Lady in the Cistern: Zeira's Theory

Summary

 * Location: south of the statue in the Thieves Den (after completing The One That Got Away)
 * Author: Zeira
 * Collection: Hew's Bane Bookshelf

Content
Silver-Claw―I'm flattered, but the Thieves Guild is more than one person. is proof enough of that.

And the rest of you are wrong―it's Leki, administering her Ephemeral Feint―as sculptors used to depict it, in Hubalajad's time. The statue's left hand is curled, as though to hold a sword. Perhaps it did, long ago, though if it were not stolen it must have long since rusted away.

Note the similarities to the massive statue of Hubalajad just south of the Abah's Landing's harbor. He commissioned a colossal, idealized sculpture of himself, embraced by a sep adder. Enormous, ridiculous, and (for some reason) shirtless, as though nothing can harm him.

Yet the sculptor who hid Leki away in this cistern refuted him. The robes conceal intention, allowing her to strike with little warning. The Saint of the Spirit Sword accomplished so much more than Prince Hew, yet doesn't need to be taller than a ship's mast to prove it. Even more, she does not need to declare herself to the entire town. She is content to do what she must from the shadows.

And the sep adder sash is delightful. A real thumb in the eye to Prince Hew.

―Zeira