Who Is Who In Fourth Wing
Today it’s the Fourth Wing characters explained: Violet, Xaden, Tairn, Andarna and everyone else, plus the dragons, the signets and the map.
Spoiler level: this video spoils the whole first book, including the ending and who dies. It does not spoil Iron Flame or Onyx Storm. If you haven’t finished Fourth Wing, watch my spoiler-free review first.
Violet Sorrengail
Violet is our narrator. She is twenty, small and fragile, with a body that dislocates and breaks, and she spent her life studying to be a scribe. Her mother, General Lilith Sorrengail, forces her into the Riders Quadrant, and Violet decides to stay and survive on her own terms.
Her weapons are her brain and her stubbornness. She poisons opponents before fights, climbs the Gauntlet with a rope and a dagger, and talks her way out of trouble. By the end she bonds two dragons, manifests lightning, and learns she’s a weapon.
Xaden Riorson
Xaden Riorson is the wingleader of Fourth Wing, and the son of Fen Riorson, the Great Betrayer who led the Tyrrish rebellion. His father’s execution left him with a rebellion relic, a marking that climbs up his neck, and a deal that left a hundred and seven scars on his back.
His signet is shadow wielding. He can black out a room, pull daggers out of trees and lasso a dragon with a rope of dark. He calls Violet Violence, and he spends the book moving from wanting her dead to being unable to live without her. He also hides the biggest secret in the story.
Tairn
Tairneanach, called Tairn, is a black morningstartail, from the rarest color of dragon, and one of the biggest in the Vale. He’s gruff, blunt and sarcastic, and he talks to Violet constantly. He chooses her because she saved Andarna, not because she’s strong.
Tairn’s previous rider, Naolin, died trying to save Violet’s brother in the rebellion, and Tairn almost didn’t survive it. He is fiercely protective, and he will happily burn anyone who threatens her. He is also the mate of Sgaeyl.
Andarna
Andarnaurram, or Andarna, is the small golden dragon everyone laughs at. She is a feathertail, a breed so secret that most riders don’t know it exists. She looks small because she’s young, about two years old, not because she’s weak.
She also chooses Violet, so Violet bonds two dragons, a first in the history of the Vale. Andarna is sweet, curious, a little reckless and fearless. She can stop time briefly, and that gift passes to Violet. By the end she has grown and the gift is gone.
Sgaeyl And The Mating Bond
Sgaeyl is Xaden’s dragon, a navy Blue Daggertail, the rarest of the blues. She is ruthless, proud and very protective of Xaden. She’s also Tairn’s mate.
Mated dragons can’t be apart for long, about three days, or their health fails. That means Violet and Xaden are tied together as riders. If one rider dies, the chain could kill the others. That’s why the pair of them are forced to trust each other, whether they want to or not.
Dain Aetos
Dain is Violet’s childhood best friend and, for a while, the safe romantic choice. He’s kind, funny and rule bound, a second-year squad leader with a Red Swordtail called Cath. His signet lets him read a person’s recent memories by touch, and that’s why his signet is classified.
Dain loves Violet, but he doesn’t believe in her. He keeps trying to save her, he distrusts Xaden, and in the end he breaks her trust by reading her memory. He isn’t a villain, but he’s a rule follower in a world that rewards people who break the rules.
Rhiannon Matthias
Rhiannon is Violet’s first friend, met on the stairs to the parapet. She’s funny, loyal and a great fighter, and she’s from a village near the Cygnisen border. She bonds a Green Daggertail called Feirge and manifests the signet of summoning, pulling objects to her from a short distance.
She’s also the book’s romantic heart on the side, with her on and off relationship with Tara. And she’s the friend who tells Violet the truth, the one who trains with her, and the one who shows the rest of the squad what loyalty looks like.
Liam Mairi
Liam is the first-year cadet who becomes Violet’s shadow. He’s tall, blond, funny, always carving little wooden dragons, and ridiculously good at hand-to-hand. His father was executed in the rebellion, and he was fostered with Xaden, which is why he’d do anything for him.
His dragon is the Red Daggertail Deigh, and his signet is farsight, the ability to see far away. He’s the heart of the book’s grief. His death at Resson is the moment the story stops being a game, and his last promise is to look after his sister Sloane.
The Squad
Violet’s squad is a gang of misfits. Ridoc is the joker, with an ice signet and a brown dragon called Aotrom. Sawyer is a repeat cadet who didn’t bond the first time, and he can bend metal. Imogen, the pink-haired second-year, breaks Violet’s arm early, then trains her.
Garrick is the section leader, a two-sword fighter and one of Xaden’s best friends. Bodhi is Xaden’s cousin. Quinn can astral project, Heaton breathes underwater, Emery moves air, and Nadine unweaves wards. Each of them gets at least one moment where their power saves the day.
The Enemies
Jack Barlowe is the book’s first great villain, a stocky sadist who throws a cadet off the parapet. His orange dragon is Baide. Violet’s lightning kills him in the War Games. Oren Seifert, Tynan and Luca are the cruel cadets, and Amber Mavis is a wingleader who thinks Violet cheats.
Amber is the most interesting. She loves the rules, and she’s executed for breaking the biggest one. These characters are the reason the academy feels dangerous, and none of them survive the book.
The Sorrengails
Violet’s family is a mess. Her mother, General Lilith Sorrengail, controls storms with her brown dragon Aimsir, and she runs Basgiath with ice. Her sister Mira is a decorated rider with a green dragon called Teine, who gives Violet armor made of dragon scales.
Her brother Brennan was a mender, a rare signet that repairs things, and Violet’s idol. The book says he died in the rebellion. It’s the biggest question in her life, and the last page answers it.
The Professors And The Generals
Professor Kaori teaches about dragons and can project his imagination. Professor Devera runs Battle Brief with the scribe Professor Markham, who once expected Violet to be his star pupil. Professor Emetterio teaches fighting, and Professor Carr teaches wielding.
Above them are Commandant Panchek and General Melgren, the commander of all Navarre’s forces, whose signet lets him see the outcome of a battle before it happens. He rides the black dragon Codagh. He’s the antagonist the book keeps in the dark.
Dragon Breeds And Colors
Dragons have colors and tails. The colors are red, orange, brown, green, blue and black. Greens are the most rational, blues the most ruthless, and blacks the rarest and smartest, with none born in a century. The tails are daggers, swords, clubs and scorpions, plus the rare morningstar.
Tairn is a black morningstartail, Sgaeyl a blue daggertail, Cath a red swordtail and Baide an orange scorpiontail. Andarna is a feathertail, a breed no one has seen outside the Vale in years. Kaori’s lessons are a handy field guide.
Signets Explained
A signet is the unique power that comes from the bond between a rider and a dragon. It’s based on who the rider is. Violet is a lightning wielder, Xaden wields shadows, and Dain reads memories. Mira can extend the wards, and Lilith commands storms.
Other signets include mending, summoning, ice, farsight and astral projection. Mind reading, called inntinnsic, is a death sentence. And a rider who can’t manifest a signet in time can burn out. That’s why Violet’s slow signet is such a ticking clock.
The Map
Last, the map. The Continent has two kingdoms that have been at war for four hundred years. Navarre, our home, has six provinces and is protected by wards that dragons power. The largest and southernmost is Tyrrendor, home of the rebellion, behind the Cliffs of Dralor.
Poromiel is the enemy kingdom, with provinces called Krovla, Braevick and Cygnisen. The Esben Mountains form the eastern border. The Barrens, a desert, lies beyond Krovla. Basgiath War College sits on Basgiath Mountain, and the Vale, where dragons live, is just behind it.
Picturing The Dragons And Gryphons
If you want to picture these creatures, think of the largest real reptiles and birds. A Komodo dragon gives you the heavy body and the scaled hide. A frilled lizard gives you a head full of spikes. The tail types, daggers, swords and clubs, are easy to imagine on a big lizard.
Gryphons, the half eagle and half lion enemy mounts, are described as a third of a dragon’s size. Real griffon vultures and bearded vultures are the nearest thing, with huge wings and dangerous beaks. These are only pictures to help your imagination, not the author’s design.
The Setting Is A War College
Basgiath is invented, but the setting will feel familiar. It’s a military academy, with ranks, formations, roll calls and rules written in a code. The author bio says Rebecca Yarros is a second generation army brat, married to her own military hero, and that shows in the details of drill and duty.
That’s why the school feels so lived in. The Gauntlet is a cousin of a real obstacle course, the parapet is a fantasy version of a cliff walk, and the death roll read at every formation is the most chilling detail of all.
Which Character Is Your Favorite
So who is your favorite? Mine is Rhiannon. She’s loyal, she’s funny, and she gives Violet a normal friend in a monstrous place. Tairn comes a close second, because a grumpy dragon is the best sidekick a fantasy can have.
Leave your favorite in the comments, and tell me which dragon you’d bond with. Thanks for watching, and subscribe for more book breakdowns.
