The Rising & Solar Republic | Darrow's Family | House Barca | House Telemanus | The Howlers | The Sons of Ares | The Rim Dominon | House Raa | The Society | House Lune | House Grimmus | House Bellona | House Augustus | The Boneriders | The Gorgons | The Institute | The Obsidians | Criminals and Terrorists
Due to the prevalence of Late Arrival Spoilers and First Episode Twists in both the Red Rising and Iron Gold series, spoilers from Red Rising, Golden Son, and Morning Star may be unmarked. Read at your own risk.
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The Boneriders
A group of Gold warriors who follow The Jackal. Originally consisting of his classmates in House Pluto at the Institute, they eventually recruit new members from other students in their graduating class over the course of the series.The Boneriders
The Boneriders in general
- Evil Counterpart: To the Howlers.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Notorious for their cannibalism at the Institute
- Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Their name comes from how their members wear the bones of their victims in battle.
- Undying Loyalty: To The Jackal.
Boneriders
The Jackal
See the House Augustus page.
Lilath au Faran
A student in House Pluto at the Institute and one of the first Boneriders.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Dark Age establishes that she was in love with The Jackal.
- Bald of Evil: In Morning Star.
- Big Bad Ensemble: As the Syndicate Queen, she serves this role in Iron Gold. Thought she doesn't appear in-person until Dark Age, she's the one who ordered Ephraim's heist.
- The Dreaded: In her tenure as the Syndicate Queen, even her own underlings are terrified of her.
- Faking the Dead: Everyone assumes she died when her ship was destroyed at the end of Morning Star, which she takes advantage of as the Syndicate Queen to keep her identity a secret.
- The Ghost: As the Syndicate Queen, she was the one who hired Ephraim to kidnap Pax and Electra, but her only appearance in Iron Gold is a single transmission to Ephraim at the end of the novel.
- Hidden Villain: As the Syndicate Queen in Iron Gold. Not even her own underlings know her real identity.
- Never Found the Body: Her real identity was assumed dead when her ship was destroyed, but Lilath au Faran is still alive and kicking more than a decade after her supposed death in Morning Star.
- Undying Loyalty: Unfailingly loyal to the Jackal, to the point where she willingly offers her womb to help grow his clone.
Antonia au Severus-Julii
A highly intelligent young woman drafted into House Mars at the Institute. She establishes early on that she will back stab whoever it takes to win.
- Alpha Bitch: The beautiful, haughty, cruel, and regal Antonia establishes herself as House Mars's.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Darrow notes several times how beautiful Antonia is. In Morning Star, after brutally murdering the Howler Thistle, her sister Victra gives her such a brutal No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that Antonia's beauty is well and truly tarnished.
- Cain and Abel: The Cain to Victra's Abel.
- The Chessmaster: One of her defining character traits, as she is a backstabbing schemer with plenty of intelligence.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: To the detriment of House Mars in the first book, and House Augustus in the second.
- Dark Action Girl: Prefers getting physical in a fight, but also works as a long-term schemer.
- Dirty Coward: Once Antonia sees that they're going to lose the battle of Ilium she has her fleet run off to save her own skin. When she's about to be executed for this he starts pathetically begging for mercy as well.
- Hate Sink: Stands out as one of the few villainous characters with next to no redeeming or endearing qualities whatsoever: Antonia is an unrepentant matricide, attempted fratricide, chronic traitor, murderer, coward, and all-around wretch, lacking her closest contemporary Adrius's Villainous Valor and depth of character.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Inferred by Darrow as the motivator behind her relationship with the equally depraved Adrius, who also has this yearning, but unfortunately doesn't care to satiate it with Antonia.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: It takes a while to expire in but it finally does in Morning Star. First she receives some comeuppance in the form of a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown from Victra after she killed Thistle and finally she gets executed by Aja for abandoning Roque to save her own skin.
- Lady of War: A trait she shares with her sister.
- The Mole: She was one in House Mars for the Jackal, killing Lea and capturing Roque.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Part of her last name is derived from the Julii Caesares, the Roman family that produced Julius Caesar
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Villain-on-villain version. Far from going to the reward she'd hoped to cash in for capturing the Reaper, Antonia finds herself denounced by the Sovereign as a traitor and executed for abandoning Imperator Roque to his fate.
- Rich Bitch: Displays this attitude consistently throughout the series.
- Self-Made Orphan: Murders her mother at the end of Golden Son.
- You Have Failed Me: executed by Aja in Morning Star when she abandons Roque to save her own skin.
Vixus au Sarna
A student in House Mars at the Institute who was initially allied with Titus. After the events of Red Rising, he became one of The Jackal's Boneriders.
Cyriana au Tanus/"Thistle"
A member of House Mars and one of Sevro's Howlers who defects to the Society at the end of Golden Son and becomes one of The Jackal's Boneriders.
- Broken Pedestal: Began to doubt Darrow's leadership as a fleet commander after his strategic mistake caused the death of many of her friends in Golden Son. Which led to her defecting to The Society's side during Darrow's Triumph and downfall along with Roque.
- Evil Makeover: Lightened her hair and eyes to fit in better with the other Golds inMorning Star. Likely so that she no longer looked like a "Bronzie".
- My God, What Have I Done?: In Morning Star Thistle expresses remorse for having betrayed Darrow and The Howlers back in Golden Son. She even wants to give them any information they might need. She never could thanks to Antonia...
- Regretful Traitor: Thistle misses the Howlers and regrets joining the Boneriders. Before Antonia kills her she was going to reveal everything she knew to Darrow and ask Sevro for forgiveness.
- Turncoat: Leaves Sevro's Howlers and joins The Jackal's Boneriders somewhere between Golden Son and Morning Star.
Tharsus au Valii-Rath
One of Tactus' older brothers
- Agony of the Feet: Atlas cuts off his feet in Light Bringer to keep him from fighting back as he's thrown into the manticore cage.
- Big Brother Bully: To Tactus in the original trilogy.
- Decapitation Presentation: Atlas ensures that his head is left in tact to present to Atalantia.
- Fed to the Beast: Atlas feeds him to a manticore in Light Bringer.
