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Fourth Wing Dragons

Fourth Wing Dragons

This is a field guide to every named dragon in Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean series, from the black giants to the browns nobody talks about. Each entry lists color, tail type, rider and first appearance, and where the sources disagree we say so instead of picking a winner.

Spoiler guide: the table is safe if you have read Fourth Wing. Entries that reveal Iron Flame material carry a "Spoilers: Iron Flame" label.

The six dens at a glance

A seventh den, the irids, is revealed later in the series. See the irid note (Spoilers: Iron Flame).

All named dragons

Named dragons with color, tail, rider and first book
DragonColorTailRiderFirst book
Tairn Black Morningstartail Violet Sorrengail Fourth Wing
Sgaeyl Navy blue Daggertail Xaden Riorson Fourth Wing
Andarna Spoilers: Iron Flame Gold feathertail Feathertail Violet Sorrengail Fourth Wing
Codagh Black Swordtail General Melgren Fourth Wing
Teine Green Clubtail Mira Sorrengail Fourth Wing
Feirge Green Daggertail Rhiannon Matthias Fourth Wing
Cuir Green Unknown Bodhi Durran Fourth Wing
Cath Red Swordtail Dain Aetos Fourth Wing
Deigh Red Daggertail Liam Mairi Fourth Wing
Sliseag Red Swordtail Sawyer Henrick Fourth Wing
Thoirt Spoilers: Iron Flame Red Daggertail Sloane Mairi Iron Flame
Ghrian Red Scorpiontail Unknown Fourth Wing
Aotrom Brown Swordtail Ridoc Gamlyn Fourth Wing
Chradh Brown Scorpiontail Garrick Tavis Fourth Wing
Aimsir Brown Unknown General Lilith Sorrengail Fourth Wing
Fuil (unconfirmed) Brown Clubtail Soleil (one source only) Fourth Wing
Baide Orange Scorpiontail Jack Barlowe Fourth Wing
Marbh Orange Daggertail Brennan Sorrengail Fourth Wing
Glane Orange Daggertail Imogen Cardulo Fourth Wing
Claidh (unconfirmed) Orange Daggertail Amber Mavis (one source only) Fourth Wing
Solas Orange Daggertail Unknown Fourth Wing
Molvic Spoilers: Iron Flame Sapphire blue Clubtail Aaric Graycastle Iron Flame

First book follows the fan guides we checked; it has not been verified against the novels for every dragon. Tails marked Unknown are not given in the sources. Where sources disagree (Aotrom, Cuir, Andarna) the dragon's entry says so.

Dragonkind guide

Retry timer, black dragon rumors and what is actually confirmed.

Which dragon is yours?

A short quiz that matches you to a den.

Threshing Day

The companion book and what it means for dragon fans.

How dragons choose riders

At the Threshing, the dragons choose, not the cadets. A dragon bonds one rider for that rider's lifetime, and the bond is what gives a rider a signet, the magical gift each rider carries. Cadets who are not chosen do not walk away, since the books describe the alternative as death by fire.

Dragons answer to their own ruling body, the Empyrean, and not to the college or the government. Each den also comes with a rule of thumb for approaching it, which we list on the colors and tails page.

Biggest and rarest dragons

  • Codagh is the largest dragon in the guides and the only one larger than Tairn.
  • Tairn is the second largest, and one of the rare morningstartails.
  • Black is the rarest den. Blue is often named next, but that ranking comes from a single fan guide, so treat it as unconfirmed.

Mated dragons: Tairn and Sgaeyl

Spoilers: Fourth Wing (light)

Tairn and Sgaeyl are mated. The in-world field guide says one cannot survive without the other, and it is also stated that no rider has survived losing their dragon, which is why the pairing matters so much to the story.

Sources