"For too long we have fought amongst each other, squabbling over land while our shared enemy abroad grows stronger. Today we change that. Today the Five Kingdoms become one, a clenched fist that will stand strong against all threats."
—Adriana shortly before the massacre (Book 1 Chapter 1).
Queen Adriana Rys, a character in "The Crown & The Flame" series, is Kenna's mother and the former queen of Stormholt. She is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 1.
Background
Adriana was a commoner who was married to King Marcellus Rys. When he died, Adriana took up the crown, as the heiress was still too young.
Because she took command of Stormholt despite not being of royal blood, there were protests, and the nobles of Ramsforge have rallied a fighting force against her. Believing that rebellion only incites further rebellion, Adriana chose a passive yet decisive strategy to quell the rebels: instead of taking their offer of war and allowing Leon Stirling and his men to slaughter the insurgents, she exploited the rebels' overcommitment, and planned to raid their would-be undefended homes and capture their children to lower their morale. She then dealt out punishment quietly.
After settling the strategy for Ramsforge, Adriana implicitly flirted with Leon, who backed away, knowing his position. As time passed, Adriana promoted Leon to Captain of the Royal Guard, with Gabriel's recommendation. To pass the test for the position, Leon must first get her daughter Kenna's approval. Following a frustrating moment with Kenna, who sauntered away with Gabriel to play, Adriana spent some time with Leon, whom she bestowed with the Ram's Head Mace as a gift. Leon finally succumbed to her advances and revealed his love for her.
Appearance
Adriana has black hair, olive skin and brown eyes. She wears a blue and silver off-shoulder gown, a silver necklace with a sapphire pendant, with matching earrings and crown. She also used to wear a signet ring.
Personality
Adriana was a kind and gentle, but firm, queen. Her main goal was safety from the Iron Empire, and she worked to make peace between the Five Kingdoms, a goal that led to her being known as "the Peacemaker". Unfortunately, this goal led to her death, and led many to refer to her as "the Fool Queen".
Adriana had a strong sense of duty, as she stepped up to rule Stormholt after the death of her husband, since Princess Kenna was too young. She is also charismatic, able to round up all rulers from the Five Kingdoms and would have succeeded in forming an alliance were it not for Luther's intervention.
Despite her reputation as a peacemaker, Queen Adriana was a cunning strategist. Early in her reign, she quelled a rebellion led by the nobles of Ramsforge by not taking the bait of war, and instead used their qualities against them to win passively and quickly.
Politics aside, Adriana was a very caring mother, not wanting her young daughter to hear any cursing, and having only words of love as she died in front of her.
Relationships
Kenna Rys
Kenna is her daughter. Even though Kenna isn't happy about the fact that her mother chooses her husband, Adriana loves 'her little butterfly' a lot and their relationship is very affectionate, even considering Kenna her greatest legacy. Kenna can visit the spirit world and give her a final goodbye in Book 3, Chapter 17 (Diamond).
Marcellus Rys
Marcellus was Adriana's husband until his death. Not much is known about their relationship, but his death affected her severely, to the point where she believed she could never love again.
Eloise
Eloise was Adriana's sister. According to Adriana, Eloise was always gallivanting with some new lover she had picked up. However, her latest lover was in fact a spy for Luther Nevrakis, who "gouged [her] eyes out" to make her reveal the secret passage of Stormholt Castle, which in turn allowed Luther to invade the castle, execute all of the Five Kingdoms' other monarchs and their families, and then annex all of those monarchs' realms. In a sense, Kenna's whole war against the Nevrakis was instigated by Eloise's licentiousness.
Leon Stirling
After her king's death, Adriana began slowly shifting her attention to Leon, where her affections began to show during the Battle of Ramsforge, although Leon initially was reluctant to reciprocate her feelings. After he was promoted to Captain, he finally revealed his true feelings to the queen, leading to a discreet love affair of which Kenna had no prior knowledge.