Morning Star

Mustang is the twin sister of the Jackal and an adoptive member of the Telemanus family. She is characterized as exceptionally intelligent, insightful, and empathetic. During the series, she acts as Darrow’s love interest, having fallen in love with him while he pretended to be a Gold. In between Golden Son and Morning Star she gave birth to Pax, her and Darrow’s son.

Mustang is an essential component of the theme of The Ethics of Revolution. Despite her privileged background, she aligns herself with the cause of equality and seeks to create a fairer society. However, her perspective as a Gold (and as a mother) means that she is insistent on the war being one that is not focused on annihilation of Golds. Instead, she helps guide Darrow along a path that can build a better world for their child. She eventually becomes the Sovereign and begins to dismantle the hierarchy in a process that Darrow describes as slow but without chaos. It is thus through Mustang’s character that Brown demonstrates key features of what makes an ethical revolution: It cannot be focused solely on revenge and must not lead to complete chaos.

Mustang’s relationship with the Jackal is also significant in Morning Star. Because of the Jackal’s cruelty, Mustang sets herself against him. Before she joins the Rising, she attempted to negotiate with the Sovereign to remove him from power, and once she is Sovereign, she orders his execution. Yet, Mustang shows that she still has some love for him by pulling his legs as he was hanging to give him a quicker death. Brown hence shows Mustang’s deeply empathetic nature and the complexity of familial relationships.

Adrius au Augustus, or the Jackal, is the twin brother of Mustang. He is the primary antagonist of the book, embodying the worst aspects of the Gold elite. While in the Institute he cannibalized his team members but was eventually defeated by Darrow. This, and his physical weakness, meant that his father did not care for him. In the past, the Jackal killed his father’s favorite son, Claudius, out of jealousy and eventually killed his father because he did not feel loved by him. However, in fact, he pushed away Mustang’s love through his violent and cruel behaviors.

As an antagonist, the Jackal is characterized by his lack of empathy, intelligence and ruthlessness. He becomes jealous of Darrow for his ability to inspire love in others and so seeks to break him down. This wish leads to him imprisoning Darrow alone for months and his attempt at making Darrow die by suicide. The Jackal’s willingness to detonate nuclear weapons in heavily populated areas for little purpose shows the extent of his brutality and makes him a stark counterpoint to Darrow’s struggle for justice. As Darrow’s foil, the Jackal emphasizes the dangers of a life entirely in search of power for its own end and without any bonds.

Sevro au Barca is the half-Red, half-Gold son of Fitncher (Ares) and Bryn. He and Darrow became friends in the Institute, where Sevro led a group of Gold misfits known as the Howlers. In Golden Son, he learned of Darrow’s true identity and began to work for the Sons of Ares until Cassius au Bellona killed his father and he assumed the mantle of Ares. Sevro possesses a unique moral compass that prioritizes the safety of those closest to him above all others. He is fiercely loyal to the Howlers and the Sons of Ares cause in general but feels no need to be moral toward enemies. His sense of humor also adds levity to the narrative.

Despite Sevro’s ferocious exterior, there are also several moments that show his deep vulnerability and introspection. His arc in the novel is largely concerned with him coming to terms with his responsibility as Ares. Early on, his anger at the Society for the death of his father and the capture of Darrow cause him to lead a terrorist-like campaign. His insecurity about his own leadership makes him double down on this path, clashing with Darrow once Darrow has returned. However, after he and Darrow openly discuss their emotions, Sevro can share the responsibility he feels. Eventually, he feels comfortable in his role as Ares, which is exemplified through his ability to control the army while they are trying to hang the captive Golds. Sevro’s arc thus conveys The Cost of Leadership sees him transform from an insecure youth to a mature leader.

Also important to Sevro is his romance with Victra. In Red Rising and in Golden Son, Sevro was in love with Quinn, the Howler whom Aja killed, but he was never emotionally open enough to tell her this. A sign of his character development is his confession of love to Victra, who herself struggles with emotional openness. Their marriage marks one of the lighter points in the book.

Cassius au Bellona is a multifaceted character whose story arc shows the role of honor in a dishonorable world and a man’s struggle for redemption. Cassius is the picture of a perfect Gold in their ideology. He is exceptionally handsome, intelligent, noble, and skilled at fighting. In the beginning of the series, he and Darrow strike up a strong friendship due to their similar traits. However, this friendship is destroyed when he learns that Darrow killed his brother, Julian. Following this point, Cassius acts mainly as an antagonist. Yet his deep sense of honor means that Darrow rarely hates him, even if he believes that Cassius’s honor is corrupted through his service to the Society. Cassius tries to be like the people he admires (his father and Julian) but struggles with the loneliness he has felt since his family was killed at the end of Golden Son. In a similar way, Darrow struggles with being the Reaper while being unable to speak fully to those around him. Cassius is thus an important representation of The Importance of Love and Loyalty, as many of his actions are motivated by his love for those who died.

In Morning Star, Cassius’s honor becomes his defining characteristic. First, his honor makes him serve a Sovereign who, he knows, does not care for him because he feels that it is his duty. Once he has been captured, talks with Darrow about their past, and learns that the Sovereign allowed his family to be executed, he confronts the morality of the Society. This leads him to conclude that there is no honor in the system that he supports, and so he decides to support the Rising’s cause. Brown uses Cassius to show how fundamentally good people can serve an oppressive regime but also be redeemed if they choose to fight oppression.

Victra au Julii is a Gold who comes from a famously wealthy family known for its tendency to betray people. She and Darrow met at the Academy. Though she initially comes off as somewhat jaded and harsh, she proves herself a loyal and dependable friend to Darrow throughout the events of Golden Son. Eventually she shows a more vulnerable side, responding to the connection she formed with Darrow. When Darrow is being betrayed by Roque and the Jackal, her half-sister Antonia kills their mother and shoots her in the back several times. Despite her injuries, she tries to move toward Darrow and assure him that she was not aware of the plot, a final reminder of her loyalty.

In Morning Star, Darrow repays her loyalty by rescuing her and inviting her into the Sons of Ares, where she strikes up a romance with Sevro because each admires the other’s wish to protect those around them. Her character arc is focused on her realizing that she has changed and is better than her family. Antonia’s betrayal of the Sword Armada and brutal murder of Thistle deeply impacts her. She believes that she is too much like her relatives to form a deep bond and possesses a familial “poison” that will ruin anything good. It is only when Sevro nearly dies and then gives a speech about change that she can overcome this fear. Brown shows through Victra how someone can transcend their origins to become their own person. The conclusion for her character arc comes in one of the final lines of the book. Darrow says that he will tell his son about “the loyalty of Victra” (518). While she was worried about what her upbringing said about her, Darrow’s main view of her is as a loyal friend.