Onyx Storm Theory: Are the dragons evil?

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Written by: Cory

Onyx Storm Theory: Are the dragons evil?

Rebecca Yarros has woven a complex and intricate world in The Empyrean Series, filled with powerful dragons, morally gray conflicts, and hidden truths about magic. While dragons are seen as the righteous force against venin, are they truly as noble as they seem? Could it be that they, too, have their own dark history? Let’s explore the clues from Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm to determine if dragons are as good as we believe—or if they are simply another faction vying for power.

Why would I even be asking this question? I can’t shake off what Jack says over and over again.

“Why should they determine our potential when we’re capable of reaching for fate all on our own?” – They, as in, the dragons.

Then Jack says “[the wards] Do not block all power like the dragons want you to think they do! We can still feed from the ground, still channel enough to survive. Enough to fool them. We might not be at full strength, capable of wielding greater magic under your protections, but make no mistake: we are already among you, and now we’re free.”

And finally, from Onyx Storm: “Power should be accessible to everyonestrong enough to wield it, not just who they see fit. You conveniently see me as the villain, but you’re bonded to two.”

We know that there are seven species of dragons: black, blue, brown, orange, red, green, and irid. These dragons use combined fire to raise wards against other wielding creatures, such as gryphon fliers and venin. However, unlike their counterparts, irids seem fundamentally different.

A key moment is when Violet learns that dragon eggs hold magic long after hatching—implying a deeper connection between dragons and magic than previously thought. This raises the question: where exactly does their power come from? “They’re metal and still carry magic long after the dragons hatch.”

But how long AFTER? “Not this one.” A corner of my mouth lifts, and I run my finger along the inner edge, picturing her biding her time for hundreds of years, listening, waiting. A charge of energy runs up my arm, and I lift my brows at the sensation. 

The irid egg shell continues to hold some magic more than 6 centuries after? Interesting.

The irid dragons claim they are magic.

“We are magic,” the male replies like it’s the most obvious reason in the world.”

This stands in stark contrast to venin, who siphon magic from the ground. More importantly, when visiting the isles, Violet notices: she alone can continue communicating with her dragons. There is no magic on the island so is it possible? We know that the rest of the dragons are in pain.

She’s in pain.”
“All the dragons are, I think, not that they’ll admit it, but I don’t think they can survive—or at least thrive the way they do at home—away from magic.”

Violet is not magic herself, but she has bonded with Andarna, an irid dragon. Could it be that the irids, unlike other dragons, draw from the sky, not the ground. The venin continuously tell Violet that she can command the sky, further hinting at this distinction.

Andarna shows no sign of trouble. I am inconvenienced, annoyed, and cut off from my source of power, strength, and my mate’s thoughts, but I am still Tairneanach[…]

Every other dragon is cut off. Because the land has no magic. Not Andarna. Not Violet. However, Andarna is completely fine. Why? Because unlike the others, Andarna does not rely on magic from the ground.

“You can command the sky to surrender all its power.”

That’s what the venin keep telling Violet, right?

This begs the question: what if dragons once wielded magic from the sky, but abandoned it?

Additionally, Violet uncovers:

“But it was the third brother, who commanded the sky to surrender its greatest power, who finally vanquished his jealous sibling at a great and terrible price.”

Interesting, so the sky can be commended to surrender its greatest power. Furthermore, the fables explicitly warn about wielding power from the ground instead of the skies, cautioning against corruption. This could mean that dragons, like venin, once made a dangerous choice. In fact, when you read the fable…”Maybe it’s childish, just a collection of stories that warn us against the lure of magic, and even demonize dragons, but it’s all I have left.

In Onyx Storm, when Violet visits Unnbriel (the Island of Dunne), she is able to wield lightning despite the magic-nullifying effects of the land. If all magic is supposed to come from the ground, how can she still wield her signet? Is it because her power is connected to the sky, through Andarna.

The biggest revelation comes when Felix challenges Violet’s assumptions:

“And lightning comes from the sky, not my hands.”
“Why not from the ground? Or your hands?”

Violet can feel that she channels from the sky. Not from her hands, and not from the ground. I now wonder what is the role of her conduit?

This suggests that wielding from the sky is a forgotten art. Humans bonded dragons to channel magic through them, and in turn, dragons also channel magic from the ground. Why not the sky? What actually happened?

In one of the Q&A, Rebecca Yarros said that she would want to write a prequel, but it would be very sad. Something tells me that there is a lot of suffering involved, and something made dragons channel from the ground. Why? Also, why did Irids leave from the continent? Did they not agree with bonding humans and channeling from the ground? It also seems a little superficial that if they are magic, they decided to abandon all other dragons? Or did the dragons get corrupted themselves and wanted more power?

At this point, we understand that magic in the Empyrean world is deeply divided. The venin drain magic from the ground, while humans channel it through their bonds. But what if dragons are simply a more refined version of venin?

“It was never our continent. From the very beginning, it was theirs, and we were simply allowed to live here.”

Who is they? Many assume dragons, but what if it was the Gods? What if dragons, much like venin, found a way to steal magic—and not turn?

The most important passage in Onyx Storm suggests that Violet is sensing something completely different:

“I’m struck with the oddest urge to try and pluck strands from the very sky and weave runes.”

This is crucial. Violet instinctively wants to weave power from the sky. But then it’s weird.

“It feels like there’s more power out here than usual,” I tell Tairn as we dive along a ridgeline.
“There’s actually less—the venin saw to that,” he replies. “But you grow more powerful every day, more capable of recognizing what once was entirely invisible to you.”

Hmmm, is there more power because she is beyond the wards and she can feel the sky magic without the pressure from the wards?

One of the best supporting pieces of evidence comes from the Fables of the Barren:

“The fables explicitly warn about wielding power from the ground instead of the skies.”

If wielding magic from the ground leads to corruption (venin), then wielding it from the sky may be the true way to use magic. This would explain why Violet’s lightning signet alone is able to kill venin when others cannot. Or why Andarna says that magic feels different when she changes color. Or why potentially her fire is the only one that kill venin.

“Magic requires balance,” Nolon argues. “It does not give without a price!” – So what is price dragons have to pay for taking magic?

“Dragons can speak to gryphons?” My eyebrows shoot up. “Naturally. How do you think we communicated before humans got involved?” Before humans got involved. Gryphons cannot raise wards. I am curious about this one. Do they also channel from the ground? Dragons always say that they are the superior species. They also say that they pay no heeds to the human Gods. WHY?

Are dragons evil?

Sort of. Morally gray, much like most of Yarros’ characters. Dragons seem to be hiding the truth about their past. They have bonded with humans not out of altruism, but to secure their own survival—and to continue wielding power.

“The First Six riders were desperate to save their people when they approached the dens over six hundred years ago. Those dragons formed the first Empyrean and bonded humans only to protect their hatching grounds from venin, who were the bigger threat. We don’t exactly have opposable thumbs for weaving wards or runes. Neither species has ever been entirely truthful, both using the other for their own reasons and nothing more.”

Did the irids leave because they didn’t like what was happening? Dragons might have abandoned their original power source. For some reason, they stopped drawing from the sky and started using magic from the ground—possibly for control over humans. So why not the irids? Why did they refuse this?

Irids never made this transition. They still wield from the sky, which is why their flame kills venin while other dragonfire does not.

Violet is the balance. Theo states that every century, there is a “great equalizer.” She has the ability to channel magic from the sky, making her the balance. In a way, if she cures venin, she can also cure dragons, right? And make them channel the right way again.

Oh since we’re discussing this, I do think Irids are on Loial’s isle. They seem to like peace (and love) above all.

If magic from the ground corrupts (venin), then magic from the sky may have the ability to heal the venin—potentially even saving Xaden and thus, the rest of the dragonkind. Which would nicely tie in with my theory that love (Violet) is the cure.

Share that Venin and Wyvern are real!


11 responses to “Onyx Storm Theory: Are the dragons evil?”

  1. I’m not sure that Violet’s lightning kills Venin just because she wields from the sky. Venin can also be killed by an alloy-hilted dagger and maorcite arrows, both imbued with power. And the source of that power is the ground—they were killing Venin with it even before Violet ever crossed the parapet.
    But overall, I really like the last paragraph—that power from the sky could cure Venin. Especially if I take my theory that every dragon den has its own god. Blues (like ruthless Sgaeyl, bonded to Xaden) have Dunne. Irid’s Loial (LOVE).
    If love is the cure, then power channeled from ” god of love dragons” could also be a cure.

    What makes me a little nervous is….what that means for Tairn? What if he has Malek, considering his color?. Right now, Violet has dragons backed by Love and Death? But in the best case, Tairn could have Amari, because both he and Codagh are natural leaders…

    1. Interestingly enough, though, I’ve been thinking about the alloy. It needs to be imbued with magic, right? And some of it is made from dragon eggs, which are inherently magical—at least, that’s my understanding. It feels like the alloy is a “good” and pure form of magic.

      I completely agree that every den has its own god. But my theory aligns more with Japanese mythology—they were somehow messengers of the gods. Or they were, until something went terribly wrong.
      Could they have sought their own autonomy?

      It’s really difficult to piece together. It makes sense for Tairn to be associated with Malek. And it would make a lot of sense for Andarna to be linked to Amari. However, the name Second Honor is tricky. It feels like Feathertails are peaceful. Love feels iridescent, right? So many colors of love. So much magic. Love is magic. Every song, every piece of folklore, every legend tells us this—it is the purest of emotions.

      In that case, we can go with your assumption that red represents Malek. The issue is that Tairn is black, and I think Violet was touched by both Dunne and Malek. So having access to Tairn and Andarna (love or Amari) makes more sense, in my opinion.

  2. I´m afraid the cure connects to something with Andarnas egg shell. Violet had given the egg shell as a gift to Courtlyn in Deverelli. The irids are intolerant. I like very much, what Andarna said: “You preach peace, although you only know life with this privilege.” She is so cute and I think she is a kind of innocent. We need the irids or minimum Andarna to change something in that war. But do you think they will understand that they are resentful and it is no good character as well to see people suffer and die and deny to help them?

    1. I really REALLY don’t like the irids. So far, they are everything that’s wrong with the empyrean honestly. The fact that they could help but they just left?!

  3. Yes, definitely think some of the dragons have ill intentions and use humans. The Irids are also lacking as Andarna acutely assesses—the Irids do not value or understand Andarna’s love of humans and her desire to help. The Irids abandoned the continent. At least one Irid fired the ward stone in Bassgiath before they abandoned the continent, maybe the did bond with humans at one point and something happened causing them to break the bonds and then leave. One thought…maybe the first humans bonded with the Irid became the gods. Or the gods were humans who turned Venin, but for “good reasons” not for power and control so they left for the Isles where there is no magic so they could slow the progression or something.

    Theophanie says: “Why serve a god when you can be one?” (Onyx Storm, Chapter 64)

    And there is one excerpt that said some dragons suffered the loss of their bonded riders—broke the bonds:
    “It was not without risk that the first dragons bonded humans, for though they clearly hold the power, their bonded riders made them the one thing they could not tolerate: vulnerable. Many dragons suffered the loss of their bonded riders in the name of self-preservation.”
    —The Sacrifice of Dragonkind by Major Deandra Naveen
    (Onyx Storm, Chapter 59)

    The Irid dragon said they fled the continent because magic was used as a weapon—seemingly by other dragons and humans.
    “And dragonkind has not learned their lesson, either. While you”—the male in the center’s gaze jumps to Aotrom—“gifted your human with ice”—he dares to shift his focus to Tairn—“you armed yours with lightning.” (OS, Chapter 41)

    And about Andarna:
    “You have weaponized your magic, even your tail,” the tallest irid continues. “You’ve become the very thing we abhor, the horror we fled from.” (OS, chapter 42)

    But the Irids call Andarna, “the criterion”—A principle or standard by which something may be judged or decided. There have been centuries of her waiting in her egg, so the Irids that find her are separated by many generations (which Leothan confirms in OS, chapter 53). So none of them have direct knowledge of why they left and Andarna’s true purpose—only stories and history that have remained—so as we have already learned their info could definitely have been skewed, altered, misinterpreted, or parts lost to history. So I think they have Andarna’s purpose wrong—and they are not to judge her to their standards, but Andarna is the new standard, and the Irids should not be judging when they were cowards and left the continent, as Andarna tells the Irids: “You preach peace while only having known its privilege,” Andarna hisses in retort. “You are all a disappointment to me.” (OS, chapter 42)

    I think Andarna is the one who is the new standard and is deciding—she has found other dragons, humans, gryphons, and even one human turned dark wielder that she loves, and who love her. She has found some dragons lacking (Solas), some humans, some dark-wielders, and also the experience on the isles lacking. The isles of the gods seemed to be lacking compassion and honor. In my opinion the humans on the isles seemed so cold, ruthless, and unwilling to help—they felt almost more venin-like than like the humans of the Aretian riders & flyers.

    While we may get a little more information in book 4, I think the full extent of what the all the dragons have been doing and dealing with it and the Empyrean wont be fully addressed until book 5. It will be book 5 that ties it all together and have the reveal to warrant the series name, The Empyrean.

  4. I like this theory. I’ve wondered about the series being called The Empyrean after the dragons. There is a lot more to learn about them. Personality wise they are like humans, some good and some bad. I think they are like venin, we see Berwyn kill a dragon with an alloy dagger.

    1. Do you think the irids are good?

  5. The six eggs were taken by the irids to train as pacifists. They realized this is where they failed Andarna and why she’s back. She didn’t come alone…

    1. Ugh maybe, but I don’t trust the irids, I don’t like the irids, I don’t think they are good dragons.

  6. The first chapter of Fourth Wing tells us that the “fable” book “…warn us against the lure of magic, and even demonize the dragons…” along with telling of the venin and wyvern.

    1. I’m so worried that they stole magic first…from the Gods.

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Hello! This site is dedicated to the Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros. I’ve made this place to explore the rich world of Empyrean, full of characters, theories, and places. Each post is carefully researched and updated with the newest details from the series. This site is also a great spot for discussing theories about the Empyrean Series. 🐉
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