Warning: Major spoilers for Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, Onyx Storm and Threshing Day follow.
Rebecca Yarros has taken readers back to one of the most important moments in every rider’s life with Threshing Day, a new companion book set inside the Empyrean universe.
Rather than continuing directly on from Onyx Storm, Threshing Day returns to Basgiath’s brutal bonding ritual through the stories of other riders and the dragons who chose them. It is not Fourth Wing Book 4, but it may still turn out to be one of the most useful books to read before the main series continues.
That is because Threshing now looks very different from the event we first encountered through Violet Sorrengail.
Three books into the series, we know that Basgiath does not tell its cadets the whole truth. Navarre has rewritten history, dragons keep secrets from their riders, family bloodlines matter more than they initially appeared to and the rules surrounding magic are becoming increasingly complicated.
So when Threshing Day takes us back to the moment riders first bond with their dragons, the questions are no longer simply about who survives.
Why did that particular dragon choose that particular person? What did the dragon already know? Did the rider’s emotional state influence the power they later developed? And were some dragons quietly choosing sides long before Violet ever crossed the parapet?
Threshing is one of the defining events in a rider cadet’s life at Basgiath War College. First-years enter the valley knowing that by the end of the day they may have bonded a dragon, failed to form a bond at all or died trying.
The important part is that the choice belongs to the dragons.
Cadets can attempt to impress them, demonstrate strength or try to place themselves near a dragon they hope will notice them, but ultimately the dragon decides whether the bond happens.
In Fourth Wing, readers experience Threshing primarily through Violet. Her experience immediately breaks expectations when she ends up bonding not one but two dragons, Tairn and Andarna.
At the time, the moment feels extraordinary because Violet survives something she was not expected to survive.
Now it feels extraordinary for another reason.
The more we learn about the intelligence, history and politics of dragonkind, the more difficult it becomes to believe that either of those bonds happened simply by chance.
Threshing Day gives us the chance to compare Violet’s experience with those of other riders and, by doing so, understand just how unusual some of the series’ most important dragon bonds really are.
Is Threshing Day Fourth Wing Book 4?
No. Threshing Day is a companion collection rather than the fourth full-length Empyrean novel.
It does not simply continue from the ending of Onyx Storm. Instead, it revisits earlier moments from the perspectives of riders we already know, filling in pieces of their histories and showing us what happened when they first encountered the dragons who would change their lives.
That makes the book less about finding out what happens next and more about reconsidering what has already happened.
This is particularly effective because readers now know so much more about the world than the characters did during their first Threshings.
A dragon choosing a rider may have seemed like a relatively straightforward act in Fourth Wing. After Iron Flame and Onyx Storm, it is much harder to see it that way.
Why Threshing Feels More Important After Onyx Storm
At the beginning of the series, Basgiath presents its magical system as though the rules are relatively simple. A dragon chooses a rider. Through that bond, the rider is able to channel power. That power eventually manifests as a signet. Those signets differ between riders, but they are treated as an accepted part of the system.
The further we move through the Empyrean series, the less straightforward any of that becomes.
Signets often appear deeply connected to the individual who manifests them. Dragons seem to understand more about magic than the people who study it. Certain bonds behave differently from others, and rules that initially sound absolute often turn out to have exceptions.
Threshing Day gives readers another reason to look closely at what riders are feeling, fearing and wanting at the moment their bonds form.
If those emotional needs eventually influence the type of signet a rider develops, then Threshing may be important for far more than simply deciding who gets a dragon.
It may be the beginning of the rider’s entire magical identity.
The Dragons May Have Been Choosing Sides All Along
One of the most important shifts across the Empyrean series is the gradual realisation that the dragons are not simply powerful animals attached to human riders.
They have their own hierarchy, their own histories, their own politics and, most importantly, their own secrets.
Tairn can be sarcastic and familiar enough that it is easy to forget just how much he withholds from Violet. Other dragons behave similarly. They decide what their riders need to know and when they need to know it.
By the time we reach Onyx Storm, it is increasingly clear that the humans and dragons may not even be fighting the same war for exactly the same reasons.
That gives the stories in Threshing Day another layer.
What if some dragons did not simply choose people they believed would become strong riders? What if they chose humans whose values, families or future positions made them useful allies?
The rebellion existed long before Violet arrived at Basgiath. The venin threat also existed long before Navarre acknowledged it publicly.
Some dragons may have been preparing for what was coming long before the riders understood there was anything to prepare for.
If that turns out to be true, Threshing may have been quietly political all along.
Xaden’s Threshing Changes the Way We See Him
It is difficult to imagine a Fourth Wing companion book that would not leave readers wanting more Xaden, and his earlier story is particularly interesting because of the person he eventually becomes.
By the time Violet meets Xaden Riorson, he is already controlled, strategic and extremely careful about what he reveals. He has learned to survive inside an institution that views him and the other marked ones with suspicion.
But the younger Xaden entering Threshing is carrying an extraordinary amount of weight.
His father has been executed. His family name is tied to rebellion. He knows the marked ones are being watched and judged differently from other cadets, and he already understands that his actions may affect far more than his own survival.
Looking back at the moment he bonds his dragon therefore raises an obvious question: what did the dragon recognise in him?
Strength is the easy answer, but Xaden has never been interesting because of strength alone.
His defining qualities are loyalty, control, strategy and his willingness to carry responsibility for other people, even when that responsibility becomes almost impossible.
His dragon may have recognised those traits before almost anyone else did.
What Did Sgaeyl See in Xaden?
The dragons do not appear to evaluate riders according to the same standards used by Basgiath.
Rank, family status and reputation may matter enormously to humans, but dragons seem far more interested in something fundamental about the person standing in front of them.
That makes Sgaeyl’s choice particularly fascinating.
Perhaps she saw Xaden’s ability to protect others. Perhaps she recognised the secrecy and strategic thinking that would later become central to his character. She may simply have seen someone strong enough to survive what was coming.
There is also a bigger possibility.
What if Sgaeyl knew Xaden would eventually become important in the wider conflict?
The more we learn about what the dragons understand, the harder it becomes to assume they are making decisions without considering the future.
Signets May Not Be Random at All
Signets have always been one of the most interesting parts of the Empyrean world because they feel both magical and deeply personal.
The power originates through the dragon bond, but the way that power manifests belongs to the rider.
That distinction matters.
Violet’s abilities reflect her need to become powerful enough to protect the people around her. Xaden’s relationship with information, secrecy and control also feels closely connected to the kind of abilities he develops.
Other riders show similar patterns.
Threshing Day makes it increasingly tempting to stop thinking of signets as random gifts and instead view them as answers to something within the rider.
What did this person lack?
What were they most afraid of?
What did they desperately need to control?
What did they want badly enough that their magic eventually took that shape?
Looking at the characters through that lens makes Threshing much more interesting.
It also gives readers a very good excuse to go back through the series looking for clues.
Dragon Bonds and Bloodlines Are Looking Increasingly Important
Family history is everywhere in the Empyrean series.
The Sorrengails. The Riorsons. The Mairis. The marked ones. Children of riders. Children of rebellion leaders. Parents whose histories are only partially understood.
Every time the series tells us that a particular family connection should not matter, it seems to find another reason to make it matter.
Dragon bonds are no exception.
The rules surrounding dragons bonding riders connected to former riders have always sounded important, particularly because those relationships can have consequences for both rider and dragon.
Threshing Day gives us more reason to pay attention to these inherited connections.
It is difficult to believe that Yarros keeps returning to family lines simply for background detail.
If certain dragons have histories with particular families, or if riders inherit more than reputation from their parents, Book 4 could push that part of the mythology much further.
Imogen Feels More Important Than Ever
Imogen has quietly become one of the most interesting secondary characters in the series.
When we first meet her, she is easy to categorise primarily as one of Xaden’s marked riders. Over time, however, she becomes much more central to Violet’s wider circle and increasingly difficult to overlook.
She is capable, loyal, dangerous and often positioned close enough to important events that readers should probably pay attention whenever she appears.
Threshing Day gives us more context around her earlier life and the person she was before the major events of the main series.
That matters because Imogen is one of those characters who seems to become more important retrospectively.
Small things about her history or abilities can mean something completely different once we know what happens later.
It would not be surprising to see her move even closer to the centre of the story in Book 4.
Imogen and Garrick Could Become a Bigger Part of the Story
The dynamic between Imogen and Garrick is also increasingly difficult to ignore.
They have both been part of Xaden’s inner circle from early in the series, but their own stories have often unfolded behind Violet and Xaden’s central relationship.
Giving them more attention would make sense as the world continues to expand.
The Empyrean series now has enough supporting characters to carry emotional arcs beyond its main couple, and developing those relationships gives future battles and losses more weight.
That is not necessarily a comforting thought in a series with this particular mortality rate.
Still, Imogen and Garrick are both characters who feel as though they have considerably more story left.
Sloane May Be One of the Characters to Watch in Book 4
Sloane Mairi initially enters the story under the enormous shadow of Liam.
That alone makes readers emotionally invested in her, but she has gradually started to become important in ways that have very little to do with being Liam’s sister.
Her Threshing story gives us another opportunity to consider what she was carrying when her bond formed.
Grief. Expectation. Anger. Family history. The need to prove herself.
All of those things matter in a series where power appears so closely connected to identity.
Sloane also belongs to one of the families most deeply affected by the rebellion, which keeps her tied to the wider political story.
She feels less like a character introduced simply to keep Liam’s memory alive and more like someone being positioned for a much larger role.
Dain’s Story Is Becoming More Complicated
Few characters in Fourth Wing frustrated readers quite like Dain.
He begins as Violet’s childhood friend and someone who believes almost completely in the rules of Basgiath. His attempts to protect Violet often become controlling, while his faith in the institution repeatedly prevents him from seeing what is actually happening.
What makes Dain more interesting now is that those beliefs have been dismantled.
He has had to confront the fact that the people and institutions he trusted were capable of lying to him. He has been forced to rethink loyalty, friendship and his own choices.
That makes looking back at his earlier life much more valuable.
We already know who Dain becomes when he believes the system is right.
The more interesting question is who he becomes once he knows it is not.
Brennan’s Past Makes the Sorrengail Family Even More Mysterious
Brennan has always occupied a strange position in Violet’s story.
For years, she believes her older brother is dead. Then she discovers not only that he survived, but that he has built an entirely different life around the rebellion.
That revelation raises questions that the series still has not completely answered.
Going back to Brennan before all of that gives readers a chance to see who he was before his supposed death and before the choices that separated him from his family.
It also adds another layer to the increasingly complicated Sorrengail history.
Violet, Mira and Brennan have all ended up playing significant roles in the conflict. At some point, it becomes difficult to dismiss that as coincidence.
The Sorrengail Parents Still Have a Lot to Explain
Lilith Sorrengail remains one of the most complicated figures in the series.
Depending on when we encounter her, she can appear cold, ruthless, protective or far more informed than Violet ever realised.
Many of her decisions only start to make sense once readers understand how much she knew.
Violet’s father is even more mysterious.
His research and knowledge have been referenced often enough that it is difficult to imagine they will remain background detail forever.
The question is no longer simply whether Violet’s parents understood more about dragons, venin and the wards than they told their children.
It is how much they understood and why they believed secrecy was necessary.
Threshing May Never Have Been a Fair Test
Basgiath sells itself as a brutal meritocracy.
Survive the parapet. Survive training. Survive the Gauntlet. Survive Threshing.
If you make it through, you have earned your place.
But the deeper we go into the series, the less convincing that idea becomes.
Some cadets enter Basgiath with powerful family connections. Others are already being targeted because of their parents. Some have access to information their classmates do not.
And the dragons themselves may arrive at Threshing with preferences and agendas of their own.
That means Threshing may not be a neutral test at all.
It could be better understood as a meeting between two sets of needs.
The rider needs a dragon.
The dragon needs something too.
The interesting question is what.
What Does Threshing Day Tell Us About the Venin?
It is almost impossible to talk about power in the Empyrean series now without talking about the venin.
The basic distinction initially seems straightforward.
Riders channel power through dragons. Venin draw power directly from the earth.
But as the series progresses, that line becomes morally much more complicated.
Why does someone choose to draw directly from the earth?
Ambition might be one answer, but desperation is another.
Fear could do it.
Love could do it.
The need to save someone could do it.
That becomes particularly interesting if a rider’s deepest emotional needs also influence the power they manifest through their dragon bond.
The same vulnerability that shapes someone’s signet could potentially shape the choices they make later.
Could Someone Else We Know Become Venin?
At this point, almost nobody feels completely safe from that possibility.
That does not mean every powerful or desperate character is about to become venin, but the series is clearly making the transformation more personal.
The venin are much more interesting when they stop being distant monsters and start becoming people who made choices.
Someone might draw power because they want more of it.
But someone else might do it because they believe there is no other way to protect the person standing beside them.
Those two motivations are not morally identical, even if they lead towards the same corruption.
That tension could become one of the biggest themes in Book 4.
Threshing Day Reminds Us That Dragons Are Dangerous
Spending so much time with Tairn and Andarna can make dragons feel strangely familiar.
Tairn is sarcastic enough to be funny. Andarna has such a strong personality that readers naturally become attached to her.
But dragons are still ancient, extraordinarily powerful creatures capable of killing humans almost instantly.
Threshing Day is a useful reminder of that.
The dragons decide whether bonding happens. They decide how much information to share with their riders. They have their own priorities and appear completely comfortable keeping secrets when they believe humans do not need to know them.
That creates an interesting imbalance.
The humans may think they are directing the war.
The dragons may have a very different view.
Why Violet Not Being the Centre of Threshing Day Works So Well
One of the smartest things about the collection is that it does not simply retell Violet’s story.
We already know what happened during her Threshing.
What we lacked was comparison.
Seeing how other riders experience the same ritual gives readers a much clearer idea of what is normal and what is not.
That makes Violet’s experience feel even more extraordinary because we can finally place it against a wider range of dragon bonds.
It also allows characters who have spent most of the series existing around Violet to become the centre of their own stories.
For readers who have wondered which rider they would resemble most, our Which Fourth Wing Character Are You? quiz is also worth doing once you have finished analysing everyone’s Threshing.
Is Threshing Day Essential Reading Before Book 4?
Probably not essential, but definitely worthwhile for readers invested in the wider mythology.
The main series should still be understandable without memorising every detail in this companion collection. But Threshing Day gives us exactly the kind of background information that tends to become more interesting later.
It expands several areas in particular:
the way dragon bonds form
the possible connection between personality and signet
rider family histories and bloodlines
dragon motivations and politics
the earlier lives of important supporting characters
relationships that may grow in future books
The most likely outcome is that readers will eventually return to Threshing Day after Book 4 and suddenly realise that something important was sitting in plain sight.
Where Does Threshing Day Fit in the Fourth Wing Reading Order?
For the cleanest reading experience, we recommend:
Fourth Wing
Iron Flame
Onyx Storm
Threshing Day
Empyrean Book 4
Even though Threshing Day revisits earlier events, the stories mean more once you know what happens later in the series.
What Could Threshing Day Be Setting Up for Book 4?
Nothing is certain yet, but the collection makes several possibilities feel increasingly plausible.
Dragon politics could become central. The dragons know too much and share too little for their internal politics to remain in the background forever.
Signets may become more important. If powers are closely connected to a rider’s emotional needs, understanding those needs could become important to understanding abilities we have not fully figured out yet.
Bloodlines could matter more. Family histories appear too frequently throughout the series to be incidental.
Secondary characters could move closer to the centre. Imogen, Garrick, Sloane, Dain and Brennan all have enough unresolved story to become much more prominent.
The venin storyline could become more morally complicated. The series may increasingly focus not just on who becomes venin, but why.
The Real Importance of Threshing Day
The most interesting thing about Threshing Day may not be one big revelation.
It is what the book does to our perspective.
Violet’s entire journey has been built around discovering that the world she grew up believing in was incomplete.
Navarre lied about the war. Basgiath concealed information. History was rewritten. Dragons withheld secrets. People she trusted understood things they never told her.
Now Threshing Day applies that same idea to the beginning of a rider’s life.
We thought we understood Threshing because we watched Violet survive it.
But seeing the event through other characters makes it look very different.
Perhaps Threshing is not simply the day a rider finds a dragon.
Perhaps it is the day a dragon decides which human it believes will matter.
And if that is true, some of the most important decisions in the Empyrean series may have been made long before Violet ever crossed the parapet.
Frequently Asked Questions About Threshing Day
What is Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros?
Threshing Day is a companion collection set within Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean universe. It revisits the dragon bonding ritual through the stories of other riders and gives readers additional character history and dragon lore.
Is Threshing Day Fourth Wing Book 4?
No. Threshing Day is a companion book rather than the fourth full-length Empyrean novel.
Does Threshing Day continue after Onyx Storm?
No. The collection looks back at earlier Threshing events rather than continuing directly from the ending of Onyx Storm.
Should I read Onyx Storm before Threshing Day?
Yes. We recommend finishing Onyx Storm first because the stories in Threshing Day carry more meaning once you understand the later events of the series. Our Ultimate Guide to Onyx Storm is useful if you need a refresher.
Is Xaden in Threshing Day?
Yes. Xaden’s earlier story is one of the most anticipated parts of the collection and gives readers more insight into who he was before Violet entered his life.
Is Violet the main character in Threshing Day?
No. The collection expands the Empyrean world by focusing more heavily on other riders and their dragon bonds.
Do I need to read Threshing Day before Fourth Wing Book 4?
It is not a main-series instalment, so it should not be essential. However, readers interested in dragon lore, signets, family histories and supporting characters will likely get much more out of Book 4 after reading it.
What are venin in Fourth Wing?
Venin are humans who draw magical power directly from the earth rather than channeling it through a dragon or gryphon bond. You can read our full Fourth Wing venin explained guide for more detail.
Warning: Major spoilers for Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, Onyx Storm and Threshing Day follow.
Rebecca Yarros has taken readers back to one of the most important moments in every rider’s life with Threshing Day, a new companion book set inside the Empyrean universe.
Rather than continuing directly on from Onyx Storm, Threshing Day returns to Basgiath’s brutal bonding ritual through the stories of other riders and the dragons who chose them. It is not Fourth Wing Book 4, but it may still turn out to be one of the most useful books to read before the main series continues.
That is because Threshing now looks very different from the event we first encountered through Violet Sorrengail.
Three books into the series, we know that Basgiath does not tell its cadets the whole truth. Navarre has rewritten history, dragons keep secrets from their riders, family bloodlines matter more than they initially appeared to and the rules surrounding magic are becoming increasingly complicated.
So when Threshing Day takes us back to the moment riders first bond with their dragons, the questions are no longer simply about who survives.
Why did that particular dragon choose that particular person? What did the dragon already know? Did the rider’s emotional state influence the power they later developed? And were some dragons quietly choosing sides long before Violet ever crossed the parapet?
If you need to go back to the beginning first, our Fourth Wing guide to the characters, reading order and Empyrean series is the best place to refresh your memory. If it is the events immediately before Threshing Day that are hazy, revisit our Ultimate Guide to Onyx Storm first.
What Is Threshing Day?
Threshing is one of the defining events in a rider cadet’s life at Basgiath War College. First-years enter the valley knowing that by the end of the day they may have bonded a dragon, failed to form a bond at all or died trying.
The important part is that the choice belongs to the dragons.
Cadets can attempt to impress them, demonstrate strength or try to place themselves near a dragon they hope will notice them, but ultimately the dragon decides whether the bond happens.
In Fourth Wing, readers experience Threshing primarily through Violet. Her experience immediately breaks expectations when she ends up bonding not one but two dragons, Tairn and Andarna.
At the time, the moment feels extraordinary because Violet survives something she was not expected to survive.
Now it feels extraordinary for another reason.
The more we learn about the intelligence, history and politics of dragonkind, the more difficult it becomes to believe that either of those bonds happened simply by chance.
Threshing Day gives us the chance to compare Violet’s experience with those of other riders and, by doing so, understand just how unusual some of the series’ most important dragon bonds really are.
Is Threshing Day Fourth Wing Book 4?
No. Threshing Day is a companion collection rather than the fourth full-length Empyrean novel.
It does not simply continue from the ending of Onyx Storm. Instead, it revisits earlier moments from the perspectives of riders we already know, filling in pieces of their histories and showing us what happened when they first encountered the dragons who would change their lives.
That makes the book less about finding out what happens next and more about reconsidering what has already happened.
This is particularly effective because readers now know so much more about the world than the characters did during their first Threshings.
A dragon choosing a rider may have seemed like a relatively straightforward act in Fourth Wing. After Iron Flame and Onyx Storm, it is much harder to see it that way.
Why Threshing Feels More Important After Onyx Storm
At the beginning of the series, Basgiath presents its magical system as though the rules are relatively simple. A dragon chooses a rider. Through that bond, the rider is able to channel power. That power eventually manifests as a signet. Those signets differ between riders, but they are treated as an accepted part of the system.
The further we move through the Empyrean series, the less straightforward any of that becomes.
Signets often appear deeply connected to the individual who manifests them. Dragons seem to understand more about magic than the people who study it. Certain bonds behave differently from others, and rules that initially sound absolute often turn out to have exceptions.
Threshing Day gives readers another reason to look closely at what riders are feeling, fearing and wanting at the moment their bonds form.
If those emotional needs eventually influence the type of signet a rider develops, then Threshing may be important for far more than simply deciding who gets a dragon.
It may be the beginning of the rider’s entire magical identity.
The Dragons May Have Been Choosing Sides All Along
One of the most important shifts across the Empyrean series is the gradual realisation that the dragons are not simply powerful animals attached to human riders.
They have their own hierarchy, their own histories, their own politics and, most importantly, their own secrets.
Tairn can be sarcastic and familiar enough that it is easy to forget just how much he withholds from Violet. Other dragons behave similarly. They decide what their riders need to know and when they need to know it.
By the time we reach Onyx Storm, it is increasingly clear that the humans and dragons may not even be fighting the same war for exactly the same reasons.
That gives the stories in Threshing Day another layer.
What if some dragons did not simply choose people they believed would become strong riders? What if they chose humans whose values, families or future positions made them useful allies?
The rebellion existed long before Violet arrived at Basgiath. The venin threat also existed long before Navarre acknowledged it publicly.
Some dragons may have been preparing for what was coming long before the riders understood there was anything to prepare for.
If that turns out to be true, Threshing may have been quietly political all along.
Xaden’s Threshing Changes the Way We See Him
It is difficult to imagine a Fourth Wing companion book that would not leave readers wanting more Xaden, and his earlier story is particularly interesting because of the person he eventually becomes.
By the time Violet meets Xaden Riorson, he is already controlled, strategic and extremely careful about what he reveals. He has learned to survive inside an institution that views him and the other marked ones with suspicion.
But the younger Xaden entering Threshing is carrying an extraordinary amount of weight.
His father has been executed. His family name is tied to rebellion. He knows the marked ones are being watched and judged differently from other cadets, and he already understands that his actions may affect far more than his own survival.
Looking back at the moment he bonds his dragon therefore raises an obvious question: what did the dragon recognise in him?
Strength is the easy answer, but Xaden has never been interesting because of strength alone.
His defining qualities are loyalty, control, strategy and his willingness to carry responsibility for other people, even when that responsibility becomes almost impossible.
His dragon may have recognised those traits before almost anyone else did.
What Did Sgaeyl See in Xaden?
The dragons do not appear to evaluate riders according to the same standards used by Basgiath.
Rank, family status and reputation may matter enormously to humans, but dragons seem far more interested in something fundamental about the person standing in front of them.
That makes Sgaeyl’s choice particularly fascinating.
Perhaps she saw Xaden’s ability to protect others. Perhaps she recognised the secrecy and strategic thinking that would later become central to his character. She may simply have seen someone strong enough to survive what was coming.
There is also a bigger possibility.
What if Sgaeyl knew Xaden would eventually become important in the wider conflict?
The more we learn about what the dragons understand, the harder it becomes to assume they are making decisions without considering the future.
Signets May Not Be Random at All
Signets have always been one of the most interesting parts of the Empyrean world because they feel both magical and deeply personal.
The power originates through the dragon bond, but the way that power manifests belongs to the rider.
That distinction matters.
Violet’s abilities reflect her need to become powerful enough to protect the people around her. Xaden’s relationship with information, secrecy and control also feels closely connected to the kind of abilities he develops.
Other riders show similar patterns.
Threshing Day makes it increasingly tempting to stop thinking of signets as random gifts and instead view them as answers to something within the rider.
What did this person lack?
What were they most afraid of?
What did they desperately need to control?
What did they want badly enough that their magic eventually took that shape?
Looking at the characters through that lens makes Threshing much more interesting.
It also gives readers a very good excuse to go back through the series looking for clues.
Dragon Bonds and Bloodlines Are Looking Increasingly Important
Family history is everywhere in the Empyrean series.
The Sorrengails. The Riorsons. The Mairis. The marked ones. Children of riders. Children of rebellion leaders. Parents whose histories are only partially understood.
Every time the series tells us that a particular family connection should not matter, it seems to find another reason to make it matter.
Dragon bonds are no exception.
The rules surrounding dragons bonding riders connected to former riders have always sounded important, particularly because those relationships can have consequences for both rider and dragon.
Threshing Day gives us more reason to pay attention to these inherited connections.
It is difficult to believe that Yarros keeps returning to family lines simply for background detail.
If certain dragons have histories with particular families, or if riders inherit more than reputation from their parents, Book 4 could push that part of the mythology much further.
Imogen Feels More Important Than Ever
Imogen has quietly become one of the most interesting secondary characters in the series.
When we first meet her, she is easy to categorise primarily as one of Xaden’s marked riders. Over time, however, she becomes much more central to Violet’s wider circle and increasingly difficult to overlook.
She is capable, loyal, dangerous and often positioned close enough to important events that readers should probably pay attention whenever she appears.
Threshing Day gives us more context around her earlier life and the person she was before the major events of the main series.
That matters because Imogen is one of those characters who seems to become more important retrospectively.
Small things about her history or abilities can mean something completely different once we know what happens later.
It would not be surprising to see her move even closer to the centre of the story in Book 4.
Imogen and Garrick Could Become a Bigger Part of the Story
The dynamic between Imogen and Garrick is also increasingly difficult to ignore.
They have both been part of Xaden’s inner circle from early in the series, but their own stories have often unfolded behind Violet and Xaden’s central relationship.
Giving them more attention would make sense as the world continues to expand.
The Empyrean series now has enough supporting characters to carry emotional arcs beyond its main couple, and developing those relationships gives future battles and losses more weight.
That is not necessarily a comforting thought in a series with this particular mortality rate.
Still, Imogen and Garrick are both characters who feel as though they have considerably more story left.
Sloane May Be One of the Characters to Watch in Book 4
Sloane Mairi initially enters the story under the enormous shadow of Liam.
That alone makes readers emotionally invested in her, but she has gradually started to become important in ways that have very little to do with being Liam’s sister.
Her Threshing story gives us another opportunity to consider what she was carrying when her bond formed.
Grief. Expectation. Anger. Family history. The need to prove herself.
All of those things matter in a series where power appears so closely connected to identity.
Sloane also belongs to one of the families most deeply affected by the rebellion, which keeps her tied to the wider political story.
She feels less like a character introduced simply to keep Liam’s memory alive and more like someone being positioned for a much larger role.
Dain’s Story Is Becoming More Complicated
Few characters in Fourth Wing frustrated readers quite like Dain.
He begins as Violet’s childhood friend and someone who believes almost completely in the rules of Basgiath. His attempts to protect Violet often become controlling, while his faith in the institution repeatedly prevents him from seeing what is actually happening.
What makes Dain more interesting now is that those beliefs have been dismantled.
He has had to confront the fact that the people and institutions he trusted were capable of lying to him. He has been forced to rethink loyalty, friendship and his own choices.
That makes looking back at his earlier life much more valuable.
We already know who Dain becomes when he believes the system is right.
The more interesting question is who he becomes once he knows it is not.
Brennan’s Past Makes the Sorrengail Family Even More Mysterious
Brennan has always occupied a strange position in Violet’s story.
For years, she believes her older brother is dead. Then she discovers not only that he survived, but that he has built an entirely different life around the rebellion.
That revelation raises questions that the series still has not completely answered.
Going back to Brennan before all of that gives readers a chance to see who he was before his supposed death and before the choices that separated him from his family.
It also adds another layer to the increasingly complicated Sorrengail history.
Violet, Mira and Brennan have all ended up playing significant roles in the conflict. At some point, it becomes difficult to dismiss that as coincidence.
The Sorrengail Parents Still Have a Lot to Explain
Lilith Sorrengail remains one of the most complicated figures in the series.
Depending on when we encounter her, she can appear cold, ruthless, protective or far more informed than Violet ever realised.
Many of her decisions only start to make sense once readers understand how much she knew.
Violet’s father is even more mysterious.
His research and knowledge have been referenced often enough that it is difficult to imagine they will remain background detail forever.
The question is no longer simply whether Violet’s parents understood more about dragons, venin and the wards than they told their children.
It is how much they understood and why they believed secrecy was necessary.
Threshing May Never Have Been a Fair Test
Basgiath sells itself as a brutal meritocracy.
Survive the parapet. Survive training. Survive the Gauntlet. Survive Threshing.
If you make it through, you have earned your place.
But the deeper we go into the series, the less convincing that idea becomes.
Some cadets enter Basgiath with powerful family connections. Others are already being targeted because of their parents. Some have access to information their classmates do not.
And the dragons themselves may arrive at Threshing with preferences and agendas of their own.
That means Threshing may not be a neutral test at all.
It could be better understood as a meeting between two sets of needs.
The rider needs a dragon.
The dragon needs something too.
The interesting question is what.
What Does Threshing Day Tell Us About the Venin?
It is almost impossible to talk about power in the Empyrean series now without talking about the venin.
If you need a refresher on exactly how they draw power and why they are so dangerous, our complete guide to the venin, dark wielders, wyverns and their powers breaks down the mythology in more detail.
The basic distinction initially seems straightforward.
Riders channel power through dragons. Venin draw power directly from the earth.
But as the series progresses, that line becomes morally much more complicated.
Why does someone choose to draw directly from the earth?
Ambition might be one answer, but desperation is another.
Fear could do it.
Love could do it.
The need to save someone could do it.
That becomes particularly interesting if a rider’s deepest emotional needs also influence the power they manifest through their dragon bond.
The same vulnerability that shapes someone’s signet could potentially shape the choices they make later.
Could Someone Else We Know Become Venin?
At this point, almost nobody feels completely safe from that possibility.
That does not mean every powerful or desperate character is about to become venin, but the series is clearly making the transformation more personal.
The venin are much more interesting when they stop being distant monsters and start becoming people who made choices.
Someone might draw power because they want more of it.
But someone else might do it because they believe there is no other way to protect the person standing beside them.
Those two motivations are not morally identical, even if they lead towards the same corruption.
That tension could become one of the biggest themes in Book 4.
Threshing Day Reminds Us That Dragons Are Dangerous
Spending so much time with Tairn and Andarna can make dragons feel strangely familiar.
Tairn is sarcastic enough to be funny. Andarna has such a strong personality that readers naturally become attached to her.
But dragons are still ancient, extraordinarily powerful creatures capable of killing humans almost instantly.
Threshing Day is a useful reminder of that.
The dragons decide whether bonding happens. They decide how much information to share with their riders. They have their own priorities and appear completely comfortable keeping secrets when they believe humans do not need to know them.
That creates an interesting imbalance.
The humans may think they are directing the war.
The dragons may have a very different view.
Why Violet Not Being the Centre of Threshing Day Works So Well
One of the smartest things about the collection is that it does not simply retell Violet’s story.
We already know what happened during her Threshing.
What we lacked was comparison.
Seeing how other riders experience the same ritual gives readers a much clearer idea of what is normal and what is not.
That makes Violet’s experience feel even more extraordinary because we can finally place it against a wider range of dragon bonds.
It also allows characters who have spent most of the series existing around Violet to become the centre of their own stories.
For readers who have wondered which rider they would resemble most, our Which Fourth Wing Character Are You? quiz is also worth doing once you have finished analysing everyone’s Threshing.
Is Threshing Day Essential Reading Before Book 4?
Probably not essential, but definitely worthwhile for readers invested in the wider mythology.
The main series should still be understandable without memorising every detail in this companion collection. But Threshing Day gives us exactly the kind of background information that tends to become more interesting later.
It expands several areas in particular:
The most likely outcome is that readers will eventually return to Threshing Day after Book 4 and suddenly realise that something important was sitting in plain sight.
Where Does Threshing Day Fit in the Fourth Wing Reading Order?
For the cleanest reading experience, we recommend:
Even though Threshing Day revisits earlier events, the stories mean more once you know what happens later in the series.
If you have forgotten who everyone is or where the books fit together, our complete Fourth Wing reading order and character guide is an easy refresher.
What Could Threshing Day Be Setting Up for Book 4?
Nothing is certain yet, but the collection makes several possibilities feel increasingly plausible.
Dragon politics could become central. The dragons know too much and share too little for their internal politics to remain in the background forever.
Signets may become more important. If powers are closely connected to a rider’s emotional needs, understanding those needs could become important to understanding abilities we have not fully figured out yet.
Bloodlines could matter more. Family histories appear too frequently throughout the series to be incidental.
Secondary characters could move closer to the centre. Imogen, Garrick, Sloane, Dain and Brennan all have enough unresolved story to become much more prominent.
The venin storyline could become more morally complicated. The series may increasingly focus not just on who becomes venin, but why.
The Real Importance of Threshing Day
The most interesting thing about Threshing Day may not be one big revelation.
It is what the book does to our perspective.
Violet’s entire journey has been built around discovering that the world she grew up believing in was incomplete.
Navarre lied about the war. Basgiath concealed information. History was rewritten. Dragons withheld secrets. People she trusted understood things they never told her.
Now Threshing Day applies that same idea to the beginning of a rider’s life.
We thought we understood Threshing because we watched Violet survive it.
But seeing the event through other characters makes it look very different.
Perhaps Threshing is not simply the day a rider finds a dragon.
Perhaps it is the day a dragon decides which human it believes will matter.
And if that is true, some of the most important decisions in the Empyrean series may have been made long before Violet ever crossed the parapet.
Frequently Asked Questions About Threshing Day
What is Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros?
Threshing Day is a companion collection set within Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean universe. It revisits the dragon bonding ritual through the stories of other riders and gives readers additional character history and dragon lore.
Is Threshing Day Fourth Wing Book 4?
No. Threshing Day is a companion book rather than the fourth full-length Empyrean novel.
Does Threshing Day continue after Onyx Storm?
No. The collection looks back at earlier Threshing events rather than continuing directly from the ending of Onyx Storm.
Should I read Onyx Storm before Threshing Day?
Yes. We recommend finishing Onyx Storm first because the stories in Threshing Day carry more meaning once you understand the later events of the series. Our Ultimate Guide to Onyx Storm is useful if you need a refresher.
Is Xaden in Threshing Day?
Yes. Xaden’s earlier story is one of the most anticipated parts of the collection and gives readers more insight into who he was before Violet entered his life.
Is Violet the main character in Threshing Day?
No. The collection expands the Empyrean world by focusing more heavily on other riders and their dragon bonds.
Do I need to read Threshing Day before Fourth Wing Book 4?
It is not a main-series instalment, so it should not be essential. However, readers interested in dragon lore, signets, family histories and supporting characters will likely get much more out of Book 4 after reading it.
What are venin in Fourth Wing?
Venin are humans who draw magical power directly from the earth rather than channeling it through a dragon or gryphon bond. You can read our full Fourth Wing venin explained guide for more detail.
Where to Next
If Threshing Day has sent you straight back into the Empyrean universe, start with our complete Fourth Wing guide, then revisit the major reveals in our Ultimate Guide to Onyx Storm and refresh your memory on the series’ biggest threat with our guide to the venin and dark wielders.
If you are looking for another fantasy world to disappear into while waiting for Empyrean Book 4, read our guide to the best books to read after ACOTAR or dive into our complete From Blood and Ash guide.
For more Sarah J. Maas, catch up with our ACOTAR Valkyries explained guide, discover which ACOTAR character you are according to your star sign, or revisit everything you need to remember in our A Court of Splintered Harmony recap.
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