La Donna
She is subtle and skillful with poison, she is quick and precise with the blade. She has mastered the art of subtle magic, woven imperceptibly in with an ordinary word. But when she tires of killing, she likes to find a weak-minded man to do the deed for her. She hardly needs magic at all. She bewitches him with a word, a glance, a smile, and his heart is hers to use. And when he's done what she needs doing, it is his hands drenched in blood, with not one single fleck staining her long, white gloves.La Donna is a Cantonovan urban legend about a beautiful noblewoman who manipulates the powerful people and institutions of the city with the power of her charm, cunning, and good looks. She does not bat an eye at lying, stealing, intimidating, or even kiling, so long as she gets her way. In most retellings of the myth, she is an Elf woman who has gotten away with many crimes over the course of centuries. Others claim La Donna is a title passed down through generations of a sisterhood trained in the arts of enchantment and espionage; still others believe the original La Donna is still alive via the use of rare or illegal magic, such as that of a Clone spell.
Variations & Mutation
There has been massive speculation over the years as to the identity of the "real" La Donna, or the strongest inspiration behind the legendary figure. Many female members of House Almaviva and the Council of Wargraves have faced accusations of being La Donna in the midst of lesser scandals, though these are largely seen as baseless rumors. One of the most popular theories is that Maria Verdini is La Donna. Fittingly, though, none of these theories have ever been proven.
In Art
The Opera L'assassine by Gnomuel Barber, set to premiere in the Cantonova Opera House sometime in August Y1111, is a setting of one of the most famous deeds attributed to La Donna: the Killing of John Felipe Almaviva.
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