Fourth Wing Summary

The minute I read Fourth Wing, I knew this fantasy series would be epic. I first created the Fourth Wing summary for myself. I wanted to keep track of all the plot points and characters.

The more notes I made for a synopsis of Fourth Wing, the more I knew my initial hunch that this series would be epic was correct! This summary of Fourth Wing is meant to help remind you of the important characters and the plot before you read the next book in the series. When you are done reading this post, you can read my synopsis of Iron Flame next.

If you have not read any of the books in the Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros, there are a few things you should know. First, this Fourth Wing summary contains spoilers. Be aware. The second thing is that, unlike most fantasies, Fourth Wing starts in the middle of the action. For example, Harry Potter does not arrive at Hogwarts until later in the book. Fourth Wing starts with Violet ready to cross the parapet and enter Basgaith War College.

The next thing you need to know is that Fourth Wing is an adult fantasy romance. Children under the age of 18 should not be reading this book. Lastly, I read both of these whoppers rather than listened. I know there are a lot of people who did not like the audiobook version of Fourth Wing. Now that you are prepared, enjoy my Fourth Wing summary.

Fourth Wing Summary

Violet Sorrengail has spent her life preparing to go into the scribe quadrant and spend her life studying books and history like her father. When he dies, her mother, the commanding general of the Navarre army, rips Violet from the life she knew and prepares her to become part of Navarre’s elite as a dragon rider like her sister and brother before her.

Mira Sorengail is a well-respected dragon rider in the Navarre army and her brother Brennan died as a dragon rider in a fight 6 years ago. Mira, gifts Violet dragon-scaled armor and advises her to wear it at all times once she reaches Basgiath War College.

Candidates have been training their whole lives for the opportunity in which 15% die on the parapet before they can even become a cadet and Violet is not only small but has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (this is implied and never explicitly stated). 

As Violet waits for her turn on the parapet, she meets Rhiannon Matthias and Jack Barlow. She lends Rhiannon a boot to help her cross the parapet without slipping and the two become good friends. Jack, on the other hand, takes an immediate dislike to Violet which will lead to continued confrontations between the two that gradually increase in ferocity and intent to kill. 

This is also where she meets Xaden for the first time. Xaden Riorson is a Wingleader who has every reason to want Violet dead. Her mother killed his father because he was the leader of the rebellion and was the person who killed her brother. Riannon and Violet are put in Second Squad, Flame Section, Fourth Wing. 

Once they become cadets, they have to survive training, the Gauntlet, Presentation/ Threshing, and the other cadets to become dragon riders who will defend the front lines of Navarre from attacks. Dragons will not pick weak riders. Dain Aetos is a childhood friend whose father works under Violet’s Mother, has been helping Violet in any way that he can, and is a potential love interest.

In order to survive the academy, Violet, with her extensive knowledge from her time as a scribe, begins poisoning her opponents before their matches. She makes it through all the challenges as well as the gauntlet.

The first years walk into the fields to find a dragon that chooses to bond with them. Violet sees a small golden dragon by itself and overhears Jack and two other students talking about killing it. Violet heads over to the small dragon to try and make it leave but it will not. Xaden arrives and sees the events unfolding but cannot do anything to help. Violet tries to fight the three boys when a large black dragon arrives. He burns one of the boys and Jack runs away.

The black dragon is Tairn and he decides to bond with Violet. Then, in a stunning turn of events that has never happened before, the small golden dragon named Andarna bonds with Violet as well. nobody has ever bonded to two dragons. She is warned that other unbonded cadets will try to kill her in order to bond with Tairn.

Later a group of 6 students attempt to murder her in her sleep. She is able to escape the attack when Andarna stops time. Soon after, Violet learns that Tairn and Xaden’s dragon Sgaeyl are bonded mates which means they cannot stay apart for a long time and Xaden and Violet now have a connection as well. 

We also learn that Andarna is just a hatchling, a Feathertail, and they are usually kept from binding because humans can use their powers and potentially damage or kill them. This is a closely guarded secret of the dragons and makes me wonder how they are going to keep it a secret once Andarna begins to grow!

Violet continues her lessons and studying fighting techniques but her flying is not going well because she cannot stay on Tairn’s back. Eventually, they devise a saddle for her so that he can concentrate on flying and fighting rather than ensuring she does not fall off. 

When Violet finally obtains her signet, it is an extremely powerful one in which she can make lightning. She has to learn to control it and has a lot of difficulty. 

The final test of the year is something called the War Games which is supposed to be a simulation. Violet is supposed to go with Dawn but at the last minute, she goes with Xaden to Athebyne. She learns that he and the rest of the marked ones have been giving weapons to the gryphon fliers in order to protect themselves from venin- powerful magical creatures that Violet thought to be a myth. She had only read about them in her father’s book of fables that she finally got back from Mira. 

They receive a note from Colonel Aetos and realize that this War Games is not a game, rather they have been sent there to die. And the plan works. In a huge battle, Soleil dies and Liam’s dragon dies protecting Violet. He dies shortly after because “A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.” Violet also collapses a mountain on Jack Barlowe and he dies.

Andarna, despite being bedded to stay behind, uses her powers to stop time and help save Violet and Tairn and she can give Violet enough time to use her lightning to kill the vernin. Once the venin is dead, its Wyvern dies as well. Before the venin dies, he poisons Violet with his blade.

The world-building in this epic fantasy is amazing but not complicated for anyone who may be hesitant to read a fantasy book like this. This first book in the Fourth Wing Series gives me some Hunger Games vibes as all the cadets fight to the finish. The romance in this series is reminiscent of A Court of Thorns and Roses Series (book two to be specific). And Besgaith War College definitely gives some Dark Academia feels. And I have not even mentioned the dragons.

This is a brief Fourth Wing summary because I did not want to spoil any part of this book. If you are looking for spoilers, see below.

Fourth Wing Spoilers

Below are major spoilers for the book. If you do not want to know or have not read it, you should skip this section.

Dain has been using his abilities to read people’s minds every time he touches Violet, without her permission. He was gaining important information and passing it along to his dad. When he touched Violet’s face, he saw the city of Athebyne which is why Colonel Aeros sent them there for the war games.

This violation of her trust directly led to the deaths of both Liam and Soleil.

When Violet wakes up after the attack, she is in Aretia supposedly destroyed by Tyrrish rebels six ago in the rebellion. Clearly, the functioning city was not actually destroyed. She is looking at her bother, Brennan who is alive and well and has been living in Aretia the entire time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Epilogue

Did you find my summary of Fourth Wing helpful? Was there other information that you consider Fourth Wing spoilers? I wonder if some of the information will be important for later books but we don’t know it yet!