Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing centers on Basgiath War College, an elite military academy that produces elite dragon riders capable of defending Navarre. While Basgiath exists in a fantasy military state rather than a contemporary workplace, an HR department dropped into Navarre would likely shut down the Riders Quadrant before lunch. Basgiath is full of lessons for real-life employers, to ensure their workplace adheres to the workplace, safety, and employment requirements the Riders Quadrant seems to toss off the Parapet.
1. Nepotism and Fraternization Runs Rampant
A core principle of effective personnel management is that family relationships should not influence hiring, promotion, discipline, or assignments. Basgiath fails this test immediately. Violet Sorrengail is effectively forced into the Riders Quadrant by her mother, Commanding General Lilith Sorrengail, despite Violet’s desire to join the Scribe Quadrant and her lack of traditional rider qualifications. The academy is also filled with powerful family connections, including Violet’s siblings, Dain Aetos and his father General Aetos, and Xaden Riorson’s ties to prominent military figures. These family relationships directly affect expectations, assignments, and perceptions of cadets. Further, modern employers typically address fraternization risks through workplace relationship policies. Basgiath largely relies on informal norms: the Riders Codex discourages romantic relationships but does not prohibit them. The most obvious example is Violet and Xaden’s relationship, while Xaden holds the Wing Leader role for her Squadron. Such relationships create concerns about preferential treatment, conflicts of interest, and disciplinary fairness. In HR terms, Basgiath has pervasive nepotism concerns and no safeguards against fraternization. Employers should take Basgiath as prime example of what not to do. Clear enforceable policies would adequately prevent these concerns.
2. Rest Breaks: Apparently Optional
Modern labor standards generally require reasonable opportunities for meals, hydration, and rest. Basgiath Cadets endure grueling physical training, combat exercises, coursework, injuries, and chronic sleep deprivation. Exhaustion is treated as evidence of dedication rather than a safety concern. It’s a miracle cadets have time to sleep, let alone take necessary rest breaks. There is little evidence of structured recovery time, fatigue management, or leave opportunities. The Riders Quadrant runs with brutal efficiency where exhaustion is a normal outcome of training, and the Scribe Quadrant is expected to operate tirelessly, responding to every need for recordkeeping on demand. In a real workplace, this would create significant liability risks, workplace injuries, and burnout concerns.
3. OSHA Would Shut It Down Immediately
If the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) somehow gained jurisdiction over Basgiath, inspectors would likely need several volumes of tomes from the Scribe Quadrant to document the ongoing violations. One of Violet’s most famous mantras is fittingly, “I will not die today.” Basgiath’s safety record is perhaps its most glaring issue. Roughly three-quarters of Riders Quadrant candidates die before graduation, a statistic that would trigger immediate regulatory intervention in the real world. The Parapet, akin to an entrance exam, requires candidates to cross a rocky, narrow bridge hundreds of feet above a deadly chasm with no guardrails, harnesses, or fall protection. The Gauntlet required for Riders training is equally dangerous, including moving obstacles and treacherous conditions. Survival is considered part of the test. At Basgiath, cadets also routinely face fire-breathing, unpredictable and moody dragons, high-altitude flight, combat training, and hazardous conditions without meaningful protective equipment or safety protocols. From an OSHA perspective, protections in any workplace environment ensure employee safety and employer compliance with health and safety standards, and at Basgiath could ensure no riders die before noon.
4. ADA Accommodation Failures
Violet’s chronic joint instability and injuries present perhaps the clearest example of disability accommodation issues. While Navarre is a fantasy realm, Violet’s disability is based on Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS). EDS is a genetic condition affecting connective tissues in the body and collagen production. As shown in Fourth Wing, hypermobile EDS causes joint instability, subluxations, dislocations, and fatigue. Throughout the series, Violet relies on custom equipment and adaptations developed largely by Violet and her friends rather than the institution itself. A modern employer would consider reasonable accommodation such as modified training methods, assistive equipment, injury-prevention measures, and medical restrictions. Basgiath instead embraces a “survive or die” policy, expecting cadets to meet identical standards regardless of any limitations. Employers should ensure their policies make clear employees are entitled to accommodations, that retaliation for requesting accommodations will not be tolerated, and that employees of all abilities are welcome in the workplace.
5. Disability Discrimination Is Embedded in the Culture
Beyond failing to accommodate disabilities, Basgiath actively stigmatizes them. Many characters assume Violet will fail because of her size and physical condition, and some openly target her because of perceived weaknesses. Ironically, Violet repeatedly demonstrates that intelligence, strategy, and adaptability can be just as valuable as physical strength. While in any setting, poisoning your peers or using allergens to disarm them to win is highly inappropriate and in (in the real world) assault, at Basgiath, it’s how Violet prevails. Basgiath creates an environment where individuals with physical limitations assigned to “lesser” roles like the Scribe Quadrant, and where success requires overcoming prejudice and stigma rather than merely demonstrated skills. Real-world employer should maintain policies which prohibit harassment and discrimination based on disabilities, and provide clear procedures for complaints and internal investigations.
6. Student-on-Student Violence Is Practically Encouraged
Most educational institutions prohibit assault and murder. Basgiath often treats them as part of its operations. Cadets push others from the Parapet, engage in frequently deadly combat exercises, and face known threats with little intervention from leadership. Jack Barlowe’s actions throughout the series illustrate the academy’s remarkable tolerance for violence. From an HR perspective, this is less “hostile work environment” and more “active homicide program.” Employers should maintain explicit policies that violence in the workplace in any form is not tolerated.
The Final HR Verdict
Basgiath succeeds at one thing: producing exceptionally capable dragon riders. Unfortunately, it does so through methods that would generate lawsuits, regulatory investigations, discrimination claims, wrongful death actions, and criminal prosecutions on a breathtaking scale. An HR audit would identify systemic nepotism, poor fraternization controls, inadequate rest practices, severe safety violations, failure to accommodate disabilities, disability discrimination, and tolerance of workplace violence. In short, Basgiath is an outstanding fantasy military academy and an absolutely catastrophic employer—which is precisely what makes Fourth Wing so entertaining. The same practices that would horrify an HR department create the high-stakes environment that keeps readers turning pages. If Basgiath ever receives a visit from labor regulators instead of dragons, its survival rate may finally drop to zero.
Carli Smith at the Onyx Storm book release.
Carli Smith is a Senior Associate attorney in the Chicago and Dallas offices of FordHarrison, specializing in compliance, defense of employment claims, and labor relations. In her free time, she enjoys reading Fantasy Romance novels and spending time with her corgi as sassy as Tairn himself. If you have questions regarding workplace compliance, employment claim defense, or labor relations, please contact Carli Smith at clsmith@fordharrison.com or your local FordHarrison attorney with whom you usually work.
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