This theory is brought to you by a lovely reader named Mirja Berner. To be fair, I think her theory is very good. Not long ago, I listened to a podcast about dopamine with Dr. Anna Lembke, where she explained that addiction, sadly, is the result of dopamine dysregulation.
Now, Rebecca Yarros has ADHD—she said so herself. Having ADHD is a type of dopamine dysregulation, by the way. It’s a very interesting rabbit hole to go down and explore if you have an interest in psychology and psychotherapy. Clearly, Rebecca Yarros understands all too well the perils of dopamine dysregulation, and I have no doubt that we’re seeing proof of that in many of our characters. So… venin could be seen as a type of addiction. But, much like all addiction, the more you draw, the more difficult it is for your body to return to “normal.” Balance and all 🙂
And eventually, you tip over and over. And no amount of “drug” can help fill the dopamine gap anymore. And so, merciless addiction is born—and eventually, overdose.
Now, drawing the parallel between venin and addiction is brilliant because being addicted to power is no different from any other addiction.
Now, let’s see what Mirja has to say about it.
OS Chapter 22, p. 195
“There’s no magic here.” He tugs me against him. “No power. No lure. No taunting reminder that I can save everyone if I just reach for it and take what’s offered. It’s only … peace.”
Rebecca Yarros told us two things:
- Things will probably turn bad in the next book.
- Xaden has to hit rock bottom before he can change.
With these facts in mind, I suppose we will see Xaden in Book 4 trying to defeat the venin from the inside out, but we will also see him channel magic again and again to achieve his goals.
This will continue until a turning point. What could that turning point be? After all the hints and discussions about fear—and the fact that Xaden has never hurt Violet—this will happen in some way.
OS Chapter 16, p. 139, Pub Scene in Chantara
“And he never scares you.” Cat stares at me over the table. “That’s what you said yesterday. He never scares you.”
“I get scared for him, but I haven’t been scared of him since Threshing.” I run my finger along the top of my mug.
“Because your lives are connected.” She tilts her head like she’s trying to understand.
“Because he never hurt me.”
Probably, he will accidentally—or perhaps not so accidentally—kill someone important to Violet. Or even worse, he will hurt her.
(Note to add my thoughts here onto Mirja theory: I DO NOT think Xaden will ever hit Violet. I believe that Rebecca Yarros would never condone violence against women from a loved one, nor would Violet ever take him back after something like that. However, I do agree with Mirja here that Xaden might hurt innocent lives… and even hurt Violet one way or another…just not physically.)
After this event, Mirja sees two possible paths.
OS Chapter 43, p. 356, on the Isle Where They Met the Irids
Ridoc’s shoulders dip. “So where’s the line? At what point is he too far gone for you to defend him?”
My mouth opens, then shuts.
“There isn’t one. Not one he’d actually cross.”
“Really?” He lifts his brows. “What if he hurts someone you love? Will that change your mind?”
One possibility is that Violet tries to help him, forgive him, and force him to change.
Another possibility is that she has to leave him—because his rock bottom might be losing her altogether.
OS Chapter 43, p. 357, on the Isle Where They Met the Irids
“I… I can’t imagine not loving him.” I bring my hands up to rest on his forearms.
“Never said you couldn’t love him.” He squeezes my shoulders gently. “You can still love someone after you let them go.”
…
“Fine. Hypothetically, he’d have to kill another rider without cause or hurt civilians. Hurt my friends, my dragons. Hurt… me,” I end in a whisper.
“If he hurts me, then he’s not him anymore.”
After that, he has to realize that he cannot save them all until he defeats his addiction—and that he has to heal himself first. He has to accept all the bad feelings and the events of his past.
In our world, we would say he has to go through withdrawal and undergo therapy to learn how to handle his emotions.
OS Chapter 34, p. 294
“I’ve bartered away, and those feelings are right beneath the surface, but fuck is skating faster and a hell of a lot messier. This shit?” He swings his finger back to the house. “It’s messy and painful and infuriating, and if I could choose to give this portion of myself away, so help me, Malek, I would. I get it now. It’s not just the power that’s addicting; it’s the freedom to not feel this.”
Mirja thinks he has to give up magic entirely. A cure can only happen if he truly stops channeling magic in any form. The only magic she can imagine him using is rune magic—woven by others. He has to learn how to live without magic. But how can he do that? There are at least two bonds that would need to be severed: his bond with Sgaeyl and his bond with the venin. Mirja believes only he can cut the bond with the venin. As for Sgaeyl, he might need help from Andarna or another irid.
OS Chapter 53, p. 443, Leothan Talking to Andarna
“So end it.” He angles his head, and the scales above his eyes furrow into a single line. “Bonds are merely magical ties. You are irid. You are magic. Bend it, shape it, break it as you see fit.”
And
OS Chapter 64, p. 515, Violet Talking to Theophanie About Dunne
“Do you know the pain of never being allowed to return, of knowing that it would sever the very thing that’s kept me untouchable all these years?”
An important step would be forgiving himself for what he has done. He can be someone without magic—he is a duke, he is smart, he is strategic.
The hero of these books is Violet, and he can fight alongside her in a strategic way or even with the infantry.
We know this from his bonus POV in FW Chapter 27—in about one minute, he designed three or four strategies to handle the attack, which they later discussed in Montserrat.
After Xaden heals, there could be a way for him to win Violet back—perhaps a visit to Loial could help in this case.
Mirja sais she knows these are fantasy/romantasy books, and it’s tempting to think the cure could be a mixture of herbs, or that he might need to master challenges to regain his soul, or even meet gods. But realistically, we shouldn’t forget that they are all human and must find their own paths. And the irids said humans should develop themselves. If this isn’t development for Xaden—learning to live without magic—Mirja doesn’t know what is.
My thoughts on Mirja’s theory
I believe her theory is very good and valid through and through. I do think there’s been enough foreshadowing that Xaden will have to hurt someone Violet loves, or even hurt her dragons or her…
I do not think it will be physical because I cannot imagine that Rebecca Yarros would taint their relationship with what is essentially domestic abuse and still allow for a happy ending together after that. She does not strike me as that type. So far, Xaden has been the perfect book boyfriend and the perfect morally gray character. I do think he will hurt innocents and, in doing so, hurt Violet in the process.
The only thing I would like to add is that perhaps Mirja’s theory might be the answer to the missing eggs too. We know that dragon eggs have magic in them. By being close to them, perhaps a dragon might have enough energy to sustain themselves without pain.
What if Xaden indeed went to an isle with no magic, like, say, Unnbriel? And the eggs are there for Sgaeyl to guard—but also to benefit from—so she’s not in pain? It would give them the army from Unnbriel, Sgaeyl would be “home” (given our theory on dragons and the gods’ parallel), and Xaden would have no access to magic, seeing as the isle itself has none. And assuming, of course, that Sgaeyl would bite his head off should he, in any way, channel from her or get too close to those eggs.
Fun theory to ponder…
I can already feel Book 4 shattering us. Xaden’s fall is coming, and it’s going to be brutal. But if we do get our happy ending in Book 5, it will make it all the more rewarding.
Mirja, you have truly opened a very dark but very convincing door. Now, we just have to brace ourselves for the heartbreak ahead…
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