Alendi’s height struck me the first time I saw him, it read. Here was a man who was small of stature, but who seemed to tower over others, a man who demanded respect.
Sazed frowned. Before, he’d argued that there was no contradiction, for one passage could be interpreted as referring to the Hero’s presence or character, rather than just his physical height. Now, however, Sazed paused, really seeing Tindwyl’s objections for the first time.
And something felt wrong to him. He looked back at his book, scanning the contents of the page.
There was a place for me in the lore of the Anticipation, he read. I thought myself the Holy First Witness, the prophet foretold to discover the Hero of Ages. Renouncing Alendi then would have been to renounce my new position, my acceptance, by the others.
Sazed’s frown deepened. He traced the paragraph. Outside, it was growing dark, and a few trails of mist curled around the shutters, creeping into the room before vanishing.
Holy First Witness, he read again. How did I miss that? It’s the same name the people called me, back at the gates. I didn’t recognize it.
“Sazed.”
Sazed jumped, nearly toppling his book to the floor as he turned. Vin stood behind him, a dark shadow in the poorly lit room.
“Lady Vin! You’re up!”
“You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long,” she said.
“We tried to wake you,” he said softly. “You were in a coma.”
She paused.
“Perhaps it is for the best, Lady Vin,” Sazed said. “The fighting is done, and you pushed yourself hard these last few months. It is good for you to get some rest, now that this is over.”
She stepped forward, shaking her head, and Sazed could see that she looked haggard, despite her days of rest. “No, Sazed,” she said. “This is not ‘over.’ Not by far.”
“What do you mean?” Sazed asked, growing concerned.
“I can still hear it in my head,” Vin said, raising a hand to her forehead. “It’s here. In the city.”
“The Well of Ascension?” Sazed asked. “But, Lady Vin, I lied about that. Truly and apologetically, I don’t even know if there is such a thing.”
“Do you believe me to be the Hero of Ages?”
Sazed looked away. “A few days ago, on the field outside the city, I felt certain. But … lately … I don’t seem to know what I believe anymore. The prophecies and stories are a jumble of contradictions.”
“This isn’t about prophecies,” Vin said, walking over to his table and looking at his book. “This is about what needs to be done. I can feel it … pulling me.”
She glanced at the closed window, with the mists curling at the edges. Then, she walked over and threw the shutters open, letting in the cold winter air. Vin stood, closing her eyes and letting the mists wash over her. She wore only a simple shirt and trousers.
“I drew upon it once, Sazed,” she said. “Do you know that? Did I tell you? When I fought the Lord Ruler. I drew power from the mists. That’s how I defeated him.”
Sazed shivered, not just from the cold. From the tone in her voice, and the air of her words. “Lady Vin …” he said, but wasn’t sure how to continue. Drew upon the mists? What did she mean?
“The Well is here,” she repeated, looking out the window, mist curling into the room.
“It can’t be, Lady Vin,” Sazed said. “All of the reports agree. The Well of Ascension was found in the Terris Mountains.”
Vin shook her head. “He changed the world, Sazed.”
He paused, frowning. “What?”
“The Lord Ruler,” she whispered. “He created the Ashmounts. The records say he made the vast deserts around the empire, that he broke the land in order to preserve it. Why should we assume that things look like they did when he first climbed to the Well? He created mountains. Why couldn’t he have flattened them?”
Sazed felt a chill.
“It’s what I would do,” Vin said. “If I knew the power would return, if I wanted to preserve it. I’d hide the Well. I’d let the legends remain, talking about mountains to the north. Then, I would build my city around the Well so that I could keep an eye on it.”
She turned, looking at him. “It’s here. The power waits.”
Sazed opened his mouth to object, but could find nothing. He had no faith. Who was he to argue with such things? As he paused, he heard voices below, from outside.
Voices? he thought. At night? In the mists? Curious, he strained to hear what was being said, but they were too far away. He reached into the bag beside his table. Most of his metalminds were empty; he wore only his copperminds, with their stores of ancient knowledge. Inside the sack, he found a small pouch. It contained the ten rings he had prepared for the siege, but had never used. He pulled it open, took out one of the ten, then tucked the bag into his sash.
With this ring—a tinmind—he could tap hearing. The words below became distinct to him.
“The king! The king has returned!”
Vin leaped out the window.
“I don’t fully understand how she does it either, El,” Ham said, walking with his arm in a sling.
Elend walked through the city streets, people trailing behind him, speaking in excited tones. The crowd was growing larger and larger as people heard that Elend had returned. Spook eyed them uncertainly, but seemed to be enjoying the attention.
“I was out cold for the last part of the battle,” Ham was saying. “Only pewter kept me alive—koloss slaughtered my team, breached the walls of the keep I was defending. I got out, and found Sazed, but my mind was growing muddled by then. I remember falling unconscious outside Keep Hasting. When I woke up, Vin had already taken the city back. I …”
They paused. Vin stood in front of them in the city street. Quiet, dark. In the mists, she almost looked like the spirit Elend had seen earlier.
“Vin?” he asked in the eerie air.
“Elend,” she said, rushing forward, into his arms, and the air of mystery was gone. She shivered as she held him. “I’m sorry. I think I did something bad.”
“Oh?” he asked. “What is that?”
“I made you emperor.”
Elend smiled. “I noticed, and I accept.”
“After all you did to make certain the people had a choice?”
Elend shook his head. “I’m beginning to think my opinions were simplistic. Honorable, but … incomplete. We’ll deal with this. I’m just glad to find that my city is still standing.”
Vin smiled. She looked tired.
“Vin?” he asked. “Are you still pewter-dragging?”
“No,” she said. “This is something else.” She glanced to the side, face thoughtful, as if deciding something.
“Come,” she said.
Sazed watched out the window, a second tinmind enhancing his sight. It was indeed Elend below. Sazed smiled, one of the weights on his soul removed. He turned, intending to go and meet the king.
And then he saw something blowing on the floor in front of him. A scrap of paper. He knelt down, picking it up, noticing his own handwriting on it. Its edges were jagged from having been ripped. He frowned, walking over to his table, opening the book to the page with Kwaan’s narrative. A piece was missing. The same piece as before, the one that had been ripped free that time with Tindwyl. He’d almost forgotten the strange occurrence with the pages all missing the same sentence.