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Due to the prevalence of Late Arrival Spoilers and First Episode Twists in both the Red Rising and Iron Gold series, spoilers from Red Rising, Golden Son, and Morning Star may be unmarked. Read at your own risk.
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House Augustus
The ruling family of Mars, various Golds of House Augustus play a prominent role in several novels and comics.
The Augustus Family
Nero au Augustus
ArchGovernor of Mars, father of The Jackal and Mustang.
- Above Good and Evil: He believes that his grand vision for humanity gives him the right to treat people any way he damned well pleases, up to and including torture and murder.
- Abusive Parents:
- Left the Jackal in the wilderness to die as an infant for three days just because he already had one son. The Jackal is not light on stating how awful he has no love whatsoever for Nero.
- In Golden Son, Darrow describes his love for his childrean as conditional dependent on their ability to prove their worth. Case in point, he calls his daughter a whore for her failed attempt at a Honey Trap and then smiles in approval when she manipulates everyone into supporting Darrow's plans for the war with House Bellona minutes later.
- Best Served Cold: Before he became the ArchGovernor, he spent twenty years biding his time before taking his revenge on the Bellona family for murdering his when he was seven years old.
- Boom, Headshot!: killed with a gunshot to the head in the final chapter of Golden Son.
- Character Death: The Jackal ends his life in Golden Son as part of his greatest scheme.
- Greater-Scope Villain: For the first novel, his only direct involvement in the plot is ordering Eo's execution and rigging the Institute for the Jackal to win.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Gets backstabbed by Pliny and The Jackal. Plus he adopts Darrow as his heir.
- I Have No Son!: His last words before The Jackal kills him.
- Last-Name Basis: Everyone except the Sovereign refers to him either by his title or by his last name.
- Nepotism: Rigs the Institute so that his son will win.
- Til Murder Do Us Part: Golden Son reveals that he married Iona au Bellona and then immediately killed her as part of his revenge against Houses Bellona and Cylas for killing his family when he was a child.
- Younger Than They Look: Based on the timeline of the novels, he's 86 years old at the beginning of Red Rising. If the illustrations in Sons of Ares Volume 3 (which take place 11 years earlier) are anything to go by, he looks much younger than his actual age.
Claudius au Augustus
Nero's oldest son and older brother to The Jackal and Mustang. He was killed before the start of the series by Karnus au Bellona.
- Cain and Abel: Although he was killed in a duel with Karnus au Bellona, It is revealed in Golden Son that Adrius was the one that set it all up.Adrius:"I paid Karnus au Bellona seven million credits and six Pinks to sully Claudius's girl. I knew Claudius's honor would lead him into the ring."
- Parental Favoritism: Was Nero's favorite child before his death.
- Posthumous Character: He's been dead since the series began.
Virginia au Augustus
See the Darrow's Family page.
Adrius au Augustus/The Jackal
Son of Nero au Augustus. At the Institute, he becomes Primus of House Pluto.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Mustang cries for him as she helps hang him, pulling his feet down and finishing him off to remind him that she loved him as he died.
- At Least I Admit It: Jackal is unlike other Golds in that he has no pretenses whatsoever that what he does is awful; while they're disgusted by him, he happily admits to his every brutal crime and makes it very clear that he's just fine with being seen as evil for what he does. He doesn't quite make it to Card-Carrying Villain territory, however, as he's still in denial about the idea that he's well and truly evil.
- Bait the Dog: A complicated and ambiguous variation. Virginia talks about how Adrius would make her puzzles and mazes to solve when she was a child, and would always praise her cleverness once she solved them. Then, she discovered he was actually using them to test his edge against her, and would self-harm every time she succeeded. While she tried to deceive him to keep him from hurting himself, he always forced her to finish the mazes, albeit still praising her. Finally, he created one that she couldn't finish, and he was satisfied with himself. What initially seems to be a sweet bonding activity representative of how he Used to Be a Sweet Kid turns out to implicitly be another attempt to prove his superiority to his sister.
- Cain and Abel: The Cain to his sister's Abel. Also the Cain to his older brother, Claudius, in a way. As it is eventually revealed that his death at Karnus au Bellona's hand in a duel was all because of Adrius's scheme.
- The Chessmaster: Adrius is a capable manipulator who runs scheme upon scheme upon scheme, plot upon plot, and has been ever since he was a child. He plans every move in advance, pulls off elaborate plans with his media empire, and is a brilliant tactician who can successfully deceive and ally with even people who despise him.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The Jackal does not care for allegiances or for loyalty. He does whatever conveniences himself and his spiteful whims, meaning he will betray and murder as he pleases.
- Diabolical Mastermind: Technically he never operates in the series without some kind of superior. However, from the second book on, he displays a talent for media control and spy networks beyond any of his masters.Culminates with him holding the moon hostage with stolen nukes to become the new Sovereign.
- The Dreaded: Most of the Institute is terrified of him. For very good reason, as The Jackal is one of the most treacherous and ruthless Golds out there, accompanied by brutal intelligence and effectiveness.
- Enfant Terrible: Boasts that he arranged a murder when he was ten years old.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Adrius loved his mother, and his anger at her is solely because she died and he feels she left him by doing so.
- Even Evil Can Be Loved: Virginia never stops loving her twin brother, no matter how cruel he is. In the end, she finishes him off when he's hanged to remind him that someone did love him.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
- A dubious variation. It's left ambiguous exactly how much Adrius still cares about his sister Virginia, but at least in his childhood he definitely cared for her, and she for him in turn.
- Played straight with his mother. He genuinely loved her despite his claims otherwise, and the closest he expresses to hatred is rage that she left him by dying.
- Evil Genius: Even those who hate Adrius are forced to acknowledge that he is extremely intelligent and powerful, and not someone you would want to mess with if you don't want to see everyone you love die a horrible death.
- Face Death with Dignity: When the Jackal is ultimately hanged, he faces it with a calm disposition in sharp contrast to the Villainous Breakdown he pulls earlier.
- Faux Affably Evil: The Jackal is seemingly polite, but nobody buys it. His false kindness is extremely shallow, but definitely an omnipresent trait.
- Freudian Excuse: The Jackal is The Unfavorite of the family, being mistreated by his father through his entire life, considered to be a failure compared to his siblings, having to resort to cannibalism to survive, and it's generally easy to see exactly why he became a sociopath.
- Hero Killer: Kills Pax in Red Rising, and Uncle Narol in Morning Star.
- Hijacked by Ganon: Pretty much his routine. After unifying every House in Red Rising, Darrow has to face him. In Golden Son, he betrays Darrow and becomes his nemesis. Finally, in Morning Star, he declares that he will become the new Sovereign.
- I'm a Humanitarian: How he earned his nickname. After his entire house at the Insitute was trapped in underground caves, he and his allies resorted to cannibalism until they could escape.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: While Adrius turned into a complete sociopath over time, there are hints throughout the books that what he really wants, or at least wanted initially, is love and approval, due to his "Well Done, Son" Guy tendencies and the feelings he expresses toward his late mother.
- Kick the Dog: Adrius is typically the epitome of Pragmatic Villainy, but he has his moments of insane cruelty.
- Adrius damaged Quinn's brain and murdered her, and even pondered doing it and sending her back with brain damage to see if her friends would still care for her in that state.
- Adrius has Darrow and Victra horribly tortured for no reason beyond simply wanting to.
- Adrius sends Darrow footage of him shooting Uncle Narol dead, even admitting he just wants to make Darrow watch as he kills him.
- Life-or-Limb Decision: He sawed his arm off to escape from Darrow. With a dry remark and nonchalance, no less.
- Manipulative Bastard: Smoothly manipulates everyone around him without anyone realizing that he's doing so. Even those that recognize how cruel and slimy he is generally find him useful enough that they let him stay on.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: His nickname of "The Jackal" is the only thing known about him for most of the first book, and it's a hideously deserved nickname.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: His cannibalism was a case of Pragmatic Villainy, but no one ever forgets it.
- Pragmatic Villainy: The thing that makes Adrius so dangerous is that, while he's spiteful, cruel beyond belief, and generally just awful, he's genuinely smart and pragmagtic. While you'd never find him having genuine standards, he will do whatever he feels is necessary to get what he wants, including doing something good if it conveniences him. He's far from Stupid Evil, and everything he does he does for a purpose.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Essentially the rule of the Golds, and Adrius embodies it. He's a tactical and social genius, an effective enough fighter to kill Pax, and he absolutely knows it. He's unafraid to flaunt his brilliance.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: House Augustus has connections, and he uses them. Even without those connections, he's setting up his own media and espionage empire to bail him out of any situation.
- Self-Made Orphan: Kills his father while monologuing about his hatred and the way his life has gone up until this point.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: With Virginia. Darrow loves Virginia and hates Adrius with passion.
- The Sociopath: While far from the only one among the Golds, he's the greatest example. A high-functioning sociopath, Adrius doesn't care for anyone but himself, will stoop to any low whatsoever if it means he will achieve his desired result, and is extremely prone to cruelty and violence, while at the same time being calculating and cold. Any semblance of humanity from Adrius is a facade thanks to a long life of abusive Gold upbringing.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In the first two books, Adrius seems Faux Affably Evil and has a certain level of respect for Darrow and his sister. Morning Star, however, shows him at his worst, depicting him as cruel and erratic, with him engaging in Nero's practices, from slut-shaming his sister to taunting Darrow about his loved ones that Adrius murdered in cold blood. It's clear that finally getting what he wants has allowed him to unleash himself.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Virginia can recall a time when Adrius genuinely cared for her and wasn't so bad.
- The Unfavorite: The fact that his father left him in the wilderness to die as a baby should be a big clue.
- Villainous Breakdown: In Morning Star, Adrius freaks out upon his defeat, screaming and shouting after finally having been outwitted and generally childishly yelling, before pulling out his last-ditch maneuver and nuking millions. He does recover, however.
- Villainous Valor: When confronted with a Life-or-Limb Decision, The Jackal saws off his own hand without hesitation, proving that his evil is matched in his bravery.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: With his father, the ArchGovernor of Mars. Ultimately subverted; by the end of Golden Son, he doesn't want his father's approval. He wants to kill him, and he does.
The Abomination (SPOILER CHARACTER)
A clone of Adrius created after his death in Morning Star as part of a pre-planned contingency he gave to his trusted lieutenant Lilath. After Lilath successfully ousts Mustang from power and places her puppet Caraval in command of the interim government of Luna, the clone arrives on Luna as Emperor and reveals himself to Virginia.
- Cloning Gambit: How he came to exist in the first place.
- The Man Behind the Man: The Syndicate Queen is his lieutenant, Lilath.
- Walking Spoiler: His existence spoils the identity of the Syndicate Queen in Iron Gold and one cannot discuss his role in the story without revealing what happens to Mustang and the Republic, let alone the fate of The Jackal in the original trilogy.
The Augustus Household
Pliny au Velocitor
Nero's chief politico and advisor. He's constantly seeking to undermine the standing of Darrow, Mustang, and the Jackal in his superior's eyes in order to increase his own power.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: His only loyalty is to himself.
- Dirty Coward: When Darrow confronts him after he betrays them all he's reduced to a shrieking mess, ordering his men to kill Darrow before groveling at his feet once it's clear they won't.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Darrow's narration in Golden Son identifies him as one of the unnamed Golds who attended Eo's execution in the first book.
- Eye Scream: After Pliny tries to get Mustang to marry him during his coup she responds by tearing one of his eyes out.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Darrow's narration of his cameo in Red Rising mentions him wearing makeup.
- Smug Snake: Thinks of himself as the Chessmaster, only for Darrow and Mustang to swiftly strip away his power and outmaneuver him repeatedly, resulting in his own allies turning on him in favor of Darrow.
- The Starscream: Betrays the ArchGovernor to the Sovereign for his own personal gain.
Leto
A young lancer for House Augustus who Nero officially adopted as his heir at Pliny's suggestion.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Darrow's narration in Golden Son reveals that he was one of the unnamed Golds who attended Eo's execution alongside Augustus and Pliny.
- Replacement Goldfish: Invoked. Pliny specifically hired him because of his similarities to Claudius.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Killed by the Jackal in the midst of the fight with Bellona on Luna a few chapters after being introduced.
- Uniqueness Value: Wields a rainbow colored sword.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Killed within ten chapters of being introduced.
