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Part 6 of Red Rising Timeline Notes (Updated May 2026)
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Timeline of the Solar War (744-755 PCE)

Summary:

A timeline of events taking place in the Red Rising universe during the fourth, fifth, sixth, and (eventually) seventh novels, as well as the ten-year time-skip after the end of the third.

Last Update: 05/29/2026

Spoilers for all Red Rising novels and comics, including Light Bringer.

Notes:

This timeline contains spoilers for all Red Rising media, and is routinely updated to reflect new information, from details I missed when making the timeline to spoilers from the most recent releases.

For those who wish to avoid spoilers for the latest Red Rising books, this is your warning to read at your own risk.

Originally I posted separate timelines for Iron Gold and Dark Age like I did with my timelines of the Red Rising trilogy, as with the exception of Ephraim's first 3 chapters in Dark Age, the meat of each novel's main plot took place within a single calendar year. However, Light Bringer threw that out the window with half of it's plot taking place in 754 PCE and the other half in 755, with the end of the novel indicating that the saga finale, Red God will predominantly be taking place later in 755. Since this would result in a dedicated 755 timeline for Light Bringer covering only half the book, it felt easier to combine the individual timelines for Iron Gold, Dark Age, and the 10-year timeskip into a single timeline for the entire Iron Gold tetralogy, rather than have to split up Light Bringer so awkwardly.

Except when given by the source material, all specific dates are my best estimate based on context clues in the text regarding the timing of key events.

Days of the week are calculated based on the indications that the Society and Solar Republic are indicated to still follow the same 365-day-with-leap-years calendar that the US does in real life, the fact that October 17, 753 PCE is confirmed to be a Tuesday, and the assumption that 752 PCE is a leap year.

Work Text:

744 PCE

January:

  • The Battle of Luna begins.[001]
  • Thalia au Raa is born.[002]

August-September:

  • Electra Barca is born.[003]
  • Adrius II is born.[004]

745 PCE

  • Pytha joins Cassius and Lysander aboard the Archimedes.[005] 
  • Fel becomes a Republic long-ranger in the asteroid belt.[006]
  • Quicksilver begins funding off-book operations in the belt mining for rare metals.[007]

746 PCE

  • Ephraim ti Horn deserts the Rising.[008]
  • Cassius hears the story of Darrow being whipped at The Institute when a pirate lectures him on leadership.[009]

September-November:

  • The Battle of Luna ends.[010]
  • Darrow, Pax, Thraxa, and Daxo take a trip to the Telemanus estate in New Zealand.[011]
  • The Solar Republic invades Grimmus-held Africa.[011]
  • House Grimmus is driven from their ancestral city of New Sparta.[011]
  • Cadus Harnassus becomes commander of the Terran Second Legion Blacksmiths.[011]
  • Republic Obsidians are taught how to counter the Pella maneuver.[012]

747 PCE

  • The Society Remnant withdraws its forces from Earth, with only a small holdout remaining in South Pacifica.[013]
  • Darrow, Virginia, and Pax visit Mars together as a family.[014]
  • Atlas au Raa returns from the Kuiper Belt and allies himself with the Society Remnant.[013]
  • Solar Republic Intelligence starts receiving reports that the Ascomanni have united under a single leader.[013]
  • The Siege of Olympia occurs.[015]
  • Valdir duels Apollonius au Valii-Rath during the Siege of Olympia.[015]
  • A Red spy named Daedre infiltrates Atlas' camp during the Siege of Olympia and poisons 104 of his men.[015]
  • Darrow drives Apollonius out of Olympia and ends the siege with the aid of the Republic's 7th and 15th Legions.[015]
  • Apollonius is sent on a suicide mission to assassinate Darrow, Sevro, and their families on Luna.[015]
  • Apollonius is captured by the Solar Republic and given a life sentence in Deepgrave.[015]
  • Atalantia au Grimmus takes her nephew Ajax as a paramour shortly before his sixteenth birthday.[016]
  • Virginia and a team of Greens break open Octavia au Lune's Crescent Vault in the Hyperion Citadel.[017]
  • Republic senator Publius cu Caraval begins blocking all legislative attempts at prison reform.[018]
  • Liam of Lagalos is born.[019]

748 PCE

  • Ajax cuts off Darrow's left fingers in a duel sometime after the former's seventeenth birthday.[016]
  • Volga finds Ephriam mugged and left for dead after a job in Echo City and carries him to the hospital.[020]
  • Kieran O'Lykos becomes head of the Howlers' engineering team.[021]
  • A Venusian assassin infiltrates Dicteon Antron in an attempt to assassinate Daxo, only to be devoured by seven Gigavok.[022]

August-September:

  • Electra is given access to the simulation puzzle room aboard the Pandora.[023]

749 PCE

  • The Battle of Mars occurs.[024]
  • Dago of Lykos enlists in the Free Legions.[025]
  • The Darkstar Conservatory is founded on Mars.[026]
  • Rhonna O'Lykos enters basic training to become a Drachenjäger pilot.[027]
  • Alexandar Arcos begins training as Darrow’s lancer.[028]

750 PCE

  • The Battle of Ceres occurs.[029]
  • Apollonius has the Ash Lord poisoned from Deepgrave.[030]
  • Adrius II hears The Jackal's first recorded message.[031]

751 PCE

  • Lagalos is liberated by the Rising.[032]
  • Republic forces escort the population of Lagalos to the surface four weeks after the mine's liberation.[033]
  • Republic relief ships bring food and supplies to the Lagalos Reds the day after their arrival on the surface.
  • Mars, Phobos, and Deimos are declared free.[032]
  • Dancer retires from the military and becomes a senator for Red, founding the Vox Populi party.[032]
  • The Siege of Mercury begins.[034]
  • Screwface is carved and sent undercover as a mole within the ranks of the Society's legions on Mercury.[034]
  • Cassius has a run in with Gorgo and a team of Syndicate assassins on Ceres.[029]
  • The Society navy launches a failed raid on a Republic supply caravan to Mercury.[035]
  • Quicksilver’s men capture one of the ships in the raid, which he names the Nessus and claims for his personal use.
  • Duncan O'Cyros joins the Red Hand.[036]

752 PCE

  • Darrow visits Luna during the siege of Mercury.[037]
  • Rhonna graduates from boot camp and gets assigned to a unit in the thick of surface fighting on Mercury.[028]
  • Darrow makes Rhonna one of his personal lancers before she can see any combat.[028]
  • Quicksilver purchases Glirastes' sculpture Dawn of Hermes for 94 billion credits at an auction held by the Ophion Guild.[038]

753 PCE

February:

  • The Red Hand establishes a base at an abandoned helium mine in northern Cimmeria.[039]
  • Sevro departs Mercury to return to Luna.[040]

March:

  • Sevro arrives on Luna for a brief visit and gets Victra pregnant with their fourth child before returning to the front lines.[040]

July:

  • The Ophion Guild contacts Dido au Raa to offer information regarding Darrow's actions at the Battle of Ilium.[041]
  • Dido sends her daughter Seraphina to the Core to retrieve the Ophion Guild's information.
  • The Senate rejects Darrow’s proposal for an Iron Rain and orders him to maintain the siege of Mercury.[042]
  • Two days after the Senate rejected his proposal, Darrow launches an Iron Rain on Mercury and claims the planet for the Solar Republic.[042]
  • The Solar Republic's Free Legions on Mercury hold a Liberation Day parade in Tyche.[042]

August:

  • A Society fleet led by House Cerana of Venus is sighted in Mars' orbital path without the support of House Carthii.[043]
  • Food rationing is instituted on Io due to a decline in food reserves.[044]
Friday, August 18:
  • Darrow and the Seventh Legion leave Mercury for the return trip to Luna.[042]
  • Julia au Bellona leaves for Luna to deliver a false peace offer on behalf of the Society Remnant.[045]
Wednesday, August 30:
  • Cassius and Lysander have a run-in with Scar Hunters from Mars.[046]

September:

Wednesday, September 14:
  • Niobe takes Pax and the Barca girls on a field trip to the ruins of the USS Davy Crockett in Luna's Atlas Mountains.[047]
Sunday, September 17:
  • Luna:
    • Darrow arrives on Luna and the Republic Senate holds a Liberation Day parade.[042][043]
    • Darrow returns to Silene Manor to enjoy a quiet evening with his family.
    • The Horn Gang steals the sword of Silenius au Lune from the Hyperion Museum of Antiquities.[048]
  • Mars:
    • Lyria and her family watch a news report on Darrow's Triumph on the HC.[043]
    • Red Hand forces led by Harmony attack Assimilation Camp 121 during the night.
    • Republic forces under the command of Kavax Telemanus descend on Camp 121 to drive off the Red Hand.
    • Lyria saves Kavax when he falls into the river beside the camp.
Monday, September 18:
  • Mars:  
    • Lyria discovers that her family was killed by the Red Hand.[042][043]
    • Lyria convinces Kavax to bring her and Liam back to Luna with him.
    • Kavax hires Lyria as a valet when Xana brings up the Republic's current immigration laws.
  • Luna:
    • Darrow appeals to the Senate for additional funds and troops to liberate Venus.[049]
    • Dancer presents Julia au Bellona and the Society Remnant's request for peace talks to the Senate.
    • Ephriam meets up with Holiday to share a drink as a memorial for Trigg on his birthday.
    • Ephraim is captured by The Syndicate and tested to see whether he'll give up his contacts under pressure.
    • Darrow gathers the Howlers and plans to flee Luna for an unsanctioned mission to kill the Ash Lord.
    • Ephraim convinces his team to accept the job the Syndicate offers them.
    • The Senate votes to remove Darrow from command and issues a warrant for his arrest.
    • Darrow and Sevro make one last visit to their children before they leave.
    • Mustang summons the Wardens to Silene Manor when she can't talk Darrow out of leaving.
    • A skirmish breaks out between Darrow and the wardens in which Wulfgar is accidentally killed.
Saturday, September 25:
  • The cargo ship Vindabona is raided by Obsidian pirates while ferrying Seraphina au Raa to Asteroid S-1392.[050]
  • Lysander, Cassius, and Pytha receive the Vindabona's distress call on the way to Lacrimosa Station for repairs.
Saturday, September 26:
  • Cassius and Lysander investigate the Vindabona and discover that the ship has been boarded by pirates.[046]
  • Cassius rescues many of the ship's lowColor crew members while Lysander rescues Seraphina.
  • The Archimedes flees to Asteroid S-1392 at Lysander's urging after Seraphina says that help is waiting there.
  • The Archimedes is captured by the Rim destoryer Charybdis, and all aboard are taken prisoner by Diomedes au Raa and the Krypteia.

October:

  • The ration cycle in the Rim Dominion continues after disruption of agriculture on Titan.[051]
Monday, October 09:
  • The Telemanus Household arrives on Luna with Lyria and Liam in tow.[052]
  • Lyria is tasked with delivering fecal samples to Dr. Liago after Sophocles begins attacking the Pachelbel birds in the Citadel.
Monday, October 16:
  • Luna:
    • Lyria overhears a Copper and a Gray arguing under a pulseField while walking Sophocles.[052]
    • Ephraim and his crew visit Kobachi’s Tech Emporium to have equipment custom made for their heist. 
  •  Earth: 
    • Darrow and the Howlers infiltrate Deepgrave to free Apollonius and several dozen other prisoners of war.
    • Kieran asks Darrow not to bring Rhona to Venus with him.
Tuesday, October 17:
  • Luna: 
    • Ephraim uses his associate Dano to frame Lyria for pick-pocketing a Gold woman while visiting Hyperion.[053]
    • Ephraim approaches under the guise of a veteran named Phillipe and talks the Watchmen out of arresting Lyria.
    • Ephraim takes Lyria out to dinner and develops a rapport with her to gain her trust.
  •  Earth:
    • Darrow and company begin their voyage towards Venus with prisoners in tow.[054]
    • Kieran and the support Howlers disperse across Earth to carry out other assignments.
Sunday, October 29:
  • Kobachi finishes his work on the miniaturized bomb, which Ephriam gives to Lyria under the pretense of a gift.[039]
Tuesday, October 31:
  • Darrow discovers that Rhonna has stowed away on the Nessus against his orders.[055]
  • Darrow and Sevro make a deal with Appolonius and bring him up to speed on what he's missed while incarcerated.

November:

Wednesday, November 01:
  • Luna: 
    • Lyria talks to Pax while walking Sophocles during Quicksilver’s birthday party.[039]
    • Ephraim and his gang abduct Pax, Electra, and Lyria as their entourage leaves Quicksilver's party.
    • Lyria escapes and turns herself over to the Republic Watchmen.
    • Ephriam pushes Volga away while they hide out in a hotel near the spaceport as they prepare to leave for Earth.[056]
    •  
  •  Io: 
    • The Charybdis arrives on Io.[046]
    • Dido au Raa initiates a coup against her husband Romulus.
    • Lysander and Cassius are spared from execution as thanks for rescuing Seraphina.
    • Lysander and Cassius have dinner with the Raa family, where Dido reveals that she knows of Cassius's true identity.
    • Cassius is forced to fight multiple duels against members of House Raa for his role in the deaths of Revus and Thesalia.
    • Lysander reveals his identity and gives up their safe in exchange for Cassius's life.
    • Dido presents the footage of Darrow destroying the Ganymede Dockyards to the Rim Golds.
    • Diomedes smuggles Cassius to Europa and leads everyone to believe that the Bellona died from his wounds.
    • Gaia au Raa reunites Lysander with Pytha and attempts to persuade him to free Romulus from his cell.
    • Lysander reports Gaia to Dido in order to guarantee his and Pytha's survival.
Thursday, November 02:
  • Luna:
    •  
    • Holiday brings Lyria to The Citadel for questioning.
    • Virginia stops Daxo and Theodora from torturing Lyria, and apolozies for how the Republic has failed her.
    • Lyria, Virginia, and Holiday figure out that Ephraim and The Syndicate are behind the childrens' abduction.[056]
    • Holiday, Lyria, and Virginia confront Ephraim and convince him to help rescue the children in exchange for Volga's safety.
    • Ephraim infiltrates The Duke of Hands' penthouse and rescues Pax and Electra.[056]
    • Ephraim and the children steal the Duke's private shuttle to escape, but Ephraim is wounded by Gorgo in the process.
    • Ephraim detonates a cache of grenades to disable the ship when the Syndicate Queen takes remote control of the vessel.
    • Obsidian scavengers find Ephraim and the kids at the crash site and deliver them to Sefi.
    • Valdir, Freihild, and the Skuggi drive off the Syndicate agents who attempt to recapture them.
    • Figment abducts Lyria from the Citadel on Victra's orders.
  • Io:
    • Romulus au Raa is put on trial refusing to investigate the truth of what happened at the Battle of Ilium.[057]
    • Romulus confesses that he knew the truth and deliberately covered it up.
    • Romulus walks to the Dragon Tomb and succumbs to the elements as punishment for his actions.
    • Lysander convinces Dido to send him to the Core and ally with the Ash Lord to unite Gold against the Republic.
Friday, November 03:
  • Sefi and her court leave Luna for Mars with Ephraim and the children in tow.[058]
Sunday, November 05:
  • The Nessus crosses into Society territory.[055]
Tuesday, November 14:
  • Darrow’s group arrives on Venus, where they help Apollonius retake control of his household from his brother Tharsus.[059]
Wednesday, November 15:
  • Mercury:
    • The Ash Armada launches a sneak attack on the White Fleet and destroys most of the Republic's ships over Mercury.[059]
  • Venus:
    • Darrow and the Howlers storm the Ash Lord’s citadel on Gorgon Island with the aid of Apollonius's household troops.[059]
    • Darrow and Sevro discover that the Ash Lord has been dying of poison for three years and Atalantia is running the Society.
    • Darrow and Sevro burn the Ash Lord alive.
    • Sevro and the original Howlers return to Luna to try and help rescue Pax and Electra.
    • Darrow continues on to Mercury with Thraxa, Tongueless, Alexandar, Rhonna, and Colloway aboard the Ash Lord’s private shuttle.
Saturday, November 18:
  • Darrow arrives in orbit over Mercury after Atlantia’s forces destroy the White Fleet.[059]

December:

Saturday, December 02:
  • Sefi and her forces arrive on Mars with Ephraim and the children.[058]
  • The Obsidian Alltribe begins a campaign of extermination against the Red Hand as they establish a foothold in Cimmeria.
Friday, December 08:
  • Darrow rescues Orion from Ajax and the Gorgons as they transport her into orbit for interrogation.[059]
Saturday, December 09:
  • Thraxa and Alexandar begin tracking Atlas au Raa on Darrow's orders to herd the Fear Knight toward Eleusis.[059]
Wednesday, December 13:
  • Sevro and the Howlers return to Luna from Mercury.[060]
  • Sevro declares war against the Syndicate after Victra informs him that Pax and Electra are safe.
Thursday, December 14:
  • Orion requests to return to duty.[061]
Friday, December 15:
  • Ephraim wakes up in Eagle Rest on Mars, where he finds Pax and Electra training with Obsidian youths.[058]
  • Sefi reveals to Ephraim that she and the Obsidians are preparing to break away from the Republic.
  • Ephraim is hired to teach the Skuggi the skills of Freelancers in exchange for Lyria and Volga's freedom.
Friday, December 29:
  • Orion begins operating four Storm Gods two klicks beneath the surface of the Sycorax Sea.[059]
  • Harnassus's troops melt down scrap metal to fill the ammo magazines of the Republic's 23rd Legion.[059]

754 PCE

January:

Friday, January 05:
  • Darrow reunites with Dago while visiting wounded Republic soldiers in Heliopolis.[059]
  • Lysander and the Rim delegation arrive in orbit over Mercury.
  • Harnasus and Glirastes reactivate the last remaining Storm God in preparation for Operation Voyager Cloak.
  • Atlas au Raa attacks Angelia and overloads the nuclear reactors powering the northern shield chain.
  • Atalantia au Grimmus launches an Iron Rain on the continent of Helios.
  • Skyhook Eleven is hit by an atomic bomb while Darrow and the Howlers are resupplying.
  • Lysander reunites with Rhone ti Flavinius and the Praetorian Guard's First Cohort while crossing the Ladon.
  • Ajax au Grimmus sends Lysander, Kalindora, Rhone, and Seraphina to stop the Storm God in the desert.
  • Darrow kills Orion to stop her from scouring the surface of Mercury with the Storm Gods.
  • Screwface breaks cover and returns to the Free Legions to warn Darrow that Heliopolis is under attack
  • Alexandar and the Arcosian Knights stay in Tyche to evacuate civilians and keep the Ash Legions out of the gravLoop.
  • Darrow heads for Heliopolis with the Republic's 15th Legion.
Saturday, January 06:
  • Seraphina au Raa is killed during Lysander's attack on the desert-based Storm God shortly after 03:00 AM local time.[062]
  • Lysander regroups with Rhone, Kalindora, Cicero, and their surviving troops at 6:30 AM local time.
  • Cicero au Votum and two dozen of his men leave to keep Heliopolis out of Atalantia's hands.
  • Lysander's face is burned by a fallen starShell after his squad is decimated by Darrow and the 15th Legion.
  • Darrow's force is ambushed and wiped out by Atlas au Raa and the Gorgons when they arrive at Helioplis.
  • Colloway xe Char arrives in the Morning Star arrive and drives the Gorgons off.
  • The Free Legions drive the Society forces out of Heliopolis.
  • Darrow has a heart attack as the exhaustion of the battle finally catches up to him.
  • Scavengers sift through the bodies in the Ladon to harvest weapons and electronics.[063]
  • Rhone and Kalindora free Lysander from his suit and guide him away from the killing field.
  • Rhone is captured by Republic forces and taken to Heliopolis while trying to free more Praetorians
Sunday, January 07:
  • The Republic Reconnaissance Division receives word of Darrow's Victory on Mercury.[064]
  • Virginia starts preparing relief supplies to send to Mercury while she pushes the Senate to dispatch reinforcements.
Monday, January 08:
  • Virginia gives a speech urging Republic citizens to pressure their senators into sending reinforcements to Mercury.[064]
  • Relief supplies are launched toward Mercury from the Twins of South Pacifica orbital railgun installation. 
  • Dancer calls Virginia to discuss her speech while she descends from orbit.
  • Virginia and Holiday meet with Daxo and the Optimate political aides at Dictaeon Antron in preparation for the vote.
Tuesday, January 09:
  • Virginia meets with the Silvers' Zenith Ring to convince them to have their senators vote to send reinforcements.[065]
  • Sevro assassinates The Syndicate's Duke of Heads.
  • Theodora's Splinter agents capture the Duke of Hands.
  • Virginia interrogates the Duke of Hands and reconciles with Sevro.
Wednesday, January 10:
  • Mustang and Sevro privately confront Dancer about his association with the Duke of Hands.[066]
Thursday, January 11:
  • Luna:
    • The Republic Senate meets to vote on whether to send reinforcements to Mercury.[064]
    • Sevro and the Howlers are captured by Boneriders while raiding the Syndicate Queen's base on Earth.
    • Dancer and several of his supporters are poisoned by The Syndicate before the vote can begin.
    • Senator Caraval instigates a coup against Virginia using a Vox Populi mob.
    • Virginia realizes that Lilath au Faran is the Syndicate Queen as the woman kills Daxo.
  • Mars: 
    • Ephraim and the children are taken from Olympia onto a military shuttle in the aftermath of the violence on Luna.[067]
Friday, January 12:
  • Mars:
    • The Ecliptic Guard leaves Mars to sail for Luna and demand Virginia's release.[067]
  • Mercury:
    • Collaway xe Char begins searching for Orion's body to return her to Heliopolis for burial.[068]
Sunday, January 14:
  • Ephraim and the children arrive on the Heart of Venus in the morning.[067]
  • Sefi informs Pax of his mother’s apparent death at the hands of the mob.
  • Sefi reveals to Ephraim her plan for seizing the continent of Cimmeria as the Alltribe's homeland.
Monday, January 15:
  • Apollonius au Valii-Rath begins stalking Lysander across the Ladon in secret.[069]
Tuesday, January 16:
  • Diomedes au Raa leaves Mercury to deliver Atalantia’s terms of alliance to the Moon Council.[070]
  • Society Remnant forces capture the city of Naran, leaving Heliopolis as the last bastion of the Solar Republic on Mercury.[071]
Wednesday, January 17:
  • Colloway leaves Heliopolis at 0430 for another attempt to locate Orion and finally recovers her body.[069]
  • Darrow holds a funeral for the dead recovered from the Battle of the Ladon.
  • Atalantia contacts Darrow to taunt and demoralize him with the footage of what she calls The Day of Red Doves
  • Darrow leaves the leadership of the Free Legions to decide all of their fates and returns to his quarters to brood.
Thursday, January 18:
  • Screwface wakes up Darrow early in the morning and tries to get him out walking among the troops.[069]
  • Virginia's relief supplies land on Mercury just offshore from Heliopolis.
  • Harnassus fires at one of Atalantia's dreadnoughts in orbit to announce the Free Legions' refusal to surrender.
  • Darrow formulates a plan to escape from Mercury and summons Glirastes to put it into motion.
  • Lysander's group comes upon a crashed Stork while wandering the desert.
  • Cicero au Votum tells Lysander and Kalindora the story of his first encounter with Darrow.[069]
Friday, January 19:
  • Lysander, Kalindora, and Cicero encounter another sandstorm heading their way as they trek across the desert.[069]
  • Lysander is separated from the group and is forced to hide inside a hydra burrow.
  • Kalindora, Cicero, and the rest of their allies are captured by Republic scouts while Lysander hides in the hydra burrow.
  • Apollonius makes contact with Lysander for the first time.
  • Lysander kills Seneca au Cern and his Iron Leopards when they try to assassinate him on Ajax's orders.
Sunday, January 21:
  • Mars:
    • Sefi and the Obsidians seize the Helium mines of Cimmeria from Sun Industries in order to secure the land for the Alltribe.[067]
    • After returning to Olympia, Ephraim tells the kids what happened.[072]
    • Ozgard gets Ephraim drunk to celebrate the successful seizure of the Helium mines.
  •  Mercury:
    • Lysander uses the last of the water stolen from Seneca.[069]
Monday, January 22:
  • Sefi and her Valkyrie depart Eagle Rest to hunt a Nidhoggr ice drake to commemorate the beginning of winter on Mars' south pole.[072]
Tuesday, January 23:
  • Mercury:
    • Lysander leaves the desert and finds an abandoned farmhouse where he's able to treat the burn on his face.[069]
  • Mars:
    • Ephraim finally comes down from his post-victory hangover.[072]
Thursday, January 25:
  • Lysander leaves the farm and sets out towards Erebos.[069]
Friday, January 26:
  • Lysander encounters a family of Red refugees displaced by the Republic’s invasion while walking toward Erebos.[069]
  • Lysander is captured by Gorgons when he arrives at the ruins of Erebos and finds the Republic soldiers impaled by Atlas.
  • Lysander is thrown in a cell with Alexandar and the Arcosian Knights who survived Tyche.
Saturday, January 27:
  • Ephraim kills the ice drake when Sefi is unable to do so herself.[072]
  • Ozgard invites Ephraim to join the festivities as the Obsidians begin cutting up the drake's remains.
  • Ephraim and Ozgard find Freihild's body and are ambushed by Volsung Fá.

Sunday, January 28:
  • Valdir murders Sefi's griffin and Ephraim learns that Sefi is dying from one of Atalantia's poisons.[072]
  • Sefi reveals that Volga is the daughter of Ragnar Volarus, and that she wants to make the girl her heir.
  • The Pandora is attacked in orbit by Ascomanni from the Kuiper Belt under the command of Volsung Fá.
  • Volga, Lyria, Figment, and Victra abandon ship as the dreadnought is overwhelmed and captured.
  • Figment dies from wounds sustained in their escape pod's crash landing.
  • A parasite crawls out of Figment's body and into Lyria's, replaying a recorded message before going dormant.
  • Volga and Lyria flee with Victra into the Cimmerian wilderness when the Red Hand approaches their crash site.
  • The Ascomani begin dumping bodies from the Pandora over Agea.
  • Ephraim manages to smuggle Pax and Electra out of Olympia aboard the Snowball to search for survivors.
  • Pax and Electra cut out the heartspike Sefi had implanted in Ephraim’s chest as insurance.
Monday, January 29:
  • Darrow retrieves anchovies from Sevro's armory to keep Glirastes happy.[073]
Wednesday, January 31:
  • Lysander meets with Atlas au Raa, who tells him of Ajax's relationship with Atalantia.[069]
  • Lysander convinces Atlas to help him infiltrate Heliopolis to liberate the city before Atalantia's chemical attack.
  • Lysander takes Atlas captive and helps the Arcosian Knights escape the Gorgon base.
  • Darrow and the Howlers airlift Lysander, Alexandar and their prisoner back to Heliopolis.

February:

Thursday, February 01:
  • Lysander is released to Glirastes' custody after the man vouches for his cover identity as Cato au Virtuvius.[069]
Friday, February 02:
  • Lysander and Glirastes discuss Lysander’s plan to retake Heliopolis with the aid of the loyal mid and lowColors of the city.[069]
Monday, February 05:
  • Glirastes and Lysander cripple the Republic's defenses, allowing Lysander to liberate the Society prisoners.[069]
  • Darrow and the surviving Free Legions fight their way through Heliopolis until they reach the Mound of Votum.
  • Cassius and Aurae arrive in the Archimedes and manage to evacuate a little over 200 survivors.
Tuesday, February 06:
  • Atlas's Gorgons finally free him from the brig of the Morning Star.[074]
Wedneday, February 07:
  • Victra gives birth to her firstborn son, Ulysses Barca.[075]
Thursday, February 08:
  • Lyria finds out that Cormack is a Red Hand spy.[075]
  • Volga and Victra are captured by the Red Hand.
  • Ulysses is killed and nailed to a tree.
  • Lyria finds out that local Red girls are being conscripted by the Red Hand as child brides.
  • Lyria opens Figment's orb and discovers acid pouches disguised as false teeth.
  • Maeve helps Lyria pretty herself up so that she can infiltrate the Red Hand base as a potential bride.
Friday, February 09:
  • Lyria infiltrates the Red Hand base and starts an uprising among the child brides.[075]
Saturday, February 10:
  • Mars:
    • Lyria puts out a distress signal to anyone within range of the Red Hand's base.[075]
    • Ephraim and the kids pick up the distress signal and boost it for half the continent to hear.
    • Lyria and Victra kill Harmony by kicking her into a nest of adult pitVipers.
    • Ephraim takes command of the volunteer forces and Pax destroys the Red Hand's torchShip
    • The surviving Red Hand soldiers are apprehended by former Sons of Ares and Republic veterans.
    • Ephraim reunites with Volga and Lyria.
    • Victra recovers Ulysses' body.
    • Pax informs Ephraim that Xenophon was the one behind the attack on the Pandora.
    • Ephraim heads back to Olympia to expose Xenophon.
    • Ephraim discovers that Xenophon is a Gorgon while trying to free Valdir and the Skuggi.
    • Xenophon subdues Ephraim and frames him for their own crimes.
  • Luna:
    • Servilla au Arcos and Theodora are executed by the People's Tribunal.[075]
    • Virginia's trial is held on Luna, but is interrupted by the arrival of Lilath and the Boneriders.
    • Lilath reveals the existence of her master, a clone of the late Adrius “The Jackal” au Augustus.
    • Adrius II has most of the Howlers cooked inside an enourmous iron wold, sparing only Sevro, Clown, and Pebble.
    • The Boneriders hold a banquet to celebrate their takeover of Luna.
    • Virginia manages to drive a wedge between Adrius II and Lilath before managing to escape.
    • House Augustus Lionguard evacuate Virginia to the Reynard as the Telemanus fleet flees Luna.
    • Virginia sails to Mars after Kavax informs her that the Rim is preparing to invade the Republic.
  • The Core:
    • The Archimedes arrives on Marcher-1632 and its passengers begin working to make the base habitable again.[076]
Sunday, February 11:
  • Volsung Fá arrives at Eagle Rest and usurps control of the Alltribe from Sefi.[075]
  • The Obsidians who sided with Fá sack Olympia on his orders.
  • Ephraim uses his heartspike and a bomb to kill Xenophon.
  • Volsung Fá rips out Ephraim’s heart and eats it as he dies.
  • Volga steals a shuttle and flies from Attica to Olympia to chase after Ephraim.
Wednesday, February 14:
  • Mars:
    • Martian ships led by House Barca arrive at Olympia to provide aid after the Obsidians depart.[075]
    • Victra, Lyria, Volga, and the children hold a funeral for Ulysses.
  • Mercury:
    • Lysander’s Triumph is held in the rebuilt Heliopolis.[077]
    • Lysander convinces Atalantia to marry him instead of assassinate him to maintain the unity of the Society Remnant.
    • Atalantia and Lysander return to orbit during the festivities, where they consummate their engagement aboard the Annihilo.
Thursday, February 15:
  • Mars:
    • Volga and Lyria load Ephraim’s body into a racing ship to return him to Earth for burial.[075]
    • ArchGovernor Kieran O’Lykos arrives and reveals that Heliopolis has fallen.
    • Kieran explains that Volsung Fá is offering to leave Mars in exchange for Volga.
    • Volga agrees to leave Mars with the Obsidian so that she can get close to Volsung Fa and kill him.
    • Pax comes to Lyria after the Obsidians leave with information about the parasite she inherited from Figment.
  • Mercury:
    • Lysander returns to the surface to visit Kalindora as she slips away from poisoning.[077]
    • Kalindora tells Lysander the truth about his parents' deaths and his lack of memories of his mother.
    • Kalindora succumbs to the poison and her remains are fired into the sun with a traditional Gold sendoff.
Saturday, February 17:
  • Lysander beings overseeing the reconstruction of Tyche on Mercury.[077]
~Monday, February 19-Monday, February 26:
  • Colloway and 2,011 other survivors of the Free Legions hire a group of smugglers to get them off Mercury.[078]
  • Colloway's group steals the smugglers' ship after escaping Mercury.
Monday, February 26:
  • Volsung Fá convinces Volga to help him build a kingdom for their people instead of killing him.[079]

March:

Friday, March 02:
  • Diomedes and Ajax lead the combined forces of the Rim and the Core to retake Earth.[080]
Saturday, March 03:
  • Virginia arrives on Mars and flies the Iron Circle at Kavax’s urging.[080]
  • Pax delivers the news that Earth has fallen.[080]
Thursday, March 08-Saturday, March 31:
  • Lysander meets with Apollonius in the desert and persuades him to form an alliance.[081]
  • Quicksilver's flagship is sighted by a Republic military station on the inner fringe of the asteroid belt.[082]

April:

  • Dido and the Dragon Armada seize control of Eros from the Solar Republic.[083]
  • Pax enrolls at the Darkstar Conservatory on Mars.[080]

May:

  • The House Grimmus destroyer Panthera passes within 50 thousand clicks of Marcher-1632.[084]

June:

  • The parasite in Lyria's head stops giving her directions.[085]

August:

Monday, August 07:
  • Sevro is delivered to the Venus Dockyards after Apollonius wins him in a Syndicate auction.[086]
  • Apollonius broadcasts a message that Darrow has 90 days to come face him on Venus or Sevro will be executed.
Friday, August 24:
  • Cassius and Aurae leave Icarus Base to acquire more helium for the Archimedes at Starhold.[087]

September:

  • Cassius and Aurae arrive at Starhold and steal helium for the Archimedes.[087]
  • Cassius picks up Apollonius's broadcast.
  • Three days after the broadcast, Cassius's contacts at Starhold link him up with Colloway's band of survivors.

October:

Tuesday, October 02:
  • Colloway picks up a broadcast of Virginia giving a speech on Mars while en route to Icarus Base.[088]
Friday, October 05:
  • Cassius and Aurae return to Icarus Base with Colloway and inform Darrow of Apollonius's broadcast.[086]
  • Darrow, Cassius, and Aurae leave Icarus Base in the Archimedes to go rescue Sevro from Venus.
Friday, October 12:
  • The Archimedes reaches Venus's orbital path and waits for a convoy whose wake can mask their approach to the docks.[086]
Tuesday, October 16:
  • Lyria's long-ranger squad witness a battle between Republic and Rim ships that ends in a victory for the Rim.[089]
Wednesday, October 17:
  • Lyria's long-ranger squad spots a Rim Dominion frigate pack.[089]
Thursday, October 18:
  • Venus:
    • Darrow and Cassius arrive on Venus and infiltrate the Dockyards while Aurae remains with the Archimedes.[086]
    • Aurae hides a nuke one one of the dockyards' construction spindles.
    • Darrow and Cassius are captured when they find a carved body double in Sevro's cell.
  •  Mercury:
    • Lysander hosts a multi-day tournament of sporting events in Heliopolis.[090]
    • Tharsus informs Lysander of Darrow and Cassius's capture.
    • The Dustmaker arrives in Mercury's orbit at midday.
    • Lysander meets with Helios and Diomedes at sunset after a performance of Oedipus.
    • Helios tells Lysander that Atalantia is holding a summit on Earth in nine days.
    • Atlas arrives and reveals that Atalantia sent him to spy on Lysander and monitor his finances.
    • Diomedes and Helios leave Mercury aboard the Dustmaker.
Friday, October 19:
  • Mercury:
    • Lysander spends the day glad-handing and soliciting more creditors for his projects.[089]
    • Lysander has a private celebration of Darrow's capture at Glirastes' estate.
  • The Core:
    • The Dustmaker crosses in front of the sun on its way to Earth.[089]
Saturday, October 20:
  • Venus:
    • Darrow is forced to duel Apollonius in single combat at the Hanging Coliseum.[086]
    • Apollonius reveals that he already anticipated Darrow's plan and located the nuke.
    • Sevro detonates a bomb on one of the construction spindles.
    • House Carthii invades the Dockyards to reclaim their facility from Apollonius.
    • Sevro rescues Darrow and Cassius while Apollonus's men fight off Carthii boarding parties.
    • Darrow, Sevro, and Cassius escape back to the Archimedes and sail away from the Dockyards toward Mars.
  • Mercury:
    • Lysander hosts a party to celebrate the launch and re-christening of the Lightbringer.[089]
    • The Carthii heirs on Mercury attempt to kill Tharsus when they receive word of the battle at the Dockyards.
    • Lysander convinces Valeria au Carthii to ally with him and spare Tharsus.
    • Tharsus and his friends are executed by Atlas and the Gorgons while fleeing the party.
    • Atlas announces that Lysander has been summoned to Earth for an inquiry into the situation on Venus.
    • Lysander is beaten by the Gorgons on Atalantia's orders after they board the ship to Earth
Sunday, October 21:
  • Atlas and Lysander rendezvous with the Styx and continue their journey to Earth.[091]
Monday, October 22:
  • Lyria's longer-ranger squad is killed by Rim Dustwalkers while investigating an asteroid in sector 3401 of the belt.[089]
  • Quicksilver's drones rescue Lyria and bring her inside Tabula Rasa to treat her wounds.
  • Matteo tells Lyria the origin of the parasite, and she choses to have it removed.
  • Matteo makes arrangements to schedule Lyria's surgery and sends the base's location to the Republic coms relay.
Tuesday, October 23:
  • Lyria undergoes surgery to remove the parasite from her body.[089]
Wednesday, October 24:
  • Aurae tells Darrow and Sevro about the Daughters of Athena and the fleet waiting on the Rim for Sevro.[092]
Thursday, October 25:
  • The Core:
    • Cassius begins teaching Darrow new razor fighting techniques.[092]
  • Mars:
    • A pro-Lune zealot commits a suicide bombing on Phobos in the morning.[089][093]
    • Virginia dispatches five of the Republic's fastest ships to Quicksilver's base just before sunset.
    • Virginia flies to the Darkstar Conservatory to visit Pax after seeing her emmissaries to Quicksilver off.
Friday, October 26:
  • Earth:
    • Lysander arrives on Earth for Atalantia's summit.[091]
    • Atalantia reveals that Glirastes will be killed and skinned if Lysander deviates from her designs.
    • Lysander attempts to mend fences with Ajax and sway his old friend to his side.
  • Venus:
    • Asmodeus au Carthii is killed in action during the battle aboard the Venus Dockyards.[094]
Saturday, October 27:
  • Atalantia's summit is held in Rome, where she announces her plan to launch an Iron Rain on Luna in six months.[086]
  • Lysander persuades the 200 Primuses to launch a campaign against Mars.

November:

Wednesday, November 14:
  • The survivors of the Free Legions arrive on Mars and warn Virginia of the approaching Society invasion fleet.[095]
Thursday, November 15:
  • The Twins of South Pacifica fire several rail slugs in the direction of Mars' north pole.[095]
Monday, November 19:
  • Virginia and Victra have dinner with Kieran and the commanders of Mars' defense fleets at the Citadel in Agea.[096]
  • Victra asks what celebretory beverage Virginia would like to drink once Lysander is dead.
Tuesday, November 20:
  • The Siege of Phobos begins.[095]
  • Victra's ships are decimated in the fifth hour by the rail slugs fired from the Twins.
  • Lysander's forces make landfall on Phobos.
  • Kavax is taken prisoner while fighting the Society vanguard.
  • Virginia is forced to abandon the Nucleus and fall back to Bastion Four.
  • Victra makes landfall on Phobos, killing Ajax and taking Cicero prisoner when they try to assassinate her.

December:

Sunday, December 02:
  • The medical center in Bastion Four on Phobos receives a fresh intake of wounded Republic troops.[095]
  • Victra arrives at Bastion Four with a captive Cicero and the head of Ajax.
Monday, December 03:
  • Lysander and Virginia meet in secret for a parley.[095]
  • Virginia surrenders the moon in exchange for Republic forces being allowed to evacaute unmollested.
  • Kavax is released from Society custody in exchange for Cicero's release and the return of Ajax's head.
Saturday, December 08:
  • Virginia finishes evacuating all Republic citizens and military personnel from Phobos.[089]
  • Darrow contacts Virginia and is assigned to seek out Quicksilver's secret asteroid base.
  • Lysander holds an award ceremony for the Society soldiers as the last Republic ship leaves Phobos.
  • Lysander is poisoned at a gala on Phobos while speaking to his allies.[097]
  • Lysander is placed in a medically induced coma to save him from the poison.
Sunday, December 09:
  • Darrow chooses to stop looking back at Mars and making himself miserable.[098]
Thursday, December 13:
  • The Osidian war fleet ambushes and destroys the Ilium Guard at the Jovian moon of Garmaga.[099]
Friday, December 14:
  • Gaia au Raa and the Moon Council alert the Dust and Dragon armadas to the Ascomanni attack.[099]
  • Dido and Helios decide to return to Ilium to protect their people from the Ascomanni.
Saturday, December 15:
  • Dimoedes tries to speak with Lysander about the Rim's decision to leave the war effort.[099]
Sunday, December 16:
  • Lysander's allies wake him from his coma and tell him that the Rim armadas are preparing to leave in three hours.[097]
  • Lysander and ten of his Praetorians board the Dustmaker as the Rim fleet begins its voyage back to Jupiter.
Wednesday, December 26:
  • The Lightbringer and the remaining ships of Lysander's fleet leave Phobos and begin sailing toward the Rim.[100]
Thursday, December 27:
  • Diomedes au Raa begins running his troops through drills as the Dustmaker sails toward Ilium.[101]

755 PCE

January:

Wednesday, December 26:
  • The Lightbringer and the remaining ships of Lysander's fleet leave Phobos and begin sailing toward the Rim.[101]
Friday, January 04:
  • Sungrave's communications go silent.[102]
Saturday, January 05:
  • Helios engages and destroys an Ascomanni scout group inside the orbits of the outer Jovian moons.[103]
  • Helios goes radio silent and probes deeper into Ilium to harass Volsung Fá's main fleet.
Sunday, January 06:
  • Helios au Lux destroys two Volk torchShips.[103]
Thursday, January 10:
  • Lysander and Diomedes have lunch in Helios' office aboard the Dustmaker and discuss the status of the campaign.[100]
Friday, January 11:
  • The Rim armadas pass through the first third of the asteroid belt on their voyage back to Jupiter.[104]
Sunday, January 13:
  • The Archimedes arrives at Quicksilver's asteroid base and learns that Quicksilver doesn't have a fleet at all.[097]
  • Darrow discovers the status of the Rim Dominion fleets and the Ascomanni attack on Ilium while using Quicksilver's telescopes.
Monday, January 14:
  • Darrow updates Cassius, Aurae, and Sevro on the Ascomanni invasion of the Rim.[102]
  • Darrow decides to sneak into Ilium and meet with Athena while the Rim forces are distracted by the Obsidians.
  • Darrow undergoes lightwave treatment to help aid in his recovery from his injuries on Mercury.
  • Matteo and Lyria destroy the Figment parasite after confirming that she hasn't suffered any brain damage from the surgery.
  • Lyria meets Darrow for the first time and is told that she should go back to Mars while she still can.
Tuesday, January 15:
  • Sevro learns about Ulysses and his fate from Lyria shortly before 5:00 A.M.[102]
  • Darrow, Cassius, Aurae and Sevro leave the Tabula Rasa and start sailing toward Jupiter.
  • Lyria stows away aboard the Archimedes.
Friday, January 18:
  • Atlas au Raa impersonates Helios and seizes control of the Dustmaker.[102]
  • The Gorgons and Obsidians ambush and destroy the Rim war fleet.
  • Lysander throws Diomedes into an escape pod before being captured by the Gorgons.
Wednesday, January 23:
  • Lyria is discovered aboard the Archimedes and convinces Darrow to let her stay on board.[102]
Monday, January 28:
  • Kalyke:
    • The Archimedes arrives at Kalyke and discovers Diomedes' escape pod.[102]
    • Darrow decides to head for Aurae's Omega Torch relay in Sungrave to contact Athena.
  •  Io:
    • Lysander learns the scope of Atlas's plan to punish the Rim for rebelling against the Society.[102]
    • Altas convinces Lysander to become the planned savior of the Rim under threat of death.
Tuesday, January 29:
  • Jovian System:
    • Sevro attempts to torture Diomedes au Raa to determine whether Athena's promised fleet is a trap.[102]
  • Io:
    • Atlas' carver Xanthus surgically reattaches Atlas' original arms.[102]

February:

Friday, February 01:
  • The Archimedes arrives in orbit of Io and hides from the Obsidian dreadnoughts.[102]
  • Lysander and Atlas meet with Volsung Fá on the surface of Io.
Monday, February 04:
  • The Volk fleet departs Io to invade Callisto.[102]
Wednedday, February 06:
  • The Archimedes lands on Io after the Obsidian dreadnoughts leave.[102]
  • Darrow, Sevro, Cassius, Diomedes, and Aurae infiltrate Sungrave to locate Aurae's Omega torch.
  • Cassius and Darrow fight against a group of Obsidian braves to save a group of lowColor children.
  • Skarde and another group of Braves arrive, leading Darrow to reveal his survival to the Obsidians.
  • The Daughters of Athena save Lyria, Sevro, and Aurae from two Obsidian ships at the cost of their own.
  • The Daughters of Athena help evacuate the rescued lowColor children and Darrow takes Sigurd prisoner.
Monday, February 10:
  • The Archimedes arrives on Europa.[105]
  • Lyria talks to Sigurd in the brig about Volga.
  • Darrow, Sevro, Diomedes, Aurae, Lyria, Cheon, and the Daughters travel down to the Deep via submersible.
  • Darrow is arrested by the Daughters for sacrificing the Sons of Ares on the Rim to Romulus au Raa.
  • Athena talks to Darrow and shows him footage of the Sons that were tortured because of his actions.
Tuesday, February 11:
  • The Daughters of Athena put Darrow on trial for his actions at the Battle of Ilium.[105]
  • Diomedes reveals that Atlas was the one behind the massacre at Kalyke.
  • Sevro takes up the mantle of Ares once again.
  • The Daughters of Athena commute Darrow's sentence in exchange for his aid in protecting the people of Europa.
  • Diomedes agrees to aid the Daughters of Athena in abolishing the hierarchy after defeating Fá and Atlas.
Thursday, February 13:
  • Lyria sneaks aboard the Obsidian fleet to talk to Volga with help from Sigurd.[105]
  • Cyraxes the leviathan swallows Darrow, Cassius, and Sevro in acid-resistant pods.
Friday, February 15:
  • Lysander rendezvous with his fleet and rallies his allies to retaliate against the Ascomanni.[105]
Saturday, February 16:
  • Europa:
    • Volsung Fá hosts a banquet on the Nixian Isles and captures Cyraxes to celebrate his conquest of Callisto.[105]
    • Volga kills Sigurd and other prisoners on Fá's orders but refuses to comply when ordered to kill Lyria.
    • Darrow, Sevro, and Cassius emerge from Cyraxes' stomach and challenge Fá to a duel.
    • Darrow fights Volsung Fá and exposes his collaboration with Atlas
    • Volga kills Volsung Fá and Darrow has the Obsidians hold an election to determine their next ruler.
  • The Rim:
    • Lysander learns about the Praetorian Guard's kill pool.[106]
Sunday, February 17:
  • Darrow and Cassius visits Lorn's castle on Europa while waiting to hear the outcome of the election.[105]
  • Volga joins Darrow at Lorn's castle and talks to him about what comes next for her people.
  • Sevro and Lyria announce that Volga won the election for the Obsidians' throne.
Monday, February 18:
  • Darrow, Diomedes, and Cassius withness the arrival of the Lightbringer on their flight back to Io.[105]
  • Lysander's forces decimate the Ascomanni occupying Io and liberate the moon from their occupation.
  • Diomedes interrupts the Parting of the Shadow to announce his survival.
  • Diomedes has a secret meeting with Darrow and Lysander where they agree to an alliance against Atlas and Atalantia.
  • Cassius sneaks away from the Archimedes to confront Lysander in his stateroom aboard the Lightbringer.
  • Darrow is captured by Gaia au Raa and a contingent of Dustwakers.[107]
  • Lysander and Cassius kill Atlas as the latter returns to the Lightbringer after acquiring the Eidmi.
  • Lysander murders Cassius and orders a purge of Atlas' Gorgons from the ranks of his Praetorian Guard.
  • Diomedes convinces Gaia to support him in his alliance with Darrow and the Daughters of Athena.
  • Diomedes holds a summit in Plutus where he informs the Moon Lords of Atlas's role in the Ascomanni invasion
  • Lysander begins to raze Demeter's Garter after accusing Darrow of sending Cassius to assassinate him.
Tuesday, February 19:
  • Lysander talks to Pallas sixteen hours after the attack begins and reveals his plan to turn the Waste of Ladon into farmland.[108]
  • Lysander gives Cassius's body and the Archimedes to Pytha in the seventeenth hour after the start of the attack.
  • The Sack of Demeter is completed and Lysander's fleet begins their voyage back to the Core.
Thursday, February 21:
  • The Daughters of Athena arrive on Io to help rescue survivors and provide medical aid to displaced refugees.[108]

March:

Monday, March 11:
  • The Daughters of Athena free Darrow and the Moon Lords from their underground bunkers.[109]
  • The Obsidian fleet helps with clean-up and rebuilding to atone for their destruction of Io's cities.
  • Darrow, Diomedes, Athena, and Volga sign a formal treaty between their respective factions.
  • Volga, Lyria, Darrow, and Sevro begin sailing back to the Core.
  • Darrow tries to send a message to Mars letting his wife and son know that he's finally on his way home.
  • Pythe hails the Pandora and comes aboard with the Archimedes and Cassius' body.[109]
  • Cassius's body is sent to the sun.
  • Darrow and Sevro rewatch Institute footage in Cassius's quarters on the Archimedes.

Sources

[001] The Solar War is in its 10th year in 753 PCE according to the map in Iron Gold. However, by the beginning of Dark Age in 754, the war is in its 11th year according to the map of Mercury. This means that 744 was considered the first year of the war. In Iron Gold chapter 18, the Battle of Luna is referred to as “the Ash Lord’s counterattack to relieve the marooned legions and Peerless,” indicating that the Society Remnant’s attack on Luna was the first major campaign of the war. Since the map reflects the state of Mercury at the start of the Battle of the Ladon, this puts the anniversary of the war's beginning in January, meaning that the Ash Lord attacked Luna in early January 744. Back

[002] In Iron Gold chapter 36, Lysander says that Thalia “can’t be more than 9” when he has dinner with House Raa. According to Mustang in Dark Age chapter 18, the Battle of Ladon began on the first Friday of “the mensis martius”, which was the first month of the year on the ancient Roman calendar. Which means that the beginning of DA took place in January 754 PCE. This is supported by the fact that DA chapter 23 establishes that approximately 12 weeks pass between Ephraim's abduction of Pax and Electra, which IG chapter 35 places in November 753, and the Ascomanni attack on the Pandora. IG chapter 31 places the party approximately two weeks after Ephraim first met Lyria in chapter 29, which chapters 23 and 50 place on Tuesday, October 17, putting the abduction of Pax and Electra in very early November and the attack on the Pandora in late January 754.

DA chapter 06 establishes that Lysander, Seraphina and Diomedes arrived from the Rim the day the Battle of the Ladon began. In chapter 02, Lysander says that Diomedes watched Romulus walk to his death “not two months ago.” This puts Lysander and Cassius’ time on Io during Iron Gold in November 753. Then in Light Bringer chapter 49, Lysander says that in 755 PCE Thalia is older than he was when Octavia died. In LB chapter 76 Sevro mentiosns the surviving House Barca employees having been enslaved aboard the Pandora for a year, putting most of the second half of Light Bringer between January and early February 755, meaning Thalia has turn 11 in January. Back

[003] Darrow indicates in Iron Gold chapter 02 that Electra is 9 years old in 753 PCE when he returns to Luna. IG chapter 23 takes place on October 16th, 753 and is explicitly stated to be around 4 weeks after Lyria's departure from Mars, which occurred within days of Darrow's triumph based on the mention of Lyria's family watching a news broadcast of the Triumph held for Darrow's return to Luna. So Electra had already turned 9 by mid-September 753, meaning she had to have been born no later than early September 744. According to Morning Star chapter 55, Sevro and Victra's engagement occured 49 days before the Red Armada arrived on Luna and overthrew Octavia, which MS chapters 37 and 59 place in November 743. MS chapter 65 indicates that multiple weeks pass before the end of the novel, but no mention is made of the Ash Lord coming back for a counterattack yet, which puts the end of Morning Star some time in December 743. There's no mention of Victra being pregnant during that time, but if we assume that Electra was a normal 9-month pregnancy for Victra, we can logically assume that for Electra to have already turned 9 by mid-September 753, she would've had to have been conceived either later in November or early in December of 743, putting her birthday in late August or early September of 744. Back

[004] Dark Age takes place in 754 PCE, and in chapter 54, Virginia refers to Adrius II as “a small boy around ten years old.” Lilath spent some time recovering from her own wounds after her ship was destroyed during the invasion of Luna in November 743 before she went to Earth and tracked down the Master Carver Zanzibar to clone the Jackal. Depending on whether her recovery took a few days or a few weeks, this would put the beginning of the clone's gestation as early as late November or early December 743. This is supported by Virginia's reference to Adrius II being around ten years old, as it indicates that the clone is several months past his ninth birthday by the time he meets her in early 754 following the Day of Red Doves. Like with Electra, if we assume Lilath gestated the clone for the normal 9 months, this would put Adrius II's birth in August or September of 744. Back

[005] Iron Gold takes place in 753 PCE and in chapter 08, Lysander mentions that Pytha was “reduced to smuggling when her path crossed ours eight years ago.” Back

[006] In Light Bringer chapter 12, Lyria says that compared to fell she is “nine years less veteran in the realm of unforgiving cold, rock, and shadow that is the asteroid belt.” This chapter takes place in late 754 PCE, as in chapter 42 Quicksilver refers to Fitchner’s death in 742 PCE as being twelve years ago. Back

[007] In Light Bringer chapter 35, Virginia indicates that Quicksilver’s mining operations in the belt have been going for the last nine years. This chapter takes place in late 754 PCE, as in chapter 42, set just over thirty-six days later, Quicksilver refers to Fitchner’s death in 742 PCE as being twelve years ago. Back

[008] Ephraim says in Iron Gold chapter 06 that he left the Sons of Ares after 3 years. Morning Star established that he joined soon after Trigg's death, which MS chapter 37 puts in March 743 PCE. So his desertion would've been some time in early 746. Back

[009] Cassius mentions this incident in Light Bringer chapter 77 as happening 8 years after the Institute. Morning Star chapter 33 refers to Darrow taking Olympus as five years ago in 743 PCE, supported by the OG Howlers saying in MS chapter 09 that Darrow lied to them for five years. This puts the incident where Pax whips Darrow in 738 PCE. This means that Cassius’ first time hearing the story would be in 746. Back

[010] Iron Gold is set in 753 PCE, and in chapter 18, Ephraim tells the Duke of Hands that he was on Luna for “all three years” of the battle. He later mentions in chapter 31 that the moon was a war zone “seven years ago.” Back

[011] Darrow says in Dark Age chapter 03 that Harnassus has been in charge of the Republic’s Second Legion for eight years, and in chapter 58 Harnassus mentions that Darrow came to North Africa to make him a Praetor. In chapter 35, Darrow recalls staying at the Telemanus estate in New Zealand one spring and that while Daxo and Pax made sand castles, he “sat inside preparing the invasion of Grimmus-held Africa.” This is supported by Light Bringer chapter 15, where Lysander says that Darrow chased House Grimmus out of their ancestral city of New Sparta eight years ago, shortly before a summit that chapters 02 and 07 place in late 754 PCE. The reference to spring at the Telemanus estate places the beginning of the Africa campaign between September and November 746, as New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere, which experiences spring during the northern hemisphere's autumn months and vice versa. Back

[012] Darrow says in Light Bringer chapter 54 that the Republic Obsidians were taught to coutner the Pella maneuver in the third year of the war. Back

[013] Dark Age chapter 09 establishes that Atlas returned from the Kuiper Belt "after the fall of Earth," and Pax says in DA chapter 37 that Atlas's return was seven years before 754 PCE. This does make it a bit odd that Lysander says in DA chapter 08 that the Gold legionnaires from Earth haven’t seen their home in "over five years" as of 754 PCE, instead of just saying that it's been seven years. But the statement that it's been more than five years since they were driven from Earth is technically correct. Back

[014] Lyria mentions in Iron Gold chapter 29 that in 753 PCE, it's been seven years since Virignia last visited Mars. In chapter 53, Darrow mentions taking a single trip to Mars with her and Pax as a family, implying this was the same event. Back

[015] Iron Gold chapter 28 establishes that Apollonius was imprisoned in Deepgrave for six years as of 753 PCE following a failed attempt to infiltrate the Citadel and assassinate Darrow and Sevro’s families. However, Dark Age chapter 11 mentions that Darrow ended the Siege of Olympia by chasing Apple out of Eagle Rest, and chapter 59 establishes that Atlas participated in the Siege. So the Siege of Olympia had to have occurred in 747 PCE after Atlas returned from the Kuiper but before Apollonius was captured. Back

[016] Atlas tells Lysander in Dark Age chapter 59 that Atlantia took Ajax as a paramour shortly before Ajax turned 16. Atlas then mentions that he was away fighting for Octavia for half of his son’s life by the time he returned. DA chapter 37 establishes that he left for the Kuiper belt in 739 PCE, but returned to the core seven years before 754 to join the Solar War on the side of the Society Remnant. That adds up to a total of 8 years in the Kuiper belt, so Ajax would've most likely turned 16 in 747 PCE. This is supported by the fact that Apollonius reveals in DA chapter 92 that he was Atalantia's previous lover before Ajax until his imprisonment in Deepgrave, where he was incarcerated for six years before Darrow broke him out in 753 PCE during the events of Iron Gold. Since Ajax turns sixteen in 747, this puts his reference in Light Bringer chapter 15 to cutting off the fingers on Darrow's left hand when he was seventeen somewhere 748. Back

[017] Darrow mentions in Dark Age chapter 03 that it took Virginia “four years and the labor of two hundred Greens to crack Octavia's Crescent Vault in the Citadel.” Since Virginia’s ascension and Octavia’s death took place 10 years before 753 PCE, it would've taken until 747 for Virginia to gain access to Octavia’s vault. Back

[018] In Iron Gold chapter 27, Darrow mentions that as of 753 PCE, Caraval has “blocked every resolution for prison reform for the past six years." Back

[019] Iron Gold chapter 05 establishes that Liam is “just past six” in 753 PCE. Chapter 23 indicates that the events of chapter 05 took place approximately 4 weeks before October 16th. Back

[020] In Iron Gold chapter 07, in 753 PCE, Ephraim says that he met Volga “five years back at a loading dock outside Echo City.” Back

[021] Iron Gold chapter 30 establishes that Kieran has been part of the Howler's engineering department for five years as of October 753. Back

[022] Virginia mentions in Dark Age chapter 20 that "in six years there have been no fatalities within Daxo's office," indicating that the incident she mentions of the Venusian assassin who was eaten by Gigavok happened six years ago. Since the scene takes place in 754 PCE, this puts the incident Virginia is referring to in 748. Back

[023] In Dark Age chapter 51, Victra says that Electra was given her playroom when she turned four. Back

[024] The Battle of Ladon takes place in January 754 PCE, and in Dark Age chapter 18, Virginia describes in her speech how the Society’s forces were “the largest in material and manpower since the Battle of Mars, five long years ago.” Back

[025] Dago tells Darrow in Dark Age chapter 01 that he enlisted in the Republic's Free Legions five years before the Battle of Ladon in 754 PCE, and indicates that he joined right after the Battle of Mars, as he says "since Mars" right before he tells Darrow he's been in the Legions for five years. Back

[026] Virginia mentions in Light Bringer chapter 14 that Darrow gave a speech at the school's opening ceremony five years ago. The first half of the book still takes place in 754 PCE, as Quicksilver mentions in LB chapter 41 that Fitchner's death in 742 PCE at Cassius's hands was "twelve years ago." This puts the opening of the school in 749 PCE some time after the Battle of Mars. Back

[027] Iron Gold chapter 16 establishes that Rhonna is 20 as of mid-September 753 PCE, and that she had "only been a lancer for a year." Darrow mentions in chapter 27 that she signed up for legion training when she was 16. In chapter 30, she rants that she trained as a mech pilot for three years before being made her uncle's lancer, and Darrow mentions in chapter 16 that as of mid-September 753 she's "only been a lancer for a year." Back

[028] In the prologue of Dark Age, Darrow mentions that Alexandar entered his service as a lancer "four years ago." DA chapter 07 establishes that the prologue takes place approximately four weeks before the Battle of Ladon. Meaning that since the Battle began on the first Friday of January 754, the prologue took place in early December 753. Back

[029] While the exact timeframe of the Battle of Ceres is never specified, it can’t have occurred later than 751 PCE, because shortly before the Battle of Ladon in January 754 PCE, Dark Age chapter 06 mentions that Cassius barely escaped a group of Syndicate assassins on Ceres around 3 years ago. However, given the indications that Mars was the primary focus of the Ash Lord’s forces prior to the Battle of Mars in 749, and Mercury became the focus of the Solar Republic and Society navy’s war efforts starting two years before 753 according to Iron Gold chapter 1, 750 PCE makes the most sense as the year the Battle of Ceres took place. Back

[030] In Iron Gold chapter 60, Apollonius reveals that he poisoned the Ash Lord three years before 753 PCE. Back

[031] When Virginia speaks to Adrius II in Dark Age chapter 56, the clone mentions that “it wasn’t until four years ago I heard my recording to myself.” The bulk of the book takes place in 754 PCE, so this would’ve been in 750. Back

[032] Darrow mentions in Iron Gold chapter 02 that Dancer spent 3 years liberating mines with the Sons of Ares before he retired and went into politics. Lyria establishes in chapter 04 that it took a total of 8 years after the death of Octavia in 743 before her mine was liberated, and she confirms in chapter 29 that Dancer was the one who freed her mine. So Dancer can't have retired earlier than 751 PCE. The Siege of Mercury began the same year, since Darrow establishes in Iron Gold chapter 01 that it had lasted for 2 years by 753 PCE. So, it would make sense for the Republic to only begin focusing on actively attacking Society strongholds once they finished securing their hold over Mars, Earth, and Luna. Back

[033] Lyria's narration in Iron Gold chapter 04 mentions that Republic troops returned 4 weeks after the liberation of Lagalos to bring the population up to the surface of Mars, and that relief ships arrived the next morning. Back

[034] Iron Gold chapter 01 establishes that the Siege of Mercury began two years before 753 PCE. We know Screwface went undercover in the first year because the bulk of Dark Age takes place in 754 PCE, and Darrow explains in DA chapter 15 how Screwface was carved and inserted undercover as a mole in the Society's ranks "nearly three years ago." This is supported by the first half of Light Bringer, which multiple characters indicate take place in the later months of 754 PCE, as Octavia and Fitchner's deaths in 743 and 742 PCE are still referred to as eleven and twelve years ago, respectively in LB chapters 02 and 38, and Screwface's time undercover is referred to during that half of the book as three years. Back

[035] Iron Gold chapter 30 establishes that “Quicksilver’s men captured the Nessus two years ago after she was damaged during a Gold raid on a Republic supply caravan to our main fleet around Mercury.” Since Iron Gold takes place in 753 PCE, this would put the ship’s capture in 751. Back

[036] In Dark Age chapter 67, Duncan estimates that he's been with the Red Hand for about 3 years. Lyria and Ephraim's first meeting took on October 17th, 753 PCE according to Iron Gold chapter 50, with IG chapter 31 putting their meeting at 2 weeks before Quicksilver's party, and chapter 35 establishing that the party was in November. DA chapters 23 and 65 indicate that a minimum of 14 weeks pass between the party and Lyria's infiltration of the Red Hand base, putting her interactions with Duncan in early February 754. Which means that Duncan would've joined the Red Hand some time in 751. Back

[037] Darrow says at the start of Iron Gold chapter 01 in 753 PCE that "It has been a year since I've seen my wife and son." Back

[038] Britannia mentions to Virginia in Dark Age chapter 25 that Quicksilver purchased the sculpture two years before 754 PCE. Back

[039] Maeve tells Lyria in Dark Age chapter 67 that the Red Hand “came a year ago” when they moved into the old mining base. DA chapter 23 establishes that Sefi and Victra’s exchange of the children for Volga and Lyria occurs approximately 12 weeks after Ephraim abducted the children at Quicksilver’s party, and Lyria mentions in chapter 65 that they spent 2 weeks in the wilderness after the Pandora went down. Iron Gold chapter 35 places the party in November. IG chapter 50 establishes that Ephraim and Lyria first met on Tuesday, October 17th, and chapter 31 establishes that the pendant Ephraim gave Lyria to smuggle the sleeping gas in was completed a week and a half later, three days before the party, putting the party on November 1st. This puts Lyria’s meeting with Maeve in mid-February 754, and it means that the Red Hand would've set up in that mine in February 753. Back

[040] 4 weeks pass between the day Lyria leaves Mars and the 16th of October, so she would’ve left on September 18th (7 days per week times 4). Since her departure from Mars was the day after Darrow’s triumph, the parade would’ve been held on the 17th of September. This is supported by the fact that Darrow’s raid on Deepgrave a month after fleeing Luna is implied to have taken place on October 16th, as Lyria mentions in Iron Gold chapter 29 that she has a day off because Kavax took Sophocles to a secret meeting at Lake Silene, and Virginia identifies that day as October 17th in chapter 50. Darrow mentions in the dinner after the parade in chapter 03 that Victra is seven months pregnant, while Ephraim refers to Victra as eight months pregnant in chapter 51 after the abduction of Pax and Electra. The easiest way to reconcile this is if the switch from the seventh month of Victra's pregnancy to the eighth was in the first half of October. This would mean that Sevro had to have gotten her pregnant back in early March. And since Darrow took a month to travel from Mercury to Luna after the Iron Rain in the prologue, Sevro would've had to have left Mercury in early February 753 to be back on Luna by early March. Back

[041] In Iron Gold chapter 47, Dido says that she was contacted by an Ophion Guild broker offering the footage of Darrow ordering the destruction of Ganymede docks four months before Romulus’ trial in November 753. Back

[042] Iron Gold chapters 01 and 02 establish that Darrow travelled a month to return to Luna after the conquest of Mercury. This would put his departure date on approximately August 18th. However, Dark Age indicates that at least a couple weeks pass between the Iron Rain and his departure, as in DA chapter 15 he refers to Tyche's liberation day as "nearly half a year ago," and in DA chapter 12, Lysander states that Atalantia's Iron Rain against Helios took half a year to prepare, putting the Iron Rain sometime in early or mid-July 753. Back

[043] In Iron Gold chapter 45, Darrow tells Rhonna that House Cerana ships were spotted three months ago. IG chapters 27 and 52 establish that by the time they arrive on Venus approximately two months have passed since the Liberation Day parade in chapter 01. In IG chapter 05, Lyria describes watching a news broadcast about the parade with her family, indicating that the Red Hand’s attack on Camp 121 took place the night after the parade. She and Liam left with Kavax the day after the Triumph, since chapter 05 opens with her being woken in the night by the Red Hand's ship approaching, and chapter 17 mentions blue skies as Lyria describes the aftermath of the attack. IG chapter 23 takes place a week after they arrive on Luna, which was explicitly stated to be a 3-week journey. Lyria identifies the date in chapter 23 as October 16th, so the triumph parade would’ve been in mid-September, meaning that the Cerana fleet was spotted in August. Back

[044] During Lysander’s dinner with House Raa in November 753, Seraphina says that Romulus instituted rationing three months ago. Back

[045] In Iron Gold chapter 10, Julia au Bellona tells the Senate “I have travelled a month to stand here before you.” Since she indicates her journey to Luna was the same time span as Darrow’s, she would’ve had to have left Mercury on the same day he did in order to get there the same day. Back

[046] The switching of POVs in Iron Gold frames Lysander’s dinner with House Raa as taking place simultaneously with Ephraim’s abduction of Pax, Electra, and Lyria, as Lysander indicates in chapter 32 that they were given food on the flight to Sungrave, and brought to guest quarters to get dressed for dinner in chapter 33. Chapter 40 indicates that while Cassius has had time to shave his beard before the duel, his wounds from the gruesli are still fresh. Meanwhile chapter 40 establishes that Gaia's attempt to have Lysander free Romulus occurred the same day as the duel. Ephraim indicates in chapter 31 that the custom bomb hidden in the pendant he gave to Lyria was completed a week and a half after their first meeting on October 17th, and that it was 3 days before Quicksilver’s party when it was finished. Lyria’s narration in chapter 35 mentions “the November dark cycle sky”, putting the date of the party as November 1st, 753 PCE.

This is consistent with Dark Age’s confirmation that Romulus’ death was "now two months ago" on the day Lysander arrived over Mercury before the Battle of Ladon on the first Friday of January 754. In IG chapter 22, Lysander refers to their voyage from the Belt to Jupiter as a month, and also mentions nursing a dehydration headache for 34 days, and that the Raa forces started depriving him of water 2 days after he was captured. 36 days before November 1st would make September 25th the date that he and Cassius rescued Seraphina from the Vindabonda. Chapter 08 establishes that Lysander and Cassius were heading to get their ship repaired “after last month’s skirmish with Martian scar hunters.” Since month and 4 weeks are used interchangeably throughout the book, this would put said skirmish on August 28th. Back

[047] When Darrow returns to Silene manor at the start of Iron Gold chapter 02 after the parade on September 17th, Cedric tells him that “the children recently returned for a three-day adventure,” before telling him about the field trip that Niobe took Pax and Electra on. Back

[048] Ephraim notes in Iron Gold chapter 06 that he specifically chose to steal Silennius’ razor on Liberation Day because it was “a perfect time for the blade to go missing.” Back

[049] After the big family dinner on September 17th in Iron Gold chapter 03, Virginia tells Darrow that the Senate has moved his hearing up to the following night. After the hearing in chapter 16, Darrow immediately orders Sevro to summon the Howlers and begins making preparations for When Ephraim meets up with Holiday for Trigg’s birthday, he sarcastically asks if she has a parade to attend, and she reminds him that the parade was yesterday. In chapter 19, Ephraim mentions that it's the late hours of the evening before he hears the news break about the senate issuing an arrest warrant for Darrow, indicating that his encounter with the Duke of Hands still took place the same day as his meeting with Holiday. Back

[050] Lysander notes in Iron Gold chapter 08 that judging from the state of the blood they find aboard the Vindabonda, the Ascomanni had boarded the ship “under a day ago,” indicating that it had been less than 24 hours since the ship had sent out a distress signal. Back

[051] At dinner with House Raa in November, Dido tells Lysander in Iron Gold chapter 36 that “a disruption of agriculture on Titan last month forced us to part with more of our bounty than anticipated”. Back

[052] In Iron Gold chapter 23, Lyria notes that the date is October 16th, 753 PCE and mentions that they arrived on Luna from Mars “last week.” She mentions that she’s only able to visit Liam at school “three days a week.” This indicates that she’s been on Luna for exactly one week since she already knows how often her work schedule allows her to visit her nephew. Back

[053] Virginia states in Iron Gold chapter 50 that Lyria’s first encounter with Ephraim was on "Tuesday the 17th". Chapter 31 establishes that this was 2 weeks before the party, and Lyria mentions “the November dark cycle sky” in chapter 35. Back

[054] Darrow mentions in Iron Gold chapter 30 that they left Earth the morning after they raided Deepgrave on October 16th. Back

[055] Iron Gold chapter 34 establishes that they talk to Apollonis after they’ve been in space for two weeks, and that they’ll “be in Gold territory in five days.” Given that Sevro says in IG chapter 52 that they’d been without contact or news from home for a month by the time they reach Venus, and in chapter 34 Sevro asks about keeping Apple on ice for "a few weeks longer", this is indicating that they’re crossing into Gold-controlled space, rather than approaching Venus itself. Back

[056] Ephraim establishes in Iron Gold chapter 51 that he and Volga checked into their hotel directly from handing the kids over to the Duke of Hands on November 1st, and that their flight to Earth is scheduled for tomorrow. Chapter 51 opens at dawn, and he tells Holiday that he thought he'd be able to hide longer than a day. Chapters 57 and 59 establish that his rescue of the children takes place at night after Holiday and Lyria confront him at the spaceport at midday, with Ephraim spending the hours between the confrontation at the spaceport and his rendezvous with Gorgo out and about on the streets of Hyperion to avoid looking suspicious to the Syndicate, while Lyria mentions in chapter 59 that Holiday "hasn't slept in forty-eight hours," putting Lyria's abduction from the Citadel after the children are rescued the day after the party. Back

[057] Iron Gold chapter 55 begins with Lysander being woken in the middle of the night following Cassius’ post-dinner “death” on November 1st, and Gaia au Raa mentions that Romulus will be put on trial “tomorrow.” Back

[058] In Dark Age chapter 23, Ephraim is told after he wakes up in Eagle rest that Lyria’s abduction by Victra on November 3rd was “six weeks ago,” and that the Obsidians have been hunting the Red Hand for the past few weeks. The same chapter establishes that part of his contract states that Lyria and Volga will be returned to his custody in an additional six weeks. Pax reveals in chapter 74 that the Pandora was destroyed when Xenophon came pretending to make the exchange. DA chapters 65 and 88 establish that the birth of Ulysses, the fall of the Red Hand, and the death of Sefi all take place in the second week after the fall of the Pandora, which DA chapters 37 and 44 indicate take place about 3 weeks after the Day of Red Doves. Pax mentions in DA chapter 74 that his mother is still in captivity as of the day before Sefi’s death, but is on her way in chapter 88 as of the 4th day after Sefi’s death. Since Kavax mentions during Virginia’s rescue that Victra and the children are still missing, which only makes sense if both events occurred on the same day and each party only learned the other’s new status afterwards.

This adds up to indicate that the Telemanus fleet took about five weeks to get from Mars to Luna leaving in mid-January (since DA chapter 18 establishes that the Battle of the Ladon occurs on the first Friday of January 754, and DA 35 establishes that the Day of Red Doves occurs within about a week of that battle). Since Lyria took 3 weeks to get from Mars to Luna leaving in September, this would indicate that leaving Luna in November to reach Mars would have approximately 4 weeks of travel time. Based on the fact that Ephraim met Gorgo to be taken to the Duke of Hands' lair at night per IG chapter 57, and chapter 58 indicates that he only arrived and rescued the children four hours after meeting with Gorgo, even if the rescue occurred before midnight, Sefi's departure from Luna with Ephraim and the kids would've occurred the following day at the very earliest. Back

[059] The prologue of Dark Age states that Atalantia stepped out of her father's shadow and ambushed the fleet "while I burned the old warlord to death in his bed on Venus." This indicates that the battles occurred on roughly the same day. This is further supported by DA chapter 06, where Lysander notes that the ships which sustained damage in the battle of Caliban were unable to undergo repairs on Venus because of Apollonius taking the Dockyards. Which wouldn't be possible if the battle was already over for weeks by the time Darrow reached Mercury, especially when Darrow notes that the Ash Armada is still away from Venus by the time he lands. So from that, we can assume that the two battles took place on the same day, and Apollonius likely took the dockyards either the same day or within a day or two after.

In Iron Gold chapter 52, Sevro states that “it’s been a month” since they got any news from home due to their lack of contact with the outside world over the course of their journey to Venus, indicating that they spent roughly four weeks flying from Earth to Venus. IG chapter 45 establishes that it’s nighttime at the Valii-Rath estate when Darrow and company land on Venus, and chapter 52 places the beginning of the Battle of Gorgon Isle the following afternoon. This places their arrival on Venus on November 14th and Darrow’s departure after the Ash Lord’s death on November 15th, meaning the Battle of Caliban had to have occurred on approximately November 15th.

But in DA prologue, Darrow states that he was “three weeks too late” to stop the massacre of the fleet, and then spent another three weeks hiding in orbit before his rescue of Orion. Then DA chapter reveals that by the time the Battle of the Ladon began, Thraxa and Alexandar had spent four weeks tracking Atlas on the surface of Mercury following Orion’s rescue. DA chapters 18 and 23 indicate that the Battle of the Ladon took place on the first Friday of January, 754 PCE, as Virginia states that she was notified of the battle "on Friday evening last, the third day of the Mensis Martius", with Mensis Martius referring to the first month of the ancient Roman calendar year. Since October 17th, 753 was a Tuesday, this would put the Battle of the Ladon on January 5th as the first Friday of January 754.

Assuming that the day of the Battle of the Ladon was Alexandar and Thraxa's 28th day tracking Atlas, and that Orion's rescue was on Darrow's 21st day in Mercurian orbit would put Orion's rescue on December 8th, 753, and Darrow's arrival in Mercurian orbit on November 18th.

Darrow's comment about being three weeks too late to stop the devastation of the White Fleet would seemingly imply an earlier point where the battle occurred, however it can be explained as a reference to when Darrow says in IG chapter 34 that if Apollonius doesn't agree to help them take down the Ash Lord, they'll dump him and burn for Mercury, as the timing of the Battle of Gorgon Isle takes place just over 2 weeks after that chapter.

The short travel time between Venus and Mercury is further supported by the travel times from Mercury to Venus in Part I of Light Bringer. LB chapter 07 establishes that eight months after the Long Night, which took place in February 754, it took only seven days for Lysander's allies to sail their war fleet from Mercury to Venus. LB chapter 17 then establishes that the day of their fleet's arrival on Venus was four days from the end of the month, putting their departure from Mercury on October 20th 754. Since Mercury’s orbital path is only 88 days compared to Venus's 225, the two planets are at their closest once ever 122 days, which is just over 4 months. Which means that 366 days earlier, on October 19, 753, the travel time is the same. And since Venus and Mercury are said to be closesr to  each other than Venus is to Earth at such orbital positions, we can conclude that the two planets are getting closer together.

This puts Harnassus's mention in DA chapter 03 that the his men were melting scrap metal for the 23rd Legion's magazines a week ago and Darrow's mention in the same chapter that Orion has had four Storm Gods "burning two klicks deep for a week" as referring to December 29th. Back

[060] Iron Gold chapter 65 establishes that Sevro took 4 weeks to reach Luna after leaving Venus on November 15th following the death of the Ash Lord. Assuming 4 full 7-day weeks would mean that he arrived back on Luna on December 13th. This is further supported in Dark Age chapter 26, where Virginia expresses a few days after the Battle of Ladon that Sevro has been hunting the Syndicate on Luna for around three weeks. Back

[061] Dark Age chapter 01 establishes that Orion "spokey only in brittle, pixelated sentences" for five days after her rescue, and that after those five days she asked to return to duty. Back

[062] Dark Age chapter 06 confirms that Lysander and the Raa delegation arrived in Mercury’s orbit the day of the battle, while chapters 16 and 17 establish that the battle stretched from Friday into Saturday. Lysander notes in chapter 16 that it’s 6:30 a.m. local time shortly before Darrow “brushes away light resistance” at the fallen Storm God, while chapter 17 mentions that it’s “the early hours of the night” by the time Thraxa informs Darrow of their victory. Back

[063] In Dark Age chapter 34, Lysander describes the aftermath of “the killing field” of his encounter with Darrow at the Storm God during the Battle of Ladon and mentions that nocturnal predators came to feast on the dead “when the sun dipped behind the mountains,” followed by human scavengers. Back

[064] Dark Age chapter 17 establishes that the battle had been going on for a full thirty-eight hours by the time the sun begins to set on the second day of the battle. Considering that it was evening on Luna by the time Virginia was notified of the battle's beginning, even if there was no delay between the battle beginning and the Republic Reconnaissance Division detecting it, the time difference would mean that it would be Sunday morning on Luna when Virginia received word of Darrow's victory. In Dark Age chapter 20, she says that the vote is “three days from today,” and that the Seventh Legion would sail for Mercury in four days, with the vote determining whether they would sail alone or with reinforcements. Meanwhile in chapter 35 she says that "five days from the time this message was recorded, we will have voted, and the fleet will either be under way when you receive this or it will not." This indicates that she recorded her message the day before she gave her speech. And given the urgency of the situation, I don't think it likely that Virginia would've waited after receiving the news before she started getting the supplies ready, so this would put her speech on Monday January 8th, and the Day of Red Doves on Thursday January 11th. Back

[065] Virginia’s narration in Dark Age chapter 18 mentions “the chanting Vox hordes who clog the streets of Luna” as she gives her speech, and in chapter 19 she mentions that “violence has broken out between Optimate and Vox street factions.” In chapter 26, Virginia travels to interrogate the Duke of Hands “as the blitz presses into its twenty-fourth hour.” This puts her conversation with Sevro and the Duke’s interrogation on the day after her speech. At the beginning of the chapter, she was analyzing the crime scene of Sevro’s execution of the Duke of Heads and mentions that her dinner is untouched because of how little time she has. Since she was notified of the killing at the end of chapter 25, that puts her meeting with the Zenith ring on the same day as the Duke’s interrogation. Back

[066] Dark Age chapter 29 establishes that “the vote is tomorrow” by the time Virginia meets with Dancer, putting their conversation two days after her speech and one day before the Day of Red Doves. Back

[067] Dark Age chapter 37 establishes that Eagle Rest went into lockdown once Caraval’s coup began, and it was nighttime on Mars when Ephraim and the kids were loaded onto a shuttle to rendezvous with Sefi aboard the Heart of Venus. According to Ephraim, it was a three-day journey, and once they arrive Sefi tells them that the Obsidians are going to seize the mines in one week after informing them that the Ecliptic Guard is now on its way to Luna to demand Virginia's release. With the Day of Red Doves occurring on January 11th, this puts the seizure of the mines 10 days after Caraval’s coup. Back

[068] Dark Age chapter 32 establishes that Collaway has been relentlessly searching for Orion’s body ever since the Republic legions took refuge in Heliopolis following the conclusion of the Battle of Ladon. When he returns, he and Thraxa indicate that he’s racked up 193 kills in six days over the course of his search. Back

[069] Lysander estimates in Dark Age chapter 59 that he was imprisoned with the Arcosian knights in the Gorgon base for four days. The chapter establishes that Lysander is strung up and injected with a time dilation drug a total of four times before he finally speaks to Atlas, with him being strung up for the fifth time just before their meeting. Assuming that there is a correlation would indicate that Lysander was captured five days before the Long Night began, as Atlas tells him when they finally speak that they have five days until Atalantia’s planned chemical attack. In chapter 79, Lysander mentions that both the attack and Darrow's planned escape are imminent, and chapter 80 establishes that the Long Night begins the day before Darrow’s planned evacuation, while Glirastes indicates in chapter 61 that 4 days before the attack is a Thursday morning. In Chapter 58, Glirastes mentions that he is “endeavoring to fit three years of work into three weeks of practical application” when helping to prepare the Free Legions’ escape from Mercury, which is consistent with Atlas telling Lysander in chapter 59 that his men have failed to get inside Heliopolis for two weeks.

Logically, this means that the attempts Atlas is referring to began after Harnassus and the Free Legions rejected Atalantia’s demand for their surrender, which took place 7 days after the Day of Red Doves, as Virginia mentions in chapter 18 that the pods full of relief supplies that launched during her spech were fired from a set of protoype railguns, which “set their telescopic signs on a path of empty space ten days ahead of Mercury’s orbital path.” Since her speech was 3 days before the Senate’s vote, this means that the pods arrived 7 days after the Day of Red Doves, and that Atalantia contacted Darrow at night on the 6th day after the vote, as chapter 33 establishes that it’s night on Mercury when Atalantia contacts Darrow about the Day of Red Doves. Chapter 35 mentions that Screwface woke him up in the early morning to try and get him out and about shortly before Virginia’s relief supplies landed.

Two weeks and five days from the arrival of the pods is February 5th, and Lysander's mention of Atalantia's bombers fueling up as of late afternoon on the day he puts his plan into motion supports the indication that the Long Night occurred on the day that Atalantia's attack was scheduled to occur. This is further supported by the fact that the days Exeter spent gathering Society loyalists in Heliopolis is referred to as "his week's labor" in chapter 78, indicating that Lysander spent close to 5 days getting ready.

All of this means that Lysander would’ve “captured” Atlas on January 31st, and would’ve been captured on the 26th after arriving in the Valley of Erebos. Chapter 42 establishes that a total of seven days pass between Lysander killing Seneca and his capture, with him taking 4 days to reach the farmhouse, spend 2 days recuperating, and reach the Valley of Erebos late morning the day after that.

Chapter 39 establishes that it’s after sunset when Seneca’s men find him after he hid in the Hydra burrow at the end of the previous chapter, while Chapter 38 begins with him waking up early that morning before sunrise and mentions the sun climbing into the sky as their group walks across the desert. Since the previous chapter ended with Cicero telling the story of how he met Darrow for the first time “soon after nightfall”, while Lysander mentions finding the remains of a crashed stork in late afternoon, this puts the beginning of Chapter 34 on January 18th. And since Apollonius mentions in chapter 38 that he had been stalking Lysander for four days to try and learn the secret of the Minds Eye by the time he talked to Lysander after the sandstorm, this would mean that he started following Lysander on January 15th. DA chapter 64 establishes that Lysander's conversations with Glirastes and Exeter pledging loyalty to him take place on the second night after being released into Glirastes' custody, putting that conversation on February 2nd. Back

[070] Lysander mentions in Dark Age chapter 89 that he was told Diomedes searched for Seraphina’s body for 10 days after the end of the Battle of Ladon’s end on the first Saturday of January before he returned to the Rim. Back

[071] Dark Age chapter 32 establishes that Naran fell the night before Darrow got Atalantia's call about the Day of Red Doves, and that with it they've lost control of Helios. Back

[072] Ephraim states in Dark Age chapter 44 that he told the kids what happened when he got back to Olympia. At first I thought that Ozgard getting him drunk for three solid days happened before he told them, which would place the end of the hunt 9 days after the seizure of the mines. However, that doesn't fit with DA chapter 23 establishing that about 12 weeks pass between Lyria's abduction and Xenophon using the prisoner swap as a pretext for the Ascomanni to attack the Pandora. Since DAchapter 24 indicates that Ephraim starts training the Skuggig a few days after signing his contract with Sefi, this would put the transfer a few days after January 26th. Since October 16th, 753 being a Monday means that December 15th, exactly 6 weeks from the day of Lyria's abduction, would be a Friday, 2 weeks from the day Sefi told Ephraim her plans aboard the Heart of Venus would be January 28th, putting the start of Ephraim's training with the Skuggi on December 17th. 

Ephraim travels to the ice on the sixth day of the drake hunt,and chapter 46 mentions that it’s night when he and Ozgard find Freihild’s body. It’s still mentioned to be night when the mourning feast is held in her honor, and Vidar killed Sefi’s griffin a short time afterwards. Chapter 52 opens with Ephraim mentioning it’s now morning and that it’s been four hours since Valdir killed Godeater shortly before he sees a holo of the Pandora being attacked. The next scene states that the Pandora fell at 9:30am Olympia time, so Valdir would’ve killed Sefi’s griffin early in the morning on January 28th. This would put the conclusion of the hunt on the 27th, and the first day as the 22nd. Back

[073] In Dark Age chapter 58 Thraxa tells Darrow that Glirastes is insisting that he gets headaches if he doesn’t eat sardines for breakfast on Tuesdays, and that Tuesday is tomorrow. The context of Darrow’s conversations with Glirastes and his subordinates indicates that chapter 58 takes place early in the three-week window during which he was helping the Republic plan their escape. There are only 2 Mondays that take place between the arrival of the radiation meds on January 18th and the beginning of the Long Night, which would put the events of chapter 58 on January 22nd. Back

[074] Lysander mentions in Dark Age chapter 78 that it's 8:00pm local time when Alexandar and Rhonna interrupt his plans by coming to visit him at Glirastes' estate. It's unclear how many hours the Long Night, lasts however chapter 89 establishes that it took four hours for the Gorgons to free Atlas from his cell aboard the Morning Star, meaning that even if the Gorgons began trying to free him during the uprising, it would've been after midnight at the earliest by the time he was freed from his cell, putting his release on the day after the Long Night. Back

[075] Dark Age chapter 57 establishes that by the time Virginia is rescued, the Telemanus fleet has received word from Mars that the Pandora was attacked, but as far as they knew Victra, Ephraim, and the children were still MIA. However, in DA chapter 74, Pax says that he’s learned his mother is alive, but in captivity, while in chapter 88 a few days later he tells Lyria that his mother is on her way back to Mars. DA chapter 65 states that Victra, Lyria, and Volga have been fleeing from the Red Hand for two weeks when Victra gives birth to Ulysses, and when they arrive at Cormac's cabin, he claims that his wife is "out to sea till week's end," indicating that it's early or mid-week when they reach Cormack's cabin. Chapter 66 establishes that the Red Hand attacks the trio the following morning because the snowstorm outside had "lasted through the night." Chapter 68 establishes that Lyria’s infiltration of the Red Hand base occurred the morning after the death of Ulysses, and in chapter 69 she says after reuniting with Volga it's "barely been two days" since she last saw the other woman. Chapter 74 establishes that the sun is still up by the time the battle at the Red Hand base ends, while Ephraim leaves in the night to return to Olympia and take out Xenophon.

In chapter 71, Ephaim says he and the kids have been searching for Lyria and Volga for two weeks, and in chapter 88. The only way all of these events can be two weeks from the fall of the Pandora is if Lyria's two weeks were 5-day weeks, as that would put Sefi's death on Day 14 after the fall of the Pandora. This would put Ulysses' birth on the second Wednesday after the fall of the Pandora, putting Sefi's death on the next sunday, exactly 2 weeks after the Pandora fell. Adding all of these details together puts Ulysses' birth on February 7th and his death on February 8th, then Lyria's infiltration of the Red Hand is on the 9th, the Red Hand's defeat on the 10th, and Sefi's death on the 11th. DA chapter 88 establishes that Volga went after Ephraim 12 hours after he left, and that Julii ships went to Olympia three days after Volga's departure to provide aid to the population after the Obsidians sacked the city. We then get Ulysses’ funeral at sunset, and Volga loading Ephraim’s coffin onto a ship to take his body home the following morning when Kieran arrives to deliver news of the fall of Heliopolis. Lyria then mentions "the evening sky" as Volga leaves, putting her departure from Mars on the same day, putting her conversation with Pax on February 15th. The only way that Virginia's rescuers being ignorant of Victra's status make sense is if Virginia’s rescue occurred on the same day as Victra and the children’s arrival in Attica, with Virginia's fleet not receiving word on Victra's status until after they're safety away from Luna and on their way back to Mars. Back

[076] Darrow mentions in Light Bringer chapter 01 that they missed the chance to rendezvous with the Telemanuses due to being pursued by Grimmus torchShips. On one hand, his wording could be read as implying that they attempted to reach Luna but the Telemanuses were gone by the time they were within sensor distance of Luna. Howeve, it also could be read as them being forced to land on the Marcher because they took too much damage to make it to Luna. The latter makes more logical sense given that it would be a bit hard to believe that they'd get close enough to Earth that they could see the Telemanus ships were gone, and then just turn around instead of pressing on for Mars. 

In LB chapter 01, Darrow says that he and his men are "marrooned two hundred million kilometers from home." This is a reference to the fact that the average distance between Mars and the sun is 228 million kilometers, putting the Marcher's orbit 28 million kilometers from the sun. Meanwhile Mercury’s average distance from the sun ranges is 58 million kilometers, and Kavax indicates in DA chapter 57 that the planet is on the opposite side of the sun from Mars at the time of Virginia’s rescue. Given the repeated mentions that close proximity to the sun can distort sensors, it would make sense for the Marcher to be on the opposite side of the sun from Mercury to explain how the Archimedes got away from its pursuers long enough to use its cloaking. 

Since Cassius would've had to have reached Mars after the Day of Red Doves,this means that he would've travelled roughly 286 million kilometers in 23 days or less, giving the Archimedes a minimum speed of roughly 12.4 million kilometers per day. However, given the travel times between the planets of the Core, it also can’t be less than two weeks, given how the Archimedes still takes at least 19 days for them to reach Jupiter from Tabula Rasa after having the ship repaired later in Light Bringer, and even the Rim’s abnormally fast warships still took 2 months to cross roughly 778 million kilometers to get from Jupiter to Mercury at the start of Dark Age. Plus, Ephraim makes a comment in DA chapter 44 indicating that a 2-week voyage from Mars to the sun in 2 weeks is impossibly fast even for a ship designed for speed like the Snowball. Which would mean the Archimedes’ maximum travel time from Mars to Mercury would be about 20.4 million kilometers per day.

So depending on whether or not that estimate is correct, it would've taken 4.2-6.9 days for the Archimedes to fly from Mercury to the Marcher. The latter would actually fit with them missing the rendezvous with the Telemanus fleet, as it would put their arrival on the Marcher on the same day as Virginia's rescue, particularly if the damage they sustained escaping the Grimmus torchShips forced them to reduce speed. Back

[077] Based on the timetable established in Dark Age chapters 35 and 58, the Long Night was already over for more than two weeks by the time Kieran comes to deliver Volsung Fa’s demand for Volga. The delay is consistent with Virginia’s mentions of the Occular sphere showing old images due to the loss of telescopes during the war in chapter 30 and of Atalantia’s communications blockade in chapter 53. However, Kieran’s knowledge of Lysander’s involvement in the battle and his belief that every soldier on Mercury has been killed (which chapter 89 proves is not true), along with the lack of any mention of the Rim in his conversation with Victra, as well as his mention that “by noon, all of Mars will know” indicates that the announcement of Heliopolis’ fall came from a public source that he happened to see first.

Like, say, a widespread broadcast of Lysander’s Triumph parade that Atalantia let past the aforementioned communications blockade in an effort to demoralize the Republic. The communications blockage would mean that it couldn’t have been broadcast live, and Atalantia like wouldn’t have wanted to make Lysander’s return to the Society public when she was planning to assassinate him during the ceremony, so she likely waited to broadcast footage of the Triumph until after the event itself and she knew how she was going to play his survival. This would put the Triumph the day before Volga left Mars, and Klinodra's death likely on the same day. I like it this way because of the irony in the fact that it means Atalantia and Lysander's loveless engagement happens on Valentine's Day, and Kalindoa the Love Knight dies the day after Valentine's. 

So until I receive more information otherwise, I’ll be placing those events on the 14th and 15th, respectively. This would also mean that since chapter 87 featured Atalantia requesting that Lysander personally break ground on the reconstruction of Tyche three days from the day of the Triumph, the rebuilding of Tyche began on February 17th. Back

[078] Light Bringer chapter 03 establishes that Colloway's group of survivors was on Mercury for weeks before they managed to smuggle themselves off planet, and the fact that Colloway stated that he was able to see Atlas' line of impaled Republic soldiers going from Heliopolis to Tyche indicates that had to have been at least 2. First, because Dark Age chapter 89 establishes that the line of impaled soldiers was established by the time Lysander had his triumph. And second, because the smugglers who got Colloway off Mercury claimed that Darrow was dead, implying that they had also seen the propaganda broadcast of Lysander's Triumph. But the fact that Darrow doesn't qualify it with "a few weeks" or a specific number suggests that Colloway's group got off Mercury sometime in late February, as it was weeks and not a month or "over a month" that they were stuck on the surface. Back

[079] Volga tells Lyria in Light Bringer chapter 67 that she attempted to kill Volsung Fa "eleven days after Mars." Back

[080] Virginia indicates in Dark Age chapter 91 that it’s morning when she arrives on Mars and reunites with her son. Based on the timing of Virginia’s rescue, then it would’ve taken the Ecliptic Guard around 3 weeks after the Day of Red Doves to reach Luna. Depending on the positions of Earth and Mars in relation to each other, it likely would’ve taken at minimum another three weeks for them to return to Mars. In chapter 91, she also mentions that grass has begun to grow on Ulysses’ grave, and that Victra’s “curves of motherhood burn away” from her exercise. Some quick internet searches have informed me that grass takes an average of 14-30 days to fully grow, while it can take an average of 6-8 weeks after giving birth for a pregnant person’s belly to return to its normal pre-pregnancy size. Since Virginia’s words refer to the shrinking of Victra’s belly post-pregnancy in the present tense, we can deduce that while Victra is in the process of losing her baby bump, it’s not completely gone yet.

Furthermore, Virginia refers to the violence by the Red Hand and the Obsidians against Mars as recent, and mentions feeling a kinship with Holiday that "has deepened these last days as our shared dream crumbles around us." Given that Virginia then immediately segues into how Holiday reacted to the news of Ephraim's death indicates that the death of Ephraim is likewise a recent event. Based on this timetable, it would likely take about 3 weeks for Virginia to return to Mars, putting the fall of Earth in early March. This also makes sense because Lysander mentions in DA chapter 92 that Diomedes left 10 days after the Battle of the Ladon “to prepare for the Rim’s entry into the war,” which indicates that the alliance between the Rim and the Core over the course of those 10 days, and the fact that DA chapter 02 establishes that Diomedes’ ship was able to travel from Jupiter to Mercury in less than 2 months means it would likely have taken Diomedes a month to return and less than a month for the Rim war fleet to reach Earth.

Earth being invaded in March is further supported by Light Bringer chapter 14, where Virginia establishes that by eight months after Volsung Fa’s attack on Mars in February, Pax has been attending the Darkstar Conservatory for six months, putting his enrollment at the school in April. And Dancer’s comment in Red Rising chapter 10 about how the Society has made the seventh day of each Earth month the day that people get paid for things implies that all institutions in the Society begin a new record period on the 7th of the month, which would mean that Pax would’ve started attending the conservatory in early April, and would’ve most likely made the decision to enroll after Virginia returned to Mars. Since it’s morning on Mars when Earth falls to the Rim-Core alliance, the time difference established in Iron Gold chapter 05 indicates that it was night on Earth the day before when the invasion occurred. Back

[081] We don’t actually know yet when Lysander’s conversation with Apollonius occurred in relation to the fall of Earth, but the fact that Lysander mentions that he’s still overseeing the rebuilding of Tyche in Dark Age chapter 92 means it has to be within a few weeks of the battle. Back

[082] Virginia tells Darrow in Light Bringer chapter 35 that Quicksilver's flagship was last seen "over eight months ago" when he calls her after the siege of Phobos. LB chapter 22 establishes that the siege occurs nine months after the Long Night, and is shown lasting for two weeks according to chapter 31, with Darrow's conversation with Virginia being another five days later according to chapter 34. LB chapter 39 establishes that it’s January 755 PCE by the time Darrow reaches Tabula Rasa 36 days later, as the Battle of Ilium in 743 is referred to as being 12 years ago.

LB chapter 32 indicates that the battle occurs on a Tuesday or Wednesday, Lysander speaks of the Republic army being cut off and pushes away from the pole of Phobos by the end of the week, indicating that it’s early in the week when the Parley occurs. His parlay with Virginia during that chapter is implied to occur on the fourteenth day of the siege, since Victra arrives in Bastion Four at night twelve days after the siege begins, and I don’t imagine Virginia would’ve waited long to arrange a meeting with Lysander once she had Cicero in her custody.

Meanwhile, chapter 18 establishes that Colloway and the other survivors reached Mars only six days ahead of Lysander’s invasion fleet, and Virginia says that she and Victra have been holding the line together for eight months. Which means that the Mercury survivors also arrived in November.

However, it also can’t be too early in November, as LB chapter 16 establishes that Atalantia’s warships are four days away from reaching Venus to retake the dockyards during the Summit, and Lysander says that she would control the dockyards by month’s end, indicating that her ships are set to reach Venus on the last day of October, since in LB chapter 07 nine days ago he referred to the Long Night in February as eight months ago. This places the Summit on October 27th.

And while the Rim warships have been noted to be significantly faster than what they had before the war, the Society ships do not have the same speed, it would’ve taken at least a couple weeks for them to reach Eros, as the presence of the Lightbringer and Votum warships but not Rim ones in the holo that Colloway shows Virginia in chapter 18 indicates that Lysander’s ships continued on to Mars from Venus and waited at Eros for the Rim ships to reach them from Earth. Which would be consistent with Lysander’s allies mentioning in LB chapter 10 that Mercury was closer to Venus than Earth was at their current orbit, and Earth was on the opposite side of the sun according to LB chapter 07.

Based on the assumption that 754 PCE follows the 2018 calendar, this would mean that the beginning of the siege cannot take place any earlier than November 13th, which pushes Virginia’s conversation with Darrow into early December.

So Virginia’s “over eight months ago” would put the last sighting of Quicksilver’s ship in late March. Back

[083] Virginia establishes in Light Bringer chapter 18 that by the time Colloway, Screwface, Thraxa, and Harnassus make it back to Mars, she and Victra have been holding the line together for eight months, putting the arrival of the Heliopolis survivors in November, a detail which is confirmed by Lysander in LB chapter 22 when he says that “of the forty-three thousand men and women of the Praetorian Guard who have returned to me over these last nine months, all have been dedicated to this assault,” and makes a distinction between those 43,000 and Rhone’s soldiers who came to his side during Dark Age. When Virginia is informed of the incoming Gold armada, she notes that Eros, the asteroid that the Golds are using as a rallying point, was a Republic trade post and military harbor until it was lost to Dido seven months ago. Back

[084] Light Bringer chapters 01 and 07 establish that Darrow’s mission to rescue Sevro occurs eight months after the Long Night, and Darrow says in LB chapter 02 that the closest they’ve come to discovery was five months ago when Ajax’s destroyer passed near them. Back

[085] Light Bringer chapter 14 establishes Virginia lost contact with Lyria eight months after Volsung Fa left Mars, and in chapter 12, Lyria mentions that the parasite has been silent for four months. Back

[086] Light Bringer chapter 04 establishes that Apollonius had been broadcasting his message to Darrow for two months by the beginning of the novel. LB chapters 01 and 07 establishes that Darrow and Cassiu’s trip to Venus takes place eight months after the Long Night, placing the beginning of the book in October of 754 PCE. This means that Apollonius received Sevro at the Dockyards sometime in August.

In LB chapter 16, Atalantia says that her fleet will arrive at Venus to retake the docks from Apollonius in four days, and Lysander comments that “by month’s end”, the dockyards will belong to Atalantia. This indicates that her fleet is due to arrive on the last day of the month, placing the summit on October 27th, 754. This puts Darrow and Cassius’s capture on Venus 9 days beforehand according to LB chapter 07, putting their arrival at the docks on October 18th. Darrow indicates in chapter 06 that he and Cassius spent “days” waiting in the orbital path of Venus for a passing Carthii ship to mask their approach, which indicates that they reached Venus’s orbital path more than two days before their capture, so they can’t have reached Venus any later than October 16th.

Venus’s orbital path is about 108 million kilometers. In LB chapter 01, Darrow says that the Martian legionnaires are marooned “two hundred million kilometers from home.” Since the average distance between Mars and the sun is 228 million kilometers, this indicates that Marcher 1632 is around 28 million kilometers from the sun. Darrow’s narration when he learns that Sevro is on Venus states that “the Dockyards of Venus are not so far away,” which would seemingly imply that the Marcher and Venus are on the same side of the sun for the two celestial bodies to be close enough together for Darrow to have hope of rescuing Sevro. This indicates that Darrow and Cassius had to travel around 80 million kilometers to reach Venus’s orbital path from Icarus Base (give or take a couple million kilometers depending on the planet’s exact orbital position relative to the Marcher).

Based on the travel speed of the Archimedes, Darrow’s voyage from the Marcher to Venus would’ve taken 4-7 days to complete.

This means that the beginning of the novel cannot take place any later than October 12th, however the fact that Darrow says they waited for days for a convoy to mask their approach to the Dockyards rather than a week indicates that they waited less than 7 days. Which means that the beginning of the novel cannot take place any earlier than October 5th.

The latter of which would actually be consistent with some of the details of the Red Rising universe and Apollonius’s message in Light Bringer. Red Rising chapter 10 established that Golds “make generations dependent the seventh day of each new Earth month,” indicating that the 7th of each month is a significant date on the Society calendar, in much the same way that various things like contracts, laws, etc. are timed to take effect on the first day of a calendar month or year.

Meanwhile Apollonius tells Darrow in his broadcast that he will hold Sevro in the Dockyards for ninety days, which is about 3 months. And Cassius mentions in LB chapter 04 that Apple has been broadcasting it for the last two months. So if we treat each month that the broadcast was going as being 30 days long, then if Apple started on August 7th, October 5th would mark the 60th day.

So, from this, we can conclude that Apollonius began broadcasting his message on August 7th, Light Bringer began on October 5th, and the Archimedes reached the orbital path of Venus on October 12th. Back

[087] Darrow says in Light Bringer chapter 01 that by the day of Cassius's return from Starhold, he’d been gone for six weeks. The ship he took was referred to as “the only relic in the base’s hangar that could still fly,” which implied it took him a while to get there, while the speed of Colloway’s torchShip made for a faster return journey. This would put their meeting sometime in September. While Cassius says in chapter 04 that he picked up Apple's broadcast 3 days before his contacts at Starhold linked him up with Colloway, his phrasing makes it ambiguous whether he met up with them while he was at Starhold, or at some point after leaving the station. Back

[088] Colloway tells Darrow in Light Bringer chapter 03 that he “saw Virginia issue an address three days ago.” Back

[089] Light Bringer chapter 14 establishes that Virginia sent her scout ships to Tabula Rasa after Darrow’s escape from Venus and before the Summit, and that Lyria’s message was “a few days ago”. The fact that she and Pax mention the enemy “harassing for a Summit” in the present tense means that the launch of the ships to reach Quicksilver likely took place before October 26th, as Lysander’s chapter indicates that most of the attendees of the summit arrived on Earth the night before.

When Lyria leaves the quarters she woke up in at the start of LB chapter 13 to have tea with Matteo, she notes that the artificial sky on the inside of the asteroid reflects a night sky. Chapter 12 established that her crew’s inspection of asteroid 12193 was intended to be the first one of the day, and they intended to hit six more that day before the Dustwalkers found them, indicating that Lyria’s rescue by Quicksilver’s security drones was sometime in the morning.

Matteo’s comment asking how Lyria slept, combined with her comment about how her nails didn’t grow much, indicates that her arrival at the asteroid occurred only a day or two before her surgery to remove the parasite. This is supported by the fact that Lyria’s description of the medical patches on her stomach and thigh, along with the pink line on her wrist where her hand was reattached, implies that she was only just recently patched up. All of this indicates that her meeting with Matteo occurred either late at night on the day she found the asteroid, or early in the morning on the following day. Based on Matteo’s comment, and the fact that Lyria mentions pacing around her quarters while she waits for the surgery, she most likely woke up in the early just-after-midnight hours on the day after her squad’s death and had her surgery later the same day.

Depending on how many hours it took for the Republic’s drone relay to carry Lyria’s message from Tabula Rasa to Mars, this would put Lyria’s conversation with Matteo either the same day the message reached Virginia or the day before.

The exact timing of when the events occur in relation to each other is ambiguous, as Virginia saying “a few days” indicates that it’s been more than 2 days since they received Lyria’s message. Meanwhile, the fact that Virginia says “a few days” rather than a week or “last week” indicates that it’s been less than 7 days.

And knowing thanks to Lysander in LB chapter 17 that the Summit occurs on October 27th helps narrow things down considerably. Because the Virginia and Pax mention the battle on Venus having already begun but the Summit has not yet happened since they received Lyria’s message. Which means that Lyria’s conversation with Matteo in LB chapter 13 must occur between October 15th and October 23rd.

Virginia says in LB chapter 35 that she received the location of Quicksilver’s base from Lyria “a few weeks ago” when she talks to Darrow on a 18 days after the beginning of the Siege of Phobos, which started on a Monday or Tuesday in the second half of November 754. Since she says “few weeks” rather than two months, the conversation cannot take place any later than December 8th or 9th as December 15 or 16th would be 8 weeks after October 20th and 21st.

This means that Lyria had to have discovered Tabula Rasa on the 21st or 22nd of October, with Virginia launching her scout ships on the 24th, 25th, or 26th.

Lyria mentions in chapter 13 that they witnessed a battle between the Rim and Republic six days ago, and saw the same Rim frigates that attacked them five days prior to the beginning of the chapter, putting the battle on the 15th or 16th of October and the frigate pack sighting on the 16th or 17th. Back

[090] Light Bringer chapter 07 establishes that Cicero’s race occurred in the morning, and that the race ended soon after Darrow and Cassius were captured, as Tharsus only comes to tell Lysander about Darrow’s capture after the race. That night, Helios tells Lysander that he and Diomedes are leaving in an hour to continue their journey to Earth and that “tomorrow we pass Sol for the summit,” and Lysander’s narration later establishes that his Lysander’s celebratory visit to Glirastes’ estate occurs the day after Darrow’s capture. Meanwhile, chapter 10 establishes that Lysander leaves Mercury with Atlas just a short time after the battle on Venus begins. Back

[091] Atlas tells Lysander in Light Bringer chapter 10 that the Styx will rendezvous with them “a day out from Mercury” and that they’ll take it the rest of the way to the summit. Chapter 15 establishes that it's daytime when they arrive, and chapter 16 places the beginning of the Summit in the morning, indicating that they arrived the day before the Summit. Back

[092] Light Bringer chapter 11 establishes that Aurae’s explanation of the Daughters of Athena happens “four days out from the dockyards," and at the end of the chapter, Cassius tells Darrow that they'll start training tomorrow. Back

[093] In Light Bringer chapter 14, Kavax mentions there was a bombing that morning. Back

[094] In the recording of Apollonius and Valeria making peace that Lysander plays at the Summit in Light Bringer chapter 17, Valeria says that her father was killed yesterday. Valeria gave the holocube containing the recording to Lysander shortly before breakfast according to LB chapter 16, and according to the Summit, the deal was made four hours before Lysander reveals his role as the peacemaker between Carthii and Valii-Rath. Back

[095] Virginia states in Light Bringer chapter 21 that the rail slugs were fired both “a week ago” and “days ago”. Based on the fact that Eros was less than six days away from Mars when Colloway and the others from Heliopolis returned, I feel 5 days is a time window that satisfies both descriptions, as week has been used to mean both 5 days and 7.

It takes the Dustbreaker, a moonBreaker of the Rim, 9 days or less to reach Earth after leaving Mercury per Light Bringer chapter 07. Earth is about 147.5 million kilometers from the sun on average, so when added to Mercury’s average distance of 58 million kilometers, the moonBreaker was able to travel 205.5 million kilometers in 9 days or less for a minimum speed of 25.6875 million kilometers per day. In comparison, the Rim corvette that brought Lysander to Mercury at the beginning of Dark Age took no more than 64 days to travel between 728 and 836 million kilometers, putting their minimum speed between 11.375 and 13.06 million kilometers per day, depending on whether or not Jupiter and Mercury were on the same side of the sun in January 754.

Venus and Mars are both implied to be on opposite sides of the sun in October/November 754, as evidenced by the fact that LB chapter 10 states that Mercury is closer to Venus than Earth is, and Lysander’s allies reached Venus four days ahead of Atlantia’s ship, along with the fact that after continuing toward Mars following Apollonius’s peace with House Carthii, Colloway’s holo of Votum ships on Eros indicates they reached the rallying point ahead of the Rim ships.

The maximum distance between Earth and Mars when they’re in farOrbit from each other is 255 million kilometers. Since the war fleet would have to move in sync with the slowest ships, the corvette’s speed would mean that it took between 19.5 and 22.4 days for the Rim to reach Mars from Earth after Lysander’s speech. So even if they left for Mars after a few hours of preparation following Atalantia’s summit in the morning on October 27th, the longest the Rim ships would take to reach Mars would put their arrival between November 15th and 20th depending on the time of day they left.

Lysander’s comments in LB chapter 32 about pushing Virginia back “by the end of the week” imply that his parlay with Virginia takes place on a Monday or Tuesday. This parlay most likely occurred on the fourteenth day of the siege, as chapter 31 establishes that the medical wing of Bastion Four receives fresh intakes “twelve days after Lune’s assault on Phobos," and Victra arrives at Bastion Four with Ajax's head and Cicero around the same time that Virginia returns to the command center from her nightly inspection of the med-bay, putting Victra's arrival either at night on the thirteen day of the battle or in the early morning on the fourteenth day. And I find it unlikely that Virginia would wait to parlay after the trouble she went through to try and grab Apollonius as a hostage.

Since Iron Goldc hapters 23 and 37 establish that October 17, 753 is a Tuesday, and we’re working with the assumption that 753 PCE follows the 2017 calendar, this puts November 19th, 754 on a Monday. So if the invasion began on November 20th, this would put the arrival of the surviving Free Legionnaires from Mercury on November 14th, and the firing of the Twins of South Pacifica on the 15th. Back

[096] Light Bringer chapter 19 establishes that it’s morning in Lykos when Virginia heads to Phobos for the siege, and she mentions having dinner with Kieran and the other commanders in the Citadel the night before. Back

[097] Light Bringer chapter 36 indicates that Lysander poisoned at the gala five days after his parlay with Virginia, as he tells Diomedes that as of eight days after being poisoned, his people have spent two weeks repairing the Lightbringer, and Virginia mentioned in chapter 32 that work had already begun by the time of their parley. This is contradicted by Darrow indicating in chapter 39 that as of thirty-six days after the award ceremony, forty-one days after the parlay, the Rim fleets left twenty days ago. However, Lysander being poisoned at the gala would put The Rim’s departure twenty-eight days before Darrow reached Tabula Rasa, so I can easily justify that one oddity as the -eight in twenty-eight being left off by accident and not being caught before publishing. Back

[098] Darrow says in Light Bringer chapter 37 that he had this realization “on the morning after we turned away from Mars.” Back

[099] Light Bringer chapter 36 establishes that Diomedes had been trying to speak to Lysander since the day before he woke up, because they had received an emergency transmission from the Rim informing them of the Ascomanni attack two days before Lysander was pulled from his medically induced coma, with the attack having begun three days before Lysander woke up. Back

[100] Light Bringer chapter 39 establishes that Lysander’s forces left Phobos 10 days after the main Rim fleets left for the Rim. Back

[101] Light Bringer chapter 43 has Lysander eating lunch with Diomedes “three and a half weeks into our race back to Ilium,” and states that Diomedes was in command for two weeks after Helios left. Based on the passage of time with the week and a half that passed between Ephraim and Lyria’s first meeting in Iron Gold and when he gives her the gas bomb for the kidnapping attempt, this puts their conversation 25 days after departing Phobos, putting their conversation on January 10, 755 PCE, and Diomedes being placed in command on December 27, 754. Back

[102]

In Light Bringer chapter 43, Diomedes mentions that Sungrave’s communications went dark “last week” during his and Lysander’s lunch, and that just before this, Gaia reported Obsidians having made landfall on Io. LB chapter 49 establishes that it took the Volk about a month to pacify Io, which matches how Cheon mentions in chapter 56 that she lost more men in ten minutes helping Darrow than in four weeks of fighting the Obsidians.

Since this puts the Obsidian landfall on Ilium somewhere between Monday December 31, 754, and Friday January 4, 755, we need to determine when LB chapter 49 takes place. During the chapter, Lysander mentions that Atlas’s arms were only recently reattached, and the dead from the Obsidian’s breach of the Garter’s shield wall in chapter 47 are still being cleaned up, indicating that this is the same day that Atlas had his arms attached, which chapter 47 established occurred in the morning on the eleventh day after the massacre at Kalyke.

However, in chapter 50, Volsung fa establishes that the Obsidian will depart Io in three days, which chapter 51 places five days before Darrow arrives in Sungrave and three days after Sevro’s fight with Cassius in chapter 48 when Sevro tortured Diomedes. Which that Lysander and Fa’s meeting occurs at least thirteen days after the Kalyke massacre.

In chapter 46, Darrow mentions as they sail inward from Kalyke that it’ll take them days to reach Io. Like with Mercury, the fact that he said days rather than specifying “a week” indicates that the total amount of time it took to reach Io from Kalyke was less than seven days. Chapter 48 is framed as Darrow waking up late at night after his conversation with Sevro at the end of chapter 46 regarding his suspicious about what happened at Kalyke. When describing the environment around their journey to Jupiter, Darrow says that “Io, Ganymede, and Callisto are hidden behind the gas giant. Europa flickers, a midnight blue mote in the eye of Jupiter as she swings on her orbital path before disappearing behind Jupiter’s mass.” Since Europa takes 3.5 days to complete one orbit around Jupiter compared to Io’s 1.7, we can logically assume that the Archimedes spent 1-2 days travelling toward Ilium to allow sufficient time for the movement of Europa that Darrow described.

The former is most likely, since Darrow explicitly tells Cassius to fly the Archimedes slowly, as with the Archi’s minimum speed of 12.4 million kilometers per day would make for a 2-day trip otherwise, as the distance between Kalyke and Jupiter is about 24.15 million kilometers. So travelling at half of that speed would give the Archimedes a 4-day travel time and allow plenty of time for Darrow to watch Europa’s orbit swing behind Jupiter. This would put Lysander’s meeting with Volsung Fa in chapters 49 and 50 on the 14th day after the massacre at Kalyke.

Chapter 46 establishes that Darrow and company reach Kalyke ten days after the massacre, and had a total travel time from Mars to Kalyke of about a month and a half, and chapter 42 established that Lyria was discovered on the ninth day of their voyage from the Tabula Rasa. Chapter 37 establishes that it took Darrow thirty-six days for them to reach Tabula Rasa after his contact with Virginia, and Darrow notes in LB chapter 39 that the artificial sun dimmed during his conversation with Quicksilver, indicating that they arrived in the afternoon local time on January 13, 755, and that it was evening when Darrow was given access to the Tabula Rasa's telescopes.

When combined with Sevro’s comment in chapter 38 about how their journey will be seventy-eight days by the time they get back to Mars, and Darrow's comment in chapter 35 that they were four days from Mars before they turned around and started flying toward the Tabula Rasa, the details inicate that Darrow, Cassius, Sevro, and Aurae left Tabula Rasa two days after they arrive, since 36 times 2, plus four gets us 76 days of travelling time. This is supported by the fact that Matteo tells Lyria in chapter 40 that “the Sovereign’s envoys have arrived” the day before she was scheduled to leave with Sevro, implying that Lyria’s meeting with Darrow occurs the day after he arrives, on January 14.

If they leave on January 15, this puts Lyria’s discovery on January 23. And in chapter 46, Darrow indicates that Lyria and Cassius have spent multiple late nights drinking together and trading stories, and that she’s had time to learn the functions of the ship, indicating that at least a few days pass between her discovery and their arrival at Kalyke on the tenth day after the massacre.

Since two months can sometimes take up a total of nine weeks, putting their arrival at Kalyke four days after Lyria’s discovery would give them a total travel time of seven weeks, which works out perfectly with that “month and a half” description. Especially since, if we’re mapping 753 PCE onto the 217 calendar, December 754 and January 755 would have a total of 9 weeks since that’s the same combined total number of weeks for December 2018 and January 2019.

So, this would put the Archimedes arriving at Kalyke on January 28 and the torture of Diomedes at night on January 29. Lysander’s meeting with Volsung Fa would be on February 02, the Kalyke Massacre would happen on January 18, and the Obsidians would’ve landfall on Io and taken out Sungrave’s communications on January 04. Back

[103] In Light Bringer chapter 43, Diomedes tells Lysander while they have lunch in Helios’s office three and a half weeks into their journey that the Truth Knight “drew first blood” five days ago, and that he destroyed two Obsidian ships four days ago. Back

[104] Darrow says while observing the Rim fleet through Quicksilver’s telescopes on the day they reached Tabula Rasa that he spotted the Rim fleet’s last location two days ago, “already a third of the way through the asteroid belt.” Back

[105] To determine how much time it took Darrow to sail from Io to Europa with the Archimedes sailing slower than it normally would, we have to determine the timeframe of Lysander’s liberation of Io, as Light Bringer chapter 43 establishes that Lysander’s fleet is four weeks behind the Rim Armadas, putting their arrival in chapter 64 on February 15, 755 PCE. Meanwhile in chapters 49 through 50, Lysander, Vagnar, and Atlas discuss the Obsidian occupation of Ilium only lasting three weeks.

This is most likely counting from when the Garter was breached on the 10th day after the massacre at Kalyke, as chapter 64 depicts them rendezvousing with Lysander at the moon of Valetudo, which has an orbital distance of 18.9 million kilometers from Jupiter compared to Kalyke’s 24.15 million km, so it would’ve taken less time for Lysander’s forces to reach Io from their rendezvous than the four-day journey the Rim expected to ghost sail from Kalyke. Which would give the Obsidians 18 days of rule over the garter, which is just 3 days shy of exactly 3 seven-day weeks, but also three days more than 3 five-day weeks.

This puts the liberation of Io on February 18, 755. Chapter 78 establishes that it’s the morning after the Volk election when the Core Gold flee liberates Io, as Darrow mentions Diomedes “sitting hunched over the breakfast table.” Chapter 76 placed the election twenty-four hours after Volsung Fa’s death, putting Darrow and Fa’s duel on February 16 and the election on February 17. Lyria’s capture in chapter 66 and Darrow going into the leviathan’s stomach for his ambush in chapter 71 are explicitly established as being three days before Fa’s death, putting the fall of Herakilon on February 13.

Lyria’s capture happens two days after Darrow’s trial according to chapter 63, putting his trial by the Daughters on February 11. There’s no indication of how much time passed between Darrow waking up in chapter 59 and his trial, or how long he was asleep for, but the fact that Athena never mentions them waiting to try him or that his trial will be tomorrow, his awakening in chapter 59 was likely on the same day after they woke up, especially because delaying the trial would’ve given Sevro and Aurae more time to plead Darrow and Diomedes’ case.

Given that Athena commented about Darrow talking in his sleep, it likely took several hours for his body to flush out the knock out gas, and that he had time to listen to the recordings of many of the people killed by the Krypteia because of him giving the Sons of The Rim to Romulus in Morning Star, I think most likely the trail occurred the day after Darrow’s arrival, and that they slept off the gas through the night after arriving in the afternoon the day before, putting their arrival on Europa on February 10. Back

[106] Lysander says in Light Bringer chapter 79 that he learned of the Praetorians’ kill game two days before he “liberated” Io. Back

[107] The presentation of events in Light Bringer chapters 79 to 87 indicates that everything from the liberation of Io to the start of Lysander’s attack occurred on the same day. This is supported by the fact that chapter 80 establishes that it only took an hour after the liberation of Io for Lysander’s forces to start broadcasting his message of victory, leaving plenty of time for everything to get organized in preparation for him to try and end the Obsidian fleet and Atlas’s charade as soon as possible. Back

[108] Light Bringer chapter 89 establishes that the Sack of Demeter occurred over the course of two days, and that the Daughters of Athena arrived the day after the attack ended. Back

[109] Darrow establishes in Light Bringer chapter 89 that he and the Moon Lords were freed from the underground bunkers three weeks after the attack, and the Covenant between the Republic, Rim, Volk, and Daughters was signed later that same day before they leave for the Core. Pytha is said to have reached them in the Archimedes twelve hours after they set out from Io, but there's no mention of what time of day it was. Since there's no mention of night passing on the ship's clocks, we assume that they left in the late morning, Io time, meaning that it would’ve been nighttime by the time Pytha arrived Back

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