Alliance with Poromiel
A spoiler-free guide to Fourth Wing, Iron Flame & Onyx Storm (The Empyrean).
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Overview
The Navarre-Poromiel alliance is the proposed political and military agreement pursued through public peace talks at Basgiath. Violet understands it as the only available path toward saving Poromish civilians, and the effort depends on keeping Aretian riders at Basgiath while terms are negotiated.
The negotiations regain momentum after Violet proves that Poromish fliers can live and train under Navarre’s wards without losing the ability to wield. Queen Maraya treats Violet’s action as valuable to Poromiel, and the Senarium is left with a practical path for renewed alliance talks.
Mechanics
The talks require quick agreement from political authorities, with the Duchess of Morraine warning that only a few days remain to save them. Poromiel’s concerns include the treatment of flier cadets, and Violet argues that allowing those cadets into the Riders Quadrant could help answer those concerns.
The alliance effort depends on several practical conditions at once: the Aretian riders must remain at Basgiath, Navarre must be able to protect Poromish fliers there, and violence between the negotiating sides must be avoided. Violet and Mira see the runed-disk solution as a way to keep fliers safe enough under Basgiath’s wards for the talks to continue.
Violet’s midnight plan tests whether fliers can be housed and educated alongside riders inside Navarre’s warded territory instead of being sent away to Aretia. Maren’s successful wielding gives Cat evidence to report to her uncle, and Devera announces that the nobles have returned to active negotiations.
The talks continue through detailed terms after the immediate crisis passes. Brennan remains at Basgiath to help settle those finer points, and Xaden says that this round of negotiations is reaching its procedural close.
Uses
The alliance is sought as a way to protect Poromish civilians in the wider war. For Violet, keeping the Aretian riders at Basgiath is part of making that protection possible.
Violet also treats the alliance as a choice that must begin among cadets, not only among nobles in closed negotiations. She argues that riders and fliers of her generation must stand together or risk being the last dragon riders and gryphon fliers on the Continent.
At Samara, the alliance has a battlefield use even before it is fully accepted. Navarrian forces there have already crossed the border and fought beside Poromiel until the horde withdrew, though officers still describe the alliance as potential and unpopular among many riders.
Limitations
The talks begin under a hard deadline, with Poromiel threatening to walk away if terms are not reached within seven days. That pressure makes the alliance politically fragile from the start.
The negotiations can fail if the Aretian riders do not remain at Basgiath, if Navarre cannot keep Poromish fliers safe under the wards there, or if violence erupts between the parties. Xaden lists each as a point that could make Poromiel abandon the talks.
Rider-flier violence directly threatens the alliance. Violet believes even a small bloodshed during the forced challenge could end the peace talks, and she warns Cat that harming a rider or bleeding herself could either lose the alliance or confirm the fliers’ enemies in their fears.
Lewellen says the formal alliance has failed because the treaty cannot be completed before Queen Maraya’s two-day deadline. He and Brennan still leave room for future talks, but the missed deadline prevents the immediate treaty from being finished.
Support for the alliance remains uneven among Navarrian riders. Samara’s officers warn cadets not to expect friendliness at the outpost, especially from riders, even after Navarrian and Poromish forces have fought on the same side.
Important Incidents
After attempted rider-flier violence, Violet pushes the cadets themselves to act in favor of the alliance rather than waiting for nobles to secure it. Her argument shifts the immediate effort from formal negotiation alone to a visible choice by riders and fliers to stand together.
Violet’s alteration of Basgiath’s wardstone saves the alliance effort by allowing fliers to wield safely under Navarre’s protections. She tells the Senarium that she is the reason they now have a clear path to negotiate, and Maraya’s arrival reinforces that Poromiel recognizes the practical value of what Violet has done.