Portrait created by Skiesaey

Biography

Dain grew up as the son of Colonel Aetos, spending his childhood side by side with Violet. They first met when he was six and she was five, and from then on, their lives were intertwined. Violet later describes his father as one of General Lilith Sorrengail’s most trusted advisors, a man always close to the centre of power.

Their childhood was marked by constant relocation with their parents’ postings, but no matter where they landed, Dain and Violet made the world their playground – swimming in every creek they found and scaling trees like it was a competitive sport. Long afternoons were spent playing hide and seek in dense woods, a game that did more than just entertain; it trained Violet’s footsteps into the silent weapons she would need when Threshing finally came.

Physical Description

Rhiannon said it best: Dain is hot, with that lethal boy-next-door energy. Taller and broader since Violet last saw him, he carries himself with the easy strength of a fighter. His tan skin, sandy-brown eyes, and close-cropped light-brown curls frame a neatly trimmed beard that hides a scar along his chin. Strong, calloused hands and a dagger strapped discreetly beneath his black leathers mark him as a man ready for anything. His relic – a red dragon inked on his shoulder – stays mostly hidden under short sleeves. To Violet, he smells like leather and soap. When he laughs, his entire body joins in. Yet since becoming a squad leader, his once-everpresent grin has been replaced with a stern focus.

Abilities

Signet – Retrocognition: Reading and feeling others’ memories via touch, narrowing searches by focusing on keywords.

Lesser Magic: Unlocking doors, mage lights, preternatural speed, powering ink pens, placing runes.

Imbuing: Storing magic within objects, a rare skill among riders.

Linguistics: Tyrrish, Krovlish (specialist), Old Lucerish, sign language, and even bird calls for covert communication.

Dain’s signet, Retrocognition, allows him to read a person’s recent memories through physical touch, particularly when touching their face. His ability closely resembles that of an Inntinnsic but is considered less threatening due to its limitations, making it easier to manage.

Traits

• Rule-Oriented: Firmly adheres to rules and the Codex, often viewing them as inviolable.
• Loyal: Deeply committed to his friends, though his interpretation of loyalty often aligns strictly with rules.
• Protective yet Restrictive: Frequently tries to shield Violet by enforcing rules he believes are for her safety.
• Rigid: Dislikes disruptions to carefully planned scenarios, preferring structure over chaos.
• Conflicted: Often struggles internally between his emotions and adherence to regulations.

Once playful and rule-bending as a child, Dain has become a codex devotee. If determination had a physical form, it would be him. His obsession with rules clouds his judgment, making him rigid and overprotective, seeing Violet as fragile instead of capable. His polite and respectful manner as a leader often clashed with his suffocating need to control outcomes.

Relationship

Violet Sorrengail

Violet and Dain’s story stretches back fifteen years, to the days when he was six and she was five. Their lives were woven together early, their families bound by duty: his father, Colonel Aetos, served as General Lilith Sorrengail’s aide. This meant wherever her mother was stationed, Dain was there too – an unwavering shadow at Violet’s side.

They were the kind of children who turned military outposts into playgrounds. No matter where they ended up, they found rivers to swim in and trees to conquer. At Basgiath, their tradition continued with dips in the Iakobos River whenever possible. Dain was always there to drag her to the healers after one of her inevitable injuries, becoming the only person aside from Mira who knew Violet down to her marrow.

She teased him mercilessly about it. After all those years, he’d seen her in everything from tunics to swimwear to ballgowns. She wondered aloud if it was the riding leathers that did it for him. He tried to scoff, but the blush that crept up his neck betrayed the truth. Later, when she joked about her tongue’s talents, his gaze burned with something deeper, making it clear her unspoken feelings might not have been as unrequited as she thought.

By the time Violet crossed the parapet, they hadn’t seen each other in over a year. She had missed him – missed their friendship, and all the almosts that hovered between them. Growing up, he always looked at her like she was something worth seeing. Their reunion was bittersweet. Dain called her out for still being a smart-ass as he guided her back to his room so she could privately tend to her knee, battered from the parapet’s brutal crossing. She noticed he still kept the Krovlan tome she’d given him before his Conscription Day, something he’d carried across the parapet himself, proof he only kept what truly mattered.

During her sparring assessment against Imogen, Dain’s mask slipped. When Violet fell hard, he scooped her up without thinking, carrying her to the healers in front of everyone. It was a public reveal of their friendship, one he didn’t regret. But once with the healers, his protective instincts took a darker turn. He begged them not to mend her injury, hoping it would force her into the Scribe Quadrant where he believed she belonged. Violet flatly refused, furious that he would rather see her crippled out of the Riders than risk her life within it. Their argument cut to the bone. Dain’s guilt gnawed at him; he believed it was his fault Imogen had hurt Violet so badly, blaming himself the way he always did.

In the first weeks of term, he escorted her to morning duty daily, insisting it was the only time he could see her outside the strict boundaries of squad leadership. Their conversations turned personal. He asked if she’d been with anyone since entering the quadrant, his reaction betraying just how deeply his feelings ran. Despite his signet being classified, he told her about it with pride, desperate to share pieces of himself she wouldn’t see otherwise.

Then came Threshing. Afterward, he kissed her for the first time, only to backpedal immediately. He told her they couldn’t be together; first-years sleeping with upperclassmen was frowned upon. They could still be friends, he assured her – best friends. But the line had been crossed, and neither of them would ever really go back.

Everything fractured when Amber Mavis, a woman it was heavily implied Dain had been more than friends with, led an attack on Violet. Dain refused to believe Amber capable of such violence and accused Violet of lying, gutting the last of her trust in him. He started oscillating between coldness and warmth, unsettling Violet further. She began to wonder if he was trustworthy at all.

Over time, his protectiveness became a suffocating cage. He refused to see her as capable, always seeing the fragile girl who needed saving instead of the powerful rider she was becoming. Each time he suggested she return to the Scribe Quadrant, the wedge between them drove deeper, his inability to accept who she truly was corroding everything they once had.

By the time Iron Flame began, Violet’s hostility toward Dain burned like a forge. His unintentional part in Liam’s death had destroyed the last of her forgiveness. She ignored him or threatened him when he dared to draw near. Still, he tried to mend what he’d broken, pushing for Sloane to join their wing to honour Liam’s memory. But nothing shifted Violet’s hatred.

Finally, as Wingleader, he challenged her on the sparring mat, forcing her to face him. She unleashed months of rage, calling out his theft of her memories, his violation of her privacy, and how his betrayal led to Liam and Soleil dying. Dain surrendered, walking away with disappointment and grief etched into every line of his body.

During Violet’s RSC course, Varrish ordered Dain to use his signet on her. Dain refused, citing codex rules, earning Violet’s fleeting relief – but not her forgiveness. Later, when Varrish arrested Violet for stealing from the archives, Dain was brought in to see her battered and bloodied. Knowing what she was accused of, he used his signet, reading only what she allowed him to see – memories of the venin’s horror and the agony she’d endured.

In the end, Dain stabbed Varrish, saving the final kill for Violet herself. When Xaden and Garrick stormed in to rescue her, Violet vouched for Dain. He left with them for Aretia, leaving behind the remnants of the Rider Quadrant he once believed in.

Xaden Riorson

The tension between Dain and Xaden is evident, and Dain made it clear on multiple occasions that Xaden is not to be trusted. Dain often finds himself on the receiving end of Xaden’s quick, snide remarks, a clear indication of Xaden’s condescending attitude towards him. Xaden accuses Dain of coddling Violet, rather than aiding her development.

Dain further exacerbates the situation by using his ability to read Violet’s mind, unearthing information that he can leverage against Xaden. He then relays this information to Colonel Aetos, resulting in Xaden’s deployment to Athebyne.

Aaric Graycastle

Dain, Aaric, and Violet shared their childhood, crammed into rooms together while their parents strategised. As Wingleader, Dain quietly had Aaric transferred into Fourth Wing, concealing his identity from others.

Amber Mavis

Their closeness as cadets always hinted at something deeper. When Amber led unbonded cadets to attack Violet, Dain’s refusal to believe Violet’s truth severed what remained of his loyalty to her.

Commanding General Aetos

Dain’s relationship with his father was unremarkable until Iron Flame. After seeing the memory of Resson and realising the blood on his father’s hands, Dain turned away, choosing the revolution over his own bloodline.

Burton Varrish

Once a mentor honing his signet, Varrish devolved into a sadistic tormentor. Dain’s final act of loyalty to Violet was ending Varrish’s life to end her suffering.

Sloane Mairi

Liam’s death will always hang around Dain’s neck like a chain. With Sloane, he feels both guilt and duty. In Onyx Storm, their bond deepens during a mission where Sloane uses her siphoning signet to transfer his energy to Brennan, saving Mira’s life. Afterward, he tells her she is life, not a weapon – words that reveal the tenderness he tries to bury under all his rules.

Quotes

• “The Riders Quadrant cuts away the bullshit and the niceties, revealing whoever you are at your core.” -to Violet 
• “If you want to wear rider black, then you earn it! You earn it every single day!” – In his first speech to new cadets as Wingleader
• “I can read a person’s recent memories,” Dain admits quietly. “Not like an inntinnsic reads minds or anything—I have to put my hands on the person, so I’m not a security risk. But my signet’s not common knowledge. I think they’ll use me in intelligence.” —Dain telling Violet in confidence.
• “I listen when you talk. At least, I used to.” – To Violet toward the end of Iron Flame 
• “Garrick and I heard the end of what he said to you in the interrogation chamber and trust me, I might be in love with him after that declaration, but are you?” – to Violet
• “How did Dain turn out halfway normal with that prick as a father?” —Ridoc asks the group. “He had ours, too,” Brennan replies to Ridoc. “Until he didn’t,” Violet mutters.