Belia Darzu

Belia Darzu was a  and a  who lived during the. Raised on in, Belia grew up as a member of the , a - sect dedicated to principles of independence and self-reliance. Not wishing to be bound by the Zeison Sha's isolationism, Belia chose to leave the group and her homeworld, working as a contract killer throughout the. During this time, Belia used her new role to refine her abilities, learning to mimic the numerous different species she encountered. Having attracted the attention of the, Belia was eventually recruited into their ranks after proving her worth to them.

During Belia's on, she faced distrust from many of her fellow  due to her changeling talents. In order to secure her prestige, Belia devised a plan to have one of her main rivals killed. This attempt was foiled, however, and ultimately resulted in Belia's imprisonment. Following these events, Belia was taken to the planet where she became a member of the s.

Early life
Hailing from the  of, Belia grew up within a reclusive group of s known as the. Having never known her true parents, Belia was raised by a Zeison Sha Warrior known as Arlan. During this time, Belia was taught by Arlan to harness her with the power of, also being trained in key survival and self-defense techniques. Throughout Belia's early life, Arlan taught her about the group's doctrines of self-reliance and independence. Under Arlan's directive, Belia was instilled by his own personal teachings, of which were considered unorthodox by other members of the group, mainly due to their focus on working for oneself as opposed to helping those in need. Nevertheless, Belia took Arlan's lessons to heart, becoming inspired by them.

Though Belia's seniors regarded her as a promising Initiate in terms of her skill and Force-potential, she was also noted for her lack of faith in some of the Zeison Sha's core beliefs. To the chagrin of her seniors, Belia grew up harboring a desire to explore other parts of the galaxy, mainly as a means of enhancing the abilities that  possessed. Though this conflicted with the group's isolationist attitude, Belia's desire to pursue this goal became more prevalent as time went by. Belia eventually chose to leave Yanibar and the Zeison Sha in an effort to make her desire a reality. In response, Belia's seniors declared her a Dark Zeison Sha, believing that she had fallen to the of the Force and deeming her unfit to remain within the group's community.

Assassin work
Having left the Zeison Sha, Belia traveled away from her homeworld, eventually making her way into the of the  where she found work as an. Using the skills gained from her Zeison Sha training, Belia spent much time tracking down and studying her targets, learning about both their mannerisms and their species. When she assassinated her targets, Belia would then use her shape-shifting abilities to assume the victim's appearance and identity, maintaining the ruse for as long as she could before abandoning it and moving on to another assignment. In time, Belia used the knowledge gained through this practice to further enhance her protean capabilities, which increased her effectiveness as an assassin in turn. In between her numerous assignments, Belia spent much of her time in seclusion, doing so in an attempt to maintain a low profile and to keep her species a secret.

As Belia's career progressed, the Shi'ido adopted a bolder and more ambitious attitude, wishing to hunt down more higher-profile targets than she had pursued before. At some point, Belia accepted a job to assassinate Avan Signa, the head of a organization residing on the planet. After disguising herself to infiltrate the group, Belia eventually succeeded at killing Avan. Following Avan's death, Belia assumed his identity and planned on using the ruse as a means of accessing the slaver's bank account, allowing her to steal his remaining assets for herself. Unknown to Belia, the assassination job she had taken was originally posted by members of the. The Sith sought to kill the slaver for unwanted incursions he had made into the Empire's territory. Not realizing that the slaver was actually already dead, a known as Crale Kasra was sent out to assassinate Avan Signa while Belia was still maintaining the guise.

At some point following Avan Signa's death, Belia located a which would give her access to the slaver's account. During Belia's attempt to access the account, she was tracked and hunted down by Crale Kasra. Unknown to the Sith Agent, however, Belia was able to Crale's incoming presence through the Force. Realizing that she was being followed, Belia eventually abandoned her plan and attempted to make an escape, leading Crale on a short chase through the planet's slums. Despite Belia's efforts to escape, she was eventually cornered by Crale, forcing the Shi'ido to reveal her true identity. After shifting back into her original physical form, Belia then tried to explain that Avan Signa was actually dead. Though Crale initially refused to believe her, after some deliberation, the Sith Agent was eventually convinced after Belia presented the slaver's body.

Shortly after their confrontation, Crale presented Belia with a proposal before they parted ways. Seeing her as a potentially valuable asset, Crale offered Belia an opportunity to join the ranks of the Sith, arranging to make use of the Shi'ido's abilities for what he saw as the greater good of the Empire. Though Belia accepted the offer, she was initially only employed by Crale on an arm's-length basis to determine whether she could be trusted. For a time, Belia undertook numerous jobs for the Sith Agent, working as an assassin and also a, eventually becoming one of Crale's own. Following a number of successful assignments, Belia's new employer gradually became more confident in her effectiveness, coming to admire her self-reliant attitude and viewing it as a worthy trait of the Sith. Crale eventually offered to recruit Belia into the Empire as an official, which she accepted.

Sith training
After being recruited by the Sith, Belia joined one of the Empire's academies on. There, Belia was taught about the doctrines of the, learning to harness the power of the dark side. Though Belia tried to keep her species secret, rumors about her shape-shifting abilities eventually spread amongst the other Acolytes. As a result of Belia's early life as a Zeison Sha Initiate, much of the basic was already familiar to her, though her previous experience also created high expectations amongst her new masters. They believed that Belia would need to perform far above the standard of the other s to advance herself. Due to this, Belia felt as though she was above many of the other Acolytes, separating herself and rarely interacting with them. This combined with the protean nature of Belia's species caused suspicion amongst some of her masters and fellow Acolytes.

Throughout her time on Iridonia, Belia developed a rivalry with a fellow Acolyte known as Kraton Pareja. Kraton frequently taunted Belia, while also spreading rumors and suspicion about her species amongst the other recruits. Despite Belia's previous Force-experience, she was bested by Kraton during several practice duels between the pair, leading to her being shunned further by the other Acolytes. As a result of her growing feud with Kraton, Belia began to lose prestige among the academy's Sith Masters, impeding her progress and diminishing her chances of graduating. Feeling threatened by Kraton, Belia sought to regain her lost prestige by demonstrating what she felt was the full extent of her abilities. By doing this, Belia hoped that the Sith Masters would take notice of her own strengths rather than her weaknesses and the strengths of the other recruits.

In an attempt to eliminate Kraton as a threat, Belia sought to lure him alone into one of the academy's combat training rooms. To do this, Belia planned on assuming the appearance and identity of Evasa Ra, a Acolyte whom Kraton had developed a relationship with. By doing this, Belia hoped that she could fool Kraton and trap him inside the chamber, leaving him to ultimately be killed by a captured. After commencing her plan, Belia disguised herself as Evasa and successfully deceived Kraton, luring him into the room as she had intended. Despite this, the doors of the room malfunctioned and locked before Belia was able to escape, trapping both her and Kraton inside. Taking advantage of the situation, Belia maintained her guise and allowed Kraton to fight the Tuk'ata with hopes that the creature would kill him. Belia, however, underestimated Kraton, who ultimately managed to kill the Tuk'ata himself, though he suffered severe injuries in the process.

Following the skirmish inside the training room, the doors of the room were eventually opened by several other members of the academy. Among this group included the actual Evasa Ra, consequently forcing Belia to end her guise and reveal her true identity. Due to Belia's reputation within the academy and the commotion caused by her scheme, the Shi'ido was imprisoned at the behest of the academy's Sith Masters, who felt that her rivalry with Kraton and defiant attitude had caused too much trouble. Unknown to Belia during her incarceration, she had been observed by an  known as Valara Erith. Impressed by Belia's initiative and shape-shifting abilities, Valara intended make use of the Shi’ido’s talents rather than allow her to remain imprisoned.

Serving the Empire
Having been recognized for her aptitude, Belia was taken away from Iridonia and sent to another less-widely known Sith academy on the planet. Among several other recruits, Belia became subject to a training regime led by Valara Erith. This initial process was intended by Valara to mentally break down the recruits individually. Belia was put through this regime to eliminate any possible signs of insubordination, ensuring that she would follow the will of the without question. Though Belia realized she had been forced by Valara into following through with this progression, she still chose to continue on regardless, being driven by her own will to succeed over the other recruits. Following several weeks of intentionally gruelling preparation, Belia was among the few who managed to survive this regime.

After surviving the initial weeding process, Belia then progressed on to become a part of the s, an elite sect of the Empire that was dedicated to covert operations. The conditions that Belia faced on Umbara were kept intentionally harsh and demanding. In particular due to the planet's dark atmosphere, Belia was required rely on the power of the Force to remain constantly aware of her surroundings. This aspect of recruits' living environment was considered a part of their overall preparation; it was intended to make the prospective assassins more adept at continuously monitoring their environment for opportunities and advantages. Rather than fighting with lightsabers, Belia and the other recruits often duelled one another with less remarkable melee weapons, particularly s.

Personality and traits
A cautious individual, Belia disliked being seen in her true physical form as a Shi'ido, particularly during her early life when her shape-shifting abilities had not fully developed. Preferring to avoid direct confrontations with other species, this trait encouraged Belia's personal goal to advance her protean abilities after leaving the Zeison Sha, allowing her blend in with the galaxy's inhabitants rather than stand out. During her assassin career, Belia spent much time in seclusion in between her assignments, often wearing a set of dark-colored robes with a veil to conceal her face and keep her species a secret. Later during her time as a Sith Acolyte, Belia rarely interacted directly with her fellow students, instead mostly keeping to herself. This reclusive attitude caused many of Belia's fellow Acolytes to view her as something of an enigma.

As a Zeison Sha Initiate, Belia was taught by Arlan to be self-reliant and independent. Even though these traits were encouraged within the group's culture, Belia's seniors felt that she had become prideful and selfish. Believing that Belia had an overly independent mind-set instilled by her mentor, her seniors felt that this would lead her down the path of the dark side. Later on in Belia's life, Sith Agent Crale Kasra perceived her as an ideal recruit due to this mind-set, admiring her ability to work autonomously and keep her true intentions hidden. Even though Belia's single-minded attitude was initially viewed positively by the Sith, it also caused her to look down upon her fellow Acolytes during her training, which in turn caused some of them to perceive Belia as an arrogant and overconfident individual, viewing her with contempt and suspicion.

Powers and abilities
As a Shi'ido, Belia possessed the ability to change her physical form at will, allowing her the match the appearance of other beings. Over the years after she left her homeworld, Belia developed this talent by closely studying the different species she came into contact with. On numerous occasions, Belia's ability to mimic appearances proved precise enough to deceive those around her, giving the impression that she was a member of their species. Despite this, Belia was unable to imitate non-humanoid shapes, finding it easier instead to assume humanoid forms. Among the different species that Belia could impersonate included s, Twi'leks and.

During her assassin work, Belia spent much time stalking and observing her targets in secret during contracts, becoming highly practised in subterfuge and espionage as a result. In addition, Belia often utilized surprise and secrecy as a means of eliminating her targets, preferring these methods over bold, direct confrontations.