The Hero of Ages

Elend laughed, turning to follow Telden's gaze toward Vin. Confident and powerful, yet somehow delicate and graceful. Elend smiled with pride. Even during the glory days of the Luthadel ball scene, he couldn't remember a woman commanding as much attention as Vin now did. And, unlike Elend, she'd stepped into this ball without knowing a single person.

'I feel a little like a proud parent,' Telden said, laying a hand on Elend's shoulder. 'There were days I was convinced that you were hopeless, El! I figured you'd someday wander into a library and just disappear completely. We'd find you twenty years later covered with dust, picking through some philosophy text for the seven hundredth time. Yet, here you are, married-and to a woman like that!'

'Sometimes, I don't understand either,' Elend said. 'I can't ever come up with any logical reason why she would want to be with me. I just. . have to trust her judgment.'

'Either way, you did well.'

Elend raised an eyebrow. 'I seem to remember that you once tried to talk me out of spending time with her.'

Telden flushed. 'You have to admit, she was acting very suspiciously when she came to those parties.'

'Yes,' Elend said. 'She seemed too much like a real person to be a noblewoman.' He looked over at Telden, smiling. 'However, if you'll excuse me, I have something I need to do.'

'Of course, El,' Telden said, bowing slightly as Elend withdrew. The move felt a little odd coming from Telden. They didn't really know each other anymore. However, they did have memories of friendship.

I didn't tell him that I killed Jastes, Elend thought as he made his way through the room, its members parting easily for him. I wonder if he knows.

Elend's enhanced hearing picked out a general rise in excitement among the whispered conversations as people realized what he was doing. He'd given Yomen time enough to deal with his surprise; it was time to confront the man. Though part of Elend's purpose in visiting the ball was to intimidate the local nobility, the main reason was still to speak with their king.

Yomen watched Elend approach the high table-and, to his credit, the obligator did not look frightened at the prospect of a meeting. His meal still remained uneaten, however. Elend didn't wait for permission to come to the table, but he did pause and wait as Yomen waved for servants to clear space and set Elend a place directly across the high table from him.

Elend sat, trusting in Vin-mixed with his own burning steel and tin-to warn him of attacks from behind. He was the only one on this side of the table, and Yomen's dining companions all retired as Elend seated himself, leaving the two rulers alone. In another situation, the image might have looked ridiculous: two men seated across from each other with empty table wings extending a great distance to either side. The white tablecloth and crystalline dinnerware were pristine, just as it would have been during the Lord Ruler's day.

Elend had sold all such finery he owned, struggling to feed his people during the last few winters.

Yomen laced his fingers on the table in front of him-his meal taken away by silent servants-and studied Elend, his cautious eyes framed by intricate tattoos. Yomen wore no crown, but he did wear a single bead of metal tied so that it hung in the center of his forehead.

Atium.

'There is a saying in the Steel Ministry,' Yomen finally said. ' 'Sit down to dine with evil, and you will ingest it with your meal.' '

'It's a good thing we're not eating, then,' Elend said, smiling slightly.

Yomen did not smile back.

'Yomen,' Elend said, growing more serious. 'I come to you now, not as an emperor seeking for new lands to control, but as a desperate king seeking allies. The world has become a dangerous place-the land itself seems to be fighting us, or at least falling apart beneath us. Accept my hand of friendship, and let us be done with wars.'

Yomen didn't reply. He just sat, fingers laced, studying Elend.

'You doubt my sincerity,' Elend said. 'I can't say that I blame you, since I marched my army up to your doorstep. Is there a way that I can persuade you? Would you be willing to enter into talks or parley?'

Again, no answer. So, this time, Elend just waited. The room around them felt still.

Yomen finally spoke. 'You are a flagrant and garish man, Elend Venture.'

Elend bristled at that. Perhaps it was the ball setting, perhaps it was the way Yomen so flippantly ignored his offer. However, Elend found himself responding to the comment in a way he might have years before, when he hadn't been a king at war. 'It's a bad habit I've always had,' Elend said. 'I'm afraid that the years of rule-and of being trained in propriety-haven't changed one fact: I'm a terribly rude man. Bad breeding would be my guess.'

'You find this a game,' the obligator said, eyes hard. 'You come to my city to slaughter my people, then you dance into my ball hoping to frighten the nobility to the point of hysteria.'

'No,' Elend said. 'No, Yomen, this is no game. The world seems near to ending, and I'm just doing my best to help as many people survive as possible.'

'And doing your best includes conquering my city?'

Elend shook his head. 'I'm not good at lying, Yomen. So, I'll be truthful with you. I don't want to kill anyone- as I said, I'd rather we simply made a truce and were done with it. Give me the information I seek, pool your resources with mine, and I will not force you to give up your city. Deny me, and things will grow more difficult.'

Yomen sat quietly for a moment, music still being played softly in the background, vibrating over the hum of a hundred polite conversations.

'Do you know why I dislike men like you, Venture?' Yomen finally asked.

'My insufferable charm and wit?' Elend asked. 'I doubt it's my good looks-but, compared to that of an obligator, I suppose even my face could be enviable.'

Yomen's expression darkened. 'How did a man like you ever end up at a table of negotiation?'

'I was trained by a surly Mistborn, a sarcastic Terrisman, and a group of disrespectful thieves,' Elend said, sighing. 'Plus, on top of that, I was a fairly insufferable person to begin with. But, kindly continue with your insult-I didn't mean to interrupt.'

'I don't like you,' Yomen continued, 'because you have the gall to believe that you deserve to take this city.'

'I do,' Elend said. 'It belonged to Cett; half the soldiers I brought with me on this march once served him, and this is their homeland. We've come to liberate, not conquer.'

'Do these people look to you like they need liberation?' Yomen said, nodding to the dancing couples.

'Yes, actually,' Elend said. 'Yomen, you're the upstart here-not me. You have no right to this city, and you know it.'

'I have the right given me by the Lord Ruler.'

'We don't accept the Lord Ruler's right to rule,' Elend said. 'That's why we killed him. Instead, we look to the people's right to rule.'

'Is that so?' Yomen said, hands still laced before him. 'Because, as I recall, the people of your city chose Ferson Penrod to be their king.'

Good point, that one, Elend had to admit.

Yomen leaned forward. 'This is the reason I don't like you, Venture. You're a hypocrite of the worst kind. You pretended to let the people be in charge-but when they ousted you and picked another, you had your Mistborn conquer the city back for you. You rule by force, not by common consent, so don't talk to me about rights.'

'There were. . circumstances in Luthadel, Yomen. Penrod was working with our enemies, and he bought himself the throne through manipulating the assembly.'

'That sounds like a flaw in the system,' Yomen said. 'A system that you set up-a system replacing the one of order that existed before it. A people depend on stability in their government; they need someone to look to. A leader that they can trust, a leader with true authority. Only a man chosen by the Lord Ruler has that claim on authority.'

Elend studied the obligator. The frustrating thing was, he almost agreed with the man. Yomen said things that Elend himself had said, even if they were twisted a bit by his perspective as an obligator.

'Only a man chosen by the Lord Ruler has that claim on authority. .' Elend said, frowning. The phrase sounded familiar. 'That's from Durton, isn't it? Calling of Trust?'