Stella Galanis was born in Greece in 1899 to a poor family.

Her parents struggled to provide for their

children, and her childhood was marked by hunger, and hardship. She often went to bed hungry and
had to resort to stealing to survive. Her parents were abusive, both physically and emotionally, and
she learned early on that she could only rely on herself. Aged 15, her parents abandoned her on the
streets of Athens, leaving her to fend for herself.

Stella had to learn to survive on the streets, begging for scraps of food and sleeping in alleyways.

When World War I broke out, Stella saw an opportunity to escape her miserable life and earn some
money and joined the Greek army, posing as a man, at the young age of 17. Somehow, despite her
youth, she proved to be a formidable soldier and ended up being offered a permanent position
within the French army in 1916, a major privilege for a woman at the time.

Stella's war experience was marked by tragedy and loss. She witnessed firsthand the horrors of
trench warfare and the devastation it wrought on the human body and mind. She saw friends and
comrades die in battle, and she struggled to reconcile the violence and destruction around her with
her own sense of morality.

During the war, Stella fell in love with a French soldier named Léandre. They met on the front lines,
and their shared experiences brought them closer together. They would spend their evenings talking
about their hopes and dreams for the future, and they made plans to start a new life together once
the war was over.

Unbeknownst to Stella, Léandre was a Toreador. He had been drawn to her strength and resilience
and saw in her a kindred spirit. He struggled with his own sense of guilt about his true nature, but he
couldn't help the feelings he had for her. He longed to share his world with her, but he knew that
doing so would put her in danger.

Their dreams were brutally shattered when he died a gruesome death in the final days of World War
I.

Indeed, Stella and Léandre were chosen for a mission in the Bulgarian wilderness along with a few
comrades. As they stepped foot on lupine territory, a werewolf sensed Léandre's wyrm taint and
immediately lashed out, decimating the squad.

Stella, who happened to be straggling behind, had to hide and watch in horror as the garou tore her
comrades to shreds, killing everyone including her beloved. She knew that revealing her presence
would only lead to her own demise. She saw how his body had been twisted and contorted in ways
that defied description, his lungs and eyes flayed straight from his body. His screams of agony had
echoed across the countryside as he succumbed to final death at the hand of the lupine’s claws.,

As she ran away, Stella realized she could remember the cause of her other half’s demise as nothing
more than a vague sensation of sheer terror. An image of tremendous monstrosity, but nothing
more.

She was haunted by the memory of his final moments, and the sight of his dreadful death would stay
with her for the rest of her mortal life and beyond, just like the frustration at being unable to recall
what, exactly, happened.

Sophia chose to stay in France after the war, hoping to build a legacy that would honor his memory
and his former dreams. She became a successful model, and her stunning looks, poise and
accomplishments helped to propel her to fame and fortune. She also played a major role in the
ascension of the Chanel brand, modeling their iconic clothing and accessories and helping to define
the image of the modern woman, later becoming one of its main shareholders.
She poured her heart and soul into her work, using her experiences from the war to feed her vision
of style and beauty. Stella’s talent and unique upbringing earned her the respect and admiration of
her peers, and she became a leading figure in the fiercely competitive fashion world.

But despite her success, she never forgot the horrors of war and the sacrifices that had been made
by so many.

She was on a business trip to Genova, Italy, in 1923 to investigate the quality of the then soaring
Italian haute couture industry when she was approached by Edoardo Martusciello, childe of the
powerful Lasombra bishop of Genova, Alessandro Tremotti.

Tremoti had always been interested in strong-willed individuals, and he was particularly intrigued by
Stella’s military background. He had heard rumors of her exploits as one of the first women to ever
serve in the Greek army, he admired her courage. In this respect, he had tasked Martusciello with
evaluating how good of a progeny Stella would be.

When Edoardo met her, he was immediately struck by her elegance. He saw in her a kindred spirit,
and he was impressed by how much she had overcome in life. As they talked, he learned more about
her experiences in the war and her subsequent success in the fashion industry. He saw in her the
potential for greatness, and he knew that he had to embrace her as requested by Tremoti.

He offered her the Embrace, and Stella, sensing the potential for a revenge against something she
couldn’t quite yet understand, accepted in a heartbeat.

Once risen, everything clicked. She knew exactly what to strive toward as she realized who was
responsible for her then daily nightmares and grim reminiscences.

She quickly learned how to navigate the treacherous politics of Kindred society, and hastily realized
that the ideology of the sabbat aligned poorly with her own and her lineage’s.

Stella was lucky enough to be brought up and trained in an unusual manner for Sabbat Cainites. Her
sire and her grandsire, unsympathetic to the Sabbat’s savagery, were already looking into defecting
from the sect to integrate the more stable and grounded Camarilla. Hence, she benefitted from a
relatively lenient education: she was spared from the standard brainwashing, could benefit from her
sire’s tutelage, and keep on doing her own thing, so long as she proved herself worthy.

The constant blood feasts were redundant of the frequent blood baths she had to endure as a soldier
and only served to disgust her even more of the Sabbat’s practices. Despite her time amongst the
Black Hand, Sophia never strayed from the path of Humanity. She didn’t take part in any regular ritae
either but the perilous activity of Dog tagging. She saw little interest in meaninglessly hurting
innocents without any form of glamour and elegance, despite being more than fine with violence
when necessary. She saw the Black Hand for what it was: a band of tasteless psychopaths finding
excuses for their inability to control themselves.

In but a few decades, Stella established herself as threatening kindred. Whether through pelting
them with silver bullets from afar or popping their heads off with a kick, it was a known fact that she
usually got her way with lupines, and all but the toughest Garous learned not to stir up the hornet’s
nest.

In 1957, she was sent to Paris to investigate reports of werewolf activity. She discovered that a pack
of Black Spiral Dancers had infiltrated the city and were using their influence to sow chaos and
discord among the Kindred. She left Paris with the pack’s Ahroun’s head in hand, torn right off from
its neck. That was the first time her sire and grandsire genuinely recognized her as a worthy
Lasombra.
She played a key role in several major Sabbat campaigns, including the siege of Atlanta in 1999 and
the Battle of New York in 2001. Her tactical expertise and combat abilities earned her a reputation as
one of the Sabbat's most formidable warriors, although unbeknownst to all but her sire, she worked
as a double agent and fed intel on the assaults to the Camarilla during the entire operation.

Simultaneously, she discovered that her heightened senses and strength could help her in the
fashion world, and she began to use her influence to push boundaries and to redefine what it meant
to be a woman in the 1900s.

She unfortunately had to retire from public view as technology became more prominent and her clan
bane prevented her from appearing on screen. She had to fabricate a brand-new identity. She chose
to pose as her fictional own daughter, Aella Galanis. She withdrew from the spotlights and the
runway, choosing to focus on the more financial side of the fashion industry to pull the strings from
the shadows.

As a matter of fact, that’s what she did most of the time when she wasn’t busy dogtagging, which
earned her a place amongst the Lasombra’s “queens of shadows” faction.

This transition wasn’t without its downsides and suddenly being stripped of her fame by her clan
Bane didn’t sit right with her, leading up to a certain one sided resentment towards the lucky
Toreadors, who got to keep their proximity to the mortal world despite their rebirth.

In 1970, Stella stumbled upon a 6-year-old kid named Esteban, barely surviving on the streets. She
saw something special in him that reminded her of the way she was similarly left on her own. From
this moment onwards, Stella started keeping an eye on him from afar, making sure he was safe and
providing him with help indirectly whenever she could, not dissimilar to a guardian angel.

As he grew older, Stella noticed his tendency to get involved with petty crime, trying to make a living
for himself. She knew he had potential for something greater and decided to intervene. She left
anonymous tips to the police about his whereabouts and actions, leading to his eventual arrest,
hoping that it would be a wakeup call for him.

After his arrest, the young man decided to rise above his circumstance, which he surprisingly
managed on his own. He struggled to find a sense of purpose but eventually found his calling,
ironically, in law enforcement. He worked his way up the ranks and, eventually, landed a position
with the International Criminal Police Organization.

Stella, who had been keeping an eye out, was impressed by his transformation. She recognized in
him the same drive and determination that helped her turn her life around, and she followed his
career with great interest, knowing that his skills would make him a valuable asset in her own quest
for vengeance.

Stella reached out to him in 1998, revealing her true nature and offering him the chance to become
her retainer. She explained her need for someone with his skills and the benefits of such a
partnership. Esteban, then aged 34, immediately accepted, grateful for the chance to work for his
mysterious benefactor.

As a now high-ranking official in the Interpol, with access to international classified information and
resources, and expert in intelligence gathering, Esteban is tasked with assisting Stella in tracking
down her various targets, including werewolves, and providing her with crucial information on their
movements, whereabouts, or weaknesses.
His position also makes him well versed in the legal system of different countries which, along with
his expertise in manipulating technology has proven invaluable to Stella’s unlife, allowing her to
operate with relative impunity, without leaving evidence behind, and under various identities.

Aside from his investigative skills, Esteban manages Stella’s finances, carefully monitoring and
investing her wealth as well as managing her bank accounts under his name so that she doesn’t draw
attention.

In return, she bestows upon him the benefits of vampiric vitae and helps him in time of need.

As of 2012, Stella’s being pushed forward by her Grand-Sire, who she’s majorly loyal to as he gave
her the opportunity for more power, as a token of good faith meant to help with the Lasombra’s
integration to the Camarilla. Thanks to her history as a Lupine murderer and informant to the
Camarilla, she’s being screened as a potential candidate for the status of Archon Dogcatcher.
Obviously, their defection from the Black Hand is not without notice and they’re drawing a major
target on their back. The Camarilla is likely to be wary of those newcomers as well.