In the world of Empyrean Series, the connection between rider and dragon is more than just a functional bond—it is an intimate, deeply personal link that transcends mere communication.

These bonds are so private that only glimpses of them have been shared with readers, leaving much to the imagination. Yet, within these fleeting insights, we’ve noticed an intriguing pattern: the color of the dragon seems to influence the mental pathway between rider and dragon.

How Violet sees Andarna

hard sapphire

The relationship between dragon and rider is built upon trust and a profound merging of minds. The pathways that form when dragons and riders connect often manifest as vivid colors, each reflecting the essence of that bond. And while we might assume that the color of a dragon’s scales dictates the color of their bond’s energy, this assumption doesn’t always hold true. Here’s why.

Violet and Andarna

One of the most intriguing connections we are privy to is that between Violet Sorrengail and her golden dragon, Andarna. And this is because it changes…

When Violet accesses their bond in the archives, she says:

“Bright orange, crackling energy streams in from the door behind me, and there’s a golden light that shines from the window I created just for Andarna.”

What is even more beautiful is that in Iron Flame, it changes.

“There’s no response from Andarna, but I can feel the shimmering bond between us, though it’s no longer golden like her scales.“

and then

“The blazing, molten stream of Tairn’s power that flows behind his giant door looks capable of consuming me, but the pearlescent flow of Andarna’s power just beyond the windows feels…approachable.“

Violet and Xaden’s bond

When Violet sees Xaden, the bond manifests as “a shadow of sparkling night”. Sounds pretty beautiful, right?

We also remember “Shimmering onyx wraps around my mind and everything intensifies.“

So Violet sees Xaden as a shadow of sparkling night or as a shimmering onyx. Interesting…

Xaden sees Violet as the silver one

Xaden doesn’t perceive Violet the same way she sees him. In fact, in a bonus chapter, we learn that Xaden sees Violet as “a glimmering strand of…silver, like the ends of her hair.” This creates an interesting contrast: while Violet perceives Xaden as dark, shadowy onyx, he sees her as radiant silver—a light in the darkness.

How Xaden sees Sgaeyl

It’s also in the bonus chapter where we learn that Xaden sees Sgaeyl as sapphire, which again makes sense given the color of her scale.

“The hard sapphire one I share with Sgaeyl is locked into place as always.”

We don’t know yet how Violet sees Sgaeyl though, even though we know that she can communicate with her.

Xaden and Tairn

It’s also on the bonus chapter where we learn that Xaden sees Tairn as onyx. “The onyx I recognize as Tairn”.

Once again, this bond color makes perfect sense. Tairn is black right?

So Xaden seems to see everyone in a way that makes sense. He sees Violet as the silver one (as per her nickname given to her by Tairn too), Sgayl as sapphire and Tairn as onyx…so how come that Violet sees Tairn’s bond as…orange?

Violet and Tairn’s bond – the color that doesn’t make sense

What stands out here is that the color of the connection does not follow the pattern of the dragon’s scales or even the rider’s power.

Violet describes Tairn as “Bright orange, crackling energy streams in from the door behind me, and there’s a golden light that shines from the window I created just for Andarna.”

We remember from chapter Twenty-Two when Violet learns how to ground for the first time, that she creates a door in the archives for Tairn’s power. So that bright orange energy? Yup, that’s Tairn.

But why is he…orange? She sees Andarna for the color of her scale. She sees Xaden based on his abilities. So what’s up with the orange color? Is their bond unstable? I have so many questions and sadly not many answers.

The onyx storm: Tairn and Xaden

Another option is that in Onyx Storm we will learn that Violet sees Tairn as onyx, the same way Xaden sees him. And it could also be that she sees Xaden as shimmering onyx. This could literally mean that the storm, really is between Tairn and Xaden. It would be a lot of fun development, to be fair. And it would allow the story to progress quite well.

But it could also be that Violet sees Tairn as orange is an anomaly and it could mean something, which we are yet to learn. I do find it odd that two books and we don’t know for a fact how she sees Tairn, even though she reaches out for her bond and power a lot. Interesting, interesting indeed….

This inconsistency leads me to speculate that the colors in these bonds may be shaped by the rider’s emotions, the nature of the dragon’s power, or the unique dynamic between each pair. Perhaps.

Ultimately, these bonds are more than functional—they are deeply personal, and their visual representation is tied to the inner world of the rider and dragon.

What do you think? Are we going to figure this out? Am I looking too much into the colors of the bonds, or do we think they have actual meaning moving forward?