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She'd wanted to be with hiion out of a desire to be involved hat he found important And, now that she was dead, Sazed found hi what she'd found important Tindwyl had studied politics and leadership She'd loved to read the biographies of great statesreed to become Elend's ambassador so that he could involve himself in Tindwyl's studies, just as she--before her death--had given herself over to his?

He wasn't certain In truth, he thought his problems were deeper than that However, the fact that Spook had been the one to ave Sazed pause It was a very clever way of looking at things Instead of contradicting him, Spook had offered a possible explanation

Sazed was i across the waters for a ti what Spook had said Then, he pulled out the next religion in his portfolio and began to consider it The sooner he got through them, the sooner he could--hopefully--find the truth

Allomancy, obviously, is of Preservation The rational mind will see this For, in the case of Alloained It is provided by an external source--Preservation's own body

32

"ELEND, IS THAT REALLY YOU?"

Elend turned with shock He'd been roup of men who had turned out to be distant cousins of his The voice from behind, however, seemed farhere!"

"I live here, El," Telden said, clasping hands with Elend

Elend was dumbfounded He hadn't seen Telden since his house had escaped Luthadel in the days of chaos following the death of the Lord Ruler Once, this man had been one of Elend's best friends To the side, Elend's cousins ht you were in BasMardin, Tell," Elend said

"No," Telden said "That's where erous, ith the koloss raes I moved inward to Fadrex once Lord Yo able to provide stability"

Elend sed his friend Telden had once been the model of a debonair ladies' man, his hair and expensive suits intended to draw attention It wasn't that the older Telden had grown sloppy, but he obviously didn't take as e ained made him look far moreordinary than he once had

"Elend," Telden said, shaking his head "You know, for the longest tied to seize power in Luthadel"

"You were there at ht that they had picked you as a puppet, El," Telden said, rubbing his wide chin "I thoughtwell, I'uess I just didn't have ht, "

Telden obviously wasn't sure how to reply to that

"I did get better at the job," Elend said "I just had to stuoers shuffled through the divided ballroo did their best to appear uninterested and aloof, Elend could tell that they were doing the noble equivalent of gawking He glanced to the side, where Vin stood in her gorgeous black dress, surrounded by a group of wo well--she took to the courtly scene far better than she liked to let herself think or adraceful, poised, and the center of attention

She was also alert--Elend could tell by the way she lass partition She'd be burning iron or steel, watching for suddenCoinshot Elend began burning iron as well, and hezinc to Soothe the e too angry or threatened by his intrusion Other Allo an entire room at once For Elend, with his inordinate power, it barely took any attention

Telden still stood nearby, looking troubled Elend tried to say soled to co that wouldn't sound aard It had been nearly four years since Telden had left Luthadel Before that, he had been one of the friends ho with the idealism of youth for the day when they would lead their houses Yet, the days of youth--and their idealistic theories--were gone

"So" Telden said "This is where we end up, is it?"

Elend nodded

"You're notreally going to attack the city, are you?" Telden asked "You're just here to intiht?"

"No," Elend said softly "I will conquer the city if I have to, Telden"

Telden flushed "What happened to you, Elend? Where is the ality?"

"The world caught up with me, Telden," Elend said "I can't be the man I was"

"So you become the Lord Ruler instead?"