I've been meaning to submit this post on the Leona-Diana story. I keep a Guide to Writing Fantasy on my desk since I aspire to write myself, and when I had read its section on creating antagonists, the passage reminded me of Leona and Diana. Here's an excerpt:
It's All About Motivation
If the villain plans to murder the Chosen of Jubilé because there is no clear successor and the Church of the Revered Truth will descend into anarchy, allowing his own Cult of the Blue Oyster to move in and fill the role of the First Religion of the Empire, we need to know why, so ask questions. Is he an evil genius, bent on world domination? (Please, don’t tell me you’re not going to try to rest on that old chestnut). Is he still bitter about having been cast out of the Church of the Revered Truth when he discovered that the eighth of the Fourteen Revelations was stolen from the Twentyfold Writings of Frogam, a heretical religion the Church of the Revered Church once led a crusade against? Now you’re talking.
. . .
Maybe no one now in the service of the church had anything to do with this plagiarism, which was perpetrated centuries ago, and the church is in fact the greatest stabilizing influence our otherwise chaotic fantasy world has experienced. The Chosen of Jubilé is an utterly altruistic heroine, a tireless champion of the common people, and if one little story in the ages-old scripture of her faith turns out to agree with a fraction of the heretical writings of a mad prophet, it won’t erase the positive influence the rest has had on the world.
When I read of the Chosen of Jubilé, I immediately thought of Leona. I can even see this as happening within the lore. I think Leona champions the benevolent values presented by the Solari faith, not essentially promote the faith itself.