League of Thieves: A Character Introduction, A Cover introduction, and... a Second Cover Introduction?

It's feels so strange to be talking about League of Thieves in more than just a passing statement. It also feels strange to be introducing it. It was already introduced five years ago when I started writing it, but that was so long ago and I have been remiss when it comes to this story since then. And it feels even stranger to call it my Kindle Vella story.

And yet here we are. An introduction to LoT, my Kindle Vella story.

So, as I've stated already, this book is a Middle Eastern themed fantasy. I wrote it during my senior year of high school, I was doing world history that year and I was swept away by the history of the ancient Middle East and the rise and fall of nations such as Persia, Greece, Babylon, Assyria, even Rome and how they all affected each other, fought amongst each other, and even conquered each other. So, I created a world that was a big old mixing bowl where I blended together multiple proponents of what happened over the course of thousands of years and made them all happen at once. And so Iriale was born. I'll do one of my Worlds of Nicki Chapelway posts about Iriale someday, so I'll save all the technicalities till then, but what you need to know about Iriale is that it is a desert nation based off Rome and Persia that is bent on conquering the rest of the world.

True to its Middle Eastern roots, this story has a lot of inspiration from Middle Eastern tales and legends. Aladdin and the lamp, the forty thieves, with bits and pieces of Sinbad, and 1001 nights. There are jinnis and djinn in this world based off the ones found in Middle Eastern myths. There is a Library of Alexandira that hasn't burned down (yet). It also derives a lot of inspiration from one of my favorite movies of all time The Mummy (1999).

The story of League of Thieves itself revolves around a group of thieves (as the title would suggest). Evona and her brother Jokar have been petty thieves ever since their nomadic tribe was wiped out by Iriale's ever violent quest to expand its borders.

A picture of Evona, I don't really have a good one for Jokar
(image from Pinterest)

However, they've been offered a job that will be their chance to put their life of crime behind and finally live not just comfortably. They will be lavishly wealthy. All they have to do is steal a lamp for their employer.

However, mid-heist, Evona realizes that someone else got to the lamp before her. She is caught trying to escape and now everyone thinks that she has the lamp. While trying to skip town, Jokar and Evona are caught by the mercenary Radmir, a disgraced soldier who was hired by their employer to make certain that they don't leave him high and dry after they steal the lamp.

Radmir is the definition of burnt cinnamon roll
(picture from Pinterest)

Evona and Jokar are dragged back in front of their employer and since they don't have the lamp, things are about to end badly for them, but Radmir couldn't just let that happen so he stuck out his neck for them, convinced their employer that he needed the siblings to steal back the lamp. Now they have to find the thief who took the lamp in the first place. And this time all their necks are on the line

Which leads into the thieves who actually stole the lamp. A pair of street urchins named Damian and Creyn.

Creyn being uncharacteristically grumpy, he's actually a sunshine child and always joking around
(image from Pinterest)

Here's Damian he's....decidedly not a sunshine child
(Image from Pinterest)

Damian, in case you didn't notice, is sort of the only person here with blond hair and blue eyes. He has no memory of his home or how he ended up in Iriale. Creyn found him abandoned in the streets when they were both boys and took him in. Damian is an emotionless killer, earning himself the title the Pale Death, and the only thing he cares about in the whole wide world is Creyn.

And as you've probably guessed, the lamp that they stole was no ordinary lamp. It housed an imprisoned jinni named Shohl, who offered Damian and Creyn riches. All they need to do to claim it is travel to the legendary Amun Hadir, a hidden palace full of treasures.

Shohl being as fabulous as ever
(image from Pinterest)

With Shohl as their guide, Damian and Creyn set out to find this treasure. Evona, Radmir, and Jokar meanwhile need someone to help them track down these thieves. Which is where Sahir comes in.

Sahir AKA the pretty one
(image from Pinterest)

Sahir is a cocky smuggler with an ego the size of an island. He and Radmir have worked together in the past, and every time they've crossed paths Sahir has betrayed Radmir. So needless to say, Radmir is not too keen to trust him again, but unfortunately Sahir is the best there is. Nothing happens on the seven seas without his knowing it. And if anyone can track down Damian and Creyn it is him.

And that leads to our final main character. Adilah a female assassin who has been posing as a man for the past couple years so that she can get hired. She's been sent to kill the Pale Death and anyone he may be working with and get the lamp back for the man who hired him and Creyn to steal it in the first place. She's tracking Evona, Radmir, Jokar, and Sahri as they're tracking down Creyn and Damian. And it's basically a very complex game of cat and mouse.

Here's our stabby girl herself

(image from Pinterest)

So, there you have the whole crazy cast and the gist of the story. A bunch of thieves, smugglers, killers, and other unsavory sorts all want a lamp. Only what they weren't counting on was the fact that their greediness was going to unleash a terrible evil. One that they can only defeat if they learn to work together (and stop trying to kill each other, I'm looking at you Adilah and Damian).

This book was my first time having a ton of different POVs and main characters (the story is told from Adilah's, Radmir's, Evona's, and Damian's POVs). Of course, RLtG did come around and make this one's 4 POVs look like child's play, but this was my first introduction to having a bunch of main characters.

Also... League of Thieves has a new cover. It was designed by GetCovers and I'm so excited to finally be able to share it with you guys!.

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This is going to be a trilogy and my current plan is to release all three books on Vella first. For those of you wondering when it comes out in print, I hope to release book one in the summer of 2024. I actually have the cover for the print version as well. It was designed by Maria Spada and is way too pretty to keep secret till next year...

So here it is!

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It’s the heist that broke the world.

 

When Evona and her brother fail to retrieve the lamp they were hired to steal, they realize that they weren’t the only ones sent after the object. Now in over their heads, with their employer threatening to remove said heads for failing him and every guard thinking that they have the lamp, Evona and her brother have one last chance to save themselves. They are given the task of tracking down the other thieves and stealing the lamp back. Aided in their journey by a disillusioned soldier turned mercenary and a smuggler who definitely can’t be trusted, they set sail to take the lamp back.

 

Damian and Creyn thought they were stealing a lamp, it turns out they were actually taking a jinni. One that claims she can lead them to the legendary treasure of the hidden palace Amun Hadir. They set out in search of the treasure, only to learn that they are being tracked and soon it becomes a race between the two groups of thieves to be the first to claim the treasure.

 

Forty thieves, an assassin in disguise, and traps within ancient temples that have not been unearthed for a thousand years all stand in the way of these thieves. But unbeknownst to them all there’s a dark presence lurking in Amun Hadir, waiting for someone to free it so that it can unleash its malice on the world. Do they have what it takes to give up on the treasure they so desperately desire, or will their greed destroy the world?

 

The rollicking adventure of The Mummy meets the cunning heists of Six of Crows in this Middle Eastern inspired YA fantasy about thieves, monsters, and finding family. With hints of the tales of Aladdin and the Lamp and Sinbad, embark on this action-packed story about a group of antiheroes who must learn to care for more than just themselves.

Until then, this story is releasing weekly on Vella! The first three episodes are always free. League of Thieves | Kindle Vella (amazon.com)

Which character sounds the most interesting to you? Who do you think is going to come out on top in this tumultuous mix? There are three ships in this group, can you guess them? Comment your thoughts below!