Ice and Fire

Preface

Have you ever lamented the dearth of Bellona content in the canon and squinted to catch every hint of them you can? Have you ever wished that Cassius had received the depth of character development that he deserved? Do you genuinely believe that canon Darrow and Cassius are, in fact, down extremely bad for each other and there's a worldswide conspiracy against their inexorable and incontrovertible love?

Well... congratulations! I humbly dedicate this massive undertaking to you.

_____

You are about to read the first installment of Alis Aquilae, the bulk of which is a six–part retelling, divided into three fics, of the Red Rising Trilogy from Cassius' perspective—with a Dassius twist.

Parts I and II, Ice and Fire, will cover the events of Red Rising. It's in progress and updated every two weeks.

Parts III and IV, tentatively titled Perihelion, will cover the events from the end of Red Rising to the end of Golden Son. It's projected to start in late 2026.

Parts V and VI, tentatively titled Edelweiss, will cover the events from the end of Golden Son to the end of Morning Star. It's projected to start in late 2028.

In addition to these three (500k+) longfics, I also plan to write some smaller (100k–150k) non–linear fics from the perspective of other Bellona characters, canon and original. At the moment, these include one narrated by Cassius' sister, Ariadne, and their maternal aunt, Livia; one narrated by Cassius' brother, Valerius, and their maternal uncle, Cornelius; one narrated by Cassius' paternal uncle, Antonius; one narrated by Cassius' cousin, Killian; and one narrated by Julian.

With the exception of the last fic, which will naturally end in Red Rising, these will stretch from pre–canon into Golden Son.

I'm also considering writing an epilogue set after the conclusion of Part VI and perhaps a parallel longfic featuring several scenes from the main trilogy retold from Darrow's perspective, if there's an interest.

At the pace I write and edit and rewrite my work, none of you may live to see this series marked 'complete;' at the very least, it will be ongoing until 2030. I apologize for that in advance. But I will finish. Entertain no doubts of that. Believe me when I say you're unlikely to ever stumble across another author that's half as obsessed with their fanworks.

Because I'm eternally unsatisfied with my writing, it's possible and indeed likely that published chapters might be substantially edited again. That said, I always welcome constructive criticism and recommend the occasional re–read.

This series is, first and foremost, a reimagining of Cassius and Darrow's relationship, as advertised. But it's also a more–or–less canon retelling of the original trilogy from Cassius' perspective that attempts to flesh out the gone–but–never–forgotten Bellona family via hints, throwaway lines of characterization, deduction, conjecture, and a fair bit of creativity. If you've ever been curious (or obsessed to the point of sleeplessness, as I am) about them or Cassius' life sans Darrow, this is the series for you.

Although I preserved most of Pierce Brown's plot, setting, and characterization, this is clearly a creative and transformative expansion on the books. Please feel free to share your thoughts on where I've taken these characters and how I've interpreted the canon. I welcome all comments and will respond to every single one, as well as most replies, too! Nothing is too silly or intense.

I can also be found on Discord and Tumblr by the same username and I have a tag on the latter dedicated specifically to this series.

Please enjoy your stay in my Bellonaverse.

_____

Major spoilers for Red Rising. Minor spoilers for the rest of the series: allusions to future events, references to past events discussed in later books, and the early appearance of several characters. I wrote this in such a way that it's safe for anyone who's read Red Rising, although the more books you've read, the more details you'll notice and the deeper you'll appreciate the subtleties. I recommend at least the original trilogy.

General caution, though: I want to keep the comments open to all spoilers. I include warnings in my endnotes where applicable and, if you like, let me know in the body of your comment what book you're on and I'll censor my answer accordingly.

This will eventually be the first installment of a trilogy; see my series description. I've done my best to keep the story as canon–compliant as I can; to maintain authentic characterization and organically develop the world. However, I am feasting on scraps, especially where Cassius is concerned. So much of what we know about him is either part of his carefully–cultivated façade or warped by idealistic and/or disdainful perceptions. Trying to find the real!Cassius buried beneath all that canon silt is like excavating Knossos. And, more often than not, it feels like drawing blood from a stone, too.

That said, I've drawn quite a bit.

Although I have retained the space–opera backdrop of the canon, this is more of a tragicomic drama with ironic and decadent undertones and, although the attention lavished upon Dassius may suggest otherwise at times, it is not a romance. Dassius is important, but it's not the focus. Among other controversial things, you can expect depictions of (what would be considered, by pro–psych people) personality disorders, dub/non–con, 'Colorism,' classism, elitism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, mental illnesses, mood/eating disorders, cannibalism, various perversions (including incest and ephebophilia), and excessive substance use.

Most of what I've listed features prominently in the narrative. What's only implied or referenced here will be expounded in the sequels and we'll eventually dive into Dead Dove territory—that is, explicit and unapologetic depiction. I include warning in the forenotes of many chapters and handle these topics as sensitively as characterization allows, but if you're squeamish about anything I've listed or tagged, this is probably not the series for you.

I think Cassius is something of a conversational chameleon, liable to gauge other people's preferences and mimic them. In his inner–monologue, however, he has an inclination toward highLingo. And, while Cassius alternates between high/midLingo with an occasional dip into lowLingo, his highBorn accent remains—unless he's consciously suppressing it. It's also canon that Cassius gesticulates a lot when he talks—in an impassioned way, like an orator—which is difficult to transcribe without sounding repetitive; thus, I leave most of this to your (hopefully, vivid) imagination.

While it's worth noting that denizens of the Red Rising world speak something called Common, not English, which is considered a dead language by their time, Pierce makes little attempt to sell Common as anything but off–brand English. So, we may as well treat it as such. I dive deeper into Goldspeak here but I've imagined Core Golds with British English accents of ascending poshness; thus, the 'highBorn' accent that Cassius would have is close to the RP. In that vein, I use British spelling with sprinkles of their modern vernacular, rather than American, and the metric system, rather than customary.

As far as how high/mid/lowLingo play into this, I think they're distinguished by vocabulary and formality with highLingo having the inadvertent (but deeply appreciated) function of gatekeeping.

Before we start, I want to thank The_Violet_Howler for making their Red Rising Saga Timeline. All dates are based on their calculations unless otherwise stated. I also draw heavily from their map for inspiration, as well as this speculative art of terraformed Mars.

Although I am frightfully slow, I will respond to every single comment and most replies. Please always feel free to share your thoughts! For those of you who have been waiting eons for this, whether for I&F specifically or just a longfic tackling Dassius or Cassius' perspective: if you're even half as pumped as I am, I'm blushing.

Now, without further ado.

(Underlined text indicates the presence of a link on Ao3, which Wattpad does not allow; see the Ao3 version to follow it.)