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When a Keeper stored up wakefulness, he slept as if in a coma for a time He could only hope that the effects of such a terrible pewter drag were the sale time since her return a week before Perhaps she'd awake soon, like a Keeper who caer Her koloss arh she was unconscious But for how long? Pewter dragging could kill, if the person had pushed themselves too hard

What would happen to the city if she never woke up?

Ash was falling A lot of ashfalls lately, Elend thought as he and Spook eed from the trees and looked out over the Luthadel plain

"See," Spook said quietly, pointing "The city gates are broken"

Elend frowned "But the koloss are camped outside the city" Indeed, Straff's arht where it had been

"Work crews," Spook said, shading his face against the sunlight to protect his overly sensitive Allo corpses outside the city"

Elend's frown deepened Vin What happened to her? Is she all right?

He and Spook had cut across country, taking a cue froet discovered by patrols from the city Indeed, this day they'd broken their pattern, traveling a little bit during the day so that they could arrive at Luthadel just before nightfall The ued--both fro

More than that, he was tired of not knohat had happened to Luthadel "Can you see whose flag is set over the gates?" he asked

Spook paused, apparently flaring his metals "Yours," he finally said, surprised

Elend sed to save the city somehow, or this is a very elaborate trap to capture ees ere being allowed back into the city--likely those who had fled before, returning for food now that the danger was past "We'll hed quietly, shutting the door to his roou quite well, considering the fact that they'd all tried to conquer each other just a feeeks before

Sazed knew he could take no credit for their newfound amiability, however He had other preoccupations

I've seeninto the room Kelsier Jadendwyl Crenda People I respected I never wondered what had happened to their spirits

He set his candle on the table, the fragile light illue metal nails taken from koloss bodies, and onethe pages, re

Maybe this is why Vin putto takemore and more that he didn't want to take his mind off her Which was ? He was a Keeper--it was his life's work to re, even in the na that appealed to hi fondly in the dark chamber He'd sent a cleaned-up, rewritten version with Vin and Elend to the north This, however, was the original The frantically--alhtened scholars

As he fingered the pages, the flickering candlelight revealed Tindwyl's firraphs written in Sazed's own, e would alternate between their different hands a dozen different ti until he blinked, sending loose a tear, which hit the page He looked down, stunned as the bit of water caused a swirl in the ink

"What now, Tindwyl?" he whispered "Why did we do this? You never believed in the Hero of Ages, and I never believed in anything, it appears What was the point of all this?"

He reached up and dabbed the tear with his sleeve, preserving the page as best he could Despite his tiredness, he began to read, selecting a randoraph He read to remember To think of days when he hadn't worried about why they were studying He had simply been content to do what he enjoyed best, with the person he had co we could find on the Hero of Ages and the Deepness, he thought, reading But so h to a particular section, one that Tindwyl had insisted that they include It contained the several most blatant self-contradictions, as declared by Tindwyl He read the them fair consideration for the first tiered through the passages, reading her script

The Hero of Ages will be tall of stature, one read A nored by others

The power must not be taken, read another Of this, we are certain It must be held, but not used It must be released Tindwyl had found that condition foolish, since other sections talked about the Hero using the power to defeat the Deepness

All men are selfish, read another The Hero is a man who can see the needs of all beyond his own desires "If all men are selfish," Tindwyl had asked, "then how can the Hero be selfless, as is said in other passages? And, indeed, how can a humble man be expected to conquer the world?"

Sazed shook his head, s At times, her objections had been very well conceived--but at other ti to offer another opinion, no ers across the page again, but paused on the first paragraph

Tall of stature, it said That wouldn't refer to Vin It hadn't co, but another book Tindwyl had included it because the rubbing, the more trustworthy source, said he'd be short Sazed flipped through the book to the complete transcription of Kwaan's iron-plate testiht struck me the first time I saw him, it read Here was a man as small of stature, but who seemed to tower over others, a man who deued that there was no contradiction, for one passage could be interpreted as referring to the Hero's presence or character, rather than just his physical height Noever, Sazed paused, really seeing Tindwyl's objections for the first ti to hi the contents of the page

There was a place for ht myself the Holy First Witness, the prophet foretold to discover the Hero of Ages Renouncing Alendi then would have been to renounce my new position, my acceptance, by the others

Sazed's frown deepened He traced the paragraph Outside, it was growing dark, and a few trails ofinto the rooain How did I miss that? It's the saates I didn't recognize it

"Sazed"

Sazed ju his book to the floor as he turned Vin stood behind him, a dark shadow in the poorly lit room