Belladonna

Awakened:
Wandering Surgepriest

Allison ->Kali ->Shiva -> Kyole -> Belladonna

Warning: This story does get dark at times

As she shifted around a dark alley, Belladonna, or Don, as she would prefer to be called - a short, simple name implies someone that is simple and should be ignored - watched the citizens of her town. At least, her town for now. Her mother enjoyed packing up the poison supplies and leaving with barely a day's notice. Today, though, Don's mission was to simply watch. Her mother had said, "To become a master in changing another's body, with poison or weapons, one must first become a master in another's body normally." So, she watched. This wouldn't be the first time her mother had sent her on one of these watching missions, and it most certainly wouldn't be the last. She adjusted her cloak around her. Stupid bright blue wings, she thought in despair, What's the point in mastering stealth if my genetics give me away? She fidgeted with her dagger, her most prized possession. Her mother had found it on a mission when Don was only a hatchling, and had given it to her as soon as she became old enough to be an adult. Another hour passed, then two, then three. Finally, as the sun just started to set, Don returned home.

"Belladonna, you're home," her mother exclaimed, she did not understand the importance of a name to stealth, "How did the scouting go? What did you learn?"

"I learned that the higher one's social class, the less likely they are to hide discomfort or pain," Don replied. She had watched the business dragons step the wrong way and shout in pain, while the unfortunate workers keep working with horrendous injuries gained on the job.

"Hmm, while that may be true occasionally, you allow bias to enter your mind, and your observations. You know you must banish this before you can master my, our, art," her mother said, "Now, I made some dinner. Eat, clean up a bit, and I'll show you what I've been working on."

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Slowly, Don began to learn the ins and outs of poison. She was a fast learner, and it didn't take long for her to memorize and understand the components she used and how they reacted together. In fact, she even seemed to outdo her mother, coming up with creative and imaginative new combinations of ingredients for her concoctions. She also became more skilled with her dagger, flowing in and out of various fighting poses fluidly. She was born to wield natures toxins and her small blade. Her masterpiece, however, is a special poison, very viscous, that she covers her blade in. The substance is potent enough to stun in low doses, and kill with not much more. It didn't take long for her mother to give her her first quarry.

"Alright Belladonna, this is your first run, I believe in you. You will be disposing of the man you've been watching for a while, be quick, and be back before dinner," Don's mother told her.

"I will, trust me," Don responded before leaving, silent, into the early morning light. Her target was a known liar and thief, choosing to prey on those most vulnerable, the weak, the sick, the elderly, new mothers, and children, by twisting their arms into signing deals and contracts that lead to financial ruin with no way out. All the while, this man, whom Don did not know the name of, collected more and more wealth to satisfy his own greed.

After 20 or so minutes, Don saw her target, a Wildclaw on his way to town like always. He's so predictable, Don thought, He's practically asking for what's coming to him. She covered her dagger in her special poison with a flexible brush attached to the lid of the jar holding the substance, and just as the Wildclaw approached the dark spot she hid...

Shing! Her dagger found the gab right in between the man's scales. Before he could react, he fell, stunned, but still alive. Don sliced his neck expertly, and hid his body deep in the alley she herself had hid in. She sighed as she checked his pockets and removed a pristine diamond ring. Don had noticed the ring a few days before while she'd been watching the man, and found that she had wanted it.

No, no Don thought, as she looked down at the ring, This isn't useful for stealth, or assassination. I don't want it at all. Still, she hid it in her cloak as she snuck home.

"Wonderfully done!" her mother cheered as Don told the story, "I always knew you'd become a better assassin than me, and I couldn't be prouder to see that now."

"Thanks mom," Don replied, she even allowed herself a smile. She was proud of herself, and said, "I only hope to improve and grow in our craft".

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Over the next few months, Don quickly established herself within the ranks of assassins, thieves, and general underground folks within her city. Her skills in poisons, which now surpassed her mother's, did not go unnoticed, and combined with her skills with a blade soon built her a reputation. This led to her meeting and working with some rather shifty, if well paying, dragons on a regular basis.

He's late, Don thought, He's never late.

Just as she was considering going home, Don spotted a figure at the end of the alley where she waited. An imperial like herself slipped along the walls gracefully. He had very dark colored scales, darker than her own frustrating blue, and wore dark clothing under a cloak. The whole ensemble made him practically invisible in the shadows of the dark, giving him his pseudonym, Night.

"I do apologise for my tardiness," Night said from under his mask, his voice self-important and obnoxious, "I'm afraid I was held up."

"Cut the pleasantries, Night," Don growled, "What do you want, and when do I get paid?"

"Feisty as ever, young Don," Night said, his mask moving in what could only be a sly grin, "But I'm not here to give you a job. No, tonight, I merely have information I believe you'd find interesting. About a man I believe is your father".

It was that phrase that made Don stop. She'd never really known her father, and she'd never asked her mother about him. She's never thought she needed to know. Now though, hearing Night discuss her father, her curiosity won out over instinct and she asked, "What will the information cost?"

"Your honest reaction, that's all".

For the next few hours, Night told Don the tale of an Organization, one bent on creating powerful beings to rival the power of one named Allison, who could perform feats incomprehensible to those who had never witnessed her firsthand. He told her of her father, drained of his power and driven mad by the Organization's experiments. He spoke of how she was taken from her father as an egg, to be raised by her mother without knowledge of the Organization, Allison, or her father.

Don stood still, silent for a moment, before asking, "How do you know this? And do you know what the Organization is doing now?"

"I know the same way you know the secrets of others, watching and waiting," Night said, shaking his head, "Unfortunately, I believe the Organization is still performing its experiments now".

That broke something inside Don. For months, she'd built emotional walls around her heart and mind, allowing her to kill and steal without thought. Now though, knowing that others dragons could be being tortured now, set her off. She thanked Night, and walked home, thinking.

Once she got home, Don immediately asked her mother about all the information she had learned. Once she was one, her mother replied, "You were never supposed to know about that, but I think you're strong enough to help if you wish. There is a place, a clan of dragons I can send you to. They will give you a home, train you better than I can, and help you fight the Organization. If you chose to do this, we will not see each other often. I will try to find ways of seeing you, but it may not happen. Do you still wish to go through with this?"

"Yes," Don replied with grim certainty.

"Alright. Pack whatever you want to bring. I'll take you there".

Don didn't bring much, a jar of her favorite poison, one of her own invention, her prized dagger, and the ring from her first mission. The ring. She'd kept it in a box for a very long time, but no she thought it would be a good reminder of who she was, and who she should be.

Soon, she was flying with her mother, very far away. They flew over many different landscapes, and eventually ended at the mouth of a cave in the Abiding Boneyard her mother had called it. Once they arrived at a cave opening, Don's mother said, "I have to leave now, goodbye for now my Don. Good luck my Belladonna". And with that, she flew away.

Soon, Don met with her new clan. She became especially close to Obsidian and Miles, two of the clan's warriors. She told them of the Organization, and they immediately agreed to assist Don in her quest. Together, they worked to hunt down Organization vases and raid them for information, which she delivered to her mother whenever she came by. All the while wearing the ring of a dead man, whom she later discovered to have been a member of the Organization, to keep her on task, literally, and mentally.

This is the story of how Belladonna went from a Rouge student under her mother, to a heartless Assassin, to a noble Infiltrator. To this day, Don lives with her new clan, her new family. She still wants nothing more than the fall of the Organization, and is ready and willing to give herself up for it. Her and her friends will not give up until every dragon, descendant from Allison or not, can live without ever, ever being in danger of the Organization's evil. No matter what the cost.

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