Dava Sbörsc's homeland of Tbliska was left in ruins by a long and bloody civil war, with the country being divided into the two countries Krasna-Volny and Transbelvia, neither of which acknowledges its neighbor as a true country. Both sides committed numerous atrocities in the war, which left thousands dead. When very young, Dava joined the Transbelvian army and pledged herself to hunting down and killing the worst killers in the Krasna-Volnian army. Being fast but small, Dava realized she would have to end any combat quickly if she was to win. To that end, she committed herself to learning all "single-blow techniques" - martial arts attacks that can defeat a foe with a single attack. She had mastered almost all known single-blow attacks (including "The Scalpel", "The Wind Through the Reeds", "The Lion's Paw", "Wave and Shore" and "The Skullcrack") when she sought out The Master of the Iron Hand, to learn his technique "The Whispering Hand". While learning from the Iron Master, she encountered Tim Drake (Robin), who was also studying with the Master at the time. She greatly impressed Robin, defeating him in a sparring match with astonishing speed. Robin, in turn, impressed her when he skillfully dispatched a thief seeking to take the dojo's texts. Dava confided in Robin that she also intended to seek out Lady Shiva to learn the Leopard Blow technique. Tim was greatly troubled by this, as he had met Shiva in the past and knew what a ruthless killer she was.
