Item from Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Corrupted magic drawn from the earth itself — it drains life, turns wielders into venin, transforms dragons into wyverns, and represents the existential threat that Navarre is hiding from its own people.
Venin power is the dark mirror of signet magic. Where signets draw power through the dragon bond, venin magic is ripped directly from the earth, draining life from the land and corrupting the wielder. Humans who channel this power become venin — their appearance warping, their humanity eroding, their hunger for more power becoming insatiable. Dragons exposed to venin corruption transform into wyverns: twisted, mindless versions of themselves that serve the venin. The power is seductive because it requires no bond and has no apparent limit — but the cost is everything. Venin power is the central threat of the Empyrean series: not just a magical danger but a metaphor for systems that consume the world they claim to protect.