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.”

Reen had always told her that a girl needed to be tough—even tougher than a man—if she wanted to survive.

It seems odd that a place so remarkably agrarian could have produced the prophecies and theologies upon which the entire world now relies.

By influencing her emotions, did you take away her ability to choose? If, for instance, she were to kill or steal while under your control, would the crime be hers or yours?”

“If, upon examination, you find that the Ministry’s teachings do not suit you, then I would be pleased to offer you an alternative.” “What alternative?” “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.”

“That’s the fifth religion you’ve tried to convert me to, Saze. How many more can there be?” “Five hundred and sixty two,” Sazed said. “Or at least that is the number of belief systems I know. There are, likely and unfortunately, others that have passed from this world without leaving traces for my people to collect.” Vin gaped. “And you have all of these religions memorized?” “As much as is possible,” Sazed said. “Their prayers, their beliefs, their mythologies. Many are quite similar—break-offs or sects of one another.” “Even still, how can you remember all of that?” “I have … methods,” Sazed said. “But what’s the point?” Sazed frowned. “The answer should be obvious, I think. People are valuable, Mistress Vin, and so—therefore—are their beliefs.

Life as a human being is about posturing and influence. This isn’t a bad thing—in fact, we depend upon it. These interactions teach us how to respond to others.”

If she didn’t have power over this thing, others would gain power over her through it.

Vin's core philosophy

“God is the creator of all things, right? He is the force that dictates the laws of the universe, and is therefore the ultimate source of ethics. He is absolute morality.” Vin blinked. “You see the dilemma?” Ham asked.

“We claim to be doing good,” Ham said. “But the Lord Ruler—as God—defines what is good. So by opposing him, we’re actually evil. But since he’s doing the wrong thing, does evil actually count as good in this case?”

“Tell me about another one, Saze,” Kelsier said. “One with power.” “Power?” Sazed asked. “That is a relative term when applied to religion, I think.

“In the end, after kingdoms and armies had fallen, the religions were still fighting, weren’t they?”

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.”

Were these the same creatures that beat her friends and enslaved the skaa? They seemed too … perfect, too well-mannered, for such horrible acts.

“You know,” he said, “it amazes me sometimes that we bother to try. With everything they’ve done to us—the deaths, the tortures, the agonies—you’d think that we would give up on things like hope and love. But we don’t. Skaa still fall in love. They still try to have families, and they still struggle. I mean, here we are … fighting Kell’s insane little war, resisting a god we know is going to slaughter us all.”

Vin stood as well, handing Elend back his handkerchief. He didn’t take it. “You might want to keep that. It wasn’t intended to be simply functional.”

“Though most expect young men to be fools, I’ve noticed that a little bit of age can make a man far more foolish than he was as a child.

That was what he fought against. Not just the Lord Ruler, not just the nobility. He fought against a thousand years of conditioning, a thousand years of life in a society that would label the deaths of five thousand men as a “great victory.” Life was so hopeless for the skaa that they’d been reduced to finding comfort in expected defeats. “That wasn’t a victory, Mennis,” Kelsier whispered. “I’ll show you a victory.”

According to Rashek, only a Terrisman of pure blood should have been chosen as the Hero.

Sometimes my companions claim that I worry and question too much. However, while I may wonder about my stature as the hero, there is one thing that I have never questioned: the ultimate good of our quest. The Deepness must be destroyed. I have seen it, and I have felt it. This name we give it is too weak a word, I think. Yes, it is deep and unfathomable, but it is also terrible. Many do not realize that it is sapient, but I have sensed its mind, such that it is, the few times I have confronted it directly. It is a thing of destruction, madness, and corruption. It would destroy this world not out of spite or out of animosity, but simply because that is what it does.

Elend Venture did not consider himself to be a rude man. He was more of a … verbal philosopher. He liked to test and turn conversation to see how people would react. Like the great thinkers of old, he pushed boundaries and experimented with unconventional methods.

“That’s what it feels like when you try to use another Feruchemist’s metals, mistress,” Sazed said, sighing. “I should have suspected this would be the result. You cannot access the power because it does not belong to you.”

Sazed shook his head. “Men are more resilient than that, I think. Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.”

“Jastes,” he said. “She’s skaa!” “And?” “And she fooled me—fooled us both. She acted the part of an aristocrat almost perfectly.” “An inexperienced aristocrat, perhaps.” “I had a real skaa thief with me!” Elend said. “Think of the questions I could have asked her.” “Questions? What kind of questions?” “Questions about being skaa,” Elend said. “That’s not the point. Jastes, she fooled us. If we can’t tell the difference between a skaa and a noblewoman, that means that the skaa can’t be all that different from us. And if they’re not that different from us, what right do we have treating them as we do?”

If I regret one thing, it is the fear I have caused. Fear is the tool of tyrants. Unfortunately, when the fate of the world is in question, you use whatever tools are available.

“Belief isn’t simply a thing for fair times and bright days, I think. What is belief—what is faith—if you don’t continue in it after failure?”

Valette is skaa, he thought. You have to stop thinking like other noblemen, Elend. You have to open your eyes.

If there are prophecies, if there is a Hero of Ages, then my mind whispers that there must be something directing my path. Something is watching; something cares. These peaceful whispers tell me a truth I wish very much to believe. If I fail, another shall come to finish my work.

Vin closed her eyes, simply feeling the warmth of being held. And realized that was all she had ever really wanted.