Welcome to the Fourth Wing Series World Guide! This is a completely spoiler free Fourth Wing world guide that will help you understand this fantasy series so much better.
You could use the Fourth Wing Book Wiki to look up character names and places, but that opens up a HUGE risk for major spoilers.
Googling ANYTHING (no matter how harmless it may seem) can lead to major spoilers. This is my way of saving you from making the same mistakes I did when reading the Fourth Wing books for the first time. This post will only cover the first book in the Empyrean Series (Fourth Wing).
FOURTH WING SERIES
1. Fourth Wing Geography
The Fourth Wing universe takes place on THE CONTINENT.
Within the continent we have two kingdoms: Navarre and Poromiel. The main story line takes place in Navarre which has 6 provinces:
- Deaconshire (home of Basgiath War College)
- Tyrrendor
- Calldyr
- Elsum
- Morriane
- Luceras
Navarre's mountainous regions offer an abundance of ore, hardy timber from the eastern provinces, and all around limitless deer and elk.
The 2nd Kingdom is Poromiel which is the smaller of the two. Poromiel has 3 provinces:
- Krovola
- Braevick
- Cygnisen
Poromiel is known for unique textiles, endless fields of grain, and unique crystalline gems capable of amplifying minor magics.
The border between these two kingdoms is the Essben Mountains. You’ll also see on the map we have The Barrens which is you guessed it, barren and not important to understanding the story at this point.
Here is a Fourth Wing Map that you can reference!
2. Fourth Wing History
632 years before the story takes place, Navarre was established by the first 6 human riders to bond with dragons. In present day, Navare and Poromiel have been at war for the past 400 years. Navarre is under near constant attack from Poromiel and their gryphon riders. Gryphons are half lion half eagle (pictured below).
5 years before the story takes place there was a Tyrrish rebellion in which Tyrrendor attempted secession from Navarre. The people responsible for the rebellion were executed and the children of the rebels were forced to witness the executions. The children of the rebels all have tattoos signifying their relation to the rebellion. This has led some to refer to them as “Marked Ones.”
The children were then fostered by various families loyal to Navarre, and at 20 years old, every rebel child HAS TO enter the riders quadrant at Basgiath War College. For all other citizens, the riders quadrant is volunteer only because it’s so deadly, but the punishment for the rebel children is that they are automatically conscripted to the riders quadrant.
3) Fourth Wing Politics
The politics are a big driving force in this book series due to the fact that Navarre and Poromiel have been at war for hundreds of years.
Navarre is governed by a King. The current reigning king is King Tauri and the king rules from Calldyr in Calldyr city. King Tauri has multiple male heirs, and we know his second son died in the riders quadrant.
The government in this world has a military which is divided into 4 quadrants:
- Scribes - the historians and responsible for recording history and also current events and keeping the historical archives safe
- Healers - pretty self explanatory BUT think of actual doctors and nurses they are not healing people with magic, if you break your arm its going in a sling
- Infantry - this is the army, the foot soldiers
- Rider - riders are Navarrian citizens bonded to a dragon, and they are at the top of the military and also social hierarchy.
4) Basgiath War College
Basgiath War College is in Navarre and each year, all 20 year olds in the kingdom are Conscripted. Conscription is a requirement for all 20 year olds in the entire kingdom of Navarre; it is basically an obligation to enlist in services to Navarre to continue the war efforts.
It is a 3 year college and there is an entrance exam its not like Hogwarts where you turn 20 and you’re in, you do have to pass an exam. If you don’t pass the exam you’re automatically enlisted into the army.
On Conscription day thousands of 20 year olds will enter one of the 4 quadrants
- Scribes
- Healers
- Infantry
- Riders
Riders are Navarrians who have bonded with a dragon and they are at the top of the social and military hierarchy. Each year hundreds of first years head to the riders quadrant with the hopes of surviving and bonding with a dragon.
The Rider’s Quadrant is the only volunteer based quadrant. All the other ones are entrance exam based. Unless of course you’re a child of the rebellion and your only option is entering the Rider’s Quadrant.
5) Basgiath Rider’s Quadrant
Navarre is protected by dragons and their riders, and in order to become a dragon rider you of course have to enter the riders quadrant. If you survive this deadly quadrant for 3 years, you and your dragon are assigned active military duty after graduation.
The riders quadrant is separated from the rest of the college as you can see on the map below. It’s an extremely deadly quadrant, usually 50% of first years die, and 30% die off in the second and third years.
The reason there is so much death is because all of the challenges in this quadrant are designed to mimic skills you need to battle on the back of a dragon. The very first task is the Parapet which is a bridge of sorts that is 18 inches wide and 200 feet above ground. It goes across from the main campus to the riders quadrant building (highlighted on the map below). Usually 40 - 50 people die on the parapet each year.
Before you enter into your quadrant you are considered a candidate. Once you get across the parapet you are officially a cadet. If you successfully bond with a dragon you become a rider.
If you make it across the parapet, you get assigned a squad and then your school year begins. Below is a graphic to explain the structure of the Rider’s quadrant.
- There are 4 Wings of the riders quadrant
- 3 sections per wing, claw, flame and tail
- 3 squads of about 15-20 people per section.
- Wing leaders and section leaders are elite third years
- Squad leaders positions are held by third or second years but usually only really exceptional 2nd years
If you make it to October 1st without dying, you make it to threshing. On Threshing day, cadets go to the training grounds where any dragons who want to bond that year will try to call to their riders. Cadets are instructed to “listen to their instincts” and see if any dragons call out to them.
If a dragon wants to bond with you, you will mount the dragon, and they’ll put you through a flight test to see if you can stay seated. If a rider can’t stay on the dragon, some dragons will let the rider fall if they don’t think they’re worthy, or if a dragon does think a rider worthy, they’ll catch the rider and fly them to the flight field.
If no dragon wants to bond with you, you’re out of luck. You can either repeat the next year if you survive threshing and try again, or if you upset a dragon, it will likely roast you on the spot.
6) Fourth Wing Dragons
Dragons in this universe run the show, they make the decisions, they do not answer to humans, and they even have their own government: The Empyrean.
The only reason Dragons tolerate humans is because humans can channel power through dragons which helps keep the magical wards around Navarre intact. With the wards intact, the dragons and their hatchlings theoretically are safe from outside evil.
The Vale is the home of the dragons and where their hatchling grounds are which makes it sacred to the dragons. Humans are not permitted in the Vale, and it’s where dragons are hatched and mature until they decide to bond with a human.
When Navarre was established, dragons agreed to bring their eggs from their ancestral homes (which were all over the kingdom) to the Vale. This became their new home and hatchling ground that the humans promised to protect with their magic and with the wards around Navarre.
There are 6 species of dragons:
- Black
- Blue
- Orange
- Green
- Red
- Brown
Each species has their own characteristics and personalities and the tails determine the dragon breed. Each dragon species also has a signature tail. The tail options include:
- Club tails
- Scorpion tails
- Sword tails
- Morningstar tails
- Daggertails
- Feather tails
Tail drawings done by byPixelPinkGal, via Empyrean Wiki
7) Fourth Wing Magic and The Wards
The magic that humans channel through dragons helped create protective wards around Navarre. This is important to the dragons because their sacred hatchling grounds are in Navarre and dragons are extremely protective of their young. So the wards protect the dragons, their young, their eggs and the people who live inside Navarre.
In this world, people aren’t born with magical powers. The way people access powers is by bonding with a magical creature such as a dragon, or a gryphon (which as a reminder are the magical creatures in Poromiel which are half lion half eagle).
Once you bond with a dragon, and your dragon deems you ready, they will start to channel power through to you. The powers they channel through you start as lesser magic, things like unlocking doors and powering lights. Once your dragon starts to channel power through you, you have about 6 months for your signet to manifest.
A signet is a power specific to a dragon rider and it’s different for every rider based on the bond they have with their dragon. So you start with having power channeled through you, and then hopefully your signet manifests itself before you potentially implode from unused magic.
8) Fourth Wing Signets
A signet is a magical ability that a rider receives from the bond with their dragon.
They are the result of the unique chemistry between a dragon and their rider, so there’s no way to predict what signet a rider will manifest. The stronger the bond between the rider and the dragon and the more powerful the dragon, the more powerful the signet usually is.
Before a signet manifests itself, a rider will begin channeling magic through their dragon. It is up to the dragon to decide when they feel their rider is ready to start channeling magic. Channeling magic, and manifesting a signet are two separate occurrences.
Once a rider starts to channel magic, a timer basically starts. A rider has roughly 6 months from when they start channeling to manifest a signet before the power backfires and kills the rider. An example given in the book is a rider who started channeling and then after a few months just burst into flames and died because their signet didn’t manifest in time.
Lets talk about some common signets that manifest in riders. A big category is elemental signets.
- Air wielding
- Fire wielding
- Storm wielding
- Ice wielding
There are physical signets as well such as
- Farsight (being able to see miles in the distance)
- Soundseeking which is the same but with sound,
- Size manipulation of people and objects, etc.
There are countless, countless more signets mentioned in the series but since this is a spoiler free guide I’ll leave the examples there.
9) Fourth Wing Characters
The beginning of any new fantasy series is really challenging because you’re introduced to SO MANY new people but you shouldn’t google anyone because it could spoil a whole series for you. So here is the best spoiler free Fourth Wing character breakdown you can find.
Violet Sorrengail: Main character and narrator. She is 20 years old at the beginning of the story, she is a military kid so she moved around a lot growing up, but now lives at Basgiath War College which is where her mother is stationed.
General Lilith Sorrengail: Violet’s mother and second in command of the Navarre military. Her dragon is Aimsir, a brown dragon and her signet is storm wielding.
- Lilith was married to an unnamed man (who we call Papa Sorrengail) who was a scribe that worked in the Basgiath archives. He passed away about a year before the beginning of the story. His cause of death is believed to be linked to health issues that began after his son died a few years prior.
Brennan Sorrengail: The oldest child and only son of Lilith and Papa Sorrengail. He died in battle about 5 years before the start of the story, but his dragon was an orange daggertail named Marbh and his signet was a Mender which is very rare in this universe.
Mira Sorrengail: The 5th and final member of the Sorrengail family. She is the older sister of Violet and younger sister of Brennan, she’s a lieutenant in the military and her dragon is a green clubtail named Tiene and her signet is shielding.
Dain Aetos: a long time friend of Violet because their parents were often stationed together. He’s a year older than her in the riders quadrant and is a squad leader. His dragon is a red swordtail named Cath and his signet is retrocognition (essentially seeing peoples memories).
Xaden Riorson: the son of Fen Riorson who was responsible for the Tyrrish Rebellion that happened a few years before the start of the story. He is the wing leader of the 4th wing and a 3rd year at Basgiath War College. His dragon is Sgayel a navy blue daggertail and his signet is shadow wielding. He’s originally from Tyrrendor.
General Melgren: Commanding general of the Navarian military. Lilith Sorrengails superior.
10) Basgiath Teachers
Professor Carr - helps students nurture their signets. Once a student starts to channel powers regardless if their signet has shown yet, they start classes with professor carr.
Professor Devera - teaches battle brief. Battle brief is a class where they go over active military updates that are not classified to help students understand military movements and strategy
Professor Markham - is a scribe who co-teaches battle brief with professor devera. The scribes receive all the battle recaps and then file them accordingly which is why Markham who is a scribe, teaches this class as well.
Professor Emetterio - teaches sparring. Pretty self explanatory
Professor Kaori - teaches cadets all about dragons, their behaviors their history and what is known about them to humans
And there you have it, the full Fourth Wing Series World Guide! I hope this helps you on your Fourth Wing reading journey and keeps you from running into any spoilers.
[…] example, if you’re hosting a Fourth Wing book club, you could find dragon-themed napkins and plates for your guests to use. You can also add […]