Devona was from the Plane of Shadow, in a cursed demiplane known as Syrek-Kas. Born into a Vistani caravan that traveled the Deepmists as entertainers, she was trained by her father to be part of the performance. She learned acrobatics to draw attention while also being taught stealth and sleight of hand to quietly steal from distracted crowds. This training was framed to her as clever survival, and for most of her childhood, Devona accepted it as the natural order of caravan life.
That belief ended one night when she slipped into her father’s tent and learned the truth behind the carnival. The performances were a cover for a cult that abducted guests, sacrificed them, and collected their quintessence in a magical vessel offered to a Darklord named Metus Syrek. Horrified, Devona waited for a moment when she could act. She stole the vessel and fled into the night, knowing her family would never stop searching for both the relic and the daughter who betrayed them. Taking the name "Dee", she vanished from the Deepmists and eventually hid herself in Cliffsunder on the Prime Material, staying ahead of pursuit by using the very skills her family had drilled into her.
Dee survived for several years as an urchin in Phyracress before being caught attempting to pickpocket Nessa Nina Quickpick Rumbauld Pennyluck, who turned out to be a retired Rogue. Rather than punishing her, Nessa Nina took Dee to the Whistledrop Crew Hideout, teaching her discipline and patience in place of desperation. The Vistana began wearing a mask to conceal her identity, both to protect herself and to sever ties with her past. In little time, she became one of the Whistledrop Crew's most reliable members, and she believed she might one day lead them when Nessa stepped aside.
Within a year, another girl joined the Whistledrop Crew under circumstances that echoed Dee’s own. She called herself Elle; though the girl's skill sets differed, their builds were nearly identical, and they learned how easily they could imitate one another’s movements and habits. Elle adopted a matching mask, and the two began working as a pair, often difficult to tell apart even to those who did not know them well. Their bond grew into something closer than partnership, filling the place of family both had lost.
Their time together ended abruptly. While half the Crew was away on a heist, a dark knight discovered the Whistledrop hideout. Flanked by a small band of mercenaries, this group attacked the hideout, manned by only a ghost crew. Elle recognized the intruder as her brother, Nigel Breatham, who had come to drag her back to a life she had escaped. Dee hid Elle and used their resemblance to delay him until help could arrive, but the effort cost her life. In his rage, Nigel seized Dee and killed her while Elle watched from hiding. The fight left the hideout in flames, and by morning nothing remained but ash.