Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
- alwayswandering
- Dec 24, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Sora is the poison maiden, a phenomenally beautiful girl put through nearly a decade of poison training. Her parents sold her and her sister.
Royo is rough-around-the-edges muscle for hire.
Euyn is an exiled prince King Joon sentenced to die.
Mikail is the charismatic royal spymaster. Terrible backstory that made him change his name to Mikail.
And Aeri is a clever thief. But she wants to make her family proud. She also has some time travel power.
The last point-of-view character is Tiyung, a nobleman whose father controls Sora.
In the bustling city of Umbria, a strongman named Royo returns home from a job to find an intriguing invitation for a new task. To learn more, he must meet the sender at the Black Shoe Inn. There, he encounters Aeri, a young woman who reveals herself as the long-lost daughter of King Joon. She offers Royo a compelling proposition: become her bodyguard on a dangerous mission in exchange for a diamond worth 50,000 mun—the exact sum Royo needs to free his deceased lover’s father from wrongful imprisonment.
Meanwhile, in the desert city of Fallow, Euyn, the exiled prince of Yusan, receives a letter summoning him to a stable. Despite believing his survival was a secret, he finds his former lover, Mikail, the king’s spymaster, waiting for him. Mikail presents an unavoidable ultimatum: Euyn must kill his brother, King Joon, and seize the throne.
In Gain, Sora, one of the last remaining poison maidens, is indentured to Count Seok. After assassinating one of Seok's political rivals, she is promised freedom for herself and her sister, Daysum—but only if she kills the king. Reluctantly, Sora agrees and sets out with Seok’s son, Tiyung, who secretly has orders to kill her once her task is complete. However, as they journey together, Tiyung reveals unexpected kindness and a stark contrast to his father’s cruelty.
Royo and Aeri journey by riverboat to Rahway to rendezvous with Mikail, Euyn, Sora, and Tiyung. Their journey takes a dangerous turn when pirates attack their boat. Aeri performs an extraordinary feat, ensuring their safe landing in a rescue craft. Simultaneously, Mikail and Euyn are ambushed by brigands in the deserts of Fallow and later survive an attack by mythical samrocs. During their recovery in Tile, old wounds begin to heal, and the two rekindle their bond before continuing toward Yusan through a perilous mountain pass.
In Rahway, Sora and Tiyung visit Rune, the western count, and encounter Mikail and Euyn. Rune tests Sora’s poisoning skills by forcing her to kill a dog, impressing Euyn enough to include her in their assassination plans. The group meets Royo and Aeri at an inn, where Aeri’s uncanny thieving abilities come to light. She owes her skill to a secret artifact—the Amulet of the Dragon Lord—which grants her extraordinary dexterity. With Aeri to steal the Dragon Lord crown, which grants King Joon immortality, and Sora to deliver the fatal blow, Euyn is confident in their plan.
The group travels to Tamneki, stopping in Oosant, where a local gang kidnaps Sora. They storm the gang’s hideout, uncovering an illegal laoli operation—a drug linked to the colonization of Gaya. After a brutal fight, they rescue Sora and forge a bond born of shared bloodshed.
Arriving in Tamneki, the group discovers that Dal, the eastern count who was to host them, is mysteriously absent. A palace assassin’s body is found in Dal’s courtyard, and the next day, news arrives that Dal has died of an alleged heart attack. Without Dal to introduce Sora to Joon, doubts arise about the plan. However, Mikail, driven by vengeance for his slain family, persuades the group to proceed.
On the day of the Millennial Celebration, the group executes their plan during the annual tuhko tournament. Aeri, posing as the king’s valet, steals the crown. Mikail destroys it while Sora, with poison-laced lips, attempts to kill Joon. However, the attempt fails, and all six are captured.
At Qali Palace, Joon confronts his would-be assassins and reveals he orchestrated the entire scheme as a test. He needs their skills for a far greater mission: stealing a magical ring from his sister, Quilimar, the Queen of Khitan. Joon promises rewards for success but incarcerates Tiyung in Idle Prison and threatens the loved ones of the remaining five. With no choice, Royo, Aeri, Sora, Mikail, and Euyn agree to the task—but secretly begin plotting to use Quilimar to bring about Joon’s downfall.
Thanks Super Summary
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