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That was a maxim of good Forgery: Improve slightly on an original, and people would often accept the fake because it was superior.
“All things exist in three Realms, Gaotona. Physical, Cognitive, Spiritual. The Physical is what we feel, what is before us. The Cognitive is how an object is viewed and how it views itself. The Spiritual Realm contains an object’s soul—its essence—as well as the ways it is connected to the things and people around it.”
The longer an object exists as a whole, and the longer it is seen in that state, the stronger its sense of complete identity becomes. That table is made up of various pieces of wood fitted together, but do we think of it that way? No. We see the whole.
However, a man who was honest and clever was always, always more difficult to scam than someone who was both dishonest and clever.
People changed slowly, over time. You didn’t take one step, then find yourself in a completely new location. You first took a little step off a path to avoid some rocks. For a while, you walked alongside the path, but then you wandered out a little way to step on softer soil. Then you stopped paying attention as you drifted farther and farther away. Finally, you found yourself in the wrong city, wondering why the signs on the roadway hadn’t led you better. The door to her room opened.
I wonder if this … thing you do could be a tool for helping to bring awareness to people. Inscribe your emotions onto a stamp, then let others feel what it is to be you…”
Her ancestors had worshipped rocks that fell from the sky at night. The souls of broken gods, those chunks had been called.
“I don’t ask much of you,” she said softly. “Just that you live. Just that you be. I’ve done what I can. Let it be enough.”
“You can’t manipulate people by being genuine.” “You can’t?” Shai asked. “Is that not how you’ve made your entire career? Speaking honestly, teaching people what to expect of you, then expecting them to be honest to you in return?”
You got a glimpse of the Spiritual Realm, then? His Connection and his past? You were using Ati’s essence, unfortunately. One shouldn’t trust it, even in a diluted form.
“Something he couldn’t change. A sign of the weapon I’d buried. The boiling point of water, I think. Maybe its freezing point? But what if the units change over the years? I needed something that would be remembered always. Something they’ll immediately recognize.” He leaned in. “Sixteen.”
“Destroying the Pits, O scarred one. That was the only perpendicularity on this planet with any reasonable ease of access. This one is very dangerous, growing more so by the minute, and difficult to find. By doing as you did, you basically ended traffic through Scadrial. Upended an entire mercantile ecosystem, which I’ll admit was fun to watch.”
Two tiny sources of metal still glowed fiercely there to Kelsier’s eyes. Drifter selected one. It was small, as he could toss it into the air and catch it again. Kelsier could sense the triumph in that motion.
But if anyone were going to try something so foolhardy, it would be Cephandrius.”
“That power is part of the prison. This is what you did by merging your soul to the Well, Kelsier. You wouldn’t be able to hold it anyway. You’re not Connected enough to me.”
The knife appeared there. He looked down at it, the blade glistening. “Old friend…” he whispered at it.
“The Shards,” Khriss said, drawing Kelsier’s attention, “are not God, but they are pieces of God. Ruin, Preservation, Autonomy, Cultivation, Devotion … There are sixteen of them.”
the past deaths were different. They were each a single, stunning event, the god’s power shattered and dispersed.
“Yes, the I-ree,” Preservation said, pronouncing it in a slightly different way. “Three letters. I R E. It means something in their language, these people from another land. The ones who died, but did not. I have felt them crowding at the edges of my vision, like spirits in the night.”
Kelsier crept up, cracked it, and was rewarded by the sight of a larger chamber where a small group of guards were setting up a strange device. A large yellow gemstone the size of Kelsier’s fist shone in the center, glowing even more brightly than the walls. That gem was surrounded by a lattice of golden metal holding it in place. All told, it was the size of a desk clock.
The powers of Threnody wish to join the main stage. Engage the device.”
It meant “age,” and he had a sudden impression of a strange symbol made from four dots and some lines that curved, like ripples in a river.
Not every coincidence is a sign of someone drawing upon Fortune.”
first mention of Fortune, Kelek also mentions it in WaT
Those lines were there, the lines of familiarity, family, and Connection. Strangely, they were even stronger for Spook than they’d been for Marsh and Vin. Why would that be?
Spook worshipped Kelsier? Their Connection is augmenting the baseline bond that the spikes provide
And somehow, through Connection, Kelsier could talk to him as he’d not been able to do to others.
“How?” he whispered. “How is he Connected to them both, so evenly? Why not just Preservation?” “He has changed, this last year,” Elend said. “Ruin is more than death and destruction. It is peace with these things.”
It was just the Vessel, Ati. The man who had held the power. Ati ran his hand through his red hair, then looked about. “Vax?” he said, sounding confused.
Turns out Vax is something that Brandon consistently RAFOs - appears to be a place that the Vessels have awareness/knowledge of.
An Aviar raised around humans never quite fit back in among their own kind. The same could be said of a man raised around Aviar.
From what I’ve heard them say, there are many other worlds like ours, with cultures that cannot sail the stars. We are not unique, yet the Ones Above come back here time and time again. They do want something. You can see it in their eyes.…”
Of the Dusk. Born during that dusk, or bringer of it? What had he done?
Ol’ Whitehair said you can’t be crass, so long as you’re talkin’ ’bout art. Then you’re being elegant. That’s why it’s okay to hang pictures of naked ladies in a palace.” “Mistress, wasn’t this the man who got himself intentionally swallowed by a Marabethian greatshell?” “Yup. Crazy as a box full of drunk minks, that one. I miss him.”
classic hoid moment
“Destroyed,” Wyndle said. “Yes. It’s not the same as for a human, but I have … seen spren who…” He whimpered softly. “Maybe it is too dangerous for me.”
We watch the others. The assassin. The surgeon. The liar. The highprince. But not you. The others all ignore you … and that, I hazard to predict, is a mistake.”
If you ever encounter another of the Sleepless, tell them you’ve spoken with Arclo. I’m certain it will gain you sympathy.”
He seemed to focus, like a person waking up from a daze. His sword dropped from his fingers and puffed away into mist. Then he slumped to his knees. “Storms. Jezrien … Ishar … It is true. I’ve failed.” He bowed his head.
Nale being lucid due to Lift swearing her ideal
