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Character guide · first on-page appearance: Golden Son
Who is Aja au Grimmus?
Aja au Grimmus is Octavia’s Protean Knight, one of her Furies and a trusted protector of Lysander. Lorn au Arcos trained her with a razor. Fitchner warns Darrow that winning a duel against Cassius has not prepared him to fight her.
Current status
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Alive
Deceased
Deceased
Deceased
Deceased
Appearance and personality
Aja stays controlled and watchful at court, ready to carry out Octavia’s orders. She credits her father, the Ash Lord, with teaching her ruthlessness. Fitchner makes clear that her skill comes from killing, not simply winning formal duels.
Aja loves the family she protects and is brutal to people outside it. She attacks Quinn even while Lysander is pleading with her to stop.[1]
Attributes and abilities
Aja is one of the Society’s most dangerous razor fighters. Her timing and experience let her draw opponents into mistakes, including fighters who are physically stronger than she is.
She also commands operations and uses threats against families to secure obedience. Her authority depends on the Sovereign’s office as well as her blade. When Darrow reaches Octavia’s shuttle after the Iron Rain, she neutralizes his immediate threat and incapacitates him.[2]
On the ice, Aja exploits Ragnar’s lack of experience against a razor master and mortally wounds him. In Octavia’s bunker, Darrow, Mustang and Cassius initially cannot beat her. Sevro’s return gives them the extra fighter they need to overwhelm her together.[3]
History
Book 2
Golden Son
Aja protects Octavia during the crisis following Darrow’s gala duel. She directs the attack on the Augustus household and strikes Quinn despite Lysander’s use as a hostage. She later threatens Lorn’s family to make his neutrality impossible.
Darrow deliberately lets Aja escape the confrontation on Europa after exposing her to a traceable radiation signature. Her return to Octavia helps identify the Sovereign’s hidden location. Darrow’s subsequent attempt to reach Octavia ends with Aja incapacitating him, forcing Fitchner’s intervention.
Aja arrives at the Triumph with Cassius and the Praetorians. She takes Lorn’s razor and orders the attackers to leave. When Adrius turns on Nero, she tries to stop him because Octavia still needs Nero alive.[4]
Book 3
Morning Star
Aja remains part of the regime pursuing the Rising. During Darrow’s escape she kills Trigg and confronts the injured fugitives at the landing pad. Later she and Cassius are stranded in the northern mountains, where Darrow’s group chooses to attack them.
Aja mortally wounds Ragnar, then escapes into a crevasse as griffin riders approach. She later returns to Octavia and directs Cassius to deliver his apparent prisoners through Adrius’s ship.
In the bunker, Aja executes Antonia at Octavia’s command. When the concealed Rising operation begins, she protects the Sovereign and Lysander while overwhelming the first three attackers. Sevro’s intervention gives Darrow, Mustang and Cassius the additional fighter they need. Cassius and Sevro deliver the final coordinated attack, and Aja dies reaching toward Octavia.[5]
Book 5
Dark Age
Ajax is revealed to be Aja and Atlas’s son, born through a genetic pairing arranged by Octavia. He grows up under the expectations attached to their reputations. Lysander also remembers Aja teaching him to fear cowardice more than death.[6]
Relationships
Octavia au Lune
Aja carries out Octavia’s orders and protects her authority, including when Octavia breaks agreements with other families.[7]
She stays with Octavia after the other guards are dismissed and fights to protect her throughout the final attack.[8]
Lysander au Lune
Aja protects Lysander, but he cannot control her. His pleading does not stop her attack on Quinn.[1]
Long after her death, Lysander remembers her lessons about courage and cowardice.[9]
Lorn au Arcos
Lorn trained Aja, but she later threatens his family on Octavia’s behalf. Her loyalty to the Sovereign takes precedence over her relationship with her teacher.[10]
References
- Golden Son, chapters 14, 18. ↩1 ↩2
- Golden Son, chapters 14, 18, 28–29, 42. ↩
- Morning Star, chapters 29–30, 61–62. ↩
- Golden Son, chapters 14, 18, 28–29, 39–42, 51. ↩
- Morning Star, chapters 2, 6, 29–35, 58, 60–62. ↩
- Dark Age, chapters 4, 6, 10. ↩
- Golden Son, chapters 14, 18, 42, 51. ↩
- Morning Star, chapters 60–62. ↩
- Dark Age, chapters 10. ↩
- Golden Son, chapters 14, 28–29, 51. ↩