Queen (Princess / Lisa)
Queen (whose real name is Lisa, and who Quynn, her father, called Princess) is the ruthless leader of Her Majesty's Navy within the Under of New San Francisco. She is the biological daughter of the ancient Cothellon mindmaster, Quynn. A powerful mindmaster herself, Queen dominates the Under through fear, torture, and mental manipulation, creating the largest and most dangerous Crew in the city. She serves as a primary antagonist in the early books of the saga before her violent death at the hands of her own top assassin, Beam.
Appearance and Personality
Queen is a "remarkably short woman," standing a full head shorter than Phoenix. She has a dark brown bob of curly hair—sometimes described as a pixie cut—and eyes as sharp as a pinblade. She exudes a magnetic, alluring, and terrifying presence, projecting palpable power despite her small stature. Her typical attire consists of a tight black synthskin top that leaves her stomach bare, paired with an actual leather strap slung enticingly around her waist to hold her pinblade, two knives, and a pocket of metalwood. Her voice is a rich, smooth, and sultry "velvet voice wrapped around steel," marked by the rough, unpolished edges of the Under.
Personality-wise, Queen is deeply cruel, narcissistic, and tyrannical, willing to torture and beat a young boy to death simply to steal his gold watch. She is secretly terrified of being alone, using her mindmaster magic to force obedience and devotion from those around her to build her empire. Quynn notes that she was "broken" inside and hated the topside sun, preferring the darkness of the Under to the world above.
Biography
Born as the biological daughter of Quynn, Queen (whom he called Princess) was trained by her father to be a masterful Monitor and mindmaster. However, she despised the topside world and retreated to the Under to forge her own dominion. There, she established Her Majesty's Navy, subjugating other Crews through brutal torture and monopolizing the Under's limited resources until she achieved total control. She maintained a secret partnership with "Den Boss"—unaware that he was actually her father Quynn operating under an alias—trading the Navy's assassination and intelligence services for a steady supply of metalwood and transmuted goods.
The Fall of the Killgirls
Queen employed an elite squad of female assassins known as the killgirls, heavily favoring a skilled fighter named Beam. Using her mindmaster abilities, Queen manipulated Beam's memories and emotions, forcing the girl into a romantic and sexual relationship with her. The dynamic shatters when Beam's true lover, Phoenix, accidentally destroys the Den's whiproom with her unstable forcefinder magic. Furious at the loss of their contract with Den Boss, Queen demotes Phoenix to the "trashboys" squad and later formally excommunicates her, issuing a kill-on-sight command.
Death in the Sky
During a massive riot orchestrated by Quynn to cull the city's population, Queen attempts to finally eliminate Phoenix. Using her mindmaster magic, she forces a mentally-bound Beam to attack Phoenix. The three women engage in a brutal battle inside a flying "firebubble" generated by Phoenix's magic, soaring hundreds of feet above the rioting city. Phoenix realizes Queen is controlling Beam and uses fear and emotion to overwhelm Queen's mental hold. Freed from the mind control, Beam turns on Queen and buries her pinblade deep into Queen's throat.
Aftermath
Queen's magic fails, and her body plummets into the angry mob of rioters below. The crowd, recognizing her as the source of much of their suffering, violently tears her corpse apart limb from limb. Quynn later walks through the carnage and finds Queen's severed head; in a rare moment of genuine emotion, the ancient mindmaster weeps for his murdered daughter.
Powers and Abilities
- Mindmaster (Poplar): Queen is a highly capable mindmaster, using darkprime poplar to generate purple clouds of magic that bend others to her will. She uses this to erase memories, extract information during interrogations, and force absolute loyalty from her Crew. Quynn considered her his greatest protege, second only to himself in mental manipulation.
- Combat: Despite relying heavily on magic, Queen is a lethal physical combatant. She wields a pinblade with terrifying speed and precision, easily taking on multiple attackers at once and incorporating brutal hand-to-hand strikes into her swordplay.
Key Relationships
- Quynn: Her father and mentor, though she did not realize he was the "Den Boss" she partnered with. He considered her his greatest protege, but ultimately viewed her as a failed experiment who belonged in the Under.
- Beam: Her top killgirl, whom Queen manipulated into a relationship using mind control. Beam eventually breaks free of the compulsion and kills her.
- Phoenix (Megan): A forcefinder she initially recruited, then cast out. Queen hated Phoenix because she couldn't fully control her, and Phoenix ultimately exposes Queen's cowardice.
- Dust (Dillon): Her second-in-command, the "ass" to her "mouth". He despised her cruelty and secretly built the gearheads to overthrow her.