Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)

by Brandon Sanderson

New tastes are like new ideas, young man—the older you get, the more difficult they are for you to stomach.”

appellation

Kelsier pulled a chair over to the table for himself and sat down on it the wrong way, resting his arms on the seatback.

“The trick is to never stop looking.

Clubs stood in the doorway, giving the three of them an impressively disapproving stare.

The dark city at night was a place for the desperate and the foolhardy; it was a land of swirling mystery and strange creatures.

He turned, adding Breeze: Planning and Kelsier: General Mayhem beneath Great Houses on the board.

The man who wants you to trust him is the one you must fear the most.

Laughter trickled out into the workroom. Not raucous laughter, such as had often sounded from Camon’s table. This was something softer—something indicative of genuine mirth, of good-natured enjoyment.

“This apprehensive little creature is Vin.”

“That depends. The right belief is like a good cloak, I think. If it fits you well, it keeps you warm and safe. The wrong fit, however, can suffocate.”

“A Terrisman without a master is like a soldier with no weapon, Master Kelsier.

Vin eyed him. “Do all Terrisman ‘humble attendants’ give their masters as much lip as you do?” “Only the successful ones.”

filch

You said their prayer—is this the religion you believe in, then?” “I believe in them all.” Vin frowned. “None of them contradict each other?” Sazed smiled. “Oh, often and frequently they do. But I respect the truths behind them all—and I believe in the need for each one to be remembered.” “Then how did you decide which religion’s prayer to use?” Vin asked. “That one merely seemed appropriate,” Sazed said softly, regarding the scene of shadowed death.

“I’ve always been quite confident in my immaturity. So, are you ready for this evening?”

the Deepness

“He was a bit annoying—in a pleasant sort of way.”

“That’s the funny thing about arriving somewhere, Vin,” he said with a wink. “Once you’re there, the only thing you can really do is leave again.

If the army were made up of one-legged mutes, he would praise their balance and their listening skills.”

I know how you feel, my friend, Kelsier thought. I’m a thief, not a prophet. Sometimes we have to be what the job requires.

Hopefully the next part will contain fewer supply lists. Honestly, for an evil god of darkness, he certainly can be dull.

I braved the mists for the first time for her, and while many thought me foolish to go out at night, others got over their superstition and encouraged me.

“By the way, Dox,” Kelsier said, leaning with his back against a cupboard. “I’m going to need a few physical representations of the concept of effort myself. I’d like to rent a small warehouse to conduct some of my informant meetings.”

“Ever wasing the doing of this,” Kelsier agreed.

maybe they wouldn’t have been happy living lives where they didn’t have to worry.”

“That’s not much time,” Ham said. “But I’ll see what I can do.”

sapient,

dilatory.

His plan.

Telden smiled, sipping his drink. The large man never simply sat—he lounged.

“Actually, I got over my childish temperament some time ago, Father—it just seems that my natural inclinations work even better to annoy you. I wish I had known that earlier; I could have saved a great deal of effort in my younger years.”

“It won’t,” Vin said. “Oh? Has my lady suddenly become an optimist?” “Has my Terrisman suddenly become a smart-mouth?” Vin retorted. “He always has been, I think,” Sazed said with a slight smile. “It is one of the things that made him a poor steward—at least in the eyes of most of his masters.” “Then they must have been fools,” Vin said honestly.

“Sazed?” Vin said in a quiet voice. “Yes, mistress?” “It’s all going to change, isn’t it?” “What specifically do you mean?” “Everything,” Vin said. “If we aren’t all dead in a year, the crewmembers will be off working on other projects. Ham will probably be back with his family, Dox and Kelsier will be planning some new escapade, Clubs will be renting his shop to another crew. Even these gardens that we’ve spent so much money on—they’ll belong to someone else.” Sazed nodded. “What you say is likely. Though if things go well, perhaps the skaa rebellion will be ruling Luthadel by this time next year.” “Maybe,” Vin said. “But still … things will change.” “That is the nature of all life, mistress,” Sazed said. “The world must change.”

“Ah, you just need to have hope, mistress. Perhaps you’ve earned a little bit of good fortune. There was a group of people before the Ascension known as the Astalsi. They claimed that each person was born with a certain finite amount of ill luck. And so, when an unfortunate event happened, they thought themselves blessed—thereafter, their lives could only get better.”

She was graceful—but it was the dexterous grace of a predator, not the deliberate grace of a courtly lady.

“Sazed?” Kelsier asked, causing the Terrisman to pause. “I can’t sleep—do you have a new proposal for me?” Sazed smiled broadly, walking into the room. “Of course, Master Kelsier. Lately I’ve been thinking that you should hear about the Truths of the Bennet. They fit you quite well, I think. The Bennet were a highly developed people who lived on the southern islands. They were brave seafarers and brilliant cartographers; some of the maps the Final Empire still uses were developed by Bennet explorers. “Their religion was designed to be practiced aboard ships that were away at sea for months at a time. The captain was also their minister, and no man was allowed to command unless he had received theological training.” “Probably weren’t very many mutinies.” Sazed smiled. “It was a good religion, Master Kelsier. It focused on discovery and knowledge—to these people, the making of maps was a reverent duty. They believed that once all of the world was known, understood, and catalogued, men would finally find peace and harmony. Many religions teach such ideals, but few actually managed to practice them as well as the Bennet.”

Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.”

Before such passion and hatred, even good men can be deceived.

“Honestly, I don’t see why I consistently prove to be the target of you people’s humor. Why must you choose the only dignified person in this crew as the butt of your mockery?” “Because, my dear man,” Ham said, imitating Breeze’s accent, “you are, by far, the best butt we have.”

“I’m a soldier,” Ham said, raising his cup. “Your witty verbal attacks have no effect on me, for I’m far too dense to understand them.”

Clubs sat in his corner, overseeing, occasionally smiling, and generally enjoying his ability to give the best scowls in the room.

No, the skaa don’t lack courage. Just opportunity.”

“You owe me an apology,” Jastes said. “I was right about her, eh?” “Perhaps,” Elend said. “But … in a way, you were wrong about her too. She wasn’t trying to spy on me—she was only trying to rob me.”

“Elend, only you would be relieved to find out that someone was trying to steal from you.

She didn’t want to think poorly of Kelsier, but she just didn’t see how it was all going to happen.

It had taken Kelsier’s insane, over-the-top plan to convince her otherwise.

I don’t think of the empty streets as creepy anymore. The cobblestones were slick from mistwater, and the deserted street eventually disappeared into the distant haze. It was dark, silent, and lonely;

Yet despite the emptiness of the nighttime city, Vin felt comfortable in it. The mists were with her.

“Once maybe I would have thought you a fool, but … well, that’s kind of what trust is, isn’t it? A willful self-delusion? You have to shut out that voice that whispers about betrayal, and just hope that your friends aren’t going to hurt you.”