The Original Trilogy
THE WORLDS
From the mines beneath Mars to the gilded halls of Luna and the wild Rim — explore the places where the war for humanity's future was fought.
Mars
The red planet that birthed the Reaper.
The crucible of the revolution. A terraformed world of a thousand cities — each ruled by a Governor beneath the ArchGovernor — Mars is where Eo died, where Darrow was carved, and where the Rising was born.
Key Facts
- A thousand cities, each ruled by a Governor beneath the ArchGovernor
- The ArchGovernor's citadel stands in Agea, within the Valles Marineris
- Lykos is one of ten thousand underground mining colonies
- The Institute — the Golds' brutal proving ground — lies in the Valles Marineris
- The frozen poles are home to the Obsidian tribes
Notable Places
Agea
CityThe capital of Mars, where the ArchGovernor's citadel rises within the Valles Marineris. From here Nero au Augustus ruled — and the Jackal murdered him.
Lykos
RegionOne of ten thousand mining colonies buried beneath the Martian taiga. Home of Darrow, Eo, and the dream that started the revolution.
The Institute
RegionThe Golds' brutal proving ground in the Valles Marineris, where houses wage war beneath the towers of Phobos and Deimos.
Tinos
CityA subterranean city on Mars and the headquarters of the Sons of Ares, built by Quicksilver's cells five hundred kilometers south of the Thermic Sea.
Olympus Mons
RegionThe largest mountain in the solar system, rising above the red plains.
Valles Marineris
RegionThe great canyon system that cuts across Mars — home to Agea and the Institute.
The Fallen City
SiteA ruined city on the wild pole of Mars, at the edge of the Obsidian ice.
Luna
The gilded heart of the Society.
The Sovereign's capital — a city-moon orbiting Earth, where Octavia ruled from her Citadel while the underworld of the Lost City flourished in the shadows beneath her.
Key Facts
- The seat of the Sovereign and the Society's capital
- The Citadel — home of the Augustus villa and the scene of the Fall of Luna
- The Lost City — the underworld district run by crime syndicates with the Sovereign's blessing
Notable Places
The Citadel
RegionThe Sovereign's fortress-palace complex on Luna, where Octavia ruled, where the Jackal schemed, and where the Fall of Luna ended her empire.
The Lost City
CityThe squalid underworld of Luna, ruled by syndicates the Sovereign quietly controls. Darrow met the Jackal in its gutters — and Evey found her purpose.
Phobos
Where the Rising announced itself.
The city-moon of Mars — an industrial moon that became the Rising's stage. Quicksilver's helium-3 processors fuel the Society's wealth, and its lowColors sparked the first great revolt of the war.
Key Facts
- Hollowed into a city-moon orbiting Mars
- Home to Quicksilver's helium-3 empire
- In Morning Star, lowColors seized the moon's ships, towers, and armories in the Rising's revolt
Earth
The cradle of civilization — and of the Colors.
The birthplace of humanity and the Society's oldest world, from which the Colors spread across the solar system. Its frozen poles, like those of Mars, are home to the Obsidian tribes.
Key Facts
- The birthplace of humanity and the Society's oldest world
- Earth, Luna, and Mars form the Core — the heart of the Society's power
- Obsidian tribes are constrained to the icy poles of planets such as Earth and Mars
Europa
The quiet home of the Rage Knight.
A frozen moon of Jupiter where Lorn au Arcos retired from the Olympic Knights — and where he secretly forged Darrow into a master of the Willow Way.
Key Facts
- Lorn au Arcos's home in retirement
- The secret training ground where Darrow learned the Willow Way
- Aja au Grimmus once came hunting them there
Ganymede
The arsenal of the Society.
The great shipyard moon where the Society's mightiest vessels were born — and where the Rising struck a blow that would haunt Darrow forever.
Key Facts
- Site of the massive moonBreaker shipyards
- Darrow planned to steal a moonBreaker during the war in Golden Son
- The captured Morning Star destroyed the dockyards — costing millions of lowColor lives
Io
Where the Rim defied the Core.
The seat of Romulus au Raa and the heart of the Rim — where the Moon Lords of the outer planets chose alliance with the Rising over the Sovereign's empire.
Key Facts
- Romulus au Raa rules as ArchGovernor of Io
- Heart of the Moon Lords, the proud Golds of the Rim
- Romulus's alliance with Darrow helped turn the Battle of Ilium
The Rim & The Belt
The wild edges of the Society.
The outer marches of the Society — the Asteroid Belt where Orion led her pirate war, and the Rim worlds of the Moon Lords, who kept their distance from the Core's quarrels until the Rising came calling.
Key Facts
- Orion's fleet harried the Core's shipping from the Belt
- The Rim's Moon Lords held their own counsel, far from the Sovereign's games
- The Battle of Ilium — with the Rim's alliance — broke the Sword Armada
Powers & Alignments
The Factions
The houses, armies, and brotherhoods that fought for — and against — the Rising.
The Sons of Ares
The revolutionary network founded by Fitchner au Barca and funded by Quicksilver — Darrow's shadow army, led after Fitchner's death by Sevro.
The Rising
The rebellion that grew from the Sons of Ares into a coalition of lowColors and reformist Golds under Darrow's banner.
House Augustus
The ruling house of Mars under Nero au Augustus, torn apart by the Jackal's knives at the Triumph.
House Bellona
The Sovereign's great house of Mars, sworn to destroy Darrow for the death of Julian in the Passage.
The Howlers
Sevro's pack of mad, faithful warriors — the terror of the Rising, who howl before they strike.
The Valkyries
Sefi's Obsidian warriors, who rode to war against the false gods of the Golds.
The Moon Lords
The Rim Golds under Romulus au Raa, who defied the Sovereign and stood with the Rising.
The Sword Armada
Roque au Fabii's great fleet — the Sovereign's mightiest arm, broken at the Battle of Ilium.
Vessels of the War
Legendary Ships
Two flagships, one war — the names that carried the Rising through the stars.
The Pax
The Bellona flagship Vanguard, seized by Darrow and Sevro in Golden Son and renamed Pax — his ship through the Martian war, captained by Orion xe Aquarii.
The Morning Star
Roque's moonBreaker Colossus, seized at the Battle of Ilium and renamed for the star that guides Obsidians across the winter ice.