Dahlia
Backstory
Early Life
Marigold grew up alongside her closest companion, Periphine —another Fairy like herself. Though not related by blood, the two were as close as siblings. They were raised by a woman named Morgantha , a peculiar fey whose manner and knowledge hinted at a noble past, perhaps once tied to one of the old courts. The trio lived at the very bottom of society, surviving on scraps and secrecy. Morgantha possessed forbidden abilities which she kept carefully hidden, but someone among the upper echelons had discovered the truth and began blackmailing her. What they demanded, Marigold never knew. One day, Morgantha simply never came home. Marigold was thirteen. Periphine was fifteen. Left to fend for themselves, the girls relied occasionally on sympathetic neighbors for a hot meal, but were largely abandoned to fate.Rebellion and Resistance
Throughout their youth, Marigold and Periphine crossed paths with various individuals—some of them friends, others less trustworthy—but all of them shared a deep contempt for the ruling classes. These connections occasionally became allies in failed revolutionary efforts. Some were arrested. Others died. A few still remained, though powerless. Among these was Aurelia, a fellow street orphan with a sharp instinct for survival and resistance. She lacked charisma but had a firm grasp of the rebellion’s ever-changing landscape. Her older brother, Aruul, never sat well with Marigold, though he and Periphine shared some form of rapport.The Grift
Tired of oppression and eager to strike back at those in power, Marigold and Periphine chose a life on the fringes of the law. They honed their skills in deception, targeting the upper class with clever cons. Their specialty lay in feigning communication with the dead, exploiting grief for profit. Though Marigold possessed real spiritual sensitivity, their séances were rarely more than well-acted performances. They gained a reputation in the criminal underworld as masterful con artists, combining performance, psychological insight, and a touch of larceny to fool even the most skeptical of marks.The Malagant Séance
Their undoing came with a single, overconfident scheme: they attempted to deceive Valerius de Malagant, a man whose wealth made him untouchable. The plan unraveled almost immediately. From the moment they arrived, something felt wrong. The world grew hazy, as if they’d been drugged. The séance was a blur of horror. In the chaos, Marigold heard a voice guiding her to safety—an unknown savior whose words continued to guide her. She never learned who they were, but she knew she would recognize that voice again. The next day, Periphine was found dead in a carriage alongside another young woman who had been missing for weeks.The Demimonde and the Mask of Dahlia
Devastated by Periphine’s death, Marigold drifted aimlessly. She turned to burglary and petty theft to survive, slipping further into a meaningless existence. But vengeance burned like a brand in her mind. Valerius de Malagant had become her personal nemesis. Knowing she needed a new path, Marigold reinvented herself. She adopted the name Dahlia and entered the world of the demimonde—the shadowy circles of the elite, where courtesans and consorts brushed shoulders with nobility. Her talents in deception, charm, and reading people made her a rising star among Calantor’s glittering, treacherous upper crust. Beneath the elegance and poise, she never stopped watching, waiting for her chance to strike back.
Species
Year of Death
1889 AtC
Children
Current Residence
Sex
Female
Gender
Woman
Hair
Black
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments