Darrow of Lykos

Darrow au Andromedusthe ReaperHelldiver

A sixteen-year-old miner from the deep tunnels of Mars, and the fastest drill-hand his clan has produced in a generation. His wife's public death sets him on a road that ends with him wearing the face of his enemies.

Darrow is a Helldiver, the most dangerous job in a Red mining crew: he works the clawDrill alone at the head of the shaft, where gas pockets and collapses kill most who try it. He believes what every Red on Mars is taught, that the Reds are pioneers making the planet fit for those who will follow.

Lykos

He is married to Eo, who wants far more from life than he does. After she leads him into a forbidden garden and is caught, she sings a banned song in public. The Society hangs her.

Darrow cuts down her body and buries it, knowing what the punishment is, and is hanged in turn. His uncle Narol drags on his legs to make the death look complete, and he wakes among the The Sons of Ares. They show him what no Red is told: the surface of Mars has been habitable for centuries, with cities and oceans overhead.

The Carving

The Violet Mickey rebuilds his body in a Carving so brutal that few survive it, and the Pink Matteo teaches him to speak, dine and sneer. He enters the The Institute as the Gold Darrow au Andromedus. His first act there is to kill Julian in the Passage, a death that will shape the next decade of his life.

In House Mars he breaks the game open, defeats the Proctors themselves and wins as Primus. The nickname Reaper comes from the sickle-shaped razor he carries. He then accepts service with Nero, the man who ordered Eo's death.

Lancer of Augustus

Years of war and intrigue follow. He loses the Academy, sparks a Gold civil war by duelling Cassius at the Summit, takes on Lorn as a teacher, and frees Ragnar. Harmony tells him that Eo was pregnant when she died. Fitchner reveals himself as Ares and is killed soon after. At the victory feast his closest friend Roque drugs him, and the Jackal exposes him.

The Rising

Rescued from a year in the dark, he rebuilds himself with Sevro and leads the The Rising to its great victory: Octavia dies by his hand, Adrius is executed, and Mustang becomes Sovereign. She reveals that they have a son, Pax.

The Long War

Ten years on he is the Republic's greatest general and its largest problem. Defying the Senate to liberate Mercury, he goes to war without leave, and Sevro walks away from him over what he is willing to spend.

Mercury becomes a catastrophe. He executes Orion after the hypercanes she unleashes kill tens of millions, loses Heliopolis to Lysander's rising, and is believed dead by the Republic.

From exile, he finally learns to stop being the Reaper. He owns his crimes before the The Daughters, defeats Volsung Fá in public and develops the Breath of Stone. Cassius, at last his friend once more, is murdered by Lysander.

I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.