Onyx Storm: Chapter 29
Mar. 20th, 2025 10:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwallaThe chapter opens with Violet being anxious about the upcoming mission, because Xaden's eyes have not returned to normal.
I don't...why do you hate that you lied to him? Halden sucks, you don't like him and have not liked him since he cheated on you, he's impeding your investigation which might be the only way to save the whole fucking continent and the guy you do love, why do you hate that you lied to him? Are worried about the consequences of lying to the Crown Prince, sure. Dislike the situation because of all the risks of taking off on an unauthorized trip and hoping your results will earn forgiveness from the Navarre government, sure. But that's not what Yarros wrote!
Violet and co. arrive for the mission. Mira immediately clocks their oversized packs and points out how unsubtle they are. She's obviously mad at Violet about something, though it's not clear what; she seems annoyed about Violet's plans to go on an unauthorized mission. Again, every character in this book is suddenly super concerned with rule breaking, even though they all have great reasons to break the rules and fuck the government, and in fact did that in the last book with great enthusiasm. And Mira is fucking correct, Halden does immediately point out how huge the packs are, and then Xaden picks a fight with him.
I do feel like Violet, our resident genius, could have found some way of transporting their supplies without needing comically oversized packs.
Anyways, after some banter about murdering Halden, Aaric shows up. He's now on this mission, because he doesn't think his idiot brother can be trusted. This is sensible of him and would actually lend Violet's mission credibility. So of course, she is against it. She does give in, and then for some reason, Aaric reveals himself to Halden and tells him he's replacing him.
Halden hates this, but he can't force the gryphons to carry his flight basket, so he's kind of fucked and has to allow Aaric to take his place.
You know, I get why the king of Navarre wanted to not have his remaining sons become riders because he needs them alive, but it's also stupid to have no royal riders considering the enormous power the riders wield. Aaric is essentially able to take Halden's place after a couple lines of dialogue solely on the basis that he has a flying magic lizard and Halden doesn't. And the riders are the only ones who can communicate with the Empyrean and continue Navarre's relationship with dragonkind.
Anyways. This is how this scene ends.
Couple notes: Aaric straight up has hated Halden the entire time he's existed in this series, and earlier in this scene points out Halden hasn't found him because Halden is only checking gaming halls and bars, e.g. the places Halden himself frequents. And Halden has never expressed any concern about Aaric up until this point. So this feels out of nowhere and just there to make Halden look sympathetic, which is the second time in this scene Yarros has seemed to have forgotten that Halden is a useless piece of shit who everyone should rightfully hate. If Halden is going to be nuanced, he actually has to be nuanced on the page, not just for a line or dialogue or two.
Scene change.
Violet and co. fly to Deverelli, where they discover that some runes work there, though others don't. They all take handfuls of runes to test, and after a rest, keep flying. They're now facing a nine hour journey over water to Unnbriel, a nation described in the chapter's opening quote as worshipping the goddess of war. I assume that just as Deverelli was The Merchant Nation, Unnbriel will be the War Nation. Violet is nervous about this journey for a number of reasons. There's no way to stop to rest, and the dragons and gryphons have no magic to strengthen them, so they have to hope they can make it. And the gryphons are already weaker fliers, so that's an extra layer of danger. Andarna is flying on her own, though it is a strain on her weakened wing.
We are told there are ships underneath, which makes me wonder if they could arrange for boats as dragon perches for the future. They're under a time crunch now, and don't have the resources, so I understand why they have to fly.
They make it to Unnbriel and find a place to land. We were told that only Violet and her dragons retained the ability to communicate telepathically, so it's not clear how the group is communicating to coordinate their movements. I guess they're just watching Tairn? After they land, Mira and Violet make conversation. Mira has picked up on the tension between Sgaeyl and Tairn, but doesn't know why, since she doesn't know about Xaden's little venin problem. I am actually curious about how that's going, too, since the dragon mating bond appears to be pretty profound--they supposedly can't even be physically parted for very long, though this has never actually been a real problem for them. So for them to be fighting for this long seems like it should be a bigger deal in the story.
Anyways, Mira tells Violet that she took personal leave to see their estranged paternal grandmother, and cryptically encourages Violet to see her, too. Violet senses the tension between them and tries to bridge it by offering to let Mira read their father's books, but Mira refuses.
I'm guessing this is going to be a jealousy thing, like Mira felt like her dad preferred Violet (and maybe her mom didn't favor her?) and she's feeling neglected. We'll see.
The gang camps out, taking watches in turn, only to be woken at sunrise by armed warriors. They also refer to Violet and co as fire-bringers like the Deverelli people did.
Chapter ends.
The stuff with Mira is probably the most interesting right now, but it's also like...it would be nice if Mira's issue had nothing to do with competing with Violet, because it feels like everything in this book already revolves around her and Xaden. Subplots are a great way to liven up your supporting characters, and Yarros makes minimal use of hers. Sawyer at least has his romance with Jesinia and his missing leg. Ridoc's had one monologue. Rhiannon is a supportive friend. Imogen is a snarky friend. Garrick and Bodhi are supportive friends, but for Xaden instead. So few characters have sustained concerns beyond Violet and Xaden or whatever the main plot is at the moment. This is another thing about this book that makes the world feel less real.
I hate that we’ve lied to Halden that this is only the Unnbriel trip, but there’s a growing part of me that just doesn’t care.
He’s a fucking liability.
I don't...why do you hate that you lied to him? Halden sucks, you don't like him and have not liked him since he cheated on you, he's impeding your investigation which might be the only way to save the whole fucking continent and the guy you do love, why do you hate that you lied to him? Are worried about the consequences of lying to the Crown Prince, sure. Dislike the situation because of all the risks of taking off on an unauthorized trip and hoping your results will earn forgiveness from the Navarre government, sure. But that's not what Yarros wrote!
Violet and co. arrive for the mission. Mira immediately clocks their oversized packs and points out how unsubtle they are. She's obviously mad at Violet about something, though it's not clear what; she seems annoyed about Violet's plans to go on an unauthorized mission. Again, every character in this book is suddenly super concerned with rule breaking, even though they all have great reasons to break the rules and fuck the government, and in fact did that in the last book with great enthusiasm. And Mira is fucking correct, Halden does immediately point out how huge the packs are, and then Xaden picks a fight with him.
I do feel like Violet, our resident genius, could have found some way of transporting their supplies without needing comically oversized packs.
Anyways, after some banter about murdering Halden, Aaric shows up. He's now on this mission, because he doesn't think his idiot brother can be trusted. This is sensible of him and would actually lend Violet's mission credibility. So of course, she is against it. She does give in, and then for some reason, Aaric reveals himself to Halden and tells him he's replacing him.
Halden hates this, but he can't force the gryphons to carry his flight basket, so he's kind of fucked and has to allow Aaric to take his place.
You know, I get why the king of Navarre wanted to not have his remaining sons become riders because he needs them alive, but it's also stupid to have no royal riders considering the enormous power the riders wield. Aaric is essentially able to take Halden's place after a couple lines of dialogue solely on the basis that he has a flying magic lizard and Halden doesn't. And the riders are the only ones who can communicate with the Empyrean and continue Navarre's relationship with dragonkind.
Anyways. This is how this scene ends.
“Violet.” Halden lowers his voice and slowly looks my way. The plea in his eyes hits me straight in the chest.
“I won’t let anything happen to him,” I promise.
Halden nods once. “I’ll hold you to it.” He looks at each of us in turn, and the promise morphs into a threat. “All of you.”
Couple notes: Aaric straight up has hated Halden the entire time he's existed in this series, and earlier in this scene points out Halden hasn't found him because Halden is only checking gaming halls and bars, e.g. the places Halden himself frequents. And Halden has never expressed any concern about Aaric up until this point. So this feels out of nowhere and just there to make Halden look sympathetic, which is the second time in this scene Yarros has seemed to have forgotten that Halden is a useless piece of shit who everyone should rightfully hate. If Halden is going to be nuanced, he actually has to be nuanced on the page, not just for a line or dialogue or two.
Scene change.
Violet and co. fly to Deverelli, where they discover that some runes work there, though others don't. They all take handfuls of runes to test, and after a rest, keep flying. They're now facing a nine hour journey over water to Unnbriel, a nation described in the chapter's opening quote as worshipping the goddess of war. I assume that just as Deverelli was The Merchant Nation, Unnbriel will be the War Nation. Violet is nervous about this journey for a number of reasons. There's no way to stop to rest, and the dragons and gryphons have no magic to strengthen them, so they have to hope they can make it. And the gryphons are already weaker fliers, so that's an extra layer of danger. Andarna is flying on her own, though it is a strain on her weakened wing.
We are told there are ships underneath, which makes me wonder if they could arrange for boats as dragon perches for the future. They're under a time crunch now, and don't have the resources, so I understand why they have to fly.
They make it to Unnbriel and find a place to land. We were told that only Violet and her dragons retained the ability to communicate telepathically, so it's not clear how the group is communicating to coordinate their movements. I guess they're just watching Tairn? After they land, Mira and Violet make conversation. Mira has picked up on the tension between Sgaeyl and Tairn, but doesn't know why, since she doesn't know about Xaden's little venin problem. I am actually curious about how that's going, too, since the dragon mating bond appears to be pretty profound--they supposedly can't even be physically parted for very long, though this has never actually been a real problem for them. So for them to be fighting for this long seems like it should be a bigger deal in the story.
Anyways, Mira tells Violet that she took personal leave to see their estranged paternal grandmother, and cryptically encourages Violet to see her, too. Violet senses the tension between them and tries to bridge it by offering to let Mira read their father's books, but Mira refuses.
I'm guessing this is going to be a jealousy thing, like Mira felt like her dad preferred Violet (and maybe her mom didn't favor her?) and she's feeling neglected. We'll see.
The gang camps out, taking watches in turn, only to be woken at sunrise by armed warriors. They also refer to Violet and co as fire-bringers like the Deverelli people did.
Chapter ends.
The stuff with Mira is probably the most interesting right now, but it's also like...it would be nice if Mira's issue had nothing to do with competing with Violet, because it feels like everything in this book already revolves around her and Xaden. Subplots are a great way to liven up your supporting characters, and Yarros makes minimal use of hers. Sawyer at least has his romance with Jesinia and his missing leg. Ridoc's had one monologue. Rhiannon is a supportive friend. Imogen is a snarky friend. Garrick and Bodhi are supportive friends, but for Xaden instead. So few characters have sustained concerns beyond Violet and Xaden or whatever the main plot is at the moment. This is another thing about this book that makes the world feel less real.
