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Difference between revisions of "Mistborn: The Final Empire/Epigraphs"
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Is this truly the end of the world, as many of the philosophers predict?
'''Chapter 23:'''
I sleep but a few hours each night. We must press forward, traveling as much as we can each day - but when I finally lie down, I find sleep elusive. The same thoughts that trouble me during the day are only compounded by the stillness of night.
And, above all, I hear the thumping sounds from above, the pulsings from the mountains. Drawing me closer with each beat.
'''Chapter 24:'''
In the end, I must trust in myself. I have seen men who have beaten from themselves the ability to recognize truth and goodness, and I do not think I am one of them. I can still see the tears in a younhg child's eyes and feel pain at his suffering.
If I ever lose this, then I will know that I've passed beyond hope of redemption.
'''Chapter 25:'''
No man dies by my hand or command except that I wish there had been another way. Still, I kill them. Sometimes, I wish that I weren't such a cursed realist.
'''Chapter 26:'''
I am growing so very tired.
'''Chapter 27:'''
I think I've finally discovered why Rashek resents me so very much. He does not believe that an outsider such as myself - a foreigner - could possibly be the Hero of Ages. He believes that I have somehow tricked the philosophers, that I wear the piercings of the Hero unjustly.
According to Rashek, only a Terrisman of pure blood should have been chosen as the Hero. Oddly, I find myself even more determined because of his hatred. I must prove to him that I can perform this task.
'''Chapter 28:'''
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 sentient, 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.
'''Chapter 29:'''
The others all think I should have had Kwaan executed for betraying me. To tell the truth, I'd probably kill him this moment if I knew where he'd gone. At the time, however, I just couldn't do it.
The man had become like a father to me. to this day, I don't know why he suddenly decided that I wasn't the Hero. Why did he turn against me, denouncing me to the entire Conclave of Worldbringers?
Would he rather that the Deepness win? Surely, even if I'm not the right one - as Kwaan now claims - my presence at the Well of Ascension couldn't possibly worse than what will happen if the Deepness continues to destroy the land.
'''Chapter 30:'''
Most of the Terrismen are not as bad as Rashek. However, I can see that they believe him, to an extent. these are simple men, not philosophers or scholars, andthey don't understand that their own prophecies say the hero of Ages will be an outsider. They only see what Rashek points out - that they are an ostensibly superior people, and should be "dominant" rather than subservient.
Before such passion and hatred, even good men can be deceived.
'''Chapter 31:'''
Other men worry whether or not they will be remembered. I have no such fears; even disregarding the Terris prophecies, I have brought such chaos, conflict, and hopeto this world that there is little chance that I will be forgotten.
I worry about what they will say of me. Historians can make what they wish of the past. In a thousand year' time, will I be remembered as the man who protected mankind from a powerful evil? Or, will I be remembered as a tyrant who arrogantly tried to make himself a legend?
'''Chapter 32:'''
Though many Terrismen express a resentment of Khlennium, there is also envy. I have heard the packmen speak in wonder of the Khlenni cathedrals, with their amazing stained-glass windows and broad halls. They also seem very fond of our fashion - back in the cities, I saw that many young Terrismen had traded in their furs and skins for well-tailored gentlemen's suits.
'''Chapter 33:'''
We are close now. Oddly, this high in the mountains, we seem to finally be free from the oppressive touch of the Deepness. It has been quite a while since I knew what that was like.
The lake that Fedik discovered is below us now - I can see it from the ledge. it looks even more eerie from up here, with its glassy - almost metallic - sheen. I almost wish I had let him take a sample of its waters.
Perhaps his interest was what angered the mist creature that follows us. Perhaps...that was why it decided to attack him, stabbing him with its invisible knife.
Strangely, the attack comforted me. At least I know that since another has seen it. That means I'm not mad.
'''Chapter 34:'''
I never wanted to be feared.
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.
'''Chapter 35:'''
I know what will happen if I make the wrong choice. I must be strong; I must not take the power for myself.
For I have seen what will happen if I do.
'''Chapter 36:'''
I have decided that I am thankful for Rashek's hatred. It does me well to remember that there are those who abhor me. My place is not to seek popularity or love; my place is to ensure mankind's survival.
'''Chapter 37:'''
Is there anything more beautiful than the sun? I often watch it rise, for my restless sleep usually awakens me before dawn.
Each time I see its calm yellow light peeking above the horizon, I grow a little more determined, a little more hopeful. In a way, it is the thing that has kept me going all this time.
'''Chapter 38:'''
Such are my fears as I scribble with an ice-crusted pen on the eve before the world is reborn. Rashek watches. Hating me. The cavern lies above. Pulsing. My fingers quiver. Not from the cold.
Tomorrow it will end.
'''Epilogue:'''
Oddly, on occasion, I sense a peacefulness within. You would think that after all I have seen - after all that I have suffered - my soul would be a twisted jumble of stress, confusion, and melancholy. Often, it's just that.
But then, there is the peace.
I feel it sometimes, as I do now, staring out over the frozen cliffs and glass mountains in the still of the morning, watching a sunrise that is so majestic that I know that none shall ever be its match.
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. There peaceful whispers tell me a truth I wish very much to believe.
If I fail, another shall come to finish my work.
[[Category:Epigraphs]][[Category:Mistborn]]
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