Shadow Strategist of Kornelius Spots
Lilian White, Susan’s twin sister, offers a striking example of how the Long War and its aftermath could warp values, thrusting individuals onto entirely divergent paths. Where Susan builds, Lilian dismantles, driven by sharp cynicism and a profound rebellion against the world she was born into. Her decision to embrace a life of crime alongside Kornelius Spots, the leader of the Docker Boys, was no accident; rather, it was a deliberate, cynical choice and an act of defiance against the values held by her family and the elites of Fergeria. The fact that Lilian completed her law studies before choosing this darker path only adds layers of depth and irony to her character.
Lilian stands as a living refutation of everything Susan embodies. While physically identical, their characters and life philosophies are worlds apart. The fact that Lilian completed her law studies before rejecting the elite world is crucial. She isn’t someone who stumbled into crime due to a lack of options; quite the opposite, her choice was an act of conscious rebellion and refined contempt. Her intimate knowledge of the law—its loopholes and weaknesses—makes her an incredibly valuable, yet dangerous, asset to the Docker Boys. She understands how the system works, enabling her to break and exploit it more effectively. The Long War solidified her belief that Fergeria’s entire social structure—its aristocracy, its rules, its “justice”—was nothing but a facade that crumbled under the conflict’s weight. Instead of rebuilding on the ruins of the old world, Lilian chose to profit from its decay. Her decision to lead a criminal life was thus an act of rebellion against the hypocrisy and weaknesses of the elites, and simultaneously a pragmatic move to seize power in a world she deemed corrupt. Lilian is no blind follower of Kornelius but his equal partner. She possesses a keen intellect that Susan applies to architecture, but Lilian directs towards criminal strategy and circumventing the law. She is cold, calculating, and adept at risk analysis. Her intelligence, coupled with her lack of scruples, makes her exceedingly dangerous. While Kornelius is the public face and executive force of the Docker Boys, Lilian often serves as the shadowy mastermind, designing smuggling operations, planning intrigues, and managing logistics within the gray areas of the West Port. She has an uncanny ability to spot systemic vulnerabilities and exploit them for the gang’s benefit. Her precision, though different from Susan’s, is equally striking in the planning of her illicit schemes.
The relationship with Susan is for Lilian a source of both irritation and, perhaps, a strange kind of satisfaction. Meetings between the sisters, if they even occur, are true clashes of worlds. Lilian, in contrast to Susan, might deliberately emphasize her lifestyle—being more stark, direct, sometimes even vulgar in her demeanor—to heighten the contrast and wound her sister. It is her way of demonstrating her rejection of the values Susan symbolizes. Lilian has intentionally severed ties with her family’s aristocratic or higher social standing. She cares nothing for the reputation, manners, or elegance of Rubral. Her “home” is the brutal, yet dynamic, West Port, where strength and cunning are the only currency. Despite everything, an unspoken rivalry might exist between the sisters. Lilian, even as she despises Susan’s world, may wish to prove that her path is just as effective, perhaps even more so, in post-war Fergeria.
Lilian White is a tragic figure in her consistency, yet terrifying in her ruthlessness. She stands as living proof that war can destroy not only buildings but also souls, leading to the abandonment of old ideals in favor of cynical survival and power in the shadows. Her legal education adds a sharp, ironic edge to this profound transformation.