Lily Hellebore

Art by AishaSoup

Dr. Piper Hellebore (Brother)

**Lily Hellebore** is the eldest child of the noble Hellebore family. She devoted herself to the god Hollow and was converted to an undead dhampir during her induction. An unintentional act of blasphemy instigated by her brother Piper led to her status in the church being brought under fire and creating friction between her and her younger sibling. Later, she became engaged to Cooper Whiskers, the older brother of Piper's best friend Dash.

## Description

### Appearance

Lily Hellebore has red eyes along with having a grey tint to her skin. She has long straw blond hair that she usually wears in a pair of pigtails tied up with white bows. The trademark fangs of a dhamphir are also seen in her seemingly innocent smile.

She usually is seen in the trappings of her religious order, wearing a black dress embroidered with crosses and crossing chains, coupled with a white vertical ruffled princess seam down the center. A sash with a large yellow bow is tied around her waist. She also bears a clerical collar around her neck fastened with a gold cross. For her lower half, she wears a pair of black monk shoes over a set of knee-high light grey socks, both adorned with black bows. Atop her head is a black hat resembling a zucchetto with a yellow flower emblazoned on the front.

### Personality

Not much is known about Lily Hellebore's character outside of her brother's indignant diatribes. She and Piper clearly have somewhat of a strained relationship, often getting into squabbles and petty feuding. Her relationship with her parents is much better, with Dr. Ignatius Hellebore taking pride in her accomplishments and her upcoming marriage. Perhaps her most obvious trait is her devotion to Hollow, the Ionian God of Void, Emotion and Redemption, whose clergy she has committed herself to serving.

## History

### Background

Lily Hellebore was born the eldest child of Dr. Ignatius Hellebore and his wife. Not much is known about her childhood except that she and her brother Piper grew up in Alabhastar. During their time there, the family became acquainted with the Whiskers clan, a pious family devoted to Haio. While Piper and the youngest son of the Whiskers, Dash, became close friends, Lily became familiar with the elder brother, Cooper. However, due to yet unknown circumstances, the Whiskers would forcibly run the Hellebore family out of town a few years after meeting, potentially due to the family's penchant for necromancy. Despite the lingering animosity between the families, Piper Hellebore would later suggest that Lily and Cooper had probably kept in touch, likely due to their shared interest in religious pursuits.

### Joining the Church

The Hellebores relocated the Qethos Ark and settled in a manor just outside of Llwendolyn. As Lily continued to mature, she became more and more invested in matters of faith, eventually experiencing what her brother would call a "religious experience. For whatever reason, Lily decided to become a cleric in the Church of Hollow, the Ionian God of Void, Emotion and Redemption. Though the details are unclear, Lily's ordination led to her being transformed into a dhampir, an undead typically sired by vampires. This transformation had little effect on her family, as undeath was something the Hellebores were well acquainted with. Adjustments were made to accommodate this, with Lily regularly receiving blood bags from currently unknown sources to keep her hunger in check.

Lily's time in the order was not without incident however. Even in adulthood, she would squabble with her brother, with one such offense being stealing his clothes. Lily, for whatever reason, decided to take Piper's designer Malcolm heels without permission and managed to break the shoes. Outraged, Piper decided to get his own back by swapping one of her blood bags with a bag filled with red wine. Though Piper likely intended for Lily to simply embarrass herself, the act of bringing wine into the church of Hollow was considered a particularly offensive form of blasphemy, as it evoked one of the god's most traumatic memories. It is still unclear what occurred after this, but Lily was subsequently punished and the rift between her and her brother grew even further to the point where they refused to speak to one another for years.

### Piper's Accident

Lily managed to earn her way back into the church's good graces and was allowed to continue her work. While she endeavored to live up to the Hellebore name, her brother was becoming more and more problematic for the family's reputation. Piper, upon completing his doctorate, started to engage in more dangerous and illicit behavior, leading to multiple arrests all over Io. He also became distant from the family, leaving Llwendolyn to live on his own and avoid his judgmental father. However, Piper was still family, so when an alchemical experiment accidentally exploded and killed him, Lily hurried to her brother's aid. Together with her mother, the two were able to reconstructed Piper's body using a multitude of different body parts. Using necromantic power, the two were able to resurrect Piper as an undead. However, the resurrection came with unforeseen consequences, as the reconstructed brain caused Piper to start suffering from a severe personality disorder, causing the creation of a second persona named "Dr. Hellebore". This mental imbalance only caused Piper to act more irrationally, leading to yet another arrest in the nearby city of Xiros.

## Phase 3 Story

### Betrothal

Throughout all of her time in the church, Lily continued her communication with Cooper Whiskers, despite serving different gods. While her brother was languishing in jail, as of yet unknown circumstances lead to Lily being offered Cooper's hand in marriage, which she accepted. Her betrothal to Cooper was approved by both of her parents, in spite of their ongoing grievances with her fiancé's family. Dr. Ignatius Hellebore was particularly comfortable with announcing this engagement during one of his seminars in Jotun's branch of Beardthrone Academia. However, Piper and Dash, who were in the audience at the time, were baffled at this outcome, seeing their families' differences as irreconcilable. Piper was further aggravated to learn he had not been invited to attend. It is yet unclear why Lily withheld this information from her brother, though it is possibly it was done in the hopes he would not attend. In any even, when Piper attempted to contact Lily shortly afterwards, she did not answer nor sought to call him back.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Necromantic Knowledge:** Lily, growing up a Hellebore, has a significant knowledge regarding necromancy and its application. She demonstrated this knowledge by assisting her mother in rebuilding and raising her brother from the dead.
* **Dhampir Hunger:** Lily's vampiric nature leaves her with an unquenchable thirst for blood. This thirst is kept in check by her family, who provide her with bags of blood regularly.
* **Darkvision:** As a dhampir, Lily can see in the dark up to 60ft.
* **Deathless Nature:** As a dhampir, Lily doesn't need to breathe.
* **Spider Climb:** As a dhampir, Lily is able to freely climb along vertical and horizontal surfaces as if she was simply walking. She is also able to walk upside down without impediment.
* **Vampiric Bite:** As a dhampir, Lily has a set of fangs, which can be used to bite a target and empower herself with the blood she drains from her target.

## Etymology

"Lily" is a girl's name, derived the flower of the same name. Lilies, which belong to the genus *Lilium*, are herbaceous flowering plants that sprout from bulbs, and are known for their large prominent flowers. Lilies are culturally significant across the globe as a symbol of purity and are among the most commonly used flowers at funerals, signifying the deceased soul's return to a state of innocence.

"Hellebore" is the common name for a flowering plant from the *Helleborus* genus, consisting of approximately 20 species of mostly poisonous winter-flowering Eurasian plants of the buttercup family. The scientific name, coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, possibly comes from the Ancient Greek word *helléboros,* constructed from the words *heleîn* ("to injure") and *borá* ("food").

## Trivia

* SummersSalt's conception of the Hellebore family was inspired by the fictional Addams Family, created by American cartoonist Charles Addams in 1938. As such, Lily Hellebore is likely an analogy for Wednesday Addams.