This chapter is long enough to be a one-shot and is written in story form now, not bio form. It underwent a lot of editing and things like that to make it much better than the first version.

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Raven's secret-keeper

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Dove's Character Bio

Chapter 2: Her Story

Dove's story... Where to start? The beginning. Which one? I guess I should start with her mother, Alerina...

Alerina was born an Azarathian by blood. Dove's mother wasn't born in Azarath, but on Earth and later went back to her land of origin once she was told enough by Dove's grandmother, who had been exiled for feeling that life itself had more value than pacifism. But the time Alerina was on earth (and old enough to bear children) was enough for the demon, Trigon, to lure Dove's mother into a trap. She said Trigon was getting a bit, well, the best word to describe it is overexcited, with Raven's success, so he decided to take another shot at success, not yet realizing Arella had been in Azarath and that Azar wasn't about to let Raven follow his footsteps, so it wasn't true success. Well, Dove's mother moved back to Azarath and Dove was born a couple of months later.

Not wanting all of Azarath to know that another on Trigon's children was in the pacifist dimension, the young woman pretended it had been a stillbirth. Luckily, she had kept to herself during the short time she was pregnant in the community, and she hardly left her home for fear of someone discovering her secret. She never told any person that the father was Trigon himself, and it paid off - no person found it suspicious; if she had told anyone, they would have realized how odd it was that a child of a thing as powerful as the demon would be stillborn.

Dove was raised lovingly and was very close to her mother - and this spelled danger for her. Parallel to Raven, Dove needed to control her emotions. Still, Alerina couldn't help herself; she loved her daughter with every thread of her existence. And neither knew how to get her growing powers under control.

After a time, a priest from the temple came to their door and Alerina rushed Dove into a room - so far, the young child had grown used to it, since her life had been shrouded in secrecy since her birth. The priest told her of the way all of Azarath held prayer meetings quite frequently, and she had yet to come to a single one. He asked her if she would attend. Alerina quickly nodded and pretended to need a change of clothes. The priest smiled and went on.

Alerina quickly warned Dove to stay in the bedroom at all costs and to not worry, she would be back soon, before leaving the child alone. It was difficult on her mind; she worried that Dove might be discovered.

Luckily, she was not, for every person had gone to the temple as was the custom.

At the temple, Alerina had seen the girl Raven she had heard much about - the other demon-child. She was about two years older than her own. A smile of sympathy passed over her lips as she saw her, Azar whispering in her ear and Raven nodding, both nearly ignoring the priest as he gave a sermon about peace and something along the lines of how important inner-peace is to Azarath's existence. And, strangely, Alerina saw another woman watching Azar and Raven with an expression of longing on her face. She wondered what it meant, then remembered hearing a conversation on the streets about how Raven had been taken from her mother to prevent any emotional attachments. And she also remembered that this conversation was one of the initial reasons she decided to keep Dove a secret; she wouldn't be able to bear giving up her child regardless of what the reason is.

She tried focusing on what the priest was saying, but she couldn't keep her thoughts on the topic of peace. Her thoughts kept rerunning the path to her daughter and she began to realize that if she didn't learn how to help Dove cope with her demonic side, then everything could fall apart - as trivial as the statues to as wide-spread as Azarath itself.

After the people left the room in the temple, the priest came to Alerina and asked her what was troubling her. Alerina said she was just uneasy about the whole Azarath idea - not specifying which one - and he assured her that in Azarath, there was nothing to fear. There were no fights for power, no worries about money management, and as long as she swore to allow herself to become what her bloodlines told, they would eagerly accept her as one of their own. Alerina smiled and swore to all she's ever known that she wouldn't resist.

Alerina went home feeling slightly glad to be accepted and maybe even She told Dove that she would be leaving often and going to the temple. Dove nodded and asked why, and Alerina replied that it was to learn about peace.

While her mother was gone, Dove often kept herself occupied by tracing the textured surface on the wall or studying the many things that went on around her, even in the home she had been in for quite a time. She began growing interested in everything, and soon she was completely fascinated by the world around her. Being alone and knowing how upset her mother would be if she wandered, she found many ways to entertain herself. The moment Alerina began teaching her how to read, she fell in love with books and read most of the time she was alone.

At the temple, Alerina finally worked up the courage to ask Arella, Raven's mother, what it was like having a demon-child. Arella seemed a bit hesitant, but she did tell her that Raven was taken away for the sake of emotional control, and it was everything but easy. Alerina told her she was sorry that she had to lose her child, and Arella nodded before saying that it is for the best.

Alerina didn't know what she meant, but asked if she could ask one more thing: why control her emotions? And Arella replied that if Raven's emotions kept in check, then her powers would go awry and, worse, allow her to give into her demon side.

Alerina thanked her and apologized for any discomfort she may have caused before going home with a small idea of how to keep Dove in control.

Alerina tried trained Dove to keep her emotions at least monitored, and she was always reminding her daughter to calm down and not let instances upset her. More often than not, it wasn't worth the energy anyways.

Alerina began asked Arella about what Azar was telling Raven and began observing the two so she could know how to teach Dove. She picked up little, but it was enough to keep Dove from releasing what Arella had to Alerina was truly inside Raven's soul.

Dove was seven years old when her first encounter with what she was had occurred - she was having a nightmare, and the emotions were flaring up in her mind so sharply that there was no way she could have controlled it. Alerina had heard her crying and ran into Dove's room, just before dodging a bolt of energy. She ran to Dove and began desperately trying to calm her down and whispering that it was only a dream. Then Dove managed to say that it wasn't. She was scared because she was dreaming and she felt really wrong and confused, and she felt like she was losing herself. Alerina became a bit more desperate and told her to calm down and if she didn't, she might give in to her father's side. Dove shivered, and it wasn't until early that morning when she was finally calm enough for her powers to become controlled again.

When Dove was about eight, Alerina told Dove that Azar had transcended this plane of existence. Dove asked if it meant that Raven was alone - something about Raven had always intrigued her, knowing that there was another girl like her who was being taught to not cry or scream or even laugh too much. Alerina smiled and shook her head, telling Dove that Raven was still in the temple with Arella and Coman, Azarath's high-magistrate. Dove asked if she could see her mother now. Alerina shook her head sadly and pointed out that yes, she was with her mother, but she wasn't close to her. They hardly knew each other. Dove blinked and bowed her head before saying, "That's so sad..." Alerina nodded.

Life went on as usual until a day around three years later. Dove was eleven. They were awakened by a quaking and Dove ran to Alerina's arms in the living room. Dove looked at her mother desperately and Alerina told her to stay; she would go to the temple and ask what had happened.

When she arrived, she noticed that she among a few others there. Coman entered the hall, and someone asked what was wrong. She looked into the bedroom that they were gathered by and saw Arella holding 13-year old Raven, who looked extremely afraid and pale. She heard Coman ask Arella and tell her that all of Azarath shook. A few more seconds revealed that Trigon had come to Raven in her dreams and she was desperate to have him leave her alone. A meeting was to be held immediately.

Azar began telling everyone in Azarath (except Dove) of what would have happened if Trigon had been able to come through Raven, and Azarath and countless of other dimensions would be destroyed far beyond repair. Alerina blinked, a sudden urgency springing in her mind to help Dove more than ever.

She returned home and told Dove she was sorry it took so long, they held a meeting, and she told her that it was from Trigon getting to Raven in her sleep. Dove bit her lip at the thought and Alerina embraced her, reassuring her that she wouldn't let anything happen.

Another three years passed. Then, one day while meditating, Dove felt anxious, afraid, and, strangely, hot. Suddenly, she saw a flash of Azarath quieter than ever before; then burning, then 4 red eyes in the sky. Then Earth, and then Titans' Tower. She immediately felt more scared than she ever had before. She felt like her whole body was burning alive and paralyzed. Then, she collapsed and, breathing heavily and confused, she stood up and interpreted the vision. It was difficult to think through her anxiety, but she realized that it meant that she would have to leave everything she knew, grew up with, and loved, and then go to this strange Earth place that everyone in Azarath knew was far from perfect. She called her dove Sieara to her shoulder and went to say good-bye to her mother, her last ebbs of emotional control fading quickly. She knew her mother would not want to leave, but Dove had chosen her life over dying by the hands of keeping inner peace. The thought nearly disgusted her - she wondered why the others didn't seem to value their lives.

Her mother told her to wait for a few moments - which Dove used to gather a few things in a small box - and scribbled a piece of poetry. (You can see the poem in my collection "Wings of the Words", chapter 4, entitled Ode to Azar.) Alerina knew about Dove's thought process, and the fact that Dove cared deeply for others and life. She sighed and handed Dove the poem with tears but a smile on her face. "Don't ever forget me, Dove," Alerina told her. "I couldn't if I was desperate," Dove had replied. "You've almost never left me to do something alone. I'll always be able to rely on your spirit, even if… you're not…" Dove had struggled to breath through a tightness in her throat, and she and her mother hugged for the last time they would ever make physical contact, for as tightly and as long as they could.

Then, she headed out of her home with her head bowed and almost in tears to the Dimensional Doorway, or the "path that exists between the dimensions", as it is more commonly known as to those who don't know it's name. She opened the door before muttering desolately, "Goodbye, Azarath..." It wasn't only a place that she was leaving, but her life. Her mother, her memories, her home. Everything she had ever known was going to be left behind - She forced that thought from her mind and stepped through the door and traveled through the portal, and she landed on Earth.

The story of Dove's life continues in "Unforeseen Surprises."

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-Raven's secret-keeper