Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn Triolgy 2 The Well of Ascension

MAPSxiii

PART ONE: Heir of the Survivor 1

PART TWO: Ghosts in the Mist 119

PART THREE: King 327

PART FOUR: Knives 469

PART FIVE: Snow and Ash 609

PART SIX: Words in Steel 713

EPILOGUE758

ARS ARCANUM 1. Metals Quick-Reference Chart 766

2. Names and Terms 767

3. Summary of Book One 778

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Firstoff, as always, my excellent agent. Joshua Bilmes, and editor, MosheFeder. deserve high praise for their efforts. This book in particularrequired some thoughtful drafting, and they were up to the task. Theyhave my thanks, as do their assistants. Steve Mancino (an excellentagent in his own right) and Denis Wong.

Thereare some other fine folks at Tor who deserve my thanks. Larry Yoder(the best sales rep in the nation) did a wonderful job selling thebook. Seth Lemer, Tors mass-market art director, is a genius atmatching books to artists. And, speaking of artists. I think theamazing Christian Mc-Grath did a brilliant job with this cover. Morecan be seen at jonfoster.com. Isaac Stewart, a good friend of mine anda fellow writer, did all of the map work and the symbols for thechapter headings. Find him at nethermore.com. Shawn Boyles is theofficial Mistborn Llama artist, and a great guy to boot. Check my Website for more information. Finally. Id like to thank the Tor publicitydepartmentspecifically Dot Linwhich has been wonderful in promotingmy books and taking care of me. Thank you so much, all of you!

Anotherround of thanks needs to go out to my alpha readers. These tirelessfolks provide feedback on my novels in the early stages, dealing withall of the problems, typos, and inconsistencies before I get themworked out. In no particular order, these people are:

BenOlson, Krista Olsen, Nathan Goodrich, Ethan Skarstedt, Eric J. Ehlers,Jillena OBrien, C. Lee Player, Kimball Larsen, Bryce Cundick, JanciPatterson, Heather Kirby. Sally Taylor, The Almighty Pronoun, BradleyRe-neer. Holly Vcnable, Jimmy, Alan Layton. Janette Layton, KaylynnZoBell, Rick Stranger, Nate Hatfield, Daniel A. Wells, Stacy Whitman,Sarah Bylund, and Benjamin R. Olsen.

Aspecial thanks goes to the people at the Provo Walden-books for theirsupport. Sterling, Robin, Ashley, and the terrible duo of SteveBookstore Guy Diamond and Ryan McBride (who were also alpha readers).Also, I must acknowledge my brother. Jordan, for his work on my Website (along with Jeff Creer). Jordo also is the official keepBrandons head on straight guy, with his solemn duty being to make funof me and my books.

My mother, father,and sisters are always a wonderful help as well. If I forgot any alphareaders, Im sorry! Ill put you in twice next time. Note, PeterAhlstrom, I didnt forget youI just decided to stick you in late tomake you sweat a bit.

Finally, my thanks go out to my wonderful wife, whom I married during the editing process of this book. Emily, I love you!

1THE ARMY CREPT LIKE A dark stain across the horizon.

KingElend Venture stood motionless upon the Luthadel city wall, looking outat the enemy troops. Around him. ash fell from the sky in fat, lazyflakes..It wasnt the burnt white ash that one saw in dead coals; thiswas a deeper, harsher black ash. The Ashmounts had been particularlyactive lately.

Elend felt the ash dusthis face and clothing, but he ignored it. In the distance, the bloodyred sun was close to setting. It backlit the army that had come to takeElends kingdom from him.How many? Elend asked quietly.

Fiftythousand, we think, Ham said, leaning against the parapet, beefy armsfolded on the stone. Like everything in the city, the wall had beenstained black by countless years of ashfalls.

Fiftythousand soldiers Elend said, trailing off. Despite heavyrecruitment. Elend barely had twenty thousand men under his commandandthey were peasants with less than a year of training. Maintaining eventhat small number was straining his resources. If theyd been able tofind the Lord Rulers atium, perhaps things would be different. As itwas. Elends rule was in serious danger of economic disaster.

What do you think? Elend asked.

I dont know. El. Ham said quietly. Kelsier was always the one with the vision.

Butyou helped him plan, Elend said. You and the others, you were hiscrew. You were the ones who came up with a strategy for overthrowingthe empire, then made it happen.

Hamfell silent, and Elend fell as if he knew what the man was thinking.Kelsier was central to it all. He was the one who organized, the onewho took all of the wild brainstorming and turned it into a viableoperation. He was the leader. The genius.

Andhed died a year before, on the very same day that the peopleas partof his secret planhad risen up in fury to overthrow their god emperor.Elend had taken the throne in the ensuing chaos. Now it was lookingmore and more like he would lose everything that Kelsier and his crewhad worked so hard to accomplish. Lose it to a tyrant who might be evenworse than the Lord Ruler. A petty, devious bully in noble form. Theman who had marched his army on I .HIIuiId.Elends own father. Straff Venture.

Any chance you can talk him out of attacking? Ham asked.Maybe. Elend said hesitantly. Assuming the Assembly doesnt just surrender the city. They close?

Idont know, honestly. 1 worry that they are. That army has frightenedthem. Ham. And with good reason, he thought. Anyway, I have aproposal for the meeting in two days. Ill try to talk them out ofdoing anything rash. Dock-son got back today, right?Ham nodded. Just before the armys advance.

I think we should call a meeting of the crew. Elend said. See if we can come up with a way out of this.

Wellstill be pretty shorthanded, Ham said, rubbing his chin. Spook isntsupposed to be back for another week, and the Lord Ruler only knowswhere Breeze went. We havent had a message from him in months.

Elendsighed, shaking his head. I cant think of anything else. Ham. Heturned, staring out over the ashen landscape again. The army waslighting camphres as the sun set. Soon, the mists would appear.

/ need to get back to the palace and work on that proposal, Elend thought.

Whcrcd Vin run off to? Ham asked, turning back to Elend.Elend paused. You know, he said. Im not sure.

Vinlanded softly on the damp cobblestones, watching as the mists began toform around her. They puffed into existence as darkness fell, growinglike tangles of translucent vines, twisting and wrapping around oneanother.

The great city of Luthadel wasstill. Even now. a year after the Lord Rulers death and the rise ofElends new free government, the common people stayed in their homes atnight. They feared the mists, a tradition that went far deeper than theLord Rulers laws.

Vin slipped forwardquietly, senses alert. Inside herself, as always, she burned tin andpewter. Tin enhanced her senses, making it easier for her to see in thenight. Pewter made her body stronger, made her lighter on her feet.These, along with copperwhich had the power to hide her use ofAllomancy from others who were burning bronzewere metals that she lefton almost all the time.

Some called her paranoid. She thought herself prepared. Either way. the habit had saved her life on numerous occasions.

Sheapproached a quiet street corner and paused, peeking out. Shed neverreally understood how she burned metals: she could remember doing itfor as long as shed been alive, using Allomancy instinctively evenbefore she was formally trained by Kelsier. It didnt really matter toher. She wasnt like Elend: she didnt need a logical explanation foreverything. For Vin, it was enough that when she swallowed bits ofmetal, she was able to draw upon their power.