Hallea Bennett

### Appearance

Hale has very long, thick, wavy black hair. Her eyes were originally the sapphire blue of the Bennett family but turned gold after a Priestess of the Black God brought her back from the dead. She has the copper skin of her mother's people, dimples, and has a scar across the right side of her jaw. She is tall and lithe.

Hale wears her hair down with the front pulled back into braids. She typically wears a burgundy crop top about three inches above her belly button, with crimson sleeves that are draped over her shoulders. She wears a crimson wrap around her hips with a black belt with the golden symbol of the House of Shadows. She wears black cotton leggings that stop above her ankles and black pointed shoes with crimson accents. Hale wears a golden arm band on her left arm and gold cuffs with swirled engravings on it that stop just below her elbow. She always carries dual obsidian blades across her back, two black steel throwing knives on either side of her belt and a long silver dagger with a ruby encrusted hilt sheathed in polished black leather.

### Personality

Hallea allows only those closest to her to call her by the nickname Hale. She is very unattached from others’ feelings, because of the darkness inside of her, enabling her to become the deadliest assassin. She keeps all of her emotions to herself, not even allowing Val into her thoughts. She is fast thinking but always considers every possibility. She does not give into hope, left broken by her captivity when she was 11 and never being found by her father. This is Hale’s one true weakness, making her vulnerable at times. She is unafraid of telling people what she thinks. She is witty and absolutely magnetic in attracting or intimidating people. Also, she is very loyal to Val and Wes, as they are to her. Hale is long to hold a grudge, and she has an immense hatred for Xaso. After discovering what happened to her half-brothers, she was out for revenge tenfold.

### Biography

Hallea is the daughter of King Silas Bennett of Sajoria and his first wife Mika of Presosk. Her given name is Aurora Bennett. Her mother died when she was 7 when she was taken by a sudden illness. Her father married Treeva Bennett, his mistress, making their children legitimate and replacing her as heir to Sajoria. Growing up, she was very close to her older half brothers Tyson and Peter, she and Peter were born 3 weeks apart. When she turned 11, she was going to Malone to meet Kol Malone, the boy she was betrothed to, when she was ambushed by Bloodeye, an infamous slaver, that didn't know who she was. She was sold to a brothel in Zadena. While there, she met Val. When she was 13, she caught the attention of King Rowan Flynn of Xaso, who felt drawn to her. He bought her and he killed her after discovering she was Aurora Bennett.

Aurora was led to Cyphneas by the Golden Goddess, who told her that her true name was Hallea, given to her because she was blessed purely by the Golden Goddess. Just as she reached the gates of the city, she was resurrected by a priestess of the Black God. Instead of her eyes turning black after this to show the presence of Malum in her, they turned gold to show her purity of blessing. She was given a soul stone that was completely black because it held the piece of Malum that was in her since her resurrection. Viktor Ambrose heard about her black soul stone and took her in as his heir, believing that she was blessed purely by the Black God.

The outside world believes that the princess of Sajoria is dead. At this point, she officially started her training as an assassin for the House of Shadows. When she completed her training, she immediately went after her old mistress, Madame Zabrina. She killed her and took her prized possession, her obsidian windows, having them made into split blades. In killing Madame Zabrina, she freed Val and took her with her to the House of Shadows. While at the House, she befriended another assassin, Wesley Collins. The three of them were like siblings. After four years of training, she, Wes, and Val left the House and began attacking any and all Xasoci soldiers they came across, claiming someone was paying them.

Hallea was given the name Bloodbird after the bird of prey. She always sings the lullaby her mother taught her as she stalked the soldiers, like a Bloodbird luring animals to it with its song.