Tiana

Tiana Liu (ティアナ・リュー) is a secondary character in Zill O'll. Depending on her relations with the protagonist, she may turn into one of the game's antagonists. Her role for the second half of the main story is interchangeable with Atleia.

Her height is 164 cm (5'3"), and she is 16 years old at the start of the game.

Role in Game
Tiana is the lone heir of the current reigning king and queen consort of Rostorl, Selmonoe and Eris. For reasons she can only vaguely fathom, she has lived a secluded life within the castle walls. Her mother has made every promotion and every decision in her life for her; Selmonoe dully obliges to her decisions. Though donned queen of her kingdom at a young age, Tiana has no authority to rule because Eris refuses to give her approval.

Until the day of her formal ascension, Tiana is ordered to stay within the castle grounds to await Eris's lectures on etiquette or status. Only maids or nobles are permitted to visit her. To add to her displeasure, the young queen learns her mother arranged for her to wed Taltuba shortly before the main story. Her life would have been dreary had it not been for her close childhood friends, Xenetes and Lemghon. The two men kept her company and brightened her spirits when they are at their leisure.

The protagonist can first meet her by answering Hannah's job request at Rostorl's guild early in the game. Through this event, Xenetes gives him/her a magic pendent which opens a secret passageway at the side of castle. He/She enters Tiana's room through her wardrobe to request for the return of Hannah's doll. The queen is startled by their sudden entry but curiously fulfills their request. Sensing that he/she is a good person, Tiana hopes the best for the girl and humbly requests for the hero/heroine to visit her again. If the protagonist has been donned as the Lord of Noble (by either starting with "Shining Golden Fields" scenario or by completing Lemghon's first event), Tiana will recognize the hero/heroine by their name and grants them permission to have an audience with her. They can visit her any time through the front gate.

Though she is not aware of it, Tiana and Atleia are dormant candidates for the Queen of Darkness, a malevolent entity prophesied to emerge on the eve of Ulugh's resurrection. When Rostorl's nobility falls in the main story, either royal maiden will awaken as the Queen of Darkness. The protagonist can only save one maiden through their interactions with them. If the protagonist ignores both of them equally, the story will automatically spare Tiana.

Should the protagonist continue to be friendly with Tiana, they may gradually become her private confidant. Yearning to see the world like them, she begs him/her to escort her to Rostorl's slums during the night. If they agree, Tiana learns poverty for the first time when she finds an injured young man. He had been wounded by one of Taltuba's brutes, and the commoners were struggling to treat him. Wanting to help the lad, Tiana immediately hails for someone to fetch him a doctor. Xenetes, who happens to be present, quickly silences her as her words carry a luxury that many people could not afford. Nobles are especially loathed in the slums for flaunting their affluence over the poor, and, if they were to learn Tiana's status, they would immediately turn on her.

Shocked to see her people's suffering for the first time, Tiana is dumbstruck upon her return. Hoping that her unpleasant experience was a rarity, she asks the protagonist to escort her a second time. Agreeing to her request leads to another night outing with her in the slums. This time the duo meet Hannah, who enthusiastically recounts her joy of being reunited with her doll. Her cheerful chatter raises Tiana's spirits, who is inwardly pleased to have had played a small part in helping the girl. Upon their return to the castle, Tiana resolves to someday learn her responsibilities as queen to continue helping people like Hannah.

The protagonist can later have an audience with Eris with both Tiana and Xenetes. The Queen Consort annuls the nobleman's engagement to Tiana, before then declaring her original will of wedding her daughter and her nephew. Tiana protests and takes the news badly, especially once she learns that Xenetes had kept it a secret from her for years. Once the audience is over, the couple mutually agree to keep their relationship the same and consider the marriage seriously after the continental war with Dyneskal ends.

A moon festival is scheduled to be held after Rostorl's first battle with Dyneskal. If the protagonist visits Tiana, she tells them that Xenetes wrote her a letter to attend and invites him/her to come with her. When the parties arrive, they soon learn it is a set up and Shali turns Taltuba into an evil monstrosity to exact his revenge on Xenetes. If the protagonist is friendly with Tiana, Xenetes will be injured protecting her from danger. She fearfully worries for him, which causes both Atleia and Lemghon distress.

Being friendly with Atleia changes the scenario to have Xenetes wounded while protecting a concerned Atleia. Lemghon and the protagonist hurry to defeat Taltuba. They fail to realize that they left Tiana alone and unprotected during the ruckus, a point which Shali gleefully taunts to her. This version of the event is a signal for her fall as the Queen of Darkness.

When Karula's troops attempt to invade Rostorl, the protagonist can see two different versions of the battle from Rostorl. The one suggested by various characters in the game has the protagonist assist Xenetes in the war front. After the invaders are repelled, Xenetes is arrested by Lemghon's loyalists. The protagonist can then choose to hurry back to Rostorl to rescue him. If they do, the protagonist can rescue Tiana from a giant monster conjured at the castle gate and safely usher her outside the city. Vailaila and Vialiali await them, reporting Eris's demise and Xenetes's status. Vailaila entrusts the protagonist with his written will, urging to him/her to hurry to his assistance so that it won't be needed.

The other scenario leads to the protagonist staying by the frightened Tiana's side during Xenetes's absence. The player can then witness Lemghon's instigation firsthand. A maid hurries into the Queen's room to report the uprising (and Eris's death in infinite). With the protagonist's help, the Queen safely escapes from the city. Events and dialogue are then the same as the former route.

These events are nulled if Tiana is the Queen of Darkness. She instead remains hidden within the throne room, observing the revolt beside Shali. The protagonist sees her after they arrive to assist the wounded Xenetes. Her actions change based on whether Xenetes lives or dies. If he dies, Tiana will accuse Lemghon for being cowardly and choose to curse his existence. infinite grants the protagonist a chance to intervene on his behalf and save him. Should Xenetes live, Tiana blames both men for abandoning her. She converts Lemghon to his darker self; Xenetes and the protagonist flee before she attacks. Tiana may alternatively attack a stunned Lemghon in infinite and Xenetes will shield him from danger. Before Tiana recovers, the trio escape together. The worst case scenario the player can earn is Tiana killing both men herself.

Once she becomes the Queen of Darkness, Nemo happily reports that her ties with the protagonist is antagonistic and beyond repair. Tiana then assists the Sistina Missionaries with their schemes for the rest of the game. She resides within the desolate Ancient at the end of the game, summoning various beings to emerge from the void of darkness. If Xenetes and Lemghon perish, Tiana uses them as her mindless bodyguards at the end of the game. After the protagonist bests her in combat, she conjures the newly born god to obliterate them with her dying breath.

If Tiana remains safe and sane, she may read Xenetes's will based on whether he lives or dies. Regardless of the result, Tiana decides to help Rostorl to recover since the majority of the nobility are dead. She tries her best as Queen to balance the wishes of the commoners and the remaining nobility, sharing her uncertainties with the protagonist at the local inn. He/She may encourage her to persevere in spite of the criticism she faces. Completing her personal events leads to the protagonist additionally seeing Taltuba and Selmonoe's respective fates. The latter needs to be seen in order to unlock her ending with male protagonists.

Heroes stay by Tiana's side during her personal ending to give the budding queen advice and support in her decisions. While she is still uncertain of her judgment, Tiana confidently accepts her responsibilities as long as the hero is beside her. She invites him to a whimsical outing to a nearby lake as a break from their duties. Female protagonists continue their adventuring for a time, leaving Tiana to mature by herself. She ironically adopts her mother's countenance with her rulings to cope with her loneliness. Throughout the ending, she inwardly wishes to reunite with her best friend to properly express her gratitude for her. When the heroine returns to her at last, Tiana drops her woeful state to happily run to her side.

Personality
Congenial Tiana is a maiden who is well loved for her cheerful laughter and welcoming smile. The young queen prays to the goddess of love for a person's safe sojourn, composes herself with a modest image, and rarely speaks ill of others. She advocates selfless decorum and righteousness to a level rivaling a pleasant fairytale. Those within the royal court enjoy her innocent sociability and have fondly dubbed her "The Queen of Light". She refers to herself in third person to note her somewhat childish disposition.

Yet underneath her kind visage lies an unquenchable thirst for freedom. Tiana feels suffocated by her mother's forceful rulings, the pressures of her arranged marriage, and her eventual fate to be her home's queen. Her dissatisfaction towards her mother further complicates her capabilities to fully grasp her awaiting future, as she chooses to answer Eris with rebellious complaints rather than understanding. Tiana understands that her mind is immature yet she feels she is forbidden from leaving her sheltered lifestyle and feels powerless to disrupt her daily "imprisonment". Since she is only permitted to meet with nobles, a part of Tiana selfishly wonders if she is loved because of her position in power.

Her feelings towards her responsibilities changes depending on whether her heart is corrupted by darkness. If she remains sane, the young queen realizes that her duties can be used to help her people and slowly gains the courage to appreciate her self-worth as an individual. Once she begins ruling political affairs, Tiana regrets not being sympathetic to her mother's prior hardships. She hopes to become confident in her decisions with time and experience. Should her heart fall to darkness, Tiana loses to her self-pity and broods on her jealousy for the attention Atleia receives. She will believe that her suffering is for naught since the world has abandoned her. Feeling alone and unloved, the queen gladly turns on those she feels has "betrayed" her.

Tiana tries to be patient with Taltuba, yet even she cannot overlook his disdainful character. She believes she can only be honest with her childhood friends. She treats Lemghon and Est as though they are her surrogate siblings and appreciates the kindness they shared in their past. Tiana especially looks up to Lemghon as her ideal of a reliable and respectful nobleman, frequently using him as an example in her conversations. She openly patronizes Xenetes for his carefree nature and calls him an uncultured brute. Although she gives his jocular snootiness the cold shoulder, Tiana is bashful when he teases her. Whether she realizes it or not, the queen genuinely fears for his safety and focuses on him as a priority for her concern.

She appreciates the casual visits from either protagonist; the informal abruptness of their meetings offers a warm contrast to her carefully structured surroundings. The queen thinks dearly of them over time (assigning them the -sama honorific) and yearns to be a part of their adventurous lifestyle. Regardless of their gender, she believes that they are her irreplaceable pillar of support who offers a fresh perspective for herself. Tiana grows to treasure the heroes as her long-awaited soul mate who gives her the courage to stand. Heroines are dear friends to her; she doesn't feel confident enough to face life without them by her side.