| “ | Gold is a cold metal. | ” |
— Red Rising, Chapter 27
| ||
Antonia au Severus–Julii was a Gold of the Martian house Julii and the youngest daughter of Agrippina au Julii. She was the younger half-sister of Victra au Julii and a former classmate and rival to Darrow O'Lykos during the 542nd Class at The Institute of Mars.
Appearance[]
For all her bad temper, Antonia was regarded as exceptionally beautiful, with high cheekbones, full lips, long legs, smooth skin, and beautiful golden hair.
Personality[]
Antonia was described as a poisoned apple of a woman, and proved herself to be merciless, treacherous, and opportunistic, without much loyalty or honor. She was shown to be very shallow and vain, mourning her marred face more than her dead mother in captivity. While she had a certain cunning to her, Antonia was also somewhat cowardly, fleeing from the Battle of Ilium when Roque is defeated, throwing her own side into chaos.
Biography[]
Pre-Saga[]
Antonia was born on Mars between 720 and 721 PCE to Agrippina au Julii and an unnamed father of House Severus.
Red Rising[]
In November 737 PCE, Antonia applied for The Institute under the surname Severus, and took the entrance exam at the same testing center as Darrow au Andromedus, Cassius au Bellona, and Virginia au Augustus. During the test, she noticed Darrow steal another girl's stylus when the noise proved to be a distraction. Antonia disdainfully called him a cutter as she passed him in the hall on the way to the physical tests.[1] She ultimately passed the written test with only five questions missed, and received her invitation to The Institute early the following year.
Antonia arrived at The Institute in March 738, and was drafted into House Mars as one of their highDrafts. When Cassius attempted to flirt with her, she flipped him the crux and went on to converse with Arria while Cassius and Darrow discussed the test.[2]
After midnight, Antonia was beaten by Obsidians and taken from the main school building to the catacombs beneath her House's castle for The Passage like all other students of The Institute. Antonia survived her match-up and killed her opponent before making her way out of the catacombs, where she ran into Darrow and Roque au Fabii as they made their way upstairs to the castle.[3]
When their Proctor Fitchner explained the objective of The Institute's war game, Antonia inquired about what happens to the Primus of the winning House.
During orientation the following day, Antonia was the first to notice a dropship landing in the plain between the lands of House Mars and House Ceres to set up a feast. She called Darrow and Cassius idiots when they raced each other to the table, and after they successfully fended off an ambush by House Ceres students, Antonia and Titus interrogated Fitchner about the rules of the war game in regards to killing other students.[4]
She was the second member of House Mars to come downstairs to the main hall on the first day of the war game and discussed the direction of the House with the rest of their classmates, and undermined Cassius and Darrow's early efforts to take charge. She proposed that House Mars hold out until someone has earned five bars of merit for the position of Primus, leading to the house fracturing into four separate tribes,[5] with Antonia managing to secure the allegiance of most of the midDrafts of their house.[6]
On the thirty-first day of the war game, Antonia received a formal apology from Darrow delivered by Quinn, with a request for her aid in his plan to bring down Titus. She met with Darrow and Cassius at their agreed upon rendezvous point when Cassius and Darrow returned from baiting House Minerva into attacking their castle, and then rode with half of her garrison from Phobos Tower on stolen horses to take down the attacking Minervans, while her remaining soldiers ambush the ones that attempt to pursue the stolen Minervan standard.[7]
After the battle, Antonia went with Roque and Darrow to negotiate with Virginia at the gate to Castle Mars.[7] She continues to remain at Darrow's side to associate herself with his power in the minds of their peers.[8] In the following month, Antonia told Darrow that she was offered a mutual defense compact, a dozen horses, six stunpikes, and seven slaves in exchange for Darrow. When Darrow asked why she didn't accept the offer, she admitted after some prodding that she was waiting for a higher price.[9]
When Darrow formed an alliance with House Diana, Antonia carried the standard as she rode with him and Cassius for their assault on House Minerva's Castle, and watched Darrow's duel with Pax au Telemanus.[10] When the deadHorses sprung their trap, Antonia presumably helped the rest of her House capture the Diana warband when they attempt to escape from Castle Minerva.
While Cassius and Sevro were away conquering Castle Diana, Antonia was contacted by students of House Pluto on behalf of Adrius au Augustus, who provided her with nightOptics that she and her supporters used to attempt an ambush against Darrow to seize control of House Mars.[11] She and Vixus ambushed Roque and Lea while they were out on a romantic nighttime walk,[12] and sent Lea to bring Darrow to them. When Darrow recognized the trap and hid, Antonia murdered Lea and fled with her supporters before Cassius and Sevro returned to the castle the following morning.[11]
Sometime after Darrow is left for dead by Cassius for the death of his brother Julian in the Passage, Antonia betrayed House Mars along with Vixus and Cassandra when the House come under siege from House Pluto.[13] After betraying their house, Adrius had the three crucified in front of Castle Mars, where they remained at the time of Darrow's return after his coalition took Olympus. Darrow ordered Antonia and Vixus cut down by Thistle and taken to Olympus for medical attention.[14]
After receiving treatment from the MedBots on Olympus, Antonia eventually departed The Institute after the war game concluded with Darrow's victory. Despite her performance, her membership in the winning House ensured that she still graduated from The Institute as a Peerless Scarred.[15]
Golden Son[]
After graduating from The Institute, Antonia traveled to Venus to study politics, where she remained until her graduation in 741 PCE. After the conclusion of her studies, she traveled to Luna to attend the decennial Summit that December alongside her mother.[16]
At the beginning of the closing gala, she approached Darrow and taunted him about his public humiliation at the hands of Karnus au Bellona two months prior, along with his impending dismissal from Nero's service.[16] When violence broke out between House Bellona and House Augustus in response to Darrow's duel with Cassius, Antonia attempted to stab Darrow in the stomach, but was rebuffed by Victra and Tactus.[17]
For most of the Martian Civil War, Antonia sided with House Bellona alongside her mother, but pivoted to aiding Augustus during the Lion's Rain after Victra convinced Agrippina to switch sides. During the Rain, Antonia helped capture the city of Thessalonica from Bellona hands.[18]
At some point during the war, Antonia secretly entered the service of Adrius au Augustus as a Bonerider, and helped organize the massacre at Darrow's Triumph in March 742. When the Triumph Massacre began, Antonia shot Victra in the spine and killed their mother with two scorcher rounds to the neck. When the Praetorian Guard landed in the gardens, Antonia directed them in hunting the survivors of the initial bloodbath as they attempted to flee, during which she murdered ArchGovernor Revus au Raa of Io and his nine-year-old granddaughter Thesalia.[19][20]
Morning Star[]
Following the massacre at the Triumph of the Lion's Rain, Antonia imprisoned Victra in the Jackal's citadel in Attica, and spent the next year torturing her sister by pouring acid on her back and showing her footage of Darrow's carving to shame her for loving Darrow when he was a Red all along. With her mother dead and her sister imprisoned, Antonia ascended to become the acting Primus of House Julii, seizing control of their family assets such as Julii Industries and the Julii fleet.
In March 743, Antonia accompanied Adrius when he handed Darrow over to Cassius and Aja for transport to Luna, and mocked Cassius for his outrage at their treatment of the Reaper.[21]
At some point between March 742 and June 743, Antonia was appointed as a Praetor of The Society's Fifth and Sixth Legions, and in June 743 was dispatched to The Rim to reinforce the Sword Armada at Ilium.[22][23][24]
On August 19th, Antonia fought in the Battle of Ilium under the command of Roque au Fabii, where she spent the first part of the battle dissecting Darrow's personal strike force with the guns of the Pandora.[25] After Darrow sacrificed the Pax to launch ClawDrills to the surface of Roque's flagship Colossus, Antonia led much of the Armada in pursuing the retreating rebel navy.[26] After the Rising launched a sneak attack from Thebe that resulted in the Pandora and many other ships being boarded, Antonia abandoned the battle and fled into the asteroid belt toward The Core to save her own skin.[27]
On the sixth morning after the battle, Victra caught up with Antonia and engaged her fleet, seizing control of the Pandora and the rest of the House Julii ships by reclaiming her status as the legal heir to their family's resources. Antonia was imprisoned in the brig of her own ship alongside the former Howler Cyriana, a.k.a Thistle, and taunted Darrow when he came to try and get information out of them.[28] When the two women were left alone in their cells, Antonia murdered Cyriana to prevent her from revealing The Jackal or The Society's secrets. In response, she was badly beaten by Victra, with her face shattered and bruised upon recognition.[29]
Over the next few weeks, she was transferred from the Pandora to the brig of the Colossus, now renamed the Morning Star, where she remained until the Red Armada arrived in orbit over Luna in November.[30] After Cassius shot Sevro and appeared to capture Darrow and Virginia, Antonia was released from her cell and accompanied him in escaping from the moonBreaker with their prisoners in tow.[31] When they were redirected to dock with the Lion of Mars, Antonia attempted to speak with Adrius, but was forced to wait. When Adrius examined her scars, she assured him that she would have it fixed, but was told that she was still beautiful. After receiving a kiss from Adrius, she handed him Sevro's pistol.[32]
Antonia then accompanied Adrius, Cassius, and the others to the surface and were escorted to Octavia au Lune's bunker. After the bulk of Octavia's bodyguards were dismissed in response to Virginia telling them that The Rising's Obsidian army had already made landfall and were pushing for the Hyperion Citadel, Antonia was questioned about her account of her actions at the Battle of Ilium, and condemned for her cowardice. She attempted to defend herself and her actions, but was summarily convicted of dereliction of duty, and immediately executed as Aja strangled her to death.[24]
Relationships[]
Agrippina au Julii[]
Antonia had a bad relationship with her mother, and as a result, preferred to use the surname Severus instead of Julii.[33]
Victra au Julii[]
Antonia used to have a positive relationship with her older sister when she was a child, with Victra even helping to braid her hair as a girl.[29] The relationship soured sometime before Antonia attended The Institute, and became mutually antagonistic after the events of the Triumph Massacre.
Darrow O'Lykos[]
Cassius au Bellona[]
Antonia once dated at some point before The Institute, but the relationship ultimately didn't last long. While Cassius looked back on their brief romance fondly, Antonia treated him with hostility from then on.[1]
Adrius au Augustus[]
Antonia was deeply in love with Adrius, but her feelings were unrequited, and he used her attraction to him to manipulate her.
Gallery[]
Notes & References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Red Rising, Chapter 15
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 18
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 20
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 21
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 22
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 23
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Red Rising, Chapter 27
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 28
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 30
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 31
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Red Rising, Chapter 32
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 50
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 40
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 43
- ↑ Antonia accuses Thistle of embarrassing her scar and reminds her that she's House Mars, implying that being part of the winning House earns one a Peerless Scarred by default.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Golden Son, Chapter 11
- ↑ Golden Son, Chapter 13
- ↑ Golden Son, Chapter 51
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 41
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 42
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 02
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 25
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 38
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Morning Star, Chapter 60
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 45
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 48
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 49
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 51
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Morning Star, Chapter 52
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 57
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 58
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 59
- ↑ Golden Son, Chapter 06