okay so this one...this one was so heartbreaking. i know starflight is a lowk unpopular character through the first three books but I've always had a soft spot for him... the book has major themes of imposter syndrome, feeling useless, and also guilt. the way it adds so much more depth to the story of the nightwings in general...this book really just shows us that people aren't always what they seem on the outside. and we see that you can never ever generalise a demographic, because there will always be differences in opinions and thoughts even in the same demographic. i also love the themes of found family. there's also another really important thing we can learn: even the smallest action you take, no matter how insignificant or useless it seems, does contribute to the solution. much more than doing nothing at all. and now, spoilers ahead!! my favourite part of this book is starflight meeting his father, mastermind. at first it seems like a dream come true; his father is everything starflight wanted in a friend, someone who'd understand starflight's thirst for knowledge, someone who'd encourage him instead of telling him to shut up. but later on, he realises that his father was treating rainwings as a science experiment instead of real dragons, treating them inhumanely (indragonly?) and realised he could not be more different than his father. he also meets his sister in this book who is just very obviously wildly different lmao. the reason I had such a soft spot for him is because I've always loved the quiet, intellectual types. he's also a nightwing, the most mysterious dragon tribe. speaking of, THE NIGHTWING QUEEN WAS SUCH A BADASS???? ok i know that she approved the whole rainwing abduction thing but imagine the love you must have for your entire tribe to risk your own life for them to find a better home. they always knew she was going to die before reaching the rainforest, whether or not there was going to be a battle about it. i just absolutely love how badass of a ruler she is. this plays into the blood relatives not being similar thing as well, as greatness, the queen's daughter, is an absolute cowarddddd LMFAO I think the tribe's absolute desperation for a new home was expressed really well in this book. the state of their dragonets, the way they hunt, the strategy they employed to give themselves the upper hand in the war, AND the control and influence they had on the entirety of pyrrhia because most of the scrolls were written by them... absolutely brilliant. speaking of scrolls, I love how the nightwings' plan really puts into perspective how important media really is in our world. your sources of information drastically influence your perception depending on if they have biases or political undertones. then ofc we have the stupid FAKE prophecy, used to manipulate the war for its entirety. this is one of the things I love about wings of fire, it reflects the real world so well in the way its political structures, world building, and ripple effects are written. as for fatespesker... I'll always have a place in my heart for Starflight × sunny. i didn't like fatespeaker much until arc 2. she's sweet, but she feels like a character they just threw in to add spice to the romantic bits of the series. also, the progression of glory × deathbringer...mmm. they are my forever home ship. idk why it works but it works.