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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First generation
Fitchner au Barca
Proctor of House Mars at the Institute, father of Sevro, and leader of the Sons of Ares.
- Big Good: He's Ares, the leader of the rebellion against the Society.
- Character Death: Fitchner doesn't make it out of Golden Son, his head delivered to Darrow in Adrius's moment of triumph.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Fitchner initially seems like a fool, but he turns out to be not only an effective combatant and strategist, he's been Ares the entire time, plotting the downfall of Gold society.
- Cruel to Be Kind: He and Sevro don't have the best relationship, but it's likely because Fitchner needed to make Sevro strong and smart enough to survive the Passage. And then there's also the fact that he's Ares.
- Decapitation Presentation: At the end of Golden Son, Darrow receives his head in a box, his mouth filled with grapes and his eyes slashed out.
- Eye Scream: Apparently he was quite horribly tortured before his head was presented to Darrow, as his eyes are slashed out.
- Generation Xerox: Sevro wasn't the only one who was supposed to die in the Passage.
- Meaningful Name: Most of the Golds have Roman names and surnames. Curiously, Fitchner's surname originates from Carthage, Rome's most notorious rival, specifically it's famed general Hannibal Barca. Fitting considering his role as leader of the resistance.
- Misery Builds Character:
- He teaches this to his students at The Institute.
- Later revealed that this applies to his own backstory as well: being injured in an explosion on the job lead to him falling in love with a Red, and her execution for marrying a Gold drives him to start the Sons of Ares.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Hannibal Barca.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Fitchner plays the role of a lazy, oafish and pervy mentor to House Mars during Darrow's time at the Institute. However, he's politically savvy enough to secure the position of Rage Knight by the time of "Golden Son" and states that he can do advanced Math. Not to mention that he's Ares, the elusive and scheming terrorist leader of the Sons of Ares who want to take down the Society.
- Praetorian Guard: Becomes one of the Sovereign's Olympic Knights in Golden Son.
- Pragmatic Hero: Fitchner genuinely wants to stop the Society and treats low Colors as valued allies. However, he's also willing to neglect his son and play the Society's lapdog in order to further his cause though if it means becoming complicit some of their more brutal practices like the Institute. Even risking the lives of young men like Darrow by sending them in as spies is something he's willing to do.
- Red Baron: He goes by Ares, God of War when on his true job, but as the Sovereign's bodyguard he is known by the official title of the Rage Knight.
- Snark Knight: Fitchner is not a kind man, being cynical and dry, but he's a surprising badass and an effective soldier, not to mention Ares himself.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: With his now deceased wife: She was a Red, he was a Gold.
- Trickster Mentor: Plays this to House Mars and Darrow, often appearing deliberately unhelpful, but then offering guidance/hints when they ask the right questions. It gets a further edge when in Golden Son it is revealed that he's Ares and has been "in charge" of Darrow the whole time.
- Unreliable Narrator: The comic reveals him to be this in regards to the circumstances surrounding Sevro's birth and his wife's death.
- Unscrupulous Hero: Fitchner is more than willing to play politics, aim for power shifts, and put civilians in harm's way, but he's genuinely trying to help Darrow. In fact, he's even more clearly this after the revelation he's Ares; he'll abandon and mistreat his pupils, induct people by force, and lie to his own forces, but he truly cares about every last one of them and did what he felt had to be done.
- Walking Spoiler: Aything relating to his role beyond the first book is a major spoiler.
Bryn of Cryssos
Fitchner's Red wife and Sevro's mother. Her execution by the Board of Quality Control for breeding with a Gold is what inspires her husband to start the Sons of Ares.
- Defiant to the End: Even when she's captured, she doesn't let her fear show.
- Happily Married: To Fitchner au Barca.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Stays behind to be recaptured and executed so Fitchner can escape with their son.
- The Lost Lenore: To her husband, Fitchner, and her son, Sevro.
- Maligned Mixed Marriage: With Fitchner, which gets her killed.
- Mama Bear: Leads Arturius along in order to keep her son alive.
- Posthumous Character: She's already dead by the time the series begins.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Proven in the fifth issue of the comic, where she stabs Arturius with his own razor.
- Walking Spoiler: Everything about her and her role in the story is a significant spoiler for Golden Son.
Ryanna of Cryssos
Ryanna in Sons of Ares Volume 3
Bryn's younger sister and Sevro's aunt. After Bryn's death, she becomes Fitchner's second-in-command.- Action Girl: If how quickly she kills Varus in the second issue is any indication, she definitely qualifies.
- The Faceless: Like all the other early Sons of Ares, she conceals her face with an ancient Greek theater mask. Averted when she appears without her mask at Fitchner and Bryn's wedding.
- The Lancer: She appears to fill this role to Fitchner in Sons of Ares.
- Smurfette Principle: The only major female character among the original Sons of Ares.
- Undying Loyalty: Displays this toward her sister, Bryn, and her brother-in-law, Fitchner.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Volume 3 ends with her quitting the Sons of Ares and returning to Triton about a decade before the beginning of the first novel, but it's unclear what happened to her since then or if she's still alive at the time of the sequel series.
Second generation
Sevro au Barca
A shorter than average Gold drafted into House Mars at the Institute. Revealed to be the son of Fitchner, the House Mars Proctor, at the end of the first book. After discovering Darrow's status as a Red, he remains loyal to the Reaper and becomes one of his most devoted supporters. Golden Son reveals that his mother was a Red, whose death inspired his father to start a resistance against the Gold regime to avenge her. Following his father's death at the end of the second novel, Sevro takes over the mantle of Ares and serves as Darrow's right-hand-man throughout the remainder of the saga. During the 10 year timeskip between Morning Star and Iron Gold, he becomes an Imperator in the republic fleet.
- Action Dad: By the beginning of Iron Gold, he and Victra have three daughters.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Harbors a one-sided crush on Quinn, who is Roque's girlfriend/lover.
- Ambiguously Bi: Has an unrequited crush on Quinn and ultimately ends up marrying Victra, but has enough with Darrow to make one question whether she's not the only one he was in love with.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Victra. Their insults and squabbling is underlaid with many held gazes, flirtations, and rare moments of genuine worry. By the end of Morning Star they're Happily Married.
- Blood Knight: He loves fighting. Scratch that, he's crazy about fighting.
- Child of Two Worlds: Sevro was born to a Gold and a Red.
- Combat Pragmatist: Even more so than Darrow. He got his iconic wolf pelt by killing an alpha wolf barehanded with the implication he had to cut it with his fingernails at some point in the fight. He also attempts to land a low blow on Darrow during their fight in Morning Star.
- Crazy Survivalist: Spends most of his time in the woods, filthy and eating whatever he killed.
- Disney Death: Appears to be killed by Cassius in Morning Star. But it was all part of the plan and he was faking it.
- Eye Scream: Lost an eye to Lilath sometime after Darrow and Cassius' schism.
- Four-Star Badass: He's an Imperator, which is the Red Rising-verse equivalent of an admiral.
- Happily Married: To Victra in Morning Star.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Losing his father and Darrow in Golden Sun, combined with the stress of leading the Sons of Ares, leads to him becoming increasingly brutal. Darrow manages to call him on this and bring him back from the brink, though.
- Huge Girl, Tiny Guy: Not that huge, but Sevro's noticeably short for a Gold, putting him below most of the Gold women. Including his eventual wife; Darrow teases him at his wedding for needing to stand on tiptoes to kiss Victra.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Tries using this as defense for some of his actions in Morning Star. It's implied he knows it doesn't hold water.
- In Harm's Way: In Golden Son, tells Darrow that he and the other Howlers live for this.
- Insatiable Newlyweds: In the 10 years since the original trilogy, they've had multiple kids. Victra starts off the sequel books pregnant with their son. Darrow and Mustang even make jokes that they'll repopulate a moon on their own and have an anecdote where what they thought was a dying animal was actually Victra and Sevro getting it on.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He swears like a sailor and constantly insults everyone around him. He's also unflinchingly loyal to Darrow, even after learning that Darrow is a Red.
- The Lancer: Eventually becomes this in relation to Darrow.
- Fighting the Lancer: In Morning Star, he and Darrow butt heads over their differing strategies for the Rising.
- Legacy Character: Assumes the identity of Ares in Morning Star, replacing his now dead father.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Hannibal Barca
- Nature Hero: He spends a good chunk of his time in the Institute with wolves to avoid the unrest inherent to House Mars. Ultimately, he kills a pack leader and is respected as their new alpha.
- Nemean Skinning: He wears his wolf cloak in this fashion, and eventually so does his team.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Sevro enjoys odd things, like keeping an enemy's eyeball or eating roaches.
- Papa Wolf: When Sevro learns his daughter has been abducted he immediately ditches Darrow to head back to the Republic to find her by waging war on the Syndicate until he finds her.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Is head and shoulders smaller than any of the other (Gold) cast members—and hands down the best killer.
- Pungeon Master: Apparently spent his time on Pluto sending Darrow, Roque and Tactus videos of him reading puns.
- Primal Stance: Spends as much time on two legs as on four.
- Real Men Wear Pink: ...Is weirdly obsessed with unicorns.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: See the entry under Insatiable Newlyweds. Their relationship, needless to say, is VERY affectionate.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Has an extremely foul mouth. Ninety percent of his screen time will involve him swearing.
- You Killed My Father: Has a vendetta against Cassius in Morning Star because the latter was the one to kill Fitchner
Victra au Barca, née Julii
One of Darrow's classmates at the Academy in the beginning of Golden Son who remains loyal to him even when her family sides against his patron. She and Sevro fall in love and eventually marry in Morning Star and have three children together. In Iron Gold, she and Quicksilver are the two most promiment business-people in the Republic after she took control of her family's shipping business from her sister Antonia in Morning Star.
- Action Girl: As good in a fight as she is in command of a spaceship.
- Action Mom: By the time of Iron Gold, she's had three kids with Sevro and is pregnant with her fourth.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Heavily implied to have a crush on Darrow throughout Golden Son.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Sevro. Their insults and squabbling is underlaid with many held gazes, flirtations, and rare moments of genuine worry. By the end of Morning Star they're Happily Married.
- Blood Knight: She and Sefi actually bond over how much they love a good fight, and likely she does the same with Sevro.
- Boyish Short Hair: Before Morning Star.
- Broken Bird: In Morning Star, she claims she has nothing to live for but revenge, believes she's poison to everyone, and Darrow notices an odd emptiness in her eyes. A year of torture will do that to you.
- Cain and Abel: The Abel to Antonia's Cain.
- Disney Death: Antonia shoots her In the Back at the end of Golden Son, only for her to still be alive at the beginning of Morning Star.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Darrow in the original trilogy.
- In Dark Age, she, Lyria, and Volga bond while fleeing the Red Hand through the Martian wilderness.
- Happily Married: To Sevro in Morning Star.
- Honest Corporate Executive: In Iron Gold. Despite frequent complaints about the Vox Populi's demands, she still believes that unions are key to fair labor.
- The Heart: Is genuinely kind and caring... for a Peerless Scarred Gold.
- Huge Girl, Tiny Guy: She's taller than Sevro, though not so much as the trope implies.
- Lady of War: One of the only things she and her sister have in common.
- Mama Bear: If you kidnap or are in any way involved with allowing harm to befall one of her children, she will do everything in her power to hunt you down, pregnancy be damned.
- Maternity Crisis: Goes into labor after her flagship is captured and she's being hunted by the Red Hand through the Martian wilderness.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Her family name is derived from the Julii Caesares, the Roman family that produced Julius Caesar.
- Pregnant Badass: Being eight months pregnant with her fourth child does not slow her down when hunting those she believes responsible for abducting Electra.
- Retired Badass: In Iron Gold, where unlike her husband, she stepped back from the war to focus on her family's shipping company. Her daughter's abduction brings her back guns blazing, and in Light Bringer she's in command of the Martian defense fleet while Darrow is MIA and her husband is capture on Luna.
- Shed the Family Name: While Gold tradition dictates that Sevro should take her last name because her bloodline can be traced back farther, Victra chooses to take the last name Barca due to her personal issues with the reputation of the Julii family name.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: She spends the second and third books convinced that her sister's Ax-Crazy tendencies are genetic and that she's as terrible as Antonia. Her Character Development involves realizing that she's not her family.
Third generation
Electra Barca
The oldest of Sevro and Victra's three daughters
- Generation Xerox: Less then ten years old at the start of Iron Gold and she's already on course to grow up every bit as badass as her parents.
- Little Miss Badass: She has't had a chance to be in a fight yet in outside of sparring matches, but judging by her commentary during Ephraim's rescue of her and Pax, she will definitely be this is she's ever in a fight.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: When Ephraim needs her help to take down the guards holding her and Pax prisoner, she asks whether she should use an incapacitating strike or limit herself to flesh wounds.
Calypso Barca
Ulysses Barca
