diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 949f59a..132cf02 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ Perform multiple _put_ and/or _del_ operations in bulk. Returns a promise. The `
 
 Each operation must be an object with at least a `type` property set to either `'put'` or `'del'`. If the `type` is `'put'`, the operation must have `key` and `value` properties. It may optionally have `keyEncoding` and / or `valueEncoding` properties to encode keys or values with a custom encoding for just that operation. If the `type` is `'del'`, the operation must have a `key` property and may optionally have a `keyEncoding` property.
 
-An operation of either type may also have a `sublevel` property, to prefix the key of the operation with the prefix of that sublevel. This allows atomically committing data to multiple sublevels. The given `sublevel` must be a descendant of `db`. Keys and values will be encoded by the sublevel, to the same effect as a `sublevel.batch(..)` call. In the following example, the first `value` will be encoded with `'json'` rather than the default encoding of `db`:
+An operation of either type may also have a `sublevel` property, to prefix the key of the operation with the prefix of that sublevel. This allows atomically committing data to multiple sublevels. The given `sublevel` must have the same _root_ (i.e. top-most) database as `db`. Keys and values will be encoded by the sublevel, to the same effect as a `sublevel.batch(..)` call. In the following example, the first `value` will be encoded with `'json'` rather than the default encoding of `db`:
 
 ```js
 const people = db.sublevel('people', { valueEncoding: 'json' })
@@ -579,14 +579,14 @@ Add a `put` operation to this chained batch, not committed until `write()` is ca
 
 - `keyEncoding`: custom key encoding for this operation, used to encode the `key`.
 - `valueEncoding`: custom value encoding for this operation, used to encode the `value`.
-- `sublevel` (sublevel instance): act as though the `put` operation is performed on the given sublevel, to similar effect as `sublevel.batch().put(key, value)`. This allows atomically committing data to multiple sublevels. The given `sublevel` must be a descendant of `db`. The `key` will be prefixed with the prefix of the sublevel, and the `key` and `value` will be encoded by the sublevel (using the default encodings of the sublevel unless `keyEncoding` and / or `valueEncoding` are provided).
+- `sublevel` (sublevel instance): act as though the `put` operation is performed on the given sublevel, to similar effect as `sublevel.batch().put(key, value)`. This allows atomically committing data to multiple sublevels. The given `sublevel` must have the same _root_ (i.e. top-most) database as `chainedBatch.db`. The `key` will be prefixed with the prefix of the sublevel, and the `key` and `value` will be encoded by the sublevel (using the default encodings of the sublevel unless `keyEncoding` and / or `valueEncoding` are provided).
 
 #### `chainedBatch.del(key[, options])`
 
 Add a `del` operation to this chained batch, not committed until `write()` is called. This will throw a [`LEVEL_INVALID_KEY`](#errors) error if `key` is invalid. The optional `options` object may contain:
 
 - `keyEncoding`: custom key encoding for this operation, used to encode the `key`.
-- `sublevel` (sublevel instance): act as though the `del` operation is performed on the given sublevel, to similar effect as `sublevel.batch().del(key)`. This allows atomically committing data to multiple sublevels. The given `sublevel` must be a descendant of `db`. The `key` will be prefixed with the prefix of the sublevel, and the `key` will be encoded by the sublevel (using the default key encoding of the sublevel unless `keyEncoding` is provided).
+- `sublevel` (sublevel instance): act as though the `del` operation is performed on the given sublevel, to similar effect as `sublevel.batch().del(key)`. This allows atomically committing data to multiple sublevels. The given `sublevel` must have the same _root_ (i.e. top-most) database as `chainedBatch.db`. The `key` will be prefixed with the prefix of the sublevel, and the `key` will be encoded by the sublevel (using the default key encoding of the sublevel unless `keyEncoding` is provided).
 
 #### `chainedBatch.clear()`
 
diff --git a/UPGRADING.md b/UPGRADING.md
index f68d2dc..f0f384c 100644
--- a/UPGRADING.md
+++ b/UPGRADING.md
@@ -138,14 +138,14 @@ await db.get('example')
 
 #### 1.4. Hooks
 
-This release adds [hooks](./README.md#hooks). To achieve this feature, two low-impact breaking changes have been made to nested sublevels. Nested sublevels, no matter their depth, were previously all connected to the same parent database rather than forming a tree. In the following example, the `colorIndex` sublevel would previously forward its operations directly to `db`:
+This release adds [hooks](./README.md#hooks). To achieve this feature, a low-impact breaking change has been made to nested sublevels. Such sublevels, no matter their depth, were previously all connected to the same parent database rather than forming a tree. In the following example, the `colorIndex` sublevel would previously forward its operations directly to `db`:
 
 ```js
 const indexes = db.sublevel('idx')
 const colorIndex = indexes.sublevel('colors')
 ```
 
-It will now forward its operations to `indexes`, which in turn forwards them to `db`. At each step, hooks and events are available to transform and react to data from a different perspective. Which comes at a (typically small) performance cost that increases with further nested sublevels. This decreased performance is the first breaking change and mainly affects sublevels nested at a depth of more than 2.
+It will now forward its operations to `indexes`, which in turn forwards them to `db`. At each step, hooks and events are available to transform and react to data from a different perspective. Which comes at a (typically small) performance cost that increases with further nested sublevels. This decreased performance is the breaking change and mainly affects sublevels nested at a depth of more than 2.
 
 To optionally negate it, a new feature has been added to `db.sublevel(name)`: it now also accepts a `name` that is an array. If the `indexes` sublevel is only used to organize keys and not directly interfaced with, operations on `colorIndex` can be made faster by skipping `indexes`:
 
@@ -153,22 +153,6 @@ To optionally negate it, a new feature has been added to `db.sublevel(name)`: it
 const colorIndex = db.sublevel(['idx', 'colors'])
 ```
 
-The second breaking change is that if a `sublevel` is provided as an option to `db.batch()`, that sublevel must now be a descendant of `db`:
-
-```js
-const colorIndex = indexes.sublevel('colors')
-const flavorIndex = indexes.sublevel('flavors')
-
-// No longer works because colorIndex isn't a descendant of flavorIndex
-flavorIndex.batch([{ type: 'del', key: 'blue', sublevel: colorIndex }])
-
-// OK
-indexes.batch([{ type: 'del', key: 'blue', sublevel: colorIndex }])
-
-// OK
-db.batch([{ type: 'del', key: 'blue', sublevel: colorIndex }])
-```
-
 #### 1.5. Open before creating a chained batch
 
 It is no longer possible to create a chained batch while the database is opening. If you previously did:
diff --git a/abstract-chained-batch.js b/abstract-chained-batch.js
index 17452b3..415af16 100644
--- a/abstract-chained-batch.js
+++ b/abstract-chained-batch.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 const combineErrors = require('maybe-combine-errors')
 const ModuleError = require('module-error')
 const { getOptions, emptyOptions, noop } = require('./lib/common')
-const { prefixDescendantKey } = require('./lib/prefixes')
+const { prefixDescendantKey, isDescendant } = require('./lib/prefixes')
 const { PrewriteBatch } = require('./lib/prewrite-batch')
 
 const kStatus = Symbol('status')
@@ -116,15 +116,25 @@ class AbstractChainedBatch {
     const keyEncoding = op.keyEncoding
     const preencodedKey = keyEncoding.encode(op.key)
     const keyFormat = keyEncoding.format
-    const encodedKey = delegated ? prefixDescendantKey(preencodedKey, keyFormat, db, this.db) : preencodedKey
+
+    // If the sublevel is not a descendant then forward that option to the parent db
+    // so that we don't erroneously add our own prefix to the key of the operation.
+    const siblings = delegated && !isDescendant(op.sublevel, this.db) && op.sublevel !== this.db
+    const encodedKey = delegated && !siblings
+      ? prefixDescendantKey(preencodedKey, keyFormat, db, this.db)
+      : preencodedKey
+
     const valueEncoding = op.valueEncoding
     const encodedValue = valueEncoding.encode(op.value)
     const valueFormat = valueEncoding.format
 
-    // Prevent double prefixing
-    if (delegated) op.sublevel = null
+    // Only prefix once
+    if (delegated && !siblings) {
+      op.sublevel = null
+    }
 
-    if (this[kPublicOperations] !== null) {
+    // If the sublevel is not a descendant then we shouldn't emit events
+    if (this[kPublicOperations] !== null && !siblings) {
       // Clone op before we mutate it for the private API
       const publicOperation = Object.assign({}, op)
       publicOperation.encodedKey = encodedKey
@@ -139,7 +149,7 @@ class AbstractChainedBatch {
       }
 
       this[kPublicOperations].push(publicOperation)
-    } else if (this[kLegacyOperations] !== null) {
+    } else if (this[kLegacyOperations] !== null && !siblings) {
       const legacyOperation = Object.assign({}, original)
 
       legacyOperation.type = 'put'
@@ -149,7 +159,8 @@ class AbstractChainedBatch {
       this[kLegacyOperations].push(legacyOperation)
     }
 
-    op.key = this.db.prefixKey(encodedKey, keyFormat, true)
+    // If we're forwarding the sublevel option then don't prefix the key yet
+    op.key = siblings ? encodedKey : this.db.prefixKey(encodedKey, keyFormat, true)
     op.value = encodedValue
     op.keyEncoding = keyFormat
     op.valueEncoding = valueFormat
diff --git a/abstract-level.js b/abstract-level.js
index 141bd7a..8703e5c 100644
--- a/abstract-level.js
+++ b/abstract-level.js
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ const { DatabaseHooks } = require('./lib/hooks')
 const { PrewriteBatch } = require('./lib/prewrite-batch')
 const { EventMonitor } = require('./lib/event-monitor')
 const { getOptions, noop, emptyOptions, resolvedPromise } = require('./lib/common')
-const { prefixDescendantKey } = require('./lib/prefixes')
+const { prefixDescendantKey, isDescendant } = require('./lib/prefixes')
 const { DeferredQueue } = require('./lib/deferred-queue')
 const rangeOptions = require('./lib/range-options')
 
@@ -603,18 +603,26 @@ class AbstractLevel extends EventEmitter {
       }
 
       // Encode data for private API
-      // TODO: benchmark a try/catch around this
       const keyEncoding = op.keyEncoding
       const preencodedKey = keyEncoding.encode(op.key)
       const keyFormat = keyEncoding.format
-      const encodedKey = delegated ? prefixDescendantKey(preencodedKey, keyFormat, db, this) : preencodedKey
 
-      // Prevent double prefixing
-      if (delegated) op.sublevel = null
+      // If the sublevel is not a descendant then forward that option to the parent db
+      // so that we don't erroneously add our own prefix to the key of the operation.
+      const siblings = delegated && !isDescendant(op.sublevel, this) && op.sublevel !== this
+      const encodedKey = delegated && !siblings
+        ? prefixDescendantKey(preencodedKey, keyFormat, db, this)
+        : preencodedKey
+
+      // Only prefix once
+      if (delegated && !siblings) {
+        op.sublevel = null
+      }
 
       let publicOperation = null
 
-      if (enableWriteEvent) {
+      // If the sublevel is not a descendant then we shouldn't emit events
+      if (enableWriteEvent && !siblings) {
         // Clone op before we mutate it for the private API
         // TODO (future semver-major): consider sending this shape to private API too
         publicOperation = Object.assign({}, op)
@@ -629,7 +637,8 @@ class AbstractLevel extends EventEmitter {
         publicOperations[i] = publicOperation
       }
 
-      op.key = this.prefixKey(encodedKey, keyFormat, true)
+      // If we're forwarding the sublevel option then don't prefix the key yet
+      op.key = siblings ? encodedKey : this.prefixKey(encodedKey, keyFormat, true)
       op.keyEncoding = keyFormat
 
       if (isPut) {
@@ -640,7 +649,7 @@ class AbstractLevel extends EventEmitter {
         op.value = encodedValue
         op.valueEncoding = valueFormat
 
-        if (enableWriteEvent) {
+        if (enableWriteEvent && !siblings) {
           publicOperation.encodedValue = encodedValue
 
           if (delegated) {
diff --git a/lib/prefixes.js b/lib/prefixes.js
index 8fa43f7..13984f8 100644
--- a/lib/prefixes.js
+++ b/lib/prefixes.js
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 'use strict'
 
 exports.prefixDescendantKey = function (key, keyFormat, descendant, ancestor) {
-  // TODO: optimize
-  // TODO: throw when ancestor is not descendant's ancestor?
   while (descendant !== null && descendant !== ancestor) {
     key = descendant.prefixKey(key, keyFormat, true)
     descendant = descendant.parent
@@ -10,3 +8,14 @@ exports.prefixDescendantKey = function (key, keyFormat, descendant, ancestor) {
 
   return key
 }
+
+// Check if db is a descendant of ancestor
+// TODO: optimize, when used alongside prefixDescendantKey
+// which means we visit parents twice.
+exports.isDescendant = function (db, ancestor) {
+  while (true) {
+    if (db.parent == null) return false
+    if (db.parent === ancestor) return true
+    db = db.parent
+  }
+}
diff --git a/lib/prewrite-batch.js b/lib/prewrite-batch.js
index 452e27f..f71a114 100644
--- a/lib/prewrite-batch.js
+++ b/lib/prewrite-batch.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 'use strict'
 
-const { prefixDescendantKey } = require('./prefixes')
+const { prefixDescendantKey, isDescendant } = require('./prefixes')
 
 const kDb = Symbol('db')
 const kPrivateOperations = Symbol('privateOperations')
@@ -40,14 +40,23 @@ class PrewriteBatch {
     const keyEncoding = op.keyEncoding
     const preencodedKey = keyEncoding.encode(op.key)
     const keyFormat = keyEncoding.format
-    const encodedKey = delegated ? prefixDescendantKey(preencodedKey, keyFormat, db, this[kDb]) : preencodedKey
 
-    // Prevent double prefixing
-    if (delegated) op.sublevel = null
+    // If the sublevel is not a descendant then forward that option to the parent db
+    // so that we don't erroneously add our own prefix to the key of the operation.
+    const siblings = delegated && !isDescendant(op.sublevel, this[kDb]) && op.sublevel !== this[kDb]
+    const encodedKey = delegated && !siblings
+      ? prefixDescendantKey(preencodedKey, keyFormat, db, this[kDb])
+      : preencodedKey
+
+    // Only prefix once
+    if (delegated && !siblings) {
+      op.sublevel = null
+    }
 
     let publicOperation = null
 
-    if (this[kPublicOperations] !== null) {
+    // If the sublevel is not a descendant then we shouldn't emit events
+    if (this[kPublicOperations] !== null && !siblings) {
       // Clone op before we mutate it for the private API
       publicOperation = Object.assign({}, op)
       publicOperation.encodedKey = encodedKey
@@ -61,7 +70,8 @@ class PrewriteBatch {
       this[kPublicOperations].push(publicOperation)
     }
 
-    op.key = this[kDb].prefixKey(encodedKey, keyFormat, true)
+    // If we're forwarding the sublevel option then don't prefix the key yet
+    op.key = siblings ? encodedKey : this[kDb].prefixKey(encodedKey, keyFormat, true)
     op.keyEncoding = keyFormat
 
     if (isPut) {
diff --git a/test/hooks/prewrite.js b/test/hooks/prewrite.js
index 5b30e29..a7b0efa 100644
--- a/test/hooks/prewrite.js
+++ b/test/hooks/prewrite.js
@@ -761,4 +761,48 @@ module.exports = function (test, testCommon) {
     await Promise.all([batchBefore.close(), batchAfter.close()])
     return db.close()
   })
+
+  // See https://github.com/Level/abstract-level/issues/80
+  test('prewrite hook function can write to nondescendant sublevel', async function (t) {
+    t.plan(2)
+
+    const db = testCommon.factory()
+    await db.open()
+
+    const books = db.sublevel('books', { valueEncoding: 'json' })
+    const index = db.sublevel('authors', {
+      // Use JSON, which normally doesn't make sense for keys but
+      // helps to assert that there's no double encoding happening.
+      keyEncoding: 'json'
+    })
+
+    db.on('write', (ops) => {
+      // Check that data is written to correct sublevels, specifically
+      // !authors!Hesse~12 rather than !books!!authors!Hesse~12.
+      t.same(ops.map(x => x.key), ['!books!12', '!authors!"Hesse~12"'])
+    })
+
+    books.on('write', (ops) => {
+      // Should not include the op of the index
+      t.same(ops.map(x => x.key), ['12'])
+    })
+
+    index.on('write', (ops) => {
+      t.fail('Did not expect an event on index')
+    })
+
+    books.hooks.prewrite.add(function (op, batch) {
+      if (op.type === 'put') {
+        batch.add({
+          type: 'put',
+          // Key structure is synthetic and not relevant to the test
+          key: op.value.author + '~' + op.key,
+          value: '',
+          sublevel: index
+        })
+      }
+    })
+
+    await books.put('12', { title: 'Siddhartha', author: 'Hesse' })
+  })
 }
diff --git a/test/sublevel-test.js b/test/sublevel-test.js
index a925c31..3457441 100644
--- a/test/sublevel-test.js
+++ b/test/sublevel-test.js
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ exports.all = function (test, testCommon) {
       const b = a.sublevel('b')
       const c = b.sublevel('c')
 
+      await Promise.all([a.open(), b.open(), c.open()])
+
       // Note: may return a transcoder encoding
       const utf8 = db.keyEncoding('utf8')
 
@@ -120,6 +122,27 @@ exports.all = function (test, testCommon) {
       t.same(await db.keys().all(), [], 'db has no entries')
       return db.close()
     })
+
+    // See https://github.com/Level/abstract-level/issues/80
+    test(`${method} with nondescendant sublevel option`, async function (t) {
+      const db = testCommon.factory()
+      await db.open()
+
+      const a = db.sublevel('a')
+      const b = db.sublevel('b')
+
+      await Promise.all([a.open(), b.open()])
+
+      // The b sublevel is not a descendant of a, so the sublevel option
+      // has to be forwarded to db so that the key gets the correct prefix.
+      if (method === 'batch') {
+        await a.batch([{ type: 'put', key: 'k', value: 'v', sublevel: b }])
+      } else {
+        await a.batch().put('k', 'v', { sublevel: b }).write()
+      }
+
+      t.same(await db.keys().all(), ['!b!k'], 'written to sublevel b')
+    })
   }
 
   for (const deferred of [false, true]) {