The Hero of Ages

Breeze, Sazed, and Allrianne wait for Spook to return. They speculate on how he managed his dramatic escape, and Sazed notes that he may have somehow become Mistborn, though they are unsure how. While Sazed studies his metalmind bracelets, which contain his stored knowledge, Breeze questions why he doesn’t wear them anymore. Sazed responds that it’s too late for them to help.

Spook goes to Beldre in her garden, tells her that he is part of Kelsier’s crew, and asks her to accompany him. Beldre tries to summon the guards, and Spook flees, ignoring Kelsier’s demands for him to kill Quellion.

After another earthquake, Spook finally returns to the others. He tells them that Quellion is manipulating the citizens by saving Allomancers from executions and coercing them to serve him by holding their families hostage. Spook plans to expose Quellion’s hypocrisy, using rumors to undermine his authority while presenting himself as the Survivor of the Flames to rally the oppressed skaa. He also plans to flood the city streets by reversing the canal water, which would restore water to Urteau in a symbolic demonstration of his power. He asks Sazed to use his metalminds to access knowledge about the city’s water system. Though hesitant, Sazed ultimately agrees.

Three days after Vin’s capture, while standing alone in the mists, Elend questions whether he should have allowed her to take on the mission. His reflection is interrupted when Cett comes and bluntly tells him their siege isn’t working. The army’s supplies are dwindling, and the soldiers are becoming restless. Cett suggests they abandon the siege and retreat to Luthadel to regroup, given the city’s revolt and the worsening ashfall.

A brawl breaks out among the soldiers. General Demoux attempts to break it up but is punched in the face by one of the combatants. Elend intervenes, using Allomancy to settle the men’s emotions and restore order. He learns that the fight started because some soldiers accused the Mistfallen of being cursed and responsible for Vin’s capture. Elend decides to send Demoux and about three hundred Mistfallen back to Luthadel to help with the revolt, hoping to prevent further conflict within the army. He also chooses to force Yomen’s hand and seeks out his strategist, Noorden, to plan a more aggressive move.

Vin remains trapped in the cavern with Ruin. She realizes that while he cannot read her mind, he can implant suggestions that align with her fears and insecurities. This gives her some hope, as it means Ruin is not omnipotent. She also concludes that he relies on indirect methods like ashfall and mists to spread destruction rather than outright devastation. However, she still questions why he chose her to release him, and why he waited so long.

As she explores the cavern, Vin finds that Yomen removed all sources of water, intending to kill her through dehydration. She also finds a steel plaque left by the Lord Ruler, containing a message in which he regrets his inability to permanently defeat Ruin. The plaque ends by stating that he’s hidden Ruin’s body. As she tries to make sense of the cryptic hint, the cavern door opens.

Sazed uses his metalminds to recall engineering knowledge to restore the water supply to the city. When he explains his plans to Breeze, the latter is relieved that Sazed seems more like his old self. Spook, meanwhile, is increasingly worried that Quellion has not made any moves against them.

Beldre arrives at their base, claiming that she came to plead for her brother’s life. Spook, however, sees it as an opportunity for propaganda, intending to spread rumors that Quellion’s sister defected. Despite her protests, Spook holds Beldre captive. Sazed, while uncomfortable with the ruthless decision, recognizes its cleverness.

Vin tries to escape the cavern by attempting to break through the trapdoor above using her Allomantic abilities, only to find it sealed. When she turns back, she finds a group of workers and Telden. He tells Vin that he’s there to convince her to drink some drugged wine so she can be safely transported to Yomen. Although Vin threatens him, Telden calmly argues that Yomen knew she wouldn’t kill the innocent workers with him. Realizing she has few options left, Vin drinks the wine, planning to flare her pewter to neutralize the drug and pretend to be unconscious. However, her plan fails and she falls unconscious.

Elend ventures through the mists, heading toward a koloss army, planning to gain control of them to use as leverage against Yomen.

He arrives at a village under attack by koloss and jumps into the fray, cutting down the creatures in an attempt to protect the townsfolk. However, this time he struggles to get control over the koloss, and he suspects that an Inquisitor is behind their resistance. In the end, he succeeds in gaining control over the koloss and leading them back to his camp. Despite his victory, Elend feels guilty over the destruction of the village and over his plan to use the koloss to take Fadrex.

TenSoon returns to Luthadel and is shocked to find it overcrowded and deteriorated. He heads to Keep Venture, where he overhears guards mentioning that Penrod now rules in Elend’s absence, and that the king has been talking to himself and forcing skaa to fight for food.

Seeking more information, TenSoon follows a lead he gained while impersonating OreSeur, and he unearths Kelsier’s bones. TenSoon takes on the form of the Survivor, Kelsier, and confronts guards at Keep Venture, convincing them that Kelsier disapproves of how the city is being managed. The guards tell him that Vin and Elend are fighting in the north, and TenSoon decides to head there next. As he leaves, TenSoon is recognized by a group of skaa who mistake him for the real Kelsier. Caught up in the moment, he encourages them to seek shelter underground. He then transforms back into the wolfhound, packs up Kelsier’s bones, and sets off toward Urteau.

Spook visits Beldre, who tells him that she was once slated to be executed by the Lord Ruler but was spared with the end of the Final Empire. She is disillusioned with both her brother and the Lord Ruler, as she trusted them both only to be betrayed. Spook shares his own insecurities about feeling out of place in the group, and he tells her that he was only accidentally a part of Kelsier’s crew in the first place, as he came with his uncle. Beldre begs Spook to spare her brother and the city, and he tells her he will try. As he leaves, Beldre warns him that power corrupts and that he shouldn’t seek it out so readily.

Spook sets out with Durn to bolster his reputation among the people, making public appearances in various taverns. He presents himself as a man of the people, listens to their grievances, and encourages them to rebel against Quellion. He also lets Breeze plant rumors about Quellion’s Allomancy. Spook revels in his newfound popularity, validated by Kelsier whispering in his mind that he deserves the recognition.

Vin awakens bound with silver manacles that nullify her Allomantic abilities. Her body had expelled all her ingested metals, rendering her powerless. Yomen tells her that he took precautions to stop her, then returns her earring to her, noting that the combination of silver and bronze is virtually useless to an Allomancer. Vin is wary and suspects that Yomen might be a Mistborn himself, as he seems confident and unafraid of her.

During their conversation, Yomen tells Vin that he doesn’t want to use her as leverage against Elend. Instead, he plans to execute her for the murder of the Lord Ruler. While he plans to give her an opportunity to speak in her defense, the guards are instructed to kill her at the slightest hint of Allomantic activity. Ruin, meanwhile, whispers in her mind for her to kill Yomen.

On the way back to his camp, Elend meets the mist spirit once again. It gestures toward the southeast. When Elend tries to communicate with it, he realizes that the spirit’s messages can be manipulated by Ruin. They work out a crude system of communication, and Elend learns that the spirit does not want him to attack Fadrex. The spirit tells him that the mists aren’t killing anyone. It gestures to the metals in his vials, but Elend cannot figure out why. The spirit also hesitantly confirms that their survival is possible before vanishing, and Elend resumes his march back to Fadrex.

Spook contemplates the best way to provoke Quellion into openly using his Allomantic powers in front of the people. As he organizes his thoughts on a board, Beldre arrives. Spook confides in her about his plan, and she suggests that threatening him might not work since he would likely avoid using Allomancy. She asks to send her brother a letter telling him to stand down, and Spook agrees.

News arrives that Quellion’s soldiers, who had been keeping watch on Spook’s position, suddenly left. Spook, Sazed, and Breeze discuss the development, suspecting that Quellion is planning something, but Spook remains determined to move forward with his plan.

Later, Spook and Sazed oversee the construction of the water control system. Sazed, still struggling with his crisis of faith, questions the purpose of their fight when the world itself is dying. Spook tells him that faith means trusting that someone is watching and that things will ultimately be right. His words give Sazed a little hope.

Vin realizes she can still sense the koloss army Elend placed in her command. However, she struggles to use them to deliver a message, as her control is too crude for anything other than basic commands. While she ponders her options, Ruin manifests in her cell, appearing again as Reen.

Ruin tells her that it is disappointed she hasn’t escaped yet and chastises her for not killing Yomen. It claims that all people, good or evil, ultimately serve its purpose because their actions lead to destruction. While Ruin presents itself as a caretaker that ends things when the time comes, Vin notes its need to gloat, indicating that it possesses a human-like sense of pride. Vin presses Ruin for more information, deducing that Ruin once had an opposite force, which Ruin confirms to be Preservation. They once worked together to create life and made a pact allowing Ruin to eventually destroy what they created. Ruin claims that Preservation is now dead, having expended its essence to craft the cage that held Ruin for centuries. Vin, however, realizes that something still holds Ruin back, and concludes that there must be some remaining influence from Preservation that keeps Ruin in check.

Spook and his allies prepare to reclaim Urteau from Quellion. Sazed has finished engineering a system to flood the city’s canals, bringing back the water. Spook coordinates with Durn and the soldiers to ensure the city is ready for the water release. Beldre begs for more time for her brother but is denied.

As night falls, Spook and his team head to Quellion’s public rally, where he plans to denounce Spook and solidify his control. When an unplanned riot begins, Spook goes to attack Quellion, only to be stopped when Beldre uses Allomancy to fire a coin at him to protect her brother. The crowd, realizing that Quellion condemned Allomancers while secretly harboring one, turn against the siblings. Kelsier demands that Spook kill Beldre. When he hesitates, he realizes that Quellion can see the apparition of Kelsier, too. Spook removes a shard of bronze from Quellion’s arm, then the leftover fragment of the sword he himself had been stabbed with. Once both Hemalurgic spikes are gone, Kelsier vanishes.

The riots worsen. As the city burns, Spook realizes the floodwaters weren’t released. Despite Sazed’s attempts to get him to flee, and his own weakness after the sudden loss of his ability to burn pewter, Spook rushes to trigger the flood manually. The building is already on fire, but Spook pushes through to the cavern. After he pulls the lever, releasing the waters to save the city from the spreading fires, he collapses from his injuries.