Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros.
Ridoc's role expanded in Onyx Storm, but one theory about his power could explain a lot about how the squad is still intact if it's proven true. Throughout the first two books, Ridoc has served as the comic relief of the group, the character to crack a joke in the direst of situations, the one who actually says what they're all thinking but are mature or aware enough to not say aloud. He's gotten some of the quippiest jokes and wittiest lines in the books so far, but he's always been viewed as the class clown in the Empyrean Series, even after bonding with a dragon.
Onyx Storm changed that, though, giving Ridoc depth and character development he hasn't gotten yet, revealing a more serious side to him. Previously, he'd always been seen as the weakest link of the squad, but Onyx Storm showed that when push comes to shove, Ridoc is as serious and skilled as the rest of them. As they weather more storms, the young rider is really starting to come into his own. That goes for his maturity, but also potentially for his abilities, which might be more complex than anyone knows, just like the rider himself – if the Empyrean Series proves this Ridoc theory right.
Ridoc Has Escaped Death An Unrealistic Number Of Times
He Should Have Been Dead In The First Book...And The Second...And The Third
There are countless incidents in the book where Ridoc could be described as lucky - unrealistically so. Things just seem to go his way, even if barely. That's been driven home by how many times he should have died. The first time was during Presentation, when one of the dragons turns Luca to ash, right where Ridoc had been a second before. Yet another time in Fourth Wing is when a new cadet's signet manifests and the cadet next to him is instantly frozen to death, but Ridoc skates away with merely a mild case of frostbite.
Onyx Storm has an ending on par with those of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, and here are the biggest things that happen during the book’s conclusion.
That quality of him being lucky beyond measure is only emphasized in Iron Flame, particularly in the Cliffs of Dralor scene. As the riders and fliers are trying to cross a gap in the trail while being attacked by venin and wyvern, Ridoc takes two arrows right to the stomach. It's bad enough that he's bleeding from the mouth, generally a sign that a person is not long for the world. By rights, considering they were halfway up an almost impassable cliff and under attack, he should have died. Ridoc himself clearly thought he was going to, seeing as how he told Violet to leave him there. Still, he survived – somehow. Later in Iron Flame, Aotrom is attacked by wyvern, and Ridoc, again, escapes unscathed. Instead, it's Sawyer who gets half a leg bitten off in the battle.
It's a near-impossible miss from point-blank range, but even if Violet didn't think about it in the heat of the moment, any observant reader certainly should have.
It happened again in Onyx Storm, when they are ambushed and poisoned by Faris. Ridoc is stabbed by the cook's knife, which lodges right in his side – or so Violet thinks. The moment is certainly played that way–until Ridoc turns and reveals the cook somehow whiffed and the knife had instead stabbed through his flight jacket, not him. It's a near-impossible miss from point-blank range, but even if Violet didn't think about it in the heat of the moment, any observant reader certainly should have.
Ridoc Having A Second Signet Influencing Luck Is The Only Thing That Makes Sense
A Second Signet Is Suddenly No Longer That Rare In The Fourth Wing Books
After Onyx Storm, the only way Ridoc's ridiculous luck in defying death is if there's some higher power influencing things; no one can escape death that many times by sheer coincidence. It would make so much sense if the next Fourth Wing book revealed that Ridoc has a second signet that has to do with influencing or changing luck. Truly, it's the only thing that makes sense with all the times he's escaped death, and other clues sprinkled throughout the books.
It wouldn't be out of the question for him to have a second one, either. After the first two books made it clear that having a second signet is virtually unheard of, Onyx Storm threw the established rules of the world out the window and revealed that all the tattooed children of the rebel leaders led by Xaden have second signets thanks to the tattoos–though how the tattoos grant them extra signets without them having to bond to a second dragon is not explained. It's just established that they do have second signets, and they've been hiding them all along.
Onyx Storm confirmed a popular fan theory about second signets, and it’s sure to have big implications in the next Empyrean Series book.
Considering that, it's notable that Ridoc has a large dragon tattoo on his neck, something he regularly touches in the books. It's not the same kind of tattoo as the rebels, but if they can have second signets thanks to their tattoos, why couldn't Ridoc? With all due respect to Rebecca Yarros, it's not as though she adheres to the rules she herself established, especially in Onyx Storm, which often ignores established continuity for convenience's sake. Considering the way Onyx Storm completely blew up the fundamental truth that signets are incredibly rare in various ways, Ridoc also having a second signet would be the least surprising reveal.
The Luck God Zihnal Played A Larger Part In Onyx Storm
Ridoc Revealed He Prays To The God Of Luck
Custom Image by Yeider Chacon
On the other hand, it's possible that Ridoc's luck in The Empyrean Series isn't down to having a secret second signet, but something else, and that's the gods. Specifically, one god: Zihnal. Deities didn't play much of a role in the first two books, if any. They were mentioned, and occasionally invoked in a casual way in both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, but it wasn't clear there was any truly strong belief in them from any of the characters, nor did the gods appear to influence the story. They were just sort of there in the background, another bit of the worldbuilding, that's all.
Onyx Storm changes that, however, bringing deities to, if not the forefront, then certainly the middle ground. Not only is the worship of deities explored in different cultures, but specific characters speak about their beliefs. It's even revealed that as a little girl, Violet, in a moment she doesn't remember, had been initially dedicated to the goddess of war, Dunne, and thus had been "touched" by the goddess. Malek, the god of death, is also referred to quite often, and Amari, the queen of the gods, is also referenced a few times in the book.
'I personally prefer Zihnal. You can get through any situation with luck.'
Most importantly, though, Ridoc makes it clear he believes in and prays to Zihnal, the god of luck. As he and Violet are discussing the deities they believe in, Ridoc says, "I personally prefer Zihnal. You can get through any situation with luck." It happens again in one of the epistolary snippets before every chapter, this one from a book titled Major Rorilee's Guide to Appeasing the Gods, Second Edition, which reads, "While many preach loyalty to Hedeon above all others, especially in Calldyr Province, I find that favoring Zihnal has universal appeal. Everyone wants wisdom but needs luck." In terms of supporting the theory that good luck follows Ridoc around, those lines might as well be bright, neon signs.
Ridoc Being Able To Bend Luck Would Explain The Squad's Unbelievable Plot Armor
Half Of Them Should Be Dead By Now
Whether Ridoc has a second signet that bends luck or has been touched by Zihnal himself, his being able to influence or generate luck would go a long way toward explaining how the squad has survived everything more or less intact so far. By rights, more people in the squad should have died by now. The world in which they live is brutal, unforgiving, and deadly, and the percentage death rate for Basgiath's rider cadets is staggeringly high, even without them being forced to fight venin and their wyvern. The squad has no right still being alive as such inexperienced cadets, to the point that other characters have commented that they seem to defy death.
Onyx Storm doesn’t feature as many major deaths as previous Empyrean Series books, but there are still enough to maintain the stakes of this world.
Thus far, though, the only major character who has died is Liam in Fourth Wing. The other major character who has suffered any sort of huge injury is Sawyer, whose lower leg was bitten off in another battle with the venin. Any other character who has died in or before Onyx Storm has been so insignificant that it's hard to even remember their names. That could just be a lack of bravery in writing – or it could be a deliberate narrative choice. It's worth pointing out that when Liam died, Ridoc was nowhere near him, but when Sawyer lost his leg, he was in the vicinity of Ridoc. It's entirely possible that had he not been, Sawyer might have died just like Liam did.
'Bad things happen when we're not together.'
If that's the case, it makes a lot of sense that Ridoc is suddenly adamant in Onyx Storm that the squad not get separated when they go into battle. It's more than the wish of a friend to watch over his other friends in a dangerous situation; Ridoc expresses it as a certainty, more than once, when talking about going with Violet to look for the seventh dragon breed in Onyx Storm. "I just...need to go. One of us needs to go with you. Ever since... I just think bad things happen when we aren't together," he says. Later, he repeats the sentiment: "'Bad things happen when we're not together,' he says quietly."
It's a desperate need for Ridoc to be with Violet in Onyx Storm, not out of any sense of romantic feeling, but as if he knows that if he's not with her, something terrible will happen to her, their most powerful weapon and friend. It could be that Ridoc doesn't even know he has the ability to influence luck, but something deep down in his subconscious knows that his Fourth Wing squadmates in the Flame Section have survived only because he's been around. Perhaps it only extends to Violet. Either way, luck seems to follow Ridoc around, and if it is revealed in a future book that he has that signet, it would address so many questions that have needed answers for three books now.
Custom image by Yailin Chacon
Custom Image by Yeider Chacon
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