Lili was born in the Twelveswood to a family enmeshed in politics across Eorzea. Seeking to gain enough influence to create a new Duskwight home city or dwelling comparable to Gelmorra, they positioned themselves to hear and do whatever was necessary to gain favor with the powers that be. If they couldn't be there personally, they had proxies who frequently didn't know exactly what they had signed up for.

Lili was considered a failure by much of the extended family; the bluntness that served her father was not "appropriate" for someone who was raised to serve political ends. As a young adult, she spent years trying to find something she excelled at that was "useful". During that time, she helped fight the Garleans but was injured shortly before Carteneau. Her father slipped a sedative into her food so that she wouldn't try to join him at the front; she slept through the entire thing.

While serving with the Wood Wailers and making arrangements to leave that group so her brother, Ludovoix, could take her place, she met Ellion Dotharl. Ludo kept running into another Duskwight who was causing him and the Wood Wailers trouble; Lili was sent to help; Ellion was contracted to make sure she had enough strength of arms. Lili resented it but when the matter was resolved and Ellion asked if she wanted to join him on a new job, she figured, why not.

At the time, Ellion was working under a mercenary captain named Biko, and she and Lili got along well from the start. Biko sent them to Ul'dah for an assignment, where they met a Hrothgar named Pohka (she's adopted) who was struggling to make ends meet after coming to the city to train under the legendary Hamon Holyfist. Ellion made a deal with her and, knowing it would do well for his company's reputation in Ul'dah if he helped with Hamon's problems, sent Lili to train with her. When Pohka sprained her ankle in the last fight against Hamon's rival, Lili found that the inconsistent spark of healing magic she had, was enough to fix it. Ellion found out and insisted that they go back to Gridania to talk to the Conjurers' Guild.

Lili's healing abilities started to grow more consistent and ultimately she trained as a White Mage. When the three of them reached Coerthas, they found Ludovoix there, working as a guard and grappling with a mysterious rival...Estinien. They joined together; later, Lili would flirt with Haurchefant and start up a relationship. When he died protecting her, she was somehow absolutely certain she could bring him back despite the fact that "everyone knows" such things always go wrong. But right after Haurchefant directed Ellion to take care of her - something she didn't hear because she was too distracted - Ellion dragged her off to chase after Thordan, arguing that they had no time and there were bigger things at stake.

Once everything was settled, they had a big argument - and he finally told her he loved her.

Traveling across the Azim Steppe, she learned that Ellion and Sadu had a past relationship of sorts (despite hating each other with a passon); shortly after Ellion proposed, Sadu tried to sneak up on them in the night and kill Ellion, as you do. Ludovoix noticed her coming and pretended to be drunk so that he could get past her guard, then put his spear tip under her chin and commented that maybe she would come back as a Dotharl, but it would be awfully hard to kill Ellion if she had to start over again from a baby. The commotion gave Lili, Ellion,and Pohka time to flee; Ludo had a challenge getting out from the mass of angry Dotharl warriors that soon assembled, but he made it.

In the last fight for Ala Mhigo, Pohka slipped and Zenos landed a fatal blow. The other three fought him to a point of weakness; Ellion and Ludovoix pursued him out into the garden with Lili's encouragement while she pretended that what had just happened...didn't. Then, unable to bear the possibility of losing someone else she loved, she tried to raise Pohka. And it worked. Her spark of life was stronger than Haurchefant's had been, for whatever reason, making it easier.

When they returned to Eorzea, Pohka let it slip that this happened and the Gridanians refused entry to their party. Lili, fed up with the propaganda about the land spirits - who she believed were the source of her power as a White Mage - asked Alphinaud to teach her to be a Sage. But they didn't have long to worry about being denied entry before they were called to the site of the Crystal Tower and Gridania ceased to be their problem for about a year.  A year during which they learned that Pohka was someone special, the Warrior of Light. A year during which Biko died and her company fell into shambles, leaving Ellion to rebuild his own once they returned.

And upon returning from the First, the Final Days started happening again, then they just happened to save the world...and going back to Gridania was no longer a problem. Along the way, they ran into one of Ellion's tribemates in Garlemald, Khaidai, who had been abducted from Yanxia and forced to fight for the Garleans until their empire collapsed. Of course, they took her with them.

Lili and Ellion finally married in the Temple of the Twelve, right before Wuk Lamat contracted Ellion to help her become Dawnservant. Ludovoix decided he wasn't going, and it seemed clear that Khai would step in...until two Vipers signed up to join the expedition, Ellion found out at their interview that one of them had been jailed in Ul'dah for a bar fight, and they thus met Rose.

By then, Pohka was like a (doubly adopted) daughter to Ellion and Lili, and Khai and Rose are so close to Pohka that they are becoming part of the family too.