Black Dragon

The rarest bond in the Vale. You were not supposed to survive this, and you did anyway. Black dragons choose riders others underestimate, and they rarely choose at all.

Why black dragons are so rare

In Fourth Wing, black is the rarest dragon color. None has been born in the last century, and blacks are considered the smartest and most discerning of all dragons. In Fourth Wing, cadets learn about only two:

Tairn, a black morningstartail, revered as a battle dragon and one of the deadliest dragons in Navarre.
Codagh, General Melgren's dragon, the eldest of their den and a swordtail.

Most cadets never get close to a black dragon, and the ones who do are rarely the ones anyone expected.

Tairn, the most famous black dragon

Tairn is more than a hundred years old, which makes him middle-aged for a dragon. He is revered as a battle dragon, and Navarre would likely have lost the Tyrrish rebellion without him. His previous and only rider, Naolin, carried the signet of siphoning: he could absorb power from other dragons and riders, then use it or pass it on. After Naolin was killed during the uprising, Tairn refused to bond anyone.

Spoiler for Fourth Wing: who does Tairn bond?

Tairn finally bonds again at Threshing in Fourth Wing: he chooses Violet Sorrengail, the cadet nobody expected to survive the Riders Quadrant. Tairn and Sgaeyl, the ruthless Blue Daggertail, have been inseparable for years, which ties Violet's fate to Sgaeyl's rider too.

What signet would a black dragon give?

In the books, a signet comes from the unique chemistry between rider and dragon, and it usually says more about the rider than the dragon. The stronger the bond and the more powerful the dragon, the stronger the signet. That is why every ambitious cadet dreams of a black dragon, and why so few are ready for one.

How to get a black dragon in our Threshing quiz

Black is the hardest result in the Threshing Day dragon quiz. Choices that lean toward black:

Taking the steep cliff path nobody else chooses.
Holding a dragon's gaze instead of looking away.
Being honest about why a dragon should pick you, even if the answer is "maybe you shouldn't."
Protecting something vulnerable even when it costs you.

Black also loses every tie, so you need to lean into it on purpose.

Other dragons

Compare every color in the dragon types chart, or check the Dragonkind game guide before your next run.