CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Summary

• In chapter thirty-six, Xaden and his group are stationed at their outpost overlooking the valley in which the village of Resson is located.
• They receive a missive saying they are being tested - they can either abandon the village of their enemy or relinquish command of their wing.
• Xaden reveals that if they leave, they will be able to reach the headquarters of Fourth Wing at Eltuval, but the village of Resson will be destroyed by the venin - powerful, evil beings.
• Despite harsh warnings from other fliers about the power of the venin, Xaden and his group decide to stay and defend the village despite the potential cost of their lives.
• They discover there are wyverns on the side of the venin, making their chances of success even slimmer.
• Prepare for battle, Xaden gives team member Violence a second dagger as a backup weapon.
• As they are about to start their attack, they spot another wyvern with a rider engaged in the fight.
• Negotiating the battle zone, Xaden and his group manage to create an evacuation pathway for the village inhabitants and successfully deflect one of the venin's spells aiming to crush the villagers with a landslide.

• A venin is causing death and destruction to the surrounding area, with its curse-like power affecting both the environment and people nearby.
• Tairn, the main character, is fighting with the venin, drawing power from Tairn and struggling to aim her attacks correctly.
• Tairn warns of a crate marked with Liam’s family crest that contains something unstable in a nearby building.
• A civilian running for safety is caught and killed by the venin's death curse; Soleil, another character, also suffers the same fate.
• Tairn and the protagonist (who is also his ally) retreat and regroup, with the gryphons providing some resistance against the venin's followers, the wyvern.
• The protagonist instructs the other fighters to change tactics and manages to unleash power closer to the venin.
• Eventually, with the help of the gryphons and marked third-years, a wyvern is killed and an unsettling explosion occurs due to the unstable crate in the building earlier mentioned.
• A chaotic battle ensues with wyvern forces outnumbering the dragons, resulting in numerous losses.
• Xaden advises the protagonist to lead the wyvern away from the city to provide time for evacuation while he fights off a wyvern, with an emotional message urging her not to die.
• Amidst the fight, the protagonist manages to kill a wyvern with lightning and narrowly escapes being killed by another wyvern, only to be saved by Xaden's dragon, Sgaeyl.
• Liam, another ally, is thrown off his dragon, Deigh to fight another wyvern. In a desperate move, he kills a venin and his dragon, Deigh starts to lose against a wyvern opponent.
• The protagonist realizes that Deigh’s loss would lead to Liam's death. In one last attempt, they rush to save him. However, Deigh ultimately falls, which results in Liam losing his life as well.
• As Liam lays dying, he makes the protagonist promise that she'll take care of his sister, Sloane.
• The chapter ends with the protagonist and Xaden expressing their grief over the impending death of Liam, their close friend and ally.

• The characters are in a desolate area marked by crying wyverns, a type of large mythical creature.
• Xaden, one of the main characters, carries a boy named Liam to another body. It becomes apparent that Liam is dying or already dead.
• There's a large group of wyverns approaching from the valley. The sight and sound of them trigger grief and fear, causing Xaden to unleash a blast of shadows.
• Liam's death deeply affects the narrator, who recalls their friendship and feels guilt over a recent disagreement.
• The group realizes they are vulnerable targets on the ground for the approaching horde of wyverns.
• Xaden tells the narrator that Liam gave a message before dying - there are two riders among the horde of wyverns.
• Xaden plans to hold off the wyverns while the narrator, who can wield powerful lightning attacks, tries to kill them.
• The narrator then sees destruction has fallen upon a nearby city, and some civilians have not managed to escape.
• Garrick and Imogen, who are riding dragons, appear through the smoke and the narrator internally vows vengeance against the wyverns for their friend's death.
• The narrator climbs onto Tairn's back - a large creature with wings - and, without the need for words, they launch into the air after the wyvern that killed their friends.
• Tairn and the narrator manage to kill the wyvern and the narrator is filled with determination to kill the rest of the wyverns as well, but a surprise attack injures Tairn.