The Hero of Ages

king or prince?'

'Well, love is perhaps-'

'Come now, Sazed,' Breeze said. 'You were mooning about as surely as any teenage boy with a new fancy. And, while she was a bit more reserved, she did love you. One didn't have to be a Soother to see that much.'

Sazed sighed, looking down.

'Is this what she'd want of you, Sazed?' Breeze said. 'To deny who you are? To become yet another stuffy politician?'

'I do not know, Lord Breeze,' Sazed said softly. 'I. . I don't have her anymore. And so, perhaps, I can remember her by being involved in what she loved.'

'Sazed,' Breeze said frankly, 'how is it you can be so wise in so many areas, yet be so completely stupid about this?'

'I. .'

'A man is what he has passion about,' Breeze said. 'I've found that if you give up what you want most for what you think you should want more, you'll just end up miserable.'

'And if what I want isn't what society needs?' Sazed said. 'Sometimes, we just have to do what we don't enjoy. That is a simple fact of life, I think.'

Breeze shrugged. 'I don't worry about that. I just do what I'm good at. In my case, that's making other people do things that I don't want to. It all fits together, in the end.'

Sazed shook his head. It wasn't that simple, and his depression lately hadn't only been tied to Tindwyl and her death. He had put off his study of the religions, but he knew that he would be driven to return to them. The work with the canals was a welcome distraction, but even so, Sazed could feel his earlier conclusions and work looming.

He didn't want to discover that the last religions in the group held no answers. That was part of why it was so relaxing for him to study something else, for engineering didn't threaten his worldview. However, he could not distract himself forever. He would find the answers, or the lack of answers, eventually. His portfolio sat beneath the desk, resting against the sack of metalminds.

For now, however, he allowed himself a reprieve. But even with his concern over the religions abated for the moment, there were concerns that needed addressing. He nodded his head in the direction of the lake. Spook, just barely visible, stood at the edge, speaking with Goradel and some of the soldiers.

'And what of him, Lord Breeze?' Sazed asked in a whisper, low enough that even Spook wouldn't be able to hear. 'As I said, Emperor Venture placed me in charge of this matter. What if I let Spook take control, and then he fails? I worry that the young man is not. . seasoned enough for this task.'

Breeze shrugged. 'He seems to be doing well so far. Remember how young Vin was when she killed the Lord Ruler.'

'Yes,' Sazed whispered, 'but this situation is different. Spook seems. . odd, lately. He is certainly hiding things from us. Why is he so determined to take this city?'

'I think it's good for the boy to show a little determination,' Breeze said, sitting back in his chair. 'That lad has been far too passive for most of his life.'

'Do you not worry about his plan? This could easily collapse around us.'

'Sazed,' Breeze said. 'Do you remember our meeting a few weeks back? Spook asked me why we couldn't just topple Quellion like we did the Lord Ruler.'

'I remember,' Sazed said. 'You told him the reason we couldn't was because we didn't have Kelsier anymore.'

Breeze nodded. 'Well,' he said softly, pointing his cane toward Spook, 'my opinion has been revised. We don't have Kelsier, but it's looking more and more like we have something similar.'

Sazed frowned.

'I'm not saying the lad has Kelsier's force of personality. His. . presence. However, you've heard the reputation the boy is gaining among the people. Kelsier succeeded not because of who he was, but because of who people thought he was. That's something I didn't believe we could replicate. I'm starting to think I was wrong.'

Sazed wasn't as easily convinced. Yet, he kept his reservations to himself as he turned back to his research. Spook must have noticed them looking over at him, for a few minutes later he made his way to Sazed's table. The boy blinked against the lantern-light, soft though it was, and pulled up a chair. The fine furniture looked odd to Sazed, contrasted against the rows of dusty, utilitarian shelves.

Spook looked fatigued. How long has it been since he slept? Sazed thought. He's still up whenever I bed down, and awake before I rise.

'Something doesn't feel right here,' Spook said.

'Oh?' Breeze asked. 'Other than the fact that we're chatting beside an underground lake in a storehouse built by the Lord Ruler underneath an Inquisitor fortress?'

Spook gave the Soother a flat look, then glanced at Sazed. 'I feel like we should have been attacked by now.'

'What makes you say that?' Sazed asked.

'I know Quellion, Saze. The man's a bully after the classical style. He came to power through force, and he keeps control by giving the people plenty of alcohol and tiny freedoms, like letting them go to bars at night. At the same time, however, he keeps everyone on the edge of fear.'

'How did he take charge, anyway?' Breeze asked. 'How did he get control before some nobleman with a good set of house guards could do it?'

'Mists,' Spook said. 'He went out in them, and declared that anyone faithful to the Survivor would be safe in them. Then, the mists started killing, and gave a handy confirmation of what he'd said. He made a big deal about the mists killing those who had evil in their hearts. The people were so worried about what was happening that they listened to him. He managed to make a law that required everyone to go out in the mists, so that they could see who died and who didn't. The ones who survived were-he declared-pure. He told them they could set up a nice little utopia. After that, they started killing nobility.'

'Ah,' Breeze said. 'Clever.'

'Yeah,' Spook said. 'He completely glossed over the fact that the nobility never got taken by the mists.'

'Wait,' Sazed said. 'What?'

Spook shrugged. 'Hard to confirm now, but that's what the stories say. The nobility seemed immune to the mistsickness. Not skaa who had noble blood, but actually nobility.'

'How odd,' Breeze noted.

More than odd, Sazed thought. Downright strange. Does Elend know about this connection? As Sazed considered it, it seemed unlikely that Elend did. Their army and allies were all made up of skaa. The only nobility they knew were those back in Luthadel, and they had all chosen to stay inside at night, rather than risk going into the mists.

'Either way,' Spook said, 'Quellion's a bully. And bullies don't like anyone in their turf who can challenge them. We should have had some kind of attempt on our lives by now.'

'The lad has a point,' Breeze said. 'Quellion's type doesn't kill just in fancy executions. I'd bet that for every person he throws into one of those buildings, there are three dead in an alley somewhere, slowly being buried in ash.'

'I've told Goradel and his men to be particularly careful,' Spook said, 'and I've prowled our perimeter. However, I haven't caught any assassins so much as spying on us. Quellion's troops just sit out there, watching us, but not doing anything.'

Breeze rubbed his chin. 'Perhaps Quellion is more afraid of us than you assume.'

'Perhaps,' Spook said, sighing. He rubbed his forehead.

'Lord Spook,' Sazed said carefully, 'you should sleep.'

'I'm fine,' Spook said.

If I didn't know better, I'd say he was burning pewter to stay awake, Sazed thought. Or, am I just looking for signs to confirm what I worried about before?

We never questioned when Vin or Kelsier manifested powers beyond what even normal Allomancers were