Your favorite literary chaos agents Abby and Ronnie are back with a mind-blowing deep dive into the mysterious history of Navarre in Onyx Storm: History Part 1 - The Origin, The Great War, and The First Six!

We kick things diving into the fascinating world of the Fables of the Barren - that antique, heavy tome that holds the key to understanding the REAL history of this continent! We explore where this rare book came from, why Asher made sure Violet knew these stories by heart, and what it means that this knowledge has been passed down through generations while being erased from official records.

Then we tackle the mysterious origin story of the three brothers who fought to control magic in an ancient kingdom. One brother bonded to a gryphon, one to a dragon, and when the third grew jealous, he drew directly from the source, losing his soul and waging war on the other two. But what of the third brother who commanded the sky to surrender its greatest power vanquished his jealous sibling "at a great and terrible price." What was that price? And is Violet about to pay it?

We dive deep into the conflicting stories about who first bonded with dragons - was it one of these brothers or the legendary First Six? And why would dragons know about runes before humans had access to magic? 

Next, we explore the Great War and unification of Navarre, examining why the Isle Kingdoms once fought alongside Navarre and Poromiel against the Venin but now refuse to get involved. We bring receipts on Warrick's decision to prevent gryphons from channeling within the wards and Lyra's opposition that led her to create a second wardstone at Aretia. Why did dragons turn against gryphons after fighting alongside them? And what's the connection between the hatching grounds and this mysterious conflict?

Our precog corner gets REALLY wild this episode as Ronnie speculates on the origin of Runes. Meanwhile, Abby drops a bombshell theory about why Andarna’s not fond of pits. Could this explain why the Irids hate violence so much?

We wrap up with our current reads - Abby's deep into Crescent City and worried about Hunt becoming the next Tamlin, while Ronnie's finished book three and is keeping her lips sealed!

Spoilers for the entire Empyrean Series (Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm)

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Time Stamps:

00:00 - 05:26: Intro and scheduling chaos

05:27 - 09:26: Corrections, omissions, and social media shout-outs

09:27 - 20:56: The Fables of the Barren

20:57 - 33:55: The Origin Story of the Three Brothers

33:56 - 43:55: Who really bonded with dragons first?

43:56 - 59:52: The Great War and Unification of Navarre

59:53 - 1:07:12: The Wardstones and why gryphons can't channel

1:07:13 - 1:18:07: What ended the war with the Venin?

1:18:08 - 1:24:45: Precog Corner: Runes as an ancient language and pit-fighting Irids

1:24:46 - 1:29:52: What we're reading and outro