Olympic Knights

“	Olympic Knights have no master but our conscience. We defend the Society's Compact, subservient only to duty.	”
	— Fitchner au Barca - Golden Son, Chapter 13

The Olympic Knights are an elite order of twelve Gold knights, supposedly the greatest and most skilled warriors in all of the solar system, who serve as the force that protects the Sovereign and upholds the Compact of The Society.

Crests of the Olympic Knights, by Khuzdul1

Overview

The Olympic Knights all wear unique armor meant to represent the dominant themes of man, similar to the schoolHouses of The Institute, and separate them from other Golds. Each Knight wears a cloak emblazoned with the pyramid of the Society and a signet ring bearing the Olympic Crest. Some of the older knights, such as Lorn au Arcos, often refuse to wash their armor out of superstition, as they believe that they might wash away the good luck that enables them to survive.

The punishment for Olympic Knights who break their oaths is known as the Kiss of a Thousand, in which the offending Knight is skinned alive one cut at a time.

For most of its history, the Olympic Order held jurisdiction over the entire solar system. However, the Second Moon Lord Rebellion resulted in the order splitting, into two separate orders of knights for the Rim and the Core, with Octavia au Lune appointing new knights to positions held by Rim rebels, while the Rim began to recruit its own Olympic Knights to posts held by Golds of the Core.

History

Pre-Saga

• 657-658 PCE

The Rage Knight at the time confronted Nefeli au Arcos and her husband Spiridon over the assassination of Trajan au Augustus. Nefeli pleaded guilty and was summarily executed, while Spiridon pleaded innocent, and the Rage Knight took him back to the Temple of Jove to stand trial. Despite the protests of their son Lorn, the Rage Knight took the ancestral razor of House Arcos as a trophy.

• Early 670s PCE

At some point before 676 PCE, Lorn au Arcos became the new Rage Knight.

• 696

Lorn and another Olympic Knight exterminated House Cylus on the orders of Sovereign Ovidius au Lune.

Red Rising

• 737-738 PCE

At some point in 737 or 738 PCE, the Love Knight retired, and his daughter Kalindora au San begged Octavia au Lune to let her take her father's post. In 738, she and Atalantia au Grimmus were ordered to plant a bomb on Anastasia au Lune's shuttle to kill her and her husband Brutus for conspiring against Octavia.

During Darrow's time in the Institute, rumors of the Morning and Rage Knight positions opening began to spread throughout the Society.

• 739 PCE

Due to his close friendship with Brutus, Fear Knight Atlas au Raa was sent to the Kuiper Belt to wipe out the Ascomanni. To cement Atlas' exile, Octavia appointed a new Fear Knight in his place.

• 740 PCE

Atlas au Raa reported that his fleet had been ambushed, with only two ships remaining. Octavia ordered him to continue radio silence, and wrote Atlas off as dead.

Lorn au Arcos and Venetia au Rein officially retired from their posts as Rage and Morning Knight.

Golden Son

• 741 PCE

After proving their worthiness in Luna's Dueling Circuit and The Olympic Trails, Fitchner au Barca beat Proctor Jupiter for the Rage Knight post, and Cassius au Bellona took the role of Morning Knight.

• 742 PCE

In his attempt to steal the moonBreaker from the Ganymede Dockyards, Nero managed to decapitate the Hearth Knight before being captured by Fitchner and a fully-mended Cassius.

The Wind Knight was killed by Ragnar Volarus during the Lion's Rain.

Morning Star

• 743 PCE

At some point before The Fall, Octavia appointed a new Truth Knight in response to the incumbent Helios au Lux participating in the Second Moon Lord Rebellion, and presumably did the same for any other Olympic Knights who sided with the Rim.

Darrow and Cassius killed the Society's Truth and Joy Knights when they infiltrated Octavia's bunker during The Fall.

The Fear Knight who replaced Atlas was killed by Darrow at some point before 747 PCE.

The Solar War

• 744-746 PCE

Sometime between 744-746 PCE Darrow liberated The Den in Hyperion from the Shadow Knight.

• 747 PCE

Atlas au Raa returned from the Kuiper Belt to re-assume his post as Fear Knight, and participated in the Siege of Olympia.

Iron Gold

• 753 PCE

Dark Age

• 753-754 PCE

Kalindora au San, the Love Knight of the Society Remnant, died from poisoning and her injuries on Mercury following the Long Night.

Light Bringer

• 754-755 PCE

Ajax au Grimmus, the Society Remnant's Storm Knight, was killed in the Siege of Phobos.

Aside from Diomedes, all but three of the Rim Olympic Knights were killed during Volsung Fá's invasion of Ilium.

Olympic Knights

Morning Knight

• Armor - White with the helmet of a rising golden sun and a white cloak
• Known Society Holders
  • Venetia au Rein (until 740 PCE)
  • Cassius au Bellona (741-743 PCE)
• Known Republic Holders
  • Cassius au Bellona (754-755 PCE)

The Rage Knight before Lorn

Rage Knight

• Armor - Dark red; helmet in the shape of a laughing wolf's head
• Known Society Holders
  • Unnamed Society Holder who killed Nefeli au Arcos (Unknown - approx. 676 PCE)
  • Lorn au Arcos (~676-741 PCE)
  • Fitchner au Barca (741-742 PCE)
• Other Mentioned Holders
  • Unnamed Rim Dominion Holder described as "toadish woman with huge eyes"

Protean Knight

• Armor - Gold and midnight blue. Emblazoned with blue sea serpents
• Known Society Holders
  • Aja au Grimmus

Storm Knight

• Armor - Dark gray cloak
• Known Society Holders
  • Ajax au Grimmus (~747-754 PCE)
• Known Rim Dominion Holders
  • Diomedes au Raa (~744 PCE present)
• Other Unnamed Holders
  • Unnamed Society Holder killed by Darrow during the Solar War

Wind Knight

• Unnamed Holders
  • Unnamed Society Holder killed by Ragnar during the Lion's Rain

Hearth Knight

• Armor - Shade of bright flames
• Unnamed Holders
  • Unnamed Society Holder killed by Nero during a raid the Augustan raid on Ganymede during the Martian Civil War.

Truth Knight

• Armor - Stark white cloak
• Known Rim Dominion Holders
  • Helios au Lux (~714-755 PCE)
• Unnamed Holders
  • Unnamed Society Holder killed by Cassius during The Fall. (743 PCE)

Joy Knight

• Armor - Sky-blue
• Known Society Holders
  • Marcus au Saud

Death Knight

• Armor - Pure black
• Known Society Holders
  • Unnamed Society Holder killed by Ragnar during Quicksilver's kidnapping
  • Unnamed Society Holder killed by Darrow during Orion's rescue after the Battle of Calliban (~743-753 PCE)

Cloud Knight

• No information

Fear Knight

• Known Society Holders
  • Atlas au Raa
  • Unnamed Society Holder killed by Darrow during the Solar War

Love Knight

• Armor - Winged swan shoulders with a flaming heart in the center of the breastplate
• Known Society Holders
  • Kalindora au San (~738-754 PCE)
  • Kalindora's unnamed father

The Shadow Knight

In Chapter 16 of Iron Gold, a thirteenth Olympic Knight was mentioned, The Shadow Knight. Pierce Brown has not announced the Shadow Knight as canon or just a discrepancy, but Pierce was asked about this during the Dark Age Tour. However, in Iorn Gold the Howlers do occupy the shadow knights home temporarily.