If you’ve been on BookTok anytime in the last few years, you’ve likely come across The Empyrean series – especially its breakout first book, Fourth Wing. This fantasy series set in a war college took TikTok by storm and quickly climbed the ranks as one of the most popular reads in the book community.
With nearly 3 million Goodreads ratings, The Empyrean series has become a household name among readers.
Although the series is still in progress, this guide compiles key information for both new readers and those planning a reread. Spoiler-sensitive readers, don’t worry – major plot points beyond Fourth Wing are intentionally left out. Happy reading! 🥰
How I Tracked My Reading for The Empyrean Series
📌 Sticky Notes: Used to mark memorable parts to revisit later in a notebook or the Bookly App.
📱 Bookly App: I used features like Character and Thoughts tracking throughout my reread to stay organized and engaged.
So grab your phone, a snack, and your Bookly App – let’s dive into The Empyrean series!
📚 The Empyrean Series: Reading Order (So Far)
The reading order for this series is simple since there are no novella’s or a large amount of books in the series yet.
- Fourth Wing – Start here.
- Iron Flame – Second in the series.
- Onyx Storm – The latest release.
🔔 Note: The series is expected to span five books. Three have been published so far.
⚠️ Trigger Warnings
- Graphic violence
- Character deaths
🧍♀️ Key Characters in The Empyrean Series
- Violet Sorrengail: Main viewpoint character. She grew up at Basgiath because her mother is the Commander of the war college. She was trained to become a scribe before her mother made her enter the Rider’s Quadrant.
- Xaden Riorson: Wingleader of the Fourth Wing and a 3rd year at Basgiath when Violet joins the Rider’s Quadrant. His father led a rebellion against the Kingdom of Navarre called the Apostasy. He is marked with a Rebellion Relic.
- Rhiannon Matthias: Violet’s best friend and a fellow member of the Rider’s Quadrant.
- Dain Aetos: Violet’s friend who she grew up with. He joined the Rider’s Quadrant a year before her. His father and her mother work together.
- Jesinia Neilwart: A cadet scribe and close friend of Violet. They trained together before their conscription into different quadrants. She uses sign language to communicate.
- Bodhi Durran: Xaden’s cousin and one of the marked Rider’s due to his parents’ involvement in the rebellion.
- Garrick Tavis: Xaden’s best friend and also a marked Rider.
- Liam Mairi: A marked first year along with Violet at Basgiath. He and Violet become close friends.
- Mira Sorrengail: Violet’s older sister and fellow Rider. She is a Lieutenant.
- Brennan Sorrengail: Violet’s older brother who died during the Apostasy. Fen Riorson is thought to be responsible for his death.
- Imogen Cardulo: A marked second year at Basgiath. She has a disliking towards Violet.
- Jack Barlowe: A bully and fellow first year. He has an odd animosity towards Violet.
- Sawyer Henrick: A friend and squadmate of Violet’s, they met in their first year at Basgiath.
- Ridoc Gamlyn: A friend and squadmate of Violet’s, they also met in their first year at Basgiath.
- Tairneanach: Also called Tairn. A black dragon who Violet bonds with.
- Andarnaurram: Also called Andarna. A feathertail dragon who Violet bonds with.
- Sgaeyl: A blue dragon who is bonded with Xaden and mated to Tairn.
- Fen Riorson: Xaden’s father and leader of the Tyrrendor Rebellion. He was considered a good man by those who knew him and had a good relationship with Xaden. He didn’t want Xaden to join the rider’s quadrant and wanted him to join the infantry instead.
- General Lilith Sorrengail: Mother to Violet, Mira, and Brennan. She was stationed as Commander of Basgiath War College. She was married to her children’s father until his passing. She is responsible for the death of Fen Riorson.
- General Melgren: The leader of the entire Navarre military. He rides a black dragon named Codagh, who is even bigger than Tairn.
- King Tecarus: King of Poromiel. Known for collecting powerful things. He is a trickster who likes to bend his words to get what he wants.
- Syrena Cordella: Second in line for the Poromish throne. She is a powerful gryphon flier and the older sister of Catriona.
- Catriona Cordella: Third in line for the Poromish throne. She is the younger sister of Syrena.
- King Tauri: King of Navarre.
- Aaric Graycastle: A first year at Basgiath’s rider quadrant during Violet’s second year.
- Sloane Mairi: Liam’s younger sister. She is in her first year at Basgiath’s riders quadrant during Violet’s second year.
🌍 The Empyrean Series: Setting & World-Building
Basgiath: The war college within Navarre where scribes, infantry, healers, and riders all learn and hone their skills. It is within the Morraine Province.
Navarre: A Kingdom on The Continent including the Luceras, Calldyr, Deaconshire, Elsum, Morraine, and Tyrrendor was a part of it as well before they rebelled.
Poromiel: Another Kingdom on The Continent who has been warring with Navarre for years. They ride gryphons instead of dragons.
The Barrens: an empty wasteland believed to be caused by the Venin who leached the magic out of those lands.
Outposts: Guard stations dotted throughout Navarre along the border of Navarre and Poromiel. Some notable ones are Samara and Athebyne. Riders are stationed here after graduation from Basgiath.
Esben Mountains: The natural border between Navarre and Poromiel. The high peaks help as a natural barrier towards Gryphons and their riders since Gryphons don’t fly at such high altitudes.
📅 Timeline Breakdown
Fourth Wing:
Occurs over the events of an entire year, from when Violet enters conscription until graduation of the 3rd year class.
Iron Flame:
Occurs over a span of about 6 months, from the beginning of Violet’s second year at Basgiath to Winter Solstice.
Onyx Storm:
Occurs over a span of time of about 6 months as well after the events of Iron Flame.
⚔️ Key Events in the Empyrean Series
War with Poromiel: Begun in 233 AU (after unification) and is ongoing, although they don’t pose a huge threat due to gryphons not being able to fly at such high altitudes. Navarre makes the Poromish to be greedy and thirsty for war. The two countries have been at war for 400 years.
The Tyrrish Rebellion: Also called the Apostasy, where Tyrrendor Province wanted to be independent from Navarre. This occurred 6 years before the events of Fourth Wing. It led to all leaders of the rebellion being killed, and the children of the leaders were marked with Rebellion Relics.
🧬 Races, Species & Creatures
Humans: While humans can get special abilities when they become riders or fliers, they themselves don’t have any abilities.
Gryphons: Part bird, part lion. They are what fliers from Poromiel ride. They are large but don’t compare to dragons in size.
Dragons: There are dens within dragonkind that are associated with color. Breeds are associated with their tail type.
Black Dragons: the most rare type of dragon and the most deadly. Tairneanach is a black dragon.
Blue Dragons: Widely considered the most ruthless of all the dragons. Sgaeyl is a blue dragon.
Red, Orange, Brown, Iridescent: Each with unique temperament
Clubtail: a blunt end to their tail meant to be used for bludgeoning.
Daggertail: sharp spikes at the end of their tails, different from a Morningstartail.
Morningstartail: similar to a Clubtail but has spikes on the end.
Scorpiontail: their tails have poison.
Swordtail: used like an actual sword, they are long and pointy.
Feathertail: pacifists amongst dragonkind.
Venin: evil magic wielders who don’t need a dragon or a gryphon to use magic. They draw it from the source, or at least that is what the folktales say. They lose their souls by doing so.
Wyverns: Dragonlike creatures that do not breathe fire. The main difference between a dragon and a wyvern is that wyverns do not have front legs.
🔮 Folklore & Magic System Explained
The main folklore within The Empyrean series is a story about the origins of Dragonriders, Gryphonfliers, and Venin. One brother bonded with dragons, the other with gryphons, and the last brother drew magic from its source, leading to his soul being lost.
Magic: There are several different types of magic used within the Empyrean series, most are associated with either being a rider of a dragon or a flier of a gryphon.
Lesser Magics: A lesser and more commonly shared power between riders. Such as levitating a book or unlocking a door. They can do so once bonded with a dragon or gryphon.
Signets: A unique power that a rider possesses due to their bond with a dragon. The dragon uses the rider as a conduit of sorts for their power. Elements is a relatively common signet. Others include, shadows, mind reading, shielding, telekinesis, etc. Second signets can be granted to those who are bonded with a dragon within their familial line. But such instances are rare and usually lead to madness.
Dragonfire: An ability unique to dragons, involves breathing fire. Young dragons do not have this ability until they mature.
Wards: Invisible shields around Navarre that protect it from invasion. Powered by wardstones. The ability to make wards is a lost magic.
Relics: Markings given to humans by dragonfire. The Rebellion Relic was used to mark the children of the adults who rebelled during the Apostasy. Dragon Relics are given to riders after a dragon bonds with a human.
The Source: Also known as the ground, this is where some magic comes from and if channeled directly from it, it turns a human into a Venin. The other sources of magic are dragons and gryphons. Hence why their riders or fliers can wield magic after bonding to them.
📖 The Empyrean Series: My Final Thoughts
Here is my reading guide for The Empyrean series! I hope you all enjoyed it. If you want to know my rating of the series, I thought it was overall okay. If I had to put a number to it I’d say a 3 out of 5 stars. I just thought it was oddly similar to Divergent by Veronica Roth in a weird way. Did anyone else besides me feel that way? Just me? Well that’s okay. Until next time!
This reading guide was written by our Bookly Pro Reader, The Rose Post 💙
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