Onyx Storm Theory: Who exactly is Berwyn

Last updated:

Written by: Cory

Onyx Storm Theory: who is berwyn

It’s natural to ask: who exactly is Berwyn? Is he the Sage? Is he a general? Is there even a difference between a Sage and a general? Why is he so fixated on Xaden and Violet? And why does he want to kill dragons rather than use them for magic?

I’m going to attempt to answer all of these questions based on some of my theories. To make sense of it all, we need to go back to the beginning of the series and, step by step, search for Easter eggs about Berwyn.

In my mind, right now, there are two options: either Berwyn is some ancient ruler from Tyrrendor or Berwyn is Naolin. Let’s see both options in detail.

Could Berwyn be Naolin?

“Initiates have reddish rings to their eyes that come and go depending on how often they drain. Asims’ eyes fluctuate in degrees of red, and their veins distend when riled. Sages—those responsible for initiates—have permanently red eyes, their veins perpetually distended toward their temples, expanding with age. Mavens—their generals—have never been captured for examination.”

The first thing we need to understand is the difference between a Sage and a Maven. A Sage is someone who teaches initiates and asims. Nowhere does it say that a Sage cannot be a Maven, meaning there doesn’t necessarily have to be a strict distinction between the two. In fact, Jack himself tells us:

“I’m told it’s so we’ll be found and raised by an elder, usually a Sage, but in rare cases a Maven may take interest.”

Now, here’s where things get interesting. When we go back and forth between the books, we realize that what Violet and Xaden initially called The Sage is actually a general. We learn this in Fourth Wing when Tairn says:

“A general can recognize another general, and that’s their leader,” Tairn says.

And we get further confirmation in Iron Flame:

“Because you’re a Sage?” I spit, grounding my feet on that hillside in Tyrrendor and reaching for my power.
“A Sage?” He laughs. “I am a general.”

Now, I know there’s been a clever use of language here—“A general can recognize another general, and that’s their leader.” But something tells me that Tairn recognized this guy for more than just being a general.

Want to know my theory? I think Berwyn is Naolin.

Naolin didn’t fail, but it cost him everything.”

Picture this: Brennan is severely injured and can barely mend himself. He even says that healing himself takes far more effort than healing others. He has an arrow in his chest from Fen Riorson. Ouch. That must be hard to mend, right?

But you know who else almost died? Mira, in Onyx Storm. And to save her, Brennan was walking the fine line of burnout. And what did he need? Extra power. Extra magic. Luckily, Sloane was there to help.

Now, when Brennan was dying, with not enough power to mend himself, Naolin was there too. So where did Naolin siphon power from in order to save Brennan? From himself. From his dragon (Tairn). And, eventually, from the ground.

Naolin didn’t fail, but it cost him everything.”

“Knowing that she’s bonded to Tairn, whose bonds get deeper with each rider and whose previous bond was already so strong that Naolin’s death nearly killed him?”

But what if Naolin didn’t die?

Think about it: so far, no dragon has ever actually died in the series. Can you imagine Tairn—arrogant, mighty Tairn—dying just because his rider died? No. I don’t think that’s what almost killed him. I think Tairn nearly died because he had to do the unthinkable—he had to sever his bond when his rider turned Venin.

That would make someone very, very upset with dragonkind.

And it would also give them a personal vendetta against Fen Riorson, who almost killed his lover.

I think that’s exactly why Berwyn is so focused on Xaden Riorson. I’m also certain that’s why Berwyn killed the dragon in front of Xaden and was about to kill Sgaeyl. It felt personal. He went for Sgaeyl because Tairn is mated to Sgaeyl. A great way to kill him or cause him unimaginable pain.

What’s more, Berwyn knew exactly what needed to be done to replenish the bond lost between rider and dragon.

“You will turn for something much more dangerous…”

Who else turned for something more dangerous? Naolin.

Berwyn knows what it’s like to turn for love.

And here’s another key point: we know for a fact that Berwyn is Jack’s Sage. Why does that matter? Well, why would Berwyn specifically target Jack of all people?

Simple: because Jack wanted to bond with Tairn. Jack wasn’t happy when Violet bonded with Tairn. Jack wanted power and revenge against Violet. And Berwyn? Berwyn wanted revenge against Tairn. Boom—common enemy.

There’s more…

In Iron Flame:

“Shadows mark the gaunt hollows of his cheekbones on an eerily youthful face, and his lips are cracked and dry.”

In Onyx Storm:

“The Sage pulls back the hood of his maroon robe, revealing the freakishly young face that haunts my—Xaden’s—dreams, and smiles, cracking the skin of his chapped lips.”

“Youthful face?” Sounds like someone in their twenties—someone called into service. Naolin?

This theory also aligns with my explanation at the end of Onyx Storm that it was Brennan who turned. Why? Because Brennan had seen Naolin and decided to turn.

Think about it—besides Tairn, no one who knew Naolin from before has seen him. No one. Brennan was mending the stone, never seeing the Sage, not even once. Xaden wouldn’t have recognized him because he was still young and not a rider when Fen Riorson almost killed Brennan (and Naolin). Violet has never seen him. Maybe Sgaeyl has?

“The bond between Berwyn and me is the kind that should never exist, and now that my Sage has another sibling he can use against me… I’m screwed.”

Brennan is the other sibling Berwyn will use against him. The first sibling is obviously Violet. She was called “the leash” twice.

So, is Berwyn actually Naolin?

I do think so. It makes a lot of sense.

But then… there’s one paragraph that throws me off.

“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.”

This is from one of the shared nightmares between Violet and Xaden….Let’s have a look at all the quotes that point towards Berwyn being an old Tyrrendor ruler.

Naolin was, what, under thirty years old, right? So why would the Venin Sage say that he’d waited centuries for someone with Xaden’s power?

Could Berwyn be an ancient Tyrrendor ruler?

“He trails a single, elongated fingernail along my throat, revealing a stretch of tan skin beneath his robes. I flinch, my pulse quickening with fear.”

Tan skin. This man is not white. Just like Xaden.

“His dark, lashless eyes narrow.”

Again—dark eyes. Just like Xaden. Xaden has onyx eyes.

Now, let’s talk about General Daramor. His name literally translates to “For Love.” So… did he turn for love at some point? Is that how he knows that Xaden might turn for love too?

“The region of the Barrens—the arid, desert-covered peninsula in the southeast, abandoned by all dragonkind after General Daramor devastated the land in the Great War—is completely stained crimson. The mark extends into Braevick, past the Dunness River.”

“[…]it simply identifies the enemy as General Daramor and our allies as the isle kingdoms.”

That brings us to Xaden’s venin nightmares:

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

Centuries. Just like Theo. And we know that the venin from Xaden’s nightmares is the same as Berwyn. How?

“Snapped whatever tether he had on me and killed him.”

Xaden believes he killed him.

“You’re dead. This isn’t real.” I repeat the phrases in my head when my lips won’t form the words. “This is only a nightmare.”

Xaden is certain he killed the venin.

Then there’s this:

“The Sage draws a sword from his robes, and the next flash of lightning glints off the emeralds set into the hilt. Wisps of silver hair flicker at the edge of my vision as the Sword of Tyrrendor hurtles toward my chest.”

Emeralds on the hilt? Hold that thought. Now, let’s revisit Deverelli:

“The dagger was mine to give,” Halden grits out, staring at the jeweled blade. “It looks antique, with a silver handle and emeralds the size of my fingernails encrusting the hilt.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Courtlyn shakes his head.

“It’s mine,” Xaden states, keeping his face unreadable. “Or rather, it should have been. It’s the Blade of Aretia, seized for the royal vault by Reginald during the Unification.”

The Sword of Tyrrendor. The Blade of Aretia. Both adorned with emeralds.

Xaden and the Sage? Both from Tyrrendor.

So… could this mean Berwyn was one of the original six? Could he have been among the first riders?

Xaden is the sixteenth Duke of Tyrrendor. Berwyn could have been any one of his predecessors.

We know Berwyn is from Tyrrendor. And we also know that Tyrrendor is… unique. Tyrrendor has always been home to dragons. It was designed for dragons.

What do you think? Is Berwyn Naolin or is Berwyn an ancient ruler from Tyrrendor?

Share that Venin and Wyvern are real!


20 responses to “Onyx Storm Theory: Who exactly is Berwyn”

  1. Dragons have died in the series, plenty of them. Deigh, liam’s dragon, jack killed his own dragon, Varrish’s dragon the one eyed orange. I forget his name. But yea plenty of dragons have died!

    1. For sure, for sure. But don’t you think that maybe they are more of use alive? Full of…magic and energy for the venin to just feed from?

      1. Yes, dragons have died ten the series, but their deaths were due to wyvern or gryphon attacks, bony because of the death of their riders. If that were the case, Cruth would be dead now that Quinn is dead. Also, you point out that Tairn might have broken/severed his bond if it is Naolin is the sage. In Onyx Storm, the iris Leothan tells Andarna to break her bond with Violet, which she did. While Violet was in a huge funk for a few days when Andean left, Violet still lived.

  2. It is so exciting and we really know not enough about Berwyn. I hope the passage with the centuries concerns to the common mind, that venin probably share? I suppose this mind develops when they are Asims and perhaps is rises more and more the higher they get in their rank. Jack told Violet that he doesn´t know all the plans und there is hierarchy. But what about the Asims Violet met e.g. in Cordyn and on the battle field in IF? They know that they shouldn´t kill Violet and should bring her to “him”. Whoever him is. And what about the rescue on the turret in IF, when Jack protected Violet? Still so many questions to ask and get answers to.

    1. Any ideas why the venin would want Violet alive?

      1. My guess would be: she generates power on her own (channels from herself), making her a guaranteed buffet of magic/energy/life for the venin for ages to come.

        You guarantee a power source for as long as she’s “alive”.

        I’m assuming the whole “touched by Dunne” thing wouldn’t evaporate because of turning.

        But I also read all of this with my own set of bloodshot eyes, nervously watching the clock and counting down the hours til my kids wake up for the day – so there’s a good chance I missed something!

        1. a guaranteed buffet haha that sounds horrific.
          I think they want her because she was touched by Malek! And there is a way for them to get their souls back or barter with him somehow.

      2. In IF was it important that Violet is alive to force Xaden to turn venin. But I think there is much more, what we not know until now. Theophanie wanted to turn Violet.

      3. Someone said that Violet’s dad is alive and might be a Venin, a big and important one and that’s why they want her alive

        1. That’s what I also thought first, but then again, RY did say that her dad is dead dead!

  3. I agree with you about Noalin turning venin. I have thought that from the end of Fourth Wing. I never thought he died either. None of the mai characters that have actually seen the Sage know what Noalin look like. It made me very suspicious when the book described his youthful appearance as well. Now reading Onyx Storm I can understand how Noalin could have turned trying to save someone he loved. I think Aaric may eventually find out some key information about a possible cure for venin , and Sloane may be the key to doing it being a siphon. She would be the balance to Noalin since he was the previous siphon. I also feel that Xaden may try to find a way to go deep undercover in venin territory in order to destroy them from within. At the end of Onyx Storm Xaden was talking to Sgaeyl about being Forsaken. He dropped the ice shield and she saw something. Maybe it is a special bond with Violet, a piece of his soul still left, or maybe even a possible plan to find the answers they seek to help Xaden.

    1. Hi Erica. I’m really excited you also agree. I think Sloane will come in handy for imbuing the Barrens (and maybe Xaden) with good magic. She is life, right? Venin are…death.
      The more I read paragraphs from Onyx Storm, tho, the more I ask myself questions about that Xaden really needs from Berwyn.

  4. Was Naolin always Venin? Maybe that would make sense for the Sage saying he has waited centuries for someone with this kind of power.

    1. My soul tells me that he turned for love. For Brennan

  5. This can tie into the amber eyes… how Xaden’s eye turned amber, brennan has amber eyes like his dad who could’ve also had turned and died from a sickness???

    1. Honestly, it could be, right? It feels so much more intricate than we could have hoped for!
      But I feel like those amber eyes were such a bit clue!

  6. Do we know if naolin is male or female?
    Also Brennan. is NOT mad at violet that xaden is venin . He seems excited
    However. xaden has lost his soul he felt it leave his body as he took the power he needed to save his dragon .
    i believe Tarin broken the bond between him and sagely .
    Xanden has a plan he has shared with his dragon .

    1. We assume that Naolin was a man. Brennan said “no partner” which implied that his preferences could be other men rather than just women. He would have replied to the question by saying “no wife”.

  7. Ok… hear me out… maybe Naolin had been “waiting centuries” for Xaden because of HIS sage. Like a century old grudge and he is carrying the torch for his present/past sage. I mean he (Xaden) is royalty. Xaden can’t be the only venin with regrets. And I feel like all the venin are more like a coven than a military

    1. I like that explanation!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About

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. 🐉
Read More