Work Text:
737 PCE
January-February:
March:
Saturday, March 31:
- Narol detects a gas pocket and tells Darrow to stop drilling and wait for an inspection team to give the all clear.[01]
- Darrow burns his hand while climbing down to scan the pocket himself but managing to make up for lost time.
- Darrow returns to his home in Lambda township, where Eo treats his burns before the laureltide feast that evening.
April:
Sunday, April 01:
- Eo sneaks Darrow into the Lykos Bubble Garden after the Laurel is awarded to Gamma yet again.[03]
- Darrow and Eo are arrested by Ugly Dan while sneaking out of the Bubble Garden.
Wednesday, April 04:
- Darrow and Eo are brought out into the Lykos Common and whipped in front of ArchGovernor Augustus.[04]
- Eo sings the forbidden song and is condemned to immediate execution.
- Eo reveals her pregnancy to Dio and instructs her to hide the crib in her room from Darrow.
Thursday, April 05:
- Darrow sneaks out and buries Eo's body in the Bubble Garden.[05]
- Narol pulls Darrow's feet during the hanging.
- Narol jams the cameras and buries Darrow in an unmarked tunnel for the Sons of Ares.
Friday, April 06:
- Harmony and Ralph bring Darrow to Dancer, who reveals that Mars has been habitable for generations.[05]
- Dancer tells Darrow the history of the Society and the mission the Sons of Ares have planned for him.
- Dancer and Harmony take Darrow to Mickey’s shop and convince the Carver to accept the job of making Darrow a Gold.[05]
Saturday, April 07:
- Darrow has two heart attacks during his first surgery and slips into a coma.[05]
Saturday, April 21:
- Darrow awakens from his post-surgery coma.[06]
~May-June:
- Eo's father commits suicide.[07]
June:
Sunday, June 17:
- Mickey completes the final operation in Darrow’s carving.[08]
August:
Friday, August 17:
- As they say their goodbyes on his last night in the shop, Darrow warns Mickey to be kind to Evey or else.[08]
Saturday, August 18:
- Darrow leaves Mickey's shop and begins training with Matteo to learn Gold culture and behavior.[08]
Sunday, August 19:
- Darrow demands that Dancer let him keep his real name instead of using the cover identity of Caius au Andromedus.[08]
September:
Sunday, September 09:
- Sons of Ares hackers change the name listed in the Board of Quality Control’s records to Darrow au Andromedus.[09]
Monday, September 10:
- Matteo takes Darrow horseback riding in Ishtar, where Darrow meets Mustang for the first time.[09]
Tuesday, September 11-Sunday, September 30:
- Linus and Lexus au Andromedus are assassinated by the Sons of Ares to enable Darrow's infiltration of The Institute.[10]
November:
Monday, November 19:
- Darrow takes the Institute’s admissions test, and briefly encounters Cassius and Mustang as he leaves the testing facility[08]
December:
- Octavia au Lune comissions the construction of the MoonBreaker Colossus by the Ganymede dockyards.[11]
- Tiran of Lagalos is born.[12]
Sunday, December 16:
- Trigg’s dragoon unit slaughters the inhabitants of the Hysperia Gardens on Octavia's orders under the influence of Zoladone.[13]
- Trigg is horrified by his actions when the Zoladone wears off and tries to kill himself.
- Holiday stops Trigg from attempting suicide and convinces him to join the Sons of Ares to atone for the blood on his hands.
738 PCE
- Valdir is harvested from the Ice and begins training in the Agoge.[14]
January
Thursday, January 03:
- The Board of Quality Control interviews Darrow to determine if he cheated on his admissions test.[08]
Thursday, January 31:
- Darrow receives the results of his Quality Control evaluation confirming he did not cheat on the admissions test.[08]
- Darrow receives his exam scores and learns that he missed only one question on the entire test.[08]
January-February:
- Kalindora and Atalantia plant a bomb on Anastasia and Brutus’ shuttle on Octavia’s orders.[15]
- Octavia uses the Pandemonium chair to erase Lysander's memories of his parents.[15]
March:
Monday, March 04:
- Darrow leaves Yorkton for The Institute and meets Julian and Sevro on the shuttle to the school.[08]
- Darrow is drafted into House Mars after Nero au Augustus's opening address.
Tuesday, March 05:
- The Passage occurs.[16]
- Fitchner tells the surviving House Mars students the purpose of The Passage.
- Fitchner takes the students of House Mars on a jogging tour of their House’s territory during orientation.[17]
- Fitchner explains the objectives of the Institute during dinner, as well as what sort of behavior will not be permissible.
Wednesday, March 06:
- The war games begin. When House Mars cannot agree on a single leader, the class fractures into four main factions.[18]
Friday, March 08:
- The Jackal leads House Pluto in retreating to the tunnels below their castle when their fortress is attacked by House Vulcan.[19]
- The Jackal collapses the tunnel to eliminate their attackers, trapping his House underground.
Saturday, March 09:
- Vixus captures a Ceres student as the first slave of the game.[20]
Sunday, March 10:
- Roque advises Darrow to talk with Titus and heal the division within House Mars after Vixus attacks Lea and steals her food.[20]
Monday, March 11:
- Darrow tries to talk to Vixus while Titus is out, only for Titus to return early.[20]
- Darrow beats Vixus and flees Castle Mars with the rest of his allies.
- Titus sends his tribe to raid House Ceres and lay siege to its castle to keep his subordinates from having time to think for themselves.[21]
Wednesday, March 13:
- Darrow puts the idea in Cassius’ head that Titus was the one who killed Julian in the Passage.[22]
Friday, March 15:
- House Pluto kills a girl and eats her legs to survive in the tunnels.[23]
Monday, March 25:
- House Ceres tries to feed Titus’ warband bread baked around razor blades.[24]
- Titus has one of the captured Ceres students beaten by her peers with sticks.
April:
~Monday, April 01-Saturday, April 06:
- House Pluto digs their way out of the tunnels.[25]
Friday, April 05:
- Fitchner informs Darrow that the Proctors will not intervene to stop Titus's tribe from raping House Ceres students.[25]
Saturday, April 06:
- Quinn is captured and beaten by Titus's tribe on her way back from delivering a message to Antonia for Darrow.[25]
- Vixus cuts off one of Quinns ears and sends it back to Phobos Tower as a warning, thinking that she's Darrow’s girlfriend.
- Cassius is beaten with a shovel and pissed on after sneaking away to challenge Titus for Quinn's treatment.
Sunday, April 07:
- Darrow and Cassius begin scouting farther east and encounter Mustang watching them on horseback.[25]
- Darrow and Cassius are chased into a lake by House Minerva after a failed attempt to capture Mustang.
- Sevro rescues Darrow and Cassius from House Minerva's guards and reveals that he hid House Mars's standard before he left.
- Darrow, Sevro, and Cassius infiltrate Castle Minerva, steal the Minervan standard, and kidnap their cook, June.
- Darrow and Antonia's tribe dispatch Minerva's warband and force Mustang to return their castle in exchange for her standard.
- Darrow confronts a captive Titus and realizes that Titus is another carved Red like he is.
Monday, April 08:
- Darrow has Titus executed by Cassius in the courtyard of Castle Mars.[26]
Tuesday, April 09:
- Fitchner provides House Mars with horses as their first bounty.[26]
May:
Thursday, May 09:
- Darrow holds a war council meeting with Cassius, Roque, Sevro, and Quinn.[27]
Friday, May 10:
- Sevro and Darrow convince House Diana to form an alliance with House Mars.[27]
Wednesday, May 15:
- Cassius chases a Minervan war band right up to the gates of their castle.[28]
Friday, May 17:
- House Mars and House Diana conquer House Minerva's castle.[28]
- Mustang escapes with House Minerva's standard, and Darrow allows her to slip away rather than let Vixus find her.
- House Diana betrays House Mars and occupies Castle Minerva for themselves.
- Darrow sends Sevro into Castle Minerva to cause mayhem and weaken Diana’s resolve.[29]
Monday, May 20:
- Tamara offers Darrow ten Minervan slaves if he lifts the siege and allows House Diana to return to their castle.[29]
Tuesday, May 21:
- All of House Diana is captured by House Mars while trying to sneak out of Castle Minerva at night.[30]
- Lilath offers Cassius advanced supplies in exchange for Darrow and giving him a datacube from the Jackal.
- Cassius and Sevro lay siege to Castle Diana at night while Darrow returns to Castle Mars.
- Sevro fails to steal the datacube, cluing Casisus in that there's something on it that Darrow doesn’t want him to know.
- Antonia sets a trap for Darrow, killing Lea and wounding Roque.
Wednesday, May 22:
- Darrow reunites with Cassius in the morning as the latter returns from assaulting Castle Diana with Sevro.[31]
- Cassius wakes Darrow up that night claiming to have found Roque and that their friend needs help.
- Cassius and Darrow duel ionSwords over Darrow's killing of Julian in The Passage.
- Cassius stabs Darrow in the stomach and leaves him to die in the mud.
- Mustang finds Darrow after Cassius leaves and tends to his wounds.
Thursday, May 23:
- Sevro and the Howlers set off from Castle Mars to hunt the Jackal after Cassius frames him for Darrow's death.[32]
Friday, May 24:
- Roque returns home to Castle Mars after walking in the wilderness.[33]
June:
Wednesday, June 19:
- Darrow awakens from his coma and overhears Mustang humming the tune of the Reaping song.[34]
Thursday, June 20:
- Mustang brings Darrow up to speed on what he’s missed while he was unconscious.[34]
July:
Friday, July 12:
- Darrow and Mustang discuss Darrow's handling of Cassius and his leadership of House Mars.[35]
Saturday, July 13:
- Mustang develops a cough over the next few days.[35]
Saturday, July 20:
- Two Oathbreakers find Mustang's cave while Darrow is out hunting.[35]
- Darrow and Mustang tie the boys to a tree at the edge of the woods and light a signal flare.
Sunday, July 21:
- Darrow and Mustang abandon their cave and head deeper into the woods.[35]
- Darrow hums the Reaping song while Mustang sleeps.
- Darrow sings the Reaping song for Mustang when she says she wishes she knew the words.[35]
Monday, July 22:
- Fitchner meets with Darrow, giving him medicine for Mustang and informing him of the Proctors' cheating.[35]
Monday, July 29:
- Mustang and Darrow set off to the north once her fever finally fades.[35]
August:
Friday, August 03:
- Darrow and Mustang capture Milia au Trachus and her friend Dax before recruiting them to his army.[35]
Monday, August 10:
- Darrow and Mustang observe a battle between Houses Jupiter and Mars at the edge of the River Metas.[35]
- Darrow's army blocks the bridge across the river during the night with fallen trees.
Sunday, August 11:
- Darrow's army ambushes and frees a group of slaves from House Mars sent to clear the bridge in the morning.[35]
- Darrow sneaks back into Castle Mars at night to leave his mark on every door he can find.
- Darrow's army creates a burning slingblade along the hillside as a signal to Sevro while as Darrow leaves the castle.
Monday, August 12-Tuesday, August 13:
- Darrow and Mustang train their army, hunt wolves, and observe House Ceres’s defenses.[35]
Wednesday, August 14:
- Darrow's army spends the day practicing with their newly constructed battering ram.[35]
- Darrow’s army digs tunnels under the snow around Castle Ceres at night and lies in wait until morning.
Thursday, August 15:
- Darrow’s Army emerges from the snow and captures House Ceres.[35]
- Tactus attempts to rape Nyla.
Friday, August 16:
- Darrow has Tactus whipped for attempting to rape Nyla, then lets himself be whipped to share the punishment.[35]
Saturday, August 17:
- Darrow and Mustang organize the army into six squads of three scouts each.[35]
- The scouts fan out from House Ceres at night.
Sunday, August 18:
- Darrow’s army begins marching south after the scouts in the morning.[35]
Monday, August 19:
- Darrow's army passes the conquered Castle Juno on their march south.[36]
- Darrow's scouts bring news of Lilath and House Pluto scouts along the edge of the Greatwoods to the east.
Tuesday, August 20:
- Darrow's army has their first encounter with House Apollo and its Primus, Novas.[37]
- Darrow’s army weakens the ice of the river around their camp at dusk.
- Novas's soldeirs attempt a sneak attack at night, but lose their horses in the river because of the weakened ice.
Wednesday, August 21:
- Darrow’s army continues south along the river Argos.[35]
Friday, August 23:
- The commanders of Darrow’s army share details of their lives outside the Institute while sitting around the campfire.[37]
- Pax regales the group with stories of his escapades in the Obsidian Agoge, including his feelings for Helga.
Saturday, August 24:
- Darrow discovers in the morning that his army's horses have been cut loose.[37]
- Darrow discovers that the army's cooking pots and food supply have all been sabotaged when they set up camp at night.
- Darrow is led into a trap by Proctor Apollo, but is saved by Sevro.
- Darrow tells his commanders about the Proctors' cheating after convincing them all to remove their rings.
Sunday, August 25:
- Darrow’s army begins attacking House Apollo’s holdings.[37]
Sunday, September 01:
- Darrow's army eliminates House Apollo while Darrow and his commanders are distracting the Proctors.[35]
Monday, September 02:
- Darrow and Fitchner converse in the Apollo war room in the morning.[35]
- Darrow realizes that Fitchner is Sevro’s father.
- Darrow knocks Fitchner unconscious before stealing the Proctor's gravBoots and leading his army toward Castle Jupiter.
September:
Wednesday, September 04:
- Darrow's army raids the ruins of abandoned castles as they march toward Castle Jupiter.[35]
Thursday, September 05:
- Darrow’s army reaches Castle Jupiter and begins laying siege to the fortress.[35]
- Darrow's army takes the outer fortifications of Castle Jupiter.[38]
Saturday, September 07:
- The defenders of Castle Jupiter surrender to Darrow’s army on the condition that they not be enslaved.[39]
- Darrow and The Jackal have their first face to face, and The Jackal cuts off his own hand.
- The Proctors abduct Mustang and take her up to Olympus.
- The Jackal escapes with the help of Proctor Apollo and murders Pax.
- Darrow kills Proctor Apollo and invades Olympus with his army to rescue Mustang.
Sunday, September 08:
- Mustang takes half of Darrow’s army to attack the Jackal’s forces after Olympus is secured.[39]
- Fitchner is brought up from Castle Apollo's dungeon and reveals that Mustang is the Jackal’s twin sister.
- Darrow returns to Castle Mars to take command of his old house.
- Cassius declares a blood feud with Darrow over the death of Julian.
- Darrow returns to Olympus to await the Augustus twins' arrival.
- Mustang arrives with Nyla and Milia, carrying her brother bound and naked as she presents him to Darrow.
Monday, September 09:
- The school administrators arrive on Olympus to conduct the graduation ceremony.[40]
- Nero offers Darrow a position as a Lancer to House Augustus in exchange for his silence regarding Nero's cheating.
Tuesday, September 10:
- Darrow formally becomes a junior echelon prime lancer of House Augustus.[41]
October:
- Nero au Augustus visits Mercury to negotiate a trade deal with the Votum family.[42]
- Scorpio au Votum feeds Nero lion meat at dinner during his visit in response to Nero catching a desert gazelle.
Monday, October 07:
- Mustang travels to the Martian south pole to tour the continent's griffin sanctuaries.[43]
Tuesday, October 08:
- Darrow travels to Neo Positano to convince Lorn to train him in the Willow Way.[42]
Wednesday, October 09:
- Lorn travels to Elysium for business.[44]
- Darrow continues to work on the gardens at Talon's Aerie to convince Lorn to take him on as a student.
Thursday, October 10:
- Lorn agrees to train Darrow in the Willow Way.[42]
Sunday, October 20:
- During his reading of military history, Darrow reads the Grimmus communique announcing the end of the Dark Revolt.[45]
November:
Wednesday, November 06:
- Nero arrives on Mars from a trade summit in Hyperion and agrees to let Darrow train with Lorn if Darrow prunes his shrike tree.[42]
Sunday, November 10:
- Darrow finishes pruning Nero's shrike tree.[42]
Monday, November 11:
- Darrow has his first lessons in bladework at 4:00 A.M. local time.[42]
~Monday, November 11-Saturday, November 16:
- Darrow leaves Mars to make a delivery to Mercury on Nero's behalf.[46]
Monday, November 25-Saturday, November 30:
- A month after Nero's visit, Darrow arrives in Heliopolis to deliver a box with grapes as a message from Nero in response to Scorpio's insult.[46]
December:
- Roque competes in the New Verse category at the Rhodian Ramble poetry competition, but loses to the Julii lancer Lambera.[47]
Saturday, December 14-Tuesday, December 31:
- Darrow returns to Mars from his trip to Mercury.[46]
Sources
[01] Red Rising chapter 01 establishes that the novel begins 6 months after Darrow's 16th birthday, and RR chapter 40 places the end of Darrow's time at The Institute right around the time of his 18th birthday, indicating that the entire novel takes place over roughly 18 months. Morning Star chapter 65 places the anniversary of Darrow and Cassius meeting at The Institute a few weeks after the death of Octavia. MS chapter 59 establishes that Cassius was held prisoner for four months before the final battle, and MS chapter 37 referred to March as "about four months ago" a little over a week after his capture. This places Octavia's death in November, and puts the anniversary of the Institute test in late November or early December. The latter is more likely, as RR chapter 16 establishes that Darrow receives his results two months plus four weeks after the test, and indicates that very little time passes between receiving the result of the Board's inquiry and actually going to the Institute. RR chapter 20 then establishes that a standard school year at The Institute is about 10 months, so it makes sense to hold the entrance exam's for next year's class at the end of the previous school year.
RR chapters 12 and 13 establish that roughly 5 months pass between the completion of Darrow's carving and the entrance test, putting the finishing of Darrow's carving in late June/early July. RR chapter 01 establishes that the laurel that's given out in Part I is issued quarterly, and such rewards are usually issued at the end of the quarter, so Darrow's hanging cannot occur any earlier than March.
MS chapter 65 refers to Darrow and Cassius's first meeting as 16 years ago, and Iron Gold consistently places the events of MS in 743 PCE, putting the entrance exam for their year at the Institute in late November or early December 737. This is further supported by the fact that Dark Age chapter 34 refers to Darrow visiting Mercury just after the Institute for one of his first missions as "maybe sixteen years ago" in 754 PCE, and MS chapter 34 refers to Darrow's graduation from The Institute as "five years ago" in 743 PCE.
This puts the first 3 chapters of RR on March 31st, 737 PCE. Back
[02] Red Rising chapter 03 establishes that Loran and Dio are married at the start of the novel, meaning that since RR chapter 01 established that lowRed girls are elligible for marriage once they turn fourteen, that Dio has to be at least fourteen years old at the time of Eo's death. In Morning Star chapter 08, she's established as being 20 years old in 743 PCE, putting her marriage to Loran in 737. Since the first novel begins at the end of March, this puts the wedding sometime between January 1st and March 30th. Back
[03] Red Rising chapter 03 establishes that the laurel is given out just after midnight, while Eo asks Darrow to watch the sunrise with her in chapter 04 when they sneak into the bubble garden. Back
[04] Darrow establishes in Red Rising chapter 05 that he and Eo spent 3 days in cells before being dragged out to be whipped. Back
[05] Red Rising chapter 06 establishes that it’s nighttime the same day when Darrow goes to take Eo’s body down, but that "a nightshift is working their final hours" when he reaches the bubble garden, indicating that it's after midnight when the burial occurred, while Darrow’s hanging is stated to occur at 9am the next morning. Chapter 08 then establishes that it’s daytime when Darrow is brought to the Sons of Ares base, and that Uncle Narol “did the work of a ghost” by using a jammer to discreetly remove Darrow’s body from the gallows during the night. In chapter 10, Darrow mentions looking at the night sky for the first time when he travels with Harmony and Dancer to Mickey’s shop, indicating that the carving begins the day after he’s recruited from the mines and two days after his hanging. Back
[06] Red Rising chapter 11 establishes that Darrow had a heart attack two times during his first surgery and slipped into a coma for two weeks. Back
[07] Golden Son chapter 49 establishes that Eo’s father committed suicide not long after Darrow’s hanging. Back
[08] Red Rising chapter 16 refers to Darrow's evaluation from the Board as being two months after The Institute's entrance exam, and the results of the evaluation being received four weeks after are also two months after the exam. The only way that both of those statements can be true is if the entrance exam occurred in mid-November, the inquiry with the Board of Quality Control in early January, and his exam scores being received at the end of January. This also works with how Dark Age chapter 23 refers to the abduction of Lyria from Luna in Iron Gold chapter 59 as 6 weeks ago, then in DA chapter 24 a few days after chapter 23, Ephraim refers to his kidnapping of Pax and Electra a few days before Lyria's abduction as "two months ago", even though it's technically only been 7 weeks at most. So, we can infer a 6-7 week jump between Darrow's initial exam and being evaluated by the Board of Quality Control.
It's ambiguous how much time passes between the scores arriving and Darrow leaving, but there has to have been some time in order to allow for families to put things in order and make preparations for their children, cancelling commitments, and so on. Similar to how Nyla was performing professionally as a singer at the Mars Opera House before she came to The Institute. Especially given that most schools in real life that require applications or entrance exams will notify students of acceptance months in advance.
This makes sense with RR chapter 20 giving the Institute a 10-month curriculum, as it would mean a normal year runs from the beginning of March to the end of December. So we can assume that Darrow's arrival at The Institute occurred in early March. Based on the fact that information about The Institute is so tightly redacted to those who haven’t attended that even Matteo and the Sons of Ares assume that Darrow’s time there will involve mundamn normal classes, and how The Book of Lorn episode 04 establishes that The Society calendar does still retain the concept of the weekend, we can likely infer that Darrow’s arrival at The Institute happened on a Monday in order to sell the illusion to those on the outside of an otherwise standard school week of classes after Orientation.
IG chapter 23 establishes that October 16, 753 PCE is a Monday, likely referencing the book's intended release date in 2017, since October 16, 2017 is also a Monday. So, if we take it as a given that the days of the week in 753 PCE match the 2017 calendar, then the dates for 738 PCE would match the 2002 one. This would put Darrow’s arrival at The Institute on March 4th 738. So if Darrow received his results on January 31st, 738, that would put his meeting with the Board of Quality Control on January 3rd. Which means that his entrance exam had to occur between November 15th and 22nd, 737. Both of which would be on a Thursday.
Now, to narrow down more precisely when it occurs, we need to narrow down the finale of Morning Star. MS chapter 24 places the battle of Phobos 15 months after Darrow's capture at the end of Golden Son in March 742, putting it in June 743. However in chapter 37, 10 in-universe days later, March 743 is referred to as "about four months ago," putting Darrow's departure for Ilium in July 743. In chapter 41, 40 days after chapter 37, Romulus refers to Virginia leaving the Rim for Phobos as 2 months ago, meaning that she left the Rim in June 743. Based on the fact that MS chapter 40 refers to their 39-ish day voyage as "a month and a half", the only way that all of those details fit is if Virginia left Jupiter on June 1st, reached Phobos on June 29, and the battle of Phobos occurred on June 30. This puts chapter 37 on July 10th, and the battle of Ilium on August 19th MS chapter 57 places the Rising fleet arriving on Luna "two months and three weeks after word of the invincible sword armada's destruction reached the core." Since Darrow mentioned in chapter 44 that Quicksilver would be broadcasting his speech to the core on a 38-minute delay, that would place Octavia's death 2 months and 3 weeks after the Battle of Ilium, which would be November 4th. MS chapter 65 mention multiple weeks passing since Virginia's ascension by the time Cassius departs Luna, but he doesn't say it's been a month, so it has to be in late November that Cassius leaves. Since Darrow says that Cassius left "the day before last", and indicates that it was almost to the day of their first meeting, this would indicate that his POV in that chapter was written from the perspective that two days after Cassius left was the anniversary of when they met.
This would put the anniversary somewhere between November 18th and 25th, 743. Since we can tell that The Society calendar still maintains the concept of the weekend, we can conclude that the Institute's entrance exam likely occurred on a weekday, narrowing it down to between the 19th and 22nd in November 737. And given how a lot of important business and school related stuff will typically start as close to the beginning of the week as possible, we can safely guess that the entrance exam would happen on a Monday, giving the test overseers the rest of the week to get started on going over the results. This means that Darrow took the entrance exam on November 19th, 737 PCE.
Since RR chapter 13 establishes that the Institute test has Dancer mention that the test is "three months from now" the day he tries to rename Darrow on the second day of his training with Matteo, this puts their conversation on September 1st, and the start of his training with Matteo on August 18th. The mention of Mickey's dancers "going full tilt tonight" on Darrow's last day at the carve shop in RR chapter 12, the implication is that Darrow's training with Matteo started the next afternoon, putting Darrow's last night in the shop on August 17th. Since that last night was "two months" after Darrow's final surgery, that puts the last operation of the carving on June 17th, 737 PCE. Back
[09] Red Rising chapter 14 establishes that it took the Sons of Ares' hackers two weeks to change the records for Darrow to keep his name, and Matteo takes Darrow to Ishtar the following day. Back
[10] In Red Rising chapter 13, Dancer says that "soon the family will be dead in a shipping accident," when telling Darrow the plan for him to infiltrate the Institute as a member of house Andromedus, indicating that his supposed parents were killed in late 737 PCE. However, they had to have been killed before Darrow takes the Institute's entrance exam so that they wouldn't be around to contest his cover story when he takes the entrance exam. So he had to have been killed sometime after the Sons hackers' changed Darrow's name in the Board's census records, since they would have been under greater scrutiny if they'd done the record changing after the Andromeduses' deaths. But at the same time, they likely couldn't have been killed too long after the records were updated so that they wouldn't become aware of them suddenly having a son listed on their records that they didn't have, so their deaths most likely occurred in mid or late September. Back
[11] Dark Age chapter 80 reveals that the moonBreaker that will one day be known as the Morning Star was commissioned by Octavia “four years before the Vanguard was stolen.” The Vanguard was taken by Darrow at the end of the Summit gala in Golden Son. MS chapter 37 reveals that Darrow’s escape after 12 months in captivity following the end of the previous novel was in March 743 PCE, putting the end of Golden Son in March 742. GS chapter 27 indicated that as of a month after the Gala where Darrow stole the Vanguard, the Telemanus women had a few more months of travel before they reached the Augustus fleet. Then MS chapter 04 mentions that Niobe was present at the Battle of Deimos right after Darrow's Triumph. Which indicates that at least 3 months pass between the Gala and the Triumph, putting the theft of the Vanguard in December 741 PCE at the latest, which fits with the gala's winter wonderland theme. This in turn means that the construction of the Morning Star was commissioned in 737 PCE. And given Lysander's pedantry in correcting Alexandar about how old the ship was, it was likely commissioned in December as well. Back
[12] Iron Gold chapter 05 establishes that Tiran “becomes sixteen in just a few months.” IG chapter 23 establishes that this scene takes place in September 753 PCE, as Lyria has been on Luna for at least a week as of October 16th, 753 following a three-week voyage from Mars after the death of her family. Back
[13] Dark Age chapter 21 features Pax recounting the incident that drove Trigg to join the Sons of Ares and providing the exact date the incident occurred. Back
[14] In Light Bringer chapter 27, Virginia says that “Valdir was already a teenage butcher by the time he watched Darrow give Ragnar the razor in the mud of Agea”, indicating that Valdir was born less than 20 years before 742 PCE. Based on the fact that Ragnar is almost forty in 743 PCE according to Morning Star chapter 11 and was harvested from the ice twenty-five years before that per MS chapters 32 and 34 (Sefi taking a vow of silence when Ragnar left and her being silent for twenty-five years), Obsidians appear to be taken from the ice at around fifteen years old. According to Red Rising chapter 37, Obsidians train at a place called the agoge. Rhone indicates in LB chapter 47 that Gray Legionnaires go through training there as well, saying that “before the agoge, my home was Lost City” until House Lune’s recruiters found him. This indicates that the agoge is where all Society military forces receive their standard combat training. Dark Age chapter 23 mentions that Vagnar once served House Grimmus alongside Vagnar Hefga, who Light Bringer chapter 47 established had been sent to the Kuiper Belt with Atlas when the latter was banished in 739. This means that Valdir had already graduated from the Agoge no later than early 739 before Hefga and Atlas were banished. In order for Valdir to still be a teenager in 742, he would have to be turning nineteen or twenty that year, putting his birth in approximately 723 PCE. This means he would've started his training at the agoge no later than 738. Back
[15] Golden Son chapter 28 indicates that Lorn started the process of his retirement after Brutus and Anastasia's deaths, and in Red Rising chapter 20, Fitchner is mentioned as having recently interviewed for the Rage Knight position, indicating that Lorn had already made his intent to retire known. Given that Dark Age mentions Octavia ordering a purge against Reformers, who were Anastasia's allies, in mid-December 737, and Atlas's banishment to the Kuiper Belt after their deaths was "about 15 years ago" in 754, these details put Brutus and Anastasia's deaths in early 738 PCE. Back
[16] Red Rising chapter 16 establishes that it’s night time when he arrives at The Institute to begin the Draft, and chapter 19 reveals that the Passage occurs just after midnight, as Fitchner states that it’s 1 A.M. when he explains the rules of the Passage to Darrow and Julian. Back
[17] Fitchner tells his students in Red Rising chapter 20 after the Passage that orientation is tomorrow, but it's still night-time soon after The Passage. While I initially assumed it meant a full day passed between the Passage and orientation for the students to recover, it doesn't fit with the lack of any food in Castle Mars that the characters have to deal with after the games properly begin, so he likely means when the sun is up and not literally the next calendar day. Back
[18] Red Rising chapter 22 establishes that the war games properly begin the morning after orientation. Back
[19] Sevro explains in Red Rising chapter 38 that House Vulcan “blitzed Pluto on the third day”, during which the Jackal took control of his Institute House and trapped his classmates in the tunnels beneath their castle. Back
[20] Red Rising chapter 23 establishes that it took 4 days for House Mars to splinter into four tribes, and that his attempt at reconciliation with Titus’ that precipitated his tribe’s exile from House Mars took place on the sixth day of the war games. Back
[21] Red Rising chapter 24 establishes that Titus began raiding House Ceres “from the sixth day onward,” in order to keep his tribe distracted from the resources that Darrow and Cassius possess. Back
[22] Red Rising chapter 24 establishes that the conversation where Darrow gives Cassius the idea that Titus killed Julian occurred “on our eighth day in the Institute.” Back
[23] The Jackal mentions in Morning Star chapter 63 that “it was a week before we killed a girl and ate her legs to survive” following House Pluto trapping themselves inside the tunnels. Back
[24] Red Rising chapter 24 establishes that the incident where House Ceres attempts to feed him razorblades hidden inside bread occurred “on the twentieth morning of the Institute,” and that Titus’ retaliation of having the Ceres girl he lassoed from the walls beaten by her fellow slaves occurred “just before night falls.” Back
[25] Red Rising chapter 25 establishes that Darrow and Cassius’ first conversation with Fitchner occurs at night “thirty days into the Institute.” Darrow sends Quinn to deliver a message to Antonia “the next morning,” while he and Roque go to the supply cache during the day, and “return to our fort by early morning” to discover that Quinn had been captured and Cassius pissed on. Cassius and Darrow continue searching east for other Houses later that day, and House Minerva’s invasion of Castle Mars occurs that night, with Darrow executing Titus the following morning. By the time of the battle, Mustang has already heard of her brother’s reputation and his moniker as The Jackal, meaning that it had to have occurred prior to Darrow’s encounter with House Minerva. Which would also be consistent with Sevro’s comment in chapter 38 that the Boneriders were underground for “nearly a month before they dug their way out.” Back
[26] Red Rising chapters 28 and 29 establish that House Mars celebrates their victory at night after Darrow drives off House Minerva, with Titus’ execution being held the following morning. The end of chapter 29 has the Proctors give House Mars horses “the next morning.” Back
[27] Red Rising chapter 30 establishes that a month passes after the end of chapter 29 before Darrow approaches House Diana for an alliance. Darrow mentions seeing “two horses on a hill, silhouetted against the setting sun behind the bubbleRoof” as he and Sevro set out from Castle Mars, and establishes that they leave the highlands behind for the foothills of House Diana’s territory in the morning. Back
[28] Red Rising chapter 31 establishes that the defeat of House Minerva takes place a week after Darrow allies with House Diana, and that Cassus "led a bloody assault on a Minerva warband up to the gates of the castle itself just two days before." Back
[29] Red Rising chapter 32 establishes that Tamara and House Diana took Castle Minerva after the battle and were under siege by House Mars for four days before she tried to barter with Darrow to allow her House to return to their Castle. Back
[30] Red Rising chapter 32 establishes that House Diana tried to escape from Castle Minerva on the fifth night after they took it over, and it's still night when Darrow sends Cassius to capture Castle Diana. Back
[31] Darrow is woken in the middle of the night while Cassius is gone and waits outside until morning for Cassius returns following Antonia’s attempted coup. Red Rising chapter 33 establishes that Cassius wakes him in the middle of the night the day after the attempted coup to duel him over Julian’s death. Back
[32] Red Rising chapter 38 establishes that after Darrow and Cassius's duel, Cassius told House Mars that Darrow was assassinated by the Jackal, after which the Howlers "stayed no longer than a day" after Darrow disappeared. Back
[33] Morning Star chapter 50 establishes that Roque returned to Castle Mars after three days of walking following Antonia's attempted coup. Back
[34] Red Rising chapter 34 establishes that as of the morning after he overhears Mustang singing the Reaping song, it has been four weeks since Cassius left him for dead. Back
[35] Darrow mentions in Red Rising chapter 34 that he spends multiple weeks traveling through the woods with Mustang, and when preparing for the takeover of House Ceres in chapter 36, he mentions that House Minerva fell months ago, indicating that at least 4 weeks (approximately a month) passed after he woke up four weeks after Cassius stabbed him. However, the fall of Ceres can’t be more than two months after Darrow wakes up, as chapters 33 and 34 establish that winter started shortly after Cassius left him for dead, and when he returns to Castle Mars in chapter 44, he mentions that it’s spring. Chapter 40 establishes that the weather at the Institute is artificially controlled by the proctors, implicitly to emulate the seasons on Earth as part of the school’s intended lessons.
RR chapter 20 establishes that the Institute is experiencing summer weather at the time of orientation, and still has summer weather when Darrow first encounters House Minerva over thirty days later in chapter 26. But chapter 30 establishes that by the time Darrow travels to visit House Diana, the weather has shifted to autumn. Meanwhile chapter 33 mentions “an early winter snow” as Darrow and Cassius leave the castle before the latter stabs the former and leaves him for dead, and chapter 34 establishes that winter has arrived by the time Darrow wakes up four weeks later. Given that chapter 20 establishes that the Institute is meant to last approximately ten months, it makes logical sense that if autumn in the Institute only lasts a month, then the other seasons would last three each, with summer’s time being divided up between the beginning and the end of the school year.
Chapter 42 explicitly states that “Winter is ended” by the time Darrow rescues Mustang from Olympus, and that he sees the first of the flowers blossoming outside. Based on the weather changes in chapter 40, this would put the fall of Castle Jupiter and the storming of Olympus in early September. Chapter 40 establishes that it took Darrow four days to get from Castle Apollo to Castle Jupiter, and three days of siege before the Jackal let them inside. Chapter 40 establishes that the snow began melting shortly before they reached the burnt and broken castles on either side of the River Argos. Based on their travel time and the map of the Institute at the front of the book, this would put that event on the third day of the march to Castle Jupiter. If we assume that the snow melting occurred on September 4th, this would put the fall of Castle Apollo on September 1st, as chapter 39 establishes that Fitchner’s visit that prompted Darrow to attack Castle Jupiter occurred the morning after Castle Apollo was captured.
Chapter 38 establishes that following the incident where Proctor Apollo tried to throw Darrow to a bear at night, Darrow’s army attacked House Apollo’s holdings for a week as they got closer to the castle, putting Darrow and Sevro’s reunion at night on August 24th. Based on the references in chapter 37 to the passage of time and various landmarks on the Institute map, it would’ve taken approximately 7 days for them to travel from Castle Ceres to the edge of the woods surrounding Castle Apollo. This puts Darrow’s departure from Castle Ceres on August 18th. Chapter 36 establishes that the scouts set out the night before, after Darrow organized the army, which occurred the day after Tactus was whipped for trying to rape Nyla the previous night after capturing Castle Ceres. This puts the fall of House Ceres on August 15th.
RR chapter 36 establishes that they spent a full day before the attack on Castle Ceres practicing with the battering ram, and then snuck as close as they could the night before before burying themselves in the snow. Chapter 36 establishes that Castle Ceres seems to have more soldiers awake at night then during the day, indicating that Darrow and Mustang observed Castle Ceres for at least two days beforehand so they could note the difference between the defenses at night versus during the day, and to have time to train their new recruits by hunting wolves. They would’ve started the morning or night after freeing Pax and the other eleven slaves from House Mars, as chapter 35 establishes that Darrow infiltrated Castle Mars the night after that battle. The day before that battle was spent watching House Mars and Jupiter battle it out. Darrow’s narration says that it took them a week to gather ten oathbreakers, and Milia’s group was only recruited “on the sixth night of setting obnoxiously large fires” after Darrow and Mustang set off to the north, which started “a week after I inject Mustang and her fever fades.”
Chapter 34 establishes that he sang the reaping song to her the night before Fitchner gave him the knifeRing back and told him about Apollo’s cheating. Darrow sang to her the night after the two oathbreakers ambushed Mustang in the cave while Darrow was out hunting, which occurred the week after she began to fall ill with her cough. Adding all that up would put Mustang developing a cough around July 13th at the latest, which fits with how Darrow says that Mustang “stalks with me through the woods during the next weeks” before she criticizes his leadership of House Mars while they’re out hunting. Back
[36] Red Rising chapter 37 establishes that Darrow’s army passed Castle Juno “at nightfall on the second day of our move south.” Back
[37] Red Rising chapter 37 establishes that Pax and others in the army used axes to weaken the ice of the river “at dusk” after their encounter with Novas, indicating that they met the Apollo Primus the day after they passed castle Juno. Back
[38] Red Rising chapter 37 establishes that Pax talks about his childhood the night before Darrow’s encounter with Proctor Apollo and the bear, and Tactus reports the loss of their horses the next morning on the day of the bear incident. Back
[39] Red Rising chapter 41 establishes that the fall of Olympus takes place at night on the third day of their siege of Castle Jupiter (with the day they arrived presumably being the first day of the siege), and chapter 43 establishes that it’s morning when Darrow returns to Castle Mars after conquering Olympus. Chapter 40 mentions that the outer fortifications of Castle Jupiter were taken in a day, and assuming that part of the first day of the siege was taken up by travel time to reach the castle would mean that the outer fortifications fell on the second day of the siege, the day before Darrow stormed Olympus. Back
[40] Red Rising chapter 34 establishes that the public camera feeds of the Institute are on a 12-hour delay for editing purposes, meaning that news of Darrow's victory over Olympus would've gone public at night. Chapter 44 establishes that it's daytime when the shuttles come to take the students from the Institute, meaning that the shuttles' arrival would've been at least the day after Mustang delivered her brother to Darrow. Back
[41] The Book of Lorn episode 01 begins a month after Darrow formally became Nero’s lancer, when he spends his three-day furlough convincing Lorn to train him. In TBOL episode 02, Nero returns to Mars twenty-nine days after Darrow’s third day of leave, and two days before his next one. Since TBOL also refers to Darrow’s visit to Neo Positano as a month ago, this indicates that “month” is being used as a shorthand for four weeks.
I initially believed that Darrow’s comment about starting as a lancer formally implied a longer gap between his graduation and the start of his lancer contract, especially given that his line comparing Lorn’s estate to the Storm Wall of Heliopolis seemed to imply that his visit to Mercury mentioned in Dark Age chapter 34 had already happened. However, in The Book of Lorn episode 05, Pliny mentions Peerless who would find Darrow’s position as ArchPrimus of his class impressive are already watching the first weeks of next year’s class. This indicates that the first four episodes of The Book of Lorn all take place prior to late March 739,
Snce TBOL episode 03 mentions Darrow training with Tactus for “the last four months,” and TBOL episode 04 takes place not long after the Declaration Ceremony that Darrow and friends are preparing for in episode 03, this indicates that Darrow had to have south out Lorn no later than early December 738, putting the start of his contract in early or November at the latest. Given the travel times from Mercury to Mars that were mentioned in Dark Age, there is enough time to fit Darrow’s visit to Mercury then.
Obviously the day of his graduation from The Institute doesn’t count as his first day of service, so his contract would’ve officially started the day after graduation at the earliest. Back
[42] The Book of Lorn episode 02 begins with Nero's return to Mars, and Darrow's arrival in Neo Positano is referred to as both a month ago and twenty-nine days ago, and he has another furlough coming up in two days. Subtracting the three days that Darrow was on leave in TBOL episode 01, this indicates that the beginning of the second episode is the twenty-sixth day of work as a lancer following the end of his leave when Lorn agreed to train him, and implies that Darrow's visit to Neo Positano occurred on the twenty-ninth day of his official service to Augustus after exactly four weeks of service. If we assume that his first day of service was the day after graduating from The Institute, this would put his trip to Neo Positano from October 8 to October 10, and his confrontation with Nero would occur on November 6.
This means that Nero’s trip to Mercury referenced in Dark Age chapter 34 has to occur sometime in early or mid-October. Because Darrow takes four days to prune Nero’s shrike tree after his patron’s return to Mars from “an energy summit in Hyperion,” and his first bladework lesson with Lorn begins the following day at 4AM local time, this puts the start of Darrow’s training on November 11, 738. Since Ephraim mentions in DA chapter 46 that a two-week trip from Mars to the sun is considered impossibly fast, the only way for Darrow’s visit to Mercury to still be sixteen years before 754 PCE is if it occurs in late November 738. Because otherwise there isn’t enough time for Nero to fly to Mercy in 2-3 weeks, then have Darrow arrive on Mercury a month later.
This is further supported by one of the gardeners in TBOL episode 02 mentioning preparing crops for export to House Votum, implying that the energy summit Nero attended in Hyperion was the same trade talks that Cicero mentioned when recounting Nero’s visit in Dark Age.
Since Mars is an average of 228 million kilometers from the Sun and Mercury is an average distance of 58 million kilometers, this would mean that Darrow would’ve had to travel approximately 170 million kilometers in 19 days or less. If 228 million kilometers in 2 weeks is considered impossibly fast, then 170 million in the same timeframe would likely be considered a little more reasonable, particularly since Cicero commented about Darrow leaving “back to a gorydamn destroyer with helium to burn,” implying that the ship he travelled to and from Mercury with was on the faster side. Back
[43] Darrow mentions in TBOL episode 01 that he declined Virginia's invitation to come with her on his leave. Since it's very early morning when he sets out for Neo Positano, we can infer that she left the night before, putting her departure on October 7, 738. Back
[44] Darrow arrives in Neo Positano on the first day of his leave, and it's sunrise the next day by the time he finishes digging the trench for Lorn's garden, and continues working until the next day until Lorn agrees to train him. Back
[45] During Nero's conversation with Darrow in Part 1 of The Book of Lorn episode 02, Nero mentions that this was seventeen days ago. Their interaction being on November 6 would put this on October 20. Back
[46] In order for Darrow to reach Mercury before the end of November, the earliest he would've had to have left is later in the day on November 11 after his bladework lesson with Lorn. However, in keeping with the travel time needed for him to go 170 million kilometers in 2 weeks or more, he cannot have left any later than November 16, putting his arrival somewhere between November 25 and November 30, and his return to Mars sometime in mid-to-late December, as the descriptions of his visit in Dark Age indicate that while he stayed long enough to see a race at the Hippodrome, he didn't stay for long, and most likely left on the same day after delivering Nero's box. Back
[47] In The Book of Lorn Episode 03, Darrow mentions that he and Tactus have been training partners "over the past four months," and that Roque lost the poetry competition "last month" Since four months after becoming a lancer would put Episode 03 in January 739, this puts the competition in December 738. Back