Dahlia

"Darkness isn't born, you know. It's created... by the snuffing out of the light. So, however you thought you might mend me, please know you never could. Whenever I looked in your eyes, I saw your mother-- the sister who turned my heart to stone. And, with that stone, I will crush every one of her children."

- Dahlia to Adalyn

Dahlia is one of the most powerful witches in history. She is the older sister of an unnamed witch, the paternal aunt of Adalyn Chamberlain, Christopher Chamberlain and Hectate Chamberlain, the great-aunt of Elizabeth Chamberlain and Annabelle Chamberlain and the great-great-aunt of Lily Chamberlain.

Dahlia is a relative of the Chamberlain Family.

History
Dahlia was born in Scandinavia at some point in the 10th century. She was the first-born child of unnamed witch parents and the oldest sister of an unnamed brother. They both belonged to a long and powerful bloodline of witches whose first-born children are well-known to possess even greater magical strength, and because of this, Dahlia and her brother were presumably taught the craft from a young age. Dahlia devoted herself to the mystical arts (unlike her brother, who felt insecure in his abilities in comparison to his prodigious sister and as a result did not take his practice of witchcraft as seriously), and Dahlia grew to become a very skilled and powerful witch.

In 972 A.D., after being married for a year and still not succeeding in conceiving a child, her sister in-law feared she was cursed to be barren and begged Dahlia for her assistance in casting a fertility spell. This angered Dahlia, who pointed out that if her husband hadn't abandoned his heritage as a witch in pursuit of marriage and motherhood with a Viking warrior, she would be able to help herself. However, in spite of her disappointment in her sister, Dahlia agreed to help her and admitted that she could never deny her baby sister. However, Dahlia warned her that such magic would require a great sacrifice. Desperate with nowhere else to turn, She blindly agreed to the terms; in exchange for casting the fertility spell on her, Dahlia would be given claim to her brother's first-born child, as well as every first-born child that followed for as long as her brother's bloodline should last.

Personality
It had been suggested by Dahlia herself and later confirmed in flashbacks that she was much kinder and caring in her youth, as Dahlia claimed to have not only taken the brunt of the Vikings abuse while she and her brother were in captivity to prevent her brother from being harmed, but that she also never resented him for it, as they had made a promise to stick together forever. He also went to her for help to give her the ability to conceive children and did not anticipate the payment Dahlia would request in exchange, suggesting that Dahlia's personality was much more gentle in her earlier years. However, after her brother left his sister to marry one of their Viking captors, Dahlia's hatred of being oppressed by the warriors led her to develop a much colder and more calculating personality after she vowed to never allow herself to be that vulnerable again.

In adulthood, Dahlia became a wicked, selfish, manipulative, and spiteful woman, as evidenced by when she collected her niece Adalyn from her brother in payment for her fertility spell and threatened to take all of his children if he did not comply. Dahlia was devoted to witchcraft and seemingly finds the idea of starting a family ridiculous, though she has had no qualms with raising the children she claimed from the Chamberlain bloodline in order to augment her own magic.

Physical Appearance
Dahlia is a brunette with brown eyes, which contrasts greatly with her younger brother's light blonde hair. Her cold brown eyes are an indicator of her cruel, apathetic personality. In the present day, she has shown a fondness for the color black, as a majority of her clothes are in this color. In her youth in the 10th and 11th centuries, she was shown wearing the simple wool and cotton dresses of the period, while in the modern-day, she is usually seen in long, flowing coats, long-sleeved blouses, fitted pants, and high heeled boots. Her medium-length brown hair is styled in gentle waves, and she has an affinity for wearing multiple rings with large gemstones.

Powers and Abilities
As one of the strongest witches the world had ever known, Dahlia was powerful enough to be feared by, her younger brother who was also one of the most powerful witches in history. In addition to him, Adalyn and Hectate are both said to be terrified of her, as well, due to the fact that the first-born witches born to every generation of their bloodline, including Dahlia, Adalyn, Elizabeth and Lily, possess what Dahlia described as "devastating" magical power.

Weaknesses
Dahlia is susceptible to the forces of witchcraft. Like all creatures, Dahlia can be undone by powerful magic, however, according to Christopher Chamberlain, it would require power equivalent to Dahlia's (or greater) to defeat her.

Adalyn Chamberlain
Dahlia took Adalyn from her father due to a pact she made with her brother that gave her claim over his first born child. When Adalyn came of age, Dahlia cast her a spell on her that would put her in a deep sleep for a hundred years and she would waken for one year of life. Dahlia told Adalyn that this would allow them both to remain young and beautiful (since witches cannot be truly immortal), but in time Adalyn learned that Dahlia's stories were also paired with lies. At some point, Adalyn fled from Dahlia and has been running from Dahlia ever since, fearing that Dahlia would find her and kill her for her "betrayal" (at least what Dahlia would consider to be a betrayal).

Hectate Chamberlain
Hectate and Dahlia were at first enemies when he and Jeffery went up against her. She beat them both with ease and tells them all she wants is the child, then she'll let them live. After Hector is stabbed with the golden dagger meant for him, Dahlia gets the dagger out with magic after Hector tells her he'll help her get Lily in exchange for having a part in her life and getting vengeance on who wronged him. Hector later tells her he wants to bound himself to her instead of Lily since he's immortal already and she can link herself to Lily after she gets what she needs.

Name

 * Dahlia is a feminine name of Nordic origin (da(h)-lia). The name means "valley". It stems from the flower named for 18th-century Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.