Penellaphe Balfour is the first-person protagonist of From Blood and Ash. She has the green eyes of her father and the oval-shaped face of her mother (113). Penellaphe, the Maiden, destined to Ascend on her 19th birthday, has always wanted something more than a life of solitude. The first Maiden since the end of The War of Two Kings, her Ascension will be the largest ever recorded. She represents a new generation of Ascended, with hundreds of Ladies and Lords in Wait Ascending alongside her. The loss of Penellaphe’s parents at a young age greatly shapes her as a character. Her parent’s epic love story inspires Penellaphe to fight for a better life and to believe that true love exists. The memory of her parents motivates Penellaphe to preserver through the challenges faced in her journey towards self-acceptance.

Penellaphe’s scars define her, and her body functions as a record of her life. She has scars from the Duke’s abuse and from the night her parents died, when she survived the bite of a Craven. The left side of her face is covered with scars, whereas the right resembles her beautiful mother.