Onyx Storm Theory: Love is all we need (well, at least what Xaden needs)

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Written by: Cory

Onyx Storm Theory: Love is all we need (well, at least what Xaden needs)

Nothing beats a cheesy post title: Love is all we need. But wait until we dig into this theory—you’ll love it too. Yeah, okay, pun intended.

To give you context, I’ll start from the beginning. Rebecca Yarros is a military romance writer. She dedicates her books to her husband, the love of her life. Sure, Mrs. Yarros loves to mess with our emotions and make us all cry, but there’s one thing I feel she cares about above all in her romance: love.

Fourth Wing was about the introduction of love. Iron Flame was about doing whatever it takes for love. Onyx Storm was about trying to find a cure in the name of love. No doubt, as the series progresses, the answer to it all will be love.

I also sense a bit of a ping-pong game. In Fourth Wing, Violet falls in love with Xaden and tries to get HIM to love her back. Eventually, she accepts that maybe he doesn’t feel the same way and takes whatever he can give. By the end, we find out that he loves her—he’d loved her even before she fell for him.

In Iron Flame, it’s about Xaden getting Violet to trust him fully and love him with the same intensity. Onyx Storm? It’s just mutual, pure love.

Book 4? I anticipate it’ll be about Violet getting Xaden to remember love and come around. Book 5… who knows. Either Xaden trying to get Violet back, fighting for her love, or mutual love again. Either way, you see where I’m going with this.

What does Xaden need right now the most? Love. It’s Violet who made him hang onto the last thread of his soul. When Violet screamed, I love you.

Alright, are you ready? Let’s go down the rabbit hole and find Xaden’s cure together. And yes, I do have an idea of what it is…

A wonderful, smart reader called Poppy Peaslee put together some quotes for us, which have helped me immensely with this theory:

“I’d forgotten what it felt like to be loved, really, truly loved—it’d been so many years since Dad died. And Mom… Not going there. But then Violet gave me those words, gave me her trust, her heart, and I remembered. I’ll be damned if I don’t fight to keep them.”

“Nothing kills powerful, unshakeable love faster than opposing ideologies.” – Journal of Warrick of Luceras, Translated by Violet AND Dain.

“It was never our continent from the beginning. From the very beginning, it was theirs, and we were simply allowed to live here.” – Journal of Warrick of Luceras, Translated ONLY by Violet (Epigraph for Chapter 56).

This epigraph comes AFTER Dain and Violet provide a more accurate translation, which makes me think RY is intentionally signaling that this quote might be mistranslated. My first thought, Poppy said, was that it refers to dragons—but what if it’s about the gods the continent and islands are named for? Most of the islands in Onyx Storm don’t have magic or dragons. The old name for the continent, Amaralys, was for Amari, queen of the gods. They never make it to Loial’s island… still letting this tumble around in my brain and take shape.

Building on Poppy’s theory: What is the opposite of war? Love and peace, right? We’ve seen some Irids come to them, but who’s to say the Irids aren’t on Loial’s island? It seems like the perfect place, as Irids abhor violence. The translation, I think, does reference the gods—it was always theirs. Mortals and dragons came later. And only one species of dragon is inherently magical: Irids. There’s still a lot to unpack about dragons seeing as they are not all magic by default, and Jack himself said that they want us to believe that they are the good guys, but they are the gate keepers. Plus, let’s not forget that dragons do not pay heed to the human Gods. Did dragons steal from Gods? It feels…like something is up.

“The bond between Violence and me is the kind of magic that has no explanation.” – Xaden, Chapter 65.

Because love is its own kind of magic, right?

“While most deities allow temple attendants to choose their timeline of service, only two require a lifetime of dedication: Dunne and Loial. For both war and love change souls irrevocably.” – Major Rorilee’s Guide to Appeasing the Gods, Second Edition (Epigraph for Chapter 48).

I think this quote is crucial. Violet was touched by Dunne, the Goddess of War. What does Xaden call her first? Violence—that’s her nickname. What if she was later touched by another god? By Loial? It would explain why Violet’s new nickname in Onyx Storm is now Love. What can cure a broken soul above all? Love. Violet is the cure.

I’ve said before that Violet is the cure to Venin—the herbal remedy being violets—but it’s now clear that it’s much deeper than that. I think, literally and figuratively, Violet is THE cure. Because Violet is love. Xaden’s love. HIS. HERS.

“But do you not yearn for temple? Usually the touch creates such a longing that you can’t help but return. Or perhaps you now favor another god.” – High Priestess of Dunne, Chapter 31.

(Is the “other god” Loial???)

Poppy and I are on the same thread here. Yes, only two gods require a lifetime of dedication. And let’s face it, Violet turned her back on Loial out of spite. I think she’ll need to jump through hoops to ask for forgiveness.

“I love you,” Violet’s voice cracks the cold, and a silken thread of warmth wedges itself in the opening before it seals shut, locking it in place. No. Wait. I grab for that thread with desperate hands, clawing to keep her as more of my pieces are blown away, lost to the void. She is warmth and light and air and love.”Xaden, Chapter 65.

Per Theophanie:

“Do you know the pain of never being allowed to return, of knowing it would sever the very thing that kept me untouchable all these years?”

This framing convinces me the resolution may lie within the concept of love, tied to Loial and the island of love. The fact that they never reached Loial’s island feels intentional—like a question left hanging.

I also think the epigraphs about Dunne and Loial are vital. “War and love change souls irrevocably” elevates love to something transformative, not just a romantic plot device. If Violet and Xaden’s bond is “magic with no explanation,” could it transcend not just dragon bonds but divine influence?

In conclusion, I stand by my theory: Violet is the cure. It’s not just herbal remedies—it’s literal. Violet is THE cure. She’s love, Xaden’s love. HIS. HERS.

It’s beautiful, really… but I feel like we’ll have to endure utter devastation before the resolution. Book 4 will shatter us first. Bring it on!

Thank you so much, Poppy for collecting so many quotes. I will go through the books again and try to add even more to the collection to further build on this theory. But one thing is for certain. Xaden needs love right now, before it’s too late.

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7 responses to “Onyx Storm Theory: Love is all we need (well, at least what Xaden needs)”

  1. Yeah, absolutely. That makes total sense! So far, the best and completely undeniable theory post-OS! LOVE. Violet. Dunne versus Loilal. Xaden calling her “Love.” I think a lot of theories bring Malek into this, but I believe it’s a red herring. Or maybe Xaden will be a symbol of Malek.

    1. I think Xaden will be a symbol of Malek. It’s just strange that she always orders Malek things. And he submits. And I wonder why? I wonder if there is a bit of a Persephone in there. Love and death? And since she was touched by both somehow?

  2. Cool theory! I also feel that the dreamwalking has something to do with the cure. A signet is always a translation of something that the rider needs and Violet needs to cure Xaden. Xaden always has the same dream of turning venin, and dreams are our subconscious. Maybe like some psychologists use hypnosis to alter something in our subconscious, to change a narrative, Violet can change something in Xaden’s subconscious through dreamwalking, and yes definitely love will play a part in it!

  3. One thing that I found interesting is at the top of chapter 48 it has a quote from one of only three survivors from a venin attack. The quote says “hair as black as the day we married…”

    Sounds like he was married to the venin and survived the attack. Is it because of love between them?

    1. That is a beautiful observation! Maybe…I like the theory!

  4. I think you’re absolutely on the money with this, and thanks for confirming my own thinking! Also loved that you flagged the epigraph “War and love change souls irrevocably”, which I think is a key hint here.

    Something else that really reinforces this for me comes from understanding RY’s experiences and how this informs and influences her writing – notably IMO:
    1) RY is all about embracing/accepting loving and living in spite of challenges,
    2) RY is married to a military man and thus (either through circles or her military social connections) undoubtably knows what it’s like to love people who are no longer “whole” (emotionally and/or physically), and
    3) love is widely considered to be a healing and transformative and magical force.

    So… I don’t think that there is a “cure” as such but that there will be a path for healing/redemption for Xaden (and maybe other venin). … I think Xadan will always be venin (or that his soul will always be irrevocably altered as a result) but that he will need to learn to live with the pain (ie of resisting the pull to draw power from the earth), and that it will become easier for him to manage this with time (e.g. as per addiction narratives), and that it will be his choices (and willingness to be guided by Violet’s love / his love for Violet) that keep him on a righteous path. This is in keeping with RY’s themes of surviving/thriving in the face of adversity, and while it might not be a “magical” cure in some ways, it is also a resolution more grounded in reality and RY’s lived experience.

    Some further points on this…
    – If turning venin is about the progressive loss of one’s soul, Xaden holds on to a part of his soul when he keeps the mental thread of love/connection with Violet, which ensures some of his soul remains.
    – There is no turning back for Venin who have lost all of their soul (you can’t heal/mend/fix something that is no longer there).
    – There’s probably something in the theory around why power corrupts but that the motivations behind taking that power are significant in terms of the results (ie selfishly taking power for oneself vs selflessly using power to help/protect others), and that this may have consequences for venin and who may have a pathway to redemption.

    Re book/series structure, reflecting on love as the central theme, here’s my take:
    Fourth wing = falling in love + flying high feeling of new love
    Iron flame = learning how to love + doing whatever it takes to keep the flame burning
    Onyx Storm = battling to save love + love in the face of a storm/turbulence
    Book 4 = broken love + survival in the absence of love
    Book 5 = healing and transformative power of love
    … the number 5 also comes up in basic googling on love (and I’m sure RY has probably done her research as all good authors usually do) e.g. 5 dimensions of love, 5 love languages, 5 love levels, etc. Though idk if any of these inform the planning and distinction of the 5 books in the series.

    And yep, agree with the theory about the probability of irids eventually restoring magic to the barrens (presumably channeling or imbuing via Sloane) allowing the earth/land of the continent of Amaralys to regenerate, and that the irids are somehow connected to Loial (the goddess of love, whose island they notably didn’t visit). Though there’s definitely something weird going on with the Isles and the pale/bleached colouring (presumably as a physical manifestation of the lack of magic in the land), vs the barrens which are presumably dead/desiccated – similar but drained instead of having simply grown with an absence of magic… Sorry, getting side tracked, I guess we shall see!

    Gosh this is a long post. Sorry not sorry! Thanks for all the work you do on this site, it’s really interesting reading!

    1. I completely agree with you! Weirdly enough, I think Violet has been touched by both Dunne and Malek in some way. There’s something about her connection to death and power that feels significant, and I wonder if that will play a bigger role moving forward.

      Do you think the irids are actually good, or are they just morally gray dragons? Because, honestly, they don’t feel particularly good to me. There’s something about them that feels more like they operate on their own set of rules rather than any real sense of morality.

      As for Book 4—I think it’s going to be awful in the best (and worst) way possible. I expect it to go very dark, maybe the darkest book in the series. I have a strong feeling we’ll finally meet Malek, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends on a brutal cliffhanger. Either Violet will have to change to be with Xaden, or—worse—she might have to kill him if he’s gone too far and starts hurting others.

      And yes, Xaden is a fantastic character, but he’s absolutely morally gray. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—his actions are never purely good or evil, which makes him so compelling. But that also means there’s a very real possibility he could make the wrong choice, and that terrifies me. What do you think?

      P.S. I love a long post. <3

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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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