Red Rising Saga · Character
Old Man
Also known as Da
- Supporting
- First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 7
Old Man is invoked as the guardian figure Darrow expects to meet in Red Rising Saga (Book 1).
- Gender
- male
- Age
- old
- First appears
- Book 1 · Ch. 7
- Books
- 2
Across the Red Rising Saga, the Old Man shifts from a mythic guardian of the Red afterlife in Red Rising to a living, grief-stricken father in Iron Gold. Initially a symbol of the Vale that Darrow hopes will welcome his kin, the Old Man is later revealed as Da, a Red patriarch whose family is destroyed in the post-war chaos. His brief, poignant appearance in a wheelchair underscores the saga’s widening lens from mythic belief to the brutal realities endured by the lowColors.
Description
The Old Man is described as an old male figure wearing a cap beaded with dew. His face, hair, eyes, skin tone, build, and other clothing are not specified. He stands with a quiet, reassuring presence, but no further physical details are established. An elderly man sits in a wheelchair, his face marked by the worn stillness of a broken man. His eyes are milky and clouded, yet open and fixed in an attentive stare. Tears brim at their edges, lending his quiet presence a tenderness and sorrow that are difficult to look away from. The text gives no further detail about his hair, clothing, or build.
Connections
Family & partnersFriends & mentorsRivals
Lyria of Lagalosdaughter
Initially unknown to readers, the Old Man is revealed as Lyria’s father; his death in the camp attack deepens her trauma and fuels her later resolve.
- T
Tiranson
The Old Man’s son and Lyria’s brother; their shared life in the camp ends together in the same fatal attack.
Darrow of Lykosbelieved guardian
Begins as a distant, symbolic guardian in Darrow’s imagined afterlife; later, the revelation that the Old Man is a real, suffering father reframes Darrow’s early beliefs about the Vale.
Story so far
BOOK 1Red Rising
- Appears in Darrow’s vision of the afterlife as the Old Man who makes the Vale safe for the dead.
- Is invoked as the guardian figure Darrow expects to meet after his own hanging.
- Remains an abstract, almost religious icon rather than a developed character.
BOOK 4Iron Gold
- Revealed to be Lyria’s father, Da, living in a refugee camp on Luna.
- Sits awake in his wheelchair, tears in his milky eyes, watching over his surviving family.
- Perishes along with most of his family during the Sons of Ares attack on the camp.
- His death becomes a haunting memory that Lyria carries into her later life.
Appearances
Meet Old Man in Bookworm
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