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 Rising / The Solar Republic
The Rising
Led by the Sons of Ares, the Rising was a lowColor rebellion aimed at toppling Gold rule over the solar system and bringing an end to the oppressive caste system.
- The Alliance: Started with a single rebel organization, the Sons of Ares, and grew overtime as more parties pledged their support.
- Icon of Rebellion: Two: the spiked war helmet of Ares, and Darrow's signature slingBlade
- The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified: Downplayed. Members of the Rising have had to do some unsavory things in order to keep the rebellion alive or bring about the defeat of The Society, and several Obsidians have gotten away with committing Rape, Pillage, and Burn against civilian populations for the sake of maintaining peace between different factions of the Rising. Despite this, The Society is consistently shown to be corrupt and oppressive, relying on slavery and the dehumanization of those beneath Gold on the pyramid in order to maintain power, and the rebels are portrayed as generally good for opposing it, despite the moral ambiguity or wrongness of some rebels' actions.
The Solar Republic
After toppling the Hierarchy at the end of the original trilogy, the Rising took control of what was left of the Society government on Luna, Earth, and Mars, transforming it into a Republic, restoring democracy and equal rights to human civilization for the first time in centuries. But as the new government struggles to find its footing, it must also contend with a concentrated effort from Society loyalists to destroy everything the Rising has built.
- Fictional Political Party: Aside from having ten senators for each Color, The two largest political parties are the Optimates, led by Mustang, who favor a central government strong enough to keep order. On the other side of the spectrum is Vox Populi, a socialist party led by Dancer and made up predominantly of lowColor senators who want to avoid having history repeat itself by limiting the Golds' power and influence. Copper and Obsidian are each treated as their own independent parties.
- Genre Blind: When the Ash Lord sends emissaries to Luna with an offer of peace negotiations, Darrow is one of the only ones who sees the olive branch for the ploy that it is.
- Obstructive Bureaucracy: Darrow is beginning to see the senate as this. While Mustang doesn't share his level of pessimissim, she does comment on the increasing gridlock caused by the two main political parties.
- The Republic: With its territory consiting of Earth, Mars, and their respective moons.
- The Remnant: By the end of Dark Age, Earth has been retaken by the Society, and Luna is under the control of the Boneriders via their puppets in the Vox Populi. Only Mars and its moons remain free.
Solar Republic Government
Virginia au Augustus
See the Darrow's Family page
Dancer O'Faran
Dancer in the illustrated edition of Red Rising
One of the leaders of the Sons of Ares. He functions as Darrow's mentor before the Institute and serves as second in command to Ares himself. After the end of Morning Star, he retires from warfare and becomes a senator in the new Solar Republic, founding and leading the socialist political party Vox Populi, which serves as Virginia's primary opposition in the senate.- Forced Out of the Closet: Subverted. He thinks this is happening when Mustang and Sevro confront him with video footage of another man, believing that because of Reds' conditioned homophobia they plan to blackmail him. In reality, they're confronting him because his paramour is the Duke of Hands.
- Handicapped Badass: Still a fighter despite his injured leg.
- The Lancer: To Ares himself.
- Parental Substitute: He becomes a father figure to Darrow in the course of the latter's preparation for the Institute.
- Retired Badass: In Iron Gold and Dark Age, having retired from war and gone into politics.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Iron Gold establishes that he suffers from PTSD after years of war.
- Silent Scapegoat: The war refugees in Tinos blame him for everything that goes wrong, even when he's barely holding the rebellion together.
- Silver Fox: Dancer is in his 40s during the first trilogy and considered "old" for a Red. Despite this and his status as a Handicapped Badass Darrow does describe him as a handsome man with rugged features.
- Took a Level in Dumbass: Takes the Society's false offer of a peace treaty at face value in Iron Gold.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In Iron Gold and Dark Age. While he does have a few good arguments, he is no longer the Reasonable Authority Figure he was in the original trilogy.
Daxo Telemanus
See the House Telemanus page.
Publius cu Caraval
The most prominent Copper senator. While he does support Darrow's views on the war against the Ash Lord, he has a tendency to play both sides of the political aisle.
- Playing Both Sides: Mustang and Darrow suspect him of this. The truth is even worse.
- The Mole: He was the one leaking information to the Syndicate.
- Unwitting Pawn: He was completely unaware that he was working for the Boneriders, and by extension, the Society.
Britannia ag Krieg
A Silver senator and a member of Quicksilver's Zenith Ring.
- Corrupt Politician: She's a member of the Senate and is clearly operating purely for the benefits of large corporations and the ultra-rich like Quicksilver instead serving the Republic.
Rollo O'Sicyon
A Sons of Ares operative stationed on the Martian moon of Phobos.
- Killed Offscreen: Assassinated during Caraval's coup in Dark Age.
- Rank Up: From Morning Star to Dark Age he goes from a low-ranked rebel spy to serving as Mars' planetary governor.
- Retired Badass: Implied in the sequel series by the fact that he was ArchGovernor of Mars before Caraval's coup.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He only has a few scenes in Morning Star, but his interactions with Darrow as he talks about the living conditions he endures on Phobos help to galvanize Darrow's decision to take charge of the Howlers' plans on Phobos and start an uprising instead of going along with Sevro's plan to bomb the moon and leave without doing anything to make life better for the people living there.
Theodora
Darrow's chief of staff in Golden Son. She becomes a key leader in the Rising by the time of Morning Star, and later serves as Virginia's spymaster in Iron Gold and Dark Age.
- Crazy-Prepared: Despite Mustang's orders, she kept a litter of Oracles alive on the off chance that a situation ever crossed the Godzilla Threshold to sufficiently justify their use.
- Never Mess with Granny: It's mentioned that she's old enough to start showing wrinkles, and despite not being combat capable, her connections among the other Pinks allow her to create a large network of informants when she joins the Rising after Golden Son.
- Taken further in Iron Gold, where she is fully prepared to go against Virginia's orders and torture Lyria with an Oracle when Pax and Electra are kidnapped.
- Out of Focus: As a consequence of the new trilogy having multiple narrators, many of Darrow's supporting cast from the original trilogy have reduced roles in Iron Gold.
- Politeness Judo: Her scene in the Augustan villa on Luna drips with this, and the other Pink is left a stuttering wreck when he realizes how badly he's screwed.
- Servile Snarker: She's technically Darrow's servant in Golden Son, but she can snark as well as he can.
- Undying Loyalty: Towards Darrow and his family. She helped him break into Deepgrave, after all.
Wulfgar
The Republic's ArchWarden and head of the Senate's security forces.
- Accidental Murder: Darrow accidentally kills him while resisting arrest.
- Ascended Extra: He was a nameless background character in the original trilogy, but now gets a name and a more prominent role.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He originally appeared in Golden Son as a nameless Obsidian who Darrow gave a razor to during the Lion's Rain. Now he gets a name and some backstory.
- Large and in Charge: He's an Obsidian and head of the Senate's security force, so this is a given.
- Retired Badass: He's still in a position where he'll potentially have to fight, but he's no longer on the front lines of the war.
Solar Republic Military
Darrow O'Lykos
See the Darrow's family page.
Sevro au Barca
See the House Barca page.
The Howlers
See their separate page.
Orion xe Aquarii
A Blue serving aboard the Vanguard in Golden Son. When Darrow and Sevro capture the ship on behalf of House Augustus, she is appointed to be the ship's new captain. In Morning Star, she becomes admiral of the Sons of Ares' fleet, and in Iron Gold holds the title of Navarch in the Solar Republic navy.
- Bald of Authority: A rare female example.
- Falling into the Cockpit: Darrow gives her command of the Pax after he kills the warship's Gold officers.
- Mauve Shirt
- He Who Fights Monsters: In a major battle during Dark Age when she's fully on board with causing apocalyptic storms on Mercury as payback for the Society loyalists who enabled her to be captured and tortured by Atlas.
- Pirate Parrot: Desperately wants one in Morning Star. Early information about the Sequel Series indicates that she gets one eventually.
- Servile Snarker: Her belligerence is what convinces Darrow to give her the position as captain over her colleagues, who are too busy bickering and listing their accomplishments.
- Space Pirates: She spends the one year Time Skip between Golden Son and Morning Star causing chaos and attacking Society ships.
- Straight Gay: The author confirmed she's a lesbian.
Pelus
A Blue serving aboard the Vanguard in Golden Son alongside Orion. In the sequel series, he serves as captain of the Morning Star.
- Uncertain Doom: He was on Mercury with the Free Legions in Dark Age, but it's left ambiguous whether he survived the fall of Heliopolis at the end of the novel.
Oro Sculpturus
Navarch of the Solar Republic Navy.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Killed in Light Bringer only a few chapters after his first appearance.
Zan
The commander of Luna's defense fleet, appointed to acting ArchImperator of the Republic navy after Darrow becomes a fugitive.
- Les Collaborateurs: Participates in Caraval's coup against Virginia.
- Unwitting Pawn: Like Publius, she's ultimately just a pawn of the Boneriders.
Cadus Harnassus
One of the Imperators of the Republic fleet, he and Orion lead the Free Legions on Mercury.
- Commander Contrarian: Repeatedly questions and criticizes Darrow's decisions during their campaign in Dark Age.
- It Has Been an Honor: When Republic forces are being overrun at Heliopolis and making their last stand, he tells Darrow this.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
Felix au Daan
Darrow's bodyguard on Mercury.
- Advertised Extra: Features in the Dramatis Personae of Dark Age, only to be killed off in the middle of the battle in the Ladon.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Darrow describes him as loyal to Virginia despite his distaste for lowColors
- Red Shirt:
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Killed within a few chapters of being introduced and only had a single major scene.
Aengus of Lagalos
One of Lyria's brothers, deployed to Mercury with the rest of the Free Legions.
- Uncertain Doom: Iron Gold mentions that he and his brothers were serving in the Free Legions on Mercury, and are assumed by Lyria and the Republic to have perished when Heliopolis fell at the climax of Dark Age. However, the final chapters of the novel establish that not everyone in the Free Legions was killed during the Long Night, leaving open the possibility that he survived.
Dagan of Lagalos
One of Lyria's brothers, deployed to Mercury with the rest of the Free Legions.
- Uncertain Doom: Iron Gold mentions that he and his brothers were serving in the Free Legions on Mercury, and are assumed by Lyria and the Republic to have perished when Heliopolis fell at the climax of Dark Age. However, the final chapters of the novel establish that not everyone in the Free Legions was killed during the Long Night, leaving open the possibility that he survived.
Fel
A Republic long-range scout who accompanies Lyria through the asteroid belt in Light Bringer on her search for Oculus.
- An Arm and a Leg: Gets both arms cut off by a Rim Dustwalker.
- Killed Offscreen: His death occurs while Lyria falls unconscious during her rescue by the automated defenses of Quicksilver's Generation Ship.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Introduced and killed within two chapters.
Cassius au Bellona
Member of House Mars at the Institute and brother of Julian. He and Darrow are friends for the beginning of their time at The Institute, but he turns against Darrow and leaves him for dead when he discovered that the latter was the one who killed Julian in the Passage. The two eventually reconcile in Morning Star, and he helps Darrow, Sevro, and Mustang kill Octavia au Lune, after which he leaves Luna with Lysander to protect the boy from headhunters looking to end his bloodline. At the beginning of Iron Gold, they wander the solar system looking for derelict ships to salvage or pirate attacks to thwart.
- The Ace: Considered the all-around greatest heir of his house, being handsome, intelligent, and dangerous.
- Broken Ace: Becomes this in the second book after losing his duel and an arm to Darrow. The murder of his family makes him even more broken.
- Affably Evil: Outside of being a bit of an arrogant prat, he's a decent person who just happens to be on the wrong side. He loses the "evil" part eventually.
- Bash Brothers: With Darrow, in the first book and the third.
- Big Brother Instinct: With Julian, despite them being twins.
- Big Brother Mentor: Tries to be one to Lysander after Morning Star, and even invokes it as part of their cover story when they're captured by House Raa in Iron Gold.
- The Casanova: He's dated Antonia, Mustang, Victra, Quinn... As Darrow put it, every woman of their generation has dated and/or slept with him at some point or another. And that's just the ladies...
- Death Faked for You: After sustaining serious wounds in back-to-back honor duels against Dido au Raa's heirs, Diomedes carries him away for medical attention, but later tells Lysander that he died from his wounds and that his body had been desecrated by Belerophon's men in revenge. A few months later he arrives Mercury to help Darrow and the surviving Free Legions evacuate when Lysander and the Ash Legions overrun the Republic stronghold at Heliopolis.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: In Iron Gold. After the fall of the Society in Morning Star, he's been wandering space beyond Mars' orbit, protecting cargo ships from pirates as he tried to find a purpose.
- Duel to the Death: Despite the ArchGovernor's role in ensuring Julian's death, he blames Darrow and challenges him to a duel. When Darrow recovers from near-death injuries and challenges him again in the second book, he loses, sparking a civil war.
- Evil Virtues: Has so many that if he weren't Gold, he'd probably be the series hero. Then he finds out Octavia killed his family and becomes one.
- Heel–Face Turn: Repairs his friendship with Darrow in Morning Star and plays an instrumental role in Octavia's defeat.
- Fake Defector: Inverted. He completes his Heel–Face Turn and reconciles with Darrow while in captivity, but fakes his commitment to the Society to smuggle Darrow, Mustang, and Sevro into the Sovereign's presence to instigate an overthrow.
- Knight in Sour Armour: As of Golden Son. He even gets some shiny new armour to brood in after his rank up to Olympic Knight. Loses the sourness in Morning Star, along with the armour, and ends up reconciling with Darrow.
- The Lancer: Darrow's first; Darrow never truly gets over the loss of Cassius's friendship. Fortunately, it's rebuilt in the third book, and Cassius once more plays this role during the Final Battle.
- Moral Myopia: Following The Passage, he has a joking attitude and looks down on those who are saddened to have been forced to kill. However, he's enraged when he finds out that his brother, Julian, was killed in the Passage. Also, when he finds out about Titus raping other students, he's enraged- but it isn't just Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil- he's specifically angry that Titus treated Golds like Pinks.
- Noble Demon: Keeps to his code of honour as best he can.
- Not Quite Dead: After his wounds were treated by Diomedes' men, he was secluded under house arrest in a private estate on Europe, to be released when the war ended. He broke out, and stole his ship back to escape, barely managing to limp back to Mars and warn the Republic that the Rim was coming.
- Rank Up: Becomes an Olympic Knight in the second novel.
- Redemption Earns Life: Survives the series after he performs a Heel–Face Turn.
- Revenge Myopia: Despite him blaming Darrow for Julian's death, he never even mentions the person he was forced to kill. Apparently your death only matters if you're Bellona.
- The Rival: A clear cut and initially unapologetic example, even so far as to be The Champion of his house against Darrow for House Augustus, even taunting him over dating Mustang.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: With Julian. While Cassius, just like his brothers, wants to bring glory to his family Julian is more of a dreamer.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Goes from somewhat sympathetic to being a straight-up Dragon for the Sovereign, enjoying killing and dueling for its own sake.
- And then he goes back to sympathetic again when his entire family (with the exception of his mother) is massacred at the end of the second book.
- True Companions: Briefly with Roque and Darrow, but secrets, revenge, and tragedy intrude. Fortunately, he ends the final book in a much better place than he did the first two, and once more counts himself among Darrow's closest friends.
- We Used to Be Friends: He and Darrow got off to a rough start but eventually become friends working together. Learning that he killed Julian leads to Cassius vowing a blood feud.
- Worthy Opponent: Has this from Darrow (who actually seems not to begrudge him on a personal level) and returns it in kind in the third book. The respect between them in spite of Cassius's proclamation of blood feud even plays into Cassius's Heel–Face Turn.
Pytha xe Vega
The pilot of Cassius and Lysander's ship, the Archimedes.
- Ace Pilot
- Old Retainer: She used to serve in the Bellona family's fleet before the Rising.
- Parental Substitute: Basically the closest thing Lysander has to a mother after the death of his parents.
- Satellite Character: Only really shows up periodically in Lysander's chapters of the sequel series.
- Undying Loyalty: Sticks around with Lysander in Dark Age even in the rigidly pro-hierarchy Core and Rim because she still cares about the kid and wants to make sure they stick together. This is broken when he kills Cassius, who she also felt this to.
Republic Citizens
Matteo Sun
Matteo in Sons of Ares Volume 3
A Pink hired to teach Darrow how to talk and behave like a Gold after his carving. Later revealed to be the husband of Quicksilver, the richest man in the solar system.- The Bus Came Back: He's never seen again after Darrow leaves for the Institute before returning in Morning Star as Quicksilver's husband.
- Camp Gay: It's not known whether Pinks have the luxury of sexual preference—and the highLingo is a bit fey to begin with—but by his own admission he well knows his way around a scrotum. Is revealed to be Quicksilver's husband in Morning Star.
- Etiquette Nazi: Why he was brought on. He was apparently good at his job, reshaping Darrow and his caveman manners into someone who uses all the proper highLingo and knows what shampoo is. Mostly by hitting him.
- Happily Married: To Quicksilver
- Put on a Bus: After Darrow leaves for The Institute.
Mickey
Mickey in the illustrated edition of Red Rising
A Carver hired by the Sons of Ares to surgically alter Darrow from a Red into a Gold.- Ambiguously Bi: He uses Evey for sex but he also gets very affectionate with Darrow after carving him.
- Agent Peacock: He's quite a flamboyant fellow.
- Back-Alley Doctor: Mickey has the privilege of reshaping Darrow's body into a golden god.
- Character Development: To quote Darrow in Morning Star: "From carver to slaver to slave to wedding officiant."
- Jerkass: Is implied to be abusive towards his sex slave Evey in Red Rising. He grows out of it in Golden Son and works to atone for it in Morning Star.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Harmony's splinter faction gives him a taste of how he'd treated Evey when they break off from Ares.
- Mad Artist: He is a Violet, so he was born to be creative. His handlers fed him 'candies' to enhance his artistic potential, giving him visions for days.
- Mad Doctor: He carves his dreams and nightmares into reality, and sees Darrow as his latest and most terrifying creation. He's good enough that those new Gold bodies he carves for Darrow and later Victra are remarked to be superior to normal Gold ones.
- Mauve Shirt: Doesn't get as much screen time as the main characters, but still undergoes a lot of character development.
Regulus ag Sun a.k.a. Quicksilver
Head of Sun Industries and the richest man in the solar system. Later revealed to be the secret financial backer of the Sons of Ares.
- Badass Bookworm: He's not a physical fighter, but with his financial resources and his mind, and his connections to the Sons of Ares, he's a force to be reckoned with.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Zig-zagged. You don't become the richest man in the solar system by playing nice. But when he finally appears on screen he's an Honest Corporate Executive behind closed doors. But on the other hand, this is partly justified since he's secretly funding La Résistance.
- He does lean closer to corrupt in the prequel comic, blackmailing Fitchner into his service by threatening to reveal his marriage to Bryn, and then extorting Fitchner into indefinite indentured servitude in exchange for help rescuing her from the Board of Quality Control.
- Creative Sterility: Believes Golds are enforcing this in humanity both technologically and culturally and wants to break free from it.
- Fiction 500: He's rich enough to have multiple Golds, who are already wealthy aristocrats in their own right, in his pocket.
- For Science!: His main motivation for funding the Sons of Ares. He believes that humanity's technological progress has stagnated under Gold rule and wants the human race to continue to advance.
- Happily Married: To Matteo.
- Hidden Depths: Built up to be a Corrupt Corporate Executive throughout the second book. Then it's revealed in the third book that he's the one who provides the Sons of Ares with their funding and resources.
- Honest Corporate Executive: Zig-zagged. Because of the world he lives in, he behaves like a Corrupt Corporate Executive in public, but is really this trope behind closed doors.
- I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Funded the Jackal in Golden Son because he thought Adrius would be the lesser of two evils compared to Nero. He was wrong. As soon as he realizes what he's done in allying with the Jackal, he begins facilitating negotiations between Mustang and Octavia as part of his efforts to remove Adruis from power. And then when Darrow returns from his apparent death, Quicksilver decides to finally throw all his cards in with the Rising.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When the war starts going against the Republic, Quicksilver packs up all of his stuff and disappears. Light Bringer reveals he's ditching the entire solar system, as he believes the Color Hierarchy has too thoroughly corrupted the solar system and he created a Generation Ship of Color-less humans to find a home out in the stars.
- Straight Gay: Morning Star reveals that he and Matteo are married.
Lyria of Lagalos
Official art of Lyria in Iron Gold
One of the four narrators of the Iron Gold series. She and her family have been living in refugee camps ever since her mining colony of Lagalos was liberated following the end of Morning Star.- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: While Darrow was motivated by a cause, Lyria is just trying to keep herself and her family alive.
- The Cynic: Wants to believe in the ideals of the Rising, but is cynical due to the harsh conditions in the refugee camps.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Victra and Volga in Dark Age.
- Foil: Both she and Lysander au Lune were born into positions of privilege, but lose everything after the end of Morning Star as a result of Darrow's actions. But where Lysander continues to act like Darrow is personally responsible for everything bad that happened in the solar system as a result of the war, Lyria learns to accept that the situation isn't that black and white.
- Parental Substitute: Both ways. She's left to raise her blind nephew alone after the rest of their family is massacred in an attack by the Red Hand, and Kavax becomes a pseudo-father figure when he brings her to Luna.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Wears a tux when the accompanies the Telemanuses to Quicksilver's birthday party.
- War Refugees: She and her family have been living in a refugee camp ever since the events of Morning Star.
Ava of Lagalos
Lyria's sister.
- Killed Offscreen: Her murder by the Red Hand occurs off-page while Lyria is hiding with Liam.
Liam of Lagalos
Ava's son and Lyria's nephew.
Kobachi
A merchant on Luna and longtime friend of Ephraim's who supplies the Horn Gang with the specialized equipment they need for their heists.
- Shoddy Knockoff Product: What many of his merchandise turns out to be, according to Ephraim.
Brea
A Red Girl living on Mars.
Maeve
Brea's younger sister. A Red girl living on Mars in a village occupied by the Red Hand.
