February 9, 2025 • 20 mins
The third instalment of Rebecca Yarros' Empyrean series has landed, and fans around the world are already sharing their wildest theories about what's next for Violet and Xaden.
Today we're diving into the global phenomenon that is 'Onyx Storm', breaking down the incredible response, the most compelling fan theories, and what this means for the future of fantasy romance.
THE END BITS
Support independent women's media
Check out The Quicky Instagram here
Support independent women's media here
GET IN TOUCH
Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice note or email us at thequicky@mamamia.com.au
CREDITS
Host: Claire Murphy
Guest: Alyssa Kelly, co-host of the Main Character Syndrome podcast
Executive Producer: Taylah Strano
Audio Producers: Lu Hill
Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Hi, I'm Claire Murphy. This is Muma MIA's twice daily
news podcast, The Quickie. If you hear the words on
extorm and know immediately to turn this podcast off, hurry up, girl,
We want you in on this conversation so we can
share all our fan theories. Today we're breaking down the
incredible response to the third installment of Rebecca Yarris's Imperian
series books, the global sales, the fan theories, and the
(00:34):
future of Violet and Zaiden seemingly doomed Romance. But before
we jump aboard our dragons and fight off then, and
here's the latest from the Cookie newsroom.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Monday, February ten.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
With an election date looming, Labour has outlined in Your
Initiative for Women's Health from March one, the Albanesi government
will invest five hundred and seventy three point three million
dollars to help lower costs and give women more options
when seeking treatment, including a new contraceptive pill to be
added to the PBS, the first one in twenty years.
It'll drop the price of dross peranone with ethnolestrodol from
(01:04):
three hundred and eighty dollars a year to one hundred
and twenty four forty if you have a concession card,
but it will be just thirty dollars eighty a year.
Medicare payments will also be increased for long term contraception
like IUDs and implants, moving to have the insertion and
removal processes bulk build, saving women around four hundred dollars
a year in out of pocket expenses. Labour also plans
(01:26):
to invest twenty five point one million dollars in establishing
eight Centers of Training Excellence to ensure health practitioners are
better trained in the procedures. From July one, there will
also be a new Medicare rebate for menopause or women
to get health assessments, and funding for healthcare professionals to
be better trained in menopause treatment, developing the first ever
national clinical guidelines. They'll also expand the endometriosis and pelvic
(01:49):
pain clinics to staff specialists who can support women in
perimenopause and menopause. Three new menopause or hormone treatments will
also be listed on the PBS. From March one, Estradol,
progesterone and the combined pack will be listed on the
Pharmaceutical Benefit scheme, reducing yearly payments from between four hundred
to six hundred and seventy dollars a year down to
(02:10):
just thirty one sixty a month. The Albanese government will
also invest one hundred million dollars to support two national trials,
making it cheaper and easier for women to get treatment
for UTIs and contraceptives over the counter at the pharmacy.
President Donald Trump has appeared on Fox News saying he
expects to find billions of dollars of fraud and abuse
at the Pentagon when Elon Musk completes his ordered of
(02:32):
the largest federal department. Trump also revealed that in the
next twenty four hours he'll be instructing Musk to also
check the Department of Education and then the Military. Mask
who is a special government employee, has been asked to
slash the size of the US federal workforce aids to
the Department of Government Efficiencies seeking access to confidential information
at various government agencies, Critics saying the moves are illegal
(02:55):
and risks exposing classified information. There are also concerns over
a conflict of interest with Musk's companies holding major contracts
with the Pentagon. Last week, the cyber hacking group Anonymous
promised to step in during this window of chaos, saying
right now will be the easiest time for them to strike.
Friends star David Schwimmer has issued a plea to ex
owner Elon Mask to ban Kanye West from the platform.
(03:18):
Schwimmer took to Instagram to share West's recent anti Semitic
comments that include him declaring himself a Nazi and professing
his love for Adolf Hitler, Schwimmer writing this is so
twenty twenty two. We can't stop a deranged bigot from
spewing hatefield ignorant bile, but we can stop giving him
a megaphone. Schwimmer went on to say that West has
thirty two point seven million followers on x, twice as
(03:41):
many people than the number of Jews in existence. West
was banned from the platform for a period of about
six months from December twenty twenty two for similar posts.
He wrote recently that he thinks Hitler was so fresh.
The Super Bowl kicks off in the US around ten
thirty this morning, with the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the
Kansas City Chiefs. Jordan Malata will be representing Australia for
(04:02):
the Philadelphia Eagles as Taylor Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce hopes
to take home his fourth win. Twenty two time Grammy
Award winner Kendrick Lamar will headline the halftime show in
New Orleans. He does have a collaboration with Taylor Swift
in his past, the pair teaming up for Bad Blood,
so there are some excited Swifties wondering if she will
also hop up on stage for the show. The ads
(04:22):
are also making headlines, with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal
returning to recreate their famous when Harry met Sally seen
in the Diner for Hellman's Mayonnaise. Adam Brody and Nick
Offerman team up with basketballer James Harden for Pringles The
Call of the Mustaches, and David Beckham finds out he
has a twin brother called the Other David in America,
who turns out to be Matt Damon. The price tag
(04:42):
for a thirty second slot in twenty twenty five Super
Bowl Sunday telecast is eight million dollars US. That's what's
going on in the world today.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Next.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
If the ending of Onyx Storm left you feeling shocked
and desperate for more, then stick around because we're about
to get our fan theory on. I was in a
meeting late last week when my phone started blowing up.
It was a string of messages from a friend who's
st I started reading the third book in Rebecca Yarris's
(05:11):
Imperian series on ex Storm. I'd already finished it, but
I'd given her strict instructions to message me when she
was done. I needed to know how she felt about
the ending. Instead, she started messaging me with one hundred
and twenty pages left to go because she couldn't deal
with what was happening. And if you still haven't finished
on ex Storm, now is when you need to get
the hell out of here because spoilers. Here's how those
(05:34):
last one hundred and twenty pages played out for her.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
Okay, I haven't finished.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Yet, but what the actual fuck? You just had a
throat cut.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
Oh it's okay, she's alive.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I just had a heart attack.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
I'm freaking out. Thirty pages to go. I have goosebumps.
I think Sloan is a lot stronger than we know.
So Imagen's second signet is fire. I had to just
reread that section like three times. Not cool hererek, Oh
my god, Dana, I need an extra blood pressure pill
and I need to reread the last four then obviously
still has a soul. I reckon Garrek is with saying
(06:03):
Ridden and Garret will end up together for shop. Oh
my god, I loved it heads down.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
That was epic.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
The next few hours after that we discussed fan theories
that have flooded the internet since people finished reading it too.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
I think that Papa Sorengel's research will be hidden within
Violet's other books, just like how the Fables of.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
The Baron hid a warning letter for Violet.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
My unhinged crack theory is that Theophany is actually Lira
of Moraine or related. Felix is a true Sayer and
that is why Violet told him the feather Tale secrets.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
I am convinced that Naolan is the sage that was
jumping into Sadan's dreams. I think Jack is an intensic.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
We are.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Is okay.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
So if you haven't read any of the books, here's
a really basic rundown. Violet Soaringau was meant to become
a scribe, but she ends up joining the elite Dragon
Writing College instead, where her older sister, brother and mother attended.
That's despite her being physically weaker than most. Her mom
is in charge. She's targeted by crazy fellow student called
Jack for no real apparent reason, and she's terrified of
(07:13):
one of the so called marked Ones, Zayden Rielsen, who
seems very intensely focused on her. During her initial time
at the college, she ends up bonding to the biggest
and strongest dragon, Ten and a second dragon are previously
unstudied Will at that time. We believe this seventh breed
of dragon called an Dana, who's essentially a baby who's
been raised by Ten and his bonded dragon partner Scale.
(07:36):
Now Scale's rider is the broody marked One Zayden. Violet
and Zayden share a special bond because of their dragons,
and their writers receive magical powers through the dragon that
they've bonded with.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
As the book's unfold, Violet.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
And her gang of rebellious friends, family and enemies turned
friends and friends turned enemies try and fight a deadly
force known as Venin while trying to raise armies find
out more about the history of how they came to
be and who Violet really is, seeing as she is
the only Lightning Wilder of her generation Zayden in one
of these fights, ends up beginning the process of becoming
Venin himself, and they have to focus on trying to
(08:10):
keep him from turning fully while Violet and Zayden's love
story unfolds. There is a lot more to it than this,
but you kind of catch the drift now. At the
end of Onyx Storm, there's a cliffhanger where Zayden is
turned almost fully venin. He speaks of a brother who'll
be joining him. Dragon Eggs are missing, and Violent awakes
from a battle to find she is married to Zayden,
who's now missing, and she's had her memory wiped. It
(08:33):
is a complex and detailed world, filled with clues, hints,
and connections, which is what has made it such an
enjoyable reading experience and why so many people have some
very big feelings after the ending.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Of this third book.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Rebecca Yarris's Emperian series third installment sold an unprecedented two
point seven million copies in the first week. The print
edition of Onyx Storm moved over one million copies alone,
making it the fastest selling adult fiction title in the
last two decades. The entire Emperian series, including Fourth Wing,
Iron Flame, and now on ex Storm has now sold
(09:07):
over twelve million copies in less than two now. To
put this success into perspective, those sales figures are approaching
half of Brandon Sanderson's non Wheel of Time books in
twenty years, and match George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice
and Fire series sales before the television adaptation, Onyx Storm
has received widespread acclaim from readers and critics, with many
(09:29):
considering it the strongest entry in the series today. With
its expanded world building, evolving law, and improved character development,
it's been given even more love than its predecessor, Iron Flow.
Alisa Kelly co hosts the Main Character Syndrome podcast in
the US and recently went to a live interview with
the author Rebecca ros Alissa, what did you learn from
(09:50):
Rebecca herself in that chat? Did she give anything away
about what's coming up in the next book?
Speaker 3 (09:55):
So the whole time she was really trying not to
give us any spoilers, which I was kind of like,
spoil the books, spoiler book, spoil the books, but she didn't.
She did give us some little hints, feel like where
Broccoli might be because she asked us where Drake was
and we said Cordon, and so where broccoli. Then with
Drake and Cordon, that's pretty much all we got for
(10:16):
book four. For our event, we were like, Okay, is
there going to be a baby's Aiden because everybody was like,
oh my god, Violet's pregnant, and she was like, you know,
that is probably not in the cars for Violet at
this point. She's got a ride dragons out of war
college and so probably not the best environment for an incent.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
I also really loved what she said in relation to that,
because she said that Violet and Zaiden had often talked
about taking the tonic so that she wouldn't get pregnant
because she's very big on consent and making sure that
everyone is consential in these relationships, that that would have
been a non consensual act to impregnate her, So essentially
she felt like that wouldn't be right.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Yeah, No, And I love that about her books and
how consented like the number one thing. A baby just
doesn't belong in a high fantasy. I'm a firm believer.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
In that, or it's not until the final book of
the series, which is not Book four.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Oh yeah, have a log. If you remember like Conger Games, Yes,
then they can have a kid. I wanted to like
ride around on and Arna and Karen and Sigel.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Yeah, not until the very very end. I don't know
about you, but what me and my friends did. As
soon as we finish reading on Extorm, I finished second
in the group of my friends, so at least one
of my friends and I could start talking about it,
but the rest of them hadn't finished yet. So we
immediately went to Reddit threads and TikTok and we have
absorbed about a billion fan theories and I'd love to
(11:44):
know what some of your favorites are so far.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Okay, So I'm a full believer that Naylan is Benan.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
I will hardly believe it though, like there's too many
unknown and Naolan is always brought up, and then Karen's like,
we do not speak of the one who came before.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
I was watching a TikTok with a woman who had
a very similar theory, and she said that potentially n
Allan and Brennan were lovers because they had to be
resurrected by an act of love, right, and so that's
how he has been brought back from the brink of death.
But also there's another theory that maybe Brennan had died
but that now created him like they create Wyven, so
(12:23):
he was brought back in that way, which is why
you can't kill Nellen, because when you kill the sage
or the wife and writer, you also kill the Wiven,
which would in turn kill Brennan.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
I've seen that one too. Rebecca did say something about
the room's gar in his hand because someone was like,
what about the rooms gar? And She's like, well, wouldn't
you like to know? I think that has something to
do with how he was quote unplot resurrected by Nalen.
But yeah, there were some signs that nael In and
Brennan were together.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
That's right, because Wyven have runs on their carcass when
they're dead, right, So that could be why Brennan has
a room scar on his hand. Interesting, what else have
you learned?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
I also think that the Erias and Darn's kind, you
know how I reckon about those guys. They harness her
power from Lake Seville and basically the ground, right, and
that's how someone turned betanits They take from the ground. Well,
what if the Erid take their power from like the
sun or the sky?
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Hmm, that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
I also read a theory that the Erids might have
taken the eggs.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
I think Gerret takes the eggs.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
You reckon Garret did? Why did he take the eggs?
Speaker 3 (13:26):
He said something at the end of Onyx Storm where
he's leaving Imogen and he says, I have to do
something and the dragon eggs are missing, which Umbriel.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Was that the place that they wanted the dragon.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Egg I think so.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Yeah, so they wanted the dragon eggs for the army,
and I think Garrick took the eggs brought them to Umbril,
and then I think Body is the brother.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
That's the one question that we were all asking at
the end is who is his brother that Zayden talks
about after he's basically turned venom after that last use
of power, because everyone thought like maybe it was Garrick
because they've been kind of very close this whole time.
And then somebody else mentioned Body because someone saw him
(14:11):
out on the battlefield wretching on the ground like maybe
he'd drawn power from the ground too, and that was his.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Reaction to it.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
But Rebecca Arost did say in one of the q
and as think about who is missing? That was a
hint she gave about the brother.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
It's between Gerrik and Body. Garrick was a close one
because she said, think about who's missing at the end,
it's on paper, Garrick is missing. Body was going to
be the heir to Tirran door. And now that Violet
is the death of the Turan Door, that means Body
has to be gone.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Oh my god, there's so many questions. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
I know.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
And that's what's so fun about Rebecca's writing is she's
a Taylor Clip fan. Right, So Taylor Clip writes Easter
eggs and all of her songs, all of her posts,
and that's kind of what Rebecca does too. She puts
Easter eggs in epigraphs. She'll put Easter eggs in her
posts in music that she chooses for her posts.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Okay, he's a couple of like really left wing fan
theories that I have heard and really out there ones.
So first one is that maybe dragons created the first venom,
that the first six were actually the first seven, and
that General Darren Moore was a venom created by his
dragon because he tried to pull too much power. Interesting.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
There was one that Theophany is actually Lira.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
I saw that too, and that she knows how to
cure veninism, if that's what we're calling it. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
I thought maybe she was related to General Lilis Threngel
because she said that they had history, but that could
just be in like that all too.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Also, another really out there theory is that Jack is
Violets step brother.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
That in fact, that's a good one.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Jack is Violet's dad's love child with Jacinia's mother because
they were both high up in the scribes at the time.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Oh wow, Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Are there any other crazy ones that you've heard?
Speaker 3 (15:59):
No, the only two. The really out there one was
that Theophany was Lira. Rebecca did reveal at the Q
and A, which I thought everybody knew maybe I just
paid a little more attention to it, was that Dainia
is confirmed death.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Because there's also a lot of theories about the fact
that the gods are going to choose six riders to
represent them and that will have to be one of
each six colored dragon and one of each six of
the most powerful signets, which is going to be interesting.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Yeah. I think it'll probably be like a repeat of history,
or it's like six and the one. Rebecca also said
that orange dragons are more like the Adhd of the dragons,
so they're not actually evil, they just have adhd.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Right, Okay, Well, the one last thing I want to
ask you about is a lot of chat about Violet
Second Signet, which we kind of get an idea is
dream walking through the end of Onyx Storm, but Becchierris
has kind of mentioned that maybe it's a bit more
than that, and that she's only really reached ten percent
of that signet's potential. What is your vibe on Violet
(17:06):
Second Signet?
Speaker 3 (17:07):
When I first read it, I was kind of underwhelmed,
but then there were so many clues that point out
to it being so much more. It may be like
more than dream walking, and dream walking is just a
part of what she can do. I think she's like
the most powerful intensics in that world.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
She mentions in the book that she would be killed
if people found out what that second signet is, huh,
and Ribecciera said that there's only one person, probably alive,
who could train her, and would that be one of
the Venom? Would that be the ven in Sage because
he's been in their dreams?
Speaker 3 (17:36):
Oh maybe, Yeah, We were talking about how on our
podcast where the Venin stage would have been like the
equal to Violet because of both dream Walkers, just like
Theophany is to Lilith when they met the Eid. One
of the Erids was like, you gave this human something
far more powerful than lightning and far more dangerous, and
so dream walking just seems so underwhelming, and I think
(17:58):
it's a lot more.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
At least we know how she's going to find Zeiden.
I guess in book four, because like, if he's gone somewhere,
she'll be able to find him.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
I think it's going to be the compass that helps
her find it. That compass has something to do with it.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
The compass and the box.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
U huh.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Oh my god, Rebecca, hurry up and write it. We
have too many questions.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Oh my gosh. Well that's another thing too, though, when
people are like asking her, okay, one's book four or
book for it is people write for three years and
then people will consume it in two days. Readers, sometimes
we're very impatient, especially if it ends on a clufshanger.
But as Rebecca said, you know, read other people's books.
I'm currently hooked on Park of the Ever Flame right now,
(18:37):
and I'm like, oh my god, this series is so good.
It's giving zaid and bye.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
We definitely have to distract ourselves because I'm hearing end
of twenty twenty six, maybe twenty twenty seven. So get
a bit of time aside to reread Fourth Wing, Iron Flame,
and Onyx Storm before book four comes out. So give
yourself like a month in there to get that back
all in your brain. Because I don't know about you,
but I lent out book one and book two to
my family members and I didn't have them when on
(19:00):
Extorm came out, and the first few chapters of on
ex Storm, I was like, oh my god, I'm so confused.
I've forgotten who everybody is. I don't know what they've
did in the previous books. It was so confusing to start.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
With, Oh no, that's so fun. As you tried going
on like your library apps and like train like Graphic
Audio two, that was fun.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
No, I haven't.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
That's for next time when we have to reread all
over again for book four. Alissa, thank you so much
for joining us today. I really appreciate it. And you're
sharing some of these crazy fan theories and maybe we'll
catch you again when book four comes out.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Of course, thanks for having me. It's definitely a fun
ride with Rebecca Arold, for sure.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Yeros has confirmed that she's going to take a bit
of a break before diving into book four, saying writing
three books in two and a half years nearly broke her.
It's a pretty amazing effort from someone who'd consider giving
up writing altogether after experiencing some health issues. Yero says
she's already plotted out the remaining two. There's also an
adaptation in development at Amazon MGM Studios which promises to
(19:57):
bring this romanticy saga to our screens, although I imagine it
is going to be very difficult to cast, as we've
already got our own versions of Violet and Zaden in
our heads. Yeros has promised that while Violet and Zaiden's story,
he remains central to the narrative, readers can expect more
revelations and challenges ahead. Thanks for taking the time to
feed your mind with us today. The quickie is produced
(20:18):
by me Claire Murphy and our executive producer Taylor Strano,
with audio production by Lou Hill.
Hi, I'm Claire Murphy. This is Muma MIA's twice daily
news podcast, The Quickie. If you hear the words on
extorm and know immediately to turn this podcast off, hurry up, girl,
We want you in on this conversation so we can
share all our fan theories. Today we're breaking down the
incredible response to the third installment of Rebecca Yarris's Imperian
series books, the global sales, the fan theories, and the
(00:34):
future of Violet and Zaiden seemingly doomed Romance. But before
we jump aboard our dragons and fight off then, and
here's the latest from the Cookie newsroom.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Monday, February ten.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
With an election date looming, Labour has outlined in Your
Initiative for Women's Health from March one, the Albanesi government
will invest five hundred and seventy three point three million
dollars to help lower costs and give women more options
when seeking treatment, including a new contraceptive pill to be
added to the PBS, the first one in twenty years.
It'll drop the price of dross peranone with ethnolestrodol from
(01:04):
three hundred and eighty dollars a year to one hundred
and twenty four forty if you have a concession card,
but it will be just thirty dollars eighty a year.
Medicare payments will also be increased for long term contraception
like IUDs and implants, moving to have the insertion and
removal processes bulk build, saving women around four hundred dollars
a year in out of pocket expenses. Labour also plans
(01:26):
to invest twenty five point one million dollars in establishing
eight Centers of Training Excellence to ensure health practitioners are
better trained in the procedures. From July one, there will
also be a new Medicare rebate for menopause or women
to get health assessments, and funding for healthcare professionals to
be better trained in menopause treatment, developing the first ever
national clinical guidelines. They'll also expand the endometriosis and pelvic
(01:49):
pain clinics to staff specialists who can support women in
perimenopause and menopause. Three new menopause or hormone treatments will
also be listed on the PBS. From March one, Estradol,
progesterone and the combined pack will be listed on the
Pharmaceutical Benefit scheme, reducing yearly payments from between four hundred
to six hundred and seventy dollars a year down to
(02:10):
just thirty one sixty a month. The Albanese government will
also invest one hundred million dollars to support two national trials,
making it cheaper and easier for women to get treatment
for UTIs and contraceptives over the counter at the pharmacy.
President Donald Trump has appeared on Fox News saying he
expects to find billions of dollars of fraud and abuse
at the Pentagon when Elon Musk completes his ordered of
(02:32):
the largest federal department. Trump also revealed that in the
next twenty four hours he'll be instructing Musk to also
check the Department of Education and then the Military. Mask
who is a special government employee, has been asked to
slash the size of the US federal workforce aids to
the Department of Government Efficiencies seeking access to confidential information
at various government agencies, Critics saying the moves are illegal
(02:55):
and risks exposing classified information. There are also concerns over
a conflict of interest with Musk's companies holding major contracts
with the Pentagon. Last week, the cyber hacking group Anonymous
promised to step in during this window of chaos, saying
right now will be the easiest time for them to strike.
Friends star David Schwimmer has issued a plea to ex
owner Elon Mask to ban Kanye West from the platform.
(03:18):
Schwimmer took to Instagram to share West's recent anti Semitic
comments that include him declaring himself a Nazi and professing
his love for Adolf Hitler, Schwimmer writing this is so
twenty twenty two. We can't stop a deranged bigot from
spewing hatefield ignorant bile, but we can stop giving him
a megaphone. Schwimmer went on to say that West has
thirty two point seven million followers on x, twice as
(03:41):
many people than the number of Jews in existence. West
was banned from the platform for a period of about
six months from December twenty twenty two for similar posts.
He wrote recently that he thinks Hitler was so fresh.
The Super Bowl kicks off in the US around ten
thirty this morning, with the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the
Kansas City Chiefs. Jordan Malata will be representing Australia for
(04:02):
the Philadelphia Eagles as Taylor Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce hopes
to take home his fourth win. Twenty two time Grammy
Award winner Kendrick Lamar will headline the halftime show in
New Orleans. He does have a collaboration with Taylor Swift
in his past, the pair teaming up for Bad Blood,
so there are some excited Swifties wondering if she will
also hop up on stage for the show. The ads
(04:22):
are also making headlines, with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal
returning to recreate their famous when Harry met Sally seen
in the Diner for Hellman's Mayonnaise. Adam Brody and Nick
Offerman team up with basketballer James Harden for Pringles The
Call of the Mustaches, and David Beckham finds out he
has a twin brother called the Other David in America,
who turns out to be Matt Damon. The price tag
(04:42):
for a thirty second slot in twenty twenty five Super
Bowl Sunday telecast is eight million dollars US. That's what's
going on in the world today.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Next.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
If the ending of Onyx Storm left you feeling shocked
and desperate for more, then stick around because we're about
to get our fan theory on. I was in a
meeting late last week when my phone started blowing up.
It was a string of messages from a friend who's
st I started reading the third book in Rebecca Yarris's
(05:11):
Imperian series on ex Storm. I'd already finished it, but
I'd given her strict instructions to message me when she
was done. I needed to know how she felt about
the ending. Instead, she started messaging me with one hundred
and twenty pages left to go because she couldn't deal
with what was happening. And if you still haven't finished
on ex Storm, now is when you need to get
the hell out of here because spoilers. Here's how those
(05:34):
last one hundred and twenty pages played out for her.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
Okay, I haven't finished.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Yet, but what the actual fuck? You just had a
throat cut.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
Oh it's okay, she's alive.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I just had a heart attack.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
I'm freaking out. Thirty pages to go. I have goosebumps.
I think Sloan is a lot stronger than we know.
So Imagen's second signet is fire. I had to just
reread that section like three times. Not cool hererek, Oh
my god, Dana, I need an extra blood pressure pill
and I need to reread the last four then obviously
still has a soul. I reckon Garrek is with saying
(06:03):
Ridden and Garret will end up together for shop. Oh
my god, I loved it heads down.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
That was epic.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
The next few hours after that we discussed fan theories
that have flooded the internet since people finished reading it too.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
I think that Papa Sorengel's research will be hidden within
Violet's other books, just like how the Fables of.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
The Baron hid a warning letter for Violet.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
My unhinged crack theory is that Theophany is actually Lira
of Moraine or related. Felix is a true Sayer and
that is why Violet told him the feather Tale secrets.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
I am convinced that Naolan is the sage that was
jumping into Sadan's dreams. I think Jack is an intensic.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
We are.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Is okay.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
So if you haven't read any of the books, here's
a really basic rundown. Violet Soaringau was meant to become
a scribe, but she ends up joining the elite Dragon
Writing College instead, where her older sister, brother and mother attended.
That's despite her being physically weaker than most. Her mom
is in charge. She's targeted by crazy fellow student called
Jack for no real apparent reason, and she's terrified of
(07:13):
one of the so called marked Ones, Zayden Rielsen, who
seems very intensely focused on her. During her initial time
at the college, she ends up bonding to the biggest
and strongest dragon, Ten and a second dragon are previously
unstudied Will at that time. We believe this seventh breed
of dragon called an Dana, who's essentially a baby who's
been raised by Ten and his bonded dragon partner Scale.
(07:36):
Now Scale's rider is the broody marked One Zayden. Violet
and Zayden share a special bond because of their dragons,
and their writers receive magical powers through the dragon that
they've bonded with.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
As the book's unfold, Violet.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
And her gang of rebellious friends, family and enemies turned
friends and friends turned enemies try and fight a deadly
force known as Venin while trying to raise armies find
out more about the history of how they came to
be and who Violet really is, seeing as she is
the only Lightning Wilder of her generation Zayden in one
of these fights, ends up beginning the process of becoming
Venin himself, and they have to focus on trying to
(08:10):
keep him from turning fully while Violet and Zayden's love
story unfolds. There is a lot more to it than this,
but you kind of catch the drift now. At the
end of Onyx Storm, there's a cliffhanger where Zayden is
turned almost fully venin. He speaks of a brother who'll
be joining him. Dragon Eggs are missing, and Violent awakes
from a battle to find she is married to Zayden,
who's now missing, and she's had her memory wiped. It
(08:33):
is a complex and detailed world, filled with clues, hints,
and connections, which is what has made it such an
enjoyable reading experience and why so many people have some
very big feelings after the ending.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Of this third book.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Rebecca Yarris's Emperian series third installment sold an unprecedented two
point seven million copies in the first week. The print
edition of Onyx Storm moved over one million copies alone,
making it the fastest selling adult fiction title in the
last two decades. The entire Emperian series, including Fourth Wing,
Iron Flame, and now on ex Storm has now sold
(09:07):
over twelve million copies in less than two now. To
put this success into perspective, those sales figures are approaching
half of Brandon Sanderson's non Wheel of Time books in
twenty years, and match George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice
and Fire series sales before the television adaptation, Onyx Storm
has received widespread acclaim from readers and critics, with many
(09:29):
considering it the strongest entry in the series today. With
its expanded world building, evolving law, and improved character development,
it's been given even more love than its predecessor, Iron Flow.
Alisa Kelly co hosts the Main Character Syndrome podcast in
the US and recently went to a live interview with
the author Rebecca ros Alissa, what did you learn from
(09:50):
Rebecca herself in that chat? Did she give anything away
about what's coming up in the next book?
Speaker 3 (09:55):
So the whole time she was really trying not to
give us any spoilers, which I was kind of like,
spoil the books, spoiler book, spoil the books, but she didn't.
She did give us some little hints, feel like where
Broccoli might be because she asked us where Drake was
and we said Cordon, and so where broccoli. Then with
Drake and Cordon, that's pretty much all we got for
(10:16):
book four. For our event, we were like, Okay, is
there going to be a baby's Aiden because everybody was like,
oh my god, Violet's pregnant, and she was like, you know,
that is probably not in the cars for Violet at
this point. She's got a ride dragons out of war
college and so probably not the best environment for an incent.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
I also really loved what she said in relation to that,
because she said that Violet and Zaiden had often talked
about taking the tonic so that she wouldn't get pregnant
because she's very big on consent and making sure that
everyone is consential in these relationships, that that would have
been a non consensual act to impregnate her, So essentially
she felt like that wouldn't be right.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Yeah, No, And I love that about her books and
how consented like the number one thing. A baby just
doesn't belong in a high fantasy. I'm a firm believer.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
In that, or it's not until the final book of
the series, which is not Book four.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Oh yeah, have a log. If you remember like Conger Games, Yes,
then they can have a kid. I wanted to like
ride around on and Arna and Karen and Sigel.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Yeah, not until the very very end. I don't know
about you, but what me and my friends did. As
soon as we finish reading on Extorm, I finished second
in the group of my friends, so at least one
of my friends and I could start talking about it,
but the rest of them hadn't finished yet. So we
immediately went to Reddit threads and TikTok and we have
absorbed about a billion fan theories and I'd love to
(11:44):
know what some of your favorites are so far.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Okay, So I'm a full believer that Naylan is Benan.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
I will hardly believe it though, like there's too many
unknown and Naolan is always brought up, and then Karen's like,
we do not speak of the one who came before.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
I was watching a TikTok with a woman who had
a very similar theory, and she said that potentially n
Allan and Brennan were lovers because they had to be
resurrected by an act of love, right, and so that's
how he has been brought back from the brink of death.
But also there's another theory that maybe Brennan had died
but that now created him like they create Wyven, so
(12:23):
he was brought back in that way, which is why
you can't kill Nellen, because when you kill the sage
or the wife and writer, you also kill the Wiven,
which would in turn kill Brennan.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
I've seen that one too. Rebecca did say something about
the room's gar in his hand because someone was like,
what about the rooms gar? And She's like, well, wouldn't
you like to know? I think that has something to
do with how he was quote unplot resurrected by Nalen.
But yeah, there were some signs that nael In and
Brennan were together.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
That's right, because Wyven have runs on their carcass when
they're dead, right, So that could be why Brennan has
a room scar on his hand. Interesting, what else have
you learned?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
I also think that the Erias and Darn's kind, you
know how I reckon about those guys. They harness her
power from Lake Seville and basically the ground, right, and
that's how someone turned betanits They take from the ground. Well,
what if the Erid take their power from like the
sun or the sky?
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Hmm, that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
I also read a theory that the Erids might have
taken the eggs.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
I think Gerret takes the eggs.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
You reckon Garret did? Why did he take the eggs?
Speaker 3 (13:26):
He said something at the end of Onyx Storm where
he's leaving Imogen and he says, I have to do
something and the dragon eggs are missing, which Umbriel.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Was that the place that they wanted the dragon.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Egg I think so.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Yeah, so they wanted the dragon eggs for the army,
and I think Garrick took the eggs brought them to Umbril,
and then I think Body is the brother.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
That's the one question that we were all asking at
the end is who is his brother that Zayden talks
about after he's basically turned venom after that last use
of power, because everyone thought like maybe it was Garrick
because they've been kind of very close this whole time.
And then somebody else mentioned Body because someone saw him
(14:11):
out on the battlefield wretching on the ground like maybe
he'd drawn power from the ground too, and that was his.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Reaction to it.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
But Rebecca Arost did say in one of the q
and as think about who is missing? That was a
hint she gave about the brother.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
It's between Gerrik and Body. Garrick was a close one
because she said, think about who's missing at the end,
it's on paper, Garrick is missing. Body was going to
be the heir to Tirran door. And now that Violet
is the death of the Turan Door, that means Body
has to be gone.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Oh my god, there's so many questions. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
I know.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
And that's what's so fun about Rebecca's writing is she's
a Taylor Clip fan. Right, So Taylor Clip writes Easter
eggs and all of her songs, all of her posts,
and that's kind of what Rebecca does too. She puts
Easter eggs in epigraphs. She'll put Easter eggs in her
posts in music that she chooses for her posts.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Okay, he's a couple of like really left wing fan
theories that I have heard and really out there ones.
So first one is that maybe dragons created the first venom,
that the first six were actually the first seven, and
that General Darren Moore was a venom created by his
dragon because he tried to pull too much power. Interesting.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
There was one that Theophany is actually Lira.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
I saw that too, and that she knows how to
cure veninism, if that's what we're calling it. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
I thought maybe she was related to General Lilis Threngel
because she said that they had history, but that could
just be in like that all too.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Also, another really out there theory is that Jack is
Violets step brother.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
That in fact, that's a good one.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Jack is Violet's dad's love child with Jacinia's mother because
they were both high up in the scribes at the time.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Oh wow, Yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Are there any other crazy ones that you've heard?
Speaker 3 (15:59):
No, the only two. The really out there one was
that Theophany was Lira. Rebecca did reveal at the Q
and A, which I thought everybody knew maybe I just
paid a little more attention to it, was that Dainia
is confirmed death.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Because there's also a lot of theories about the fact
that the gods are going to choose six riders to
represent them and that will have to be one of
each six colored dragon and one of each six of
the most powerful signets, which is going to be interesting.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Yeah. I think it'll probably be like a repeat of history,
or it's like six and the one. Rebecca also said
that orange dragons are more like the Adhd of the dragons,
so they're not actually evil, they just have adhd.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Right, Okay, Well, the one last thing I want to
ask you about is a lot of chat about Violet
Second Signet, which we kind of get an idea is
dream walking through the end of Onyx Storm, but Becchierris
has kind of mentioned that maybe it's a bit more
than that, and that she's only really reached ten percent
of that signet's potential. What is your vibe on Violet
(17:06):
Second Signet?
Speaker 3 (17:07):
When I first read it, I was kind of underwhelmed,
but then there were so many clues that point out
to it being so much more. It may be like
more than dream walking, and dream walking is just a
part of what she can do. I think she's like
the most powerful intensics in that world.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
She mentions in the book that she would be killed
if people found out what that second signet is, huh,
and Ribecciera said that there's only one person, probably alive,
who could train her, and would that be one of
the Venom? Would that be the ven in Sage because
he's been in their dreams?
Speaker 3 (17:36):
Oh maybe, Yeah, We were talking about how on our
podcast where the Venin stage would have been like the
equal to Violet because of both dream Walkers, just like
Theophany is to Lilith when they met the Eid. One
of the Erids was like, you gave this human something
far more powerful than lightning and far more dangerous, and
so dream walking just seems so underwhelming, and I think
(17:58):
it's a lot more.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
At least we know how she's going to find Zeiden.
I guess in book four, because like, if he's gone somewhere,
she'll be able to find him.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
I think it's going to be the compass that helps
her find it. That compass has something to do with it.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
The compass and the box.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
U huh.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Oh my god, Rebecca, hurry up and write it. We
have too many questions.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Oh my gosh. Well that's another thing too, though, when
people are like asking her, okay, one's book four or
book for it is people write for three years and
then people will consume it in two days. Readers, sometimes
we're very impatient, especially if it ends on a clufshanger.
But as Rebecca said, you know, read other people's books.
I'm currently hooked on Park of the Ever Flame right now,
(18:37):
and I'm like, oh my god, this series is so good.
It's giving zaid and bye.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
We definitely have to distract ourselves because I'm hearing end
of twenty twenty six, maybe twenty twenty seven. So get
a bit of time aside to reread Fourth Wing, Iron Flame,
and Onyx Storm before book four comes out. So give
yourself like a month in there to get that back
all in your brain. Because I don't know about you,
but I lent out book one and book two to
my family members and I didn't have them when on
(19:00):
Extorm came out, and the first few chapters of on
ex Storm, I was like, oh my god, I'm so confused.
I've forgotten who everybody is. I don't know what they've
did in the previous books. It was so confusing to start.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
With, Oh no, that's so fun. As you tried going
on like your library apps and like train like Graphic
Audio two, that was fun.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
No, I haven't.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
That's for next time when we have to reread all
over again for book four. Alissa, thank you so much
for joining us today. I really appreciate it. And you're
sharing some of these crazy fan theories and maybe we'll
catch you again when book four comes out.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Of course, thanks for having me. It's definitely a fun
ride with Rebecca Arold, for sure.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Yeros has confirmed that she's going to take a bit
of a break before diving into book four, saying writing
three books in two and a half years nearly broke her.
It's a pretty amazing effort from someone who'd consider giving
up writing altogether after experiencing some health issues. Yero says
she's already plotted out the remaining two. There's also an
adaptation in development at Amazon MGM Studios which promises to
(19:57):
bring this romanticy saga to our screens, although I imagine it
is going to be very difficult to cast, as we've
already got our own versions of Violet and Zaden in
our heads. Yeros has promised that while Violet and Zaiden's story,
he remains central to the narrative, readers can expect more
revelations and challenges ahead. Thanks for taking the time to
feed your mind with us today. The quickie is produced
(20:18):
by me Claire Murphy and our executive producer Taylor Strano,
with audio production by Lou Hill.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.