| “ | ...a man is his actions, not his blood. | ” |
— Dark Age, Chapter 29
| ||
Dancer O'Faran was a Red of Mars, a former Helldiver, and one of the leaders of the lowColor cells in the Sons of Ares. He was personally responsible for the recruitment of Darrow O'Lykos, and later rose to become one of the highest ranking members of The Rising. After the founding of the Solar Republic, he became a representative for his color in the Senate and founded the Vox Populi political party.
Personality[]
Dancer was fair, kindly, and accommodating, treating Darrow well when he helped rescue him and showed his faith and affection for the young Red many times. He was a shrewd, wise leader of his people and was naturally suspicious. He was less extreme than Harmony, not believing in her vicious methods of war, and abhored the practice of torturing prisoners for information.
Despite being a fair and reasonable man, he was not fond of Golds, and was suspicious and withdrawn from them, never fully trusting in them.
Appearance[]
Dancer was described as having rugged features with a body covered in snakebites, as well as having a limp on the left side of his body from nerve damage. He was also considered a handsome man by Red standards on multiple occaisions.[1]
Biography[]
Pre-Saga[]
Dancer was born on Mars in 697 PCE in one of the planet's subterranean helium-3 mines.[2] In 710, he started working in the mines shortly after his 13th birthday, as is traditional for lowRed boys, and eventually became his clan's Helldiver. At some point before 729 PCE, he fell into a pitiviper nest while attempting to repair a nodule on his clawDrill, and was bitten by several juvenile vipers. His clan traded some Gamma miners for antivenom and were able to save his life, but the poison crippled his left arm and he was left with bite scars on his neck.[1][3]
In 729 PCE, his sexual orientation was discovered by his clan, who castrated him and exiled him from the mine for being homosexual. He was found by Ares, who healed him and convinced him that he wasn't broken before recruiting him as one of the leaders of the Sons of Ares.[4]
Red Rising[]
In early April 737 PCE, Dancer was notified of a potential recruit for the Sons' efforts to carve a Red into a Gold, and gave Narol of Lykos a jammer to cut his nephew Darrow down to bring to the Sons. Dancer then sent Harmony and Ralph to bring the young Helldiver to him, where Dancer tested to see if the boy was intelligent enough for what the Sons had planned for him. When Darrow passed the test, Dancer took him to the surface and revealed to him that the terraforming of the planet had already been completed.[1]
Dancer then explained to Darrow the true history of The Society and the terraforming of Mars, and explained the mission the Sons had for him to infiltrate The Institute and ascend the ranks of Gold.[5] He and Harmony then took Darrow to Mickey's shop in Yorkton, where they convinced the Carver to accept the job of carving Darrow from a Red into a Gold.[6][7] When Darrow finished recovering from the surgery, Dancer and Harmony brought exercise equipment to Mickey's shop for Darrow to start getting into shape for The Institute. When Harmony and Mickey clashed over how much exercise and strain Darrow's new Gold body could take, Dancer sided with Harmony and told her to keep pushing the boy.[8]
When Darrow's physical training was complete and he was moved to the Sons of Ares safehouse in Yorkton, Dancer began training Darrow's mind for The Institute's entrance exam, and started helping Darrow to prepare his cover identity. When Darrow objected to changing his given name, Dancer relented and had the Sons of Ares hackers change the records in the Board of Quality Control's database to reflect this.[3][9][10] Dancer later helped Darrow work on his aureate accent and shared some of his history with Darrow to help the boy become more comfortable with preparing for his role.[3]
In late January 738, Dancer was with Darrow when he received his exam scores and confirmation that he had passed the test for admittance into The Institute, and fetched a bottle of champagne to celebrate. When the shuttle arrived in March to escort Darrow to The Institute, Dancer gave Darrow a knifeRing to take with him as a reminder of home.[11]
Golden Son[]
A year after Darrow left for The Institute, Dancer and the Sons attempted to bug the villa of a group of Gold senators vacationing on Mars's Gorgon Sea in an effort to gather useful secrets, only for their equipment to record the Senators' private depravities and nothing more. When Harmony assassinated the Senators and defected to form her own splinter faction, Dancer was forced to deal with the fallout of her actions when his cell's base was raided by a lurcher squad. They were rescued when Ares himself came in with a mixed-pack of Gray and Obsidian troops, giving Dancer his first face-to-face meeting with the Sons founder.[12] When Fitchner saw that Ares was a Gold, he wept before realizing that since Fitchner judged him only by what he'd done, he owed the man the same.[4]
In 741 PCE, Dancer was sent to The Rim to recruit Fitchner's son Sevro to the cause. He approached Sevro on Triton while the Howlers were in the middle of a layover on their voyage to Luna from Pluto, and showed him a recording of the footage from Darrow's carving. Later in the year, Dancer traveled to Luna himself and recorded a message to Darrow with Fitchner on a whisperGem after the Gala Massacre in December 741 that was then smuggled to Sevro before the Howlers and the rest of House Augustus fled the moon.[13]
During the course of the ensuing Martian Civil War, Dancer made his way back to Mars, where he reunited with Darrow after helping to rescue Evey, Harmony, and Mickey from The Jackal in early March 742.[12]
Morning Star[]
When the Sons of Ares base was raided by the Jackal's kill squads and Fitchner was killed by Cassius au Bellona, Dancer was forced to go underground. He eventually linked up with Sevro and the Howlers sometime before June 742. After the Jackal executed a body double of Darrow in Agea, Dancer and the Sons attempted a rescue mission before the execution could take place, but quickly fell into a trap and lost thousands of troops.[14] When Sevro uploaded the footage of Darrow's carving onto the holonet a month later, Dancer served as the second in command of the Rising, having been given the keys to Tinos.[4][15][16]
When the Sons eventually discovered that Darrow was alive in early March 743, Dancer informed him of Harmony's betrayal and how The Society faked his death after the Sons rescued him from Attica and extracted him to Tinos. Dancer attempted to brief Darrow on the state of the war as soon as he woke up, but his attempt was refused so that Darrow could have a night to spend with his family and appreciate his survival.[14] The following morning, Dancer finally brought Darrow up to speed on everything he'd missed since his capture.[16]
Over the next three months, Dancer and Theodora pushed Sevro to reach out to more allies and bridge the gap between the Sons of Ares and other rebel factions. Sevro finally agreed in mid-June 743, and Dancer sent Darrow and the Pitviper squadron to meet with the Red Legion in the city of Ismenia on the Arabia Terran continent in the hope that Darrow would be able to pry them away from Harmony's influence. In late June, Dancer received word from one of their Pink spies who stole a Bonerider's datapad in Agea confirming that Regulus ag Sun was the Jackal's silent partner in the communications industry. He quickly brought this information to Sevro, interrupting the Howlers' initiation ritual to induct Darrow, Victra au Julii, and Holiday ti Nakamura.[17]
After the Howlers escaped from Quicksilver's tower on Phobos following the firefight that ensued when their attempt to kidnap Regulus led to them stumbling into the middle of secret peace negotiations between Virginia au Augustus and emissaries of Octavia au Lune, Darrow called Dancer back in Tinos to relay his plan to take control of the moon and hijack several ships of the Martian defense fleet for the Sons' navy.[18] Following the ensuing battle and the subsequent liberation of the Obsidians from the Ice, he, Mickey, and Sevro met Darrow, Virginia, and Holiday when they returned to Tinos with Sefi Volarus and the Valkyrie to prepare the Obsidian migration. At Darrow's insistence, Dancer offered The Pitvipers as Virginia's bodyguards during her stay in Tinos, and agreed to ensure Cassius would be protected from retaliation for his role in Ares' death.[19]
Dancer then had a conference with Virginia, Quicksilver, and Victra, where he was intransigent and suspicious of Virginia's intentions, only sharing information that she already knew in order to avoid giving away secrets.[19][20] The following morning, Dancer attended a war conference among the leaders of the rebellion after Cassius revealed the existence of Octavia's nuclear weapons depot in the asteroid belt that the Jackal had raided back in March. During the meeting, he expressed further doubt about Virginia's intentions, and opposed Sevro's proposal to torture the truth out of Cassius. He initially objected when Darrow proposed leaving Mars, fearing that Virginia was influencing the Reaper's decision, but came around toward Darrow's plan to destroy the Sword Armada.[21]
Later that day, Dancer saw Darrow off as he and the Red Armada left Mars for Ilium, while Dancer himself remained on Mars to oversee the Obsidian migration from the south pole to Tinos.[22]
After The Fall of Luna in November 743, Dancer accompanied Darrow's family and the Telemanuses to visit Earth and introduce Darrow to his and Virginia's son Pax.[23]
Solar War[]
Following the founding of the Solar Republic, Dancer fought in the Solar War as part of the Republic's legions for the first several years of the war, famously participating in the thick of the tunnel fighting during the Rat War to free the mines of Mars from Society control. After Mars and its moons were declared free in 751 PCE, Dancer retired from military service and entered politics as a Senator for Red, hoping to counterbalance the weight of Darrow's reputation in the senate.[24] He also founded the socialist lowColor political party Vox Populi to counter what he saw as undue Gold influence over the fledgling demokracy.[25]
After his years of fighting, he regularly suffered from nightmares that caused him to wet his bed in the night, and was implied to experience PTSD. However, he refused to take psychiatric medication because he feared that they would dull his wits.[25]
Iron Gold[]
At some point before September 753 PCE, Dancer was approached by the Duke of Hands in one of Hyperion's parks when he went to get some fresh air. Under the guise of being a painter named Faustus, the Duke seduced Dancer and they spent the next few months in an off and on romantic relationship, which The Syndicate intended to use to set Dancer up as the scapegoat for their plan to abduct Pax Augustus and Electra au Barca later that year.[4]
In August 753, Dancer was the leading voice in the Senate when it voted against Darrow's proposal to launch an Iron Rain on Mercury.[26] When Darrow launched the Rain anyway and returned to Luna a month later, he stayed at Silene Manor gardening with Deanna O'Lykos while the Senate held a Liberation Day parade in Hyperion. When Darrow returned to the manor after the parade, he and Dancer discussed the political ramifications of Darrow's decisions, where Dancer expressed that Darrow was becoming a warmongering tyrant like the Golds of The Society.[25]
Sometime after his departure, he was contacted by Julia au Bellona, who arrived on Luna in secret to relay an offer of peace talks on behalf of the Society Remnant that she revealed had been offered to Darrow previously and concealed from the Senate.[27] Outraged at Darrow's actions, Dancer called an emergency session of the Senate and convinced them to move up Darrow's hearing to the following night.[28] When the session began, Dancer remained silent as Darrow appealed to the Senate for an assault on Venus. Once Darrow had finished speaking, Dancer called out Darrow's disregard for the Senate's orders and presented Julia to the Senate as a witness to Darrow's warmongering.[27] Following his remarks, Dancer sat down in silence as the Senate called for a vote to remove Darrow from command of the Republic military.[29]
After Darrow's escape from Luna, Dancer's influence in the Senate grew, and in late October 753, promised Copper senator Publius cu Caraval a bill on lowColor and midColor reparations in return for his support for a peace treaty with the Society Remnant. By early November, he had secured the majority needed to ratify the peace accord, which Virginia then vetoed.[30] Shortly before the vote, Dancer told his lover that he wished for their relationship to be more long term, only for "Faustus" to cut contact.
Dark Age[]
When the talks were exposed as a lie after Atalantia au Grimmus destroyed the White Fleet at the Battle of Caliban in mid-November 753, Dancer and other Vox Populi voted against Virginia's efforts to have portions of the Home Guard fleet sent to Mercury to rescue the surviving Free Legions, believing the troops on Mercury lost.[31][24] In early January 754, they were pressured to hold a vote on her proposal once more after Darrow's victory at The Battle of the Ladon.[31]
After Virginia made a speech urging the people of the Republic to vote in favor of the proposal on the Monday after the battle, Dancer contacted her and discussed the speech. Dancer expressed his fear to Virginia that her supporters would assassinate him, and did not believe her assurances that she could control her people.[24]
Two days later, Deanna invited him to Silene Manor as a pretext for Virginia and Sevro to confront him over their discovery of his association with the Duke of Hands. Dancer was initially furious with them when he saw the hologram of his sexual relationship with another man, thinking that they were attempting to blackmail him into voting for Virginia's proposal by threatening to expose his orientation to his homophobic constituents. Upon being informed of his lover's true identity, he was horrified and stricken with guilt at the thought that he might have unwittingly put Pax in danger.[4]
Once Virginia revealed that Sefi had the children and laid out her plan to have Dancer convince the Reds of Cimmeria to get along with the Obsidian Alltribe after Sefi took control of the Martian continent's helium mines from Quicksilver to establish an Obsidian homeland, the trio figured out that Publius was the Syndicate Queen's ally in the Senate. After learning that the Society Remnant had been manipulating the Republic into turning on itself, Dancer ultimately agreed to vote for rescuing the Free Legions.
The following day, Dancer arrived at the Forum with the rest of the Senators, and got up to speak in favor of Virginia's proposal. As he began his remarks, he began to cough up blood before collapsing from poison in his toga. His death was then used by Caraval and the radical wing of the Vox Populi to carry out a coup against Virginia later known as the Day of Red Doves.[32]
Relationships[]
Romantic Interests[]
The Duke of Hands[]
It is revealed in Dark Age that Dancer had an on-off intimate relationship with The Duke of Hands, though he was unaware of the Duke's transgressions, including his involvement in the kidnapping of Pax and Electra.
Friends[]
Darrow[]
Dancer and Darrow have something of a father-son relationship, with Darrow preferring Dancer's company to that of Harmony or even Mickey and Matteo. Dancer treated Darrow respectfully and showed concern and affection for him over the course of his carving. He would gift Darrow with keepsakes from Eo, so as to remember his mission and heritage, as well as Eo's love and dream. Dancer's knifeRing is sent to Darrow during the Institute. Darrow was deeply aggrieved in Golden Son when he thought he was dead, and was delighted to learn that he was alive and in hiding.
In Morning Star, Darrow and Dancer work alongside one another for The Rising. Darrow tells Dancer that he considers him to be family and loves him.
Allies[]
Fitchner au Barca[]
Dancer reveals that his clan had castrated him, leaving him for dead, when Ares had found him bleeding to death in a tunnel. Fitchner saved him and healed him, teaching him and showing him his worth. It was ten years later when he found out Ares was Fitchner, a Gold. Though angered at first, he realized that Fitchner judged him only by his actions, not by his caste, and thus had learned to do the same and stood by him. Dancer considers Fitchner his hero.
Enemies[]
Gallery[]
Quotes[]
- "Today my Sovereign is the Lionheart, and tomorrow she will have my votes. We will rescue the Free Legions." - Dark Age, Chapter 29
- "It is my duty as a free man to read so I'm not blind, being led around by my nose." - Iron Gold, Chapter 2
- "A nation cannot be destroyed from without till it is destroyed from within." - Red Rising, Chapter 10
- "In the densest places of man, humanity most easily breaks down" - Red Rising, Ch. 10: The Carver
- "We want you to make our boy here into a Gold." - Red Rising, Ch. 10: The Carver
- "So don't be spitting anger and hate. You're not fighting against them, no matter what Harmony says. You're fighting for Eo's dream, for your family that is still alive, your people." - Red Rising, Ch. 13 Bad Things
Trivia[]
- Red Rising gives two different names for the mine that Dancer hails from, Tyros in Chapter 08 and Oikos in Chapter 13. From Morning Star onward, he's consistently indicated to be from Faran mine.
- The Dramatic Personae in Dark Age incorrectly lists Dancer as the husband of Darrow's mother, Deanna.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Red Rising, Chapter 08
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 16
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Red Rising, Chapter 13
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Dark Age, Chapter 29
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 09
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 10
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 11
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 12
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 14
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 15
- ↑ Red Rising, Chapter 16
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Golden Son, Chapter 46
- ↑ Golden Son, Chapter 23
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Morning Star, Chapter 08
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 10
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Morning Star, Chapter 11
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 13
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 23
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Morning Star, Chapter 35
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 36
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 38
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 39
- ↑ Morning Star, Chapter 65
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Dark Age, Chapter 19
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Iron Gold, Chapter 02
- ↑ Iron Gold, Chapter 01
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Iron Gold, Chapter 10
- ↑ Iron Gold, Chapter 03
- ↑ Iron Gold, Chapter 11
- ↑ Iron Gold, Chapter 35
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Dark Age, Chapter 18
- ↑ Dark Age, Chapter 31