Diana Farley, often known as Farley, is a known leader of the Scarlet Guard.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Farley is the daughter of Colonel Willis Farley and Clara Farley. Her sister was Madeline Farley. She was born in the Kingdom of the Lakelands. She joined the Scarlet Guard, along with her father, and has devoted herself to bringing blood-equality to the entire continent.
Excelling in the field, she was later promoted to captain and grew into a leadership role. Farley served under her father's command, and the two were usually picked for assignments due to making an effective team. Despite this, the two have a strained relationship. While the two of them were away, one of the Guard's operatives in the Lakelands was captured and tortured for information; ultimately he gave up the name of their village, which had previously been a small, overlooked and unimportant settlement which acted as the perfect place for the Guard to establish operations and grow in secret. Around the Spring of 315 NE, the King of the Lakelands, Orrec Cygnet, punished the rebellious villagers personally - he raised the shores of Hud, a nearby bay, and pulled the water to flood the village and wipe it from the face of his kingdom. Farley's mother and younger sister were among those drowned.
In the aftermath of the Drowning of the Northlands, Reds across the Lakelands were inflamed by the king's atrocity - Willis told the story of their tragedy up and down many villages and towns in the Lakelands. Ultimately the Guard flourished, but Farley was offended that her father had used the memory of their relatives to promote their cause. Ultimately, she felt she lost her father, as well as her mother and sister, and felt the part of him that cared was gone.
After successfully promoting the uprising in the Lakelands, Farley is tasked to lead her first mission without the Colonel - infiltrating the Kingdom of Norta. Farley was given command of a hundred soldiers to overthrow Norta's monarchy.
Red Queen[]
Farley met Mare Barrow in the Stilts when Mare begged Will Whistle to let her and Kilorn Warren hide in the cargo and be transported elsewhere to avoid conscription. Farley tells Mare it will cost her one thousand crowns each and the deadline for payment was two days.
The next day, Mare saw Farley in a broadcast shown near the Hall of the Sun, revealing the Scarlet Guard and taking responsibility for the bombing of the government buildings in West Archeon. Farley made these declarations so as to incite fear in Silvers and encourage Reds to rebel. Farley would go on to commit various attacks on Norta's facilities and targeting key government personnel.
At Mare's recommendation, Farley accepts Prince Maven Calore as a Guard asset inside the palace and they work together in a plan to seize control of Archeon's government buildings. The effort fails when Maven's older brother, Prince Tiberias Calore VII, also known as Cal, defeats the invading Guardsmen and wipes out most of Farley's team. Later, when Mare and Cal were betrayed by Maven and about to be executed on the new king's order in the Bowl of Bones, Farley and her surviving forces rescue them and escape.
Glass Sword[]
Despite close pursuit by Maven's ground and air forces to Naercey, Farley, Mare, Cal, and the surviving Guardsmen abandon the now-evacuated Guard stronghold in a hidden submarine before it is destroyed. Arriving at Tuck, a remote island and another Guard stronghold, Willis arrives and takes command, stripping his daughter of her rank for failing in her mission, as well as being deceived by Maven. She later escapes Tuck with Mare, Cal, Kilorn, and Shade to independently operate in Norta for the Guard, so as to rescue newbloods and recruit them to fight the king.
Farley and one her recruits, Mare's favorite brother Shade Barrow, grow closer and developed a physical relationship. Mare catches on to this when she witnesses them exiting the bedchambers after having sex in their base at the Notch together.
Farley is emotionally crushed when Shade is killed during the battle of Corros Prison by Ptolemus Samos. In the aftermath, she is reinstated to her previous rank by her father and implies to Mare she is pregnant.
King's Cage[]
Farley, despite being pregnant, remains a commanding officer in the battles against Maven. She participates in the capture of Corvium, which she considers a true declaration of war against Norta, as the Guard had successfully captured the fortress city and planted their flag for its Red populace to see. The battle to capture the fortress, and the battle to survive Maven's counterattack against Corvium, are both serious defeats for the king.
She later gives birth to her daughter with Shade, naming her Clara after her mother. She is promoted to the rank of colonel, placing her in the same rank as her father, much to his embarrassment.
War Storm[]
Farley is once again promoted, this time to the rank of General.
Personality[]
Farley is strong-willed, loyal, and brave. She possesses the qualities of a good leader. Although she has a rough and tough exterior, she feels pain, but she tries to hide it from others. She tends to come off as prickly. Farley is usually annoyed by most everyone around her, and because of the events in her life, she is quite angry at the world. She is often abrasive and combative.
Farley has an extreme hatred against all Silvers and treats them with utter scorn and fearlessness. She refuses to back down against them, despite their ability to kill her. She can tolerate some Silvers, as she does with Cal, but she has strict criteria for it.
Physical Description[]
Farley is tall, about six feet. Mare describes Farley as someone who looks barely older than her, but much taller and with an air of an old warrior. She has long, blond hair that she chops short because of the summer heat in Norta. Later, she decides to shave her head. Farley also has a long scar on the bottom half of her face. Farley is known to carry a gun at her hip, which is tucked in a red sash belt stamped with the symbol of the Scarlet Guard, a rising sun. She also carries a knife concealed in her boot.
Relationships[]
Willis Farley[]
Farley and the Colonel do not have a good relationship, despite being father and daughter. They can't stand to be together, but Command repeatedly teams them up together as they produce the best teamwork. The Colonel does love Farley and is hurt by the anger she treats him with. He humiliates her when he strips her of her rank and command. However, when Mare tells him that Farley survived the attack on Corros Prison, he is visibly relieved. He is in the hallway, out of sight, when Farley gives birth.