Onyx Storm: Chapter 52
Jun. 5th, 2025 08:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwallaTairn and Violet crash into the ground as Tairn is injured. Conveniently, this field is outside Dunne's temple, because Andarna went to protect it following Aaric's orders. Tairn is injured, but the wyvern he was fighting is dead. Violet bickers with Andarna, and then with Rhiannon, because neither of them do what she wants them to.
God, I'm getting really sick of Andarna's angsting.
In classic Yarros fashion, Rhiannon has a new flaw where she's a bad leader all of a sudden, I assume because someone needs to fuck up Violet can be badass and this is the only way Yarros knows to do it. Rhiannon, RIP, you're getting the Dain treatment.
There's a big spike stuck in Tairn's leg, so Violet fails to remove it and then Rhiannon does it with her powers. However, it's too late to run: three more wyvern are here. But so are a bunch of armed temple attendants from Dunne's temple. Andarna refuses to abandon them, and Violet realizes that she can't leave them to defend themselves.
We then get this:
Heaven forbid anyone in this book prioritize ANYTHING over Violet's life. And earlier in this scene, Tairn yelled at Andarna because her reckless behavior was putting Violet in danger. Even though Andarna is an adolescent and there's been a huge fuss earlier in these books about how dragons prioritize and protect their young at all costs. Consistency? Not if it gets in the way of every character in this book sucking Violet's metaphorical dick.
Naturally, the priestess of Dunne comments on Violet's hair, asking if she treats it with chemicals as they do. She tells them no, hers is real, and the priestess says that Dunne must have sent Violet to protect them.
Violet is very skeptical of this claim. So...does Violet believe in the gods or not?
Like, this world has this pantheon that exists, and there are temples, and people occasionally name drop a god, but I could not tell you if any particular character was actually religious or not. Yarros came up with the names of gods, assigned them generic domains, and just...called it a day. It's fine if Violet doesn't believe if that's her character, but it feels like Yarros forgot that the religion would be real to the characters in the book!
Anyways, Theophanie shows up.
Two more venin show up to back up Theophanie, and Andarna tries and fails to incinerate them. Then Theophanie just...gets scared and runs away, but we don't immediately find out of what. One of the venin has the same distance signet that Garrick has, and they all vanish. Violet has no time to ponder. Four more wyvern are incoming.
Violet takes one out, but then all four wyvern just fall out of the sky directly onto them. Andarna is barely saved by Rhiannon's dragon. One of the wyvern crashes into the temple, but before they can be killed by the rubble, Xaden shows up to save the day.
Hey, remember when last chapter Violet announced she was their best weapon? But she's basically done nothing this entire fight?
Well, don't worry, she doesn't need to do anything. Because the wyvern all fell out of the sky because the wards are up, and the wards are up because the irids are here and they raised the wards in Aretia.
Chapter over.
This book is somehow both too long and not long enough. Like, it absolutely could and should have been cut down by a competent editor, but it handles most conflicts so incompetently that either they drag out with no actual resolution or consequences or they get solved within a few chapters. Half the time, Violet will be handed a mystery, and then either another character will conveniently answer it for her or she'll just...forget about it until it becomes plot relevant. For example, she's been researching the venin to the point she kept Jack alive to interrogate him, but Xaden's the one who comes up with the magic number for when he thinks he's safe using intel from Jack. Violet has known the Dunne temple attendants have hair like hers for a while, but she never goes to a temple to investigate on her own. For that matter, she knew all about the themed trials of the island nations, yet Yarros wastes the opportunity to actually show us anything interesting by never having Violet set foot in a temple beforehand. The end result is that few things in this book feel like they actually have weight.
God, I'm getting really sick of Andarna's angsting.
“What was that all about?” Rhiannon shouts from Feirge’s back. “We could have caught them!”
And died. “That was Theophanie,” I call back.
“And?” Rhi throws her arms up.
“And I couldn’t fly with you— Tairn’s wounded,” I reply. Does she have a death wish?
In classic Yarros fashion, Rhiannon has a new flaw where she's a bad leader all of a sudden, I assume because someone needs to fuck up Violet can be badass and this is the only way Yarros knows to do it. Rhiannon, RIP, you're getting the Dain treatment.
There's a big spike stuck in Tairn's leg, so Violet fails to remove it and then Rhiannon does it with her powers. However, it's too late to run: three more wyvern are here. But so are a bunch of armed temple attendants from Dunne's temple. Andarna refuses to abandon them, and Violet realizes that she can't leave them to defend themselves.
We then get this:
Shit. There’s no time to argue, and I can’t abandon them. Andarna’s right— if we take to the skies, we leave them defenseless, and Tairn is already wounded.
But I don’t need to be mounted to wield.
“Tell Feirge to go,” I say down the bond, then run up the rain-slick marble steps for a higher vantage point, palming the conduit. “I’d ask you to go with her, but I know better.”
“And yet you still mentioned it.” Tairn slowly turns to face the incoming wyvern with Andarna and lifts his tail high. “Be warned. Should Theophanie appear, I will choose your life over the attendants’.”
Heaven forbid anyone in this book prioritize ANYTHING over Violet's life. And earlier in this scene, Tairn yelled at Andarna because her reckless behavior was putting Violet in danger. Even though Andarna is an adolescent and there's been a huge fuss earlier in these books about how dragons prioritize and protect their young at all costs. Consistency? Not if it gets in the way of every character in this book sucking Violet's metaphorical dick.
Naturally, the priestess of Dunne comments on Violet's hair, asking if she treats it with chemicals as they do. She tells them no, hers is real, and the priestess says that Dunne must have sent Violet to protect them.
Violet is very skeptical of this claim. So...does Violet believe in the gods or not?
Like, this world has this pantheon that exists, and there are temples, and people occasionally name drop a god, but I could not tell you if any particular character was actually religious or not. Yarros came up with the names of gods, assigned them generic domains, and just...called it a day. It's fine if Violet doesn't believe if that's her character, but it feels like Yarros forgot that the religion would be real to the characters in the book!
Anyways, Theophanie shows up.
“Heretic! You are not welcome here,” she shouts, her voice breaking with a rasp.
Heretic? My gaze darts between the two women as my mind races in time with my heartbeat. The faded forehead tattoo. Theophanie was a priestess of Dunne. Her silver hair matches the attendants’ on Unnbriel… matches mine—
Two more venin show up to back up Theophanie, and Andarna tries and fails to incinerate them. Then Theophanie just...gets scared and runs away, but we don't immediately find out of what. One of the venin has the same distance signet that Garrick has, and they all vanish. Violet has no time to ponder. Four more wyvern are incoming.
Violet takes one out, but then all four wyvern just fall out of the sky directly onto them. Andarna is barely saved by Rhiannon's dragon. One of the wyvern crashes into the temple, but before they can be killed by the rubble, Xaden shows up to save the day.
Hey, remember when last chapter Violet announced she was their best weapon? But she's basically done nothing this entire fight?
Well, don't worry, she doesn't need to do anything. Because the wyvern all fell out of the sky because the wards are up, and the wards are up because the irids are here and they raised the wards in Aretia.
Chapter over.
This book is somehow both too long and not long enough. Like, it absolutely could and should have been cut down by a competent editor, but it handles most conflicts so incompetently that either they drag out with no actual resolution or consequences or they get solved within a few chapters. Half the time, Violet will be handed a mystery, and then either another character will conveniently answer it for her or she'll just...forget about it until it becomes plot relevant. For example, she's been researching the venin to the point she kept Jack alive to interrogate him, but Xaden's the one who comes up with the magic number for when he thinks he's safe using intel from Jack. Violet has known the Dunne temple attendants have hair like hers for a while, but she never goes to a temple to investigate on her own. For that matter, she knew all about the themed trials of the island nations, yet Yarros wastes the opportunity to actually show us anything interesting by never having Violet set foot in a temple beforehand. The end result is that few things in this book feel like they actually have weight.
