Rhiannon Matthias

Rhiannon has dark skin, high cheekbones, an oval face, and rows of short braids.

Rhiannon pays attention to useful information inside the quadrant, including what she hears about unbonded first-years repeating the year after Threshing.

After noticing Caroline Ashton with Jack, Rhiannon reasons through Gleann’s new bond and concludes that unbonded cadets may still have the chance they want.

Rhiannon responds fiercely when Violet is attacked or betrayed. After Tairn’s memory-sharing confirms Amber’s part in the attempt on Violet’s life, Rhiannon seethes and calls Amber a spineless wretch.

In Battle Brief, Rhiannon gives Devera a practical answer about weakening wards by suggesting reinforcements and the temporary movement of riders from midland posts.

As squad leader, Rhiannon can be firm without pushing past what Violet is ready to say. She orders Violet to rest when exhaustion becomes dangerous, confronts her about pulling away, and later chooses not to ask enough about Sloane’s challenge to become honor-bound to report what Violet is planning.

Rhiannon keeps command under coercion. During RSC exercises, she takes control of routes and defensive orders, checks the room for privacy, warns the squad about signet-dulling drinks, and insists that no one will break or be lost before graduation.

Rhiannon uses command authority carefully when orders conflict with urgent need. At Samara, she weighs Article Eight, enemy uncertainty, and civilian danger before authorizing the group to answer Newhall’s threat, and she later stands between Aetos and the squad while defending the decision as obedience to the order to make themselves useful.

Rhiannon is useful in planning work as well as battlefield command. Her analysis of the isle-route map identifies the shift from favorable winds to headwinds near Deverelli’s northern coast, helping show that the Senarium’s reporting structure is not workable.

At Medaro Pass, Rhiannon chooses civilian protection over rushing after Violet. She worries for Violet but keeps command of the pass defense, steadies Ridoc, assigns rider and flier formations, and treats the evacuees as people who deserve the same protection her own family once needed.

Rhiannon’s twin sister is Raegan, whose marriage and pregnancy help explain why their parents support Rhiannon entering the Riders Quadrant.

Rhiannon and Violet trade strengths: Rhiannon helps Violet prepare for combat challenges, while Violet helps her with history. The arrangement becomes regular training, and Rhiannon drills Violet hard enough to improve her survival chances on the mat.

Rhiannon is romantically interested in Tara, and the two spend a night or early morning together in the private dorms.

Rhiannon’s friendship with Violet is practical, protective, and mutually trusted. She credits Violet with helping her survive the parapet, defends Violet’s privacy, calls Violet her only friend in the barracks, and promises with Violet that each will ask for help when the other can give it.

By the time Rhiannon visits her family near Montserrat, Raegan has a baby son. Rhiannon’s parents, Raegan’s husband, and the baby are present at Raegan’s house, where the family reunion is warm and happy.

After Resson, Rhiannon grieves Liam’s death and helps Violet protect Liam’s letters from being burned. Violet trusts her with the task because Rhiannon’s family does not always follow the custom of burning everything left by the dead.

Violet’s secrecy strains the friendship, but Rhiannon wants the truth more than smooth reassurance. When Violet tells her that Deigh was not killed by gryphons and that the official Resson account was false, Rhiannon is hurt but says she would rather share the risk because Violet is her best friend.

Rhiannon’s family becomes a direct concern once Violet reveals the venin threat near the border. They later reach Aretia with only what fit in a narrow wagon, take houses near the market square, and begin preparing a new shop, giving Rhiannon free access to them while she remains with the riders.

Rhiannon accepts the flier cadets as squadmates after they join the Aretian force. She distributes Iron Squad patches to them, insists that the gesture is right because they are part of the squad now, and uses Raegan’s townhouse for the private meeting where rider-flier trust is made explicit.

Rhiannon and Tara are still together, though command duties limit their time. Rhiannon says they see each other when they can and are not seeing other people.

After the isle mission, Rhiannon is brought into the secret of Xaden’s venin condition so she can help watch for threats around Violet in classes and near the dormitory. The knowledge weighs on her, and she admits it is difficult not to look at Xaden differently even while she tries.

Rhiannon worries about Sawyer’s withdrawal after his injury and pushes him about not trying to fly, but his return to Sliseag’s saddle brings her visible relief. When Bodhi praises her, she gives the credit back to Sawyer and says the squad is proud of him.

Rhiannon’s family remains an active emotional stake during attacks on Aretia and evacuations through the pass. She thinks of her parents’ house and of Raegan while deciding how to protect civilians fleeing the same kind of danger her own family faced.

Rhiannon is strong on the sparring mat because her Cygnisen-border village taught defense young. She is fast and powerful enough to take Tynan down repeatedly and force his yield.

Rhiannon’s agility helps her on the Gauntlet. She moves gracefully through the first ascent and finds a way around the buoy balls by grabbing high near the chains and swinging around the side.

Rhiannon manifests a rare summoning signet, demonstrated when she makes a history textbook vanish from her desk and appear in her hands. At first, the signet works only from a few feet away and cannot pass through walls.

During Squad Battle, Rhiannon pushes her retrieval signet farther under pressure by summoning the stolen map from down the hallway into her own hands.

Rhiannon’s retrieval signet advances again when she pulls Violet’s hidden dagger through a wall before Varrish can find it. She says she could not do that before, and the urgent fear that the discovery could get Violet killed appears to trigger the new range.

During the battle at Basgiath, Rhiannon uses her retrieval signet in combat by moving broken alloy-dagger pieces between Ridoc and Sawyer. She also fights directly on Tairn’s neck after leaping from Feirge to intercept an asim moving toward Violet.

Rhiannon’s signet remains useful against armed enemies. In the infirmary crisis she takes control of a venin’s mace and turns it against its owner, and in Signet Sparring she retrieves Garrick’s daggers into her hands so Violet can use one.

Rhiannon learns delayed-activation rune work during Trissa’s lesson, eventually mastering the rune after practice.

Outside Aretia’s walls, Rhiannon pulls a half-Violet-sized wingspur from Tairn’s thigh with her retrieval signet. She calls it the largest object she has ever retrieved.

Rhiannon crosses the parapet safely after accepting Violet’s boot trade. She thanks Violet afterward and says there were at least three moments when she would have fallen without the better grip.

While stationed at Montserrat, Rhiannon sneaks away with Violet to visit her nearby family. Mira catches them but helps the visit succeed, giving Rhiannon time with Raegan, her parents, and her newborn nephew before she has to leave.

During Varrish’s interrogation training, Rhiannon helps seize the escape chance Nolon leaves behind and puts saving Violet ahead of extracting Violet’s secrets. Once outside the cave, she confronts Grady with her sword raised, demands the squad’s patch, reports Sorrel’s death, and warns another squad not to break.

Rhiannon accompanies Violet and Xaden to the Aretian wardstone chamber because Feirge is needed as one of the dragon den representatives. After the defense, she celebrates that Violet got the wards up, while Violet credits the result to the group.

When the mission shifts back to Basgiath, Rhiannon refuses to let Xaden separate Violet from Second Squad. She keeps Second Squad, Flame Section, Fourth Wing intact, directs guards at the hidden tunnel entrance, and formally asks for Second Squad to defend the airspace above the wardstone chamber.

Rhiannon survives the Battle of Basgiath with minor visible injuries. After Lilith Sorrengail’s death and the restoration of the wards, she reaches Violet first, reports that the wyvern are falling and the venin fleeing, updates her on squad injuries, and holds her while Violet breaks down.

During the infirmary crisis, Rhiannon takes command of the available fighters and sends squadmates to protect Sawyer, help the wounded, and check the bridge. She fights beside Violet and Ridoc and chooses the move toward the brig when the attack spreads.

Rhiannon helps carry out the secret wardstone operation beneath Basgiath. She persuades Sawyer at his bedside, supports his weight through the narrow passage, and comforts Violet when the chamber reopens grief over Lilith’s death.

When Aretia comes under attack, Rhiannon argues that combat-tested second- and third-years should be sent to fight rather than die passively. She commands the north-gate defense, places fliers on the wall for maneuverability, divides the riders by altitude, and keeps the squad focused while many of their families shelter inside the city.

Rhiannon accompanies Violet to Dunne’s temple platform when Leothan arrives. After Andarna leaves with him, Rhiannon reaches Violet first on foot, stays close while Violet struggles to breathe, and remains with her as Violet says Andarna is gone.

Rhiannon commands the entrance to Medaro Pass during the evacuation defense. She reports Second Squad ready when volunteers are called, and during the fight she holds the position with thorn, vertical, and shield formations while Violet’s group operates elsewhere.