Belia Darzu

Belia Darzu was a  from  who lived during the last quarter of the. After leaving her at a young age, Belia faced  in the, though she later escaped captivity and fled to the  of  where she lived in seclusion. During this time, Belia worked as a freelance, using this role to train her natural ability.

Early life
Belia Darzu was a who, like all members of her species, possessed the ability to. She was raised in the thick rainforests of where she lived by  for her own food while also contending with the native predators. As Belia grew more exhilarated by the perils within the jungle, she came to be regarded as a highly aggressive being by her fellow Shi'ido, who tended to have a more passive attitude in comparison. Unknown to Belia, she was, and the exhilaration she experienced was actually the call of the. In time, Belia developed an aspiration to explore other parts of the, hoping to train and test her abilities.

Rather than staying isolated on Lao-mon like most of her fellow Shi'ido, Belia ventured away from her, making her way to the  of. There, Belia disguised herself as a member of the native species in order to blend in. She later attempted to infiltrate an cult known as the, hoping to use their expertise to sharpen her combat skills. This attempt failed, however, and as a consequence, Belia was apprehended by the cult and exposed as a changeling. After being captured, Belia spent several months undertaking menial labor as a, also being fitted with a to stop her from resisting.

An escape opportunity for Belia arose when a group of s arrived on Merisee, who were intent on ousting the Loag from the planet and ending their growing oppression over the native populace. Refusing to yield to demands of the Jedi, the Loag reacted with violence. In the ensuing skirmish, many Loag were killed by the Jedi Knights, forcing the cult to scatter. With her captors diverted, Belia took the chance to remove her shock collar. She then used her shape-shifting talent to disguise herself, allowing her to find safe passage off Merisee.

Assassin career
Following the end of her imprisonment on Merisee, Belia made her way to the planet. Having grown distrustful after her failed attempt to infiltrate the Loag, she secluded herself in the lower reaches of the planet's, , hoping to maintain a low profile. Initially, Belia lived by scavenging and stealing whatever food and supplies she could find. At the same time, she avoided direct contact with others, believing she would draw unwanted attention to herself. Eventually, however, Belia succumbed to her natural hunter’s instincts and yearned to continue her life of chasing down and killing prey. As such, feeling that her life would otherwise have no purpose, she became an assassin.

Belia found most of her assassin work within Darkknel's criminal underground, doing jobs for local s. Wishing to avoid a repeat of her blunder on Merisee, Belia spent time refining her changeling talent to make her disguises more convincing. When undertaking her contracts, Belia studied each of her marks intently to learn about their mannerisms. After killing her targets, Belia would use her shape-shifting ability to assume the victim's identity. She then maintained this ruse for as long as she could before abandoning it, collecting her payment and moving on to another job. In time, Belia's shape-shifting became more potent, and she earned a considerable profit by employing this skill during jobs.

At some point in her assassin career, Belia discovered her Force-sensitivity, and after conducting some research, became fascinated by the power she felt it could grant her. Despite this, the Shi'ido had a limited understanding of, and as such, she had no means of actually harnessing its power. Determined to tap into her potential with the Force, Belia began to seek out any sources that might offer her training. Belia's search led her to the, though she was reluctant to take sides with them in their with the  and its Jedi protectors. Nevertheless, Belia ultimately chose to join the Sith, hoping to use them to fully realize her potential with the Force.

Sith training
Belia enrolled at one of the Sith Empire's on planet of. There, Belia was trained in the doctrines of the Sith Order, learning to harness the power of the dark side. Due to the late discovery of her Force-sensitivity, Belia lagged behind her fellow, some of whom had trained since childhood. Even after months of rigorous physical and mental exercises, Belia was still considered below the academy’s standard. Belia’s underperformance made it more difficult for the Shi’ido to blend in like she had done in the past. The academy’s “survival of the fittest” attitude led Belia’s fellow students to perceive her as fainthearted and cowardly. In particular, Belia was held in low regard by Kraton Pareja, the lieutenant of the academy’s, Avan Signa.

As time went by, Belia grew increasingly exasperated by her own underperformance, as well as the constant scorning from Kraton Pareja. On one occasion, Belia was defeated in a practice duel by one of her main rivals, Evasa Ra. At the end of the fight, Kraton began to taunt Belia once again, causing her to swell up with anger. In a fit of, Belia unsheathed a hidden and lunged at Kraton, though she failed to kill him and instead left a large gash across his face. After her assault, Belia was momentarily stunned as her anger subsided, allowing her to be disarmed and apprehended at the behest of Avan Signa.

In response to her act of defiance, Avan exiled Belia into the of Ryloth where she would presumably. After wandering through the dry, rocky desert for some time, the extreme heat took its toll on Belia, leading her to contemplate. Despite this, Belia began to feel as though she was experiencing hallucinations, specifically in the form of visions and voices. When these became more prevalent, however, Belia began to see them as the call of dark side instead of mere hallucinations. As such, she focused on the visions, trusting that they would guide her through the wastelands towards civilization.

As Belia became more physically weakened in her travels, she began to rely on the power of the dark side simply to stay alive. After finally managing to reach a city known as, Belia was able to recover herself both physically and mentally. To her dismay, however, Belia discovered that her earlier dependence on the dark side had unforeseen consequences; her ability to shape-shift had been weakened, since the process now caused her a significant amount of pain. Deeply angered, Belia planned on returning to the Sith academy to kill Kraton Pareja and Avan Signa, feeling that they were responsible for her fate.

After making her way into the academy with stealth, Belia discovered that Avan Signa had already been killed and overthrown by Kraton Pareja. As such, Belia devised a plan to lure Kraton alone into one of the combat training rooms, leaving him at the mercy a captured. To do this, Belia killed and then assumed the appearance of Evasa Ra after learning that she and Kraton had become lovers. By masquerading as Kraton’s lover, Belia successfully lured him into the training room, though the doors to the room malfunctioned and locked before she could escape. Taking advantage of the situation, Belia maintained her guise and allowed Kraton to fight the Tuk'ata. Belia, however, underestimated Kraton, who ultimately managed to kill the Tuk'ata himself, though he suffered severe injuries in the process and was left unconscious as a result.

Following the skirmish, the doors of the training room were opened by several other academy members. Due to the physical pain caused by her shape-shifting, Belia was forced to end her guise, after which she was imprisoned by the leading Sith instructors. While imprisoned, Belia was approached by an  who introduced herself as Valara Erith. During their conversation, Belia realised that Valara’s voice was same one that she had heard during her time in the Bright Lands, and that it was also Valara who conveyed the visions that guided the Shi’ido, allowing her to survive. Despite her initial wariness of the Sith Lord, Belia was surprised after being offered the chance to become Valara’s, an offer which she accepted.