Chapter 3 continues the worldbuilding and understanding of the culture of Basgiath War College. We are also able to understand our protagonist on a deeper level. This is where I began to really connect with Violet’s personality. Because of her disability, she’s underestimated by everyone in her life, completely undermining her incredible intellectual ability. She has memorized most of the codex, not to mention the plethora of other facts and anecdotes from history that she can pull out of her mind without hesitation. I think everyone can relate to the feeling of opposition when someone believes you aren’t worthy of accomplishing a goal. Violet embodies this fear, yet combats it with a healthy dose of confidence. She is realistic with her situation, yet balances it out with encouraging mantras (i.e. “I will not die today.”). I truly believe in the power of manifestation and positive affirmations, so I think she sets a really good example of healthy self-talk.
I also believe that Yarros creating a protagonist that is a self-proclaimed book nerd was incredibly smart. Knowing your audience is a huge part of creating a likable narrator.
Let’s get into Dain’s character. I feel like it’s blatantly obvious to readers what kind of romantic tropes we are going to see in the rest of the novel. We are presented with two villains–Jack and Xaden–as well as a long-time childhood companion. When I first read this novel it stunk of the Hunger Games, Twilight-esque love triangle of dancing between the familiar comforts of home and pining for someone that is new that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Has it been done before? Yes. Does that mean I’m going to be any less interested? Absolutely not. Some of us love this trope and do not tire of it. I am one of those people. If you closed the book at this point and wrote it off as “bad writing,” that is your prerogative.
Anyways…circling back to Dain. Dain and Xaden are the obvious love interests. Dain has been there for Violet through the death of her father, as well as her brother. Like Violet, he is smart and incredibly loyal. This shows through his rank. Historically, second years aren’t appointed as wingleaders. Dain comes from a military family as well, making him the perfect match for Violet, right? We see a bit of tension build between them when Dain is insistent that Violet moves to the Scribe Quadrant, despite her rebuttals. Violet is headstrong and stubborn, and finds offense in Dain’s protectiveness, viewing it as him underestimating her capability to succeed in the Riders Quadrant. It’s up to readers to decide whether Dain is valid in his attempts to save Violet. He obviously loves and cares about her on a deep level and has fear that her physical disability will put her in danger. But, is it his place to make that call for her?
Rhiannon is also another character that is important, because we can see her forming a friendship with Violet despite Violet’s best efforts to follow Mira’s advice by “building alliances” instead of friendships. Rhiannon is a girls’ girl, and you can see examples of her already riding for Violet in these first few chapters.
Xaden becomes an even more obvious love interest when he requests that Violet’s squad be moved to Fourth Wing under his command. The eye contact and tension between them is already electric, and, I mean, who doesn’t love a good ‘enemies to lovers’ trope? Despite him being a rebel child, he holds an enticing level of dominance and respect over the riders. This can be seen as either a green or red flag depending on the reader. Some of us love the sexy, frightening energy of the tall, dark and handsome bad boy covered in tattoos. The “I want to be his only weakness” energy poured out of me when he took over the introductory speeches in this chapter. Team Edward, anyone? My favorite thing about this chapter is the introduction to the dragons. They are described as massive, mysterious, fearless creatures that only need humans to channel their signet powers. The navy dragon’s interaction with Violet makes me wonder if that dragon is interested in her–whether to kill her or bond to her is unclear. The fact that they come in different colors with different tails that depict their specific breed fills a void that hasn’t been filled since I read Eragon in the early 2000s.
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