Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Empyrean Series!

Summary

  • Violet's mental "box" could burst in Onyx Storm, allowing her to confront her emotions and find catharsis.
  • That release of emotions could allow Violet's second signet to fully manifest, boosting her confidence.
  • Theories suggest Violet's second signet could involve speaking with the dead or amplifying other signets.

Violet's second signet could be fully unlocked if one Empyrean Series. Throughout the narrative, Violet has faced several trials as she learns more about the deceptions within Basigath and Navarre at large. These trials have taken both a physical and mental toll on her as a result, especially during Iron Flame. However, Violet has been ignoring that growing toll, instead compartmentalizing those painful moments into a box in her mind.

Violet's "box" is brought up several times in The Empyrean Series. The mental box's specific function is to block out Violet's pain and bury the negative emotions she encounters throughout the story up until next Empyrean Series book Onyx Storm could see Violet reaching her breaking point, causing that defense mechanism to finally fail.

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10 Massive Fourth Wing Theories For What Happens Next In The Empyrean Series

As anticipation for The Empyrean Series continues to grow, many fans have crafted massively creative theories on what could happen next.

Violet's Mental Box Could Burst In Onyx Storm

It Could Allow Violet To Gain Catharsis

Due to the significant amount of stress she has been under, Violet's mental compartmentalization will eventually fail, forcing her to release her emotions and have a moment of proper catharsis. Throughout the series, Violet's mental health has depended on keeping negative emotions in that lockbox as she battles her insecurity and tries to cope with her ever-shifting reality, especially in Iron Flame. Though she could continue to use that strategy in Onyx Storm, Xaden's transformation into a venin and the resulting search for a cure could finally force Violet to reach her emotional threshold.

Violet's mental blockade breaking open could force her to confront her emotions, something she has not let herself truly do. Since her focus has been on the motives of others, Violet has barely begun to process what has happened. The box's destruction could allow her to have a moment of catharsis, releasing those emotions. This would then create a fantastic character moment as Violet lets herself be vulnerable and unburden herself of some of that pain. Not only that, but the release could also trigger her second signet to truly manifest as she gets rid of those mental blocks.

How Violet's Box Could Unlock Her Second Signet In Onyx Storm

Violet's Second Signet Emerging Could Allow Her Confidence To Grow

A cropped image of the Iron Flame book cover
Custom image by Yeider Chacon

Violet's emotional catharsis could allow her second signet to manifest, letting her regain her mental footing and her confidence in her abilities. Due to Violet's emotional state, her current signet becomes somewhat temperamental in Iron Flame, adding to her insecurity about not being able to protect her loved ones. Though Yarros mentioned to Variety that Violet's second signet has manifested, there is no moment in the second Empyrean Series book that definitively showcases it. That vagueness could be a way for Yarros to link Violet's emotional insecurity to both of her signet's clashing power levels.

Signets in Fourth Wing are need-based, so Violet's catharsis could make her needs clearer and let her power fully bloom.

Because of this, Violet's second signet could fully manifest as her needs become more apparent. Signets in Fourth Wing are need-based, so Violet's catharsis could make her needs clearer and let her powers fully bloom. Violet's second signet manifesting and her regaining control of her lighting could then allow her confidence to return, her growing strength finally matching her enduring spirit. Alongside this, her stabilizing emotional state could make her possible second signet stronger later on in The Empyrean Series.

What Will Violet's Second Signet Be?

Violet's Second Signet Could Draw From Her Emotional State

Fourth Wing and Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros against a red, fiery background
Custom Image by Simone Ashmoore

Several theories about Violet's second signet could link to this cathartic transition, allowing Violet and the narrative to grow organically. One possibility is that Violet can speak with the dead, as Violet talks with Liam during her interrogation with Varrish. Though it is unclear if this is her signet, Violet's vulnerable state could have allowed Liam to manifest. Therefore, if this does end up being Violet's second signet, her emotional catharsis could allow her to summon other spirits more easily. Not only that, but that manifestation could allow the narrative to impart important information without breaking the world's rules.

A second theory is that Violet can amplify other signets. Several characters in Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, including Rhiannon, Mira, and Ridoc were able to perform previously unseen acts with their signets in Violet's presence. This particular theory could be linked to that catharsis, as Violet unblocking herself could ground the signet. Violet may need to be emotionally and mentally grounded for her amplification to work as she reaches for the powers and emotions of others. Through this catharsis, Violet would be able to do so, giving the characters of The Empyrean Series an even stronger narrative edge.

Onyx Storm is set to be released on January 21, 2025.

Fourth Wing temp tv series book poster

Based on the novel series by Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing is an action-adventure fantasy series in development for Prime Video. Announced in 2024, Fourth Wing will follow the adventures of a young woman named Violet Sorrengail, who has been taken from her peaceful book-reading life and thrust into a world of danger when she is forced by her mother to an elite group of dragon-riding warriors.

Seasons
1
Creator(s)
Rebecca Yarros
Where To Watch
Prime Video