Lykos

Lykos is a helium-3 mining colony beneath the surface of Mars and the place where the Red Rising saga begins. One of the oldest of the underground townships, it is home to Reds, the lowest caste of the Society, who live out their whole lives in the tunnels. Its clans, Lambda and Gamma among them, compete for the Laurel, the prize of extra rations granted to the best-producing crews, and its Helldivers ride clawDrills into gas-pocketed rock that kills the careless and the unlucky alike.

Life in Lykos is hard, brief, and close-knit. Families marry young, dance and sing at their gatherings, and tend the small comforts the mine allows. Its people believe they are pioneers, harvesting the fuel the terraformers need to ready the dead surface above for the generations to come, and that faith in sacrifice shapes how the colony endures. Darrow, the central figure, is born here.