A Companion Guide to Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire

"**A Companion Guide to Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire**" was a digital companion guide published by Netflix to expand on the lore presented in the movie for those interested in digging a bit deeper. The full guide can be found here.

## Motherworld

The guide breaks down the universe of *Rebel Moon* by focusing on specific worlds, one at a time. The first section covers the Motherworld and the Imperium, including the royal family, the Scribes, and the Jimmys. The Motherworld consists of the planets that revolve around twin stars, the heart of which is Moa, the throne world where the royal family and the vicious politics of the top levels of the Imperium's rule take root to spread their influence across the Realm, consuming everything in their path. The guide was the first place it was published that an unbroken line of 1886 kings ruled over the Motherworld until the slain king met his end.

The slain king was as ruthless as any that came before him until his daughter, Issa, changed his outlook on the galaxy and the Imperium's place in it. As the king grew more peaceful, the senators and high-ranking military officials beneath him grew more traitorous, until christening an Imperial dreadnought in the name of peace gave Balisarius and those who agreed with him the opportunity to launch their coup. They assassinated the royal family and Balisarius named himself regent, taking the king's position and returning the Imperium to his ruthless means.

The first king of Moa was supposedly carried across the desert by a giraffe-like creature, and this creature's femur was passed down through the generations, becoming a sacred relic representative of the royal family. It's unknown if this story is true, but it's a belief held by the people of the Motherworld. The slain king carried this bone staff, and after his death, Atticus Noble had a gilded replica with a piece of the original staff encased in its head.

The priests of the Motherworld were driven by data; obsessed with cataloguing and using information of all kinds to expand their reach. The Scribes recorded the exploits of the Motherworld down to the last detail as they followed along with the Imperium soldiers across the realm. The Scribes used living humans as pages in history, encoding their findings into the DNA of their victims.

The guide details the loose history of the Jimmys. They started as a set of twelve before expanding into the thousands as time went on and more were built, but once Princess Issa was killed, they stopped fighting. The Imperium repurposed some for menial labor, but others wandered off on their own. Meanwhile, the Imperium continues expanding further and further from Moa, taking in more planets in more systems, always increasing its intake of resources. This neverending cycle of hunger and the hunt are represented by the cosmic Wolf and the Würm, which are part of the Motherworld's creation myth. The symbols on the Jimmys' chests represent this myth, with the Würm encircling the Wolf in a figure eight, engrossed in battle. The Chalice is also present, representing Issa the Lifegiver; and ancient queen believed to one day be reborn in the royal line. The Jimmys wait for this rebirth and expect to find it in Princess Issa, daughter of the slain king.

## Veldt

The second section covers Veldt and the characters found there. Kora, now living on Veldt, was taken from her home world by Balisarius and raised on Moa to become a killing machine for the Imperium. With the death of the royal family, she fled the Motherworld and journeyed nearly three years until crashing near the Veldtian farming village that would take her in. This section talks about Hagen, Sam, and Gunnar, the latter of whom wants to make up for putting the village in danger by selling their surplus wheat to the enemies of the Motherworld.

The port city of Providence is about two days' ride from the village, and it's where people of the village would need to go to get off-world. It's also where Gunnar and Kora would need to go to find information about their target. It's here that they find the information they seek and meet Kai. The Hawkshaws and ecto-restraints are briefly explained here.

## Neu-Wodi

The Neu-Wodi section of the guide covers Neu-Wodi and Tarak's backstory. This includes Hickman and darams, which were first mentioned by name by the rancher. Tarak Decimus was once the crowned prince of Samandrai, the home planet of the bennus. The bennus are also briefly explained, with a 3D rotating turnaround created by Jared Purrington presented to help depict Beatrice.

## Gondival

Relatively brief, the Gondival section of the guide provides an overview of the climax of the movie. The guide implies that the unregistered trade depot floats over a low-orbit moon, but the guide authors appear to have been mistaken in their interpretation of onscreen information, as *Rebel Moon Part One - A Child of Fire: The Official Novelization* (p.221) notes that the trade depot is built into a low-orbit moon of Gondival, which is reflected onscreen in the movie.

The section continues by providing bits of information about the post-Gondival ending of the movie, including Atticus Noble's revival in the cryo chamber and the appearance of the astral plane. The guide notes that Noble will not only be revived, but will be made stronger than ever. Meanwhile, the astral plane is maintained for the wealthiest members of the Imperium and can only be accessed by the cybernetic enhancements available only to the elites, such as Noble and Balisarius.