Montserrat
A spoiler-free guide to Fourth Wing, Iron Flame & Onyx Storm (The Empyrean).
Only showing what’s been revealed up to your current progress. Future events, identities, and relationships are hidden.
Overview
Montserrat is an eastern forward outpost that Second Squad visits as its Squad Battle prize. The fortress is a staffed military position rather than a classroom site, with riders assigned to patrol, standby, and rest rotations.
The outpost shifts from a safe training destination to a threatened position when its wards fail during the cadets' visit.
Important Events
A ward failure during Second Squad's visit forces an emergency evacuation from Montserrat. With the fortress walls unsafe as an exit route, Xaden sends Violet and the others up to a turret launch point where dragons can reach them.
The attack leaves considerable damage at Montserrat, but Markham confirms through a classified channel that no riders were lost there.
Montserrat is the forward-line site where Xaden saves Violet's life, a fact Violet later cites when defending him before King Tauri, Melgren, and Lilith.
Rhiannon reveals that she and Violet secretly left Montserrat during their time there so Rhiannon could see her family. The concealed trip becomes a shared secret among their squadmates.
Location and Access
Montserrat lies in a hot eastern region about two hundred miles from the coast. Rhiannon's home village is less than an hour away on foot from the outpost.
Sipene is about an hour's flight from Montserrat, placing later border trouble in the same broader region as the outpost.
Layout and Features
Montserrat is a fortress with four massive walls, corner turrets, and a large arched entrance guarded by a spiked portcullis. Inside the walls are barracks, chambers, a muddy courtyard, infantry support facilities, and a dining hall.
The briefing room sits in the highest turret. It is curved and windowed, with views of the Esben mountain range and a large wall map for planning.
The fortress's roof and narrow turret walls are usable launch points for dragons in an emergency, though the masonry makes hovering or perching there precarious.
Athebyne's design is described as identical to Montserrat's: a simple square fortress with four towers and walls barely thick enough to launch a dragon. Montserrat therefore serves as a clear example of the standard forward-outpost plan.
Samara follows the same general outpost layout closely enough that Violet expects its infirmary and other facilities to match Montserrat's placement.
Function and Rules
The highest-turret briefing room functions as the reaction flight's waiting and planning space while the outpost is operating normally.
Montserrat has strong wards for a forward-line site. In Battle Brief, Xaden notes that Mira could potentially be moved from Montserrat to reinforce weaker wards elsewhere.
Samara's wards feel stronger than Montserrat's, making Montserrat a useful comparison point for how ward strength can differ between otherwise similar outposts.
Residents and Affiliations
Twelve riders are stationed at Montserrat during Second Squad's visit, divided among patrol, standby, and rest duty. The fortress also includes infantry support facilities.
Montserrat is later reinforced with another infantry company. Violet recognizes that the added company pushes the outpost above capacity.