloane’s. [...] She falls to her knees but doesn’t let go of Sloane." still the siphon is touching both Lillith AND the wardstone in order to make her power work. We can safely say that in order to siphon the rider needs to touch the object, or person, that they need to siphon power to or from. There is only one case in which Violet is touching someone who is experiencing an heightening singet, and that's Mira. But Brennan was too, AND they were in a certain-death situation so we can attribute this event to Mira developing her signet on her own. So we can safely say that the odds are not in favor of this signet (Rihannon wasn't being touched, she was in another room). But most importantly every time we've been talked about siphons it was always in a matter or transfering some power or draining it (Sloane, Naolin...), we've never shown someone "charging" (for lack of a better word) another signet.

Mending: I've also read theories that say that Violet is some sort of mender, like magic mender or something, where basically she will mend Venin, or the magic of world she lives in. This simply has nothing to back the theory up.

At last there's the one I think that's it. I'll start with some quotes directly from IF:

P. 692 (when Lillith's vital force is being siphoned in the wardstone): "I drag my gaze to hers, but I’m not here. Not really. I’m dying on the battlefield, the last of my strength fading, burning, consuming my body. But it will be worth it to save the one I love. Violet." This is most definetly NOT Violet's POV, don't you think ?

" “And you won’t do it for something as trite as power or as easily satiable as greed,” he promises in a whisper, “but for the most illogical of mortal emotions— love. Or you’ll die.” He shrugs. “You both will.” " This sounds a lot like Xaden's own fears to me, and what ended up happening.

The first one is the most direct: why would we get a random POV shift in the middle of a very dramatic and important scene? It never happened in the series before, it's not an ability riders have. This is such a random, violent (lol) change of POV that there's no way it has nothing to do with signets.

Then there's the dreams, we know Violet thinks she's the protagonist, becouse it's her POV, but the Sage never adresses her with a name (but he doesn't know it, fine, i'll give you that) but neither with she/her pronouns. He calls her rider, or avoids calling her at all. So what if they are not Violet's nightmares, and what if the Sage realized that too?

That would require Violet being inside someone's head, and that is what I think her signet is. She's some sort of inntinnsic.

I think her journey in Iron Flame ends up giving her the power to momentarily see into someone's conciousness (not just see with another person's eyes). Not read their mind (like the inntinnsic we see in FW), or intentions (like Xaden), more like Dain but live, not recorded. That would also explain why her nightmares ends up becoming not hers, but Xaden's reality. There's no way that POV shift means nothing.

#fourth wing #iron flame #violet sorrengail #xaden riorson #the empyrean #ironflame #xadenviolet #rebecca yarros

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