fourth wing guide

BACKGROUND

Th e gen eral premise:

In Fourth Wing, Violet Sorrengail is a 20-year-old resident of the fictional land of

Navarre, and she’s about to enter Basgiath War College in the Scribe Quadrant, like her
father, studying books and history. But, her mother, the Commanding General, has other
plans and orders her to seek entry into the elite (dragon) Riders Quadrant, which is
extremely dangerous and deadly.

In fact, as the first sentence of Fourth Wing warns, the day on which entry is sought
(Conscription Day) is the deadliest. And even if she makes it through, as her rigid mother
Lilith, confident older sister Mira, and strategic older brother Brennan did, only a fraction
will live to graduate.

Background information:

This book takes place on one fictional Continent with two kingdoms. These kingdoms
were at war for 400 years.

Navarre is the larger kingdom, which is mountainous and produces ore, timber, deer,
and elk.

Basgiath War College is in Navarre. There are Four Quadrants: Riders, Healers, Scribes,
and Infantry. There are three squads in each section (Flame, Claw, Tail), and three
sections in each of the four wings. The highest ranks in the quadrant are wingleader and
section leader, which are generally held by the most elite third-year students, but
exceptional second-years can also rise in the rankings.

Everyone else is ranked as a cadet before Threshing (always October 1), which is when
the dragons choose a human rider with whom they bond.

Dragons speak only with their bonded riders, and the bond creates both a relic, a
magical symbol of honor and power that marks the rider's skin, and a signet, or special
power in the humans, like mind reading or manipulating metal: "The stronger the bond
and the more powerful the dragon, the stronger the signet. 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[.]"

In the kingdom of Navarre, Tyrrendor is the largest province, and it is the only province to
attempt secession 627 years later. After this rebellion, the officers were executed and
their 107 innocent children were marked with the rebellion relic by the dragon who
carried out this order of the King, and conscripted into the Riders Quadrant to either
prove their loyalty or show their service through their death.

Poromiel is the smaller of the two kingdoms in the Continent, consisting of arable plains
and marshlands, textiles, fields of grain, and gems. Gryphons from Poromiel (half-lion,
half-eagle creatures that don't tolerate altitude)also channel powers to riders (called
fliers), like dragons do.

The two Kingdoms of Navarre and Poromiel are bound by the Trade Agreement of
Resson, signed 200 years prior to the time of Fourth Wing. Per this Agreement, trades
are made in Poromiel four times a year at the Athebyne outpost on the border of Krovla
and Tyrrendor (the South central part of The Continent).

Also important to know about are wyvern -- folklore. They are similar to (but bigger than)
dragons. They have "two feet instead of four, a mane of razor-sharp feathers streaking
down their necks, and a taste for humans."

Wyverns' riders are called venin, who are creepy former humans with distended red veins
spidering around their red eyes. "Fables say venin created [wyvern] to compete with
dragons and, instead of channeling from them, channel power into them." When a venin
is killed, all of the wyvern it created are also killed.

MAIN CHARACTERS

Below are th e nam es an d descriptions of th e main chara c ters in Four th

Win g. Th ey are generally placed in the order in which they appear in the book.

Violet Sorrengail is the 20-year-old protagonist, who is pale, short, frail, and has Ehlers-
Danlos syndrome. She was entering Basgiath War College as a Scribe, but her mother
orders her to attempt entry as a Rider.

Commanding General Lilith Sorrengail is Violet's mother, who was previously a Rider
and an instructor.
Violet's father was previously a Scribe. He died from heart failure and left her The Fables
of Barren, both a forbidden and a rare book.

Mira Sorrengail is Violet's older sister, who fought at Stryhmore and received an Order of
the Talon for taking out the battery behind enemy lines. Violet describes her as being
confident.

Brennan Sorrengail was Violet's older brother. He died five years prior while battling the
Tyrrish rebellion in the South at the hands of Fen Riorson (described below). Violet
describes him as "strategic."

Commanding General Melgren rules all Navarrian forces, and he is the only general
more decorated than Commanding General Lilith Sorrengail. He executed the parents of
those students whose parents fought in the famous rebellion.

King Tauri was in power at the time of the rebellion.

Dain Aetos is a second-year leader and Violet's protective lifelong friend, whose father is
an advisor to Violet's mother.

Xaden Riorson is a tall, dark, and handsome third-year student and the wingleader for
Fourth Wing. He is expected to kill Violet for her mother's role in his father's death. He
was "conscripted" like other children of the rebellion as punishment for his parents'
crimes.

Fen Riorson was Xaden's father. He led the famous rebellion and is known as the "Great
Betrayer." He killed Violet's brother, Brennan, at the Battle of Aretia.

Rhiannon Mathias is Violet's new friend at Basgiath War College. She's a twin and a
member of Violet's wing.

Raegan is Rhiannon's twin, who is married and pregnant.

Sawyer is a first-year cadet and a potential love interest of Rhiannon.

Jack Barlowe is a cadet in the Fourth Wing and an enemy of Violet.

Imogen is a second-year, pink-haired student, as well as a potential love interest of

Xaden.

Jesinia Neilwart is the curator of the Scribe Quadrant.

Oren Seifert is a cadet who's jealous of Violet.

Liam Mairi is statistically the strongest first-year in Fourth Wing. He is the son of the
disgraced Colonel Isaac Mairi, and he was fostered by Duke Lindell in Tirvainne with
Xaden after the rebellion.
Garrick is Violet's direct superior above Dain, and he is Xaden's friend.

Bodhi is Xaden’s cousin.

Naolin was Tairn's previous rider. He burned out and died next to Brennan.

Amber Mavis is the wingleader of Third Wing and Dain’s close friend.

Sloane Mairi is Liam's sister, who will enter the Riders Quadrant next year, as the Mairis
are all riders. They are allowed to live, but only if they prove their loyalty by making it
through Riders Quadrant

DRAGONS AND RIDERS

Notes About th e Dra gons:

Blue Dragons are a formidable size with knife-like spikes and are ruthless, especially
the Blue Daggertail. None are available during the current threshing. A handful is in
active fighting along the Esben Mountains.
Blue Daggertail is described as a ruthless and vicious dragon that doesn't comply
with the law and is the rarest of the Blues.
Red Dragons should never be looked in the eye.
Red Swordtails are nasty when they get riled up.
Red Scorpiontails are the quickest to temper.
Black Dragons
Black Morningstartail has the same bludgeoning power of a clubtail and spikes
that can eviscerate a person as well as a daggertail. It's a "killing machine,"
considered to be one of the deadliest dragons, as well as the smartest, most
discerning (there's no outsmarting it), and the rarest.
Green Dragons are known for their keen intellect. They descend from the honorable
Uaineloidsig line and are the most rational and reasonable type of dragon, making
them the perfect siege weapons, especially in the case of clubtails. One should never
back down from them. To approach one, lower your eyes and wait for their approval.
Orange Dragons come in various shades from apricot to carrot. They are the most
unpredictable, and therefore, they are risky. They descended from the Fhaicorain line.
Brown Dragons should not be shown trepidation.
Golden Dragons

A few more notes about Fourth Wing dragons:

Feathertail Dragons are the breed about which the least is known. They abhor violence
and are not suitable for bonding because they can accidentally give their powers (which
are unpredictable and unstable) to humans. They are only a few feet taller than Violet.
Most feathertail gifts disappear with maturity when they begin to channel.
Tairn is the son of Murtcuideam and Fiaclanfuil, descended from the cunning
Dubhmadinn line. He hadn’t been seen in the last five years prior to the time of Fourth
Wing. His previous rider, Naolin, died in the Tyrrish rebellion. He bonded with Violet
because she is the smartest and most cunning of her year. She defended the smallest
with ferocity, courage is more important than physical strength.

Tairn and Sgaeyl are a mated pair. They are the strongest bonded pair in centuries. They
should not be apart for more than three days.

Andarna's parents passed away before she hatched.

NAME OF DRAGON TYPE OF DRAGON HUMAN BONDED WITH

Aimsir Brown Commanding General

Sorrengail

Aotrom Brown Swordtail Ridoc

Andarnaurram Golden Feathertail Violet Sorrengail

(”Andarna”)

Baide Orange Scorpiontail Jack Barlowe

Cath Red Swordtail Dain Aetos

Chradh Brown Scorpiontain Garrick

Codagh Black Commanding General Melgren

Deigh Red Daggertail Liam Mairi

Feirge Green Daggertail Rhiannon Mathias

Gleann (not identified) Caroline Ashton

Sgaeyl Blue Daggertail Xaden Riorson

Sliseag Red Swordtail Ridoc

Tairneanach (”Tairn”) Black Morningstartail Violet Sorrengail

(not named) Orange Clubtail Trina

SIGNETS

Notes about Fourth Wing signets:

Mending is exceptionally rare among riders, and it is considered to be the most precious
signet: "They have the power to fix, to restore, to return anything to its original state —
from ripped cloth to pulverized bridges, including broken human bones."

Being an inntinnsic, reading minds, is "a death sentence."

Andarna gave Violet a gift of stopping time, but most feathertail gifts disappear with
maturity when they begin to channel.

CHARACTER SIGNET

Brennan Sorrengail mending

Commanding General Melgren seeing a battle’s outcome before it happens

Commanding General Sorrengail wielding the power of storms

Dain Aetos reading a person’s recent memories when hands

are placed on them

Emery manipulating air/controlling wind

Heaton breathing underwater

Imogen erasing recent memories

Jeremiah manifesting (reading minds)

Liam Mairi seeing things a mile away

Mira Sorrengail manifesting a ward around her and her squad
Nadine unweaving wards

Naolin siphoning power

Quinn astral projecting

Rhiannon Mathias summoning

Ridoc wielding ice

Sawyer manipulating metal

Violet Sorrengail wielding lightning

Xaden Riorson wielding shadows

MAP
Details About th e Map:

Fourth Wing takes place in one Continent with two kingdoms. These kingdoms were at
war for 400 years.

Navarre is the larger kingdom, which is mountainous and produces ore, timber, deer,
and elk. There are six provinces in Navarre:
Luceras is in the Northwest of The Continent.
Morraine is North and central in The Continent.
Elsum is just South and East of Morraine.
Deaconshire is in the center of Navarre.
Basgiath War College is near the center of Navarre.
The Vale is the valley behind Basgiath War College where the dragons live.
Calldyr is West and central in The Continent.
Tyrrendor is in the Southwest of The Continent. It is the largest province in
Navarre. To the West is the Emerald Sea, and to the South is the Arctile Ocean.
The Cliffs of Dralor along the Southern coast act as a protective barrier. It was the
last of the bordering provinces to join the alliance under King Reginald. And, it is
the only province to attempt secession 627 years later.
Aretia was the capital, near the Cliffs of Dralor, and it was burned to the
ground after the rebellion. July first is the anniversary of the Battle of Aretia,
and it became known as Reunification Day by King Tauri to honor the lives lost
and to save the kingdom from separatists and those saved by the Treaty of
Aretia.
Poromiel is the smaller kingdom, consisting of arable plains and marshlands, textiles,
fields of grain, gems.
Krovola is the province that shares a border to the East of Tyrrendor.
Braevick and Cygnisen are provinces to the West, with the Esben Mountains as a
border.
The Esben Mountain Range is the highest along Braevick. It's the least likely
place for an attack; however, fighting is the most intense there.
The Barrens are deserted land along the East of The Continent.

Notes About the Map:

The Battle of Gianfar, six centuries prior to the time of Fourth Wing, was crucial to the
unification of Navarre: "'The stronghold was not only set for a siege, [...] but was equipped
with the first cross-bolt, which proved lethal against dragonkind. [...] It was one of the
final battles where gryphons and dragons actually worked alongside each other to
annihilate the army of the Barrens."

The Kingdoms are bound by the Trade Agreement of Resson, signed 200 years prior to
the time of Fourth Wing. Per this Agreement, trades are made in Poromiel four times a
year at the Athebyne outpost on the border of Krovla and Tyrrendor (the South central
part of The Continent).
More about this area:

"The first known gryphon attack occurred in 1 AU ( After Unification ) near what is now
the trading post of Resson. At the edge of the dragon-protected border, the post has
always been vulnerable to attack and, over the course of the past six centuries, has
changed hands no less than eleven times in what has become a never-ending war to
secure our borders from our power-hungry enemies."

The Treaty of Arif is "[T]he agreement between Navarre and Krovla for mutually shared
airspace for both dragons and gryphons over a narrow strip of the Esben Mountains,
between Sumerton and Draithus[.]" Sumerton and Draithus are also in the South central
part of The Continent.