Fourth Wing is a new adult , [ 1 ] high fantasy romance, or " romantasy " novel by American author Rebecca Yarros. It is the first book in The Empyrean series. Released on May 2, , the novel achieved viral success on TikTok 's reader community BookTok , which contributed to its No. The book is the first installment in the Empyrean series. The novel's protagonist Violet displays many symptoms and parallel experiences to those with EhlersβDanlos syndromes , including joint pain and hypermobility as well as her hair getting grayer.
Navarre is guarded by wards which are powered by dragon magic and protect the kingdom from all other magic, including attacks inflicted by gryphon fliers from the neighbouring kingdom of Poromiel. Despite years of training to be a scribe like her late father and her many physical weaknesses, including chronic pain and fragile joints stemming from an illness in her infancy, Violet is mandated by her mother to join the Dragon Riders Quadrant.
All cadets in the Rider Quadrant must endure deadly challenges and a ferociously competitive environment to bond with a dragon that they will eventually be able to telepathically communicate with and receive a unique magical power signet from.
Violet's older sister Mira, a lieutenant in the Navarrian military and seasoned dragon rider, prepares Violet for conscription day by gifting her an impenetrable armoured corset made from dragon scales.
She also gives Violet a journal containing advice on surviving the Rider Quadrant that belonged to their older brother Brennan, another dragon rider who was killed six years before in the Tyrrish Rebellion. All children of rebels are denoted with tattoos, signifying them as 'marked ones,' and are forcibly assigned to the Rider Quadrant as a form of institutionalized retribution.
