I don't remember my own story. I may have slept in a hayloft or on a featherbed. I may have eaten from silver dishes or stolen scraps from the kitchen. I may have worn summer silks and jewels in my hair. Or maybe I went barefoot and clawed in the dirt, searching for roots, for gold, for shelter.

I can't recall. There have been too many stories in between, miracles and martyrdoms, too much blood spilled, too much ink. There was a war. There were a thousand wars. I knew a killer. I knew a hero. They might have been the same man.

I remember only how I fell into books, never to rise from their pages, how I was never truly awake until I began to dream of other worlds. I wander now, lost among the shelves. My hand cramps around the pen. I gather dust. But someone has to set down the words, put them in the proper order. I am the library and the librarian, hoarding lives, a catalog for the faithful. Erase my name. Indelible is a word for stories.

Saint of the book. She was Aeolian's favourite saint, a mysterious saint, who don't remember her own name or her own story. But she was the saint who wrote books.

Maybe one day, Aeolian too will be able to write a book of the life she lived, the people she met, the adventures she had. It would be one worthy read, she could guarantee that.

She closed her little journal and gazed at the mechanical device on the table, it resembled a compass but heavier and larger than a regular compass. A device made by Grisha Fabrikators, an early warning system, that could receive warning of any submersible within a three mile radius.

After Fjerda, Aeolian sailed back to Shu Han at the port city of Bhez Ju to meet her mother because she'd promised, she'll come straight back home after Fjerda. She'd another quest on her mind but she just needed to see Sakura even just for a day or two, because she wasn't sure how the quest would go and where it would take her.

That was the time when she'd received the mechanical device that Kaz Brekker had send so that she'd be safe on her journey, with a note that read: If you can't beat the odds, change the game.

When Aeolian had received the package, she was with Pope and Sakura sipping the fine wines and gazing out at the blue sea.

"How did Brekker get his hands on this?" Pope was amused. "He might have stolen it, he's the greatest thief in Ketterdam after all."

Aeolian shot a disbelieving glower at him, her mother had no idea that Kaz Brekker was a thief and she had no intentions to expose him but Pope had blurted out the truth unintentionally. Sakura was taken aback by the sudden revelation but she didn't comment, instead, she left the room quietly.

Aeolian had that distinct feeling her mother didn't like what she'd learned, but since Aeolian was leaving the very next day they hadn't touched the topic of Kaz being a thief. But she knew, when the times comes it'll be a hell of a ride because being the heir of the kingdom of Shu Han and associating with the most notorious thief out there wasn't a good look at all.

For now Aeolian didn't want to think about the outcome of the future, she just wanted to focus on how far she had come from not knowing who her father was to thinking she'd lost her mother at the tender age of nine and joining The Onyx and later The Desert Blade, where she suffered in the hands of Donghai miserably. Even after passing the test and becoming one of the best spies in the industry, her traumas and sufferings still latched on to her.

And to make things worse, her own grandmother the Empress of Shu Han was thirsty for her blood time and again. The young princess had seen, done and faced things that many couldn't even imagine but she'd survived it all and still kept her faith.

"Hello Aeolian Kir-Taban."

When she'd heard her name back in Fjerda: Aeolian was a trained covert operative. She'd faced killers of every variety, and occasionally cheated death. But when she saw him, she felt her vision blur. Nightmare. Nightmare. Nightmare.

The man before her, Donghai. The king of the desert, his family owned the operation of The Desert Blade. The man who'd abused countless young women. The man who'd stolen her firsts, the nightmare from her deepest darkest fears. He was well and alive and standing before her. He was bald, wore a long purple robe and his fingers stacked with rings as always. Wasn't he exiled at the desert?

She wanted to slit his throat right where he stood but he'd told her he has information about one of the founding fathers of the Carnival of Rust. Aeolian knew that her chances were slim to find and destroy the Carnival of Rust without some help because the elite festival happens only after four years. Where? And when? Only the special invitees knew.

But even then invitees had no idea who really runs the festival, there's a rumour that there were three of them. The unholy trinity, people called them. Aeolian wanted to take them down by hook or by crook even if it means she'd to partner up with the man she loathed the most. But she was no fool to trust Donghai blindly, and to earn her trust, he'd blurted out the truth that Demyan Dima the main man behind the Carnival of Rust was after his head.

The horrifying reason was: the girls who failed to become the next spy in The Desert Blade, were sold off to Demyan every year but after being exiled, Donghai couldn't live up to the deal and Demyan wasn't the type of man who takes deals lightly.

Aeolian was furious, all those young girls like her. Who'd suffered more than enough in the cruel desert to become a spy and after every pain and humiliation, they'd been through. They're sold off because they couldn't pass the test. What world was she living in? She felt sick to her stomach. If Aeolian had never made it as a spy, she might have met the same fate as the other girls or maybe, being a princess she might not. But that didn't ease her, knowing the fate of her fellow mates.

She knew men like Donghai didn't deserve to live but death will be too easy for him. He needed to suffer and Aeolian was going to let him. But first, she needed as much information about Demyan as she could. Ketterdam had taught her well—patience is key. Kaz Brekker brought Pekka Rollins to his knees, after nine long years because he had patience in him. Aeolian would do the same, she'd learned from the best thief out there.

"Death is a gift you haven't yet earned." She'd told Donghai back then and she meant it.

But the unholy trinity was a step ahead of her, they came to know about Donghai's meeting with Aeolian at Fjerda and their plans to go after them. But Kaz Brekker was ten steps ahead as always and procured her the device, that had helped in the long run. Hunting for a man like Demyan Dima was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But finally, Aeolian was able to get to him at Kenst Hjerte, the large islands in the north of Fjerda. The islands are mostly inhabited by whaling villages, the last place anyone would assume a man like Demyan would be seeking refuge.

Rafe, the young Fjerdan knight in shinning armour who'd saved her and pope's life back then and unintentionally even drove Trassel the white wolf away, had a huge hand in helping them track down Demyan Dima and it made Aeolian wonder about the power and influence the Fjerdan boy had.

When Aeolian got to the place where Demyan was residing, it brought her memories of Pekka Rollins in his mansion, hiding away with his son and guards thinking he was safe. But these evil men forgets that—what goes around comes around and Aeolian was put on this world, to teach them the lesson of a lifetime. Unlike, Rollins with Demyan she'd no time for introductions or conversations. She'd slit his throat and burnt his hideout to the ground with the help of Pope and Rafe.

News of Demyan's tragic demise had spread to the underworld and with the dead of their leader, the other two members of the unholy trinity had lost their cool. One of them was Anton Levi, a councilman from Ketterdam who'd fled with stacks of cash without informing a single soul. The other member was still a mystery but Aeolian knew, the truth would reveal itself with time and when it does, she'd be ready for it.

For now, she needed to deal with Donghai. He'd helped her in revealing the most important identity of the unholy trinity, the hand behind The Carnival of Rust but that doesn't mean that his endless sins could be forgiven and it wasn't hers alone to forgive. He'd done unthinkable deeds to hundreds of girls and he should get a taste of his bitter medicine, and she knew exactly where to put him.

"Hellgate! Seriously?" Pope looked at the Shu princess questionably as they stood by the railings. "If you really want to punish this man, why not toss him out at the sea, it'll make the job easier."

"He needs to suffer," she crossed her arms. "First!"

"Woah!" He narrowed his eyes, "I don't know what he did to you but that sounds intense."

She patted his back, "Po, some stories are better left unsaid."

"Hmm," he rubbed his jaws, "and how exactly are we going put Donghai in Hellgate?"

She almost smiled, "lucky for us, I know the greatest thief in Ketterdam."

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

🎵 🎵🎵

E equals MC squared
I've got a blimp inside my head
Flew over the cuckoo's nest
The lights are on but there's no one here
Puffing with the dragons
I'm livin' for the thrill, formula
Screws loose on a Monday
Screws loose, where's the propane?
Screws loose, tell 'em
Screws loose, tell 'em
Screws loose, tell 'em
I'm livin' for the thrill, formula, tell 'em
Puffing with the dragons
Screws loose, tell 'em
I'm livin' for the thrill, formula (screws loose)
Screws loose

🎵🎵🎵

July. 14. 2022