Bellona was one of the twin daughters of the Khornate Daemon Princess Valkia the Bloody, born while she was still mortal, and her husband Deron, while both were the co-chieftains of the combined Schwarzvolf and Bloody Hand tribes of Norsca.
Bellona had an identical twin sister in Eris, but though they were physically similar, their personalities were diametrically opposite. Bellona was the ice to Eris' fire, the calm and diplomatic cool to her sister's rage and war-like nature. Bellona was named after her paternal grandmother.[1a]
History[]
Early Life[]
Bellona and her sister were sired by Deron on Valkia, their mother intoxicating him and then holding him at knife-point to conceive the pair of them. Deron was disappointed that both of his children were girls, thinking females unfit to lead the tribe. He persisted in this view, even when entreated by Valkia to pay attention to other things, such as the health of the twins. However, Deron could not let his patriarchal notions go, and found solace in drink.[1a][1b]
Shortly after the twins' birth, they were blessed in a ritual that called on the Ruinous Powers to grant them boons throughout their lives. Valkia murdered Deron during this ritual, for he had drunkenly insulted the Chaos Gods during the ritual and so violated one of the most sacred practices of the tribe. From then on, Valkia raised her children alone, though she was never particularly close to either of them. [1a][1b]
The two girls, however, saw each other as their "other halves." Along with Valkia, Bellona was one of the few people who could curb Eris' frequent bouts of temper.[1d]
When the pair were sixteen, the Daemon Prince of Slaanesh called Locephax descended upon the Schwarzvolf tribe, now grown numerous and powerful under Valkia's cruel but fair leadership. The twinswere taken with the Daemon Prince, but Valkia sent them away before they could be seduced into lewd acts by Locephax. Later, their mother killed the Daemon Prince and vowed to take its skull to the Chaos Wastes and gift it to Khorne herself. Predicting she would die on this journey, Valkia forced Bellona and her sister to stay behind.[1c] [1d]
Bellona's ascension to her mother's throne was waylaid by the machinations of her uncle, Edan, the godspeaker of the tribe, who lied to the twins about how their mother had met her end in the Northern Wastes. Edan claimed that Valkia had named Hepsus the leader of the tribe with her dying words. While Eris didn't believe this, and was ready to resort to violence to make her claim to the chieftainship, Bellona calmed her sibling and acquiesced to her uncle's plans for the time being. Later, at the meeting of the tribe known as "the Circle," Eris murdered Hepsus for insulting her and her mother's legacy. Bellona turned to Edan, to see if her uncle would try to fill the empty space and claim the chieftainship; he did not, and the twin sisters rose to become the co-leaders of the Schwarzvolf.[1d]
Leading the Schwarzvolf[]
"You seem very sure of the hour of the day, uncle. I did not share that information with you. I am very pleased to see that you are so quick to recover your senses."
- —Bellona sees through Edan's ruse
Eris and Bellona fell into the duties of leading the Schwarzvolf after Hepsus' murder, advised by their uncle Edan. Less than a year after their ascent, rebellions begin to break out among the huge tribe of warriors. First, the Schwarzvolf chieftains used violence to put down these uprisings, but Edan suggested a marriage as a more permanent and bloodless solution.[1e]
While Eris vowed to never marry, Bellona was more amenable to the idea. She was eventually courted by a young Schwarzvolf man, married him, and became pregnant shortly after the marriage. Eris was the next target for Edan's plans, but the marriage fell through when the godspeaker feigned being touched by the gods. He fells into unconsciousness that lasted a day; fearing for her uncle's safety, Eris postponed and eventually called off the marriage.[1e]
When Edan finally "awoke" it was Bellona who welcomed him back with a waterskin. However, she suspected that Edan had fallen unconscious as a ruse. Her uncle mistakenly noted the time of day, despite supposedly being disoriented from his godly ordeal. Bellona noted this discrepancy, but at first passed it off as simply a quick recovery. Highly intelligent, she eventually figured out his plan, but in revealing to Edan that she had done so, Bellona ultimately sealed her own fate.[1e]
Death[]
Bellona's first husband was killed in battle. This prompted Edan to seek a second husband for her from a larger tribe, which he justified with the excuse that he was unwilling to let his niece bear a child while she was unwed. Hrafi was the man who answered the godspeaker's call, after certain promises of status were made and valuables exchanged. Bellona accepted Hrafi easily; Eris suspected this was simply because her sister had missed a man in her bed. Hrafi's young thrall also attended the pair and grew fond of Bellona after she ordered that the starving slave be given a proper full meal, probably the first in his life.[1ge]
In truth, Hrafi had been chosen by Edan to seduce Bellona, give her a sedative that would also act as a deadly poison, and then cut the unborn child from her belly. This he did, killing Bellona in the process, but the he stole the unborn child for himself and his own purposes.[1e]
Eris discovered Bellona's body shortly after her death, with Hrafi's thrall crying over her corpse. Unable to find and kill Hrafi for his crime, it was the mute slave that Edan and Eris killed in his place.[1e]
Trivia[]
Bellona was the name of an ancient Roman goddess of war.