Diene

"I can't believe I'm getting sympathy from a twerp like you! I must be really pathetic."

- Diene

Diene (ディーネ) is a Lieutenant in the Nortis Army. She is charged with the task of bringing Evann and the other members of his team together to neutralise the Elemental Disorder.

Story and Character
A stern but intelligent woman, little is known about Diene outside of her involvement with the mission to neutralise the Elemental Disorder. She has great respect for Kroitz and his leadership, but appears to have a more strained relationship with Brandol and Carmyne, who don't seem to take her seriously as a higher ranking officer.

In her first encounter with Evann, she is investigating his refusal to answer her conscription letters. She doesn't engage in conversation with him and instead chooses to dispatch her men to forcefully knock him out and bring him to Locca. Thanks to this, she and Evann have somewhat of a soured relationship for the earlier parts of the story. Even when Evann eventually agrees to work with the army he is vocal about his situation and its chain of command, referring to Diene at one point as a "little dictator".

As the story unfolds it becomes clear that Diene has pacifistic reasoning beyond neutralising the Disorder purely for the army's image, as she wants the mission to foster peaceful relations between the three affected nations. She eventually warms up to Evann (as he does to her), as she can see he and the rest of his party are able to realise this dream of hers.

She acts as the team's point of reference and operates from the Command Post in Locca. Because she is the designated commanding officer of the team, Lutina places the blame on her for allowing the Elemental Slabs to fall into Kroitz and Specto's hands. Wanting to help the fractured team and having ultimately been betrayed by Kroitz herself, Diene helps Evann get into the base at Escarre, where they find out the truth behind the opening of Starry Corridor. Diene is a guest party member for this temporary stint whilst exploring the city; she does not appear in the menu but will follow Evann and can be involved in his conversations with the NPCs in the area. Leaving the pursuit of Kroitz and Specto in Evann's hands, Diene departs from Locca to speak with the higher officers of the Nortis Army about the incident. However, she is too late, and isn't able to put a stop to Kroitz launching an excessively costly attack on the Birthplace of Quanlee.

She is in Escarre when Quanlee arrives and wreaks his mind control over the city. It is possible to talk to her when this happens, and she will blankly state that what Quanlee has brought to everyone was the nature of her goal all along. Evann tries to argue with her, but can't snap her out of it. When Quanlee is defeated and everyone is freed, she later says that, though under his influence she felt happy, the concept of a being that could control everyone's minds was a "scary thought".

Trivia
Diene shares a notable amount of traits with Leen of the first Grandia game: they hold the same rank in the military, and are manipulated by a higher officer. They have a similar appearance and impassive outward nature, beneath which they are both deceptively kind. Both characters also spend a short time accompanying the main character as a guest party member.