Ridoc Gamly

Aotrom is a brown swordtail dragon whose bonded rider is Ridoc.
-Biography-
-Fourth Wing-
Aotrom joins Ridoc during the Threshing
-Iron flame-
He agrees to share Violet's vision with Ridoc and ends up fighting alongside the rest of his squad in the Battle of Basgiath, where he is wounded but survives.
-Onyx Storm-
Aotrom and Ridoc argue repeatedly during Onyx Storm; so much so that Aotrom suppresses his anger to focus on their argument and nearly collides with Tairn during a patrol. A month or two later, Ridoc stealthily throws a bucket of stinging powder at Aotrom and drops it between the scales on the back of his neck at the end of a flight maneuver. Aotrom has to submerge his entire body in the river to prevent everyone in the Valley from knowing that Ridoc has defeated him.
Aotrom is eventually selected to join the mission squad and travel to the Island Kingdoms. After returning, Aotrom participates in the Battle of Braithus, protecting civilians as they ascend Medaro Pass.
-Physical description-
Aotrom is a brown swordtail dragon with golden eyes. Aotrom is twenty-two years old during the events of Onyx Storm. He is approximately half the size of Tairn.
-Personality-
It is advisable never to show fear of a brown one. Aotrom is playful and enjoys the constant war of practical jokes he has with his rider.
-Power and abilities-
Like any other dragon, Aotrom is able to breathe fire and use his sword tail, claws, and fangs to damage his enemies.
-Seal of the Rider-
Ridoc's signature ability is ice control.

Powers
Minor magic
As a rider whose dragon he channels through him, Ridoc is capable of performing minor magic. Through this channeling, Ridoc can do things like open and close doors without touching them, move with supernatural speed, manipulate magical lights, and empower ink quills. Minor magic also allows Ridoc to place runes.
-Seal-
Ice handling
He is capable of freezing water and manipulating ice. He is one of the few ice manipulators who can extract water from the air, create ice walls, and freeze water inside objects. He demonstrates this by freezing an orange inside its peel.
-Talent-
Preferred weapon: Bow
Languages:
common language
Semi-fluent sign language (not good enough to teach)

He's known for being the comic relief in Violet's group. He often makes sarcastic comments during their history lessons. However, he's also known for losing his temper when defending his friends.

Ridoc has dark brown hair that falls over the tanned skin of his forehead as he walks. Violet describes him as short. He is described as being on par with Aurelie due to his smaller size. However, he is also described as being twice as wide and half a foot taller than his squadmate Tynan. After seven weeks living in the Riders' Quadrant, Ridoc becomes less slender and gains more muscle. His dragon heirloom is a brown dragon silhouette on his upper arm. At the start of his second year, Ridoc gets a tattoo of his dragon, Aotrom. It ends near the base of his neck and extends to his shoulder where Aotrom's heirloom is located.

Before mounting, the squad embraces, and when Violet says, "No one dies today," Ridoc seconds her. During the fighting, Violet sees Aotrom and Ridoc falling from the sky, Aotrom's claws embedded in a wyvern's belly, and she calls out Ridoc's name to Tairn, but he reminds her to trust the others to focus on their own missions.
The squadron works in perfect sync, passing daggers to each other in mid-air, until a wyvern sinks its teeth into Aotrom. Tairn and Violet fly to Ridoc's aid, along with Sawyer and Sliseag, and while trying to save Ridoc, Sawyer is exposed to another pair of wyverns, and they bite off his leg. Ridoc shouts his friend's name, and Violet leaps to land on Aotrom's back. Ridoc stares at her in awe before she hands him a crossbow and tells him to fire once he's on top of Sliseag.
After Violet raises the protective barriers again and the battle ends, Rhiannon tells her that Ridoc survived and is okay.

Along with the rest of Violet's squad, Ridoc helps investigate how to raise the protections again.
When it becomes clear that the Venin are going to attack Samara, the revolution's riders and flyers are divided on how to respond. In Battle Brief, Brennan asks, "If you were Melgren, what would you be doing right now?" And Ridoc replies, "I'd be scared shitless." Xaden asks Violet if she wants to return to Basgiath to fight, and Ridoc says, "Of course I do," to which Xaden responds that he wasn't asking.
The squadron flies back to Basgiath—insisting on staying together—and goes to check the guardian stone, though Lilith Sorrengail says there's nothing out of the ordinary. Ridoc says "Shit!" when they realize the guards at the end of the tunnel are dead. When Baide opens fire on the riders in the guardian stone chamber, Ridoc leaps in front of them all and uses his seal to create a wall of ice between them. Ridoc screams as the fiery blast dies down, and Violet is unprepared to see Ridoc's hands, blistered, burned, and bleeding. Rhiannon hooks her arms under Ridoc's, holding him up, before Jack kills Baide.
We learn that Nolon Colbersy healed Ridoc's hands after he tended to Lilith Sorrengail. In the Battle Report, where the strategy for the upcoming battle is discussed, Xaden is assigned to the second squad, and Ridoc says, referring to him and Violet, "Do we catch them both? Maybe we'll have a chance of lasting an hour or two."
As the squads stand in formation before the battle, Violet asks how they feel and Ridoc says, "I'm so scared I'm sure either my heart is going to fail or I'm about to shit myself."

Brennan immediately gets to work on it, but says she can't move it. When Ridoc tells them to leave it in the way, Violet says, "We made a deal, remember? All four of us will live to see graduation. We made. A. Deal." Violet holds Ridoc's hand as she tries to come up with a plan, and then, before leaving to fight the wyvern, she brushes a strand of hair from his forehead and says, "You won't die. Understand?" He nods, his dark brown eyes slowly closing. After Violet manages to kill the wyvern with a lightning bolt, she sees Rhiannon and Sawyer holding Ridoc between them, guiding him toward Aotrom.
Ridoc makes the mistake of calling Andarna "mini-Tairn," saying she's getting ferocious. Andarna isn't impressed, saying she's "nobody's miniature" and yells at Ridoc, prompting Violet to step between them. He quickly clarifies that he meant "Big." While the group is gathered afterward, Ridoc tells Violet that Sawyer wants her to teach him sign language because he's "not fluent enough to be a good teacher, apparently." Sawyer says Ridoc would teach him the sign for sex and tell him it was hello; Ridoc laughs and says he's not that stupid.
"What? I'm not a complete idiot. I would have waited for you to ask for the word for dinner; that way, when you asked her if she wanted to eat something with you..."
Ridoc Gamlyn Sawyer Hendrick
When the Iron Squadron merges with Cat's group (the strongest group with the strongest squadron), Ridoc grimaces at the idea of ​​giving them an Iron Squadron patch. Cat tries to tease Violet, but she simply thanks him for the finger trick. Ridoc tells Violet, "I love you, damn it," and then tells everyone that he woke up somewhere he hadn't planned on and missed breakfast.

In their first Battle Report, when Brennan says he assumes they'll want a patch because they're the Iron Section, Ridoc shouts, "Fuck yeah we do!"
When Mira Sorrengail arrives in Aretia and immediately punches her brother Brennan in the face, Violet screams for ice, and when a guard appears with an icicle wrapped in a piece of cloth, she thinks she has never loved Ridoc's seal so much.
The riders are sent on a mission to scale the Dralor Cliffs along with the flyers and their griffons. During the formation before they depart, Ridoc mutters, "This can't be serious," staring incredulously at both the flyers and the switchbacks they're instructed to climb. When they reach a gap in the path, Ridoc is the one who says they'll have to jump over it. Violet has an idea before jumping, and since Ridoc is their best climber, she convinces him to scale the cliff and wedge his sword into the rock so the smaller riders and flyers can use it as a foothold. He offers to catch Violet, who tells him to go to hell and shouts, "You can do it!" spreading her arms wide before she leaps. She warns him that she'll kick him in the face if he tries to catch her. Unfortunately, Luella, who is a flyer, fails to make the jump. Violet yells for Ridoc to help her, but when she turns around, she sees him wounded by two arrows that have pierced his side. He says he's fine as blood drips from his mouth, and Violet yells for Brennan to save him.
Violet insists that Dain put her shoulder back on the cliff so Brennan can heal Ridoc before trying to help her.

He discovered this fact while searching General Sorrengail's office during the previous year's squadron battle. He then suggests there might be lower-level vaults inaccessible to second-year students, and Violet says she'll ask her friend Jesinia Neilwart to investigate. Ridoc rolls his eyes and says, "Oh, good. I was wondering when it would get dangerous around here again."
"Wait. I really know something about the Archives that you don't? Yes, right?"
Ridoc Gamlyn Violet Sorrengail
On the night of the Shredding, Ridoc offers to take Violet's watch, but she refuses, not wanting to give Vice-Commander Burton Varrish a reason to punish her. Instead, he goes to meet with Jesinia, who has information for them, and says he will go up to the Academy Tower afterward. Ridoc finds Violet just after Eya's murder and Jack Barlowe's rescue. He sits with Violet as she recovers from the shock and tells her the good news is that Jesinia knows the location of the vault and how to breach the defenses. The bad news is that they need someone of royal blood to get through.
Before the squad attempts to steal the diaries from the Archives, Ridoc and Sawyer trip over the barriers while trying to spy on Xaden and Violet in their room. This makes Violet laugh, and Xaden snarls, "It's soundproof when the door's closed, idiots." As four of the squad descend into the vault, Ridoc hides behind the door to keep watch with Bodhi Durran. After they manage to steal the diaries, but Aaric Graycastle is burned, Xaden orders Ridoc to take Aaric to his room and keep his hands hidden.
Ridoc, along with the rest of Violet's squad—and the entire Flame Section, Fourth Wing—goes to Aretia to join the Revolution after the truth about the Venin is revealed in Basgiath.

The first time the squad is kidnapped by the RSC, Professor Grady tells Ridoc he has confidence (when Ridoc declares that the patch at stake is as good as theirs). Each of them has to reveal a secret, and Ridoc's is that he's afraid of snakes. When Sawyer retorts that it's a shitty secret, Ridoc says, "Surprise me with one and you'll see how bad it is. Besides, you didn't know, so I guess it counts." When the interrogation begins, Ridoc tries to lie about the secret they were given, but his tactic backfires, and Violet gets punched in the face. Ridoc struggles against his chains, yelling her name. They eventually escape, win the patch, and Ridoc jokes, "We should consider leaving the quadrant. We'd make some great thieves."
Violet tells Ridoc, Rhiannon, and Sawyer the truth about the poison when she returns from a visit to Samara. Ridoc contacts Aotrom, wondering if the dragons know about it too, and discovers that they do. At first, Ridoc argues that it's impossible for such a big secret to be kept, but he's convinced when the others point out how easy it is to hide and control information based on whether it's published or not. While Rhi says she isn't angry with Violet for not telling them the truth, Ridoc mutters, "I'm a little angry." However, he remains as resolute as the rest when Rhi hugs Violet, placing her hand on the top of her back and declaring, "The four of us stick together."
"The four of us will stick together. That's the deal. We'll make it to graduation, no matter what."
Ridoc Gamlyn Violet Sorrengail, Rhiannon Matthias and Sawyer Henrick

When Violet laments that they need a primary source of information about the First Six to learn more about enchantment creation, Ridoc is the one who tells them that two of the First Six — Lyra and Warrick — kept personal journals.

When Rhiannon is asked if Violet is angry with her for not choosing her as her executive officer, Nadine prevents Violet from answering by telling Rhi, "At least you didn't choose Ridoc. He would have seen this whole thing as a platform for more jokes."
When the Squadron is having trouble with their RSC assignment map, everyone asks Ridoc for help except Sawyer. Ridoc teases him, telling him he just has to accept that Ridoc is a god of land navigation.
"Why don't you accept that I'm a god of land navigation and ask for help like everyone else?"
Ridoc Gamlyn to Sawyer Henrick
One day, as the squadron heads to the airfield, Ridoc asks Violet about the sighting of another black dragon in the Valley; he says he heard Kaori practically jumping for joy at the sight of one. Violet avoids answering him.
Violet attacks Ridoc when he surprises her from behind the day after watching a combat practice. She draws her dagger and holds it to Ridoc's throat, taking a moment to realize it's him, not some other assassin. She apologizes, and Ridoc says, "For nearly cutting my jugular? I knew you were quick, but damn it." Imogen reprimands her, saying she should know better than to attack someone by surprise.
Ridoc and the rest of the second-year students in his squadron are paired with riders from Second Squadron, Flame Section, Second Wing, for their Land Navigation exercise, along with a group of Infantry cadets and a scribe. The riders are separated from their dragon links, "which sucks," says Ridoc.
Ridoc cracks a lot of jokes during the drill, but he also shows his more serious and caring side when he asks Violet if her knees are bandaged. He constantly argues with Calvin, one of the infantry cadets, telling him that his rank means "absolutely nothing" to him. Rhiannon tells him to stop teasing Calvin on purpose, to which Ridoc replies, "But it's so funny!"

-Iron flame-
Ridoc is one of the first people Violet encounters upon returning to Basgiath after the War Games, carrying Liam's letters for Sloane Mairi. He tells Xaden that he can trust both Rhiannon and Ridoc. When Ridoc realizes what she's carrying, he falls silent and says, "Shit."
At graduation, Ridoc whispers "it's a bit disappointing" and says that surviving three years there should come with "a lifetime supply of beer and a party so good you won't remember it."
During the post-graduation party, Ridoc declares that what he most longs for in his second year is to spend a few hours at Chantara each week; he then changes his answer to this question, saying that what he most longs for is to fraternize with other quadrants. When Violet leaves to talk to Xaden, telling the squad that she will return soon, Ridoc mutters, "I certainly hope not, or you'll destroy all my fantasies regarding that."
Upon learning that they will be taking a new course called CSR in their second year, Ridoc informs Professor Grady that nobody wants their genuine reactions.
"Nobody cares about my honest reactions"
Ridoc Gamlyn to Professor Grady
On recruitment day, during the first formation where cadets are assigned to squads, Ridoc's dark hair is styled with gel into spikes. Standing in formation, Violet notices he has a new tattoo, and he proudly shows them the tattooed tip of a sword's tail on the warm brown skin of his neck, telling them it extends from his shoulder to the relic of Aotrom. He says, "Impressive, isn't it?"
When Solas opens fire on the formations and burns most of the Third Squadron, Ridoc's spiky hair is flattened and singed, but he is otherwise unharmed.

The squad bursts into General Sorrengail's office looking for anything useful. Ridoc collapses onto the red sofa, and Sawyer tells him they don't have time for him and that he should help. He then helps Liam carry the unconscious guard to an office.
In Montserrat (where the squad is sent for winning the Battle of Squadrons), Ridoc asks, "So all we do is wait for something to happen?" and puts his "dirty" boots on the table. Mira Sorrengail throws him back with minor magic, telling him not to put his feet on the table. When a flock of griffins attacks the fortress, Ridoc and Quinn are already airborne when Violet and Xaden burst onto the roof.
Before the first War Games battle, Violet wonders why the riders wear black; Ridoc tells her, "Because it's cool."
In the battle briefing before Reunification Day, Professor Devera reminds the cadets that they must wear "only dress uniforms," ​​directing her gaze specifically at Ridoc. He shrugs and asks, "What else could I wear?" Devera replies, "You never know what you're going to run into."
Ridoc competes in the War Games with the rest of the Second Squadron of the Fourth Wing.

Ridoc's seal manifests before Violet's in January; he is an ice manipulator, which is described as a more common seal but "impressive to see".
When Jack Barlowe challenges Violet to a sparring match, Liam orders Ridoc to protect her as if she were him, while he runs to find Xaden. Ridoc replies, "You mean I'm six inches taller and have the build of a bull?" Ridoc gives Liam a thumbs-up and tells him yes, and that he'd better run. During the sparring, Ridoc vehemently supports Violet, shouting when Jack attempts to use killing blows and his powers against her. He tries to help her, but the power Jack transfers to her causes both Ridoc and Emeterio to scream and recoil sharply at the touch. He is also the first to her side after the fight, telling her, "Breathe, Sorrengail, just breathe."
In March, Ridoc nearly dies from exposure to the elements when one of the new members of Second Squadron displays his stamp during the battle briefing; another cadet also freezes to death in seconds, but Ridoc only receives frostbite treatment and suffers no permanent damage.
For the final challenge of the Squadron Battle, the squadrons are left without a leader to find something that "would be most advantageous to their enemies." Ridoc immediately raises his hand when Imogen asks who wants to lead Second Squadron. Rhiannon forces him to lower his hand, saying she'll make it some kind of joke. He shrugs and agrees. He suggests stealing a crossbow because it would be lethal to their enemies, and when Quinn points out that it would be too big, he offers, "We could steal Panchek's underwear..." but Rhiannon interrupts him, saying, "And that's why we won't let you lead."
"We could steal Panchek's underwear"
Ridoc Gamlyn's suggestion during the squadron battle

The third-year students from his squadron also join them, and Ridoc calls Emery's air manipulation seal "epic," asking him, "How much air can you move?" Emery barely glances at him, replying that it's none of Ridoc's business.
Violet reflects on the use of common magic to raise her voice and thinks, "God help us when Ridoc figures out how to do it." This makes her smile, and she imagines that "he'll find a way to exasperate every rider in the quadrant, not just those in his squadron."
During formation, after Violet is attacked by unbonded cadets and a Code violation is declared, the squad speculates about who's in trouble. Rhiannon whispers, "Do you think Ridoc finally got caught in Tyvon Varen's bed?" Ridoc replies that sleeping with him hardly constitutes a Code violation, despite him being the Executive Officer of the Second Wing. He reminds them (without a trace of remorse) that fraternizing with the commanding officer isn't illegal, just frowned upon. He also makes it clear they aren't exclusive and tells Violet that if she's looking for a little fun, he'll gladly oblige.
"Fraternizing with the command is frowned upon, but it's not illegal."
Ridoc Gamlyn Violet Sorrengail and Rhiannon Matthias
In November, during Battle Brief, Liam Mairi and the rest of the squad joke about protecting Violet and about Liam "checking out" potential partners for her. Ridoc joins in, saying, "Oh, are we telling penis jokes now? Because my whole life has led up to this exact moment."
According to Dain's orders, Tuesday nights in December are for the squad's hand-to-hand combat practice. Liam refuses to train with Ridoc because he's Violet's shadow, so Ridoc trains with Imogen instead; she holds him in a headlock while Xaden and Garrick enter the gym and begin training, and doesn't release him until he enthusiastically surrenders.

Luca says he thought they were going to eat Violet and wouldn't have blamed them. Ridoc yells at him, "You're unbearable," but Luca continues ranting about Violet being a weak link. When a blast of heat hits Violet's back, she fears it's Ridoc who's died, but we discover it was Luca when Ridoc mutters, "I guess the dragons think she's unbearable too."
On the morning of the Threshing, Ridoc vomits against a tree. Before splitting up to venture alone into the forest, Ridoc orders the squad: "Don't die."
After Threshing, Violet emerges from the medicine man's tent, and Ridoc scoops her up in his arms, shouting, "Look who arrived riding on the most fearsome beast of them all!" He spins her around until Rhiannon yells at him to put her down, pointing out that Violet is bleeding. Ridoc says, "Oh, shit, sorry," and lets her go. He proudly tells them that he has bonded with a Brown Swordtail named Aotrom. Ridoc, Sawyer, Violet, and Rhiannon are the only first-years left in their squad after Threshing.
Ridoc greets Violet and Rhiannon the next morning, putting his arm around their shoulders and calling them ladies, then adding, "or should I say, riders." They all agree that being a rider is better than being dead, and Ridoc rolls up his robe sleeve to show them the brown dragon relic on his arm. He mutters an idiot calling Oren Seifert a moron, still angry that the cadet tried to kill Violet during the Shred. Second Squadron sits down to breakfast and reflects on how odd it is that they're given a table immediately. They notice Jack Barlowe being ignored, and Ridoc remarks, "How the mighty have fallen."

Ridoc snaps at Tynan, "We're not getting timed for the presentation today, you idiot," when Tynan continues to call Violet a burden on the team, but Sawyer Henrick steps between them to stop the argument. Ridoc is the sixth member of his team to attempt the Challenge, after Rhiannon Matthias and before Violet. He mocks Tynan when he hesitates at the buoys on the second ascent, and Violet chides him, saying that just because Tynan is a jerk doesn't mean he has to be one. "But it's giving me plenty of material to work with," Ridoc replies with a smirk.
On presentation day, Heaton wishes the first-year cadets good luck, and Ridoc remarks that he didn't know third-years could talk. He also points out, as they leave the courtyard, that his squad is the largest. When Violet reaches the top of the chimney, Ridoc cheers her on from atop the Gauntlet.
Ridoc and Rhiannon hug Violet as she reaches the top of the Gauntlet, and Ridoc shouts with joy. Someone yells that Violet can't do that (use her knife to climb the wall), and Ridoc defends her, saying, "Yeah, well, she just did it!"
As they line up for the Presentation, Wing Chief Nyra Voldaren orders them to "talk," and Ridoc jokes, "Nice day for a Presentation." Nyra narrows her eyes at him and explains that she means they should talk amongst themselves to help the dragons understand who they are.
Ridoc follows Violet on her walk back during the Presentation, with Luca trailing behind. He remarks in amazement about the dragons, "They're incredible, aren't they?" which makes Violet smile. When two green dragons take an interest in Violet, Ridoc's eyes widen, his mouth agape, and after the encounter he admits, "I think I just shit myself."

Ridoc Gamlyn is a dragon rider in his second year at the Basgiath War Academy. He belongs to the Second Squadron, Flame Section, Fourth Wing, along with Violet Sorrengail, Rhiannon Matthias, and Sawyer Henrick.
Fourth Wing
Violet learns Ridoc's name faster than the other first-year students in her squad because he makes jokes during their first history class, and she describes him as a "know-it-all".
Ridoc and Aurelie Donans are training on Assessment Day, and Ridoc complains when Professor Emeterio forbids him from using swords. At first, he hesitates to attack her properly. His squad leader, Dain Aetos, tells him he's doing her a disservice by holding back. In the ensuing fight, he knocks out one of her teeth.
He makes everyone laugh (even Jack Barlowe) during Professor Kaori's lesson on dragons when he jokes that if you offend a Red Scorpiontail, you'll be "lunch." Kaori laughs too and agrees with Ridoc that the best thing to do if you encounter a Blue Scorpiontail is to "run."
The first time Second Squadron sees the Gauntlet is also the first time Violet sees Ridoc "lose his temper or use anything other than humor to defuse a situation," when he yells at Tynan, who was mocking Violet. Tynan tries to intimidate Ridoc, but it doesn't work, as Ridoc is twice as wide and six inches taller. Tynan asks him what his problem is, and Ridoc questions his loyalty to his squadmates.
"My problem? Do you think that because you became friends with Barlowe and Siefert you have the right to be an asshole to your own teammate?"
Ridoc Gamlyn to Tynan, defending Violet Sorrengail