Imperial Knights Diana Ashley
House Ashley's second daughter, guild adventurer, and eventual Ether Knight.
Diana Ashley (ディアナ・アーシュリー) is the protagonist of Imperial Knights. Kagura’s English bio: second daughter of famous House Ashley, desperate to help a fallen house and a struggling father, skilled at cooking, then suddenly competent in a fight the way Robert and Luna were. Steam screenshots put her on a forest road in an adventurer coat, in a guild hall asking to join, and in command battles with a thrust sword. This page is her flags, ranks, and kit — not a novelization.
If you need “what do I click in the first hour,” use getting started. If you need “when does she become a knight,” use Ether Knight.
Family and motive
House Ashley produced knights. Robert still holds a commander’s title while the court treats the name as a failed line. Luna was an Ether Knight hero who left the empire about six months before the opening (Japanese story text). Diana has never really left Maldonia. Her plan is small on purpose: become an adventurer, take legal requests, send money, maybe earn enough honor that Robert can breathe.
That plan is also how the game teaches systems. Guild ranks change her field costume. Day/night in Maldonia’s poor quarter and inns is how she makes extra gold. The route split is framed as a moral choice (earn the fee versus borrow it) because Diana’s inexperience is the point.
She is not a silent cipher. English screenshots give her awkward lines (“I, um, want to become an adventurer”) next to later battlefield competence. Circle Poison’s joke is that the housework daughter out-rolls the empire’s monsters once you let her take turns.
How she plays
- Role. Physical attacker with thrust skills, later Ether Knight lightning. She is not your healer.
- Slot. Always in the four. You build around her.
- Armor-break. She uses the female costume layer. Repair Kits are her sustain as much as potions are. See combat.
- Cards. The “Diana Knight” card is one of the actually-good stat sticks on the card tier list.
Early game: Straight Thrust, Defense Ring, do not greed North Road triples. Mid game: keep her out of binds so the Ether Knight skill bar exists. Late game: she is the damage floor; Lysithea is the ceiling you do not drop.
Guild ranks and costumes
Requests raise adventurer rank. Rank-ups are story beats and wardrobe changes. Japanese reviewers liked that the same scenes get extra costume variants as rank and “desire level” climb. For a plot-only run, rank is how you unlock the next town. For a completion run, rank is how the gallery multiplies. The checklist treats rank as a gate, not a vanity.
Junior rank on Route 1 arrives after Robust Fort + Silved report and opens the lighthouse quest plus Protea. Do not hoard requests thinking you will “save them.” The spine wants you to rank up.
Crest flag
Route 1 can apply a crest (淫紋 in Japanese charts) from specific losses, notably Alraune. It is an ending flag:
- Win the finale with the crest → crest ending.
- Win without it → normal ending.
- Lose to Sati or the last boss → defeat ending.
Silved’s alchemy back-room curse-breaker is the cleanse. It is a long collection quest, not a single herb. Many players take the crest on purpose, finish the crest ending, then cleanse on a replay. Ether Knight status does not auto-remove it. Details stay on the walkthrough and checklist.
Ether Knight Diana
After Spirit Cave / Mud Poison / emperor report, the basement mage offers the ritual and a gold or silver hair prompt. Cosmetic CG recolor only. Kit-wise she finally matches the trailer: lightning techniques in Tear’s family, enough stats to bully old maps, still in need of a healer. Read how to become an Ether Knight.
On Kagura’s page, Diana can work for the empire or against its darkness depending on route. That is politics around the same class, not a second skill tree.
Relationships that change the file
- Lysithea — first lasting ally on Route 1, heal bot, church plot in Protea. Full page: Lysithea.
- Tear — evaluation, escort to Seikuri, absence during the ritual, return in Svalt. See Tear.
- Lea — Protea cluster only, then mercenary.
- Tania / Ellis — other routes; Diana is still the lead.
- Sting — the fee temptation.
- Luna / Robert — the reason the guild exists in her head.
Optional night jobs and “desire level” bonuses give items. They are economy, not required for Ether Knight. Skip them if you want; buy Poison Rings another way.
Advice that is actually about Diana
- Manual save before the guild. Her life splits there.
- Do not lend her unique cards to temps.
- Repair Kits in the first shopping trip.
- She cannot Mina Heal. If Lysithea walked, hire her back.
- Hair color is for you. Crest is for endings. Do not confuse the two prompts.
Diana is the constant across three campaigns. Treat her inventory like the only one that always survives a cutscene, because it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions Imperial Knights players ask first.
Is Diana Ashley a new character?
She appeared in Slave's Sword material and headlines this spin-off. The prologue is enough; you do not need the earlier games.
Does Diana leave the party?
No. She is the only guaranteed slot. Everyone else can walk and return as mercenaries.
Can I skip the Ether Knight ritual?
You can delay talking to the mage, but Route 1's second half expects the class. Hair color is the only optional part of that scene.
What is the crest on Diana?
A Route 1 ending flag from certain losses. Cleanse it in Silved for the normal ending, or keep it for the crest ending.