Red Rising Saga · Character

Karnus au Bellona

Also known as Karnus

Supporting
First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 43

Karnus au Bellona is a minor character in Red Rising Saga (Book 1).

Gender: male
Age: young adult
First appears: Book 1 · Ch. 43
Books: 3

Karnus au Bellona first appears in Red Rising as the Bellona Goliath whose brutal murder of Claudius au Augustus cements the family's blood-feud with House Augustus and brands him a menacing figure in the minds of Darrow and Mustang. In Golden Son he steps into the foreground as a towering, cunning warrior who hunts Darrow, clashes with him at the gala, and ultimately falls in the chaos that follows the Iron Rain. By Iron Gold his physical presence has vanished, yet his legacy endures through the razor Cassius passes to Lysander and the memories of his drinking bouts with Apollonius, leaving only echoes of his blunt, world-is-all-there-is philosophy.

Description

Karnus is identified as a male Bellona and described as a brute, but no concrete details of his appearance are given. His height, build, skin tone, hair, eyes, facial features, clothing, and accessories remain unspecified. A visual depiction should preserve that uncertainty rather than treating House affiliation as an indication of coloring or costume. Karnus au Bellona is a massive Gold warrior who towers over other men with shoulders maybe half again as broad and muscled forearms looking like they're carved from smoothed riverwood. His face appears haggard with a dimpled chin that accompanies a laughing mouth and toothy grin full of uncommon intelligence, while his huge frame vibrates with power and allows him to hoist grown men effortlessly or shatter faces with a single charge. Fair-skinned with golden hair and intense golden eyes, this Bellona Goliath wears imposing armor that shells his great shoulders and bellows his name as he rushes into battle with mouth curved in hate. A towering, exceptionally large and broad human man, with shoulders half again as broad as Darrow’s and muscled forearms. He has a haggard face, curly thick hair, a dimpled chin, and dark Gold eyes; his toothy, crocodile-like grin appears intelligent and animated. His right bicep is injured in the early confrontation. The text provides no details about Karnus's build, coloring, hair, eyes, face, or clothing, so his appearance cannot be specified without invention.

Connections

Family & partnersFriends & mentorsRivals

Cassius au Bellonaconflicting source relationships
Older brother whose death leaves Cassius as the last Bellona son; Cassius inherits and later gifts Karnus’s razor to Lysander, preserving his memory.
TA
Tiberius au Bellonafather
Father whose authority Karnus serves; the patriarch’s influence wanes after Karnus’s death and the family’s fall.
Adrius au Augustusconspirator
Secret employer who paid Karnus to dishonor Claudius’s lover and provoke the fatal duel; the conspiracy collapses with Karnus’s demise.
Apollonius au Valii-RathAlly
Drinking companion whose reminiscences keep Karnus’s blunt worldview alive long after his death.
Darrow of Lykostarget
Primary target of Karnus’s lethal mission; their enmity peaks at the gala before Karnus’s death removes him from the conflict.
CA
Claudius au Augustuskiller
Victim of Karnus’s fatal duel; the murder cements Karnus’s reputation and fuels the larger Bellona-Augustus war.

Story so far

BOOK 1Red Rising
- Kills Claudius au Augustus, igniting the Bellona-Augustus blood-feud
- Becomes a symbol of menace and grief for Mustang and Darrow
BOOK 2Golden Son
- Confronts Darrow at the gala, sent by his family to kill him
- Injures his right bicep in an early skirmish
- Participates in the Bellona assault during the gala violence
- Falls in the ensuing chaos following the Iron Rain
BOOK 4Iron Gold
- His razor is bequeathed to Lysander by Cassius
- Remembered through long drinking companionship with Apollonius
- His worldview is invoked by others as a lingering philosophy