Julian au Bellona
MinorHis smile lights up like sunlight on water, open and pretty, drawing you in with an easy warmth unusual among Golds. Slender and tall, he carries himself with a fragile pride, like hay bending in the wind. There's a boyish prettiness to him that feels disarmingly genuine amid the posturing.
Julian au Bellona appears briefly in the Red Rising Saga as the gentle, curly-haired twin brother of Cassius au Bellona, a promising young Gold whose scholarly demeanor starkly contrasts the savage Bellona legacy. Introduced at the Institute draft as a smiling, slender boy seated proudly at House Mars, his life ends abruptly when Darrow kills him in a brutal stone room skirmish during the passage of arms, shattering his sternum and leaving his body bloodied. This shocking first kill haunts Darrow throughout the series, igniting an enduring vendetta from the Bellonas and symbolizing the innocence crushed by Gold society's ruthless ascent. Though absent after Book 1, Julian's tragic death reverberates as a pivotal catalyst for Darrow's transformation into the Reaper and the escalating conflicts with House Bellona.
Physical Description
Slender tall teenage boy with an open gaze and pretty smile, build feeble like bent hay, thinner and prettier than his twin with delicate features and pretty hair. Fair skin glows with Gold perfection, frame elongated and vulnerable. He wears simple Institute garb or stands naked, exuding a proud yet fragile demeanor. Julian au Bellona is a young man with tousled curly hair framing soft, kind features. His build is gentle, lacking the hardness of his kin, with an air of quiet warmth. Dressed in fine Gold attire, he carries an innocent presence that stands out sharply.
Evolution
Red Rising
Julian au Bellona, the thinner prettier twin of Cassius, starts as a smiling slender boy at the Institute draft, seated proudly at House Mars table and beaming with fraternal theatrics. In a brutal twist during the passage of arms, Darrow kills him in a stone room, leaving his tall feeble body bloodied with broken nose and shattered sternum. His death carves a cavity in Darrow's heart, marking the Reaper's first taste of the violence needed to rise, and becomes a lingering grudge fueling Cassius's hatred.
- Introduced at the Institute draft as the thinner, prettier twin of Cassius, smiling slender boy at House Mars table with fraternal theatrics.
- Killed by Darrow in a stone room during the passage of arms, suffering a broken nose and shattered sternum.
- His tall, feeble body left bloodied, marking Darrow's first kill and carving a lasting cavity in his heart.
- Death fuels Cassius's deep-seated hatred and the Bellona vendetta against Darrow.
Golden Son
Julian au Bellona is remembered as the kindest of his savage brothers, a curly-haired youth taught to fish, his gentle nature clashing with the Bellona legacy. Darrow kills him early in the Institute, a death that ignites the Bellona vendetta and haunts Darrow's path. From promising boy to tragic casualty, Julian's brief life symbolizes the innocence crushed by Gold brutality.
- Remembered by Darrow as the kindest of the savage Bellona brothers, a curly-haired youth taught to fish.
- Recalled as a gentle, promising boy whose early death at the Institute symbolizes innocence crushed by Gold brutality.
- His killing ignites the Bellona family's vendetta, haunting Darrow's path forward.
- Serves as a tragic contrast to the violent legacy of House Bellona.
Relationships
Julian is killed by Darrow in Book 1, an act that profoundly impacts Darrow's psyche as his first murder and sparks a lasting vendetta; in Book 2, Darrow reflects on Julian's gentle nature, highlighting ongoing guilt.
Julian is the thinner, prettier twin of Cassius, sharing fraternal pride at the Institute draft in Book 1; his death fuels Cassius's hatred toward Darrow across both books.
Represents the gentler side of the savage Bellona legacy in both books, with his death symbolizing the house's tragic losses and igniting their feud with Darrow.
Book Appearances
Red Rising
First appears Ch 16
Golden Son
First appears Ch 1