It goes without saying that THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. If you haven’t read this chapter of Onyx Storm, please go read it first.

I really like the epigraph here. To me, this sounds like an Easter Egg. The fact that we use the word “trickiest” when we talk about the God of Wisdom, reiterated our theory about the gods and the dragons (spoilers!) and the possibility that Hedeon might not be the God of wisdom but the god of deception. Fun.

I love Violet’s initial assessment of Nairi, Roslyn, and Faris. The fact that she compared them to scribes goes a long way. And we all know that the scribes are the ones who manipulate history, who deceive, in Navarre. I also love that they are wearing pale green, and the only other place we know to have green is Tyrrendor. Again, it reiterates the theory that the real god of wisdom is somewhere in Tyrrendor, possibly Amari, rather than Hedeon.

Besides, the name “Hedeon” sounds like Hidden or Hide on! So clever.

We get a special insight into how this particular isle operates for their test. Rather than the brutal custom on Dunne’s isle, this is rather mild. Testing people’s wisdom. Something we all know Violet should thrive in it.

And…there! We know something is wrong right off the bat. “Tell me something. When you die, do your dragons?” Faris asks, changing the subject. Why would you ask this question unless you plan on hurting the riders? This particular sentence raised so many alarm bells in my head.

Interesting conversation here. We often overlook gryphons, but Cat’s words carry great weight: “Gryphons and their sacrifice to bond humans have allowed us to win the Great War and to survive centuries of war after that.”

Gryphons do seem like the balance, don’t they? Dragons don’t die when their riders do…yet gryphons do indeed seem to tie their lives to an easily breakable humans…

And here we are. The moment we all dreaded. We all LOVE Aaric, don’t we? And I believe we just got here a wonderful yet sad Easter Egg and proper foreshadowing: “Though a horrible one. Heirs and alliances aren’t my concern. I will fight in this war, most likely die, and do so knowing that I protected others.”

There is more: “We received news months ago that your title had been restored to you.” This again, I believe, is an Easter Egg. They do not have a port, yet these people receive current information.

It was also interesting to me to finally understand Fen’s rationale for trying to marry Xaden to Cat. His plan was for Tyrrendor to regain its sovereignty and forge an alliance to be protected against Navarre.

Another bit of foreshadowing here. “The two of them could break and reshape the Continent if they chose to.”

I believe Violet and Xaden can reshape the continent and they should because in my theory, I believe the original arrangement was that Tyrrendor was the royal seat and the continent was divided into north and south rather than east (Poromiel) and west (Navarre). Again, if you haven’t read the theory (which is full of spoilers if you haven’t finished Onyx Storm btw), do go check it out: gods and dragons and colours.

I don’t know how Rebecca Yarros managed to create the perfect man, but ladies and gents: Xaden Riorson, standing up to the triumvirate.

And just as we were on a high, we go on a serious low learning just how Talia left him, the suffering she caused a 10-year-old. Some would say…she was unwise! But in his pain, Xaden delivers another bit of foreshadowing for us: “Live on a peaceful beach, in a peaceful city, on an isle that serves no greater good than its own.”

An isle that serves no greater good than its own. It does not sound like the isle of wisdom does it now?

I have to say, in a twist of events, while Violet is the smartest person in the room, weirdly enough, Mira delivers. For the first time in the series I SEE her. I root for her. She’s strong and fierce and smart. She is…Lilith’s daughter!

You don’t care that Violet is the smartest person in this room. Or that Xaden tore apart Basgiath to save her, then returned to fight for Navarre because it was the right thing to do. Or that Cat lives in the most hostile environment possible to help her kingdom. You don’t care that Aaric had to step into the light he hates so we’d have a royal representative, or that Garrick has stood by Xaden’s side no matter the cost. We proved our lack of wisdom by coming here in the first place. You were never going to share your knowledge or ally yourself with us.

When you put it this way…well well well, Mira. Aren’t you just clever and observant!

“You razed an existing city to build what stands now, did you not?” These people are ruthless, horrible even. A type of self-centred narcissism that it’s hard to beat. Can the God of wisdom truly be…like this? Remember that Asher said “their artifice”. They are anything but wise. They are false and deceptive.

“And in doing so, you destroyed the historical base of the city, homes your citizens had lived in for generations.”

Who else did this? The scribes in Navarre. Erased history, reshaped everything to make it work.

Let’s read this together: Amaralis. That’s what both other isles have called us. Of course. Every other isle worships one member of the pantheon, and though we celebrate all, we hold one above all others. Amari.

But that’s not true, is it? Poromiel calls it Amelekys. I think just part of the continent holds one above all others. That might not be the case for Poromiel. Or maybe even for the continent in general. So much more to still discover about the Gods…

“It’s Amaralys, according to ancient royal records, though I believe Poromish records called it Amelekis.”

Could it be that Amari and Malek reigned together?

“The only thing our kingdoms ever agreed on was calling it the Continent after the Great War” – This tells me that the kingdoms did so in order to appease the Gods, but no other reason.

And after Xaden and Mira all speak out against these people, Aaric delivers the punch line: “You have no army and you’re stingy with the very thing that should be free to all—knowledge.”

Bravo, Aaric, bravo. Also real foreshadowing for the end of this chapter right here: “If it were up to me, we would thank you for the meal and get out before we discover what you do to people who don’t pass your test.”

There-> “I’ve trusted Violet’s wisdom since childhood” This is what Aaric has said. Violet’s wisdom. Aaric is saying that these people are not. In my humble opinion, Hedeon is NOT the God of wisedom. He cannot be.

Ok, the moment I read this: “It seems the four of us are missing our forks.” I thought, ugh, something is wrong here. And just on time, Violet’s mind begins to work! And boy, she’s so so clever. And yes, something is wrong! Because these f*ckers just poisoned Garrick, who isn’t breathing.

Onyx Storm Read Along

• Onyx Storm Read Along: Prologue
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 1
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 2
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 3
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 4
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 5
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 6
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 7
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 8
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 9
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 10
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 11
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 12
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 13
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 14
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 15
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 16
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 17
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 18
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 19
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 20
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 21
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 22
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 23
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 24
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 25
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 26
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 27
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 28
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 29
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 30
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 31
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 32
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 33
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 34
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 35
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 36
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 37
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 38
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 39
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 40
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 41
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 42
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 43
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 44
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 45
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 46
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 47
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 48
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 49
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 50
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 51
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 52
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 53
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 54
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 55
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 56
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 57
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 58
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 59
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 60
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 61
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 62
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 63
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 64
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 65
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 66