Liliana von Monocle
Titles: Duchess of High Mesa, Last Duchess of Tyndree, Baroness von Monocle
Liliana von Monocle was the wife of Baron Theodore von Monocle and mother of Zaira von Monocle. A duchess by birth and by marriage a baroness, she was a figure of grace and warmth whose death left lasting marks on all who loved her. Baron Theodore von Monocle named his airship, The Liliana, after her, ensuring her memory endured long after her passing. Revelations in The Iron Wedding further established that Liliana carried giant's blood, a heritage that passed to Zaira and drew the attention of the Wyranth Empire.
Background
Liliana was a duchess whose lands lay nearest the border with the Wyranth Empire during the war with the Tyndree Kingdom. She was rescued from High Mesa Castle by Baron Theodore von Monocle, an event that became celebrated in Rislandian memory. Captain Talyen von Cravat was among the crew at the time Theodore met her.
Following her rescue, Liliana settled in Plainsroad Village, which Zaira later recalled as the place her mother grew up as a country girl. She raised Zaira with stories of both her heritage and the wider world, including the tale of Golgmarsh, which she told Zaira many times—among them a story about giants crossing the Golgmarsh Ocean when Zaira was a child. She was diligent in ensuring Zaira attended school every day and read books every night.
Marriage and Family
Liliana married Baron Theodore von Monocle and together they had one daughter, Zaira von Monocle. A photograph of Liliana, the Baron, and a young Zaira—taken in front of a large stone wall and also featuring King Malaky XVI—was kept in the Baron's quarters aboard The Liliana.
She was described by Theodore in his log as someone he hoped would forgive him, and he called her "my heart and soul." Ivan, the Iron Emperor later spoke her name with a longing tone and remarked that Zaira was very much like her.
Giant's Blood Lineage
In The Iron Wedding, Ivan, the Iron Emperor revealed that Zaira's giant's blood came from her mother's side. Ivan stated that his father had pursued Liliana to great lengths in order to keep the giant bloodline pure. Ivan himself appeared intimately familiar with Liliana when Zaira first arrived at the palace, suggesting Liliana was known—and of significant interest—beyond Rislandian borders. Baron Theodore von Monocle was noted as the person who remembered Liliana better than anyone.
Death
Liliana died of a fever that would not break, during a cholera epidemic, approximately three years before the events of For Steam and Country. She died when Zaira was very young. Her death caused Baron Theodore von Monocle to withdraw inward and become more solitary, burying himself in duty. Zaira was left effectively without a present parent.
Role in For Steam and Country
Although Liliana did not appear directly in For Steam and Country, her presence was felt throughout the narrative. Zaira reflected on her mother's stories and lessons. The Baron's log mentioned Liliana by name, expressing his hope that she and Zaira would forgive him. Captain von Cravat noted the weight of hearing the name of one's beloved day after day, in reference to the airship bearing her name: "Imagine hearing the name of your beloved day after day."
Ivan, the Iron Emperor addressed Zaira by her mother's full name—"Liliana von Monocle…"—and observed that Zaira was very much like her, suggesting Liliana was known beyond Rislandian borders.
Role in The Fight for Rislandia
In The Fight for Rislandia, Liliana's memory surfaced again when Zaira discovered a picture of her mother in a ransacked house. Ethan von Lantern, upon seeing the photograph, remarked that Liliana was pretty and noted that Zaira shared her mother's chin and eyes. A porcelain white floral-painted mask was also found in a hidden compartment nearby; it may have belonged to Liliana, though this was not confirmed in the text.
Role in The Iron Wedding
In The Iron Wedding, further details about Liliana's heritage came to light. Ivan revealed that Zaira's giant blood derived from her mother's side, and that his father had pursued Liliana "to great lengths to try to keep the line pure." Ivan's apparent familiarity with Liliana upon Zaira's arrival at the palace indicated that Liliana had been a figure of considerable interest to the Wyranth imperial family. Baron Theodore von Monocle was identified as the person who remembered Liliana better than anyone.
Legacy
The Liliana, the airship originally captained by Baron Theodore von Monocle and later inherited by Zaira, bore her name. King Malaky XVI described the airship's return to the skies as a rallying cry for Rislandia and said it instilled fear in the hearts of the enemy—a tribute, by extension, to the woman whose name it carried.
Liliana was remembered as graceful, wise, and beloved. Her insistence on Zaira's education and her preservation of cultural stories shaped the young woman Zaira became. Physically, her resemblance to Zaira was noted by both Ethan von Lantern and Ivan, the Iron Emperor, each independently observing that Zaira took after her mother. Her giant's blood lineage proved to be a thread running through the broader conflict between Rislandia and the Wyranth Empire.
In the short stories
In How Baron Von Monocle Named His Airship, Liliana becomes Duchess after the death of her father, Duke Wesley Yount. She refuses to honour his debt to Theodore. After Theodore steals coal, she takes his airship, threatens him with the dungeon when he barges in on her bath, and then kisses him. She returns the ship only once he pays double for the coal, having "taken the liberty" of naming it after herself.
In A History of Rislandia
A History of Rislandia treats Liliana von Monocle as a figure of genuine historical significance, devoting attention to her origins, her rescue, her marriage, her advocacy, and her death. The sourcebook's account largely corroborates the novels but adds several details not previously recorded on this page, and introduces at least one notable conflict.
Origins and Tyndree Heritage
According to A History of Rislandia, Liliana was a noblewoman of the Tyndree Kingdom and is identified specifically as a niece of King Aldous III of Tyndree. This royal connection is not mentioned in the novels. The sourcebook describes her as a Tyndree noble who fled to Rislandia during the Conquest of Tyndree, having escaped from the Eastern Port. It further records that she was inside High Mesa Castle during the Siege of High Mesa in Year 467 of the Rislandian calendar, and that she survived the full six-month siege before being rescued by Baron Theodore von Monocle.
The sourcebook notes that Theodore named his airship after her on the spot during the rescue — a detail that aligns with How Baron Von Monocle Named His Airship in broad outline, though the short story presents a more complicated and comedic sequence of events surrounding the naming. The sourcebook does not mention the short story's account of Liliana seizing the airship, demanding double payment for coal, or taking the liberty of naming it herself.
Marriage and Role in Rislandia
According to A History of Rislandia, Liliana's marriage to Theodore united Tyndree and Rislandian bloodlines. Beyond her domestic role, the sourcebook credits her with actively advocating for Tyndree refugees in Rislandia and preserving Tyndree cultural traditions within her adopted kingdom. It also records that she expressed a desire to move to the countryside when the war ended, and that she was reunited with Theodore during the Winter Festival in Rislandia City — details not found in the novel-based account on this page.
The sourcebook describes her as "graceful, wise, and beloved by all who knew her; known for her kindness and love of learning," and records the attributed quote: "A kingdom may fall, but its spirit endures."
Death
A History of Rislandia provides two details that add precision to the account of Liliana's death. First, it states she died at age 38. Second, it places her death in the 15th Year of King Malaky XVI's reign. The sourcebook records that she had been sick for days before passing, that her fever would not break, and that she died in agony while Theodore was away on duty — leaving Zaira von Monocle orphaned at age 12.
This last detail — that Zaira was 12 at the time of her mother's death — conflicts with the novel-based account on this page, which states Liliana "died when Zaira was very young," a characterisation drawn from the novels. The sourcebook's figure of age 12 is not typically described as "very young" in the same sense. Both versions are recorded here;
The Golgmarsh Legend
The sourcebook specifies that Liliana read the Golgmarsh legend to Zaira as a child to explain earthquakes and to frighten her into good behavior — a more pointed motivation than the novels suggest, which present the story primarily as a cultural tradition passed down with warmth.