Spoiler warning: This article discusses major plot details from Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and Chapter 1 of Threshing Day.
Rebecca Yarros’ Threshing Day expands the Empyrean universe with 13 short stories, each centred on a character from the main novels. The first follows Brennan Sorrengail, Violet and Mira’s older brother, and adds important detail about his family, relationships and survival.
Most significantly, the novella confirms that Brennan is queer—a revelation that gives fresh weight to a long-running fan theory about his connection with Naolin.
Brennan’s hidden history
Although Brennan was absent for much of the period covered by the main books, he still helped prepare his sisters for life in the Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College. His handwritten survival guide, The Book of Brennan, was created specifically to help Violet and Mira face the same challenges he had endured.
Violet later learns that Tairn’s previous rider was Naolin, a powerful siphon whose signet allowed him to redirect energy. Naolin died after attempting to resurrect a fallen rider during battle. That rider was Brennan.
The wider world believed Brennan had died. By the end of the first book, however, readers learn that he survived and adopted an alias. When Violet questions him about Naolin at the beginning of Iron Flame, the exchange helps explain why fans began wondering whether the pair had been more than comrades.
“I glimpse a rune-shaped scar on his palm before he grips the edge of the table. ‘Naolin… He was—’ His jaw flexes.”
“‘Tairn’s previous rider,’ I suggest slowly, wondering if he was more than that to Brennan.”
Threshing Day makes Brennan’s sexuality clear
Naolin’s sacrifice can be read as the act of a devoted battlefield companion, but the Empyrean books often connect life-changing sacrifices with unusually strong bonds. Tairn’s relationship with Violet also adds another layer to the theory: the dragon once belonged to someone who may have shared an intimate connection with her brother.
Threshing Day supplies the clearest confirmation yet about Brennan himself. Before he finds Marbh in the forest, Brennan separates from a male rider named Flynn Ennis. His narration establishes that the two had a romantic encounter, while also showing Brennan’s fear that Flynn could die during the Threshing.
“I give him a curt nod and a quick half smile to assuage the fear shining in his eyes. We spent a night together a few weeks ago, but I can’t let anything I feel for him sway me from my years of preparation for this moment. Especially when he’s making a stupid choice.”
That passage confirms Brennan is queer. It does not, however, prove that he and Naolin were lovers. Naolin is not present during Brennan’s story, so their precise relationship remains unresolved. The revelation nevertheless gives the popular Brennan-and-Naolin reading more context, particularly if Naolin’s final act was motivated by romantic love.
A closer look at the Sorrengail family
The novella also broadens the picture of Brennan’s family by introducing more of his father, Asher Sorrengail. Asher visits Brennan during the Threshing, and their conversations reinforce his established image as a mysterious man with a research-driven life.
“[Asher] walks away, disappearing into the trees with an ease that makes me wonder how many times he’s faded into other backgrounds of perilous situations in the name of his research.”
Asher’s comments about his wife reveal a gentler side that is rarely visible through Violet’s perspective. Those details could support a future prequel centred on Brennan’s parents, although no such project is confirmed here.
What the confirmation means for future stories
Threshing Day answers one major question about Brennan while leaving another deliberately open. His sexuality is now explicit, but the nature of his relationship with Naolin remains part of the series’ unresolved history.
That combination gives Yarros several possible directions for future Empyrean stories. A prequel about Asher and his wife could explore the Sorrengail family before the main novels, while Brennan and Naolin’s past still offers room for a more detailed account of their bond and the sacrifice that changed both their lives.
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