Delphine Eraclea

'''"I alone should possess the truth that wanders the Grand Stream. No one must ever see it."

- Delphine  

Maestro Delphine (Delphine Eraclea) is the primary antagonist and conflict in the Last Exile anime series. She is head of the Guild, an organization that controls the knowledge of Prester.

Delphine is portrayed as a decadent aristocrat, callous and ruthless in her ways.

Description
Delphine possesses a veritable arsenal of psychological weapons she handles with ease, which would explain why Dio is afraid of her. She is truly heartless in regards to the Guild, and takes great delight in the wastefulness her people undergo to attain and prepare meals, such as Kerasion Mousse, which is rarely harvested because the harvesters most likely froze to death, and catfish which took 100 gallons of First Water to remove mud from. During the Trial of Agoon, she demonstrated the ability to restore life to the dead; everyone who died in the Trial was seen scampering to her feet as she said "I have renewed your lives."

It is unknown whether she has any real combative power of her own. Due to her impossibly immense oppressive influence, she really only needs her truly loyal subordinates to battle for her, namely Cicada and his attack force. She does possess golden rings that have the ability to turn people into golden shards or ashes, which take form possibly by the content of an individual.

History
A run-in between her and Alex Row (captain of the Silvana) in the past has left her as the sole target of his vengeance, and one of his only goals is to personally kill Delphine.

About 10 years prior, Alex was tasked with flying to Disith with Hamilcar Valca, Georges Head, and Euris Bassianus with a peace treaty, but the two vanships were intercepted by the Maestro Delphine's Guild. Valca and Head's vanship was struck by the Guild Battle Ship that Delphine commanded, falling out of control and resulting in the death of both men. Alex's vanship was also struck, releasing Euris from her safety harness and sending her out into the Grand Stream. Fleeing in terror, he caught a glimpse of Delphine as she stood at a window, roses in hand, smiling. As he fled, he found the mythical Exile which was lost for centuries.

During Last Exile, Delphine shows a ruthless passion for reuniting with her younger brother, Dio, who had taken refuge on the Silvana, as well as a great interest in the Mysterion. When she infiltrated the Silvana she demanded the name of the Mysterion, silenced the crew onboard, and even took Dio and Alex Row into posession. Delphine's subordinates severely altered Dio, when he was taken captive and hypnotized.

Delphine now knew the location of Exile, she confined Alex to a cross with genetically engineered vines. The vines oozed a liquid that, as soon as it entered the blood stream of someone who has been pricked by its thorns, acted as a truth serum. Alex would speak all four Mysterion to Alvis and Exile would be in complete control of Delphine. However, he has not committed the entire Mysterion to memory and Delphine is denied the chance of controlling Exile.

Death
During the events leading up to the war's end, Delphine meets her inevitable death at the very willing hands of Alex Row, who strangles and breaks her neck with an iron grip, ending her blood stained rule once and for all.