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Red Rising Saga 1
Pierce Brown
Summary from SuperSummary
PROLOGUE
A Golden man tells a crowd of young people—including the narrator, Darrow—that their race was born stronger than others. The man commands the Gold people to exert their dominance over other people and prove they deserve their privileged positions. Darrow declares that he is of the Red people and was denied the luxuries of Golden children. Darrow predicts that contrary to the Golden man’s words, this race will die.
PART ONE
1. Darrow remembers his father’s death on their home planet, Mars. Darrow’s father was tried in public and killed by hanging. Darrow operates a clawDrill inside a mine. He reacts to the stench from inside his protective frysuit and watches for treacherous pitvipers. Darrow, quick and effective, is a Helldiver, while his coworkers operate smaller drills as they all mine for helium-3. Darrow remembers his lovely wife Eo, whom he has known since childhood. From Darrow’s comm device he hears his Uncle Narol and Old Barlow warn him not to continue drilling, as a gas pocket lies beneath the drill. Darrow dismisses them and feels annoyed at the delay. Darrow’s brother Kieran cautions him as well. Darrow wants to win the Society’s reward for mining, the Laurel, and defeat the ever-victorious Gamma clan. Darrow feels resentful that he and the rest of the Lambda clan remain downtrodden, unable to ascend the social order. His wife Eo is going hungry and begging for food. Darrow dismounts and approaches the dangerous edge of the drill. He maneuvers between them to scan the gas pocket and smells his suit burning.
2. Darrow’s scanner finishes its reading. He cuts off the foot of his suit, caught in the drill, with his slingBlade. The hot drill sears his hand. He returns to his seat and continues his work, since the gas pocket is not dangerous. Darrow and his coworkers, along with Gamma miners, take the gravLift out of the mine as Darrow reflects on his successful workday. Darrow rescues a younger Gamma miner from floating off the lift. While leaving the lift, a Gray guard named Ugly Dan trades barbs with Darrow about his exploit in the cavern. On the horizonTram, Darrow realizes he has mined more helium-3 than Loran, the Gamma Helldiver. Darrow considers how he and Eo will use the Laurel if he wins. Darrow takes an air shower and separates from his crew. He remembers how his father danced a forbidden dance before he was hanged. Darrow walks to his township and climbs to his home, which is made from the rock of the surrounding cavern. On a holoCan screen, leader Octavia au Lune celebrates the efforts of the Red people and promises they will live on Mars’s surface one day. Eo playfully guards Darrow from a surprise she has hidden in their bedroom. She spots the wound on his hand and treats it with medicine and bandages. They bicker as they prepare to attend the Laureltide.
3. An HC shows footage of a Sons of Ares terrorist bombing a mine. Darrow spots his Uncle Narol playing the zither and reflects on how he taught young Darrow to dance. He anticipates winning the Laurel and greets his family at the celebration. Crowds of people have gathered to drink and dance. Darrow sits with Eo, her sister Dio, and Dio’s husband Loran. Darrow spots the gallows nearby and remembers how his father was killed for participating in a peaceful protest against the Society. Darrow’s mother-in-law compliments his impressive work that day, and Darrow insults his drunk Uncle Narol. The two briefly exchange blows. Darrow grows more excited about winning the Laurel and notices that Eo acts nervous. Gray guards and Timony cu Podginus, the MineMagistrate, assemble to announce the Laurel. Magistrate Podginus deducts supplies from the Mu and Chi clans; they under-performed due to a fatal mining accident. Magistrate Podginus gives the Laurel to the Gamma clan.
4. Darrow thinks it is inevitable that Gamma would win the Laurel again, thereby reinforcing the class structure. He and his family members are enraged. Eo invites him to dance. Afterward, she leads him to the Webbery for the surprise she promised. The two crawl through a secret ventilation duct and emerge into a forest. Darrow and Eo marvel at the grass, animals, sky, and trees, none of which they have ever experienced during life underground. Eo explains that the Reds are slaves, deprived of the Laurel and restricted from forests like this. Darrow resists the label of slave and repeats what others have told him: “There’s a nobility to obedience…” (32). Eo says Darrow’s father was too afraid to fight for freedom. She charges Darrow to use his strength and bravery to fight for their people’s right to this land. Darrow laments that he lost his father to a futile cause. Eo dreams of freedom for her children and believes Darrow could accomplish that dream. Darrow feels hurt that she values this dream above him. The couple watches the sun rise and returns to the duct. He hears an unfriendly voice as he climbs back into the Webbery.
5. Darrow encounters Ugly Dan and three Gray guards. Darrow, despite Ugly Dan’s taunts, refuses to fight back since he risks death. After three days in prison, a guard lets Darrow embrace his wife as they are led to the gallows in the Common for a public flogging. Guards force Darrow into his frysuit. Magistrate Podginus orates about the necessity of law. Darrow spots two Golden men sitting high above the Common. One of the men is ArchGovernor of Mars, Nero au Augustus. Darrow is taken out of his frysuit and led to the gallows. He receives 48 painful lashes. Guards lead Eo to the gallows for her lashes. Darrow screams to the ArchGovernor that he will take the rest in her place. The Magistrate commands that Darrow be gagged. Eo sings a forbidden song. The ArchGovernor uses his gravBoots to fly closer and allows Eo to continue: “My love, my love / Remember the cries / When winter died for spring skies […]” (42). He challenges the silent spectators to join her. The ArchGovernor commands that she be hanged.
6. Podginus asks to whom Eo would like to speak her final words. She calls for her sister Dio. Eo whispers words to Dio and yells “Break the chains!” (45) before she falls through the trapdoor. Darrow pulls her feet, and Eo dies. The crowd sounds the Fading Dirge in her honor. Darrow’s family members comfort him as he wishes for death. He escapes his home and sneaks toward the gallows. On the HC he sees footage of Eo’s death spliced into Octavia au Lune’s standard message. Uncle Narol stops Darrow and warns him not to die like his father and wife. Darrow insists, and Narol walks with him to the Common. Narol bids Darrow a fond goodbye. Darrow cuts down Eo’s body from the gallows and takes her through the forbidden ventilation duct to the forest where they escaped for the night. He buries her and cries. Darrow and his family members fear his inevitable arrest the following morning. Ugly Dan comes to take him, and Darrow is sentenced to be hanged. On the gallows he asks Dio what Eo told her. Dio hesitates and answers, “She said she loved you” (50). Darrow remains unconvinced. Darrow feels nervous before he falls. Uncle Narol holds his feet down.
PART TWO
7. Although Darrow expected to see Eo in the afterlife, he wakes beneath dirt and emerges from a grave in an old mine. He has not died. He wonders if his uncle drugged him and buried him here. A tumbler vehicle approaches, and two masked figures lead Darrow inside. He realizes the masked people, a man named Ralph and a woman named Harmony, are Sons of Ares. Darrow grabs Harmony’s hand, demanding to know why he has survived. She says, “Because Ares has a mission for you, little Helldiver” (55). Beneath Harmony’s mask Darrow witnesses the half-beautiful, half-scarred face of a fellow Red. Darrow wonders why Eo wasn’t spared. The tumbler travels through a gate and toward a garage. Harmony invites Darrow to meet Dancer.
8. Dancer finds out Darrow knows they are Sons of Ares. Darrow wonders aloud why they need him. Dancer says Eo could not be saved. Harmony makes a callous comment about her martyrdom, and Darrow lunges at her. Dancer ends the fight and promises Darrow justice. Later, Harmony cleans the lash wounds on Darrow’s back. She says Eo’s death had an effect and that Darrow should turn Eo’s dream into reality. Dancer reveals that Uncle Narol was conspiring with the Sons of Ares and pointed them toward Darrow. Darrow scoffs at Dancer and his organization. Dancer tests Darrow by asking him to pick one of two cards from a bowl. Darrow outsmarts him by eating the card he chooses. Dancer explains the difference between the mythological Ares and Mars. He references the immense destruction waged by Golds. Dancer claims not to be Ares. He says Reds were trained not to use their full capabilities. Dancer placed footage of Eo’s death on HCs throughout Mars, and people now call her Persephone. He leads Darrow through tunnels and onto a lift. Darrow would like to kill Nero au Augustus. Dancer asks him to think more expansively about his mission. Darrow steps off the lift, squinting in sunlight. He walks across an unfamiliar wooden floor and carpet, toward natural light streaming through windows. He glimpses a city.
9. Darrow watches Gold and Silver people flying about the city in gravBoots. One Gold carries two bottles of wine as four teenage girls follow him. Darrow witnesses cars and ships amidst the opulent city, which is organized by Color. He realizes the depth of falsehood he was fed all his life. Dancer explains that humans began colonizing other worlds 700 years ago, beginning with Earth’s moon, Luna. Mars’ colonization, in addition to that of other planets and moons, followed. Luna’s denizens defeated Earth’s in the Conquering. People have inhabited the terraformed Mars for hundreds of years. HighReds are sanitation workers up above, while lowReds like Darrow are enslaved underground. Darrow asks how the Reds will reclaim their planet, and Dancer answers, “Blood” (70). Remembering Eo and his family, Darrow decides to join the revolution.
10. Darrow remembers how his cousin sold herself to a Gamma for medication to help her husband. Her husband murdered the Gamma, and the couple died. Darrow reflects on how the Society has pitted clans against each other. Dancer explains Ares’ plan for Darrow. Darrow considers it impossible, given the imperious caste system set in place to squash him. Dancer has disguised Darrow as a highRed. He asks how many times they have attempted this plan, and Harmony says 97 have preceded him and failed. Darrow, Harmony, and Dancer travel through the city of Yorkton observing its bright lights, impressive technology, and color-coded sidewalks. In the lowColor district, the group passes Green alternate reality businesses and Pink brothels. They proceed into the busy Bazaar. When a Brown stonewalls Dancer at the door to a club, Dancer reveals his gun with its Son of Ares marking. The man lets them through to meet Mickey the Carver, a Violet. Dancer tells Mickey they came to ask him something. Harmony gives him a box, and Mickey recoils at the contents. Mickey commands them to leave. Inside the box are contains the Sigils of the Golds. Dancer reveals his plan to transform Darrow into a Gold and affix the Sigils to his hands.
11. Harmony and Dancer try to compel Mickey to perform this seemingly impossible surgery on Darrow. Mickey describes that making Darrow into a Gold will require much more extensive work than merely affixing the Sigils to him. He argues that as a Red, Darrow is not smart enough. Mickey recognizes Darrow from the HC footage of Eo’s death. Dancer describes his plan to send Darrow through the Golds’ training protocol and become a Peerless Scarred, an elite leader within the Golds. Mickey predicts that Darrow cannot withstand their ruthless culture. Darrow challenges Mickey by solving his electronic puzzle cube while describing his difficult work as a Helldiver. Darrow solves the puzzle, astounding Mickey with his mental acumen.
12. Mickey performs surgery on Darrow’s hands and brain, and Darrow dies a second time in the process. While in a coma and while sleeping, Darrow dreams of Eo. Mickey plans to transform Darrow’s body into that of an iron Gold, an ancient warrior with extraordinary physical capabilities. Mickey must augment Darrow’s skeleton and muscles. Throughout the painful process, Mickey regales Darrow with stories of his youth. They discuss the servitude of Darrow’s people. Darrow’s body adjusts to new gravity and the rich food of the city. Mickey recognizes the poison of pitvipers in Darrow’s blood. He replaces Darrow’s red eyes with golden ones. Mickey also gives Darrow a zither for playing the songs of his people. Harmony physically trains Darrow in a concentration suit, which uses virtual reality to help him gain muscle. Darrow overhears Mickey complaining to Harmony and Dancer that his training regimen will ruin Darrow’s new body. Darrow’s strength and knowledge increase exponentially. Darrow gazes at his new image in the mirror as a winged Pink named Evey cuts his hair. Mickey greets Darrow, who realizes the Carver fears him. Darrow seizes Mickey and tells him to treat Evey well.
13. A Pink named Matteo grooms Darrow’s new body and insists that he learn Gold manners and speech patterns. Matteo threatens Darrow with a razor, telling him the Golds are quick to wage violence when provoked. Dancer tells Darrow his new Gold name, but Darrow refuses to accept a first name other than Darrow. Matteo conducts a lesson in culinary customs with Darrow. Golds do not leave a dining table to use the restroom, use a variety of cutlery, and do not eat to excess to demonstrate self-control in front of peers. Dancer instructs Darrow in his Gold accent. He tells Darrow this Gold identity is a cover for his true mission. Dancer describes the customs he enjoyed as a young man in the mines, which resemble those that Darrow once knew. He charges Darrow to remember Eo’s dream as he becomes a person he hates. Dancer warns that Darrow will have to compromise his morals to succeed as a Gold.
14. Matteo teaches Darrow five Gold dances. Darrow dances the fifth, the Polemides, with particular skill. Matteo is shocked and suspicious upon seeing this dance and asks Darrow if he is actually a lowRed as he claims. Darrow looks up the Polemides and witnesses footage of Gold fighting technique. The following morning, Dancer tells Darrow his new name: Darrow au Andromedus. Matteo takes Darrow to learn horse riding. Darrow has difficulty riding a pony. A beautiful Gold woman mocks him as she passes by on a stallion.
15. Darrow takes his test to gain admission to the Institute. The test is based on logic problems that require extrapolative thinking. During the test Darrow steals his neighbor’s stylus without her knowledge. The test proctor sees footage of this and smiles approvingly at Darrow. Afterward, a girl named Antonia calls Darrow “Cutter” (108). A handsome young man named Cassius au Bellona approaches Darrow and acknowledges his inferior birth (to a fake family of Dancer’s design). Cassius invites Darrow to join him at a few clubs after their physical tests. Darrow undergoes intense physical tests such as sitting in a freezing room and holding his breath for ten minutes. Darrow’s Helldiver training makes his hands agile when balls fly at him. Darrow changes in the locker rooms and hears the Reds’ forbidden song. The girl who mocked him while riding is singing it, and Darrow flees in fear once he catches her eye. Darrow studies Mars’s terraformed surface as he rides home with Matteo. He asks Matteo about Institute life, and Matteo knows little. He warns that Darrow will likely have to show aggression if he wants to graduate as a Peerless Scarred and earn a prestigious apprenticeship thereafter.
16. The Board of Quality Control visits Darrow’s new luxury apartment. They subject him to a lie detector test and ask him if he cheated during his test for the Institute. Darrow acts offended at the questions. A month later, he learns that he passed, getting only one question wrong. Before leaving for the Institute, Darrow says goodbye to Dancer, who gives him a knifeRing. Harmony says goodbye and that Evey will live with her and Dancer. Matteo gives Darrow a Pegasus pendant that holds one petal of Eo’s haemanthus flower. Darrow sits nervously in the shuttle before another young man, Julian, extends his hand. Darrow exchanges small talk with him. A Bronze nearby named Sevro insults Julian and Darrow for their congenial talk. Sevro and Julian trade insults. Both mention their scores, which fall far below Darrow’s. The shuttle reaches the Valles Marineris and the city of Agea. At the gates of the Institute, the students hear a speech from ArchGovernor Nero au Augustus. Augustus describes the various kinds of decadence that ruin empires. He criticizes the democratic ideal of equality. Augustus chastises the students for succumbing to pleasure-seeking rather than maintaining the dominance of their race through pain and suffering. He references Eo, or Persephone, who suffered death and became powerful as a result.
17. A Gold from the Institute asks Darrow which House he would prefer. Darrow must pass a test, snatching a goblet from a hill after defeating various obstacles. Various Peerless Scarred Proctors interview Darrow and assess him for entrance into their Houses. Proctors from Jupiter and Apollo test Darrow, followed by Fitchner from House Mars. He punches Darrow, who kicks him in retaliation. Along with 99 other students, Darrow prepares for the Draft as representatives of the Houses assemble before them. House Mercury Drafters ask about Darrow’s family and do not select him. A powerful Gold named Lorn au Arcos selects Darrow for House Mars. Darrow remarks, “I am chosen tenth. Tenth out of one thousand” (128).
18. Darrow enters the Institute’s opulent dining hall. Since he was a firstDraft selection, he sits next to the head of the table. Antonia, whom Darrow recognizes from the test, sits nearby. Cassius joins them and bickers with Antonia. Cassius jeers at the lesser members of the table, but a Premier named Priam sticks up for them. Cassius asks Darrow if he cheated on his test. Darrow replies that he neither cheated nor studied, then realizes he has breached the good manners Matteo taught him. Darrow claims he was joking and that he studied hard. Darrow hobnobs with other Golds in the hall. Darrow sees Julian again and realizes he and Cassius are twin brothers. Julian says that Darrow supports Yorkton in sports. Darrow reaches a well-appointed bedroom. He receives a massage, takes a shower, and goes to sleep thinking of his wife.
19. Darrow wakes to men beating him. They drag him into the hall, and Darrow realizes this is an Institute test. The men continue beating Darrow and place a bag on his head. He is lifted into the air and can’t see anything. Darrow is left naked in a room with Julian, who has also been beaten. Fitchner enters, throws a golden ring between the young men, and tells them, “Only one comes out alive” (136). Darrow anticipates a fight and assesses Julian’s weaker frame. Julian argues that he must win the ring for the sake of the Bellona family, among Mars’s most important dynasties. Darrow considers how he must compromise his values for the sake of his people. He beats Julian and feels uncertain. Darrow breaks Julian’s nose and headbutts him repeatedly. He punches Julian in the chest and kills him.
PART THREE
20. Darrow looks at Julian’s corpse and reckons with what he has done. He decides to hold onto the guilt and thus maintain his separation from the unfeeling, ruthless Golds. Darrow sees Roque and Antonia, as well as other winners in the dining hall. They all bathe and dress. Roque explains to Darrow how the Passage reinforces the Golds’ belief in killing the weak to strengthen their kind. The other winners of House Mars, looking shaken, gather around the dining table. Sevro and Titus number among them. Cassius approaches Darrow, speaking good-naturedly, and Darrow fears he will discover that Darrow killed his twin brother in the Passage. Cassius brags about his easy kill. Darrow notices that a standout Draft pick, Priam, has been killed. Fitchner enters, and Cassius silently realizes that his brother will not join them. Fitchner explains that the 600 students who just died were of no use to the Golds. He welcomes them to House Mars and their Institute life, during which they will learn how to impress prestigious Golds. The next day, the students of House Mars will begin fighting a mock war against the eleven other Houses. During dinner, Cassius asks everyone to name their Passage victim. No one else participates. Darrow sizes up Titus, calculating and domineering, and the sensitive poet Roque. Darrow can’t find the victims’ bodies.
21. The next day at orientation, Fitchner leads the students on a run around their new environment. House Mars will live in a castle in the highlands. Fitchner kills a deerling. The group runs to Phobos Tower and surveys the battlegrounds beyond, which consist of mountains, forest, rivers, and the Proctors’ observatory at Olympus. Sevros complains about House Mars’s geographical disadvantages. Fitchner says the group may struggle to find food on their land. The group observes a table full of food, and Cassius and Darrow race to eat from it. As they eat, Cassius remarks on House Ceres’s castle nearby. Darrow realizes that members of House Ceres lie in wait. He and Cassius ambush five young men and take them all down. Darrow takes a slingBlade from one of them. Fitchner and the other House Mars students approach, and House Ceres’s Proctor does as well. She and Fitchner bicker, flirt, and gossip. Reinforcements from House Ceres arrive on horseback, and the House Mars initiates run away. Titus remains, fighting, and urinates on himself after a blow from Ceres’s stunfist. At dinner Titus acts eager to kill other students, but Fitchner scolds him. He explains that this test requires strategy in warfare, resourcefulness, and a thirst for domination. Darrow concludes that they will win against the eleven Houses by enslaving them.
22. Darrow studies the standard of House Mars, which they will use to enslave other students. Sevro has killed a wolf and brings it inside for food. Cassius announces that the group should select an interim leader before the Institute awards the coveted Primus position to someone from House Mars. The group argues whether Cassius and Darrow’s fight for the table of food earns them leadership roles. They watch Darrow twirl a knife with his fingers, and Darrow stares Titus down. Antonia challenges Cassius’s desire for a single leader. She recommends the group function without one until someone earns the Primus position. They all hear a horn; their standard and wall map transform to mark the beginning of the war. The group fights amongst itself. Darrow leaves, and Cassius, Roque, and Lea follow him. They all conclude that another House could overtake them as Mars argues over strategy. They do reconnaissance outside. Cassius and Darrow find a bag of supplies. Titus’s faction fails to feed itself, while Darrow and Cassius eat bars from their supply pack. Cassius tells Darrow they must unify House Mars for success in the war. He suggests killing Titus. Roque explains that this war will create castes from the Gold students and teach them how to conquer as their ancestors did. Cassius and Darrow continue strategizing against Titus. Darrow compares the test to the Gold game, capt
23. House Mars has split apart. Titus and Antonia have gathered tribes for themselves. Cassius describes his highRed nanny to Darrow, who is reminded of killing Julian. Darrow and Cassius’s tribe consists mostly of midDrafts and lowDrafts. Darrow is relieved to have matches from the supply pack so he can cook meat for his tribe. He initiates a fight between shy Lea and a girl named Thistle. Roque and Darrow observe Titus’s tribe cutting raw deerling meat for food. Darrow, feigning confidence, leads his tribe’s strategic planning. Sevro is a tribe of one and wears wolfskin on his mysterious travels around the area. Roque encourages Darrow to bring the tribes together after Titus’s tribe injures Lea. Darrow goes to Titus’s camp. Titus and three others threaten him. Darrow lies that he has come to compare maps. Darrow encourages them to join his tribe, and Vixus scoffs, mocking him. Darrow strikes Vixus several times, and Vixus falls. Darrow runs away.
24. Darrow runs, alerting Cassius and his tribe that Titus is after him. Cassandra pursues Darrow. The fastest runner, Quinn, fells Cassandra with a stick. Darrow and his tribe retreat to a fort on House Mars’s land. Rather than attacking Darrow’s tribe, Titus’s tribe makes a concerted attack on House Ceres. They take Ceres’s slaves, capture one of their horses, and burn their crops. Titus takes one Ceres girl by lassoing her around the neck and pulling her out of her castle window. Cassius explains how he knows that Titus did not kill Priam, although Titus implied as much in Chapter 22. Cassius thinks Titus killed his brother Julian. Titus’s slaves are not particular assets to him, and his tribe fails comically when defecating in the wild. Titus cuts off a male slave’s ear after he laughs at the tribe. Titus leads his five slaves before the gate of House Ceres and commands four of them to beat the girl he captured with the lasso. Later, Titus arranges for the beaten girl to be trampled by her own House members. House Ceres responds by withdrawing into their castle.
25. Darrow and the members of his tribe creep to the castle to observe Titus’s tribe. They have little food, and their slaves endure menial labor outdoors. Darrow and Cassius also hear tribe members raping female slaves, which reminds Darrow of similar screams that he once heard in Lykos as a boy. Cassius is outraged, and Darrow acts stoic. Fitchner arrives, shrugging off the plight of the assaulted women and justifying it as natural selection at work. Darrow says he knows how to attack Titus’s tribe. Darrow sends a letter of apology to Antonia. Darrow and Roque go to find Quinn, assigned to fetch Antonia’s response. Unsuccessful, they return to their camp to learn that Titus caught Quinn and cut off her ear. Cassius, who is romantically involved with Quinn, followed to retaliate. He emerges from the camp, bloody and injured from his fight with Titus. Darrow says his plan will stay in place
26. Darrow helps Cassius with his injuries. The two set out on their mission. They stop at a loch to drink and eat. A girl approaches on a mustang; Darrow recognizes her as the one who mocked him while he rode the pony with Matteo. Cassius, wanting her horse, flirts with the girl, nicknamed Mustang. She deduces that they stole Darrow’s slingBlade and that their House has few resources of its own. Darrow asks Mustang’s position in the Draft, since he can’t tell her House from her appearance. Darrow feigns seeing a snake near the horse and exploits Mustang’s distraction. Cassius trips the horse. Darrow nears Mustang’s body, and she whistles a signal. Darrow discovers Mustang comes from House Minerva as several of her allies approach on horseback. Cassius and Darrow flee into the loch, where they tread water. All see smoke rising from Roque’s signal in the distance. Darrow and Cassius pretend that the smoke is coming from their castle, giving away their location to Minerva. Mustang leaves two sentries to watch Cassius and Darrow as they tread water in the freezing lake. Sevro attacks the sentries and greets Cassius and Darrow as they exit the loch. Sevro has decided to help protect Mars’s standard. Sevro suggests stealing Minerva’s standard in case they take siege of Mars’s castle. Darrow and Cassius arrive at Minerva’s castle on horseback and fool the sentry into thinking they are allies. Darrow destroys the command center. A girl finds him and runs away to warn her friends. Darrow captures the Minervans’ cook, June, and he and Cassius take six horses. Sevro, having captured Minerva’s standard, joins them as they exit.
27. Darrow reunites with the members of House Mars and proceeds on his stolen horse, carrying Minerva’s standard. They arrive at Mars’s castle to find it burning, overtaken by House Minerva. Sevro, Antonia, and others from Mars besiege Mustang and her friends as Proctors arrive to watch. Darrow surges forward, and the large Minervan Pax unsaddles him. The fighting continues. Pax picks Darrow up and nearly crushes him, but Darrow knees his crotch and flees. Darrow negotiates with Mustang again. He offers their captured Minervans back in exchange for control of Mars’s castle. Mustang chastises them for allowing the rape of female slaves and their other ruthless tactics. Mustang demands keeping Titus or Mars’s slaves from Ceres. Darrow refuses and explains that everyone in the war game is like a Red until they ascend the ranks. Mustang mentions a brutish player called the Jackal, whose domination surpasses that of Darrow.
28. House Mars eats a feast in their derelict castle with tension in the air. Roque and Darrow discuss how to exact justice upon Titus for his wrongdoing. Roque explains why Cassius should not be involved in the decision. Darrow is pleased that he has gained power over Cassius as Mars’s leader. Darrow talks with Titus, chained in the cellar. Darrow demands to know how many members of House Ceres Titus killed and explains how misguided his violence is. Titus argues that Darrow withholding vital supplies from other House Mars students proves Darrow is just as power-hungry as he is. He says Darrow’s weakness is his emotional bond with other students. Titus speaks about men raping an unnamed woman and that his rape of slaves was vengeance. Titus uses the words “bloodydamn” and “bloodywell” (218), and Darrow realizes that Titus is a Red.
29. Darrow decides that although Titus is his fellow Red, he is too hungry for vengeance to wage a successful rebellion against the Society. Darrow decides to kill Titus. Darrow arranges a public execution in the castle square. He announces, “For crimes of rape, mutilation, and attempted murder of fellow House members, I sentence Titus au Ladros to death” (220). Darrow asks for objections against the charges; Titus objects and challenges him to a duel. Cassius asks to take Darrow’s place, since he believes Titus killed his brother Julian. Darrow allows Cassius to duel Titus. Cassius dispatches Titus with his knife. Roque criticizes Darrow’s choice to let Cassius’s vengeance have the final word against Titus. That night, a sleepless Darrow watches over the castle, and Fitchner appears. He wonders aloud if Titus mightn’t have proven useful later in life. He explains that the Institute teaches students through trial and error rather than rote instruction. Fitchner mentions the Jackal’s violence and remarks on Darrow’s inner sadness. Darrow wonders why Fitchner appears lonely as well. They dispute Fitchner’s status within the Golds. As a reward for stealing Minerva’s standard, Darrow and the rest of Mars will receive fresh supplies. Fitchner says the Jackal is the son of ArchGovernor Nero au Augustus. Darrow claims his new horse, Quietus, the next day.
30. Over the following month, House Mars loses its water supply and must innovate to find new water sources. Darrow learns how to duel with a straight blade and to fight hand-to-hand with Kravat technique. Battles with House Minerva continue, and Antonia considers betraying Darrow. Sevro now leads lowDrafts from Mars called the Howlers. Darrow, Sevro, Cassius, Quinn, and Roque debate over Mars’s next steps. Darrow suggests an alliance that will help them defeat Minerva. Darrow says he and Sevro will go to the Greatwoods. Darrow commands an argumentative Cassius to remain at the castle, and Cassius submits. On their scouting mission, Darrow and Sevro discuss Sevro’s exemplary skills and yet how he has not earned any points for Primus. Darrow has concluded that Sevro killed Priam, while Sevro has realized that Darrow killed Julian. Darrow feels a kinship with Sevro, a low-rank Gold. In a forest of enormous trees, members of House Diana approach Darrow and Sevro. They cover Darrow and Sevro’s eyes and lead them to the House Diana leader Tamara and cruel henchman Tactus. Tamara says, “Let me guess. Reaper. Oh, we’ve heard of you. House Minerva doesn’t like you at all” (236). Darrow asks Tamara for Diana’s help against House Minerva. Tamara agrees after Darrow mentions the bread supply at House Ceres, which he promises to help Diana overtake.
31. Darrow, outfitted for war, rides slowly to Minerva’s castle with the rest of House Mars. They stop at the killing field in front of the gates, where several dead horses lie strewn about. Mustang comes out to greet them; Darrow challenges Pax to a duel. Mustang is unsure that all members of House Mars are accounted for and asks Sevro, covered in wolfskin, to show himself. She orders the grass burned to ensure that no members of Mars hide there. Darrow and Pax brandish their weapons and prepare to duel. Several Proctors float overhead. Darrow fights Pax and delays giving the signal so that he can prove himself worthy of Primus. Darrow pulls Pax’s helmet over his head and delivers heavy blows on Pax’s body. He howls, a signal to Sevro and his Howlers. They emerge from the horse corpses, along with members of House Diana. The Howlers in wolfskin behind Darrow were decoys from Diana. The Howlers and House Diana besiege House Minerva on two sides. Mustang retreats on horseback, pursued by House Mars and Darrow. Darrow and Vixus find her, but Darrow allows her to remain in the woods rather than letting Vixus enslave and abuse her.
32. House Diana remains within House Minerva, betraying their agreement with Darrow. Sevro destroys Diana’s food and water supplies. House Mars encircles the castle and sets fires. The members of House Diana attempt escape, and House Mars enslaves them. Tactus arranged for Tamara’s death by cutting her saddle strap. Darrow, Cassius, and Roque celebrate their victory from inside House Minerva’s castle. Cassius suggests that his father can appoint Darrow and Roque as House Bellona Praetors within the Society’s armed forces. House Pluto sends a messenger named Lilath. She tells Cassius that the Jackal would like Darrow in exchange for fifty ionBlades. She presents him two ionBlades and gives Cassius a pouch. Darrow tells Cassius and Sevro to take out the rest of House Diana and asks Sevro to steal the pouch from Cassius. Darrow, surrounded by intimidated slaves and grateful followers from House Mars, feasts in his castle and anticipates his award as Primus. Roque plans to kiss Lea, and Darrow gives him advice based on his first kiss with Eo. That night, Lea tells Darrow that Roque has been badly injured, and they run into the hills. Darrow realizes he has been tricked and hides. Antonia threatens to kill Lea if Darrow doesn’t reveal himself. Darrow remains hidden, and Antonia slashes Lea’s throat. Darrow tells Cassius what happened. House Mars searches for Roque, who may be dead or alive. Darrow is enraged that the Jackal has conspired against him. Sevro declares he will kill the Jackal and searches for Roque. Darrow retires to bed.
33. In the middle of the night, Cassius rouses Darrow to lead him to Roque. Darrow realizes Cassius has led him out to confront him about Julian’s murder. Cassius explains that although Julian was not especially strong or smart, he was eager to enter the Institute and honor the Bellona family. Because of the ArchGovernor and the Bellona families’ rivalry, however, the Institute ensured that Julian would die by Darrow’s hand. Cassius realized the truth after Sevro stole the pouch Lilath gave him. The pouch contained, as Cassius says, “A holo that shows you killing Julian, brother” (260). Darrow says the Jackal arranged this and reminds Cassius that he is the ArchGovernor’s son. Cassius demands that they duel to the death with ionSwords. Cassius stabs through Darrow’s abdomen, and Darrow falls down. Cassius leaves him to die in the cold.
PART FOUR
34. Darrow suffers agony from his wound and imagines Eo tending to him as he drifts in and out of consciousness. He wakes up in a cave to find that Mustang has rescued him. She sings the song Eo sang before her death. Mustang tells Darrow that over the past month, Cassius has become Mars’s Primus, and Mars and Jupiter fight in the North. Darrow and Mustang discuss their divergent leadership traits. As the pair kills a wolf, Darrow suggests they fight like wolves. Later, Mustang uses Darrow’s hand to show him the value of autonomy in assembling social structures. Darrow realizes, “Mustang’s strategy is Eo’s dream” (271). Mustang becomes sick. Darrow returns to the cave one day to find two “Oathbreakers, the Shamed who have broken their vows after being enslaved” (272) stealing food inside his and Mustang’s cave. Darrow throws them out. Later, Darrow plans to kill them, but Mustang stops him. They move campsites. Mustang continues Fitchner has followed him. Fitchner’s pulseShield repels Darrow’s shot. Fitchner says the Proctors gave the Jackal the holo footage of Darrow killing Julian. Fitchner, who has placed a jamField around them to ensure privacy, explains that the ArchGovernor has cheated to ensure the Jackal’s victory. The Proctors watch the game through the House members’ rings. Fitchner says Darrow should avoid the Jackal to preserve his life. Darrow plans to thwart Jupiter and Apollo so their Proctors will not obstruct him any longer. Fitchner warns against this. He gives Darrow medicine for Mustang. Darrow intends to attack Apollo first. Fitchner gives Darrow back his Pegasus necklace with the haemanthus petal inside.
35. Darrow plans to gain followers and sets out with a healing Mustang. They beset three Oathbreakers. The leader, Milia, argues for her family’s superiority. Mustang takes the slave mark of House Mars from Milia’s forehead. Darrow collects ten Oathbreakers for his new army, promising that none of them will be slaves. Their army watches Houses battle, including Cassius in his trademark dignified style. Darrow criticizes their tactics and says his army must fight with “Speed and extreme prejudice” (286). After camping out in the snow covered in wolfskin, Darrow’s army runs toward a band of House Mars students and slaves. They defeat the House Mars members and free twelve slaves, now added to the army. Pax, newly freed, embraces Darrow. In the night, Darrow sneaks over the wall to House Mars. A slave encounters him, and he convinces her that as a Mars student, he is not an intruder. As a sign of dominance, Darrow carves the image of his Reaper’s scythe on doors and tables. His army burns brush arranged like the scythe.
36. Darrow plans to capture House Ceres’s castle, studies the allegiances of his new army, and trains them for battle. Darrow’s army of twenty-four sleeps in the snow and wakes, readying for their plan. The army carries a giant tree trunk toward the wall of Ceres’s castle. They prop the trunk against the wall, and Mustang, Darrow, and Milia scale it. The warriors fight guards, armed with bows and arrows, while Darrow’s army brandishes swords. Darrow opens the gates, and the massive Pax storms inside. Darrow’s army conquers Ceres in minutes. Tactus braids a Ceres boy’s hair, and at Darrow’s scold, Tactus threatens him and cites his powerful family, the Valiis. Darrow congratulates each member of his new army and frees all slaves. Mustang enslaves Ceres students, and Darrow promises them freedom if they assist his next campaign. That night, Mustang wakes up Darrow to tell him Tactus attempted to rape a Ceres slave. Darrow and Mustang discuss Tactus’s punishment. Darrow wants to maintain his power and exact justice, while Mustang wonders which decision will alienate the fewest people. Mustang tells Darrow a parable to explain that he needs his army on his side. Darrow talks with Nyla, the girl Tactus assaulted. Nyla says she does not want Tactus punished, since nothing will compensate for what he did. Darrow brings out his army and faces Tactus. Tactus argues for his inherited power over others, while Darrow argues for his own power. Darrow sentences Tactus to twenty lashes and administers them himself. Darrow hands Tactus the whip and announces that one group member’s sin is shared by all, including Darrow. He challenges Tactus to whip him. Tactus whips him five times, then Pax takes over. The army is astounded. Darrow tells them he will receive lashes anytime a rape occurs within his ranks. Tactus, newly afraid, receives a hearty embrace from Darrow.
37. Mustang cleans the wounds on Darrow’s back and teases him about his martyrdom. Darrow organizes his army, now fifty-six strong, into six parts. They scout throughout the land in search of House Apollo. The Primas of Apollo, Novas, approaches Darrow and his army. All of them pretend to be weaker and less prepared for battle than they are. Novas warns Darrow of the treacherous conditions and enemies in the South. Darrow pretends fear of the Reaper, whom Novas believes is dead. Novas belittles Darrow for his apparent lack of preparedness. That evening, Apollo’s cavalry attempts to raid Darrow’s camp, but Pax and his friends have chipped away at the frozen ice on the river to compromise Apollo. As Darrow’s company continues, Mustang asks why they no longer sleep side by side. “‘You distract me,’ I say” (310). Tactus taunts Darrow for his crush. Tactus, now loyal, asks Darrow where they are going. Darrow answers that they will conquer Apollo, and Tactus guesses that Darrow withholds information, since the Proctors have been following them. Darrow’s army defeats several bands of enemies and sends them away. Darrow and Mustang listen to Pax discuss his past as a covert Obsidian. The army learns that Proctors have cut their horses’ ropes, broken their pots, and placed weevils in their bread to disadvantage them. Mustang asks Darrow to tell him what happened between him and Cassius. He tells her, and she realizes the plot to prop up the Jackal. In the middle of the night, Darrow hears Mustang call him in the woods. He runs to a tree and climbs it, realizing someone has entrapped him. Proctor Apollo reveals himself and pushes Darrow from the tree.
38. Apollo has sent a giant bear after Darrow, who unwittingly leads it into a trap. Darrow falls into a trap himself. Sevro rescues Darrow, and the two return to Darrow’s camp. Tactus and Mustang greet Sevro, now a legendary one-eyed warrior and Darrow’s trusted friend. Sevro tells the troops about his face-off with the Jackal. Darrow asks everyone to remove their rings before he shares what happened with Apollo’s Proctor. Darrow’s army bring chaos to Apollo’s ranks by ruining supplies, capturing slaves, and spreading rumors. Darrow fears another attempted murder by Apollo. Sevro shares more about the Jackal. He trapped himself and his other House members in caves, and they ate their own. House Apollo’s Proctor arrives around their fire. Apollo claims the students’ prospects after the game will suffer if they continue following Darrow, who is exploiting their loyalty for his own gain. Darrow’s friends challenge him and refuse to obey. Darrow reveals that he knows Apollo is cheating and that Drafters will be furious if their students die in a rigged game. Apollo threatens them. Darrow reveals that he has distracted Apollo on purpose and sent Sevro to the castle ahead of them. Apollo’s jamField vanishes, revealing distracted Proctors and the howls of Sevro’s squad in the distance. Darrow and Pax run through Apollo’s gates and defeat Novas’s bodyguards until only Novas is left. Darrow breaks Novas’s leg with his slingBlade. Mustang captures the lone runaway member of House Apollo, conquering the castle. Darrow, watching Proctors bicker above him, mocks Apollo and warns Jupiter’s Proctor he will defeat that House next. Darrow’s army yells his nickname, Reaper, at the Proctors.
39. Darrow considers his army’s fierce loyalty toward him. Fitchner arrives to tell Darrow that the Apollo Proctor has not left Olympus despite his House’s defeat. Fitchner objects to Mustang’s presence in their confidential meeting, but Darrow insists she remain. Mustang leaves. Fitchner returns to Darrow the knifeRing Dancer gave him. Darrow insists that he fight the Proctors and the cheating ArchGovernor, despite their threats on his life. Darrow discovers that Fitchner is Sevro’s father. Fitchner is worried for Sevro’s life as well as Darrow’s. Fitchner warns Darrow that Mustang has entrapped him. After Darrow shakes Fitchner’s hand, he knocks Fitchner out.
40. Darrow wonders aloud if Mustang will go behind his back; she convinces him of her loyalty. Darrow orders that the army set out to take House Jupiter’s castle and build a larger battalion. The army hurries through hard snows, and spring suddenly arrives as they gather supplies from fallen castles. Darrow’s army surrounds Jupiter’s castle, and they surrender. Their leader is a thin, timid boy named Lucian. That night they feast and enjoy their victory. Darrow announces that they will all become drunk. His army knows they only have Bacchus’s grape juice, not wine, and that he has a plan. Darrow sends Pax and his troop outside. Darrow acts friendly with Lucian in the warroom. Mustang enters and acts befuddled; Darrow tells her to join Pax outside. He lets Lucian discuss his past freely. Lucian asks Darrow to talk about himself, and Darrow asks Lucian to stick his hand out and fetch him a bag. Darrow overturns the bag, and rings from all Houses but Pluto spill out.
41. Darrow stabs his dagger through Lucian’s hand and into the table beneath it. Darrow says, “Jackal, I am Reaper” (345). He explains how he knew Lucian was the Jackal. Darrow’s army, finished playing drunk, stands behind him. Pax, Mustang, and their ranks are finding the Jackal’s hidden army. The Jackal reminds Darrow of his father’s ability to kill or promote Darrow after the game. Darrow knows a position with the ArchGovernor would improve his later rebellion, but he doesn’t want to let the Augustus family win. Pax enters and announces that they have beaten the Jackal’s army. Pax taunts the Jackal, who threatens him. Darrow promises the Jackal freedom if he cuts off the hand stuck to the table. The Jackal cuts his hand off. A Proctor delivers a sonic detonator to help the Jackal, who stabs Pax. The detonator goes off and sends Darrow and the Howlers flying. The Jackal comes for Darrow, but Pax lies on top of him and dies as the Jackal stabs him. The Howlers and Darrow set off to find the Jackal. Sevro tracks him into the mountains. Apollo’s Proctor arrives and takes out the Howlers. Darrow attacks Apollo, but his shields resist Darrow. They fight and rise into the air as Apollo’s gravBoots activate. Apollo says he has taken Mustang hostage and will hurt her if Darrow conquers the Jackal. Darrow yells, “I’m going to rip out your bloodydamn heart!” (353), and Apollo beats him and lets him go. Darrow activates the gravBoots he took from Fitchner and stabs Apollo through the eye socket with his knifeRing. Apollo falls to the ground, dead. Darrow tells the Howlers they will conquer Olympus.
42. Darrow takes Apollo’s weapons. He and Sevro wear gravBoots and lift all the Howlers as they fly to Olympus. Darrow encounters Venus lounging in her quarters, and they tie her up. They take Juno and Vulcan as well and descend through the levels of the Proctors’ headquarters. Darrow faces off with Mercury’s Proctor, a skilled fighter, and defeats him. The Proctors of Jupiter and Minerva attack Darrow’s troops, who retreat. Jupiter injures Darrow with a razor, the only weapon that can penetrate a pulseShield, and Darrow attacks him ferociously. They fall down a flight of stairs and through a window. Jupiter approaches Darrow in the snow and tells him he will die by the ArchGovernor’s wrath. Darrow says he will win and edit the holo footage, both to impress the Drafters and expose Augustus’s cheating and bribery. Darrow gives the signal to Sevro, who is hiding in a ghostCloak. Sevro attacks Jupiter and leaves him severely injured. Milia tells Darrow they discovered Olympus’s armory and Mustang’s location.
43. Darrow enters Mustang’s quarters and tells the servants inside to leave. He finds her sleeping in a corner of the room. He tells her what the army has accomplished and kisses her. He longs to take her to the nearby bed but decides against it. He sends her to steal the Jackal’s standard. He tells Sevro to edit the footage the Drafters will see. Darrow brings Fitchner to Olympus, and he is relieved at Sevro’s safety and Darrow’s victory. Fitchner offers information in exchange for Darrow to explain his extreme competitiveness in the game. Darrow lies that his family wanted him to exceed their low status. Fitchner says that Darrow must face Cassius, as well as the fallout from the death of Apollo and the exposure of Augustus’s trickery. Fitchner reveals that the Jackal and Mustang are twins. Darrow marshals his army to prepare for a battle against the Jackal and Mustang. He and the Howlers travel to House Mars in gravBoots. Darrow finds Antonia, Vixus, and Cassandra hung from crosses. He and the Howlers overtake those present at the castle. Darrow greets a spindly Roque. Pollux greets Darrow and tells him not to kill Cassius. Darrow apologizes for Julian’s death upon seeing Cassius in the warroom. Cassius admits defeat and declares that they are enemies, bound to kill each other if their paths ever cross again. Darrow takes the Primus badge and Mars flag and sees his Reaper sign on every castle on the map.
44. Darrow’s army of 300, newly outfitted with weapons from the armory, prepares to encounter the Jackal and his sister Mustang in battle. Mustang and her troops arrive, and she gives Darrow the Jackal, tied up and naked before him. “I have won” (375), Darrow declares. Ships arrive at Olympus as Darrow awaits with his army and the Proctors, all bound except Fitchner. Sevro tells him that in the footage he edited, he could cut out Darrow’s utterance of bloodydamn just before he killed Apollo’s Proctor. The Institute’s Director, Clintus, compliments Darrow’s win and tells him many prestigious apprenticeship offers await. Darrow participates in a ceremony and learns of a grand party to come in Agea. ArchGovernor Nero au Augustus speaks with Darrow about the Jackal’s loss, and Darrow promises discretion. Augustus plans to buy Darrow’s silence with leadership opportunities and elite privileges within his house. The ArchGovernor and Darrow dispute how long his lieutenants’ loyalty will last now that the game is finished. Darrow misses his family and considers his decision, anticipating murdering Augustus one day. He decides to accept the ArchGovernor’s offer and swears an oath to him in front of all present: “I will forsake my father. I will abandon my name. I will be your sword. Nero au Augustus, I will make my purpose your glory” (382). Augustus speaks a commission over Darrow.