Your favorite literary chaos agents Abby and Ronnie dive deep into the mysterious Isles and Gods of the Empyrean series in this mind-bending episode! We're finally tackling all those burning questions about the divine powers that shape Rebecca Yarros' world, and trust us when we say this one gets juicy!
We kick things off with a deep-dive omissions corner about dragon ages. After some detective work about conflicting quotes, we've uncovered that someone is definitely lying about their age. Looking at you, Sgaeyl and Tairn!
Then we jump into our main topic - the Isles and their connections to the gods! We explore why these mysterious lands aren't on any Navarian maps despite surrounding the continent "in every direction." How did Asher visit them all? Did he work with the irids? And why did Asher die so young?
Our deep dive into Unnbriel reveals some fascinating connections between dragons and this mysterious island. Why did Tairn kept cutting off Violet's thoughts whenever she started connecting dots about claws in emblems and faded tattoos? The evidence is mounting that Tairn has definitely been to Unnbriel before, despite what the Queen claims about not seeing "fire breathers in centuries."
Our Hedotis analysis gets wild as we uncover some seriously sketchy behavior from Faris and the Triumvirate. From his suspicious red ruby to his purple eyes and complete disregard for his wife's life, something isn't adding up. We present our theory about what might have happened 150 years ago when they razed the entire city and rebuilt it with "intention."
The gifts from Zyhnal provide some of our juiciest theories yet! From Ridoc's kiss on each cheek to Cat's ruby necklace and Xaden's glass box "the size of his foot," we analyze what each might mean for our favorite characters' futures. The symbolism runs deep, and we're convinced these gifts will play crucial roles in upcoming books.
We round it all out with a fascinating discussion about Malek, who might not be the nefarious underworld figure we initially thought. Our analysis of how souls are "commended" to him suggests he's more like a guardian of heaven than a collector of the dead. Plus, we explore the compelling evidence that Violet is touched by multiple gods, with her multi-colored eyes potentially representing an "amalgamation" of divine influence.
In our wildest Precog Corner yet, we theorize about why exactly six dragon eggs are missing when Marlis requested twelve, and what connection this might have to the six gods. We also question whether Tairn might be much, much older than anyone realizes - perhaps old enough to have witnessed events from centuries ago!
Spoilers for the entire Empyrean Series (Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm)
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Time Stamps:
00:00 - 05:26: Intro and dragon age discrepancies
05:27 - 12:04: Corrections, omissions, and social media shout-outs
12:05 - 22:38: Why aren't the Isles on maps and how did Asher visit them all?
22:39 - 38:02: Unnbriel and Dunne
38:03 - 52:35: What's up with Hedotis?
52:36 - 1:16:42: The gifts!
1:16:43 - 1:22:14: Loial deep dive
1:22:15 - 1:28:00: Amari deep dive
1:28:01 - 1:37:21: Malek deep dive
1:37:22 - 1:45:13: Precog Corner
1:45:14 - 1:48:25: What we're reading