Jump to content
  • entries
    30
  • comments
    39
  • views
    34765

Well of Ascension chapter 12


Child Bahkbar

1211 views

Salutations. I've completed Part 1, it's time to move on to Part 2! It looks like this is the longest Part in the book, so hopefully that means it's the best too...wait! Actually, scratch that. I hope Part 6 is the best part.

Part 2 : Ghosts in the Mists

Chapter 12

This one's another Sazed chapter, and I'll just say right now that it is definitely my favorite chapter so far.

Sazed and Marsh have finally made it to the Conventical of Sarand. Now that I think about it, the book doesn't really mention how long they had to travel to get here. For all I know it might have been three days, or 3 months.

The Conventical is a fairly large fortress, and it rests inside of a giant crater. Using his epic feruchemy vision, Sazed takes a closer look at the fort, and he discovers that, as Inquisitor Marsh stated, it is indeed empty. He tells Sazed that they're headed North. It seems like Marsh can sense where the other Inquisitors are. Don't tell me they're going to Luthadel. Could that be what he was talking about when he said something huge is going to happen down there? If so, they should probably, like, warn someone about this, right? Although, I suppose they probably wouldn't be able to make it to Luthadel before the Inquisitors, anyway. That means there's no point in even trying, eh?

Anyway, Marsh and Sazed approach the fort. They have to enter from the top using a pulley, but since there's no one down there to operate it, Marsh just cuts it down, and climbs down the rope. Sazed, on the other hand, takes out an Iron metalmind. Iron contains weight. He doesn't take weight out of the metalmind, though, as that would just make him heavier. Instead, he reverses the metalmind, thereby dramatically decreasing his weight, so much so that he's able to just practically float to the bottom of the shaft.

Now, I'm just gonna pause right here and gush about how FREAKING cool that is! I mean, come on! I hadn't even considered that something like this was possible. Technically, he should also be able to jump super high while he's like this, right? It doesn't decrease his physical strength, does it? I wonder what other awesome abilities Feruchemy allows him access to. Feruchemy totally blows Allomancy out of the water, in my opinion. Even if it's not quite as useful for combat, it completely makes up for it by it's usefulness for everyday activities. Did I ever say that I'd want to be a Thug if I was in this world? Well, I changed my mind. Feruchemy all the way!

Well, now that that's out of the way, let's get back to the story. Once Marsh and Sazed reach the bottom of the chamber, they notice that there are shackles discarded around the fort. The Inquisitors must have had slaves, and Sazed wonders if they ran from the place or something. Come on, Sazed, don't be naive. I think we all know what actually happened to those servants--these are Inquisitors we're talking about here.

They approach a dark hallway. Sazed can't use feruchemy to see in the dark, so Marsh fetches a lantern for him. They then enter the darkness together. Sazed begins audibly describing everything he lays his eyes on. When Marsh asks him what in God's name he's doing, Sazed explains that he has to store this into his copper mind, and speaking helps him to record the information more accurately. Well, that explains why he has to do it, but it doesn't change the fact that it creeps me the heck out.

From the hallway, they enter a room filled with corpses. Well, I guess this explains what happened to all the slaves. They were massacred every one of them. They were completely helpless, but the Insuisitors killed them all anyway. I just don't get it. Why is it that all of these sick bastards seem to take so much pleasure in causing pain and suffering? Does the transformation process do this to them? If that's the case, does that mean Marsh has the same...desires as the rest of them, and he just holds it in? That would explain the changes in his personality.

There are two stairways in the room, one leading up, and the other down. Marsh tells Sazed not to follow him, and goes up the stairs, which apparently lead to the Inquisitor's chambers. He says he doesn't mind Sazed seeing the Inquisitor atrocities, but he just doesn't want to be with him when he does...what does this mean? Does this mean there's even worse crap going on up those steps? Sazed complies, and goes on to describe the slaughter that took place in the room. Once hes done recording all the minute details about the room, Sazed notices the second stairway. This one leading lower into the fortress. I'm sure he's heard the saying, "curiosity killed the cat", but he's a Terrisman, so that saying apparently doesn't apply to him. He walks down the steps.

Once down the steps, he finds several rooms, including a room covered in blood. All of the descriptions here are spoken aloud by Sazed, giving the whole thing an eerie sort of "first person" feel. He enters the room, describing everything he sees, and finds several silver spikes lying around--all bloody. Could this be where new inquisitors were made? My God, what in the name of all that is holy does the process of becoming an Inquisitor entail? I'm actually a little bit curious. Can they even make new ones without the Lord Ruler, though?

After inspecting one of the--less bloodied--spikes, Sazed notices another doorway at the end of the room. This one, like all the others, has no door. His curiosity hasn't gotten him in any trouble so far, so he just walks right in. Inside the doorway, he finds a wall containing a slab of metal with some text written on it. It's not just any text, though, this is written in the Terris language. Sazed immediately begins to read it.

The writing is by Kwaam, he was apparently a Terris Philosopher(Sazed describes him as a holy man). This must be what those excerpts at the end of every chapter are from. It is engraved in steel because, "anything not written in metal cannot be trusted",--a belief of the Terris religion, perhaps? Kwaam felt that he was the only person in the world who was still sane, he said that, even though he was the one who proclaimed the man in the first place, Alendi had to be stopped from completing his quest. Hmm, he keeps talking about this betrayal. Is it possible that Rashek was not working alone when he murdered Alendi? What if it was actually Kwaam who told him to do it? That would explain his previously inexplicable hatred of Alendi, and why he would risk dooming the world by slaying the Hero of Ages prematurely. He must have been truly positive that Alendi was NOT the hero, and that him gaining access to the power at the well would be even worse than allowing the deepness to continue ravaging the land. Who would be able to convince him of such a thing other than a holy Terris Philosopher? What if Kwaam was behind everything?

Sazed is super excited about this new discovery, but he hardly even gets the chance to read the introduction before Marsh shows up. Marsh says the Inquisitor quarters were completely empty, that this whole trip was a complete waste, and that they need to get out ASAP. Sazed disagrees, and tells Marsh about the inscriptions he just found. Marsh says they have no time for him to write it all down--why is he in such a hurry to get out if he didn't find anything?--, so Sazed quickly takes a rubbing of the text. This new discovery gives Sazed a perfect excuse to leave his work with the Skaa and go back to Luthadel.

End of Chapter 12

At the end of the Chapter, Kwaam states that he wishes he had listened to the "Worldbringers" when they didn't accept Alendi as the Hero. What could Alendi do that was so terrible, and what suddenly made Kwaam so positive that he wasn't the Hero of Ages? Did a savage from the grassy steppe tell him that the man was actually a being bred for the art of deception from birth, and that everything he says--even if it seems true-- is a lie used to ensnare and enslave?

I guess I'll just have to RAFO. :rolleyes:

0 Comments


Recommended Comments

There are no comments to display.

×
×
  • Create New...