#romulus au Raa

[dangerandbeauty]

This parallel 🤌🏻

“I am Sera au Raa,” she says proudly. “Were you really a red? I heard my father speaking,” she explains.

“I still am a red,” I say. “It’s not something I stopped being.”

“Oh. You don’t look like one.”

She must not watch holos if she doesn’t know who I am. “Maybe it’s not about what I look like,” I suggest. “Maybe it’s about what I do.”

Minutes later…

“You whelp. I pity a world where you decide if a man like Lorn au Arcos lives or dies. Did your parents never teach you?”…”What is pride without honor? What is honor without truth? Honor is not what you say. It is not what you read.” Romulus thumps his chest. “Honor is what you do.”

[thegorydamnreaper]

Romulus au Raa

I actually drew about a year ago, crazy to see how much I’ve improved since then (compared to the Dido piece I posted yesterday). Apparently it’s House Raa week here - Pulvis et umbra sumis.

[circeauandromedus]

An updated moodboard for my Red Rising OC, Circe au Andromedus.

[happilymad]

I just really love this line

[sarcasmiclife]

This is by far the best humourous scene in all four books that does not have Sevro in it

[dm-stands-for]

"I am a son of Io. A child of the Dust. I am a dragon of Raa. An Iron Gold. Akari, bear witness!" - Romulus au Raa

(Iron Gold pg 582-583)

More like "I should have shut up, STOPPED TALKING, AND TOOK ANOTHER

10.

FUCKING.

STEPS.

He was FUCKING ROBBED.

[killsworthss]

‘’I will love you until the sun dies. And when it does,

I will love you in the darkness’’

-Romulus au Raa, Red Rising

[miroana]

My Lightbringer predictions

SPOILER WARNING — many, many spoilers for Dark Age and the rest of the series too, of course. Read forward at your own discretion.

@pierce-brown feel free to let me know if I’m right.

Kalindora (the Love Knight) was poisoned by Atalantia

- I’m completely certain of this. When has Darrow EVER used poison on his blade? To put it simply, he doesn’t need it. Atalantia, on the other hand, wears an actual venomous snake around her neck at all times (and I do mean all). Plus, Darrow’s slingBlade was shattered during Lysander’s little jousting session immediately after Kalindora was allegedly mortally wounded. I don’t see Lysander slowly dying in agony from poisoned metal shards embedded in his arm.

- Atalantia has a lot to gain from Kalindora’s death — namely, Lysander au Lune’s name and allegiance, his renewed vigor for war, and the (frankly, disturbing) relationship she establishes with him. Plus, Kalindora was a competitor in terms of political sway in the society reminant.

Volga narration

- Her journey with the Ascomanni needs to be told by someone. Who better than by her?

- Also, following the… umm… “worthy” scene, we’re short a narrator. Eph watching his own heart be eaten was really dark, Pierce. It only makes sense for Volga to pick up his legacy.

Diomedes au Raa plays a significant role

- Diomedes represents Iron Golds of the Rim and is currently with the Society reminant, but we know he healed and freed Cassius (who appears to be working with the Republic). He walks a stiletto line between allegiances, and after the deaths of Romulus and Seraphina, he’s basically the heir to the Rim.

- He has a very strong brand of honor that fits well with the honor shown by Cassius. Diomedes saved Cassius before and led him back to the Republic, and I doubt their relationship has concluded with that.

- Diomedes is also very aware of how traitorous, and, well, messed up, the Core Golds of the Society are, and we already know that he’s hesitant to ally with them.

The Blues will rally around Darrow

- It was mentioned in Golden Son that there are blue training academies on Phobos, which is a moon of Mars. Darrow needs a fleet, desperately, and we all know he’s a master at shifting the paradigm. Also, the Republic still has Colloway, a hero to the blues, and the ace pilot has not yet performed his pièce de résistance.

- I very much doubt Colloway will survive the next book, unfortunately. I hope I’m wrong.

Pax vs Adrius 2.0

- Forshadowed by the Abomination hoping to have a “passage” by killing Pax. I feel confident, however, that Pax will own Adrius, although not kill him. I mean, half of the kid’s DNA is Reaper’s and half is Mustang’s. Come on now.

- Bonus points if Pax kills Lilath too. please

Lykos is destroyed

- By this point, everyone and their mother knows about Darrow’s big, wonderful, bleeding heart, and Society Golds are great at cutting straight for vital organs. Especially if Mars is the final planet protected by the Republic — I just can’t see Lykos township surviving Lightbringer if multiple armies siege the planet.

Lyria infiltrates the Jackal’s dominions on Luna or Tokyo

- As the new Figment, her abilities and their source are incredibly unclear. I think she would do well in a mission like this, and along the way, maybe she can somehow free Sevro and we can find out what exactly the Parasite is. Hopefully, Victra is part of this too.

Quicksilver’s allegiances have changed

- I don’t trust this man one bit. Why was he so comfortable when Virginia blew off the Silver voting bloc just before the Day of Red Doves? Where did the Rim get those new ships that travel so much faster than those of the Core? Honestly, the trillionaire may be funding the Society too. War profiteering is the name of the game for Quicksilver, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his original backing of the Sons of Ares and the Rising was more of a successful investment than a moral cause.

Virginia and Lysander speak

- Somehow, somewhere.

- Lysander most definitely blames Virginia for the deaths of his grandmother, Octavia, as well as Aja, and this must be addressed. Lysander once trusted her, when he was a child, and understands just how brilliant she is, so hearing her perspective could change everything for him.

- I think Virginia’s influence, combined with the revelation about Kalindora’s death at the hands of Atalantia, will be a step in turning Lysander to the side of the Rising. Lysander is incredibly intelligent and empathetic, so I don’t think he is entirely lost yet, despite his horrifying plunge into space racism and rather unfortunate spearing of Darrow. It will be a slow and perilous change, spread over the next two books, but I believe the last Lune will figure out where the light is eventually.

I look forward to finding out what I got right when Lightbringer drops this July!

Hic sunt leones.

[violethowler]

Hi, I read your IG timeline and I must say your work is fantastic! You were very thorough, your timeline is amazing!

The only thing that left me a bit shocked is November 1. All of Lysander’s chapters unfold in one evening?? I thought at least a day passed between Romolus’ arrest and the dinner, and another between the dinner with Dido and the Duel. I might I have read it wrong, but didn’t Dido mention sometime before the dinner that many lords were still to arrive to Sungrave for the trial?

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed my timeline! I'm really proud of all the work i've put into it, especially since I've spent the last few days updating each one to get all my notes as organized as possible before LB comes out.

As for Lysander's chapters, he indicates in chapter 32 that Dido took them straight to Sungrave after Romulus' arrest, and that they were given food on the flight. Then upon arrival they're given access to the baths to get cleaned up, and the opening of the next chapter has Lysander say that he's deposited in his room to change for the dinner. So that tells me that Romulus' arrest most likely took place in the morning, and the meal Lysander was given on the flight to Sungrave was lunch.

The only indication I can find of how much time passed between dinner and the duel are Lysander mentioning in chapter 40 that Cassius has shaved his beard by the time the duel begins, while the wounds from the gruesli that ate his flash mask are still fresh. And when Dido sends Seraphina into the ring, Lysander mentions that "I saw Dido notice the glances shared between us at dinner." If the duel were the morning after the dinner, I think that Lysander would've said "at dinner last night" or "last night" instead. Plus, given the intensity of their desire for his death, I think the Raa would've wanted to delay Cassius' duel as little as possible. So I feel like an hour or hour and a half is probably a reasonable enough time for Cassius get cleaned up while the Bleeding Place was prepared.

And then in chapter 55, Gaia au Raa tells Lysander "your friend died today," putting all of his post-duel, pre-trial chapters on the same day as the duel.

[queen0funova]

I made a new lock screen for my phone!

[Image ID] A picture of a sunset over the ocean. There are clouds at the top stained crimson, a sky that fades from light blue to orange to red, and the sun sets in the horizon. The sun reflects off of water which appears black near the middle, but fades through various shades of red towards the bottom of the image. There is pink text in the middle that says "I will love you until the sun dies" and it has a white outline. [End ID]

[hyena-frog]

Currently working on a post that got a little unwieldy. I’ll clean it up tomorrow. In the meantime, have some Iron Gold quotes I cut out of the post because they were beside the point but I think they’re interesting when you put them together:

Dancer: "So many have trusted you. For so many years. But you're in love with your own myth. You think that the Reaper knows better than the People." (93)

Seraphina quoting Romulus: "A man who believes his own myth is like a drunk thinking he can dance barefoot on a razor's edge." (316)

Sevro: "Well, slag me sideways. You really are drunk on your own myth, aren't you? I didn't buy it when Clown said it. But you believe them all. You think you're a god. You can't die." (491)

Darrow: "People think that I believe my own myth, that I'm a singular whirlwind of nature. I know I am not. I was the concentrated force of the people around me, balanced, hardened, inspired by Ragnar, Fitchner, Lorn, Eo. Sevro." (596 literally the last page)

Anyway. 💅☕

[darrowsrising]

Your view of Virginia's love for Darrow? And Darrow for Virginia? “I will love you until the sun dies. And when it does, I will love you in the dark.” -- Romulus Au Raa, this shit cuts deep!

Yeah, Romulus was a very...loquacious man. But his romance with Dido was basically the reverse of Romeo and Juliet - instead of dying, they rejected the people that were against them and their stupid city too. That doesn't make it a...good relationship, though. Their love wasn't necessarily good for one another or for their children. There are a lot of hurt feelings, because of the decisions the other made and it reflected a lot in Iron Gold. Dido resents the fact that she is regarded as a little bit more than a gahja, while Romulus' duty made him more remote and quite unfair at times. From there it escaladated - each of them regards the Rim's interests as above personal gain...but not quite. Their different visions benefits them in a way. Dido wants war even if that means Romulus has to fall from grace and Romulus wants to remain Sovereign and keep the Docks of Ganymede a secret, even if that means playing dirty.

I think they realized that it has gone too far when Romulus washed away his dishonor with his death. Dido never meant for him to die, she never wanted to be a widow. I bet she regrets that, but not the coup.

Things aren't as dramatic for Darrow and Virginia - Darrow doesn't want war for the sake of war and Virginia isn't distancing herself from her family. They don't benefit from their decisions much, they are more self-sacrificing and they look out for each other, even when upset at each other. They do try to understand the other, even though there seems to be a canyon between them.

Darrow and Virginia's love for each other is the mature and long-lasting sort. It is not selfish and burning like a young love is - like his and Eo's was. They have problems, they do not communicate enough and they do not see eye to eye sometimes, but they never scream, they never curse each other, they never hurt each other with words. They understand each other, even though they have different opinions. They do not play the blame game and they do not try to manipulate each other.

Their love for each other is not in how many times they are between the sheets on page, you can feel their love even when they are literally worlds apart and haven't kissed for quite a lot of chapters. Their love is intense and deep and they need to compertamentalize and focus on whatever is at hand, because if they slip and think of each other, it hurts, because they are apart and lonely and they miss each other.

They cannot be selfish, and they are not selfish with each other, they understand that they cannot forsake their responsabilities or their principles. But, at the same time, they suffer, because they wish to protect each other and when they can't, it breaks something in them.

At the core of it all, they never, ever want to hurt the other. They try to protect each other.

They are smitten with each other even after so long. They tease and play and wish to grow old together. They wish to live for each other. They also stimulate each other mentally and have common interests. They know each other's habits, they have adopted some from each other too. They know each other well, yet it's never boring to them to discover the other each day. In Golden Son, when they made love, there was a practiced smoothness to it, but also an urgency, an intensity. So they read each other well. They are also in sync when they work, they have a similar thought process and they seem to understand each other without much need for very detailed explanations.

It's all mutual, too. I would say that Darrow tends to idolize Virginia (it's nothing new, though) and despite disagreeing with her, he loves her and adores her and can't stand people mocking or judging her for her opinions or her stances.

Virginia sees Darrow's flaws more clearly than he does hers, but she loves every one of them, even when he is one stubborn arse. She owns that arse and it is the very best, so 🤷🏻‍♀️

But other than that, I think that Virginia's love for Darrow and Darrow's love for Virginia are quite similar.

Thanks for the ask!

Howl on!

[thegorydamnreaper]

Some thoughts on Romulus au Raa:

This is slightly spoilery, but mostly just some thoughts I had reading back on some Romulus chapters.

Romulus is named after the semi-mythological figure of the founder of Rome. That Romulus was raised by a she-wolf and was (by some accounts) a demigod son of Mars and a vestal virgin. His twin brother, Remus, is killed when they dispute who should rule the new city they founded.

Romulus au Raa allies himself with wolves (the Howlers) and it allows him to establish his independent Rim Dominion. There’s a further connection to the myth with the god Mars being a starting point (as a “father”) paralleling how it is soldiers of Mars (the planet) that are the foundation for Raa’s new world. Both Mars are the source of a rough beginning, with the twins almost dying in the myth and with the destruction of the Docks. May be a stretch, but there’s still a connection there!

It’s also interesting to note that while Atlas and Romulus are not twins, Atlas is responsible for Romulus’s death as retribution for betraying the Society. It’s almost as if after thousands of years Remus is getting his piece of revenge, ironically using the veil of politics to justify it.

[circeauandromedus]

Diomedes au Raa Red Rising Aesthetic Board 2/?

I had to make an aesthetic board for my favourite Storm Knight.

None of the above pictures belong to me. They were sourced on Pinterest.

[demigoddropout]

The Rising

Lets say Darrow didn’t do what he did...would the Rim, under Romolus Au Raa target the rising unprovoked?  

[shyanonimousunicorn]

The silent battle for honour. Raa versus Arcos.

In my last two previous posts on the RR houses I expressed my opinion on who’s better in regards of family and relationships in between family members by putting on the line the eternal enemies: Augustus and Bellona, and a post on the healthiest, most sincere and genuine family in the series - The Telemanus. In my first post I did a comparison between Raa and Bellona and what is very similar between them, however here I want to discuss the matter who is the more honorable between the titans Raa and Arcos. Both families are big and seem to stick together but what makes them alike is the fact honour  plays a huge part in their attitude and the way they educate their children. Lorn au Arcos, former Rage Knight and the best razormaster in the solar system ( at least for his time) instills honour and justice and duty in his grandchildren. Maybe because of that Lorn had his regrets - because keeping his duty for the Sovereigns ( after all he served both Octavia and her father as a knight) also meant doing things which went against his honour. Like participating in the coup for Mars, helping Nero obtain the power and slaughter the current archgovernor’s family, and seeing what the Sovereign did to Rhea.It speak a lot about Lorn’s characther that even the mighty dragons respected him despite his service and he even went on to live at the Rim after he retired. Lorn managed to teach his grandchildren these qualities. His greatest success is what became of Alexandar au Arcos, because he surpassed his grandfather. His honour, his duty weren’t negoatiable and he lived a life made of principles. Alas, we won’t get to see more of Alexandar’s characther and get expansion on it but we will always remember him as defender of the weak, a man who rose above his colour and showed everybody what a strenght of characther means. The Raa’s idea of honour, duty are as strong as well but they are held alongside immense discipline. The Rim abides by different rules, just as the moons they live on, they are harsh people, and their tradicions and law keep them firmly set on what is acceptable. The Raa are a perfect example of what rim people are. Their honour, their dignity is in their honesty, obedience towards law and given word and in not expressing their emotions much. They will dine with their greatest enemy and not lift a finger against them because they have promised. Romulus au Raa, the leader of house Raa is the epitomine of these Rim virtues. His charm would have never touched anybody if it wasn’t backed up with the severity of his self-control and reputation of honorable man, a man of his word. Ofcourse this doesn’t mean he like Lorn didn’t make compromise and that in the end he didn’t lie. Romulus’s weakness is not his desire to speak a lot as it may seem to some, his weakness is his family. We see Romulus brake his iron rules on honesty and given word only for his family - he murders people who believed in his word for safe passage, he lies to every rim gold as to whom destroyed the docks and in the end squanders his chances to get to the tomb of his ancestors because of his family, his children. He has seen war and refuses to loose more of his children, because of this he can’t surrender his daughter to justice, because of this he refuses to start a war with Darrow’s republic, and in his last attempt of teaching his children, of guiding them he picks the direst of moment, the moment they will forever remember: just before he dies, because in his heart Romulus doesnt care to reach the toomb and he isnt foolish as many would say in squaderin his breath, he wants to give his last moments to what mattered most for him in this world, the only thing that mattered more than his own honour: his family. And I believe Diomedes wouldn’t disappoint his father in becoming something even better, just as Alexandar became better than Lorn. It may sound foolish to have written so much and not pronounce a winner but I won’t lie and pronounce one just for the sake of it, i believe people here can pick whatever they fancy more or call it a even, just as I did.  This doesn’t mean they don’t have their problems, that they didn’t do wrong or that their believes are correct, or even that they weren’t hypocritical from time to time. However what matters is the fact they tried hard every day to lead a life where loyalty, duty, honour, discipline weren’t only words.