Onyx Storm: Chapter 10
Feb. 13th, 2025 10:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwallaWe open with a quote about how weather is the great equalizer in battle, unless the riders happen to have the ability to influence the weather. I guess that makes sense considering all the combat we have seen in this book has been aerial.
Violet and co. are flying over the border, outside the wards on their way to the village that are being attacked by venin. Violet notes that the wild magic feels different from the magic within the wards. There's a nice bit of description here.
Violet and Tairn banter a bit as they close in on the village. They're heading into a storm. Violet grabs her conduit and starts trying to fry the wyvern attacking them, but they're quickly outnumbered. Violet realizes there must be a dark wielder nearby controlling them, so they swoop down into the village to find...
Okay. I guess it's good that Violet's weird silver hair is going to be plot relevant? Maybe? But canonically the world of these books has easily available hair dye and we know multiple riders have dyed hair in colors like purple and pink. Sure, it's weird that Violet's hair is silver at the ends, but in the context of the story it's never made sense that that should register as weird to other people. And it's only come up a couple times and only when other characters comment on it in the most hackneyed way possible.
This is not a well foreshadowed plot point, is what I'm saying.
Anyways, the storm is causing really intense winds, to the point Violet is barely conscious and Tairn just get straight up slammed into the side of a mountain. He passes out, leaving Violet stranded on the mountain. So far Tairn and Violet's teamwork in battle has been really good--kudos to Yarros here, it actually does feel like they have a bond. He's barely alive, and Violet is badly injured while Andarna panics in her head.
Both Tairn and Garrick's dragons crashed into the mountain belly-first to spare their riders the impact. That's sweet.
Garrick shows up to help Violet get off her saddle with her fucked up right knee. She says it's dislocated, not broken, so she has Garrick reset it and wrap it to hold it in place. With both their dragons down, they need to get going before the venin shows up. Worth noting that Violet reaches for Tairn's power, but can't access it while he is unconscious. So do the dragons have to permit power to be channeled consciously, or is it more that Tairn has nothing to give while he's injured? Can the dragons choose to not let their rider channel even after the bond is made and the signet manifests? That's interesting. And, I'm calling it now, would be a great set up for someone to turn into a venin. If their dragon won't supply the power, it has to come from somewhere, right?
Okay, so Violet confronts Garrick because he is supposed to be with Xaden, not here. I missed that earlier. Whoops. Xaden set Garrick because Violet charging into danger made him lose his shit. But Xaden is several hours away, so how did Garrick even get here in time? As Violet interrogates him, they're interrupted.
The venin advances on them, disarming Violet with a wave of her hand. The venin tells them that she lured them here and killed Maren's parents, though she left the children alive as "a sign of goodwill". She introduces herself as Theophanie and tortures Garrick to get Violet to answer her questions.
And...chapter end.
So we now have an idea of why the venin are so obsessed with Violet...it's because she bonded two dragons. This is canonically an unprecedented thing, so that does make sense. It's a better explanation than her having the power to wield lightning, since we just saw a venin do that, and also plenty of other riders have insanely powerful signets.
At least it's plot. See y'all next time.
Violet and co. are flying over the border, outside the wards on their way to the village that are being attacked by venin. Violet notes that the wild magic feels different from the magic within the wards. There's a nice bit of description here.
I’d almost forgotten how wild magic feels beyond the wards, how accessible. Tairn’s power seems endless, deeper than the oceans I’ve never crossed, wider than the vast sky above us.
Violet and Tairn banter a bit as they close in on the village. They're heading into a storm. Violet grabs her conduit and starts trying to fry the wyvern attacking them, but they're quickly outnumbered. Violet realizes there must be a dark wielder nearby controlling them, so they swoop down into the village to find...
But unless those three wyvern are on a scouting patrol—unlikely, given the flaming village—there has to be a creator nearby. I face forward and lean into the turn, casting my focus downward. The demarcation line is clear this high above the village. Half is devoid of color, drained of all its magic, and in the center of the village stands a single figure in flowing dark robes, her light hair—silver?—whipping in the wind.
It’s her. The dark wielder from Jack’s cell. My grip tightens on the conduit.
She looks toward us, lifts her hand, and wiggles her fingers as if waving. A sick feeling squeezes my stomach. “I think…she was expecting us.”
This is a trap.
Okay. I guess it's good that Violet's weird silver hair is going to be plot relevant? Maybe? But canonically the world of these books has easily available hair dye and we know multiple riders have dyed hair in colors like purple and pink. Sure, it's weird that Violet's hair is silver at the ends, but in the context of the story it's never made sense that that should register as weird to other people. And it's only come up a couple times and only when other characters comment on it in the most hackneyed way possible.
This is not a well foreshadowed plot point, is what I'm saying.
Anyways, the storm is causing really intense winds, to the point Violet is barely conscious and Tairn just get straight up slammed into the side of a mountain. He passes out, leaving Violet stranded on the mountain. So far Tairn and Violet's teamwork in battle has been really good--kudos to Yarros here, it actually does feel like they have a bond. He's barely alive, and Violet is badly injured while Andarna panics in her head.
Both Tairn and Garrick's dragons crashed into the mountain belly-first to spare their riders the impact. That's sweet.
Garrick shows up to help Violet get off her saddle with her fucked up right knee. She says it's dislocated, not broken, so she has Garrick reset it and wrap it to hold it in place. With both their dragons down, they need to get going before the venin shows up. Worth noting that Violet reaches for Tairn's power, but can't access it while he is unconscious. So do the dragons have to permit power to be channeled consciously, or is it more that Tairn has nothing to give while he's injured? Can the dragons choose to not let their rider channel even after the bond is made and the signet manifests? That's interesting. And, I'm calling it now, would be a great set up for someone to turn into a venin. If their dragon won't supply the power, it has to come from somewhere, right?
Okay, so Violet confronts Garrick because he is supposed to be with Xaden, not here. I missed that earlier. Whoops. Xaden set Garrick because Violet charging into danger made him lose his shit. But Xaden is several hours away, so how did Garrick even get here in time? As Violet interrogates him, they're interrupted.
Our heads whip right, and the silver-haired venin walks toward us, her purple robes billowing in the breeze. She doesn’t bother to look at Tairn as she passes mere yards in front of his hind claws, just keeps those eerie red eyes pinned on us. On me.
Wait. She did…what? Lightning?
Blood drains from my face and I throw up my shields, drawing on Andarna’s power.
Holy Dunne, she wielded lightning. But venin aren’t supposed to have signets…let alone mine.
The venin advances on them, disarming Violet with a wave of her hand. The venin tells them that she lured them here and killed Maren's parents, though she left the children alive as "a sign of goodwill". She introduces herself as Theophanie and tortures Garrick to get Violet to answer her questions.
“Now tell me, which chose you first? The one who gifted you the power of the sky? Or the irid?”
And...chapter end.
So we now have an idea of why the venin are so obsessed with Violet...it's because she bonded two dragons. This is canonically an unprecedented thing, so that does make sense. It's a better explanation than her having the power to wield lightning, since we just saw a venin do that, and also plenty of other riders have insanely powerful signets.
At least it's plot. See y'all next time.
