Child Bahkbar

You did indeed, but I still didn't have the slightest idea that the said main character would turn out to be the very cause of the apocalypse.

I have finished the book. The mystery has been solved. Holy hamburgers. I am totally speechless. Part Six Chapter 57 The chapter starts off showing Sazed. It's been a week since Vin single-handedly spared Luthadel from a brutal Death by Koloss, and she's been sleeping the entire time, so it falls upon him to serve as acting Emperor until Elend gets back. He's currently sitting in on a meeting between the three kings. Things are going about as smoothly as one could expect, considering that these men were enemies barely a week ago. Cett wants to get straight to business and reclaim his lost country, but Penrod and Janarle disagree. They say they they should wait until the empress or emperor returns. and that they should be concerning themselves with securing Luthadel before expanding their reach. It's common sense, but it seems that Cett lacks the mental capacity to comprehend even the simplest of principles. How he's managed to survive as long as he has is a complete mystery to me. Anyway, Sazed permits Cett to send scouts back to his homeland, but all they're allowed to do is look. Cett isn't happy with the verdict, but Sazed shuts him up with mentions of Vin's power, which is something he apparently does quite often these days. Sazed thinks himself inadequate for the task Vin has placed upon him, but he's been finding it difficult to care. Tindwyl is dead, so what's the point? With that attitude, I dread to think of what will happen to his people if they come to him for leadership. As it turns out, Janarle's city has also fallen into unfriendly hands, but, as Penrod the mediator so kindly points out, they still can't make any moves without leadership. Honestly, I don't see why they're all in such a rush to move. They wasted months just sitting outside Luthadel's walls; They can wait a few more hours. Ashfalls have been occurring more and more often recently. I wonder. Does the frequency of the ashfalls have any in-world significance, or is it just a literary device used to signify the world's steady deterioration? Elend and Lestibournes have finally arrived at Luthadel. Though the koloss are still camped outside the gates, there are bodies being buried, and Elend's flag is being flown. All seems relatively safe, so they enter, blending in with the normal civilians returning to their homes in Luthadel. Sazed returned to his room after that dreadful meeting was ended. He, in his anguished state, returns to his and Tindwyl's manuscript, crying once more as he remembers their time together, wondering what the point of it all was. He must know, though. He starts reading a random paragraph, which just so happens to be the section where Tindwyl pointed out several of the biggest contradictions they uncovered during their research. One thing I find particularly interesting is that one passage says that the that the Hero would be a short man, but another passage states that he would be tall. Apparently Kwaan actually wrote that Alendi was short. I thought that he was supposed to have physically "towered over others", but it seems that he was just referring to his "presence," so to speak. How did I manage to misread that? I guess it's kinda like how I read Kwaan's name as "Kwaam" at first, and thought that Tindwyl's name was spelled Tyndwyl. Eh. Kwaan also wrote that he thought himself to be the Holy First Witness. Is it a coincidence that that's what the Survivorists call Sazed in the present? Sazed feels that something's not quite right about this. Indeed. I couldn't agree more. There's something fishy going on here, but I can't quite place my finger on it. All I know is that the title "Holy First Witness" did not ring a bell when I first heard it. Vin shows up, interrupting Sazed when he's on the brink of a what may be a world bending revelation. She tells him that she should not have been allowed to sleep for so long. When he informs her that she's been in a coma all this time, she's actually shocked. What? Does she think ordinary people just sleep for 168 hours straight? Besides, with the way she's been abusing her body, she should be thankful that she woke up at all. Sazed tells her that its alright for her to rest now that this is all over, but she disagrees. She still feels the Well calling her. Beckoning to her. She says that it's in the city. :In the city...: What if it is the city. Yup, that's my crackpot theory for today. The Well is Luthadel. Vin asks Sazed if he believes that she is the Hero of Ages. A week ago he would have said "yes" without hesitation, but he's beginning to have doubts once more, as the prophecies are so contradictory and confusing. Vin is unperturbed. She just tells him that it isn't about prophecies; its about "what needs to be done." If that's how she thinks, why did she bother asking him the damnation question in the first place? Vin goes on to tell Sazed about how she drew on the mists against Lord Ruler. She says that the Well is in Luthadel, explaining that if Rashek was able to create the Ashmounts, he could very well have placed and Well wherever he want. Indeed. He could even, perhaps, have transformed the Well into a city. Actually, if Rashek truly had a hand in influencing the legends, then who's to say that the Well was ever in the mountains of Terris do begin with? Anyway, Sazed detects voices. Upon tapping his hearing reserves, he hears that Elend has returned, and Vin leaps out of the window without saying another word. How rude. Ham is filling Elend in on the events of the past week when Vin arrives. She and Elend embrace, and she tells him what she did. He isn't at all displeased with her, though. He chooses to accept the role of emperor, because, as he puts it, his views were too simplistic anyway. What's this? Compromise? Why, I never thought I'd see the day. Elend, noticing how exhausted Vin looks, asks if she's still pewter dragging. Of course she isn't. Is it even possible to pewter drag for an entire week? She tells him that there's something else, and asks him to come someplace with her. He doesn't even stop to greet Sazed before waltzing off with her. How rude. Sazed watches them from his window. At first he feels a great weight off his chest, but then he notices a piece of paper. On it is the rewriting of that passage containing the line that was torn out of the rubbing all those chapters ago. The line has been torn here as well, and the tear is―Surprise!―completely identical to all of the others. Alendi must not take the power for himself. Is it some sort of code? Something was definitely wrong with Alendi specifically grasping the power for even an instant. Whatever it is, Sazed should probably keep Vin away from the Well until he can get to the bottom of this. What was it that he told Cett? Ah, yes. Not to be hasty. Vin leads Elend, Ham, and Spook to Kredik Shaw. The thumping has grown so intense that she is now able to discern exactly where in the city it's coming from. Elend tells Vin that the mists are behaving in an unnatural manner. Vin says that they are guiding her, but he says that the mist actually seem to be pulling away from her. Almost as if it fears her, which is odd, because it allowed her to draw upon it's power to defeat the Lord Ruler. Vin doesn't care, though. She feels right about what she's doing, and her feelings usually lead her to the right decision. Excluding the whole Cett debacle, of course. She "felt" that he was a Mistborn, and we all know how that turned out. Anyway, the group enters Kredik Shaw. Vin leads them through it's halls, searching with steel as she walks to the Lord Ruler's secret chamber, eventually finding something. Using Duralumin, she uncovers a hidden stairwell, and after replenishing her metals, Vin and the others make their way down.. Sazed once again returns to read Kwaan's writing. This has all been stated before earlier in the book, but it somehow feels more eery this time around. Sazed is bothered by the whole "Holy First Witness" thing, but he doesn't know why. Perhaps it's the striking parallels between Kwaan, Sazed, Alendi, and Vin. Their roles seem to all but completely identical. If Alendi wasn't the Hero, and he circumstances were the same as Vin's, what are the chances that she is? As Sazed tries to make sense of all this, he notices someone standing next to his chair. He turns to see the mist spirit staring at the torn sheet of paper on his desk. He falls over in horror, asking what it wants. The spirit points incessantly towards the center of the city, Where Vin is currently breaking into the Lord Ruler's hidden, hidden chamber. It then occurs to Sazed that, if the mist spirit was the one who tore out that line from the manuscript, then it must have been trying to get something across to him. Perhaps, the power of the Well corrupts even the best of people. Perhaps, regardless of a person's heart, they have no choice but to use the power to destroy. Or maybe it corrupts only the pure hearted. That would almost explain why Kwaan did not want Alendi to reach the Well, but was perfectly fine with Rashek doing so. The only problem is that Rashek was already no good, so, although he stopped the deepness, he still caused a great deal of harm to the world. Am I to believe that Alendi would have caused even more harm had he lived to take the power, regardless of whether or not he released it? There's no more time for thinking. Vin is just moments away from finding the Well. Suddenly, Sazed hears an agonised scream, and the entire city joins in cacophony shortly thereafter. Sazed rushes out of his room, but it's already too late. Vin and the rest of the group walk down the stairwell into a vast chamber, where they find vast stores of canned goods. They also find a map of the Final Empire engraved into a metal slab. Luthadel is at the very center of it, but another city is circled as well. Statlin City. If they don't find the Atium down here, it would probably be in their best interest to search there. Vin is uninterested in any of their minor discoveries. She is committed to her purpose and will not be so easily dissuaded. Pointing down a pathway, she urges Elend to come along. Sazed dashes down the streets amidst the screams, following the Mist spirit's lead. He feels an inexplicable trust for the entity. It would seem that it's soothing him as well. Can it use other forms of Allomancy as well, or is it only capable of soothing? Perhaps this creature could hold the answer to the question of Allomancy's origins. On his way to Kredik Shaw, Sazed comes across a corpse. The man did not die easy, but appears to have been "shaken" like poor Jed, the farmer. The mists have once again begun to kill in force. He asks the mist spirit if it is the cause of this, but it denies the accusation vehemently, and once again points towards Kredik Shaw. So I am to believe that the Mist spirit is not related to the deepness in any way? Sazed finally decides that Vin must be stopped, so he runs into Kredik Shaw. The mist spirit does not follow. He rushes through the building and finds the opening that Vin uncovered. He also finds Marsh standing in the doorway. Marsh tells him that he should not have come here. When Sazed asks for a explanation, Marsh says that he doesn't understand why, but he has to kill him. He then apologises, and promptly throws Sazed into a wall. Hah? What in the world is going on? End of Chapter 57 Alendi must not reach the Well of Ascension. Yet, it seems that whatever commands the Inquisitors―whatever it was that spoke to Zane― desperately wants her to find it. Everything seems to have been flipped on it's head. The "Misty Death", which seemed like such a terrible menace for the entire book, suddenly doesn't seem all that bad. This "third party" seems to be a much bigger threat. This creature, "Zod", also wants the Keepers out of the way for some reason. Why could that be? Chapter 58 Elend and Vin walk down the passage until they run into another, smaller, cavern clouded with some sort of dark smoke... or mist, perhaps? This stuff, whatever it is, bears a close resemblance to the depictions of the deepness in the illustrations. It also seems to be contained inside the cavern by an invisible barrier of some kind. Curious, that. Vin steps into the dark cavern, urging Elend to follow. It's pitch black, but Vin can see a light ahead. As Sazed slides to the ground, Marsh once again asks him why he came. He says that everything was going well before Sazed showed up. What was going well? What has he been doing here all this time? Has he been into the hidden chamber? Has he been to the Well? Marsh apologises once again, and, assuming that there are coins inside, he shoots Sazed with his bag of metalminds. The metals tear into Sazed's flesh. It almost looks like the time has come for Sazed to say goodbye to this cruel world, but before his wounds kill him, he's is able to draw health from his gold ring inside the bag, closing his wounds and sealing the metals inside his gut. Hot damnation! With feruchemy being capable of feats like this, it's no wonder that Rashek was able to make himself seem invincible. Elend and Vin walk through the dark cavern. Vin exudes a firm sense of determination, but Elend finds his present circumstances to be rather...daunting. The thought of the Well's immense, impossible power terrifies him, as it should; The thing is supposed to hold enough power to crush very world he lives in like a soft, mushy grape... gross. At any rate, it isn't the kind of thing that one takes lightly. Vin and Elend reach the end of the tunnel, and find another chamber, this one seemingly man-made. There is light here coming from a pool of some sort. Upon seeing what can only be the Well of Ascension, Vin's confidence seems to evaporate. She fears that she won't know what to do when the time comes, but Elend reassures her, which just so happens to be what he's best at. Vin, having recovered some of her earlier confidence, notices some broken pottery in a ledge at the back of the room. Upon closer inspection, Elend finds a plate that has not yet been shattered. At its center is a bead of some new metal. Neither of them have ever seen it's like before, but, as Elend says, the answer may lie closer to the Well. I don't see how he figures that, but it doesn't really matter now. They abandon the shattered pottery and approach their destination. Meanwhile, Sazed battles against Marsh. The ultimate showdown between allomancy and feruchemy! Thanks to Marsh's earlier attack, Sazed's metals are trapped firmly inside his own flesh, safe from Marsh's foul allomantic touch. With iron on his side, Sazed also has the oh-so essential weight advantage, and with Zinc enhancing his mind, he has an advantage similar to that which Atium affords. Which brings to mind the question: Why isn't Marsh in possession of Atium? The Inquisitors must have had some with them in the Conventical of Seran. Then again, they probably wouldn't have left any behind for him, or anyone else to take. Could Atium have been what he was looking for in the Inquisitors' chambers? Anyway, the two of get into a "pushing match" of sorts, and Sazed once again asks Marsh why? Marsh apparently doesn't know, but that doesn't make any sense. Has he lost control of his own limbs? Zod was never able to physically take control of Zane's body, so why should Marsh be any different? The battle runs it's course, and Sazed finds an opening. He moves in for the kill, but just before he's able to strike the killing blow, his metalminds run dry. Is it bad that I'm just a little bit relieved by this? I have so many questions. It would suck if Marsh were to get himself wasted before any of them could be answered. Marsh, having lucked out, disarms Sazed, but just before he can finish Sazed off, he takes a dueling cane to the head. Ham has come to the rescue―just in the nick of time, too. His blow knocks Marsh out cold. Sazed still needs to stop Vin, though, so he doesn't have time to chat. He takes off down the stairway without saying a word. Elend and Vin approach the Well of Ascension. It's a pool filled with some sort of mesmerizingly beautiful Liquid Metal. If it is metal, then I'm guessing that only Mistborn are able to tap into it's power. Does that mean that Alendi and Rashek were both Allomancers? Vin notices the mist spirit standing directly in front of them. She reaches for her daggers, but before she can draw them, Elend stops her. He says that he doesn't think it's dangerous, telling her about his previous encounter with it. He then approaches the spirit, and inquires as to it's purpose here. It responds by slashing his gut open. Ah. Elend falls over, bleeding profusely. When Vin sees that his would is most definitely fatal, she begins to panic. I knew it! I knew it! As Elend dies in her arms, he looks at her and smiles. Or at least he tries to. I imagine it's kinda difficult to do anything when you're as close to the Other Side as he is now. Vin sees she can still save him. She need only take the power of the Well for herself. Vin walks into the pool, absorbing the awesome power of the Well. She turns to Elend, somehow knowing exactly what she must do to fix him, but a voice stops her. Vin, with the power surging through her, is able to see exactly what happened when Rashek took the power for herself, and she sees that the deepness has returned in full force. The voice tells her that if she tries to stop it on her own, she will destroy the world, just as Rashek did. Vin looks to Elend. He's weeping now from a pain that Vin believes to be completely unrelated to the gaping wound in his gut. Knowing that he wouldn't want her to save him at the expense of the entire world, she releases the power go. At that very moment she hears an exultant voice scream "I'm free!" Ah. What just happened? End of Chapter 58 Kwaan's last written words were "For he must not be allowed to release the thing that is imprisoned there." Woah! I'm a little confused here. That is not what I recall being written there before. What's up with that? Regardless, Could that thing that she just released have been Zod. That would mean that, from the very beginning, Vin, Sazed... everyone has just been a pawn in his bid to gain freedom. What is Zod, really? Who imprisoned him? How did they accomplish such a feat? Also, where the hell do they go from here? Agh! So many questions. Chapter 59 Not only is she about to lose her husband, but she may also have just ushered in the apocalypse. I was about to ask what Vin has done to deserve this, but then it hit me. It's so obvious! How could I not have seen it before? Vin killed Straff. It was after her marriage to Elend, so he was her father; which made him kin. This is yet another tragic example of the kinslayer being cursed by gods and men! Anyway, untimely jokes aside, Vin is going through hell right now. She weeps with Elend in her arms, knowing that she's made a catastrophic mistake. She cries out for help, but no one can save him now. I feel like I've read, or perhaps written, this very scenario before. It looks like I was right. Elend really is a dead man. The mist spirit stands above her, once again pointing at something. Vin, somehow able to think clearly with her husband dying in right before her eyes, realises that the creature only stabbed Elend to get her to use the Well's power to save him. Ah, of course. It should have worked, but Vin was just too selfless, in the end. The spirit points at the broken pottery that they stumbled upon earlier. Specifically at the piece of metal embedded into the plate that Elend found. The creature instructs her to feed the metal to Elend. Could it be? Vin washes the bead down Elends throat with her remaining vial, and as he fades into unconsciousness, something totally awesome happens. He begins burning pewter. Elend, who always wished for allomantic abilities, has become a bonafide Mistborn. I guess I was wrong. It looks like Elend is going to survive after all. Epilogue. Sazed left Luthadel after the events of the past weeks. I wonder if he managed to get those metals out of his gut. I can't even imagine the hellish suffering he must have gone through to pull that off. He would've had to spend weeks storing health to prepare himself for what would otherwise have been a fatal operation. Even then, the removal of those metals must have laid him at the very doorstep of death itself. Anyway, the deepness has returned to blight the land. It kills seemingly at random. It's as if the whole world has transformed into that village that Sazed came across way back in chapter fifteen. Tyndwyl's death, and the events that followed have transformed the once optimistic Terrisman into a bit of a cynic. Vin told him about the Thing she released, but instead of staying to record her testimony, he just walked away. Sazed has returned to Kwaan's steel plate in Conventical of Sarand. When he places his rubbing up against the original texts, he finds that they do not match. The text was modified by the very entity that Vin released from the Well. The Terris prophecies, the Hero of Ages, even the deepness, has all been a cunning deception. This must be why Marsh did not allow Sazed to read the text on the slab when they first came here. He must have known that Sazed would find something that he shouldn't have. Well, he reads it now. All questions are answered, and Sazed's already shaky beliefs are shattered and ground to dust The being that I called "Zod" has the power to alter anything not written in steel. Even the memories in a Feruchemist's metalmind. He modified the prophecies to get a selfless "Hero" to free him of his bonds. This explains why Kwaan chose Rashek, whom he knew would, without a doubt, take the power for himself. Elend has finally awoken from his slumber. He, as I had assumed, is a full blown Mistborn. As Vin says, this answers the question of where the first Allomancers came from. It also reveals why only someone with noble blood can be born an allomancer, and, more importantly, how Rashek must have defeated Alendi. Anyway, Vin explains to Elend what happened at the Well. Elend, though he appears hardened, is just as supportive as before. When Vin asks him what they're to do now, his reply is just about the only thing they can do at this point. "Survive." End of Part Six There it is, folks. I must say, it never once occurred to me that the text in Sazed's rubbing might have actually been changing, so I chalked all of the discrepancies in the text up to my own crappy observational skills. Well, I'm glad to be able to say that I don't totally suck after all. I'm still kind of in shock after that ending. Never before have I read a book where the author mislead the reader in such a way. I originally came to this series looking for some light reading, but what I've gotten has been two of the most enjoyable and fascinating fantasy books I've read in years. This book easily topped The Final Empire in practically every way. I actually find it hard to imagine how the third book can possibly be better than this one. I guess I'll find out next year in "First Time Reading the Well of Ascension: Season 2 - First Time Reading the Hero of Ages!"

Definitely my favorite part of the book(so far). All the things you mentioned, plus Straff finally getting his just desserts, make this one of the most enjoyable parts of the series for me. I honestly think it's up there with Kelsier's slaying of the Inquisitor, and his final sacrifice. Although, perhaps not quite so awesome as that.

Well, I guess there aren't many times when one should need to flare Tin. Actually, as I recall, Lestibournes seems to be the only one who actually does it.

At long last, I have reached the sixth and final Part of the book, and I'm still at a loss as to what the end might have in store. Part Six: Words In Steel Kwaan instructed Rashek slay Alendi if he failed to mislead him. Clearly his attempts were unsuccessful, as Alendi could feel the Well thumping. Which also means that he must have know all along that Rashek was trying to mislead him... Chapter 56 It feels like it's been forever since Elend's last PoV, so I suppose it's only fair that he gets to start off the end of the book. He's still travelling with Lestibournes on the way to Luthadel. At night, because Vin told them to. It also doesn't hurt that they'll avoid running into strangers this way. Spook is out scouting ahead, so Elend is completely alone in the thick mists. Even he has begun to notice that the mists are lingering in the daytime, so he feels more than a little uncomfortable being out in them right now. It doesn't help that he can't see a thing either. All those sounds that would seem perfectly ordinary in the day suddenly become extremely disconcerting, or just downright frightening, when darkness falls. Elend thinks about what it must be like to be able to see through the mists the way Spook and Vin do. He also often wonders what it would be like to have any allomantic ability. Yes, he still seems to wish that he was born a Misting, but who, besides a Feruchemist, wouldn't? Even without allomancy, Elend has made a great many accomplishments in his short life, though, so he probably doesn't feel the lack as keenly as some others might. Spook returns, asking Elend if he's seen anything. When Elend replies that he heard something, Spook slips away again to check it out. He returns shortly, saying that it's just a mist wraith. Elend has the same slightly irrational fear of the things as Vin did. Of course, that's completely understandable, as he's actually never laid eyes on one before. I doubt most noblemen have seen the things, though. Spook also says that there's a light ahead. He believes it may be a village, or maybe an army, so he tells Elend to stay behind while he checks it out. After Spook leaves, Elend is alone once again. Or is he? There's a Mist wraith out there, somewhere, and his growing discomfort serves as great company. The prospect of the mists lingering in the daylight--killing in the daylight, has him plenty on edge. Plus he's starting to see the logic in Vin's theory that the mists and the deepness are one and the same, and that frightens him even more. In the Mists, no one can hear you scream. As Elend stares into the foggy abyss, the misty Death appears before him. The ethereal being takes a couple steps towards him, scaring him half to death, then points north. Elend actually turns to look, but he sees nothing. He beseeches the thing to tell him what it wants of him, but it simply points northward again. There's something different about the creature this time. Unlike Vin, who experienced a terrifying sensation when she encountered it, Elend feels peace emanating from it. It's soothing him. I didn't even know it could use allomancy. It must have been soothing Vin as well, then, which begs the question: Why make Vin feel fearful, yet cause Elend to feel peaceful? Also, as I recall, the creature tried to kill Vin, yet it hasn't made a move against Elend. It actually seems to be trying help him. Now that I think back, when Vin found it standing over his bed a few chapters back, it didn't draw it's blade until after she arrived. Clearly it has some beef with Vin, but, if that's the case, why is it still here in the first place? If Vin is who it's truly after, why did it not follow her when she went ahead to Luthadel? Actually, now that I think about it, the mist spirit has never appeared when Elend isn't around. Is it possible that he is it's true target, and that it has only been trying to get Vin out of it's way all this time? What on earth would it want with Elend, though? Why direct him to go North? Anyway, I suppose that's enough speculating for now. Back to the events at hand. The spectre dissolves into the mists when Spook returns. He asks Elend who he's been talking to, but Elend isn't entirely convinced that he isn't hallucinating, so he keeps his mouth shut. Spook has news, though. The lights he went to check out weren't coming from an army or a village, but a refugee camp, and he wants Elend to come and check it out. The refugees turn out to be from Terris. Ththingdwen, to be exact. I'm not even going to comment on how odd and unpronounceable that name is. In all, there are around a thousand men, women, and children in the camp. Elend is currently drinking tea with one of the older terrismen, who explains to him their current situation. Shortly after the Synod came out into the open, Terris was attacked by Steel Inquisitors. The Inquisitors used koloss to attack the homeland and dealt with the Keepers themselves. The Terris people didn't stand a chance against them. Most, if not all, of the Keepers have been either slain or taken captive. With their home in ruins, the survivors had no choice but to flee to the South. So that's where the Inquisition has been all this time. Why attack Terris, though? If they're just trying to act out the Lord Ruler's will, why did they bother taking the Keepers captive instead of just killing them? I suppose that's a question for another time. Or, more accurately, another book. The old man asks Elend if he knows King Venture, and if he thinks he will take them in. It falls on Elend to deliver the grim news of Luthadel's likely fall. He doesn't tell the man who he is, though. Better safe than sorry, I guess. There's also the fact that telling the man would spur all kinds of difficult and embarrassing questions. The old man also asks Elend if he knows Tindwyl. When Elend tells him where she was when he left, the old man gains some hope. Her survival would mean much to his people, as, with the rest of the Synod presumably dead, it would fall on her to be their leader. damnation. At least Sazed still lives, but who's to say he's even capable of leading anyone after all he's been through. The whole world is falling apart, and the deepness hasn't even fully manifested itself yet. What a mess. Anyway, the old man grants Elend and Lestibournes permission to stay with them. Elend returns to Spook, who is currently sitting on a log, complaining about how the camp's bright fires are hurting his eyes and wasting wood. Holy crap! Really? Then why doesn't he turn off his tin, instead of squandering it like a freaking imbecile. Spook, seeing the poor condition of the people in this camp, says that the world is starting to fall apart. They have no where to go, and the whole world seems to become more hostile each day. He's losing hope, but Elend firmly asserts that Luthadel has not fallen, and that they will rebuild. Elend's confidence seems to cheer Spook up a bit, but Elend himself isn't even convinced by his own statement. He's ignored the ghosts, the deepness, and the even the Steel Inquisitors. What else? Well, he did completely miss the existence of his bastard misting siblings, but I suppose he wasn't to fault for that. End of Chapter 56 Kwaan wrote that he hoped that, by some miracle, Rashek might succeed. It's apparent that he did, but how did he pull it off? Alendi had to have known not to trust him, and from the sound of things, the supposed Hero of Ages had survived much bigger threats than jumped up, envious packmen. What exactly did Rashek do? How did he succeed in doing what so many others failed to accomplish?

Ah, I see. I didn't know that flaring pewter worked that way. If that's the case, though, then flaring Tin "sufficiently often" should have a similar lasting effect, no?

The epic and not so dissatisfying conclusion to the fifth Part. Part Five Chapter 54 Vin battles with the blue beasts. Okay, "battle" isn't exactly the right word for it. The koloss are hardly a match for her allomantic sorceries. She basically just slaughters the cute'n cuddly red eyed killing machines, and feels great about it, too. Vin has made a resolution. She will never kill for "shock or retribution" again. Good grief, and good riddance. Too bad there's no way shell hold to that resolution. I give her about two chapters to break it. Anyway, Vin is indeed powerful, but the koloss are persistent, and persistence always pays off in the end. Vin is running low on just about everything. She's killed a great many koloss, but before long Vin has no choice but to retreat from their relentless fury. Sazed has managed to gather together thousands of survivors, and they've made it all the way to keep Hasting safely. Unfortunately, Penrod is being big doodoo head. He refuses to heed Sazed's pleas for him to flee the city, open his gates, or even show his face at all. Dockson's messenger has somehow managed to survive amidst all the chaos, and he brings news of Dockson death to those standing outside the Hasting walls. The koloss have apparently finished making corpses out of the soldiers, but the real fun is only just beginning. There are hundreds of thousands of civilians in Luthadel, and they're next on the koloss' dinner menu. It's high time that Sazed and his followers got out of this place once and for all. After that timely announcement, Penrod finally shows. He refuses to go with Sazed, though, because it's to late. From the top of the keep, his Tin eye has been able to see what the koloss have done to all who tried to flee through the north gate, which just so happens to be where Sazed was headed. What's worse is that the beasts are on their way here, now. With that little bit of knowledge, Sazed decides to forget escape, and turns around and begs Penrod to be let them inside the keep. Penrod, dejected, just replies that there's no room, and walks back into the safety of his keep. Great. Now what? Vin runs, fights, and runs some more. She flies all the way to Kredik Shaw, which remains eerily untouched in a sea of fire, death, and koloss. It's here, at the Lord Rulers former capital, that her pewter finally runs out. Still she somehow manages kill a koloss and rescue a little girl, despite the fact that she's been pewter dragging for at least a day, and has been relying at least partially on pewter for the past several months. She shouldn't even be able to stand, much less run around a koloss infested city carrying a child. Anyway in a fit of desperation Vin hits a group of koloss with a blast of duralumin enhanced brass. The koloss, who were just about to lay waste to several skaa, stop dead in their tracks. Ah, so they are the same as the Kandra. I don't know how I didn't see this from a mile away. It seems so obvious now. Sazed stands, facing a large group of koloss that should be the death of him, but for some reason they do not attack. Vin walks out from the midst of the hideous creatures... Wait a second. Vin had two, maybe three vials worth of brass her stomach, right? The duralumin she used on the smaller group should have used up one of those, and the koloss that she's controlling now are much more numerous than the group she halted earlier. Also, I'm gonna assume that maintaining control of the koloss continually drains from her reserves, so...Shouldn't she have run out by now? Anyway, having two of her newfound koloss henchmen lift her up to the window. Vin addresses Penrod in his keep. She convinces him to have his men go back into the city to take care of the people. She, on the other hand, will take care of the rest of the koloss. The city's all but saved already. After Penrod leaves to prepare, she enquires as to everyone's well being, and asks Ham for some pewter. She does not, however, ask for brass. does this mean that she still has enough to stop the rest of the koloss? How? Does she not have to use duralumin to reverse their enraged state? Anyway, Vin and her koloss cronies return into the fray, and Sazed asks to be excused. Now that the situation seems to be under control, he goes to search for Tindwyl. It takes him all night, but he eventually finds her the next day. She didn't make it. As he weeps, holding her lifeless form, Sazed comes to a distressing realisation. His entire life is a sham. Great. Just great. Kill off the most smartest, prettiest, amazingest Terriswoman to ever live, and crush the spirit of the most influential Terrisman in generations. My world! My world has been shattered! End of chapter 54 Kwaan intended for Rashek to attempt to mislead alendi or to foil his plans in any way possible, because, as he puts it, they had all been deceived. Interesting word, that. "Deceived." It implies that an actua being, capable of deceit, was misleading them all along. Chapter 55 Straff's final day in this world starts off as a joyous one. He awakens to the sight of what seems to be a dead Luthadel, and it looks as if his dreams are finally going to come true. The happiness does not last long, though. Straff sees that the Koloss have arrayed themselves outside of the city, prepared for battle. What's worse, though, is that the Luthadel soldiers are on their side. As Straff turns his horse to move to a less precarious position for the oncoming battle, he sees something flying from the koloss army at perilous speeds. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's Vin Venture, come to bequeath unto him a one way ticket straight to hell. She descends from the sky, striking with lethal accuracy. Death literally comes swirling down. After severing Straff and his horse in half with her giant sword, Vin "smiles grimly". It's pretty messed up that she can smile at all after doing such gruesome deed, but I'll let that one slide, for now. Straff is dead! He's finally dead! Hallelujah! With Straff out of the picture, Vin moves on to his officers. Utilising duralumin and downing countless vials of metals, she fulfils Elend's promise to his father, laying waste to his commanding officers and all who happen to be near them. Cett watches the whole exchange from a safe distance. He apparently thinks that Straff still stands a chance, so when Allrianne comes, demanding that he assist Breezy, he tells her that he'll wait to see how it turns out, and then take Luthadel from the winning army. Heh, funny joke, that. He can't possibly be that stupid. Anyway. Allrianne suffers some sort of mad lapse in judgement, and she charges her horse towards the battlefield. Cett thinks about it for a while, and he eventually realises just how moronic his plan is. If he couldn't even hold on to his own kingdom, what in the name of all that is good and expedient makes him think that he could possibly hold Luthadel? Sazed rides, only half watching the battle. It seems that no amount of violence can take his mind from his recent loss. The thoughts of Tindwyl draw his mind to their studies together, and as he watches the battle unfold, and Cett join the Luthadel troops, all of the pieces begin to fall into place... The battle is over after barely an hour. Straff's army was utterly crushed. Of all of his generals, only Janarle was left alive. With the battle ended, Sazed approaches Vin, where he bears witness as she forces oaths of allegiance out of Penrod, Cett, and Janarle, on pain of death. Of course she has them swear to Elend, not herself, but still, what would Elend himself think of this? What Vin has done goes against everything he stands for, does it not? When she sees Sazed, Vin requests that he take care of whatever needs taking care of in her place, and she orders the three kings to follow Sazed's commands as if they were her own. She then sails off back on her enormous koloss sword to get some much needed rest back in the city. After the events that he's seen, Sazed seems to be fully convinced that Vin is the Hero, but what about the rubbing? Is he just going to ignore it? Does he not see the eery parallels between himself and Kwaan? End of Chapter 55 I worry that Vin may be gaining almost too much power. With duralumin and the koloss on her side, no one can stand against her. She could take over the entire world, if she wants to. Of course, Elend would have to hop the twig first, but there are a good five more chapters in this book for him to do that. What else...Ah! Yes. Vin's koloss sword. I forgot to address the sword. It sounds cool and all, but it just doesn't seem all that practical. It, more or less, negates her training in ordinary, pewterless combat; If she were too ever run out of pewter in a fight, she'd have to drop the sword and draw her daggers--an action that would, more than likely, get her killed. I'm curious to see if she continues to fight with the thing in the third book. That's a ways away, though, because the final, most enticing, chapters of this book are still ahead. For all I know, Vin may be turned into some sort of demigoddess, negating her need for ordinary weaponry. Or she might find herself maimed, ultimately resulting in the same thing. Anything could happen. End of Part Five

Part Five Chapter 52 The seething tempest that is KOLOSS batters at the Luthadel gates as Breeze, becoming more and more resigned to his fate, works on soothing the ill-trained Luthadel warriors' emotions. He comforts himself with the knowledge that Allrianne and Vin have escaped this carnage. I guess he'll be a bit disappointed when he finds that they're coming back, then. That is, if he lives that long. Clubs comes along, and, completely contradicting the thoughts in Breeze's mind--and mine as well-- says that the troops are actually doing well. He's been in several battles back in the day, and he's lost not a one of them, so his word is pretty reliable. Of course, he was always on the side of the koloss back then, so they're still totally screwed. Unless Vin can find a way to stop the Koloss, that is. Speaking of Vin, she's currently running desperately towards Luthadel, feeling hurt and betrayed by her friends' sacrifice. She pushes herself to absurd lengths, but still has no plan in mind for when she gets there. What does she hope to achieve if she does make it in time? There's no way she can possibly fight off so many Koloss with just her abilities alone. The way I see it, the best she can hope for is to rescue as many people as she can. This being a book, she'll most likely make it in time to save her friends. Most of them, anyway. Breeze and clubs share a few moving last words, in the end blaming Kelsier for their current predicament. Ah, yeah, there's always someone to blame for everything, isn't there? Shortly after this, heralded by masculine screams, the gates burst open. A messenger arrives and informs Sazed that the Zinc gate has been breached. Before the messenger leaves, Sazed tells him to relay to Dockson, basically, that he has no faith in himself, and that he wishes to be replaced. I don't see why he bothers. It's not like anyone else is any better off. The Penrod-appointed leader of this unit comes to Sazed shortly after, inquiring as to what the messenger had to say. What? Why didn't he listen in while the messenger was talking to Sazed? He is supposed to be in charge, after all. Anyway, Sazed tells him, and he doesn't take it too well. The poor guy is in distress-- absolutely petrified. Sazed, seeing that the young man is in way over his head--even more so than himself--gives the best advice he has to offer. He tells the man to give orders--any orders--just to let the men know he's in charge, give them someone to look to. The advice seems to help the young commander somewhat, but then they notice a group of skaa gathering behind them, watching. Waiting. Seizing the opportunity to distance himself from his responsibility, Sazed goes to convince them to return to hiding. When he speaks to the skaa, though, they refuse to leave their places, despite the fact that their "Holy First Witness" urges them to do so. That's right. These are Survivorists, and because he was the witness to Vins greatest triumph, in other words her, "coming of sanctity", they revere him as well. These people still cling to the hope that Vin will return to save them, and if she does come, they believe that she will first manifest herself to the holy witness. Heh, fair enough. Sazed tries to deny his sanctity, but disaster strikes first. The tempest crashes over the walls. The poor young inexperienced commander is the first to be dragged screaming into the depths of the afterlife by the bestial tsunami. Giant blue waves, each nearly ten feet in height, descend on the defenders, and the men scatter beneath their ferocious might. It looks as if the battle might already be lost, but Sazed steps up to the occasion and takes control of the rapidly deteriorating situation. Tapping enormous amounts of strength, he unleashes the beast within, super sizing feeble muscles, and transforming once bony fists into weapons of mass destruction. Not even the largest of the koloss is a match for his fearsome prowess. He gives his men words of encouragement, giving them the courage to face their monstrous adversaries with some degree of stability, but the koloss are relentless, and seemingly without number. The Luthadel defenders are still fighting a losing battle. Vin finally collapses from exhaustion. She's out of pewter dust, and just about out of hope as well. In order to keep on going, she has no choice but to begin using her vials of combined metals. Even then, she doesn't have enough pewter to take her all the way to Luthadel. She rises, and sees smoke in the distance. A city? No, a small skaa village. Upon making her way to the abode, Vin hears joyous sounds emanating from the occupied hovels. How can they be feeling any degree of happiness when there is a koloss army not five days from them? The sounds of happiness revitalise Vin's failing hopes. She then approaches one of the hovels and pounds on the door, asking for pewter. A woman and her husband open the door, and they, thinking that she's just a small child, ask her what happened to her parents. This might have been amusing at any other time, but Vin doesn't have time for their crap right now, so she soothes the couple into compliance. They tell her that they have silverware, but Vin doesn't have time to mix metals, so their forks and spoons won't do her much good. That's when it hits her. What she needs it's a spike way, which she doesn't have, but she could make her own. She asks the married couple for horse shoes, and the husband takes her to the stable, where they have a barrel-ful of the rusty things, which is apparently exactly what she needed. By this time, more of the village folk have come out to see whats going on. She takes a few of the horseshoes, and before she goes, the villagers ask her if she's...her. She replies with a simple "yes", and flies off. Great, now these people will have a nice tale to tell their children. That is, if they live that long. Using horse shoes like coins, Vin... Well, its hard to describe what Vin does. She sort of juggles herself, using the horseshoes as hands. I picture it as looking some sort of weird science fiction Rayman anomaly. Anyway, Juggling herself through the air, Vin continues her trek to Luthadel. Unlike with the Cett incident, this time her goal is strictly to save. although she will have to slaughter many to do so. It sort of helps that her victims won't be actual people, though. Then again, who's to say that Koloss aren't people? They're sentient, and have displayed rudimentary levels of intelligence on multiple occasions. Perhaps the wanton massacre of the beasts isn't quite so justifiable as I thought... Heh, what am I saying? They're just savages. It's an "us or them" situation, right? Right? End of Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Straff crests the hilltop overlooking Luthadel. He's on top of the world right now; He's managed to sniff out the drug that holds him, and he feels absolutely fantastic. He's starting to get on my nerves, now. I await justice. Gazing down at Luthadel, he sees that the koloss have broken through four of the gates. The gates were only breached one hour ago, though, which apparently isn't long enough for his plans, so he instructs his generals to wait a few hours before attacking. I see where this is going, now. I should never have believed that anything was too evil for this guy. If only he'd gone ahead and kicked the bucket earlier. Meanwhile, in Luthadel, the sea rages. Sazed, tapping daunting amounts of strength, weathers the storm with fierce perseverance, but he's consuming strength at an alarming rate, and his men are beginning to falter under the weight of the koloss' unfaltering rage. Still, the beasts have suffered severe losses. If the defenders are able to hold out until Vin arrives, there may yet be hope for them. As I said, the koloss have suffered some seriously hefty losses. Their sense of self preservation starts to kick in, and they begin to gather outside of the gate, creating an opening for Sazed. He seizes the opportunity, and, drawing even more strength and iron, is able to force the gates shut and singlehandedly hold them shut thanks to his outrageous weight. Unfortunately, he hasn't stored nearly as much weight as he has other attributes, so he's unable to hold the gates closed for long. The surviving human soldiers manage to slay the koloss inside the walls and, just before Sazed's weight runs out, bar the gate, granting themselves a moments respite. One of Docksons messengers shows up shortly after, bearing news of the Tin gate's--Tindwyl's gate's--fall more than an hour ago. Sazed is a bit preoccupied, though. Those gates won't hold for long, so all he can do now is stay put and hope for her safety. The koloss pound against the gates, Sazed taps strength in anticipation, the gates splinter, and their respite is ended. Breeze and Clubs fall back from the Zinc gate with their surviving men. The sea of red, blue, and steel is at their heels, its tide washing away all who are too weak to escape it's wrath. Basically, they're all knee deep in...dirt... at this point. I'm beginning to have doubts as to how many of them will survive this ordeal. Their plan was to fall back to keep Lekal, but on their way there they are sandwiched between two koloss forces. Clubs is the first to die in the ensuing skirmish. Faced with the towering koloss, his own feeble mortality, and the sight of his friend's lifeless body, Breeze's courage falters, and he flees into a building to hide. I guess as he's not quite as ready to die as he supposed. We get to see from Dockson's perspective for once. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the first time, right? Anyway, he talks to himself, trying to see what they could have done differently. Like everyone else, He blames Kelsier for the mess he's in, but unlike many, he actually seems more angry than frightened. There is a bit of happy news to be had here. Apparently Ham managed to survive the breach of his gate, and he's made it to Keep Lekal. Dockson isn't quite so lucky, though. The koloss finally break into Venture keep, bringing with them death and chaos in great abundance. Dockson meets his end with sword in hand. damnation. First clubs, and now Dox. Who's next? I've always found it kind of weird reading a characters death from their own point of view. I kind of liked Dockson. It sucks that he had to die, but I guess, in order to give some sort of significant meaning, or impact, to the event, some protagonist, or someone the protagonist deeply care about, had to go. Otherwise we might have something akin to that dreadful Amayar incident on our hands. Anyway, King Venture of the rotten heart watches from his hilltop as the koloss spread their chaos through Luthadel like a ravenous plague. The way he sees it. They actually deserve this, so when Janarle insists that he strike now before there's nothing left to save, Straff tells him to Let it burn. Let it all go up in flames. Janarle is taken aback by the statement, but that's no matter to Straff. Once all of this is over, he plans take care of Janarle, and all those who even slightly oppose him. He'll build a new, Straff centered city. No. Not city--universe! Allrianne begs her father to give aide to Breezy's city, but, as far as he can see, it's too late. He has no choice but to assist Straff, and pray to God that the evil bastard doesn't screw him over in the end. Which is great, because when he does betray him, Staff will be able to use that oh-so-popular evil line. That's right, you know the one. Allrianne doesn't take her fathers rejection all too well. She tells Cett that she misjudged him. That she thought he was a good man deep, deep, deep down on the inside. Ha, I wonder how she figured that. She need only look to Luthadel to see what happens to good men in a world without empathy. As her father so kindly points out. The good men are all dead. Oh, I don't know about that. Elend is still very much alive, and he's the goodliest of goodly men. Even if he did kill Jastes bloody Lekal. Anyway, I don't even see how this is an argument. Cett isn't exactly my definition of smart, wise, or even competent, but even he can see that they if his army were to attack now, they'd end up having to face down both Straff and the koloss. With the odds stacked so heavily against him, it's no wonder he's not willing to make a move. Sazed fights on, one beacon of defiance in a sea of rage, but his luck finally seems to run out. He runs out of strength. Decades worth, gone in a day. Sazed collapses, finally resigned to his fate. It almost looks like Sazed is going to go the way of Dickson and Clubs, but of course Vin arrives in the very knick of time to save him. Had she been even five seconds slower, he would just be another red stain on the already soot-stained snow. Vin sets to clearing the square with impressive displays of allomantic might, buying precious time for Sazed and his fellow surviving defenders. Sazed makes use of that time to get the now chanting Survivorist's organised and prepared to get out of this place. Things are starting too look slightly more positive. Breeze hides in a building, paralysed with fear as he listens to the sounds of the battle raging just outside his walls. Breeze thinks himself a coward, but a true coward would have fled this city months ago. He broke only when faced with absolutely certain death. Had he stood and faced that koloss, he would have died. As it is, he's just lucky that he somehow managed to get away. As Breeze wallows in abject guilt, reaching his absolute lowest point in the entire series, Ham, of all people, shows up. He's been injured, but he has Sazed and few soldiers with him. One of which says that it was Breeze's touch on their emotions that gave them strength to persevere. Really? I never would've guessed it from the way Breeze was thinking. Ham asks for Breeze's help, Why look to him? Can they not see that he is no longer himself? Clubs's death, and his own supposed cowardice, have left him a broken man. Sazed says that the soldiers can carry the wounded, but they can't keep staying here. Hopefully he counts the mentally damaged among the injured, because Breeze isn't going anywhere otherwise. End of Chapter 54 Kwaan had his spiteful nephew ensure to get himself chosen as Alendi's escort. As we already know. Wasn't this all mentioned before? I wonder why Sanderson chose to write this twice...

Ah, after refreshing my memory in a few areas, I can finally return to reading the book and writing this blog. The end is in sight, and it's about time I finished this book already. Part Five Chapter 51 The father they get from Luthadel, the further into the day mists linger. Vin notices this, thinking that they shouldn't be able to withstand the heat of the Sun. That... That's it! I get it now! I've finally uncovered the grand mystery. The mists are not, and never have been, the issue. It's the Sun. The Sun is dying. The freezing weather. The early/late mists. It all makes sense now! The farther they get from Luthadel, the weaker the thumping becomes. Vin has noticed this as well, and she fears that something has happened to weaken the Well. She still seems to believe that the pulsing--though weakening--continues to lead her in the right direction. Odd, that. Unlike Alendi, Vin is firm in her resolve. She doesn't question her calling, instead holding to more of an "It is what it is" stance. Is this a good or a bad thing? I suppose time will tell. Vin is dragged from her thoughts when she feels the mist spirit's malicious presence emanating from Elend's tent. She rushes to the tent to find the creature hovering over her husbands sleeping form in room. The Death draws it's incorporeal blade, and Vin brandishes her own obsidian daggers, somehow clashing with the incorporeal spirit's very corporeal blade. Apparently thinking better of the encounter, the mist spirit flees, taking the cold mists with it. Elend awakens shortly afterwards, asking Vin if anything is wrong. Vin tells him that she's just being jumpy again, but he should know that she's lying; she never says such things about herself. He doesn't, though, for whatever reason. Anyway, Vin exits their tent, leaving Elend to get some more shut eye. They're not in any hurry, after all. Upon returning to the outdoors, she finds that Spook has returned from his scouting, and he tells her that there are five men following them. Real men. Not made up mist ghosts. Vin tells him that she'll let Elend decide how to deal with them, but she thinks that they're just Straff scouts. Doubtful, that. They've been travelling for a while now, what reason would Straff's men have to follow them all this way? Vin and Spooks proceed to chat for a little while. Lestibournes says that Vin has changed, and she explains that she's finally made up her mind about where she's going in life. I can't help but comment on how she still thinks of him as a kid when he's less than two years younger than her. Why? Is it because he's never killed before? Or perhaps because he's not quite as uptight as the rest of them? Whatever it is, I do hope that he'll eventually manage to earn some respect from Vin and the Crew. Anyway, Spooks goes on to tell Vin that he wants to be needed. He wishes that he was Mistborn. He says that he's weak and cowardly, but if he were powerful, like Vin, he'd be able to make a difference--to save people. Vin doesn't have any words of encouragement to offer him. She doesn't even get where he's coming from. Clearly he's lost someone--or, more accurately, several people. The perspective shifts to Sazed here, which is where it should've started, in my humble opinion. Picking up right where his last chapter left off, he runs to the top of the wall, where he meets with Ham, Clubs, and the rest. There is a massive brawl going down in the koloss ranks. It looks like a hopeful sign at first, but, like everything that's happened recently, it turns out to be a sign of impending doom. According to Tindwyl, The koloss always begin their battles by fighting amongst themselves and enraging their ranks. Hmm. I wonder if Jastes is still alive down there. Dockson and Clubs immediately begin dispersing troops as the koloss begin charging towards Luthadel's ill defended walls, and ash begins to fall from the sky. How fitting. Straff, still weak from his earlier brush with death, is riding away from the city when a messenger arrives with the good news. He immediately orders his men to turn around and return to city-- but to take their time doing so. He's a conniving, pox ridden, bastard, but it looks like he actually will be going back to save the Luthadel. I guess not even Straff is evil enough to let an entire city be slaughtered. Sazed stands atop his watchtower, watching the koloss--the raging doom--unfurl themselves. Luthadel was not prepared for this. They never could be prepared. The creatures they face are much more than a simple army. These are koloss! A force of nature! Easier to cool the burning fire than to escape their wrath. Easier to halt the wind. Easier to move the ash mounts! Easier to calm the raging tempest! Waaagh! Erm. With their uprooted trees and vicious snarls, the Koloss reach the walls. They batter the gates, and men begin to die. They choose to spread out and strike at several gates at once, and the end grows nearer still. I guess the koloss aren't all that stupid after all. I mean, they're smart enough to use battering rams. Meanwhile, away from Luthadel, Vin attacks the camp of the men following them. This time, not taking any lives unnecessarily. A man steps out of one of the tents, and, Lo and behold! It's none other than Jastes Lekal himself. Ha! When he sees his imbecilic former friend, Elend steps out of the bushes he was hiding behind during the skirmish. Jastes, upon seeing Elend, requests to travel with them. Elend, of course, just wants to know what Jastes did with his Koloss, so Jastes explains in detail exactly how it all went down. Assuming that he isn't lying, he actually took Elend advice and tried to get the koloss to pull back, but they refused, becoming even more unruly. Things quickly began to fall apart from there, culminating with his coins somehow being set ablaze. Seeing the serious peril they were in, Jastes and his few surviving men skedaddled. Can you really blame him for that, though? Elend can, apparently. He is outraged, to say the least. Jastes brought that army of savages to his city, and now has the audacity to come to Elend, begging to ride with him? When Jastes steps forward, begging forgiveness, Elend, shooting some self righteous one liner, draws his blade and cleaves his former friends head from his shoulders. Woah. This took me entirely by surprise, and not in a very good way. Did Jastes deserve to die? Absolutely. Did Elend have the right to be the one to dispense justice? It's hard to say. Was there any real need for him to do this? No. He could have just sent Jastes away; it would have amounted to the same thing in the end, but at least then Elend's hands would be clean. Now they are stained with the blood of a man he once named friend. Who knows how this will haunt him in the days to come? After ordering Lekal's men to bury him, Elend walks off into the trees. Vin follows him and comforts him as he spills his insides to her. He hopes that the koloss will at least attack Straff's army instead of the city, but Lestibournes comes along and spoils that hope. See, it turns out that Spooks actually knew all along about Sazed plan, and he tells Vin and Elend all about it now. He says that he's a coward, and that he went along because didn't want to die, which is understandable. It's not like he could have made any difference by sticking around in that doomed city. Running away was probably one of the wiser decisions he's made in his life. Elend is shocked, and takes a few steps toward Spook, but when he realises what he's doing--or what it looks like he's about to do, anyway--he tells "the boy" that he isn't angry at him. Only ashamed. Ha! Says the man who just slew an unarmed man. Why should Spooks feel ashamed? All he did was spare himself from a, more or less, completely meaningless death. Vin begins to panic, realising why the thumping has been growing weaker. They're going the wrong way. She then tells Elend that the Well must be in Luthadel, and she fears that Sazed may have doomed them all with his good intentions. Wouldn't that be just like him? Elend, selfless man that he is, tells Vin to pewter drag back to the city ahead of him and Spook, but One Mistborn isn't going to make a hell of a lot of a difference against twenty thousand koloss. Especially one that's already been worn half to death by pewter dragging. End of chapter 51 Alendi continued to ignore Kwaan's objections in favour of his new counsellors. I'm pretty sure there's a name for situations like this, but it eludes me presently.

I'm back with the beginning of Part Five! Snow and Ash is the title, which Seems pretty fitting to me. Part Five Chapter 49 Its the beginning of a new day, and hopefully the dawn of a new saga in Elend and Vin's relationship. They're just about ready to be on their way, but Elend and Tindwyl are having a bit of a disagreement. She's really ripping on him for abandoning the city in its most dire time of need. She says that Vin's reasons for wanting to go north are insane―and they would be, were this not a fantasy book series. Elend knows that what they're doing seems a bit crazy, but he'll go along with it because he wants to support Vin's choice. He's well and truly besotted, the poor fool. Since Elend refuses to see reason, Tindwyl gets a bit testy. Again. Prompting Elend to rudely command her to leave, prompting her to storm off in rage. That seemed a little uncalled for. Besides, he's no longer king, and she's no longer in his house, so he doesn't really have any right to speak to her this way any more. Vin is grateful to Elend for defending her honour, and, as if to give truth to Tindwyl's claims, she confesses to him that she continues to see the mist spirit. She also tells him about the thumping, which she apparently doesn't even need bronze to hear any more. Elend finds it difficult to believe her, but he's trying to. Good for him. While they wait for Lestibournes to arrive, they check Sazed's false map, choose a false route, and grab the books that Tindwyl left with them before she stormed off. When Spooks arrives, bearing with him a large sack of pewter, Allrianne also shows up with her pack horses. Did she not come to the city with absolutely nothing? Where did she get enough belongings to burden two horses with? Anyway, Vin tries to blow her off, telling her that they don't need, want, or even like her. Elend calls that being blunt; I simply call that being rude. Or is that what blunt" means these days? What did Allrianne do to deserve such treatment, anyway? I know she's annoying, but that doesn't warrant such cruel words. Can't Vin be diplomatic for a change? Anyway, If that was an attempt to get her to back off, it was a failure. Vin's words side off Allrianne like water off a ducks back. Vin, of all people, should know that Allrianne is more than she lets on. Besides, Vin's probably the only one who can get out of this city without being caught by Straff or Jastes. How else, besides going with her, is Allriane supposed to escape the oncoming massacre? Oh, that's right. Vin doesn't yet know that the inhabitants of Luthadel are about to experience Death by Koloss on a scale never before witnessed in this world. They really have no way of stopping Allriane from tagging along, so Elend, ever the voice of reason, permits her to come with them. They get going, and Elend takes note of how skilled a rider Allrianne is. Now, why would a spoiled, prissy little princess like her need to be such a proficient rider? The doomed citizens of Luthadel watch their group as they make their way to the gate, and Elend feels a deep mortification for abandoning them. When they reach the city gate, though, Vin turns to addresses the people. She tells them that they aren't being abandoned. That she and Elend will return with help. If only she knew. Shortly after leaving the city, the group is intercepted by a platoon of Straff's men. Using the pewter in Lestibourne's sack, Vin creates a dust storm and confronts the soldiers, giving the rest of the group an opportunity to get away. She's getting even more skilled with her use of duralumin, and it takes her no time at all to dispatch with her outmatched assailants and catch up with Elend and the rest. As soon as they're out of harms way, Allrianne thanks the coterie for their assistance and rides off without another word, no doubt causing Vin a great deal of relief. Going off like that all on her own, though? Seems a bit risky, even for an allomancer. Unless she's Mistborn, of course, but considering what Cett said, that's pretty unlikely. Breeze stands with the rest if the group, watching their only Mistborn―their only hope―leave the premises, sealing their fates even more tightly. It's okay, though, because even though every single one of them is going to die, at least Vin and Elend got away safely. Sazed and Clubs end up getting into an argument about Demoux's Survivorism, and Sazed's seeming lack of any true belief system. Sazed is confronted with how ridiculous his religious beliefs appear to normal people. They then notice a large smoke cloud billowing up from koloss camp. No one knows what it is, but is too big to be coming from the tents. Breeze thinks it doesn't matter now, bit it may just spell their salvation! The smoke must somehow be a message from Marsh! "On the dawn of the third day, look to the East." The Inquisitors will come to save them, falling upon the koloss in a blaze of fire and death! The bloody destruction! It will be glorious! Almost as glorious as it is implausible... Straff is sick, and I don't just mean that he's a sick, despicable human being. No, he's actually really sick. Deathly ill, in fact. He can hardly even stand. A messenger comes to him bearing news of the riders who fled the city. Upon being informed of their escape, he collapses from extreme dizziness and rage. The messenger calls for the healer, but Straff believes that this is Zane's doing, so he demands that Amaranta be brought to him instead. She is quick to arrive and begin fixing his antidote, but Straff notices something wrong this time. She's brewing the wrong brew. He demands to know what she's doing. Yes, what is she doing? A mad series of revelations follow this inquiry, starting with Zane and Amaranta being "pillow friends", and ending with Amaranta getting Straff hooked on some unknown drug. So addicted to it that he literally cannot live without it. Without her. All this time, what he thought was poison was simply his addiction rearing its needy head. In a fit of mad delirium, Straff strangles the life out of his former mistress, effectively ending his own as well. With his only hope of survival dead at his feet, he has no choice but to try to find this mystery drug by himself. He desperately begins brewing on his own, throwing in herbs practically at random, hoping that one of them is the weed that he's addicted to. He downs the emergency compound and drifts into sweet unconsciousness. His fate remains unknown. I feel like I should have foreseen something like this happening. Unlike with Oreseur, there were a few hints at this. Is Straff finally done for, or does he yet cling to the land of the living? While this would be a fittingly dramatic death for him, it feels a bit too soon. End of Chapter 49 Kwaam says that he has no doubt that if Alendi gets to the Well, he will willingly give up it's power. What? Then why the hell...? Could it be that the Well itself, not Alendi, is the problem? Why have him killed, then? Was giving up the power the issue? Was it that so much power could not be allowed to be completely unchained? Or does it have something to do with the the misty death? Or Zod, maybe? Chapter 50 This chapter begins with a brand new perspective: Allrianne. I'd say that it's a bit late for new PoV, but Elend's first chapter was pretty deep into book one. During her travels, Allriane stumbled upon a group of "base men"―in other words, "Bandits." She, using promises of untold wealth and her formidable rioting talents, latched on to them and got them to escort her to her father's camp. My question is: If she wanted to go back home with Ashweather(Yes, I still remember his first name), then why in the blazes did she not she leave with him in the first place? Allrianne enters the command tent, and Cett actually seems to have been genuinely worried about her. It doesn't even seem to be a result of her rioting, either. Yes, she uses emotional allomancy on her own father as well, because no one is off limits. Allrianne is a lot like a much prettier, much younger, "Breezy". It's almost as if the two of them were made for eachother. Albeit several decades apart... Anyway there's apparently a rebellion back in the Cett's homeland. It's being led by a former obligator, from the sounds of things. Cett can't hold onto homeland. That's why he seemed so desperate to get the city. With no mistings and no allies, he has no where to go. Seriously? If I recall correctly, he had around seven mistings before he made the thoughtless decision to besiege Luthadel. He should've spent more time trying to train his one living mistborn, then, instead of squandering him in a failed attempt to get rid of Vin. What a dumbass. Allrianne doesn't seem all that sympathetic. She told him before to seek an alliance, and she now advises that he stick around to assist one of the kings in the upcoming battle. From the beginning, their only chances were to return home with friends or money, and since the money thing didn't pan out, they must acquire friends. He won't be assisting Jastes, so the chances are he'll end up siding with Straff. Then again, no one with half a brain would trust Straff. It isn't much, but it's the most Allrianne can do... for Breezy. It's Elend's third day away from Luthadel, and the last two nights have been two very good nights indeed for the former king. He looks down at Vin, and realizes as he kisses her forehead that he doesn't care if he doesn't know everything about her, he loves her anyway. Meanwhile, back in Luthadel, Breeze and Co. partake in their last meals as they, sick with fear, prepare to say goodbye to this cruel world. Vin, aka the woman who finally has a damnation surname(Vin Venture? Try saying that three times fast), awakens, and they engage in light banter as she gets dressed. Woah! Deja vu... They've been taking the trip slowly because, well, what's the rush? It's not like the fate of an entire city, not to mention the world, rests upon their shoulders. I almost forgot that Lestibournes is with them. He's basically their packman/guide. Heh, he must be seething with envy right now. Woah... deja vu. Anyway, Vin seems to be being bothered by something. As she easily hacks down a tree for firewood, Spook tells Elend that he feels useless when she's around; She does everything better than him. He's telling this to the wrong person. Elend doesn't even have an allomantic ability, imagine what it feels like for him. Elend says as much, to which Lestibournes replies that people at least respect Elend, but they always look down on him. Eh. The grass is always greener and all that jazz. Elend tries to cheer Spook up, telling him that they brought him along for his talents. He then asks him if he's seen anything. Spook tells him that Straff's soldieres quit following them a while back, but he catches glimpses of someone else from time. Not someone, something. That's at least what Vin seems to think. She finished chopping that firewood in record time,(Who does she think she is? Abraham Lincoln?) and she shares her wacknut theories with them. Spook and Elend share a look. Lestibournes clearly thinks she's a total nutjob, but Elend just tells her that it should be okay as long as it stays out of there way. Straff wakes up. Holy guacamole! He's alive! He...aches, though. One of the healers is with him. Says he's been out for three days, and that he should by rights be a dead man. One of the generals, a man named Janarle, is currently in charge of the army, but he hasn't dared to have Straff killed for fear of retribution from Zane. Straff laughs, and asks the guards what happened to Vin. They tell him that she fled with Elend, but Straff thinks that it was Zane who got rid of her. Which actually isn't all that far from the truth. With all of his fears out of the way, Straff finally asks of the koloss. Upon hearing that they've become restless, he immediately orders his troops to pull back. I guess that's it, then. I think this chapter has set a record for perspective shifts. The fourth PoV is Sazed. He sits at a table. For the past couple of days, he's been filling several small rings with physical and mental attributes. He's storing everything that can be stored, even health, and brain cells. Evidently, he's in pretty nasty shape right now. Clubs pops in with the nasty news. Straff has finally left. Penrod sent messengers to him, but Straff either refused to heed them or simply had them executed. Penrod tried slipping a few nobles out of the city, but Straff killed them too. Penrod even tried sending a messenger to Jastes, but that man did not return. After sharing the surety of their imminent demise, Clubs gets himself some soup, and Sazed, despite their earlier disagreement, takes this opportunity to suggest a religion for Clubs. Dadradah, the artist's religion. I had forgotten that Clubs was a carpenter. Sazed remmebered, though, and he hands him a wooden symbol of their faith. Clubs stares at the thing for While, then tells Sazed that "his woman" is looking for him, and Sazed promptly goes to meet with her. Sazed finds Tindwyl with Dockson and a few others in the keep ballroom, gathered around Marsh's old map of Luthadel. When Sazed see the map, he finally remembers his old friend and wonders where he is now. He's in the city I'm sure. Still have no idea what he's doing, though. Anyway, Tindwyl waves Sazed over, and he joins the group. Penrod has put noblemen in command of all twenty military regiments, and Dockson, unsurprisingly, is not happy with this arrangement. He wants someone competent near each gate, just in case things get nasty. He obviously doesn't think highly of nobles, but that's nothing new. With Elend out of the way, Dox has full control of the crew, which, to be honest, should have been the case to begin with. Any messengers Sazed and the rest need to send must return to the Venture ball room, where Dockson himself will be stationed. Sazed he appoints to the Steel gate. The Terrisman is fine with the arrangement as long as Dockson has his men respect the chain of command. With their last plans out of the way, Sazed requests that Tindwyl speak with him in private. When they go off alone, he tells her that there's nothing here for her, and asks why she chose to stay. She retorts that there isn't anything here for him either. She also disagrees with his decision to send away their leaders, as survival is not befit a leader. In other words, she believes that a captain should go down with his ship. I've never really understood that sentiment, to be honest. If the captain survives, he may be able go on to command larger, greater ships, but if he's dead, he's just mud. I guess that's besides the point, though. Tindwyl goes on to say that the Luthadelians, even Dockson and the Crew, still cling to the hope that Vin might save them. She says that he sent away their hope, and they should not die feeling betrayed. Oh, I imagine betrayal will be the last thing on their minds as those koloss blades bite into their soft, vulnerable flesh... Erm, anyway. Sazed asks her if that's the reason for her staying, then: stubbornness and hope? She replies that it is neither, and they embrace. As they hold eachother, the warning drums begin to beat. The final countdown has begun at last. Luthadel's final hour approaches. End of Chapter 50 "I took a leap of Faith. Made one final gamble.", Kwaan wrote. The gamble, I'm sure, was sending Rashek out to do the nasty job of slaying the world's only hope.

Good, I mean, that makes me feel better about myself.

Ah, that's right! Thanks, I'd forgotten about that. There are so many better questions about their purpose, but I can't help asking, "How do they sleep with all those spikes in them?"

Eleven? Dang. No wonder he's so grim all the time. haha I wonder where they're all placed...

I have, at long last, reached the conclusion to the fourth Part, and I have even more questions than when I started it. Part Four Chapter 47 Vin stands on her balcony, disturbed by how un-bothered she sometimes is by all the lives she's taken. Bemoaning how complicated everything has become. She's stretched herself too thin, so she's had trouble succeeding in anything she's set out to accomplish recently. She doesn't even know what's right any more, and the Well is still out there, pulsing ever more intensely. Waiting for someone to come and free it's power. Her thoughts are a real mess. Oreseur pads out to check up in her. When he inquires what she's thinking about, she replies "The end." No matter what decision she makes it'll be an end. Oreseur doesn't have any sage like wisdom for her. All he tells her that she's being excessively dramatic, and to just get on with it and make the decision. Excessively dramatic? How about the fact that if Vin isn't able to get her head on straight, the entire world may be doomed. That's excessively dramatic. When she mentions that Sazed would have had more to say, Oreseur reveals that he doesn't much like Terrismen; They are pretentious, and their muscles are far too stringy. Its a testament to how far their relationship has come that Vin doesn't even flinch at his comment. I suppose she's finally come to accept her place in the food chain. Vin returns to her room, and Zane arrives on her balcony shortly after, echoing Zod's words at the end of the previous chapter, he tells her that it's "Time to go." He proceeds to bombard her with all his arguments from the past several weeks, but she's unwilling to abandon the city in its time of need. So Zane tries something new. He he tells her that she'll actually doing the city b favour by getting rid of Straff's one and only Mistborn. As if that weren't enough, He lies that Straff will think she's still in the city. Vin seems to be convinced at first, and she reluctantly allows him to draw her away. When she draws her metals, though, Zane spins in alarm. This act if distrust alerts her to the fact that she's making a terrible mistake. She changes her mind at the last minute, and telling Zane that she can't go. Zane for the very first time shows some emotion, demanding to know why. She replies with Trust.. Zane does not―and probably never will―trust her, but Elend loves and trusts her wholly and completely. Indeed, she'd have to be a cruel piece of work to betray that trust, and a complete and total moron to give up a relationship like that in exchange for this. Zane confesses his love for her, but still she rejects him. He becomes desperately enraged. Zane has apparently never been rejected before, and seeing his failure―seeing that all his work on her was wasted―causes him to snap. He attacks her, complaining about how she was supposed to save him, and moaning that she has now forced him to continue on as Straff's tool. It's not all that bad, right? I thought he said he loved his father! Vin has no way of fighting back against an atium burner, so she tries to get to Oreseur. When she reaches him, he, in seeming infraction of his contract, refuses to open his shoulder. That's when Zane reveals the big mystery. Oreseur is actually his kandra. Oreseur has been the impostor al along! His real name is Tensoon, and he's been with her ever since she fetched that dog's body. In other Tensoon walks over to stand by his true master, his expression exuding shame. A kandra, kandra. Brilliant. Not once did that thought even occur to me. How did they kill the real Oreseur, though? I'm guessing that either Zane knows how to do it, or Kandra aren't forbidden from killing one another, so he just ordered Tensoon to do it. Anyway, Vin tries everything, duralumin included, but Tensoon knew too much. He told Zane about the eleventh metal, and Zane managed to make some for himself. Since he's going to kill her anyway, Zane spills everything he's done, all his lies and manipulations. All this time he's been telling her that Elend was using her when he's been trying to use her to save himself. She never should have trusted him. Then again, I've been saying that for pretty much the entire book. Zane proceeds to give Vin a fairly well earned beating. He then throws her to the ground, kisses her, and stabs her in the side. damnation, the bastard's really gone off the deep end...oh wait. Tensoon takes action, betraying his master and saving Vin's life by alerting Zane to Vin's knowledge of the kandra's secret. The warning functions as an extremely thinly veiled hint to Vin. Vin reaches out, soothing tensoon with duralumin. She doesnt let up when he howls this time, and somehow takes control of him, using him to knock over Zane and get to the atium in his shoulder. She appears to have finally evened the odds, but it turns out that Zane's gift was mostly lead. He wasn't taking any chances. It looks like this is the end for Vin, but then she sees it. The atium burner's weakness. Using atium, Zane is able to accurately predict the future, and moves in advance to intercept attacks that have yet to strike. Through Zane's premature movements, Vin is able to see what she is about to do and alter her attack at the last moment, taking Zane by surprise and stabbing him in the throat. It switches to Zanes perspective as he lies dying at Vin's feet. He thought she could save him. She was the only person who Zod never gave him the urge to kill. To that thought, Zod replies that he wouldn't tell him to kill her. What does that mean? Why the hell not? As Zane his last breath, Zod tells him something that's apparently funny. The "Mad Bastard" isn't actually mad at all, and he never was. The spike. The voice. His inquisitor esque blood thirst. It all must have it's roots in this entity. What are Zod's plans? Why does he want Vin to make it to the Well? What's he planning on doing with the power if he gets his hands on it? So many questions. Also, how did Zane become this way? Could the lord ruler have put a part of himself in every inquisitor. Could he still live on in them, influencing their actions? Maybe he needs the power of the Well to fully revive himself? That would be pretty awesome. Although, it smacks of crackpot theorism to me. The Lord Ruler said that by killing him, they doomed the world. Could Zod be the "doom" that he spoke of? If that's the case, though, what about the deepness? Anyway, that's enough theorising for now. Back to Vin. She watches Zane as he dies. That's it, then. No miraculous recovery, no dramatic last words. One minute he has the absolute advantage; the next he's mud. It sucks too. I kind of liked Zane in a disdainful way. I still wanted him dead, of course. I can hardly believe I'm actually sorry to see him go now. Vin checks up on Tensoon. He's going to be fine. He'll use the old canine bones to repair himself, then return to his people―possibly for execution. Vin, on the other hand, is bleeding heavily, and she's losing consciousness. Instead of going to Sazed for treatment, though, she runs to Elend. With Vin's bloody choice out of the way, she can finally put this nasty business behind her and get back to what's truly important. Like finding a way to save Luthadel. Humph! End of Chapter 47 Kwaan says Alendi was a good man, despite all the heinous crimes he apparently committed. His deeds apparently hurt him deeply, but he did what he had to. He followed the golden path. Sounds kinda like a certain other hero from a certain other series. His good heartedness did not save him from my all encompassing hatred, though. Chapter 48 Elend is, working on duplicating Jastes's fake wooden coins. If he can manage to fetch more wood than Jastes, he hopes to be able to bribe the Koloss out of their bloodlust. Not bloody likely, but at least he's still trying. By the way, Can koloss be soothed? It seems like Elend should be looking into that. Maybe he could have Vin capture one of the koloss from Jastes camp and set her and Breeze to work on figuring out what makes them tick. Then again. being creations of the Lord Ruler, they probably work the same way as the kandra. Vin suddenly bursts in, sobbing, and bleeding everywhere, rambling about how she killed his brother. Elend is understandably alarmed, more so by her messed up condition than by what uses saying. Before asking any questions, he takes her to Sazed. He's probably never seen her this way. Nor will he ever again, most likely; the next time she's like this will probably be over his dead or dying body. Sazed is sleeping when they come to him, but he's quick to awaken(possibly another awesome perk of being a feruchemist?) and get to work the dying Mistborn ― well, actually as Sazed points out. she's not dying. She isn't even hurt that badly, just a little scratched up, is all. As Sazed works on her, Vin tells Elend something about Kelsier. She says that she's been focusing too much on his less admirable traits, but what was truly special about him was his ability to trust―to make good people into better people. That may be so, but he still had that dark hatred inside of him, and I couldn't help but despise a character who killed with such apparent pleasure. It was actually saving Elends life―thereby seemingly turning his back on his "inner Zod"―that redeemed him. In my eyes, anyway. Vin goes on to say that Elend is a better man than Kelsier ever was, and that Kelsier could have learned a great deal from him. It's bloody well about time that she realised that. She then surprises him by requesting that Sazed perform the shortest marriage ritual he knows, right here, right now. Sazed obliges, and they're wed right in Sazed's bedchamber, using the Larsta love oath, which apparently allows for no possibility of divorce. Not that they'll need one anyway. I must say that I didn't expect them to get married until at least the end of the book. The fact that it's happening now makes me even more sure that Elend isn't gonna make it. After the incredibly short and actually-not-quite-so-impulsive-as-it-appears wedding, Sazed finishes treating Vin's wounds, and after an apology and a few kind words are shared, Sazed initiates plan "Save the Hero―I Mean King". He claims to have figured out where the Well is, and he tells them that he can craft a map from his metal minds. He's obviously full of it, but Vin has no reason to believe that Sazed would lie, so she promptly announces that she :has. to go, despite the fact that she just got married not five minutes ago. Sazed tells Elend that he should go with Vin, and lays out the plan he and the crew made up. Elend will flee, helping Vin to free the power of the Well, which Sazed claims will destroy the koloss, somehow change Vin, and save the entire world. It'll be the best honeymoon ever! Meanwhile, back in Luthadel, Straff will take the city peacefully, and, after releasing the power at the Well, Vin and Elend will organise resistance from the outside. Sazed says that if Elend can convince the Synod that an alliance would be mutually beneficiary, they may be willing to offer military aid. I'd be surprised if the Terris even have an army. With all the planning out of the way, Elend takes Vin and they leave to get their rest, fully intent on leaving the very next day. Sazed's plan seems to have been a smashing success. The book now switches to Sazed's PoV, where it is revealed that―surprise!―everything he told them was a bunch of equine feces. Sazed returns to his room to begin work on the fake map that he promised to have ready for Vin and Elend. Maybe this will turn out to be a positive thing? I mean, its pretty obvious that something, or someone, wants Vin to get to the Well. Perhaps leading her astray will give Sazed time to figure out who, what, and why before rushing to this so called Well of Ascension. End Of Chapter 48 Most likely, now that the Zane problem has been dealt with, the book can begin to shift more of it's focus to the great mystery and the siege, which I imagine will be concluded in the next Part. I don't want to believe that Sanderson would simply kill off all of his characters like this, so there's got to be some short if salvation around the bend, right? I can't really see what it is now, though. End of Part Four

Part 4 Chapter 45 Sazed and Tindwyl are still at it. They've been at it for weeks now, and Tindwyl has been awake for practically the entire time. Just one more example of the awesome practicality of feruchemy. They've made some pretty decent progress. The mention of the names "Rabzeen" and "Anamnesor" in the rubbings have given them a link between Kwaan's inscribings and the histories from their Tinminds. The Rabzeen was apparently fortold to be of Khlennium, and he was supposed to either fight the conqueror, or be the Conqueror. He was also said to be "not of his people, yet fulfilling all of their wishes." Whatever the fudge that means. Yes, I said "fudge". What of it? Tindwyl, ever the sceptic, reveals that she does not believe in the prophecies that she's spent all this time studying so fervently. She especially does not believe that Vin is some mystical hero, or that there even is such a thing as the Hero of Ages, as it's just too convenient. She does, however, believe that the deepness is a real, recurring, non supernatural phenomenon, and that the histories may hold the key to repelling it once more. Sazed, on the other hand, is kind of obligated to believe the prophecies. He's still not sure weather or not Vin is the Hero, though. Tindwyl kindly reminds him of what happened the last time some smart chull assumed he had found this supposed Hero, but it's pretty clear that they're never going to completely agree on this, so they, as mature adults, agree to disagree. Tindywl and Sazed then move on to the subject of Cett's sudden removal from the city. Tindwyl, like Elend, thinks this may be a good thing, but the usually optomistic Sazed, aka "Mr. Maybe the Koloss aren't so bad after all", has dark premonitions. He says that they need to be done with this research as soon as possible. When they return to their research, they find a passage ripped out of the corner of one of the pages. Upon further investigation, they find that the exact same passage has been torn from every single written recording of that passage, including the rubbing. What's even more creepy is that the tears are completely identical. Eery. Fortunately, Sazed has the passage memorized. It's the one that says Alendi must not be allowed to reach the Well. Why, it's almost as if someone, or something, actually wants Vin to reach the Well, and there's only one creature that could be capable of making tears like this. The Misty Death. But if it truly wants Vin to reach the Well, why did it try to kill her earlier? Also, with it being invisible and all, it's safe to assume that it's been watching the two of them for a while. If that's the case, how is it that it is unaware of their feruchemical abilities? Vin shows up with damnation near Zane-level timing. After promptly requesting that Tindwy leave the room, Vin asks Sazed about...love. She thinks she's bad for Elend, and wonders if sure should break it off. Sazed, despite being a complete novice in these matters, manages to give her some decent advice. Vin also wants to know how to proceed if she's found someone else who may be more compatible with her. Ha! If Sazed actually knew the bastard, he'd be able to tell her with confidence that Zane isn't "right" for anyone. He doesn't, unfortunately, so he can't really help her in this matter. She's helped him, though; Sazed now knows that there is indeed another mistborn. Will he tell Elend? Hell no! After Vin leaves the room, Sazed opens the door to find that Tindwyl was eavesdropping on their entire conversation. She makes some sniding, but true, comment about Vin's stability. Or lack thereof. Sazed defends his young freind, of course, but Tyndwyl points out--rightly so--that she's raised fifteen daughters. How many has Sazed raised? I think I may have forgotten. They prepare to return to study, but before they can even start, Elend shows up, excusing Tindwyl from thhe room. He also wants to talk about his relationship. Why the heck do they come to Sazed for relationship advice? Are they not aware of the fact that he's a eunoch, and has never actually been in a long-lasting relationship? I mean, wouldn't someone else be more appropriate. Like Ham; He's actually married, and has been for a while. Elend asks the same questions that Vin did, minus the :second option:. Sazed gives Elend a slightly better answer than he gave Vin, using a rather clever, non sexual, analogy regarding locks and keys. Elend complements him greatly, and Sazed becomes the first character besides Vin to flush in embarrassment. I was beginning to think that she was the only one capable of such displays. Anyway, Elend allows Tindwyl back into room, and they're finally free to return to their study. Sazed is still destracted by thoughts of the young couple, though. While thinking of them, Sazed suddenly realizes that if Vin really is the Hero, he needs to get her and Elend away from the city. To save them from the grisly demise that surely awaits them here. With that in mind, he abandons his research and begins crafting a few letters... End Of Chapter 45 "The two are not the same." I'm not sure why, but this line sent chills down my spine. Chapter 46 This chapter hits it off... with Breeze, which is nice, because there's always something new to learn about him. Like how he experiences light-headedness sometimes when he gets up, or, like how he's a full blooded noble! I suppose this explains why he wasn't willing to pose as a nobleman way back in "The Final Empire". How he's managed to keep this a secret for so long, I do not know. Anyway, he's recieved a letter from Sazed. A letter that smacks of secrecy, treachery, and deceit. So he arises from his comfy abode with Allrianne and makes his way to the meeting place--but not before feeling a twinge of guilt for his forbidden relationship with the teenage girl. Anyway, when he finds the room, he finds two guards stationed in front of the door. He suspects a trap at first, but once he's reasonably sure that simply entering the room won't be incriminating, he walks in. Once he enters, he promptly asks Sazed if this is some kind of trap. Sazed obviously doesn't understand the grievous errors he's made, so Breeze kindly points out how obviously "hidden" this meeting is, and offers a bit friendly advice on sneaking around properly. Seriously, what's the point of the guards? It's not like they'd dare to stop Elend or Vin from waltzing in, anyway. Clubs is the next to arrive, and Ham shows up not long after him. Sazed apparently invited every member of the Crew except for the former king, the Mistborn, and the Spook. If that doesn't spell treachery, then I don't know what does. Dockson is the last to show up, and he most certainly has treason on his mind. He's obviously in a rotten mood, too. He says that they should transfer their services to Penrod. To Preserve the city that Kelsier bestowed upon them--to preserve the work that they've put into this city. Funny, because handing the city to Straff would undo just about everything they've done here, and it's the last thing their beloved Survivor would have wanted them to do. Dockson's blatant traitorism provokes Ham, and they quickly begin to squable. So much so that Breeze has to step in and give each of them a mental slap before things get too heated. Meanwhile, Sazed, the orchestrator if this meet, watches the exchange between the two "cornered animals" speechlessly. Breeze says that Straff isn't going to slaughter them, so Dockson's plan won't save them. He then goes on to explain to the group that death by koloss is what awaits them. Dox suggests that they just give the city to Straff to avoid this. Isn't that what he was already advocating with his suggestion to work with Penrod? Besides, as Ham points out, Kelsier would not approve. Not that what he'd think really makes that much of a difference; he's dead, after all. Been dead for over a year, actually. What really matters is that Straff is a heartless, soulless monster, and handing the city to him would be almost as bad as dying by Koloss. Breeze makes a slightly less stupid suggestion; Hand the city over to Jastes. Ham doens't like that idea, though, because that would be permitting the Koloss to enter Luthadel, which would be a bad thing as they are apparently ruthless savages, the lot of them. Clubs ends the argument by making the "Fight and die!" suggestion. Sazed seems to agree with this course of action, pointing out that their deaths will at least have meanings. Their sacrifices will inspire future Skaa generations in their struggle for freedom. But... they'll all be dead, so how will they know that they even made a difference in the end? How can they ensure that their sacrifices are not in vain? He has a solution to that as well. Someone has to survive to "tell their legacy", and to organize further resistance. Ham and Clubs say they won't leave their men, and Dox isn't leaving either, so Breeze steps up and agrees to go. He's not letting honor kill him--Not yet, anyway. Unfortunately for him, though, Sazed was actually referring to Elend and Vin. He basically says "Sorry, buddy, but you're gonna have to die with the rest of us." Now, How is that even remotely fair? They can get themselves killed if they want to, but what right do they have to force Breeze to make a martyr of himself? I say if he wants to be a wimpy, cowardly, yellow-bellied, cravenous, candy-assed, pansy, then so be it! Anyway, now that they've apparently decided that death and slavery are the most appealing options they have remaining, they begin to make plans on how to convince Vin and Elend to flee. Also, Sazed wants to send Tindwyl with them, and Breeze wants to send Allrianne. They're still hoping that Straff will save the city at the last moment, but that seems like something Cett would do, but Straff is no Cett. He's much, much worse. The perspective now switches to Vin, who is currently standing outside of Kredik Shaw, trying to make up her mind. All the while, that damned thumping continues to intensify. As she enters the palace, she wishes that she could be a ruthless, heartless, monster like Kelsier. Wishes that she didn't feel this guilt all the time. I guess she's forgotten that Kelsier wasn't always that way. He had his heart ripped from his chest when he watched his wife beaten to death before his very eyes. Does she wish to enjoy a similar experience? I'm sure she will, before this book is over. She ponders which is better: To be like Kelsier, or to be like Elend. She has to make a decision. It's too late for her to be exactly like Elend, as his hands are as-of-yet unbloodied, but that doesn't mean she has to be like Kelsier. Why does she have to be like anyone? Why can't she be her own person? As Vin walks through the hallways, she sees footprints. Probably Marsh, doing whatever it is he's been doing here there past several days. He's been here a while, and Inquisitors apparently do have to eat, so I wonder where he gets his food from. Has he been steeling? Get it? Steeling? I'm so funny. Anyway, Vin enters the Rashek's hidden abode, still trying to make up her mind on which man to be with. (I'm on team Elend! Squee!) She realizes that Rashek must have faced a similar(not really) difficulty. He had to chose between living the rest of his life as a farmer, or becoming a god and enslaving his own people; Vin has to chose "which man to spend her nights with." Yeah, their choices are both equally burdensome, and totally comparable! Vin eventually sees that standing loitering in this room isn't going to magically solve her dilemma, and she leaves, wondering why she even came in the first place. The Mad Bastard sleeps with metals in his tummy, because dying someday soon is better than dying today. As it turns out, this inadvisable life choice ends up saving his life. Straff finally makes his move and has some of his men stage an late night attempt on Zane's life, and thanks to his unhealthy practice, they do not succeed. Zane has apparently been expecting this for a while. In fact, he actually seems to have been looking forward to this day. He's been having a man keep watch every night for God knows how long. After dispatching with Straff's worthless assassin's, he pays the man a lavish amount of money, then goes to meet with his father for the very last time. Zane finds Straff waiting in his tent, prepared to die with dignity, honor, and manliness. Not. Straff begs, offering Atium, and even legitimacy. Zane doesn't care for his promises, but for some reason still rebels against his god's urges. He instead tells Straff how to capture the city, an informs his father that he'll be taking Vin with him tonight. When Straff asks him why he doesn't end his life, Zane replies that a man should not kill his father, and with that, he leaves. I...I don't... huh? Zane goes to retrieve his hidden stash of atium and his mist cloak--which was a gift from his beloved father. So he does have one! He doesn't wear it, though, because he doesn't like the way it chafes against the lump in his chest. Actually, it's not a lump. It's a spike. An Inquisitor's spike! What the hell is he doing with one of those!? How did he even get it? Who gave it to him? I thought Rashek was the only one capable of creating Inquisitors. If that's the case, why would he do this to Straff's son? Also, if just one spike is enough to make a man as powerful as Zane, why Inquisitors have three? Another problem just occurred to me. Does this mean that all of the Inquisitors here "god's" voice? If that's the case, then the Zane-God is in need of a new title. From here on out, he shall be called "Zod!" Not to be confused with the Kryptonian Super villain, of course. "Time to go," Zod says, and for once Zane is swift to follow His orders. Leaving his Mist cloak behind, he flys off to find Vin and begin a new chapter in his life. I smell a conclusion coming up real soon. End of chapter 46 Kwaan wrote that Alendi believed as the other world bringers did. Why wouldn't he? Sure, his old mentor suddenly turning against him should have given him pause, but from what Kwaam has written. It seems like Alendi had gone too far to turn back at this point.