History Literature / TheEmpyrean

''The Empyrean'' is a new-adult fantasy series by Rebecca Yarros. The first book, ''Fourth Wing'', was published in May 2023. The second book, ''Iron Flame'', was published six months later in November 2023.

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: What a lot of Navarrians don't like to admit is that the rider system is not completely effort-based. If one of the few dragons around doesn't like you- and dragons are as prone to bigotry and foolishness as anyone else- it won't bond with you. Period. All of a cadet's effort and survival over the past year gets them [[note]]apart from the obvious benefit of army training[[/note]] is the chance that a dragon ''might'' choose them. It's sad, but it also makes sense: someone incapable of relying on a (potential) partner's judgment is not going to work well in a team.

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: What a lot of Navarrians don't like to admit is that the rider system is not completely effort-based. If a dragon doesn't like you- and dragons are as prone to bigotry and foolishness as anyone else- it won't bond with you. Period. All of a cadet's effort and survival over the past year gets them [[note]]apart from the obvious benefit of army training[[/note]] is the chance that a dragon ''might'' choose them. It's sad, but it also makes sense: someone incapable of relying on a (potential) partner's judgment is not going to work well in a team.

''The Empyrean'' is a new-adult fantasy series by Rebecca Yarros. The first book, ''Fourth Wing'', was published in May 2023.

* CharactersDroppingLikeFlies: In the first book alone, no less than ten named characters die, and of those ten four of them were Violet's friends. Despite the tragedy, however, it doesn't warrant so much as a raised eyebrow from the Rider Quadrant. Dragon riding is a very lethal profession and the series makes no bones about the fact that just about any character can die at any given time, no matter how capable they are. Violet notes that of those seeking to become a rider, around fifteen percent are usually killed during the entrance exam (crossing a slippy parapet wall that hangs over a ravine). Even more die during the training to prepare to become a rider, either due to the training itself or due to other cadets seeking to thin out the herd in order to better their chances of claiming a dragon. Even accomplishing the latter doesn't guarantee safety, as some will kill new riders while their bonds are weak in order to claim the dragons for themselves, while others die because they are unable to control their signet ability (basically, their personal superpower). Ultimately, of those that make it past the parapet, only twenty-five percent will usually make it to graduation.

* ExactWords: Xaden's fellow rebel conscripts ask him when they're going to kill Violet (who they hate because [[SinsOfTheFather she's related to the woman who executed their parents]]) early on in the first book. He tells them not to do anything and let him "deal with" her. In the end, he "deals with" her by [[spoiler:getting her to switch sides, rather than the [[LeaveHimToMe murder]] they were clearly expecting. They don't like it, but his charisma as a leader is great enough (and Violet's help is useful enough) that they accept it]].

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Deconstructed. Much of the resentment directed towards Violet for most of the book stems from the fact that she has minimal training compared to the rest of the cadets, and yet it does nothing to stop her from outdoing them anyway. For people who have been training to be riders all their lives, one can see why that would be an insult, especially considering how Violet never wanted to be a rider in the first place.

* TallPoppySyndrome: Violet suffers this right from the get-go due to being the youngest child of a powerful general and the younger sibling of two powerful dragon riders in their own right. Her close friendship with Dain, who is already a squad leader, doesn't help either. [[spoiler:Her claiming and bonding with two dragons only makes it worse, and it takes the deaths of multiple people trying to kill her out of jealousy for people to get the message and leave her alone]].

''The Empyrean'' is a young-adult fantasy series by Rebecca Yarros. The first book, ''Fourth Wing'', was published in May 2023.

* LetThePastBurn: As part of their worship of Malek, the Navarre God of Death, when someone dies all their personal effects are burned in fire as a sacrifice to him. Keeping even one thing after their death is viewed as blasphemy.

* HardWorksHardlyWorks: Deconstructed. Much of the resentment directed towards Violet for most of the book stems from the fact that she has minimal training compared to the rest of the cadets, and yet it does nothing to stop her from outdoing them anyway. For people who have been training to be riders all their lives, one can see why that would be an insult, especially considering how Violet never wanted to be a rider in the first place.

* BettyAndVeronicaSwitch: The story's initial LoveTriangle sees Dain as the Betty, Violet's longtime ChildhoodFriend whom she's been in love with forever, and Xaden as the Veronica, the son of the man who [[spoiler:allegedly]] killed her brother and who is initially hostile to her, and yet who Violet can't help but be insanely attracted to. Over the course of the story, however, the characters of both men become more dynamic: Dain proves unable to put Violet before himself and his beliefs and would rather smother her potential than let her grow, while Xaden grows to care for her far more than he does himself and is willing to be cruel to her if it means she can go strong enough to protect herself. [[spoiler:Violet chooses Xaden, a decision that proves to be the correct one at the end of the book after Dain betrays her trust and knowingly allows her to go on a mission that is almost certain to end in her death]].

* CharactersDroppingLikeFlies: Dragon riding is a very lethal profession and the series makes no bones about the fact that just about any character can die at any given time, no matter how capable they are. Violet notes that of those seeking to become a rider, around fifteen percent are usually killed during the entrance exam (crossing a slippy parapet wall that hangs over a ravine). Even more die during the training to prepare to become a rider, either due to the training itself or due to other cadets seeking to thin out the herd in order to better their chances of claiming a dragon. Even accomplishing the latter doesn't guarantee safety, as some will kill new riders while their bonds are weak in order to claim the dragons for themselves, while others die because they are unable to control their signet ability (basically, their personal superpower). Ultimately, of those that make it past the parapet, only twenty-five percent will usually make it to graduation.

* AnyoneCanDie: Dragon riding is a very lethal profession and the series makes no bones about the fact that just about any character can die at any given time, no matter how capable they are. Violet notes that of those seeking to become a rider, around fifteen percent are usually killed during the entrance exam (crossing a slippy parapet wall that hangs over a ravine). Even more die during the training to prepare to become a rider, either due to the training itself or due to other cadets seeking to thin out the herd in order to better their chances of claiming a dragon. Even accomplishing the latter doesn't guarantee safety, as some will kill new riders while their bonds are weak in order to claim the dragons for themselves, while others die because they are unable to control their signet ability (basically, their personal superpower). Ultimately, of those that make it past the parapet, only twenty-five percent will usually make it to graduation.

* TheEndingChangesEverything: The ending of ''Fourth Wing'' will change the entire perspective of the narrative for the reader, particularly Xaden's initial relationship with Violet. [[spoiler:Violet's brother Brennan is alive, and is in fact an ally of Xaden and a member of the revolution against Navarre's corrupt leadership. With that revelation, it becomes clear that Xaden never truly intended to kill Violet at all, but also casts new light on the characters of their mother and father, and how much they knew about the truth of Brennan's death]].

* TheEndingChangesEverything: The ending of ''Fourth Wing'' will change the entire perspective of the narrative for the reader. [[spoiler:Violet's brother Brennan is alive, and is in fact an ally of Xaden and a member of the revolution against Navarre's corrupt leadership]].

* TheSocialDarwinist: Navarre culture- especially that of its Rider Quadrant- is obsessed with the belief that culling a group's "weak link" is the only way for that group to survive. "Weak link" there can mean "someone whose dad was a criminal", "an intellectual prodigy who's physically disabled", or "someone [[TallPoppySyndrome I don't think deserves]] the success they've had". Basically, just superficial traits that have no bearing on whether someone will have your back in a foxhole. It will come as no surprise to GenreSavvy readers that [[spoiler:Navarre's leaders are evil, or losing the war- partly because they think nothing of throwing loyal, capable soldiers' lives away.]]

* BerserkButton: Violet does not like being called weak, even if the person saying it [[InnocentlyInsensitive means well]]. She acknowledges that it's true, but explains there's a difference between knowing something and having everyone who talks to you mention it, especially when you're already anxious about your chances of survival.

Navarre is a kingdom at war, and no soldiers are more vital to that war than the riders. Hardened, brave, and ruthless, every rider endures three years of deadly competition and relentless training, striving for the chance to be chosen by a dragon. The Rider Quadrant in which they live is a place where death can come for anyone, for any reason.

Violet is a scribe. Tiny, studious, and chronically fragile, she knows her life depends on staying as far away from battle as possible. But her mother, renowned General Sorrengail, doesn't care. Every Sorrengail has been a rider, and she won't make an exception just because Violet fractures a bone every second week. So, at the age of twenty, Violet is forced into the first of many deadly trials, and (unbeknownst to everyone) the road to greatness...

* BerserkButton: Violet does not like being called weak, even if the person saying it [[InnocentlyInsensitive means well]]. She acknowledges that it's true, but explains there's a difference between knowing something and having everyone who talks to you mention it, especially when you're already anxious about your chances of survival. (It also brings up memories of people who ''didn't'' mean well when they said it.)