Fourth Wing begins with Violet Sorrengail, the daughter of the powerful General Lilith Sorrengail, being forced against her wishes to join the dragon-riding Quadrant of the infamous Basgiath War College. Violet, who has spent her life training to be a Scribe due to her physical frailty and distaste for violence, must adapt quickly to survive an institution designed to eliminate the weak. Violet’s mother, General Sorrengail, insists that Violet must prove herself worthy in this brutal environment. Violet’s older sister Mira tries to help her by warning her to give a student named Xaden Riorson a wide berth. Xaden is the son of the rebel leader Fen Riorson, whom Lilith Sorrengail executed five years earlier; he likely wants revenge and has a reputation for violence. He and the other children of Rebels are called “the marked” because of the magical tattoos they bear, designating them as traitors to Navarre. Mira and Violet’s own brother Brennan died in the same Rebellion, so there is no love lost on either side.