Liliana Kephalos-Marlowe

Lady Liliana Kephalos-Marlowe is the mother of Hadrian Marlowe and the wife of Lord Alistair Marlowe, a palatine noblewoman of House Kephalos whose own mother is the vicereine-duchess Lady Elmira of Delos. She is nearly two centuries old, beautiful in the cold palatine manner, with honey-bronze hair and amber eyes. By profession she is a librettist and filmmaker, operating largely from her private studio at Haspida rather than Devil's Rest, and she never wears the Marlowe colors.

Despite her cool manner toward Hadrian, Liliana acts as the secret architect of his escape from Delos when Lord Alistair moves to send him to a Chantry seminary against her wishes. She draws on her authority over household security, her personal friendship with Director Ada Feng of the Wong-Hopper Consortium, and her own family's political weight as the ruling house of Delos to arrange safe passage aboard a Jaddian free trader. She frames her motivation simply: Alistair never consulted her, and Hadrian is her son. When the moment comes, she reacts to complications with practical calm, provides escorts, and sends Hadrian off with a fractured smile -- her last words to him being "You always were my favorite."