Difference between revisions of "Summary:The Well of Ascension"

 

{{anchor|Part 1}}

 

== The Well of Ascension ==

 

 

 

Elend stands atop the city's walls, looking down at the invading armies 'digging in'. He is met by Clubs on the wall, where they discuss Elend's ability to lead. Clubs was sent by Tindwyl to tell Elend to meet her.

*[[Hammond]]

*[[Spook]]

*[[Zane Venture]] (mentioned only)

*[[Straff Venture]] (mentioned only)

*[[Kelsier]] (mentioned only)

*[[Ashweather Cett]] (mentioned only)

*[[Sazed]] (mentioned only)

===Chapter 29===

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;Characters

*[[Rashek]] (mentioned only)

*[[Sazed]] (mentioned only)

*[[Clubs]] (mentioned only)

*[[Tindwyl]] (mentioned only)

{{epigraph|After that, I began to see other problems.}}

 

 

Sazed and Tindwyl debate about the metal plate at the Conventical of Seran and Alendi's logbook. They are confused as to why Kwaan opposed Alendi taking the power from the Well of Ascension to defeat the dangerous Deepness. Sazed reads the rubbings and Tindwyl says something is wrong though she isn't sure what. They discuss this and ponder why Kwaan sent Rashek to kill or hinder Alendi, since it doesn't make sense based on what they know. They realize that when Luthadel is conquered, many people will be killed, and that further study is needed to determine what Alendi's motives were.

 

{{epigraph|Some of you may know of my fabled memory. It is true; I need not a Feruchemist's metalmind to memorize a sheet of words in an instant.}}

 

 

Elend works on keeping the city residents from freezing, and on discovering who poisoned the city water supply. A skaa named [[Larn (Scadrian)|Larn]] tells Elend that he saw an Inquisitor in Luthadel. [[Felt]] reports his findings on how a spy may be poisoning the city's food and water. Hammond shows up, and Elend tells him that Cett is staying in Luthadel to continue to oppose Straff.

 

{{epigraph|The others call me mad. As I have said, that may be true.}}

 

 

OreSeur tells Vin about Elend's trip to the koloss army. Zane shows up, stating that Demoux is betraying Elend at Cett's behest. Zane suggests that they get revenge on Cett for this, and force his army to withdraw. OreSeur warns Vin to not go, but she ignores the kandra and retrieves the atium bead that he was holding.

 

{{epigraph|But must not even a madman rely on his own mind, his own experience, rather than that of others?}}

 

 

Breeze watches as Cett's army withdraws, and Clubs speculates that Straff can withdraw and let the koloss attack and weaken Luthadel to make his own invasion easier.

 

{{epigraph|I know what I have memorized. I know what is now repeated by the other Worldbringers.}}

 

 

Tindwyl tells Sazed that the hero of ages won't be Terris, and Sazed agrees. Tindwyl and Sazed debate the purpose of religion.

 

{{epigraph|The two are not the same.}}

 

 

Breeze gets a secret request in writing to meet Sazed. Breeze goes to the meeting which is also attended by Clubs, Hammond and Dockson. They discuss the possibility of Straff withdrawing and the koloss attacking. Sazed wants to stay and defend the city but send away Elend and Vin, along with Spook and Tindwyl.

 

{{epigraph|Alendi believes as they do.}}

 

 

Vin broods about her perceived failures and listens to a distant thumping which she realizes is the Well of Ascension being restored to power. OreSeur tells Vin that he doesn't like Terrismen since they are difficult to imitate, but has done so since they are always around powerful people. Vin notices the mists behaving oddly, staying indoors without vanishing for a long period of time. Zane appears and tries to get Vin to leave Luthadel with him. She almost does, but realizes that she values Elend's trust in her, and declines. Zane is angered and attacks Vin. Vin issues a command to OreSeur to give her the atium he was holding for her but he ignores her, and instead obeys Zane who is revealed to be his real master. Zane calls the kandra TenSoon. Vin realizes that TenSoon is the spy. As Zane and Vin fight, TenSoon cries out about how Vin knows about kandra, giving aid to Vin by reminding her of his weakness. She burns duralumin and brass, and is able to use soothing to control TenSoon. She takes the bead of atium from TenSoon though it only had a few seconds worth of atium, and it runs out quickly, as Zane intended. However, she uses Zane's dependance on atium to somehow feint him into revealing where she was going to attack, and diverts her dagger to where Zane didn't anticipate it, stabbing him in the neck and killing him.

 

{{epigraph|He is a good man—despite it all, he is a good man. A sacrificing man. In truth, all of his actions—all of the deaths, destructions and pains he has caused—have hurt him deeply. All of these things were, in truth, a kind of sacrifice for him.}}

 

 

Elend considers his options for dealing with Jastes' koloss army. Vin appears, injured from her fight, and tells Elend that she killed his brother Zane, which shocks him. Elend summons Sazed to provide medical care for Vin. Vin speaks of Elend's and Kelsier's capacity for trust and proposes to Elend and he accepts. Sazed performs a brief [[Larsta]] ceremony and declares them married.

 

{{epigraph|He is accustomed to giving up his own will before the greater good, as he sees it.}}

 

 

Elend prepares to depart for the Well of Ascension, while Tindwyl berates him for abandoning his people. Tindwyl questions Elend's and Vin's belief in the supernatural properties of the Well of Ascension. Elend grows angry and orders Tindwyl to leave, though he agrees to deliver a package to the Synod in [[Tathingdwen]]. Spook arrives, as does Allrianne, and she convinces them to allow her to join their company, stating that Breeze ordered her to leave the city. They leave the city through the Tin Gate, stating to the guards that they are going for help and will return. A group of archers tries to intercept them outside the city but Vin fights them off. Allrianne then parts ways with them.

 

{{epigraph|I have no doubt that if Alendi reaches the Well of Ascension, he will take the power and then—in the name of the presumed greater good—give it up.}}

 

 

Allrianne arrives at her father's army escorted by bandits that she used Rioting and the promise of a reward to manipulate into helping her. She confronts her father and argues that he should turn his army back to Luthadel instead of proceeding to their home dominance to improve their chances of survival.

 

{{epigraph|And so, I have made one final gamble.}}

 

 

Vin sees the mist spirit in her tent, hovering over Elend, and tries to stab it with her dagger and makes contact with something, but the spirit vanishes. Elend wakes up from the disturbance, but Vin tells him that she is just feeling anxious. Spook says that they are being followed by five men. Spook laments that he feels useless with only one allomantic ability, but decides to utilize it as much as possible even when it doesn't seem to be needed at the time.

 

{{epigraph|My pleas, my teachings, my objections, and even my treasons were all ineffectual. Alendi has other counselors now, ones who will tell him what he wants to hear.}}

 

 

Breeze consumes great quantities of brass as he soothes the defending human soldiers who await the koloss attack at the Zinc Gate. Breeze tells Clubs that he has tried to soothe the koloss but was unable. Clubs says that he never lost a battle in twenty years of fighting, but that he always had the koloss on his side in the past.

 

{{epigraph|I have a young nephew, one Rashek. He hates all of Khlennium with the passion of an envious youth. He hates Alendi even more acutely—though the two have never met—for Rashek feels betrayed that one of our oppressors should have been chosen as the Hero of Ages.}}

 

 

Straff and his army are just outside Luthadel, and Straff tells General Janarle that they will let the koloss fight for a few hours and tire themselves out before they invade the city to drive the koloss out.

 

{{epigraph|Alendi will need guides through the Terris Mountains. I have charged Rashek with making certain that he and his trusted friends are chosen as those guides.}}

 

 

Vin battles against the koloss but realizes that she won't be able to defeat all of them by herself.

 

{{epigraph|Rashek is to try and lead Alendi in the wrong direction, to discourage him, or otherwise foil his quest. Alendi doesn't know that he has been deceived, that we've all been deceived, and he will not listen to me now.}}

 

 

Straff wakes up the morning after the koloss attack, and General Janarle reports that the fighting in the city seems to be over. However, they notice that there are koloss lining up outside the city wall, as well as human soldiers, taking Straff off guard. The koloss and humans charge Straff's army, and Straff suddenly notices Vin hurtling through the air toward him.

 

{{epigraph|If Rashek fails to lead Alendi astray, then I have instructed the lad to kill Alendi.}}

 

 

As Elend and Spook travel to Luthadel, Elend encounters the mist spirit. It points north and apparently tries to mentally push Elend, but then vanishes when Spook shows up. They encounter a group of Terris refugees, who were fleeing from Tathingdwen toward Luthadel because a group of Steel Inquisitors appeared there and attacked the Synod, killing them. Elend and Spook decide to accompany the Terrismen on their journey, and Elend states that he believes that Vin has prevailed somehow in Luthadel.

 

{{epigraph|It is a distant hope. Alendi has survived assassins, wars, and catastrophes. And yet, I hope that in the frozen mountains of Terris, he may finally be exposed. I hope for a miracle.}}

 

 

Sazed listens in as Penrod, Cett and Janarle impatiently debate on their future courses of action, while they await Elend's arrival and Vin's return to consciousness.

 

{{epigraph|Alendi must not reach the Well of Ascension....}}

 

 

Vin, Elend, Hammond and Spook find a second, larger cavern, with a lot of smoke, and they go towards a light.

 

{{epigraph|...for he must not be allowed to release the thing that is imprisoned there.}}

 

 

Vin holds Elend as he clings to life, and despairs, as the Well is drained and the thing is gone. The mist spirit urges Vin to pick up the metal bead then leads her back to Elend, and she realizes that she must feed the metal to Elend. She gives him one of her metal vials to wash the bead down with, and watches in shock as Elend burns pewter and returns to full health.

 

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Sazed arrives at the Conventical of Seran, and compares his rubbing to the metal plate and sees that the two don't match. The metal plate states that "Alendi must not reach the Well of Ascension for he must not be allowed to release the thing that is imprisoned there". Sazed reads the final section on the plate, which references prophecies that are altered by a malevolent force to cause

Alendi to release the power of the Well, leading to disaster, and Kwaan's contingency plan of Rashek killing Alendi to prevent this from happening. Sazed loses all faith upon reading these words.