There has been so much talk about Violet Sorrengail’s second signet. Trust me, I have several articles written about it with hundreds of comments. Recently, though, a fan commented on this website and told me that chances are, Violet Sorrengail is our distance wielder. And I actually agree.

The rolling dismounts that she managed to do at the end of Iron Flame? The fact that she needs to “run” fast, get from A to B quickly? Oh yeah, Violet is most certainly our distance wielder. I am willing to bet on it actually.

BUT, I wanted to run something else by you. What is Violet Sorrengail’s second signet is actually…control? Hear me out and let’s look at the data. I’m not 100% behind this though, as I am more confident than ever that Violet is actually a distance wielder. But I want to experiment with this either way.

Violet Sorrengail needs CONTROL

There is a lot of talk about control in Iron Flame. Let’s dig right in to see what I mean.

“My stomach pitches, and it takes every ounce of control I have not to reach out and steady myself.”

This is the time when Andarna is asleep. She doesn’t have control.

“Sorry!” I call out to the others as they scatter, grimacing at my utterly embarrassing lack of control.

“I’m certain I have my emotions under some semblance of control.”

“Exactly.” Is it wrong to smirk? Because I can’t seem to control my facial muscles.“

“He’s killed people for me before, so why is him fighting for a weekend pass stripping every ounce of self-control straight out of my bloodstream?”

Please note how Xaden is the only one who seems to remove all control from Violet. Keep this in mind, given just how much control Xaden will need moving forward, now he is venin.

“Swift and fast, the power rises again, and sweat beads on my face and drips down my spine as I struggle to control it.”

“Their only goal here is to wear me down, while mine is to hold on to whatever scraps of self-control I can muster so I don’t wake Andarna.”

“You’ve apparently lost all common sense with your control and regressed to where you think you can locate it,” Tairn growls.

“There’s only that box and the blessed emptiness I know is achievable if I can get a little control, but the words won’t stop coming.”

“I’ve opened three-quarters of the storage. It’s an exercise in self-control not to open every book and devour its contents.”

“The control over my mind? That’s mine, and it’s all I have left.“

Interestingly enough, take note that this is Violet not connected to her dragons…So it could be that control has nothing to do with her signet but with her control over her mind.

“And not only can you not aim, but you have no control,” he says without skipping a beat, like I didn’t almost torch us both.“

Hmmm….interesting observation from Felix. Easter Egg?

“Your lack of aim, of control, is not your fault. It’s Carr’s.”

“In that moment, you wielded him, our unyielding, uncompromising, headstrong heir apparent.”

I’m pointing this out here because she did…wield Xaden. As in, she controlled him, in a way. Interesting choice of words that’s all.

“You have to learn control, Sorrengail, or you’ll continue to be a threat to everyone around you.”

“[…]or me from losing absolute control of my power.”

“but at least my inability to control my own power is helping imbue alloy for daggers”

“And gods, get some control over your emotions, would you? You’re so fucking weak it’s pathetic.” Her words are a string of hisses.”

“Sit? I just lost my shit and threw my control out the window in front of the entire quadrant because of the venom she spewed”

“You want to keep control of your emotions? You need to have control in the first place.”

“I can’t…” A pit forms in my stomach. “I haven’t been in control since Resson,” I admit in a whisper.”

Again, fascinating. Is it because that’s when Andarna decided to go to sleep? And after? Well after, she might have had a signet to offer.

“Get. What?” My arm is full-on shaking now.
“Control.” He grins, and I startle, my gaze swinging back to his.

“It’s not the power making that possible,” I tell her, channeling into the conduit so it lights up again and marching into the darkness. “It’s the control.”

She gets pure power from Tairn. Could it be that she gets control from Andarna?

“and then I wield. Energy sizzles up my arm and into my fingertips where they meet the metal. Control. This is all about control.“

I specifically didn’t make the above in italic because I wanted you to see that Rebecca Yarros put in italic for us the words wield and control.

“More than anything, you need control. It’s woven into every aspect of your personality.”

This is Violet telling Xaden that he needs control. OH, but he is about to lose it all. And what does he need? Control still. Who is control? Violet…she might be wielding control.

“I breathe deeply, using every ounce of concentration to keep my power contained and my emotions under control as the wyvern accumulates speed and flies past the lead two, heading for the wards.”

“I’m no good to Tairn and Andarna—to anyone in my squad—if I give in to panic, and I’ll be even worse, a liability, if I don’t keep fully in control.“

“Control. I need complete control.”

“I pour and pour, opening my Archives door and taking on the full force of Tairn’s power, shaking with the effort to keep it controlled, focused, constructive instead of violent.”

“We have tried every method we know of, as you requested. There is no cure. There is only control.“

The last part is from the missive at the end of the book. And guess what Xaden needs? Control. Again, who is control? Violet!

When Violet wields control, others have more control

We spent an awful long time learning about Cat and her power to manipulate Violet. If Violet can indeed wield control as a second signet then it would make a lot of sense to train with…Cat.

I know, I know, hear me out. I think Cat is here to stay. I think much like others in the book, Cat is a morally gray character and she argues with Violet, but she also helps her when needed.

Many of you have asked, ok, Cory, but isn’t it possible that Violet is some sort of amplifier? I mean look at what happened to Mira in Poromiel. Look at what happened to Rhiannon, how she managed to get the dagger.

I’m so glad you asked, because I think, if we pay close attention to Yarros’ words, you will notice that in order to wield well, you need to be in full control of your own powers. Xaden said he wasn’t in full control of his shadows in his first year. Felix said she needs control. Mira couldn’t perform too far from her wards. Rhiannon? She’s too young to be able to exercise such control to summon through walls.

Control. Everyone needs it. So what if Violet, wields control. By almost not having control of her control wielding, she wields it almost always, little by little in emotionally distressing situations, and thus, helps others have more control over their own wielding abilities. Difficult, I know, I’m really trying!

Conclusion

Our Aretia shadow man needs control, maybe Violet is control. Maybe she can control her jumps on the dragons. Maybe she can control…a lot.

Is Violet’s second signet control? I think so. After months and months of reading and re-reading Iron Flame, I think it comes down to two obvious choices: control or distance wielding. I can’t bet fully on either to be honest, because they are both pretty deep into this book.

I feel like Violet NEEDS control. She also NEEDS to run fast, away from venin.

Bonus Easter Egg

Fourth Wing

“Garrick leans from his seat and flings a dagger, but before it can reach the venin, the robed figure slams his staff into the ground and disappears like he was never there in the first place.

He moved. But to where?
“The hell?” I shout into the wind.
“A general can recognize another general, and that’s their leader,” Tairn says.”

Iron Flame

“You’re always in the right place—” My eyebrows rise. “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?” He shakes his head.“

Iron Flame

“Fight me and die, or join me and live beyond the ages, but you will never escape me, not when I’ve waited centuries for someone with your power.”

Yup, you’re getting it right? The general? The leader of the venin…he’s a distance wielder somehow. 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. Convenient right? The leader venin does say he’s been waiting centuries for someone…

This to me, it’s a really BIG Easter Egg. Which may indeed indicate that Violet’s second signet might actually not be control, but distance wielding.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments section below.

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