Listen to Episode 1: Order Is Gold
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Welcome to Iron Rising, a cinematic science fiction actual play series set on the planet Praefectus, in the towering city of Hyperion, governed by the iron fist of the Law of Seven.
This blog is the companion to our show, a recap of each episode, retold in prose. Here, you can read each chapter as a piece of serialized fiction, whether you’re following along with the podcast or diving into the story for the first time.
This serialized story follows two Gold siblings as they navigate a web of political intrigue, family duty, and simmering rebellion that threatens to shatter their world. Built using the Ironsworn: Starforged system, this campaign blends high-stakes moral choices, deep character drama, and the slow unraveling of a universe-shattering conspiracy.
THE PREMISE
In the Forge, order is everything. The Gold caste rules from gleaming spires, their history polished into myth and their authority unquestioned. Yet cracks run beneath the surface, where whispers of rebellion grow louder. What begins as duty may unravel into a mission that will test their loyalty, their bond, and the fragile order of the Forge itself.
THE THEMES
- Caste and Control: The struggle against a system designed to define you.
- Family vs. Ideology: How blood ties are tested when beliefs diverge.
- The Cost of Truth: The personal and societal price of exposing a foundational lie.
- Dehumanization and AI Sentience: Exploring the line between person and property.
- Hope in the Dark: Finding reasons to fight in a seemingly broken galaxy.
THE CAST
- Maia Wilson as Selene Kelvarus — A loyal Gold enforcer known as "Monarch," who hunts rogue AI, unaware her next target will shatter her worldview.
- Michael Gilbert as Dorian Kelvarus — A cybernetically augmented technician who secretly champions the very machines his sister is sworn to destroy.