Hey everyone I finally listened to the new big interview with Rebecca Yarros at Disney. For those of you who haven’t heard it yet I can transcribe the questions and answers here. Some of her answers seem like they could spark entire theories so we might turn them into separate posts down the road. For now here is what’s new about the Empyrean Series, Onyx Storm and Book 4.

Questions about the graphic novel

Rebecca Yarros said that they are almost done with the graphic novel. I’m really excited that we’re going to get a visual representation of how she imagines the characters. I’m sure many fans worry about casting — not everyone will be happy. Having a graphic novel seems like the safest way to capture the world as it was meant to be seen. I still low key hope they eventually make an animated version of the series.

Why is King Tauri called “King Tauri the Wise”?

The author joked that he calls himself that. She pointed out he isn’t exactly wise. His own son was hiding in his war college and he didn’t even notice. I also think there’s more to it than that. Yarros does a great job drawing parallels with powerful people today who crave approval and want to appear wise. Yet sometimes they’re really just insecure and perhaps corrupt. It makes me wonder if the name “the Wise” is a critique of pretentious leadership, a way to show the difference between claiming wisdom and actually having it.

In Iron Flame General Aetos was stationed at an outpost. What was he up to?

Yarros said she cannot tell us anything yet. I assume that means we will learn more about him in the upcoming books and uncover his background story then.

What color is General Aetos’s dragon?

Red. Like father like son. I wonder if there’s more meaning behind that. Dain Aetos has had a great redemption arc. I hope we can trust him more moving forward. Even though he felt desperate to fulfill his father’s wishes, he still chose Violet and sided with the resistance.

What is the first letter of General Aetos’s first name?

G. But since we don’t know more than that and names seem arbitrary, it might not be George or Greg.

How would Asher Sorrengail feel about Xaden and Violet’s relationship?

After he got over the initial shock and realized she isn’t insane he would accept it. He knows his daughter very well.

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I think this is a key info that shows we really should trust his judgment. After all, he did leave Violet several clues to discover and believed she would choose well. Still, sometimes only a mother knows her daughter best. Considering Violet would have ended up in the scribe’s quadrant, it might have actually been more dangerous for her to stay there. Sending her to the rider’s quadrant — risky as it was — could have been the safer option, as Lilith suggested. So while I trust Papa Sorrengail, I trust Lilith more.

Asher left six tomes for Violet in Deverelli. We learn the titles of three of those books. Can we know anything about the other three?

The author knows what those books are but she can’t say yet. Violet knows them. I think it’s fair to assume we will learn more in Book 4.

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I suspect one might be about the island of love. The others might explore territories up north or offer more information about the weapon, the dragons, or the cure.

What percentage of Papa Sorrengail’s research have we uncovered?

Yarros said she cannot tell us. She explained she is plotting books 4 and 5 at the same time. She uses separate story boards for each. The storylines are being woven together so everything connects smoothly across both books without dragging the series out. Because she’s still deciding which details will go in which book she cannot say exactly how much of Papa Sorrengail’s research will be revealed. But she does know where the story begins, where it ends, and how everything fits together.

Dain and Sloane why do you ship them and why do you think they would be a great fit together?

She said because he is so rigid and she just does not care. I think there is more to their relationship than that. It feels like an enemies to lovers trope within the bigger main enemies to lovers story. It seems clearly that she loves that trope. I suspect Mira might also be involved in something similar. Most importantly it is a messy feeling — falling in love with someone who indirectly contributed to your brother’s death. Sounds eerily similar to Xaden and Violet’s situation.

How does Broccoli ride on Drake’s gryphon?

That question didn’t get answered. They got sidetracked. Yarros talked about how surprised she was by all the love and support fans have for Broccoli.

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Can we take a moment to understand why fans are so obsessed with Broccoli haha?

Can you tell us anything about the process of dedicating someone to a god, like Dunne?

It depends on the dedication. Were you taken to the actual temple? Just on the island? If you paid attention, what does the priestess ask Violet? “Do you dye your hair like us”? There was also some back and forth about how magic can be found on the isles even though technically there shouldn’t be any.

Except there must be — Violet channeled, right? Assuming magic comes from the skies Maybe. So first we need to figure out how magic exists on the isles Then maybe we can understand more about the dedication process.

Grandma Niara can you give us any additional insights on who she is?

You will learn a lot more about that side of the family in Book 4. The biggest question is what secrets she is keeping. She chose not to speak to the family because of what they did. So she must be hiding crucial information about how things really went down.

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Honestly I love this answer. I also think it ties to the fact that Papa Sorrengail dedicated Violet. The family stopped talking to Grandma Niara after that event according to the timeline in the book.

While talking about grandparents can you share anything about Xaden’s grandpa?

Nothing yet. That is future material.

Has Imogen wiped Violet’s memories more than just the instance at the end of Onyx Storm?

The author said she does not know how to answer that. It depends on what you believe about Imogen’s character. What has she shown you about herself so far? What has she told Violet about her signet? What has she told Violet she does or does not do when explaining it in Iron Flame I think you have to make your own judgment about Imogen’s character. This was a powerful moment. I think it deserves a whole theory on its own. I have so many points I want to dig into with you.

Can you explain how gryphon gifts work?

They are like lesser magic and not as powerful as signets. Some do it better than others. It is like swimming everyone can do it but only some can cross the English Channel. So gifts do not hold massive power.

Does magic work in balance between the flyers and the venin as it does with the riders and the venin?

Maybe. This is interesting. Perhaps. We might assume it is a yes since magic seems to care about balance between all things. Magic does not care who balances the scales. It only cares that the scales stay even.

In the throne scene was that Xaden’s signet, Violet’s signet or their bond?

It was their bond. We will learn much more about how partner bonds work in Book 4.

Tairn is a legendary battle dragon is that only because of his time with Naolin?

Not necessarily. I think a better question is why there are so few black dragons. Yes you are right we have been asking this from the start They are the rarest. So why

How relevant is it that two new baby black dragons just hatched recently?

Very relevant. Also a reminder that dragon scale color is hereditary. Since there are only two black dragons on the continent the hatchlings must belong to either Tairn or Codagh or maybe they were dragons who left or died in battles long ago. Perhaps their eggs hatched late. Interesting possibilities.

Please settle a fan debate for us does Bodhi have feelings for Violet?

He seems to feel what Xaden has but he does not want to. Yet he does feel it anyway. I think that explains why Rebecca Yarros said in the past she associated a certain Taylor Swift song with Bodhi Jealousy I guess. So he does not want to want what Xaden and Violet have. But he does nonetheless.

That makes me feel that Bodhi is the new brother figure.

Did Brennan want to switch to Tyrrendor’s side before his death?

He was figuring things out during the battle. Yarros also confirmed that Fen shot him. I really hope we get more details about this because it feels like a side story waiting to be uncovered.

We have seen multiple colors of wyvern Do they emulate dragon colors?

One would assume so.

Is there a reason why we haven’t seen black or brown wyvern?

Yes there is a reason, but Yarros did not share it. She talked about how anxious this interview made her and how much harder it was than writing a profile for the New York Times She kind of slipped away from follow up questions Haha.

Sages and Maven can hide How can we spot them?

Yarros said there are various ways maybe cream robes, but she added fans would spiral if she said more. Basically anyone who has motives that do not align with Navarre’s best interest.

Why did leadership want to keep Jack Barlow alive?

They believed he turned and they wanted to experiment on him. Yarros also confirmed that Varrish considered Jack an enemy and that Varrish was not venin. So that theory can go to rest Varrish was not venin.

In Onyx Storm there is a scene where Violet researches venin and recognizes a pattern. Can you confirm if this is related to the epigraph of that chapter that says some venin attack whole villages but do not kill their own families?

Absolutely yes. Violet found three instances of venin who spared the people they had loved in their previous lives.

Apparently, this is closely tied to what’s coming and how she needs to be smarter than blindly trusting Xaden. Since Xaden is turning evil…

Is Pancheck a venin or dead?

Dead.

Thank the gods I hope Malek is having a great time with that soul.

Can you explain how Dragon Elders work in Aretia?

Some of them never left. And in response to a follow up question about whether Tairn is now the Elder for Aretia, Yarros said it is a better question to ask why there are so few black dragons.

How important is the hatching ground and new hatchlings?

Extremely important

Is it important to know where the dragons originate?

Yes it is.

Every island has a trial What would the Love Islands trials be?

We do not know yet and there is a reason for it. It might not be what we expect because love is not always just romantic, it can be destructive too.

Can you tell us one or two things about the island we did not visit?

One thing is we have not been there. Two, marriages blessed by that temple are seen as impulsive or rash. And the people there are not what they seem.

Question about the uprisings There have been three so far.

Yarros confirmed that not everyone wanted to unify.

How many people including dragons were present at the wedding?

She said she can’t say But it was definitely not double digits. It was private for a reason. Dain is not the only memory reader, so what will happen next in Book 4? They will question every person to find out what happened. The smaller, the better.

So are the people missing not in Aretia because they do not want to have their memory read?

Maybe.

Is there a reason why Tairn is so exhausted at the end of Onyx Storm?

Yes there is.

Did Xaden have a proposal planned before everything happened?

Yarros said that the whole of Onyx Storm was a proposal. The entire book was like a big love letter. He knew he was going to have to go and he tried hard to prove that he could hold on to Violet. The fact that he had the ring made shows he was planning ahead.

Can you confirm now that Violet is the Duchess of Tyrrendor?

Yes.

By the end of Book 4 will we know what happened in those twelve hours?

Yes. But you might not see it directly. Violet will know what happened.

So far we have seen about ten percent of Violet’s signet. By the end of Book 4 what percentage will we have seen?

Yarros said she doesn’t know yet. She explained the reason is that she is still plotting this part together with the other details and working out the intricacies.

Can you give us a teaser for Book 4?

She said she is really excited to write the moment Violet realizes why Xaden married her. Then she added that he loves her but he is turning evil. She said we should be prepared for Xaden’s villain arc.

I think there are multiple reasons behind this and I believe we should dive deep into a theory about this soon.

Will we get more POVs?

Yarros said she is fighting for that There might be more than one chapter from Xaden’s point of view. She also said she would like to include a Sloane POV and she is very excited about that.