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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House Grimmus
A prominent Gold family from Earth whose members serve as prominent antagonists in both the Red Rising trilogy and the Iron Gold series due to their position as bannermen of House Lune and later become the leaders of the Society loyalists.First Generation
Magnus au Grimmus/The Ash Lord
ArchImperator of the Scepter Armada and father of the Furies.
- Ascended Extra: Had one speaking appearance in the original trilogy, but has a more prominent role in Iron Gold.
- Big Bad: Fills this role in Iron Gold. And then it turns out that he's dying from poison, and his daughter has taken over the reigns of the Society.
- Dark Lord on Life Support: The Ash Lord is revealed near the end of Iron Gold to have been left bedridden for 3 years after Apollonious tried to assassinate him for betraying him. As a result he hasn't actually been running the war effort, but rather Atalantia has been.
- Death by Irony: The infamous Ash Lord, who turned tens of millions on Rhea to ash dies by being burned alive in his sickbed, as Apollonious finishes him off by dousing him in alcohol and tosses a lit candle at him.
- The Dreaded: Everyone fears him over his destruction of Rhea. Iron Gold furthers this reputation with the reveal that he nuked the Martian city of New Thebes when the Republic took control of it from the Society Remnant.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: He regrets his actions in the destruction of Rhea, yet his infamy means he'll never be able to forget it.
- Red Baron: His actions on Rhea earned him the nom de guerre "Ash Lord"
- The Unfought:
- Despite his reputation, his only appearance in the series is over a holo-conference during a battle that Darrow and Mustang don't participate in. After Octavia's assassination, he retreats to Mercury and Venus with the other Gold loyalists.
- Taken a step further in Iron Gold, as despite being in nominal command of the Society Remnant, any instances of Darrow fighting him personally only happened during the Time Skip.
Second Generation
Aja au Grimmus
Magnus' daughter and an Olympic Knight who serves as one of Octavia's three Futiries.
- An Arm and a Leg: Loses a hand during her last stand in Morning Star.
- Bald of Evil: Aja is the second-in-command of the trilogy's main villain and completely bald.
- Dark Action Girl: Fills this role given her allegiance to Octavia.
- The Dragon: Aja is Octavia's most trusted and loyal servant and serves as her personal enforcer.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Dark Age reveals that Octavia erasing Lysander's memories of his parents nearly caused her to break her oath.
- Hero Killer: Ragnar, Quinn, the list goes on.
- Lady of War: Presumably, her sisters share this trait.
- Praetorian Guard: She fills this role to Octavia.
- A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: Aja was once the pupil of Lorn au Arcos, but no longer does she serve that role, instead being evil.
- Undying Loyalty: Completely devoted to Octavia.
- Villainous Valour: Fights alone against Darrow, Mustang, Cassius and Sevro.
- World's Best Warrior: Reputed to be the deadliest fighter in the Society. She lives up to her reputation.
Moira au Grimmus
Aja's sister and the Sovereign's chief politico.
- Death of a Thousand Cuts: Darrow shoots her with a pulseFist until he runs out of ammo.
- Praetorian Guard: Is still one of Octavia's Furies alongside her sisters.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Appears in a few brief scenes in two books and has almost no dialogue before being killed off.
Atalantia au Grimmus
The youngest of the Ash Lord's three daughters and one of the Sovereign's three furies.
- Ascended Extra: Only ever appeared as a nameless cameo at the gala in Golden Son. Iron Gold finally gives her a name and a larger role in the plot.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Of the three Furies, she's the only one never mentioned by name in the original trilogy. In the sequel series, she's taken on a prominent role in the war between the Society and the Republic.
- Creepy Aunt: Explicitly groomed her nephew and has been having sex with him for several years by the time they're both introduced.
- The Dragon: To her father. Subverted when it's revealed that her father was poisoned by Apollonius au Valii-Rath three years before Iron Gold, and all of the actions attributed to the Ash Lord since then have in fact been her doing, making her this trope in name only, while serving as de-facto Big Bad.
- Dragon Ascendant: She took over for her dying father after he was poisoned during the Time Skip and has been leading the war against the Republic in his place for three years.
- Feather Boa Constrictor: Is introduced wearing a venomous serpent from Venus around her neck.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Nearly every major development that occurs in the sequel series is a result of her plans either directly or indirectly.
- It's All About Me: Atalantia is a massive egomaniac who is obsessed with her own beauty and glory. By the way she talks about the Society, it’s clear that she views it and all its cruelties as a monument to her own glory and splendor.
- The Man Behind the Man: The ending of Iron Gold reveals that her father has become a figurehead of the Society Remnant, and she's been running the Remnant for three years while he slowly dies of poison.
- Older Than They Look: She's in her late forties as of Iron Gold, but doesn't look a day over twenty-five.
- Praetorian Guard: Serves as one of Octavia's Furies in the original trilogy alongside her sister.
- Villainous Incest: She’s having sex with Ajax, her own nephew, and Atlas au Raa mentions that she’s been grooming him for years.
Third Generation
Ajax au Grimmus
The son of Aja au Grimmus and Atlas au Raa. He serves as the Storm Knight of the Society in the Iron Gold series.
- Blood Knight: He loves battle and violence with all his heart, and takes great pleasure in exterminating Rising soldiers on Mercury.
- Faux Affably Evil: Ajax barely manages to put on a veneer of sophistication. He treats Lysander like an old friend when they first re-unite on the Annihilo, but his Hair-Trigger Temper kicks in the instant he learns about his alliance with Cassius. Not to mention the fact that he leaves Lysander to die on Mercury because of a childhood grudge.
- Jerkass: Ajax is a pompous, self-centered jerk. When he meets Diomedes he insists he take off his cloak as the Storm Knight of the Rim , saying it insults him since he's the Storm Kinght of the Society and when Diomedes does he proceeds to piss on it right in front of everybody.
- Off with His Head!: Decapitated by Victra during the Society's siege of Phobos in Light Bringer.
- Remember the New Guy?: No mention is made in any prior books to Aja having a son.
- Villainous Incest: He's screwing his aunt.
- You Killed My Father: He especially despises Darrow for murdering his mother Aja back on Luna ten years ago, and is especially looking forward to killing him in return.
