"And the Son of Man said: Gaze upon the People's Works. We have Done what the Lords said was Impossible, and the Lords have been put to Shame when Faced with the Might of our New Republic."

---

Mistborn: Smoke and Ash​

Revolution in The Final Empire​

Vill Dav jumped across the gray stucco rooftops of Tavira. The mists felt good against his skin, suffused with the salty sea breeze, cool in the surinsulindic winter air. He wasn't sure if there were any Mistborn in the city- there had to be, given House Fathvell and the other's pedigrees, but he had yet to see the tell-tale lines of a Mistborn's coin pouch. It was good for him, because, for now, he ruled the rooftops.

He just hoped a Mistborn never showed up to teach him oh how wrong he was. While he didn't have tin, he had found something else that served a great role in a similar effect for eyesight. Vill's family doctor had found that belladonna extracts, used by noble women to dilate their pupils so they would look prettier at balls, could be used to look into the inside of eyes. Vill thought it was creepy. But that discovery allowed him to jump and dance through the mists, almost like a Mistborn.

Well, pretty far away from it. Mistborn could sense allomancy, Mistborn could pull metal towards them instead of just push it away, they could touch other's emotions, they could fall from the second story without breaking their legs, they could mask their allomancy- and they could burn atium. Well, now that the Pits of Hathsin were destroyed by the Iconoclasts, and atium was running out, he wouldn't have to worry about that for much longer. Vill pushed off a windowclasp, hearing a snap as he hurtled across the cobbled roadway as the windowclasp broke. Did Mistborn have to deal with that?

Vill wasn't a noble- perhaps if he was, he would be Mistborn. He was skaa. But not your typical skaa- and his father, Dondel, insisted they weren't, but Vill knew better. Only because some noble had elevated Vill's father to a licensed skaa merchant before Vill was born. And then Vill had discovered he was a Coinshot, and Dondel had Vill swear to never even burn steel- and Vill hadn't, knowing full well that everyone he knew would be killed by the Inquisitors- and perhaps his power eaten by Steel Inquisitors, if the Republic was right.

But Vill had collected allomancer's steel, just in case. And then the Lord Ruler died, six months ago, and their problems changed. For a while it looked like the Lord Prelan would be able to impose his rule in Austrex, but then the city had a revolution, and the Lord Prelan fled to the Western Dominance, excommunicating the Lord Fathvell who ruled the Dominance for not sending aid- although Lord Fathvell claimed that he had only got the request for troops after Austrex fell.

In a week, skaa allomancers were legal(or at least not forbidden), Dondel was a lord, and Vill was able to practice as a Coinshot. There had been ups and downs since- he hadn't gone hungry, but he had lost some weight before the trade agreement with the Republic was hashed out. He should be more thankful, many skaa had starved during the worst periods. But all he could do was look north, and wonder, for the Republic had never starved.

Vill had found himself across the street from the darkened Gubernatorial Manor, which was where the Assembly sat during the day. He spotted movement in some of the windows- tineyes, or seekers. Vill wasn't exactly sure on the laws, but they were probably noble allomancers, guarding the Manor, and as long as he stayed away from the Manor, he would be safe.

What was that? Vill looked into an alley, following one of the ghostly blue lines that emanated from his chest. Barren earth, but something glinted in the ambient light. He wondered how that worked when the stars were covered with the mists, but he jumped down to investigate. And he had struck gold. A boxing, coated and smudged in ash- but it didn't have the spires of Kredik Shaw on the front, or the calligraphic symbol of the Final Empire on the back.

In place of Kredik Shaw was a building, Imperial Style, that Vill did not recognize. On the back, was a symbol he did recognize- the New Republic's Consulate had it on their flag they flew above the building. Vill thought it was calligraphy as well, or maybe a new situational symbol in the steel alphabet- it looked like the symbol A, but mirrored down the middle, and made more aesthetically pleasing. How did a Republican boxing get from Luthadel, or maybe Austrex, all the way to Tavira? Well, it wouldn't be hard, given the trade and visitors.

These were legal tender, he thought? It had to be, right? The Oligarchy still used Lord Ruler Imperials, but if it was the same material, and the same size, well it was the same coin, basically. Although the New Republic had Irons, coinage made of pure iron, that apparently had replaced clips, with clips becoming a smaller denomination of coinage. A Republican Iron or Clip would not be legal tender, but a Boxing or Ten-Boxing would be.

Vill Dav burned steel, looking for more coinage in the alley, but found none. He shrugged, thankful for what he had found, dropped a nail, and pushed himself back atop the rooftops, heading back towards the Dav townhouse.

---

The crimson sun rose over Luthadel on Bronzeday morning. Luthadel had really changed since he had arrived in the city, a couple years ago. Had he not known better, it was a completely different city, all thanks to the Survivor. And many agreed with his statement- some even called the city Republican Luthadel, in honor or celebration of the New Republic.

As for the Republicaness of the New Republic, well, he had certainly seen worse, and not much better. It was somewhat more of a city-state than a whole nation, but from what he knew about the politics and geography of the former Final Empire, that was the result of the Final Empire's infrastructure being built around various cities that served as commercial and industrial hubs, as opposed to a quirk of Republicanism he had seen in the government in the past. Luthadel was very overrepresented, but even so, you did have around 100 Assemblymen from outside the city, either from its suburbs, the Central Dominance, or its territories outside of that, primarily along the Terris River. You even had a few from the aligned nations of the Austrex Commune and Ashen Hands Chiefdom.

No, it was doing fine in that regard. The main issue was Kelsier, the Premier. The Premier had shaped himself up as a messianic figure, and he was certain Kelsier would have died. But the Premier didn't. As a result, he had a large cult of personality around himself, one that the Premier had attempted to combat, but also cultivated to ensure that Kelsier would remain in power. Although it wasn't that bad- especially as the last ruler in Luthadel had blatantly stated he was a god among men, and had created the world, and enforced a brutal caste system that no one gained from.

For cultivating a cult of personality, it was strange how the Premier wasn't really interested in ruling. Kelsier wanted to restore the clear skies that once had hung above Scadrial, and the green plants that once blanketed its hills and plains. Kelsier was a complicated man, and while he knew all men were complicated, Kelsier was a strange mix of altruistic and selfish, manipulative but pushed you towards bettering yourself. In the meantime before he could restore Scadrial to how it once was, however, he was working on the Great Change, and that… that was interesting.

The Premier had realized culture itself was malleable. And, in the wake of a thousand years of oppression, was teaching the people a new culture. Having them pick last names for themselves, having them learn to read, providing them revolutionary pamphlets to read, providing them furniture for their homes, even beds of their own. Well, cots, but that was better than mats on the floor.

He had arrived at the Assembly Hall, a former theater he had never visited, due to the absolutely terrible nature of Final Empire sanctioned entertainment. But now, it was home to a different kind of entertainment. Politics.

The room was somewhat empty- it was only eight thirty, as the clocks outside said, and there was only a few groups of Assemblymen in the hall, chatting. What was happening to him? He had gotten up early, on a Bronzeday, to participate in politics? Maybe the Great Change was having an effect on him as well.

A Terris Steward near the door was sitting with a small notebook- probably checking to make sure that someone unauthorized wasn't sneaking in on the back of the latest crop of elected officials. And so, he walked up, and announced his name.

---

Nazh was not having a particularly good morning. He had woken up around six, and was sipping some holly tea, lowering his mask- and holding his breath while doing so- he wondered if Khriss would object to him introducing coffee to Scadrial. The holly tea got him awake and alert, but it took more of it, and it definitely didn't taste as good. He decided against it.

The ash would probably kill the coffee. He thought. Shadows know it could kill my lungs.

There were plenty of reasons why he woke up early. One was Khriss's insistence on him joining the Department of Transportation, as opposed to any other Department, where he wouldn't have to sit in a quiet room plotting out routes and giving orders on how often to clear a canal of ash, and then he had become Deputy Minister of the entire Department. If only he had joined the Department of Military Transportation- that would get him the maps Khriss needed, but it was too much intervention for her.

At least he had talked her into coming into the Physical from Port Hathsin. That was the start, and an agreement that she would do her best to save this world, despite how bleak and covered in ash it was.

At least Luthadel's gotten a lot better since I first arrived. He took another sip of his tea.

And then he heard a name from Gholwyl at the door.

"Hoid Cephand. Took the late Master Trest's seat, elected a week ago. You're good to go in." Gholwyl said.

Nazh barely managed to get his mug down before he started coughing on the tea. He managed to re-affix his mask- more of a strip of cloth he could tie around his head- before he got more than a breath or two of unfiltered air in, and as he coughed, he saw him, and was approaching him.
Tall, thin, dark-haired, hawk-faced. It wasn't just a coincidence- Hoid was a valid name in the Final Empire, but he would not be spared by fortune this time.

Shadowsshadowsshadows. Nazh thought as he coughed, and Hoid approached.

He managed to clear his airways enough to speak. "You…" he hissed, before returning to his coughing.

Hoid stopped in front of him, and exclaimed "Me!" jovially.

"What are you doing here?" Nazh demanded, having mostly cleared his airways.

"Well, I took the late Assemblyman Trest's seat after he unfortunately succumbed to old age, and I presume you were elected as well, my curmudgeonly acquaintance." Hoid said, sitting down in the seat next to Nazh.

"You know what I mean." Nazh barked.

"Well, Nazrilof…"

"Nazh Hoffman." Nazh quickly corrected him. He didn't want to have to explain his secrets, not yet.

"Ah, my mistake, Monsieur Hoffman. Well, the same thing you are here for, I presume."

"The betterment of the world." Nazh said.

"The betterment of the world." Hoid replied, with a far-off look in his eyes. Good, the man was willing to be serious for once in his ten thousand year long life.

"How long have you been in Luthadel?" Nazh asked.

"Two years. Five, in The Final Empire. Was an informant for various nobles and thieving crews, pulling strings, trying to not visibly die when some noble got angry at me. Covered for the Premier a couple times, back when he was planning his rebellion. Found the business drying up as information became less controlled, so I pulled a couple more strings when the district seat emptied, and got elected. How long have you been in Luthadel?"

"Wait… no, Dox told me the Premier had met you." Nazh had worked with Dockson more than once, being under the Ministry of Republican Ministry, and he mentioned that if Nazh wanted rare maps, he could visit the Keepers, or an informant named Hoid who Kelsier had met, and who Dockson complimented about his large breadth of knowledge.

"What? No, I never met the Premier." Hoid said. "Did I?" he asked, quizzically.

"Did someone finally out-disguise you?" Nazh asked, smiling.

"No, no. I was aware it was the unusually haughty lord who was asking too much about Renoux." Hoid said.

"All right, if you say so. As for me, closer to a year. Asked Dockson to join the Department of Republican Transport because of my collection of maps, when it was first created, and quickly became its Deputy Minister, and worked with Dox a lot. He recommended me to run in an election, and supported me when I did, two months ago." Nazh shrugged. "Now I'm here. So, how do you plan to better the world?" Nazh asked.

"Small amounts of encouragement delivered in the right places. The sort of thing being an informant, or Assemblyman, is best for." Hoid said.

"You were here before. Surely you must know how to solve the most important issues." Nazh said.

Hoid leaned forwards, knotting his fingers together, deep in thought. "Sometimes," he spoke, "What some men might call fate has something already laid out, and an intervention would have vast consequences, even if you think it, in your heart, it is best to intervene. If you walked up to the Premier and told him the truth, the way of things would be damaged, and Scadrial might be damned." Hoid leaned back, and turned to Nazh. "And so, small bits of encouragement. Also, He might know. We're safe, distanced from the Premier. But were we to have a bit more of an impression on him, or speak to him about something we shouldn't know, well, He might learn. Right now, He cannot be everywhere, and a few early Assemblymen would not catch His eye. Remember, Nazh- your thoughts are yours and yours alone."

"You knew Him." Nazh said. "And your encouragement is greater than Khriss advises me to make. How do you do it?"

"I hide, Nazh. Disguises, and something else. As for my encouragement, Khrissalla is correct. Fortune gives me guidance in my encouragement, and I can do much more than you can, unguided."

"Can you guide me?" Nazh asked.

Hoid smiled. "It has been too long since I have been asked that. But as long as our goals align, and we find ourselves in this room seven days out of eight, I believe that can be done."

And then the Premier arrived.

---

Kelsier walked into the Assembly Hall, having woken up just ten minutes prior. He was lucky he had that alarm clock specially made by a clocksmith- he had to cut back on his Copperday excursions with Vin to end around one in the morning to feel hale enough by the morning. And, of course, that he was Mistborn, and could travel from his house in Oldgate to Victory Square in a few minutes. He was snacking on a sausage a sausage monger had given to him for free, and burning Pewter to banish the grogginess he was feeling.

Assembly Hall was looking a bit fuller than usual, which was good, because last week's election winners were supposed to have their first day today. Kelsier had to make some laws in the past about no-shows, which was never fun. An Assemblyman who didn't show up… it made him feel as if he had done something wrong. The Assembly needed to work harmoniously, with the other Ministries of the New Republic. The fates of a hundred million depended on it.

Kelsier finished his sausage, and wiped his hands on his handkerchief. He walked to the front of the room, and to the left- where Iconoclastic Iconoclasts set, as opposed to the Commercant Iconoclasts in the center. He sat down next to Marsh and Dox, and smiled at them. Marsh was reading, while Dox was doing calculations in a notebook.

"How are you doing?" Kelsier asked the two.

"Oh, fine." Marsh commented.

"Kell… I need to talk to you." Dox said.

"What's bothering you?" he asked Dockson, getting up, and sitting next to the man.

"I feel wasted, here, Kell. I'm best when accounting the finances and resources of the New Republic in the Ministry of Republican Labor, not so much listening to arguments and voting for 8 hours a day. I already spend most of my time here doing work for my primary job, but it's always easier in my study."

Kelsier felt a shock. He didn't like it, but he understood. After all, Ham wasn't an assemblyman, his commanding and training of the Army of the Center being too vital and too separate from the Assembly for him to have participated during the early days of the New Republic. The Ministry of Republican Labor served an integral role in the management and growth of the New Republic, perhaps even more so than the Ministry of War.

But it hurt. Dox had spent the past six months here, participating and weighing in on the most important bills.

"Alright. You are needed elsewhere- but stay the day, and if you have spare time, or could work here, your presence would be nice." Kelsier told Dox.

"I can attend one or two a week, and lend my full presence if I have most of the days of the week dedicated to Ministry work." Dox said.

"Good." Kelsier sighed.

"Kel?" Marsh asked.

"What's on your thoughts?" Kelsier asked his brother, and made sure to look him in the eyes. He had thought he had lost Marsh once, and he would make sure that wouldn't happen again, by making sure he treated Marsh like a man.

"About Assemblymen who are high up in the Ministries, I was thinking that, while you might like it, full focus on the ministries is best, right now. I understand you view the Assembly as the most important institution of the New Republic… but we're at war. The resources of half the Final Empire are marshaled against us, but we're not acting like it. We've fallen into complacency. The pressure the Pretender and Aspirant Empires are putting on us will only increase. The Assembly has been everything I've ever dreamed of, but we need to use our freedom wisely. For our enemies seek to cast down everything we've built, and reinstate the Final Empire." Marsh clearly had been thinking about this for a while.

Kelsier furrowed his brow. "What's your solution?" he asked Marsh.

Marsh did the same, his furrowed brow just peeking above his blindfold. "You won't like it, but I hope you can accept this, at the very least. First, we cut down the number of Assemblymen- it's grown fairly disjointed, and needs supervision, management, and lots of funding that can go to other Ministries, primarily the Ministry of War and Ministry of Republican Labor. Maybe down to two hundred, or just a hundred? You made mention of equalizing the voting districts nation-wide based on population several times in the past, and this would be the perfect time for that, as well as getting Assemblymen from outside Luthadel in. A lot of the current Assemblymen are talented individuals, and would flourish in the Ministries, or are even already a part of the ministries, and we could easily funnel them from the Assembly to the ministries."

"Yes… I agree with this, even if I don't like it." Kelsier said, running his hand along his chin. "But other than the reform and equalization of the voting districts, I don't see how we could have Assemblymen focus on working for the Ministries, at least without a months-long propaganda campaign."

Dox spoke up. "I have a proposal, that you will like even less. In addition to cutting down on the size of the Assembly, I suggest prohibiting the leaders of Ministries and departments from having seats in the Assembly, which would force them to focus on their Ministerial duties. Breeze won't like it, but… well, as Marsh said, we're in a state of war, and our survival depends on the success of the New Republic."

Kelsier clasped his hands together. "No, I don't really like that. The Assembly is a marketplace of ideas and cooperation between the Ministries, and if we remove Ministers and Deputy Ministers from the Assembly, I can't really see a good way for cooperation to be achieved between the Ministries. The Assembly separated from the Ministries would be useless."

"Either way, both proposals would solve our issue, and allow us to reorient towards the most pressing matter at hand- war. I have no doubt in the future we will be able to focus on the Assembly again, but for now, we must turn our plowshares into swords." Marsh said.

[ ] Ministerial Priority. While we must focus on the Ministries in this time of war, we cannot neglect the Assembly, as it is the thing that sets us apart from the tyrannies that have risen from the ashes of the Final Empire. We will reform the Assembly to be smaller but also more equal as opposed to Luthadel-Centric, and use it to its full extent in facilitating cooperation between the Ministries. A republic, if you can keep it.

[ ] Separation of Powers. The New Republic is under threat, and for its own good, we must forgo portions of our democracy. In addition to reforming the Assembly to be smaller, we shall prevent all Ministers and Deputy Ministers from being Assemblymen, so they can focus on their Ministry duties. As long as the Directory exists, cooperation between Deputy Ministers and the Departments is unneeded, as the central Ministries can cooperate instead.

---

Enough of the Assembly's four hundred and twenty something members had arrived, and so Gholwyl had moved to the stage, to officiate the beginning of today's session.

"The hundred and eleventh meeting of the Assembly of Luthadel has started, on the final day of the thirteenth month, on Bronzeday. Today's session will begin with the Spying bill, authored by the Premier Kelsier, co-authored by the Directory. The Premier Minister will be reading the bill."

Claps rose from the Assembly, and from the theater boxes up above, occupied by members of the public who had arrived early enough to secure a seat. He thought he could see Kless Haught in a window up above, but he wouldn't let that ruin his day. Kelsier stood up, smiling, and waved to the Assembly. He lightly Pushed on a coin, sending him hurtling atop the stage. He turned, grinning, looking at the entire Assembly, laid out before him. From left to right, he could make out faces, and the political clubs.

Occupying the left and center of the Assembly were the Hathsinists, his club, but there was quite a distinction between the Iconoclasts on the left, and the moderates in the center, nicknamed the Commercantists, by their detractors. The Iconoclasts themselves had a few factions within themselves- the Scarred, Kelsier near-worshippers who seemed to be more supportive of his policies than he himself was. They were led by Garv Witness.

And there was his faction proper, its leaders being Dox, Marsh, Nazh Hoffman, Haws Mistson, Hettel Smith, and Jasten Docker. Some said there was a distinction between those who were loyal to him and went with everything he said, and more moderates such as Marsh and Nazh, but as long as he was moderating himself, their visions were unified.

And that vision was common sense. The Great Change was their foremost goal. While the physical chains of the Final Empire were cast off, the mental chains still held. Last names, shorter hours, holidays, political education, education in general, and public betterment. But also the unification of the world under the New Republic, state direction of the economy through either state-owned factories and businesses or worker cooperatives, equal rights for everyone and the institutions for everyone to be able to use those rights in the spirit of Egality, and popular democracy in general. They might have had to use political centralism to carry out those goals, but it was for a good cause.

The Commercantists were led by Breeze. Kelsier could understand the appeal of private property, but could not agree with restricting voting to landowners(who were mostly nobles), or handing out factories and barges to merchants, then tasking them with hopefully not short changing the government. They championed the idea of the free market, but Kelsier knew that were the market free, those with the largest amount of wealth would become dominant- the nobles. Liberty above equality would undoubtedly lead to an unhealthy nation, and in such times of war, the nation needed to be strong. They were also against the Great Change, viewing it as unnecessary. Getrue Trader, Thurts Docker, and Lord Habren were members of them.

And then the Right. The Monarchists. Who, against all odds, wished to restate the Final Empire. No, that was unfair. They wished to return to the time before the Final Empire, when lords ruled a hundred nations, always fighting amongst themselves. Reversing the gains skaa had made, putting the nobles back in charge, and maybe crowning a king- although all the club's leaders seemingly wished to be King, or perhaps Queen, of Luthadel, so there was a moderate amount of infighting. They were led by Elend Venture, Ferson Penrod, Chanim Haught, and Philen Frandeau. Kelsier was glad to see that they had lost a small amount of ground in last week's votes. There would never be another Lord in Luthadel.

Kelsier could also see a lot of new faces from last week's round of voting, and wondered who they would side with. He recognized a new face- the informant he had spoken to to check if his plan had leaked into the skaa underground, what was his name? Ah right, Hoid. Kelsier wondered what the informant had been doing since the Revolution. Probably still trying to be an informant, in a society where that profession was declining. And he had done what many informants had done- run for Assemblyman.

And then the lights dimmed, and a limelight turned to illuminate him on stage. Kelsier grinned, as he began his speech, in the limelight once more.

After today's Assembly meeting, Kelsier decides to meet with some people he saw in the crowd today. Top 2 votes win.

[ ] Hoid Cephand. While they had met before, it was under less-than-ideal conditions, as both were disguised in some way. An open meeting between the two would clear up some misunderstandings, and in fact, the Assemblyman already extended an invitation to the Premier for a meeting between the two. But what did he mean when he insisted the best place was a copse of trees on a hill fifty miles south of Tenes, next to the Habren estate?

[ ] Nazh Hoffman. Dox has nothing but praise for the man's work ethic, not so much for his personal character- he's always seemingly irritable, and goes for the pessimist argument more often than not. Meeting him would peel back the layers of this complicated man, and maybe even meeting the Premier could cheer him up. He's also mentioned that he's working for someone, who wants maps of the Final Empire, and that his twin loyalties do not conflict. Who could that be?

[ ] Kless Haught. Kelsier can't shake the suspicions he has about the woman. Half a Great House, albeit a lesser one, defecting to the New Republic less than a day after the death of the Lord Ruler? Spy or not, she has another agenda, one separate to the New Republic. And so, talk to her, hopefully catch her out on her lies. As well as see how the Nobility is doing in Luthadel, now that the Final Empire is gone.

---

Baz'en wanted to kill her foremost political enemy. It would be so easy. One coin accelerated to lethal speeds via allomancy, one knife in the dark.

But the Premier had told her that would not be allowed, under any circumstances. She had argued, of course, bringing up Renholm's history, and ties to the nobility, but Kelsier had dismissed her, saying that she had no clear evidence he was a traitor. She would have ended his life long ago, but Baz'en had picked up a certain reputation in the weeks between the Lord Ruler's death and the Austrex Uprising.

A knife in the dark or a coin out of nowhere would be easily traced back to her, as if she had killed him in the broad light of day in a public square. Even something that looked like an accident would immediately make her suspect.

She had killed a Steel Inquisitor during the Uprising, ripping out its back spike, in front of thousands, albeit with knowledge from the Victory at Fountain Square. Why was dealing with the Austrex Commercantists so difficult? She looked at her enemy. Renholm Callenos, leader of the Commercantists, talking about taxes. Bah, probably wanted to skim off the top.

At least a majority of Austrex loved her, and wished for Baz'en Wraithkiller to remain in power. She knew if she lost that support, Renholm would gain power, become the First Minister, and likely attempt to have her killed. Although his paramilitary was notably bereft of allomancers, he could undoubtedly employ mercenary Hazekillers, although Hazekillers couldn't stand against greater numbers. She settled on reasoning that, if she lost power, she could very easily get it back again, as the Premier wasn't that tolerant towards empowered Commercantists.

She looked around the Assembly, the former opera theater full of allies and enemies. To the left, with her at the front, were the Austrex Iconoclasts. Her followers, many of them dating back to her time in the Mist Riders, and new allies. Eufraso Steelburner, her closest confident. Marsik the Smoker, somewhat of a pacifist, but that was on the average for Smokers. As long as he didn't insist on toning down the deserved Readressment of the nobility. And Fatren of Vetitan, from Vetitan on the Verdigris Plateau- the liberator of Verdigris, and a believer that any other ideology would devolve back into the Final Empire. There were dozens more, but those were the notable figures out of the Iconoclasts.

And then on the right, were the Austrex Commercantists. The wretched liberals. As a gang, the Boxings, they bribed their way to success, and stuck to boring financial crimes, and didn't even try to defraud the Steel Ministry or any large noble houses. Renholm was half-skaa, but was raised a noble.

Their party was mostly composed of skaa merchants and even some nobles who had escaped the executioner's noose, but Abellna Callenos, Renholm's niece, was his lieutenant from his days doing financial crimes against lesser houses. They also had Druffel of Vetitan, Fatren's brother, who was somehow on good terms with Fatren despite their political differences. Druffel was also a good speaker, and was part of the reason the Commercantists were as popular as they were, despite Renholm's constant rants about how the poor could not be trusted running a state.

And then there was the 45th Assemblyman- Captain Goradel of the Republican Army, not belonging to either party, the tiebreaker, and the New Republic's foremost representative in Austrex. He wasn't too much of a bother- he mainly pushed for increasing the size of the military to aid the New Republic in its fight against the Aspirant Empire, and improving the Commune's military capabilities. The Powder Mill he built had given Austrex cannon and flintlocks, which was helpful.

But every new battalion led to a political race to, first, get a politically loyal captain in charge, and then make sure it was outfitted with the best equipment. Every expansion cost a lot of time and money, both of which were better spent combating the Austrex Commercantists behind the scenes.

Renholm finally finished up his blabbing, and his bill would go up for a vote. Sure as hell waited below she wouldn't be voting for it, and all the proper Iconoclasts wouldn't either. Baz'en was finally starting to see the future of Austrex. She had about 3/5ths the Austrex army of 40,000, with Renholm having 2/5ths and gaining thanks to his wealth, with Captain Goradel having a thousand strong battalion.

There were two ways she could see Austrex's future going. If she waited, as the Premier commanded, they would have equal forces, and Renholm would attempt to seize power, one that would require the New Republic to intervene to put down his rebellion. Were she to begin to counter Renholm's influence covertly, such as assassinating captains of his divisions, stealing his finances, and general illegal sabotage, she could prevent that civil war, and focus on building up the military and combating the imperial successors. She knew she had to serve justice to the Empire of Steel, but Tevidian's head was also a good prize.

And it came time to vote. "Nay." 23 people said, thankfully enough, but the absentations would have been enough either way.

What does Baz'en choose to do?

[ ] Act against them. It is better to ask forgiveness in the future than permission now. Baz'en cannot let his treachery and opportunism go unanswered. The Premier can be swayed to see that Renholm was plotting to seize power, which would have led to a lasting conflict that would have required the intervention of the Republican Army.

[ ] Trust in the Premier. He knows what he is doing, he set up these institutions for a reason. Renholm will inevitably overstep, and it will become clear to all that he is a traitor. Although at that point, he will have gained enough power that he will be able to put up quite a resistance against the Iconoclasts.

---

Eli was forced out into the arena, having no weapon but his chains bound to his wrists, with weights on the end. And Pewter. He thought. He felt the sand of the arena beneath his feet, warm from the sun burning overhead, and reddish from the iron stains of aged ash.

There were fifteen others in the arena, all young men and even some women, all skaa Allomancers like him. The Steel Inquisitors had abducted them all in the night, and Eli was certain they'd eat his soul, like the Iconoclasts said they did. But they didn't. Not yet, anyways.

And so, the lesser Obligators had take his blasphemous self, had fed him a bar of his allomantic metal, a weapon of sorts, and thrown him out into a gladitorial arena. The others also had weapons, but no typical ones. While none possessed chains like these, one had a trident, one with a dagger worn like knuckledusters, a saw-toothed sword, a steel whip, and the only one like his were steel claws at the end of chains, not bound to its bearer's wrists.

All had two things in common. They were nothing like one another, and all were made of metal. Eli scanned the arena. Typically, or at least he had heard, nobles would sit in the stands, but there were few attendees of them today, and what few there were, were Obligators. They sat in shaded stands, beneath canvas, silent. Some glancing at one another, some glancing at the lord proceeding over this.

The Steel Inquisitor sat fully exposed to the sun, in its black robes he had never seen them outside of, thankfully, its eye tattoos and bald heard very visible in the hot sun. It was wearing something else, however. It wore a steel raven mask, one with circles where the spikes jutted from its eyes, exactly the size of the eye spikes. Ravens. The creature that ate the body of the first murder victim.

How did it not get hot? Eli questioned, before ending that line of reasoning. Reasoning was useless against the divine. The Steel Inquisitor looked at the eight combatants, before staring at Eli. He felt its steel gaze against his blasphemous soul, but he did not look away.

"Begin." the Inquisitor announced.

Several of the others began moving. Eli gripped his chains in a way that he could easily maneuver the weights as the weapon he thought there were. But did he really want to do this? What terrible purpose did the Steel Inquisitors have planned for the victor? The oblivion of death skaa were greeted with could be nice, and would save him from having to play a part in the Grace's plans.

And then the woman with the knuckleduster knife charged him, a wild grin on her face. "Ash and Blood!" Eli screamed, raising his chains in defense of his self. He knocked the knuckleduster knife off her hand, assuredly breaking a few fingers in the process. She lunged at him viciously, and Eli stepped back, to bash her head in with the weights.

Blood splattered onto sand as the woman fell to the ground, motionless. And Eli made a terrible realization. Why was he hesitant to use his allomancy? He was skaa, oblivion waited for him no matter what. The Inquisitors could only kill him, and Eli guessed that allomancy would be allowed in this arena based on how they fed him that bar.

And the damned man used allomancy, knowingly, for the first time.

He felt such strength in his bones, he was alert, and ready for any attacks. He had gotten out unscathed with that scuffle, and he would try and do the same. He kept an eye out on all the other combatants, and watched as the fought and killed one another, blood staining the already ash-stained sand.

The brawl ended, as someone else who was holding back intervened against the survivors. It was the man with steel claws on chains. Fourteen lay dead or dying on the red sands, and yet the audience was silent. The claw-bearer approached Eli, and he noticed the claw-bearer was bleeding in several places, and had a large gash in his side.

Eli readied his stance as the claw-bearer attacked. The two parried each other's chains, sparks flying into the air. Eli found himself at a disadvantage. The shackles around his wrists limited him, while the claw bearer had free movement with his chains. Eli decided he would equal this out, by wrapping the claw bearer in his chains. He did so, and the two were bound together, struggling and fighting, equal- but Eli was not sure how to kill the man like this.

Eli tried burning his metal higher, and found he was able to, if he were to focus on it. He yanked his arm out, pulling the chains, which began to compress the claw-bearers' flesh. Eli kept pulling, no matter how the man screamed. A link snapped, and Eli pulled his arm free, before punching down, killing the man.

A small cheer went out from the audience, as Eli disentangled himself from the corpse. "Blood and ash…" Eli mumbled, looking at how he was the only survivor of 16 fighters. He had killed before, but never like… this. That cheer was the first sound he had heard from the audience this entire time, he sourly noted.

Another link snapped, as Eli pulled himself free. And he moved away from the corpse, and sat on the ground, ripping his chains off. The audience was back to its silence. Could he use his metal to escape? No, Inquisitor. He was bleeding in several places, but not bad.

And then he felt a sudden wave of nausea as he calmed down. He breathed deep breaths, but it grew, and grew, until he threw up. The metal bar fell to the red sand below, half- dissolved… but not from the acid inside Eli's stomach.

And then the Inquisitor spoke. "Rise." Eli rose. "Go to the middle of the arena." the Inquisitor commanded. Eli did. And then the Inquisitor jumped, like only Inquisitors could. A small triangular bladed piece of metal, the size of a coin, fell into the sand, and the Inquisitor landed atop it, gently, right in front of Eli.

"Look up." the Inquisitor said. Eli did. The Inquisitor was much taller than Eli, standing at around seven feet tall. And then the Inquisitor cupped Eli's face in its hands, and stared into his eyes, with Eli looking right at those circles of steel in the raven's mask. From here, he could see the mouth of the Inquisitor, twisted into an all too-wide grin. Its breath was sour. But Eli did not look away, did not attempt to pull away. All he felt was anger.

"Some of my brethren might call you a coward." the Inquisitor spoke. "Not so. You are careful, pewterburner. You were limited, to hamper the strength your power gives you. Some did not even burn their metal, and yet you learned to flare yours. And you have anger for me. Good. Passion makes you strong." The Inquisitor raised a hand, and Eli saw the hand descending to his head before all went black.

"The Flame that Raged across Scadrial Burned in the Hearts of Skaa and Noble Alike, and not only did it Spread to the Hearts of the Terris. The Drifter, when He least expected it, Found the Flame Licking at his Heart."

---

Mistborn: Smoke and Ash​

Revolution in the Final Empire​

Snow fell from the sky. The wagon rumbled through the streets of Tathingdwen, across its large ill-fitting cobbles, pulled by oxen, their breath forming into mist in the air. The wagon driver was skaa, and dressed in a thick cloth coat, and amidst the crates and barrels and bolts of cloth, were two Terris Keepers and a skaa, sitting, talking, wrapped in a large cloth to keep out the cold and snow. It was the first snowfall of the year, depositing large white sheets over the landscape.

The wagon came to a stop in a large square, and while the weather was absolutely terrible, there were a few stalls and fewer customers. "Alright, out you go, this is Gofmynn Square." The passengers rose, bringing some accrudaments with them, thanking the wagon driver for bringing them from the New Republic.

Vedzan stepped out to meet them, as the wagon trundled away, in a simple long-sleeved skaa shirt, making up the difference via Feruchemy.. "Rindel, Fisal, it is good to see you. Who is our friend?" he asked.

"Captain Demoux, sir." Demoux saluted him. He was in a Republican Army officer uniform, though one tailored for the cold of the Northern Domiance's winter. He was young, maybe in his early twenties? Certainly the youngest of the lot, but Vedzan started fighting when he was younger, who who was he to judge?

"Joined Yeden's army before the Revolution, and he has had a lot of military experience. The Premier picked him to accompany us to Terris, thought he would be useful." Rindel said.

"Good man." Vedzan nodded at the Captain. "It's getting cold, I have a place in the Skaa Quarter if you want to have a warm meal."
"That would be nice, I think." Fisal said.

Half an hour later, they were in a house along the Feddek Thoroughfare, overlooking the Exercise Yards. The skaa quarter was the old garrison, and as the Terrismen had plenty memories of its oppression, plus the fact the architecture was very far from the Terris standard, made the garrison very undesirable real estate for Terrismen, although that made it open to skaa and even a few nobles from the New Republic. The Synod had no control, here.

The exercise yard was occupied, even on such a dreary day. Some young terris were having an absolutely brutal snowball fight. The peak of the fight was over, and their wool coats were covered in snow. One was even slumped over a snow-covered rock, possibly unconscious, back covered in thrown snowballs. Vedzan remembered doing the same, but back in those days, half the yard was fenced off, Garrison soldiers only. Oh, he had such hate for the soldiers back then.

The house was an old Garrison building, and had many large rooms. Perfect for Vedzan's plan- revolution in the House of God. Vedzan was sitting in a wooden chair with some padding, taken from some manor house in the Tathingdwen Valley or the Terris Gift, legs on a stool, hands holding a bowl of stew- with chicken. Meat had become a lot more common since the Revolution, enough for the wealthy- in this case, the Keepers, to afford at least one meal a day that had some meat in it. It was hot, but that's what his brassmind was for. Vedzan looked more like a rural Terrisman than a steward- short dark hair, a bit of stubble, but he was wearing the robes of a city Terrisman, and had a large amount of bracelets on his arms and legs, and a few vital ones under his clothes.

"I suppose we should all swap stories." Rindel proposed. Rindel was wearing trousers and a button shirt, had short-cropped brown hair, and was slouching in his chair. "I know Vedzan and Fisal know me, but I don't know if Fisal knows Vedzan, and Captain Demoux hardly knows any of us, and vice versa."

"Ah, well I'll go first." Demoux said. He was wearing his officer's uniform, and had somewhat longer light brown hair. "I grew up in Tenes, south of Luthadel, and worked in a grinding mill. It was a hard life, worked all day, but we all had hard lives."

"Indeed true, that." Vedzan commented.

"And then… the Survivor came. To a speakeasy, bringing us words of passion and fire. I was there, drinking in the late hours after work, and me and several others were convinced, and went with his men to the Arguois caverns, where I became a Captain under General Ham. Kelsier visited when the command shifted from Ham to General Yeden, and tested the soldiers for the base allomantic metals- while I myself do not have allomantic ability, many soldiers tested positive for some allomantic ability- and yes, I have tested myself for gold, electrum, aluminum, and chromium, but I have not been able to burn any of the metals."

"When Kelsier told us the time was right, Yeden led us to attack Holstep- and we defeated its garrison, and took the city over. Valtroux sent its Garrison, and the Luthadel Garrison was also sent, but by that time… well, the Lord Ruler was dead, and the garrisons clued on that they were no longer protected by the Lord Ruler. Our numbers swelled massively from deserters, and we liberated Haverfrex and Valtroux, and just… kept snowballing. I've had a year of training, and half a year of real military experience, fighting the Aspirants along the Terris river, so this is my first winter in these icy conditions." Demoux said, taking a deep swig of stew.

"The typical story, a lot of those who served under General Hammond back in the Arguois Caverns in 1021 have quite a high rank in the Republican Army." Rindel smiled.

"I think it would be a shame to reveal that we Keepers have fought our entire lives against the Lord Ruler." Fisal said. Fisal was an older man, old enough to be an Elder, but he was definitely heterodox- heterodox enough to agree to aid Vedzan and Terris Kahl in dethroning the Synod. He was wearing a city Terris's robes, and some gray stubble sprouted from his head, but he had the traditional metalminds of a Steward, in bracelets and earrings. It looked like he was storing sight and health at the moment.

"I wouldn't say that about the Keepers in general… but you, didn't you kill a couple of Obligators?" Vedzan asked Fisal.

"I did, and I think it would be best were I to share my story next. I was your typical steward, working for a noble house, doing accounting, managing the household, educating his child, but that was years ago. For the past decade, I masqueraded as a traveling steward, one on some business trip for his master. Under that cover, I studied architecture- pre-ascension accounts, ruins, and that of the various cultures of the different Dominances." Fisal said. He was sitting straight-back in his chair, so he was still somewhat of a steward.

"But I frequented a couple of towns, in the northern Central Dominance and along the Terris River. I had contacts with the skaa underground, and was… friends with an informant. Earlier this year, he found me after a long time apart, and approached me with a job. Get a murderer- a skaa- out of the Dominance. The murderer was nothing more than a boy. Hunted by the Obligators all the same. The House he was subject to had fallen, and he had been sold- he killed his guard, a lesser noble, and escaped. I ventured with him, before the Obligators caught up with us."

"They had captured the informant, Temmir, and had tortured him. But he left one thing out- my Feruchemy. I was able to kill the Obligator and his boatman, and fled with the boat, the boy, Kem, and Temmir. I made it back to Tathingdwen, and petitioned the Synod to take them in. Both are competent individuals, and the boy is making out to be a great scholar. They refused my request. As I was panicking over what to do next, I got the news that the Lord Ruler was dead the day after, and my problems changed." Fisal said. He had gotten animated and passionate- at least, for a Steward.

"And these people are still in the city?" Captain Demoux asked.

"Yes, I believe Temmir's become an important figure of the skaa population of Tathingdwen, and Kem is taking lessons from Keepers and Stewards in his free time, but the boy isn't even fifteen yet." Fisal said.

"Ok, so an ally among the skaa in the city as well- good news. But tell me Fisal, what conclusion did you draw from that formative experience?" Rindel asked.

"I believed that we should teach and cultivate relations with the skaa underground while the Final Empire still stood, casting off the chains of docility and servitude. I did not believe the Final Empire could be overthrown, but when it was…" Fisal grimaced. "The Synod has not done enough with our first freedom in a thousand years, I think."

"Have you converted to Iconoclasm, Fisal?" Vedzan asked the Keeper, smiling.

"I am not sure what I am. But the Synod practically ignores the rest of Terris, leaving it to the Stewards and skaa to manage the flow of resources between Terris and Luthadel. They send Keepers into the lands of the Final Empire indiscriminately- we lost several good men before they wisened up that any Feruchemists sent to the Steeled Empire would be broken down for their powers. While the Breeding Program has stopped, the children of Tathingdwen will be its last generation, and the Synod is doing its best to ignore that. Synodic Terris exists entirely off of benevolence on behalf of the New Republic, and were that to end, we would perish quickly. It is clear that the chains forged by the Lord Ruler still bind us, and no one other than the Iconoclasts has a way to break those chains." Fisal had slipped off his stewardly nature, and made several animated hand gestures.

"I hadn't even thought that about the children." Demoux said, wide-eyed.

"What's better? How I got involved with Terris Kahl, or how Terris Kahl was created?" Rindel asked.

"Terris Kahl's history. I have a good idea of it, but the Good Captain here only has a vague idea of it from its activities in Mantiz." Fisal said.

"Ah, my life story. Well, listen up well, for this is the story of Terris Kahl, and the story of me." Vedzan leaned back, placing the now-empty bowl of stew on the ground. The three others were enrapt. Vedzan smiled- if all went well, in a hundred years, Terris children would be told this story, the story of how Terris broke its chains.

He started. "I was born in rural Terris, and like most rural Terrismen, I was raised by my family, and was not castrated, as the risk of both Feruchemy and rebellion was deemed too low in my town for it to be enchained by the Breeding Program. Like every action the Final Empire took, this was the wrong assessment, as I am living proof of that." the three men smiled.

"I was the son of a sheepherder, my father, and a clothworker, my mother. I had several siblings, but I am not close with them- my family discovered I was a Feruchemist when I was twelve, with myself having a vague knowledge of my abilities for several years before that. The Synod has ties to most villages, and generally the Elder is a non-Feruchemist member of the organization, or at the very least possess ties. I found myself being brought to Tathingdwen by a Keeper, and truth be told, it was scary for me- I found myself a completely unfamiliar city, when I was young, and theoretically hunted by the Steel Ministry- although the right paperwork was filled out, which meant I did not have to undergo castration unless I joined the Stewards. But I was a Feruchemist, and that was enough to earn me a death sentence."

"As for my family, I have visited them twice since- once when I left Tathingdwen, and once soon after the Final Empire fell, for their safety- but I will get to that." Vedzan said.

"I was trained as a Keeper, under the guise of an apprentice Steward. I was a bad Keeper, and a worse Steward. I found myself more often than not running away from my lessons to play, and then race, lift weights, and box in the Exercise Yards. Before I left Tathingdwen, I rose high in the underground boxing rings in the city, and I even managed to defeat 'Feny' Werring in a match."

"You defeated Feny? That man was the undefeated champion of boxing for decades!" Fisal exclaimed, very unsteward-like.

"Ah, I got lucky." Vedzan humbled himself. "It was near the end of his career, anyways, he started losing more matches after that one, before he retired."

Vedzan thought for a moment, before settling where he left off before this diatribe. "I was at my poor performance as a steward-in-training. To tell you the truth, I had no intentions of becoming a fully-fledged steward, although for selfish reasons. I liked my manhood too much to lose it, and I know I left several expectant mothers in my wake- although the Obligators always found them and induced abortions. When I was 19, the Final Empire started to catch on that I was not going to be a steward, and began an 'investigation' into my 'potentially rebellious' behavior. The Keepers helped me flee the city, and I took a few hot-headed friends with me as well."

"We went north, to the town of Wayedeth, in the Wayedeth Valley in Northern Terris. I trained further as a Keeper, and this is where I came into my own- I began setting up an underground, of sorts, with other hotheads- protecting other rebellious individuals, and investigating what we could of Terris- icebound ruins, cultural traditions, and collating the information stored in my copperminds. It is here Terris Kahl began. More and more flocked to my organization, but I could not hide everyone- and so, we split, various cells going to various locales across Terris. I remained in Wayedeth's surroundings, primarily in a ruined settlement in a nearby forest- there, we began to shape a library, and the cells all had communication with me, and none with each other. The Synod loathed this, and attempted to dissuade me, but I refused, and my master left the town." This was somewhat of a boring period, but it was all mostly boring, with occasional spats of incredible excitement.

Rindel smiled, for he knew what was coming next. "Around here, about seven years after I began, Rindel arrived, the Keeper of War. It was Rindel who turned my scattered resistance into Terris Kahl, and in fact he named it, but he deserves to tell his own story. We were able to begin training, and fighting- many Terrismen have experience with bows, through hunting, and it was bows that worked the best, for our style of long distance ambushes. And we began fighting. It was slow work- a lone courier or patrol in the hills, long nights spent in cold caves and snowbound ruins. But we pushed the Final Empire back, God Willing. We managed to liberate towns, either making them too difficult to reach, or leading their people into fertile valleys that were hard to reach, forcibly depopulated by the Final Empire to maintain its grip over us." Vedzan smiled.

"Something happened, before the Revolution." Fisal said. "I heard about it, the Synod spoke of dealing with Terris Kahl, lest it sink all our hopes."

"They spoke of trying to kill me? The sinful wretches." Vedzan spat. "I found the smoking gun. I pieced it all together- the twisted truths of the Lord Ruler's religion, carved texts in the deep valleys, and the recesses of our own copperminds. The Lord Ruler was Terris. A God-Damned Feruchemist, for God's sake! Ultimate power, from a mix of Allomancy and Feruchemy. No divine power at all, he just got lucky, and conquered the world." Vedzan ranted.

"It may seem trivial now… But I knew first. I preached it, word got out, and the Inquisitors were tracking me down. And then the Lord Ruler died, slain by the Survivor of Hathsin at the Victory. But I was ready to go down fighting, because if that piece of information got out… it would either save or damn Terris. It would have shaken the Final Empire to its core. But, well… if the Lord Ruler managed to maintain power, he could've sentenced our people to death. I abandoned the cell structure of Terris Kahl, gathering all the Terris Kahl members together, and was making preparations to seize Wayedeth when I got the news the Lord Ruler died, and the Synod had liberated Tathingdwen. I had an army, and I used it- I liberated the three northern valleys, where Terris Kahl was active. A good portion of Northern Terris is run by people I've worked with for over a decade."

"I ventured south, visiting my family one last time, before stopping in Tathingdwen, and had a tense meeting with the Synod, before I headed south with some of my cadre, to track down Obligators involved in the Breeding program, before they escaped. I put my experience to good use, and technically worked with the Republican Army. And then the Premier sent a letter to me, which started this plan."

Vedzan frowned. "To think, I was the first to find out the Lord Ruler was Terris, and the Synod and Keepers on the 'straight and narrow' often accuse me of being just like him through my willingness to fight him, and in the same breath say I wish to put Terris under foreign domination. I know all of us may not agree, but something is deeply rotten in the House of God."

"Something is. We are too slow to adjust, we always were." Fisal said. "The Synod has no real ability to rule, but I suppose that is part of our plan. Rindel should go next."

"Wow… I had heard of Terris Kahl, but I didn't know that at the same time as Kelsier was overthrowing the Final Empire." Demoux said.
Rindel leaned forwards, and cleared his throat. "I am a more typical example of a Keeper, although I had several… misunderstandings during my training as a Keeper. I was born in Tathingdwen, was adopted by someone with heavy ties to the Synod, trained as a Steward, and headed off to work for a minor noble house. I picked warfare as my subject, and was competent at studying military history. But I believed I was a spy for the Synod, and that was the start of my problems. Wasn't a very good spy, you see. I was run out of the estate after about two years when the Lord discovered my second logbook, the Final Empire revoked my Steward License on suspicion of corruption, and sent me to the copper mines."

"Boors didn't know who they were dealing with, though. I am the Keeper of War, I know how to raise an uprising. Organized a strike, broke out of the mine with a few others, killed a few guards, headed to Wayedeth, as an outlaw. And there I met Vedzan, and the early Terris Kahl. It was my military expertise that allowed Terris Kahl to take shape into its modern form, and I traveled from cell to cell, training and synchronizing our efforts. We would have never liberated the villages we did without me." Rindel said.

"Amen." Vedzan said. "Terris Kahl could not have done what we did without your knowledge of tactics and war. And the Premier appreciated your skills?" he asked Rindel.

"Oh, he absolutely did." Rindel grinned widely. "For context, after the death of the Lord Ruler, I found myself traveling south, initially to aid Vedzan in his search for Obligators who escaped the Synod's grip during the Tathingdwen Uprising. Then, the stories of the Revolution intrigued me, and when I heard that the Republic was looking for Keepers, I found myself heading south, and I worked with the University of Luthadel for months. The Republican Army has 10,000 rifles all thanks to me, and I contributed heavily on powder mills and cannon production. The Aspirant Empire and Pretender Empire have cannon, but mostly they're working with trebuchets- although eh, doesn't really matter much for sieges with city walls, other than Luthadel's, not existing. Really only matters for battles, right now, but as the palisades go up, and the spring campaigns begin… war will change, like it was in the days of the Conqueror."

"That is only supporting our observation that Terris requires stable leadership." Fisal said. "Warfare is changing, and we cannot let Terris fall behind in the dust. If the Imperial Successors wanted to, they could strike at Tathingdwen, and we would be unable to stop them."

"So, we must come up with a plan." Rindel said, excitedly.

"The day Premier Kelsier laid down his plan on how he would carry out the Revolution, he had a charcoal board. I suppose we don't have one of those sitting around?" Demoux asked.

"No, no charcoal board- and it's perhaps best if we don't write down our plans. Might end up on the receiving end of the Synod's guillotines. You have to remember- we are powerful people, figures the Synod is paying attention to- we cannot just openly state we are intending to overthrow them. But we also have resources. Feruchemy, yes, but men, territory, followers, skills." Vedzan explained. "That is why covering our pasts was important, finding out our life experiences."

Fisal spoke first. "In that case, I shall restate Temmir's ties to the skaa quarter- if we got him on our side, we could have all the skaa on our side in the inevitable conflict."

"And we have Terris Kahl as well. Where are those you brought south, those that were headquartered in Mantz?" Demoux asked.

"In the city, but divided. There are more from the Wayenedeth Valley in the north as well, but altogether, not so many." Vedzan answered. "If we can, we should relocate people from the north south. A revolutionary cadre would be nice to have."

"So, we have definite support from the skaa, and Terris Kahl. I presume we should just begin printing a newspaper, or pamphlets, to get regular Terrismen in the city more towards our ideas." Rindel proposed.

"It would be smart for us to form a militia. Not just for use in the city, but to train the seeds of a Terris army for, first, self-defense, and then for eventually aiding the New Republic in its wars." Demoux suggested. "I can train them, but weapons… who controls the copper and iron mines, and where is it refined?"

"Most are owned by the Synod, but maintained by the New Republic. The ore is generally sent down to Luthadel. We could likely get some iron, but I don't see your ideas on copper. Copper weaponry? That is not particularly effective, I think." Fisal said.
"Oh, just thinking about how the Premier wants Terris to achieve economic independence, and control over the copper mines would help." Demoux said.

"Hmm, yeah, were we to set up forges, then the copper would flow through our hands. We could do the same thing with the iron, and through that, produce weapons domestically, building up quite a military potential." Rindel said.

"I do not believe we could gain ground among the Synod, in our wars of ideas. The Premier did plan on us courting Keepers to our side, and it might be best were we to be able to take control over the Synod in some way, but it would be difficult." Fisal said.

"It would be more difficult, it would be possible, and avoid a war in Terris, although I'm not sure if that's the best option for us." Vedzan replied.

"Who in Tathingdwen would be the most receptive to Iconoclasm?" Demoux asked.

"The woolen mill workers, definitely." Rindel replied. "The Synod has not improved conditions in the textile district, I think, and there is much grumbling among the weavers and spinners." he said.

"So it seems we should decide on our options." Vedzan said. "If all goes right, we could build up enough power and influence to bloodlessly coup the Synod, taking power and sidelining the Synod into a purely . But what I've learned is that nothing ever goes right. The Synod will catch on, and work against us." Vedzan waited for any comments, and when none arose, he continued.

"Or we could follow the path Kelsier laid down. Building an army in secret, and taking Tathingdwen in a surprise attack. It is possible, although we should expect the Synod to take some preparations- the Final Empire knew of his rebellion a couple months after it started- it only didn't crush it because of failures in the past, fighting through the Arguois caverns, and the Lord Ruler was so self-assured the Empire could not fall, and he would never die." Vedzan said.

"I would prefer it were our colleagues not to be slain. While we could take Tathingdwen quickly, if we built up a militia or reorganized Terris Kahl, the Synod would undoubtedly build up a militia or even an army to combat us. We saw during the uprising that Keepers would be willing to fight, if they felt threatened- Kelsier has a plan for them." Fisal said.

"He didn't mention preserving the Synod, did he?" Rindel asked.

"No, but the Synod is composed of Keepers." Fisal said.

"Could do both." Demoux suggested. "A buildup of influence combined with military buildup. Start a strike, uprising, in Tathingdwen, while marching an army on the city from the north. Make it known to the Synod that they will lose, and demand their surrender, in exchange for a peaceful transition."

"Would take more effort than just focusing on one approach. Could also spiral out of control. And it depends how stubborn the Synod is. History is full of times where the cards were stacked against a group, and they had the option of folding, but they didn't, continuing into defeat and ruination." Rindel stated.

"So what do we do?" Demoux asked.

"We will discuss it more. Have the whole day, and a bit of the night- hopefully we can come to a conclusion, or compromise. I do not believe we can have dissent among ourselves." Vedzan said.

And the discussion raged for the rest of the day, although the days in the Terris winter were short, and raged well into the long winter night. By the end, although not all were happy with the plan, no one was upset enough to leave the group.

[ ] Revolution. The revolutionaries come to the conclusion that following in Kelsier's proven steps is best. Military buildup, in secret, combined with the spreading of hope and ideas among the poor and needy of Tathingdwen, before launching a second uprising that will see the city freed. The Synod will know of the revolutionaries building up an army, and build up their own army. There will be bloodshed, but it will see Terris cast off its chains much quicker, perhaps in a matter of months.

[ ] Slow and Steady… The revolutionaries shall take full advantage of the Synod's lack of firm control of anything outside Tathingdwen, and its lack of institutions, by gaining control over large swaths of Terris, and becoming the main hands through which goods pass, as well as setting up institutions that have the potential to see the revolutionaries taking over Terris, without a single drop of blood spilled. The Synod will see the revolutionaries' attempts of building a state, and be motivated into racing to build their own government. This will take the longest, perhaps a year, but see Terris free without bloodshed.

[ ] Why Not Both? The revolutionaries shall work on both plans, brandishing both the crook and the flail, the stick and carrot. They shall work on sowing discontent and forming a military force that could seize the city, but as well as work on establishing industrial networks in Terris. This balanced approach could mean that Terris will be able to provide both men and material to the Republican war effort in the south, but the Synod will definitely be incensed at the revolutionary's attempts to pick up their slack, and move them to also build up their abilities. But when Terris Kahl turns its army on the Synod, it is hoped that, while it could be a pyrrhic victory for either side, the Synod will see reason, and capitulate. While the time estimate is unknown, it is in between the other options.

---

Marsh watched through eyes of steel as the nobles hung, doing the hempen jig. He could see the blood pumping through their veins, and as their hearts slowed as they were slowly starved of air, the blood stilled. The crowd jeered at the noble, occasionally throwing rotten fruit and small rocks at the bastard. He had been convicted of rape of a young skaa servant girl. Made him sick. Some of the crowd had been subjects of this noble, or his House. Most weren't, merely holding a passionate hatred for their lifelong oppressors.

His spikes' demands lessened, but they didn't go away fully. He thought supervising these executions would sate their thirst for blood, even taking the place of the executioner sometimes, and it did, for a time, but their demand had… grown.

In this case, he had tied the noose, and kicked the stool out from under the nobleman's feet. He watched the man struggle for air, and his heart stop, as he died. But he took no pleasure from it. He didn't have the same rage the crowd that watched the executions did for the noblemen. No, he never did. Only when an Obligator was strung up, but those were a rare breed in the New Republic. His hate for them had only grown- they turned him into a thing of fear and death, in addition to ending his poor mother's life.

He refused to be an Inquisitor, though. He had grown his blond hair back, got his tattoos removed with the help of his Feruchemical gold, wore thick coats and a blindfold to hide his spikes, although the tips were there every time he combed his hair, or even attempted to do something as simple as lie in a bed, or sit in a high-backed chair. He could only sleep in a hammock comfortably. Marsh had done everything he could to return to his old life, or a new approximation of it, in Kelsier's Luthadel.

He disliked Kelsier. No, he loved his brother. He disliked himself, for quitting, leaving the skaa rebellion just before Kelsier took up its banner, and ended the thousand year long reign of terror. But Marsh remembered: he came back, and sacrificed himself to penetrate deep into the heart of the Steel Ministry. Without him, the Lord Ruler would've slipped away, as eight Inquisitors butchered the exhausted Kelsier and unpracticed Vin in Fountain Square, and God knew that the New Republic would have a lot more enemies and traitors within it if it weren't for Marsh's management of the Ministry of Republican Justice and the Department of Redressement.

His brother believed in him, too. Believed he was his brother and not a demon in the skin of man, treated him as he always did. He only wished Kelsier was right. His spikes throbbed to an unknown, wild, capricious, painful rhythm, as they demanded blood. He grit his teeth, as he left the hanging, attempted to satiate them by tying another noose and hanging another bastard. But he knew it wouldn't be enough. No, these men were damned to die. They wanted murder.

---

Kelsier and Vin arrived at Keep Haught. It was the only of the keeps in the city that looked like it did before the Revolution- not diminished like Keep Venture, not seized and turned into something new and great like Keep Elariel, or burned and abandoned like Keep Erikeller. Keep Haught was in Southbridge, and was indeed the center of higher industries in Luthadel. It was the center of the allomantic industry, as well as the most elite forges and weapons production- it was also home to the Obligator's paper mill, which was powered with an engine- and that engine, copied, allowed for so many labor-saving retrofits.

Southbridge wasn't too different today- but it had changed. Smokestacks were most common in the district, with cannon, rifle, and powder production having been primarily established here, mostly in the south of the district. It, and portions of the Brassworks, were turning into something else. They called it the Southbridge Arsenal. Kelsier hoped it would be developed more, and one day, the entire Republican army would have rifles, effectively an entire army of Coinshots, and artillery would be at their backs.

But he was not here for industry, at least not directly. House Haught still stood, the Keep's unchanging nature standing in defiance of the destruction of the Final Empire. While the Keep itself was Luthadel standard, all spires with stained glass with nothing special, the grounds held more than gardens and topiaries, although those were dying in the early winter weather, but the leaves were obviously being swept up.

Several large factories and mills sat along the Channerel, water wheels turning with the flow of the river. Haught's most prized possessions. Unlike most of their factories, Haught employed lesser nobles as workers in their most elite mills. And so, no readressment was needed, and House Haught managed to keep ahold of them. They had also purchased a large portion of their seized properties back, displaying the issues with a free market when the richest people were nobles.

And so, the Premier and his daughter walked right up to the door, a person-sized one outfitted in the grand doors that only opened during the balls, or when someone important, with a large retinue, came to visit. As far as he knew, they hadn't opened since the last ball, at Keep Venture, before the House War he instigated, truly began to rage. And he knocked, for while he was suspicious of Haught, as long as they held the peace, he saw no reason to spill blood.

The door opened. Someone Kelsier could identify as a lesser noble was waiting there, and this lesser noble immediately identified him- although he was certain that all but the most isolated hermit in the entire New Republic could identify him. "Premier Minister Kelsier, and Madame Vin, the Lady Haught expects you. I am the Chamberlain of House Haught. Please follow me- I shall lead you to Kless Haught."

Kelsier and Vin stepped into the Keep, perhaps the first time he was invited into a Keep, as Kelsier, the half-skaa, with the House knowing. Portraits decorated the walls, elaborate carpets made up the floor, and artisanal furniture made up the day. "Hasn't changed much, but some of the more expensive decor is gone." Vin commented. She had been here before, in the guise of Valette Renoux.

"An acceptable set of circumstances, when compared to the other noble houses in the New Republic." the Chamberlain said.

Kelsier had to admit, that was true. Out of all the noble houses, Haught's finances were the best, and it was sort of the nucleus of the remnant nobility, although getting all nobles to put aside their differences in the name of something approaching common interests was an exercise in futility- he knew that from experience.

And then the Chamberlain led them to one of the dining halls, where Kless Haught sat at the end of a table- one of the spots next to her was occupied by Assemblywoman Chanim Haught, and two spots were at the other end of the table. It wasn't too long, they didn't have to raise their voices. There were two spots at the front that were set, facing away from the door, in a similar position to those at the other end- the seat at the end of the table for Kelsier, and a seat next for it, opposed to Chanim, for Vin. Four seats sat between the two young women. Covered platters of food sat in the middle of the table, along with two bottles of wine. Several servants, likely also lesser nobles, stood to attention.

"May your discussion be fruitful." the Chamberlain said, exusing himself to tend to other tasks.

"Please, let us be seated." Kless Haught said. Kelsier sat, and as he was already burning copper, he started burning bronze. He couldn't detect anything from either Chanim- who was a registered Mistborn- and Kless Haught, who was openly a coinshot. Kless Haught was likely burning steel, while Chanim was likely burning copper, bronze, tin, and iron or steel, the copper smoking Kless's burn. But the Directory had kept something secret. Vin and Marsh could pierce copperclouds. Vin could see all the metals they were burning, and then Kelsier burned tin and steel, and saw that Chanim and Kless carried only coins, and some jewelry that seemed to be more functional than aesthetic, and wouldn't injure the wearer, but prove and asset in a fight. This was likely the largest concentration of Mistborn in a room in the entire New Republic.

"Let us partake of the bounty of Luthadel. I know you are a man not much for prayer, so let us skip that." Kless said, ordering the servants to place platters in front of Kelsier, lifting off the tops to reveal a steaming mixture of cut up meat and vegetables, and soup with noodles- more of a skaa dish than a noble dish, at least among the city skaa who could afford meats- and the meat quality was higher than the typical tripe or blood sausage. Kelsier smiled. The nobles had caught on to his eating food with his hands when invited over to tick them off. Kless liked to make sure things were controlled, and so had prepared food to prevent that from occurring. Vin started eating immediately, her lifehood of food scarcity still present in her behavior.

"So, Kless, why do you think I am here?" Kelsier smiled at the woman. And Kless smiled back.

"Because you doubt, Premier, House Haught's devotion to the New Republic, in spite of all we have done." he wasn't expecting her to be so blunt about it. Well, an invitation was an invitation,

"I do doubt you, Haught, and if I do not doubt your actions," he did. "I doubt your sincerity. You can understand. Let me tell you of my perspective. Revolutions are bloody, and I was fully expecting most powerful nobles in the city to fall to my soldiers, or revolutionaries. So when I got back from running around the Central Dominance, stopping the tide of fleeing wealth, recruiting some experts, or inspiring smaller towns to revolt, I was just expecting to hear the younger or lesser members of the Great Houses had been captured or surrendered, and the more powerful members had fled or died." Kelsier took a sip of the stew. Damn, that was better than he expected.

"They mostly did." Vin aided.

"Exactly. And then I heard you, against all expectations, had led a majority of House Haught to surrender. And you cannot blame me for suspecting you of some scheme, when most of the nobles were panicking because they were certain they would be butchered by the skaa. And you, you, sauntered up to Victory Square, filled with a hundred thousand revolutionaries finally receiving the promise of readressment, and you asked Minister Dockson exactly what would happen to the properties of House Haught, were you to willingly surrender." Kelsier was frustrated with the woman, for simply not telling him.

Kless Haught spoke. "So you want to know why I chose such a dangerous option, as opposed to flee? I know it is best if I am honest in this, so here you go- your answer, Premier. My marriage was for power, gaining my House an ally among the Great Houses. But I proved more competent than Alstir Haught, and well… the Lords of Haught didn't quite like that. It was always a struggle, keeping the House going, preventing my idiot husband from accessing the finances… and then the House War started, Alstir aligned with Venture, and I loathe Straff."

"You will not lack for sympathetic ears in Luthadel." Chanim added.

"Do you mind asking for the reason why?" Kelsier asked Kless. She must've really hated Straff, but why not go to the Aspirants?

"When I was younger, he kept trying to seduce me. I rejected his advances, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. And so, I was forced to choose between him and Alstir Haught. You would be unable to empathize with this, but you also have a lost love, although in harsher circumstances than a denying father. As for why…" Kless drummed her fingers on the table, thinking of the answer. Was she not sure?

"I heard a speech. By Minister Hammond- I was at Keep Elariel during its fall, testing the waters. And it's not impossible for Coinshots to fly. Hammond rallied against the injustices of the nobility, but also highlighted that the nobility were a prison of the system, same as the skaa, and even the Lord Ruler- I believe the example he gave was that Rashek couldn't visit a speakeasy. The revolutionaries didn't like it, but after I raced back to Hastings, and Alstir screamed at me to get on the boat. I said no, grabbed Chanim, and rallied Haught and some lesser nobles in the district in defense of the Keep, while Alstir slipped away to Urteau with the house heads, and a good portion of the finances. He's still alive. Sent me a few letters. Burned them all. I will have nothing to do with the Pretenders in Urteau."

Kelsier put his fork down, clinking on the mostly-empty plate. "Any future letters, you give to me, or Minister Marsh. Inaction is an action, in my eyes. What did you read in them? And who did you get them from?"

"Oh, just about how he wants me out of harm's way away from the conniving half-breeds lording over millions of raging skaa anarchists, but primarily, he wants Chanim more than me. As for the culprit, it was the late Lord Entrone. I told Minister Marsh, and that drove him to investigate the bastard, and, well, his investigations bore fruit. I have my suspicions on who else has connections to the Imperial Successors, but they are primarily based on what cliques I am barred from. Nothing actionable… but keep an eye on Penrod. That is all I am willing to say on this matter- I am not sure myself, and this is more of a matter for the Republic's intelligence than House Haught." Kless said.

Kelsier chewed that over as he chewed his meal. Kless wasn't the sort of woman to be convinced by a speech- perhaps it could have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Something was missing, but he knew he would not get an answer to ask. And what of her saying she had received letters from Alstir, but had burned them? That's what someone who was overcompensating would say. And she had admitted she had read some of the letters, but he would too.

And the mention of Penrod? Very deliberate, but was it Kless being charitable, or attempting to distract him? Either way, he'd have OreSeur investigate Penrod and Kless's ties to Urteau more closely- although as the two highest ranking nobles in Luthadel after the Revolution, the kandra already was.

Conversation moved to small talk or politics, while Vin and Chanim, while they didn't click with one another, had much in common, being both young women Mistborn forced out into the open thanks to the Revolution.

After the early dinner, Kelsier and Vin left Keep Haught, with Kelsier not fully having settled on anything. He didn't have the full story, and Kless Haught didn't want him knowing the full story, and that made her suspicious. She likely knew that, but why wouldn't she lie, prepare a convincing cover story instead? There was more here, definitely, but was that malicious or not?

[ ] Investigate Ferson Penrod. Kless Haught is innocent, at least of collusion with any of the Imperial Successors. She loathes both Straff and Alstir, and is unlikely to be working with either. Penrod was apparently an ally of Straff Venture before the Revolution, but his 'good behavior'(for a nobleman) has prevented him from coming under suspicion sooner. Poke around. Read the reports from OreSeur. See what can be found.

[ ] Investigate Kless Haught. Kless Haught is guilty, if not of collusion with the Pretender Empire. Collusion with one of the other Pretender Empres, hiding of assets, treason. She is hiding something, something she does not wish to reveal, and Kelsier will not be sated until he finds out what something is. The Department of Readressment will be mobilized for this investigation, for the good of the Republic.

---

Kelsier spotted the hill in the distance, as the horse moved beneath him, galloping swiftly upon the dirt track, although not as swift as the speeds Allomancy could provide. It hadn't taken long to get here- there was a spikeway connecting Luthadel to Tenes, and once the Tenes Garrison captain realized who he was, he practically threw the horse at Kelsier. The hill, crowned with white aspens with yellow leaves, rose above the plains of the Central Dominance.

He didn't encounter any Mistborn along the spikeway- there were still a few in Luthadel, and several more across the New Republic, but all had to be registered with the Department of Allomancy- there just wasn't space in the New Republic for the deadly wildcard nature of a Mistborn.

Kelsier wished more of the Mistborn were willing to fight in the war- it was next to impossible to force a Mistborn to fight against their will, they needed to willingly agree to it. Skaa, or half-skaa Mistborn would be willing, but they were incredibly rare- he had only known himself and Vin- Gemmel, his old master, and Baz'en, First Minister of Austrex, claimed they were both skaa, but Kelsier personally had his doubts.

They had tested tens of thousands of skaa for allomantic abilities at this point, but they just hadn't found any Mistborn. Whether they just didn't exist, hadn't been or weren't able to be tested, knew of their powers but just wanted to live a normal life, or had been found and impaled by the Inquisitors for their ability to burn Atium, Kelsier didn't know.

At least the New Republic had several mercenary Mistborn, but while most normal mercenaries were settling into their Republican life, Mistborn were stubborn individualists, and they still kept their mercenary contracts. The Pretender Empire had a lot of Mistborn, he knew that- it was their main military advantage they had, over the New Republic and the other Imperial Successors.

Kelsier slowed the horse to a trot as he reached the base of the hill, tied it to a white-barked aspen, and burned steel- a handful of faint blue lines appeared, pointing to… the earth? Kelsier looked around, and noticed that half the hill had been carved away, but the hill had collapsed over the gap, and trees and bushes grew atop the rubble. A mine, then, of some sorts. The Central Dominance was always rich in metals. He burned tin, and heard the sounds of a man at work. Kelsier dropped an iron- the clip having been reduced in size, and been made piss poor for Allomancy in the process- and pushed off it, over the pale white trees.

Near the peak of the hill, he found Hoid in a small clearing, swaying blue lines pointing to the man. He had grown his hair back from his previous baldness, and it was a dark brown. He was digging, spade cutting through tree roots and moving rocks up. Hoid turned to Kelsier, and a smirk dawned on his hawkish face. "Greetings, Premier. I was beginning to think you would never arrive. I have an extra shovel." Hoid pointed at a rucksack, upon which a shovel leaned. "We can speak while we toil." he proposed.

Kelsier sighed. He knew Hoid was somewhat eccentric when he proposed this meeting place, he just hoped it would be the fun sort of eccentric. He picked up the shovel, burned pewter, and joined Hoid in splitting tree roots. One question was on his mind. "What are you digging for?" he asked the ex-informant.

"Something the University of Luthadel, and the Keepers of Terris, will find particularly interesting." Hoid gave as a response. But Kelsier knew how to play this game.

"How do you know it's here?" he asked Hoid.

Hoid chuckled. "I placed it here."

Ok, something he had gotten as an informant, that wasn't particularly valuable, but illegal. And so he had buried it- so likely a book, or documents. Maybe he was the fun sort of eccentric?

"So, why did you stop being an informant? You were pretty successful, if you could regularly afford smoking tobacco." Kelsier asked.

Hoid smirked. "As it happens, I was driven out of business by the New Republic. With the fall of the nobility, combined with the unfettered flow of information… well, pickings became scarce, and I decided I could put my skills to better use as an Assemblyman."

Kelsier nodded. "Do you want to ask me anything?" he asked the hawk-faced man- everyone had questions for him, and Hoid wouldn't be any different.

"I do, actually. How's Vin?" Hoid asked.

Now that was atypically personal. There were some, out of the Survivorists and Marewill Larstaists, that respected Vin, but it was a handful of women, viewing her as a role model to cast off the shackles men had placed on women. Why was Hoid asking? He had told Marsh, Ham, Saze, and Dox about his decision with her, so he found no issue telling Hoid- and it wasn't really about her. "Her and I made the decision to start readying her for working with the Republican Army, and having her get involved with the government."

Hoid nodded. "Good, she'll need the training, and the New Republic will need her abilities." Now that made more sense- she was the only other skaa Mistborn in the New Republic, and of course she would be loyal. But didn't Hoid abstain on the couple of foreign policy votes over the last week? He thought the Assemblyman didn't care for war.

The iron of his shovel struck stone. "I don't think whatever it is you're looking for is here." Kelsier said.

"Of course it is- this rock is three feet deep, while the bedrock's typically seven feet deep, here. Needed a way to prevent some iron or steel-burning Obligator running the mine from finding the chest, and rock is a decent insulator of Allomancy. One isolated deposit wouldn't be enough to dig up, not yet." Hoid explained.

Kelsier nodded, as when he burned steel, the lines were thin and scattered, looking very much like the deposit he saw near the base of the hill. The two men cleared the dirt atop the rock, and managed to clear away the edges enough for the two to grab the stone, and lift it. Kelsier burned Pewter, and Hoid seemed a bit stronger than he looked. The stone was thin, and supported by several other rocks on its sides- below it, was bare earth, with some invertebrates squirming in it.

The two shoved the rock onto some scrub brush, and Hoid brushed away soil, revealing the tell-tale verdigris of a copper-based metal. Bronze, he figured, based on the spots of copper-colored metal here and there. Hoid attempted to get a grip on the box, but the dirt was too thick. Hoid scrambled up out of the hole, and turned to him. "You'd save us both a bit of trouble were you to use your power." he said to Kelsier.

Kelsier got out of the hole, and straddled it, center of his body over the bronze chest. He Pulled at the strongest strand pointing at the box- there were a large amount of blue lines pointing to it, so it was likely full of metal. The box shifted, but it wasn't enough. Kelsier flared steel, and burned pewter to support himself, and the box lifted some, but it was still stuck.

Kelsier grimaced, stepped out of the pit, stopped burning everything but pewter and steel, and got a bar of duralumin out. He shaved some shavings off of it, swallowed it with a gulp from his ceramic flask of water. He turned to the pit, and gripped a nearby withered tree, tugged on the line, and burned duralumin. The box was yanked out of the ground, as Kelsier felt like he was being ripped by the steel, and the box flew straight towards him.

He dodged, as the box slammed into the tree, throwing white splinters around. Hoid walked up, sipping from a metal flask of his own. "Well, I've never seen that before," he commented. "New metal?"

"Yep… useless on its own though, like aluminum. Hopefully that didn't damage anything in it."

Hoid scoffed. "If it did, that would mean that I failed to preserve its contents. Would you like to open the box, Premier Kelsier?"

"I would, I'm wondering what exactly was dangerous enough that you had to bury it here, but also not valuable enough for you to sell." Kelsier commented.

Hoid smiled. "Well, go and see."

Kelsier leaned down, and popped the lid off the box. A strange black substance coated the sides of the box, but it was cracked and hardened with age. A light verdigris patina covered the insides of the contents- which were all bronze. Text decorated bronze plate after bronze plate, bound in metal books, stacked upright, filling the box. He recognized the language, even if he didn't know it himself- it was Khlenni, the homeland of the Conqueror, and the kingdom that once ruled the Central Dominance. Smaller boxes sat at the top of the bronze books, and Hoid picked one up, and popped the lid off, and fished something out of it.

"Look at this. Khlenni Souverain, the last mold made." Hoid said. He held up a coin, about the size of a boxing, made of gold. The side profile of a face decorated the coin, and a name- one that he recognized- was written down on the coin.

"Alendi," Kelsier vocalized. "So that was his name. Rashek scrubbed it from history, you know. The Keepers only had one throwaway mention of it, one among many potential names of the Lord Ruler, and recently, the Conqueror, once we separated the two. What's all the rest of this?"

Hoid smiled, and began talking, playing with the coin in his hand while he did so. "What I've gathered is the religious, historical, and cultural knowledge of Khlennium. What is here vastly outstrips anything that could be found via digging- even excavating what's left of Khlennium, where the Terris and Channerel Rivers merge, although the Lord Ruler was… thorough, with its remains. From its birth as the northern frontier of Tilancium, to its conversion to a Saranite faith, to its command over the lands that now make up the Final Empire, to… Kelsier, do you think Khlennium died with the Ascension?"

"I'm not sure. Its language did, so did its religion, but its architecture and culture still live on today as the previously dominant Imperial-backed fashion." Kelsier responded.

"Yes, but that's just the facts. You must find the answer on your own to this quandary." Hoid explained.

Kelsier frowned. "Wait, this doesn't add up. How were you able to find all this in the first place, without aid from the Keepers? It also seems older than you are- I passed by Tenes in my youth once or twice, and I hadn't heard of a mine being here, and you look younger than me." he asked the Assemblyman.

Hoid shrugged. "I buried it where we found it." he said, if that answered the question.

"Have you least gotten tested for Allomancy?" he asked Hoid.

Hoid chuckled. "No, I have no Allomantic potential."

"That's not true. From what the Keepers have found, there was a lot of admixture in the early days of the Final Empire, before the caste system was so solidified and the skaa were as enslaved as they were, and Allomancy was always present on Scadrial, to some ability- once, the skaa were ordinary people, living their lives, before the Lord Ruler enslaved them." What did he say that made Hoid smile?

"Oh no, absolutely zero Allomantic potential in me. I won't be heading back to Luthadel today, there's still some wealthy people who need valuable information- and no, I loathe the Pretender Empire, and the rest of the Imperial Successors are worse. I wouldn't sell out the New Republic, as long as there are no lords in Luthadel." Hoid said.

"And there never will be." Kelsier said.

Hoid responded, "Amen, and may that always be true." and placed the coin box back in the large box, gingerly placing the lid back on top. Kelsier burned pewter, hoisting the box under his arm, and moved to walk down the hill, when a thought crossed his mind.
He turned around, and spoke. "How did you know the coin was called a souverain?" Kelsier asked.

Hoid turned to him, and grinned. "Je sais lire li Klhennais, Premier." he said in Khlenni, turned, and walked away, slinging his rucksack and shovels over his shoulder, whistling.

Kelsier shivered as a breeze carrying yellow aspen leaves tingled his skin, even though he was burning pewter to offset the cold, and walked back down to his horse, more questions in his mind than answers.

The entire time Kelsier is on his way back, questions churning through his mind. By the time he was on the spikeway once again, the unanswerable questions he had banished, and the one answerable question floated to the forefront of his mind. Was Khlennium dead?

[ ] Yes. The Final Empire killed it, and consumed its corpse. That holds true for the other cultures and nations of Classical Scadrial, and it is foolish to look to the past, when the now needs to be focused on. The most the past can provide is ancient knowledge of practical purposes, whether that be military, governance, or relating to the Hero of Ages. This option will lead to the New Republic ignoring the past, focusing more on the present.

[ ] No. Khlennium lives. The city was the capital of the Final Empire in its first decades, only razed after the conquests ended and the refugees stopped streaming into the Final Empire from other lands. Its population was relocated to Luthadel before that, though, and the skaa and the nobles everywhere are descended from the people who once lived in Classical Scadrial. The cultural knowledge of the past is valid as a source of inspiration for the present. This option will lead to the New Republic seeking inspiration in the past, to aid their efforts in the present, mostly among the Great Change.

---

Sazed had his finger on the copper wire. It ran off the desk, across the stone floor, and out the door, then down the hall. Red sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating his workspace very well. Sazed felt the copper wire, with his Feruchemical sense. Empty. But it would not be for long.

Tindwyl was in another room, preparing to send a message to him, instantaneously- Rindel had proposed this experiment, before he had left back to Tathingdwen, and it was an very intriguing experiment, testing the new limits of Feruchemy. Rindel had speculated that you could connect Luthadel to Tathingdwen with this, but Sazed felt that was too… out there.

It would require nearly five hundred kilometers' worth of copper wire, all connected before use. It could not be severed, or else it would fail entirely. It would also be useless for sending a message to more than one place. And if someone not storing identity, there was no way for anyone else to remove it, and the metalmind would be ruined, unless it were to be reforged, although Sazed didn't think there would be any Feruchemists who would stoop to that level of sabotage, no matter what Vedzan was planning with Terris Kahl.

In addition, leaving five hundred kilometers' worth of copper wire exposed was unwise, even if the land was in the New Republic, poverty's grip still held tight the uncountable millions of the Final Empire, despite all the Republic had done. Luthadel and the larger cities of the New Republic had managed to provide, if not plenty, more than the basic needs, from their seizing the bountiful wealth of the nobles. Perhaps in a generation or two…

Power blossomed in the copper wire, without Sazed needing to put any memories of his own in it. Sazed took it out, picked up a pencil, and wrote down on a piece of paper Tindwyl's message. Test Five, out of sight, out of hearing, out of mind. Sazed wrote down, below that, Test Five, Message Received. He then stored Identity. He felt… less. He found the Great Change's ideals clashing with those of the Synod's orthodox Keepers they swapped out Rindel and Fisal for, in the absence of his own, but he ignored it, and put that message in the Coppermind, quickly scanning the paper to remember what he sent, and stopped storing Identity.

And then came footfalls, down the hall, that Sazed recognized, after spending years working with him. The Premier. He rounded the corner, and Sazed instantly noticed the large verdigris-covered box under his arm- he must have been burning pewter to hold it, were it full of something dense.

"Hey, Saze. How goes experimentation with the long coppermind?" Kelsier asked.

"This is merely a formality. This method is too difficult to put into practice, with too little gain. While I am not exactly sure on the limit, I think that a copper wire stretching from the north to south pole- or at least that distance, would work. The issue lies in the providing of enough copper, the extreme weakness of the coppermind to disruption, or the fact any Feruchemist could put in a keyed memory, rendering it useless and having to be completely replaced." Sazed said to the Premier.

"Damn. There goes the dream of instantaneous communication between the major cities of the world." Kelsier cursed.

"I would not say that we are out of options. The Department of Military Engineering's experiments with the optical telegraph and balloons are showing a quite a lot of potential for long-distance speedy communication- although I can understand your want for instantaneous communication, Feruchemy is not the answer. What is in that box?"

Kelsier looked at it, and slowly said, "You may want to assemble the Keepers, in one of the lecture halls. This is allegedly a complete encyclopedia of Khlennium."

---

"How, in God's 256 names, did he get a complete encyclopedia of Khlennium?" Tindwyl remarked.

The Keepers were in one of the lecture halls- multiple tables had been pushed together, tubs of chemicals had been procured from the Department of Republican Engineering, and some students were scrubbing the verdigris from the books. The books were being disassembled, and their metal pages were placed in squares outlined by charcoal lines drawn on the tables.

Scholars were running about, with thick tomes that had guides to translating Khlenni. Tindwyl was working on translating a book, due to her greater knowledge of Khlenni, while Sazed was working on identifying and translating the artifacts- coins, religious artifacts, and one crown that was bedazzled with jewels.

Kelsier was cleaning some of the coins of their verdigris and tarnish, when he spoke. "The Assemblyman Hoid invited me to a meeting atop a hill south of Tenes. When I arrived, he was digging, and I aided him in excavating this. He said he found all of this, but was the one to bury it. I took it as he found some information and buried it, but… and Deputy Minister Hettel said this amount of verdigris means this box was buried for a long time… and Hoid knew Khlenni." Kelsier was panicking- Sazed had never really seen the Premier like this. He had seen him angry, he had seen him sad, but never confused.

"Perhaps he found all of this buried in another location, and re-buried it to keep it safe?" Salys, a Keeper specialized in all things relating to art, said.

"But he knew this coin was called a souverain, and then when I asked him how, he siad something in Khlenni. Something lire li Khlennais, I didn't catch the first part." Kelsier said, shocked.

"Ah, he said he could read Khlenni. Yes, he must've known a Keeper. Rouge, I presume, given the Synod remains unaware of this discovery." Tindwyl said. "There were a few, not associated with Terris Kahl, wandering the lands outside of Terris. It was likely one completely distanced from the Synod, or one who died shortly after whenever this occured."

"There must have been someone who managed to collect and preserve the treasures of Khlennium against the tyranny of the Lord Ruler. It is such a shame that they seem to have left no personal identifiers- they knew what they were doing, preserving this knowledge for a thousand years, to outlast even the Lord Ruler." Salys said, both hands copying two pages at the same time, fully utilizing her ambidextrousness.

"While that seems the most likely outcome… I don't know. How likely is a Fullborn to arise naturally? Could any of the Lord Ruler's children have been Fullborn?" Kelsier asked.

"Mmm. Rare, but the Lord Ruler's children would have had both the Allomantic and Feruchemical potential- the Feruchemical lines back then were not so divided… do you think Hoid is one of the Lord Ruler's children?" Sazed asked.

"It sounds ridiculous. But… if it's true, then he told the truth for everything, except when I asked him if he was an Allomancer. He was insistent on having no allomantic potential." Kelsier said.

"That is the least likely outcome, I think." Sazed said. "Were he fullborn, he would have been killed, or have established a dominion of his own." Kelsier passed Sazed another one of the coins- although this one was different. It was an early Clip, with the youthful race of Rashek decorating it, but with Khlenni surrounding it. Sazed almost dropped it when he sensed unkeyed power in it.

"Wait. Kelsier, this holds a Feruchemical storage." Sazed said, holding up the Clip to the Premier.

"And here's the identifier! Tap it!" Kelsier eagerly urged Sazed.

Sazed drew the memory out, and…

---

Ash fell from the sky. A city was laid out before him- Khlennium. The greatest city in the world. His, along with the portion of the world that hadn't burned, at least in the north. Two rivers joined below the cathedral he was atop of, which sat atop an island in the middle of the rivers. The cathedral was to a god foreign to Khlennium, but truly, Preservation, Terr. But for all it got right, what it got wrong meant it was blasphemy against the true faith. Even his own religion was wrong, albeit in smaller ways.

Smoke rose up into the sky, from countless smokestacks. The wonders of industry… and its threat. It was the engines of this city that allowed him to conquer the world, supporting his armies in their campaigns. Now all that was left was finding homes for the millions of refugees, and then he could reshape his Empire to be perfect. If that meant taking away guns and engines, he would do so.

Khlennium had seen better days. The plentiful green parks and trees of the city were dying, despite the work its inhabitants did to clean up the ash that always fell from the sky. Was a shame, but there was always a price to be paid. Brown grass sprouted up atop dead grass, the sort that now dominates the world, as it was the only one able to survive in this ashen world.

He burned steel, and the blue lines filled his vision. He Pushed off the spires of the cathedral, into the city. As he reached the top of his arc, he saw through the ash and smoke, to the endless fields and towns beyond. They were struggling, they just needed more time to adjust to the ash, but the growing pains would take their toll. He also saw the walled settlement where he kept one of his koloss garrisons- the sword of Damon, hanging above the head of the Khlenni, just in case they tried something.

He landed upon tracks, and turned to see an engine charging down them, metal wagon wheels turning rapidly, steam belching from a funnel atop a dark green boiler. It sounded its horn, but he laughed as he stored weight, and pushed off of the engine, making it lurch. He turned, and hurtled down the tracks, laughing as he greatly exceeded the speeds of the engine. With Mistborn, who needed trains?

---

Sazed dropped the coin, gasping, searching… tapping Identity to steel himself. He moved to take several deep breaths, before speaking. "It was the Lord Ruler, not too long after the Ascension." he explained. "He was atop the tallest Khlenni cathedral, surveying the city, and I felt every thought of his. It was before his simplification campaigns, and the city was bedecked with smokestacks, and I saw a train. He referenced Terr, and stated that the Khlenni religion worshiped Terr as well, but it needed to be erased, because it was wrong in his eyes, as well as the Terris religion."

"God damn. Khlennium at its height, it's a shame I'm not a Feruchemist. But he wouldn't bury this box." Kelsier commented.

"I also saw a train… are any of the Keepers here good at drawing?" Sazed asked. "I recommend having spare Identity on hand. "I am not the best to catalog this, I think." Sazed said.

"I am." Salys said, coming over. Sazed stored Identity, putting the memory back in the clip, and his shock faded. Salys took it, a shocked expression dawned on her face, and she swore. "Ash and blood! This is clearer than any memory I've ever seen. But a good look at a train… Minister Dockson will be happy about this, and the Department of Republican Engineering." Salys got a large piece of paper, and began sketching the train, and the view Rashek had of Khlennium.

"What's a train? A baggage train wouldn't be enough for all this awe." Kelsier asked.

Sazed answered the Premier's question. "An engine of steam and steel, that was faster than even a galloping horse. It was limited to metal tracks, but it could pull vast quantities of goods or people behind it. It was, in essence, a boiler and steam engine on wheels, that turned its own wheels. While I am not certain, I think that the one in this coppermind shall remain beyond our grasp for now, but, well, today is the best time to plant a tree. We are fortunate, though- there were only scattered offhand mentions of trains in ancient records, and a vision of a train in action is the most we have so far."

"Now, my question is, who plucked a memory out of the Lord Ruler's head?" Darzon asked, the fourth Keeper in Luthadel, one specialized in agriculture.

Kelsier grimaced, and spoke. "Whoever it was, was likely craftier than the Lord Ruler- although anyone who could do that to the Lord Ruler makes me wonder why they let the Lord Ruler live?"

The Keepers agreed with that, and then Kelsier turned to Sazed, before whispering a request. "About the other Heros of Ages… expand your researches to cover all aspects of religions. Common mythologies, similar gods, in addition to messiahs and prophets… if Rashek, may he rot in Hell, is correct on all religions being a part of a greater whole… then it is worth investigating, at the very least."

Sazed nodded. A logical next step in his studies, but one partly motivated by the Lord Ruler's thoughts. He had already been taking notes on similar mythological tropes he noticed, he would surely find more Antecendre secrets were he to focus on it fully.

"One Day, Those Who Dream Found that The City Would Not Remain Safe. Tyrants and Kings Strove to Undo All Their Work, and Cast Luthadel Down. For What Use are Wonders If They Could Not Protect Them?"

---

Mistborn: Smoke and Ash​

Revolution in the Final Empire​

It was a boring assembly session. There was a heated argument over what measurement a bole would be. The Assembly had finished the work of the rest of the bill over the past week- placing taxes on private textile factories, as well as calculate the proper sales tax, as well as issuing some policies to increase the supply of cloth in Luthadel, and reopening some shuttered textile factories, allocating the necessary funds to refit them to increase worker betterment.

But the size of the bole had come up. Kelsier had pushed the argument back as far as he could, getting every essential part of the bill done first. And everyone had an opinion. Except him and Marsh. Marsh had already left, throwing an iron down and accessing a trapdoor in the ceiling, heading up to the rooftop.

Leaving Kelsier to preside over the debates. Not only did you have the length vs width argument, but also metric vs imperial debate. When taking the latter into account, two positions became four, and a small argument became sizable.

"I tell you, a width of a metre is perfect! Our wagons and barges' insides is measured in an even number of metres, and so all our goods should be at well!" Hettel argued.

"Just under half of textile factories are state-owned, and the merchants heavily use the imperial system. We cannot fail to consider this, and so we must make the bolt 50 inches in width!" Philen argued.

Kelsier sighed, stepped up, and made his way onto the stage, finding the iron Marsh lodged between two floorboards. He picked it up, Pulling it with iron into his hand. Most mistborn and mistings neglected iron, but he made sure to practice and use both metals. Saved his life once or twice before. And so, he pulled at a bar in the roof, stretched across it to support the weight of all the props and actors if they needed to hang from ropes.

He lurched towards the ceiling, hand bursting open the trapdoor, as he stopping Pulling, rising to the edge of the opening, scrabbling onto the floor of the attic. It was nothing special, just an empty, short-roofed floor, but he could still hear the ramblings of the Assembly below. He found a window, one with a few flakes of snow below it.

Kelsier ran the iron through his fingers. The funny thing was, it wasn't made of iron. Most irons were- steel was too expensive and too needed for weapons to make coins out of steel. But this one was, and he didn't know why. You grew to recognize metals when you worked and fought against Allomancers, even more so as an Allomancer.

Kelsier stepped out the window, pulling himself onto the roof. The shingles were covered with snow, and slippery. Luckily they weren't particularly sheer. Marsh sat next to the flagpole at the peak, seemingly unconcerned about the snow. Kelsier sat down next to his brother, first cleaning off the snow beneath his rear. It made him realize how far he had come. In past years, he welcomed the reprieve the gray snow blanketing the city brung from the all-pervasive blackness of Luthadel. But now many buildings were covered in bright-colored paints, he wished it was not so. Another couple of days and it would be gone. At least it covered the black streets and roofs.

Kelsier held up the steel coin. "So what's this, Marsh?" he asked his brother.

Marsh turned to look at him. "New minting. The Department of Finance was tasked by the Department of Allomancy to make a batch of irons made of Allomancer's steel. For skaa allomancers, without reliable access to pure allomantic metals. Some would like more coins like these, such as brass and bronze coppers, maybe electrum boxings or ten-boxings. In my opinion, we could make our ten-boxings out of electrum. Would be a good use for all our silver."

Kelsier smiled. "Of course, anything for the novice Allomancers. And I suppose the worry of them falling into the hands of our enemies are unfounded- only our allies trade with us, although that might be a temporary state of affairs."

Marsh nodded, and went back to looking out over the city. Mount Tyrian was not visible, and neither were any of the suburb cities, and the new gate cities were too short to see behind the walls. Past the walls was square farm patches, lying fallow as the frost would kill the crops, and other than some cattle and barns, the barren land faded into the ashen haze. It was like beyond the walls, there was nothing, Luthadel being a solitary island, its two million inhabitants being alone in a sea of mist.

If only that were the case. Kelsier had tread across the Final Empire for three years, starting from his escape from the Pits of Hathsin, and had seen the peoples and cities of elsewhere. From the farmost reaches of the Empire, to Urteau, Austrex, Tathingdwen, and Tremredare. And now those cities hosted independent nations of their very own. And half of them were hell bent on taking Luthadel.

"Bloody hell, we're up against most of the world." Kelsier commented.

"Half. as long as we have our allies, our enemies only can marshal half of the hundred million that live in our world." Marsh said.

"You're right, Marsh. Every city that falls to us, every province, frees hundreds of thousands more. We'll turn the tide soon enough."

The two sat there in silence, but Marsh had begun to fidget, fingering the spikes that lay beneath his coat in nervousness. Marsh, after a while, turned to Kelsier, and blurted out, "Kelsier, I have to tell you something."

"What is it? I can guess- relating to your spikes?" Kelsier smiled at his brother.

Marsh swallowed, and spoke. "Yes, but not in the way you think. They… they have demands. For bloodshed. I attempted to sate them by watching the executions, but then as their demands grew that failed to scratch the itch I have, so I moved onto doing some of the executions myself. Lately, that hasn't been enough… I've killed small animals, Kel. Rats and pigeons, just to scratch that bloody itch. I know their demands will grow, Kel, and I'm afraid I'm turning into an Inquisitor. So I ask you this- can I remove my spikes?"

Kelsier felt as if he was struck. Marsh had furiously railed against any attempt for others to use the leftover hemalurgic spikes from the Inquisitors slain at the Victory at Fountain Square, while also avoiding questions of what effects the spikes had on him, so he always knew there was more. When they cut open some of the Inquisitors, their organs were in places where they shouldn't have been, so he knew they had a physical effect.

But all it would take is one of those spikes of atium to grant a Feruchemist the same level of immortality the Lord Ruler had. He still had two, in storage in crusted blood at the Department of Allomancy, in hopes that maybe they would figure more out about the third of the Metallic Arts in the meantime. But it seemed like that was not a possibility, if Marsh had contracted moral insanity from them.

But only one response was possible, for Kelsier. "I worry that removal of your spikes would lead to your death." he said.

Marsh, in response to this, pulled out a bronze spike, crusted with blood, from a pocket in his coat. "Zinc. Didn't really need it, given I already have brass. The lynchspike's removal is the only one that can lead to death, at least if healing is not allowed. I stored up enough health in my goldminds beforehand, and I can repeat the process until I remove enough spikes. It would take some time, in which others would have to pick up my duties, so I would like your consul, first."

Kelsier breathed in, and smiled. "Of course. While the dream of an artificial Mistborn seems to be a noble one, I see that we are not yet ready for that. Keep a few spikes, and see what occurs. Maybe it isn't the spikes themselves, but the overabundance of them?" he suggested.

Marsh sighed, tension Kelsier didn't notice earlier leaving him. "In that case, then I will ask the University to aid me. The Keepers will certainly wish to hasten my recovery. A few unkeyed goldminds would aid me greatly, and there are no known records of a Steel Inquisitor coming back into the arms of the human race."

"You could gain Allomantic gold, to heal your injuries instantly. We have enough of that strange hemalurgic atium for a small spike." Kelsier suggested.

"No! I mean… it would be contrary. Add a spike, kill someone, to just take it away again…" Marsh said. Oh poor Marsh, the reluctant Hemalurgist.

"Should we just melt down the two remaining atium spikes? If you're this hesitant, then Hemalurgy might just be a temptation that sends men down roads best untrod." Kelsier asked.

"No… no, I can't make a decision right now." Marsh sighed. "Ask me when I am well."

Kelsier nodded, and the two watched the city for some more time, the brothers enjoying each other's company.

---

And then the boring assembly session suddenly became very much not boring. A young Coinshot by the name of Rolend had burst through the doors, almost hyperventilating. Kelsier quickly stood up. "What is it, Rolend?" he asked the coinshot.

Roland sucked in enough air to croak out his message- "We found the atium," another deep breath, "beneath Kredik Shaw."

The Assembly erupted into chaos.

---

Kelsier had arrived to that room once again, with a small stone hut placed in a domed, decorated room that was the Lord Ruler's reminder of home. Where it all began, and where it all ended, four years ago. It was covered in what Sazed had recognized as the Classical Terris alphabet, and did contain some knowledge of Terris before the Ascension, and the murals were helpful as well.

But all it contained for him was pain. The joy in his heart as he approached what must have been the Lord Ruler's treasury of atium, only for the door to reveal the Lord Ruler himself. He couldn't fight back, how could he? A normal man, a Tineye, and a Smoker, against the Lord Ruler, and two Steel Inquisitors. Redd had died then and there, and Kelsier and Mare had been sent to the Pits. And then that time with Vin- he had been very stupid, but she had been saved by Sazed, and it gave him Alendi's logbook, and the knowledge that copperclouds could be pierced. Marsh had confirmed that, a balm upon his grieving heart.

But he wasn't here for the hut today. A large opening was present in one wall of the chamber, behind a mural of some cloud-wreathed mountains. A large hole had been carved into the wall, between two of the metal inlays that decorated the walls of the room. Felt, the man he had put in charge of finding the atium, was there to explain to him exactly what had happened.

"So, we combed through every inch of Kredik Shaw. Used Coinshots, Lurchers, architects, in an attempt to find hidden rooms and secret passages, and we did. Rooms that have been sealed off for centuries, hidden archives, even some small amounts of atium, and in one case a mass grave. But we found something here- the architects said there was space missing behind this wall right here," Felt waved at the opening, "and we brought in a work crew to break through the wall, but then they found a door, we pulled it open, and I sent Rolend to tell you."

Felt continued, "I am sorry to say, sir, that so far, we haven't found atium in it. But we have found something else."

"What have you found?" Kelsier asked Felt.

"Cans upon cans of food and other supplies. But it's best if you go down to gaze upon the cavern yourself." Felt said.

"I am here too. You will not be alone in this venture." Sazed walked into the room, carrying a notebook.

"Good to have you here, Saze." Kelsier smiled at the Keeper.

"My help is needed, I think. I do not know what lies below, but that is why I shall go with you."

The two men picked up lanterns, and descended to trespass once more upon holy ground, a spiral staircase winding its way down into the depths. "Why do you think there is a hidden supply of food and supplies down here?" Kelsier asked.

"My theory is that it was for siege. If Luthadel rose in revolt, Kredik Shaw could hold out long enough for reinforcements." Sazed said.

"No, that can't be. Why would it be secreted away like this? And would the Lord Ruler really be at risk if he was alive while Luthadel rose as it did?" Kelsier criticized.

"It must be for the city, then. Or perhaps the atium is sequestered in some corner…" Sazed postulated.

There was no answer. Only sight could give them the answer. And then they exited into it, the stairs ending in a small landing. "Bloody hell…" Kelsier exclaimed.

The cavern went on forever. Shelves extended as far as the eye could see, and he saw piles in the distance, containing the supplies. Sazed walked over to the closest shelf, and picked up a can. "Dried beef." he said as read the inscribed letters on the top.

"So I guess it is for if Luthadel came under siege?" Kelsier guessed.

"I would assume so. So many plans… turned to ash, and now it falls to us to make use of them." Sazed said.

Kelsier burned tin and steel, and the faint outlines brightened, as lines clouded the sides of his vision. But one pointed straight ahead, to the other side of the cavern, straight down the middle of the aisle. It burned brighter than the ones pointing to the cans and shelves. "There's something this way." Kelsier pointed.

The two men walked, Sazed stopping occasionally to make note of the foods on the shelves. There was pork, chicken, and mutton. But there were also powdered milk, dried fruits and vegetables. These were the sorts of canned foods used for the military, albeit the highest quality variety. But overwhelmingly, the cavern was dominated by large cans of grain- wheat, barley, rye, millet, and some other varieties- seemingly collated from all the foods supplied to the army. All the foodstuffs was dry- long-term storage. The possibilities churned through Kelsier's mind. Feeding the hungry, saving it for a rainy day. Or using it to feed the Republican Army, marching in winter, to liberate and save millions of skaa sooner.

But Kelsier noticed something. Footprints lay in the dust ahead of him- faint, but present. "See those footprints, Saze?" he asked the Keeper.

"Perhaps one of the workers came in here earlier?" Sazed asked.

"No, they're older. See the layer of dust below them." Kelsier pointed out.

"Then an Obligator, before the Revolution." Sazed commented.

"Or during…" Kelsier commented.

And Kelsier's theory proved true. They found a metal plaque at the end of the cavern, next to large piles of many goods. Wood, stone, metals, enough to build an entire district of Luthadel. Accompanied by some racks full of hammers, nails, and other tools. There was even a vast pool, more of a cistern, filled with clear water.

"Damn it!" Kelsier cursed, as he noticed the small plaque, the lack of dust on the wall above it in a square, and four holes at the edge of the square, where screws once were. It was a much larger plaque, but it was taken. "Someone came in here, unscrewed it, and left everything as it once was." Kelsier bitterly said.

"Not everything is lost." "The lesser plaque seems to hold a matter of interest, I think." Sazed held up his lantern to it, and Kelsier read it.
A map of the Final Empire. With Austrex circled, and numbers, strangely enough, at the bottom. "Austrex? What's in Austrex?" Kelsier asked.

"I expect the only way to find out is to go there yourself. These, numbers, however…" Sazed leaned down, placing down his lantern and writing in his notebook. "885 must be when this cavern was finished, and they've rotated the goods out since. But what does 17 48 mean? Can't be a date…" the Keeper pondered.

Kelsier was distracted, following the blue lines only he could see. Not from the jumbles of cans on the shelves, no, they were too regular. Rows, even, suspended some distance in the air. An in the side of the cavern, shelves gave way to racks. Pikes, swords, crossbows, shields, crossbow bolts, and armor.

The sheer amount, though… he thought he could outfit 50,000 men- a massive amount, but . But something nagged at him. The most complicated question. Why? Why did the Lord Ruler stockpile a cavern with enough food to feed Luthadel comfortably for a year, along with resources and weapons? He died unprepared, Kelsier overcoming him with guile and misdirection. The Lord Ruler was self-assured in his own immortality and the immortality of the Final Empire.

Deluded by his own lies. So he wouldn't have built this cache. Backup plans were unneeded to him. And yet… here was a backup plan. What could frighten the Lord Ruler into doing this?

Kelsier wasn't sure on what he would do with the goods, but he did know one thing for certain: he had to go to Austrex, and see what was there.

[ ] Supply the Troops. The Final Empire has given the New Republic the tools to destroy it! We will march in the dead of winter, bringing ruin to the lords who rule over Scadrial! The New Republic will march on the back of this cache, gaining a vast head start in this year's campaigns over the Imperial Successors.

[ ] Keep it in Reserve. Something is wrong. Such secrecy, such difficulty to enter, and all for extra supplies? Nothing known, other than perhaps a great natural disaster, could lead the Lord Ruler to build and stockpile a cache. That disaster may still be in the future, and it would be wise to keep the cache full, in event of that disaster. This will be unpopular with the Assembly.

---

Sazed was making a steady headway on his work. He was storing eyesight and hearing, but his spectacles weren't good at seeing far. It all took time, but, as the University of Luthadel's facilities grew, the time required grew less. His main challenge was staying organized, more than anything else. There was plentiful ink and paper, and his past worries and paranoia of the Final Empire finding him through the myriad of laws against unlicensed literacy, masterless stewards, and the laws against Feruchemists were gone. In fact, he had too much paper.

Everything he wrote down from his copperminds he knew he would require later. He didn't want to waste paper by throwing it away, or at least that's what he told himself. At the very least he didn't want to rewrite the entirety of his notes searching for a line that he wasn't sure where he read it.

He had an entire chest of drawers filled with small wooden trays that could be stacked upon one another for his notes, and the other Keepers had similar. Rindel and Fisal left most of their behind, so there were six of those drawers. Kelsier's requests for information surrounding religions and the Well of Ascension made it a near-constant effort, although the three other Keepers also worked near-constantly with the New Republic. Sazed still had a master, he thought, while the other Keepers chose to aid the New Republic.

And so for now, he was working on a book of his own. A collation of all the religions in his copperminds, placing together pages, to eventually print several copies of and place it in the Library. Tindwyl and Salys sometimes contributed it- political backgrounds were necessary to give context to the religions, and many religions possessed art- the stained glass windows that were archetypal of the Final Empire were inherited from the Khlenni religion being a prime example.

Occasionally, he found an interesting tidbit, and he copied it down onto his notes for Kelsier's request, which he was considering adding as a segment anyways. Many religions did appear to be related, although there were always a few that seemed disconnected from the greater whole, or where there simply wasn't enough information available to draw a conclusion. But there were definitely religious families of sorts, and a pervasive undercurrent of dualism.

Sazed wasn't sure how to feel about this. It pulled away the mystery of religion, to group various religions into families, to trace a common origin. But why was there a common origin? Why were there so many shared features of religions? What about the well-recorded ones that seemed to be oddly separate from the rest?

Most religions agreed that the world had been created from the clash of two forces. Order and Chaos, Protection and Destruction, Receptive and Active. Opposites, but interwoven and complementary. Sometimes forces, sometimes gods. And then, when Chaos threatened to grow unbound, Order gave up a part of itself. Some said its life, some said its mind, some said its presence. This he identified as the Terris religion's God, and the Final Empire's God. Few actively worshiped the other force. Appeased it, yes, sacrificing anything from food to animals to people to stave its hand from throttling their peoples and nations.

The Hero of Ages was a very common figure, he knew this. He had expanded beyond the Urtan-Cazzi, Tilance, and Terris legends of the figure, to the Saranites, the scattered tribes of the Farmost Dominance, to the people that predated the Bennet, the Nelazan, and the people of the Remote Dominance, as well as peoples whose lands were now trackless desert. The Rabzeen was found all across Saran, of course, in different forms, and there was an echo of the figure in the former religions of the Remote Dominance. Sazed had also found what Kelsier had predicted.

They were repeating figures. And Sazed was able to identify historical figures who possessed the title. One of the leaders of the Empire of Tilance, Induerator Scaevola, over 3,000 years ago, did claim the title of Amanessor, but the notes he and Tindwyl had were annoyingly vague in explaining what this figure did to claim the title, other than surmounting some crisis that nearly ruined the Empire. The book Scaevola wrote had apparently been lost, even if it was referenced elsewhere. Even longer ago, over 4,000 years ago, a Universal King of the Saranites claimed to be the Rabzeen, but the obelisk raised by him to proclaim his deeds did not say exactly what he did, other than 'Freed the Life-Giving Sun from Chaos's Gullet'.

Sazed copied down the obelisk's translation from his copperminds, and read it. And then he caught something. This was from the north face of the obelisk, apparently.

'The King of the Four Corners of the World, the Easten Lakes, the Northern Lake, the Southern River, and the Western Shore, Son-of-the-Sun, Scion of His Fathers and Father of His Scions, Blessed By the God be His Name, the Metallic, Rich in Victories and Women, Nod the Rabzyn in the 18th year of His rule, Went to a Northern Land of Endless Mountains, Following the Words and Records of the Priests and Ancestors. There, He Mantled the Power of Order, and He Saved the Sun.'

There were others, but Sazed could not confirm their historicity, but he found that there was also likely a grain of truth in it.

Was this a mention of the Well of Ascension? Was that what made a Hero of Ages? In that case, did all of these men take up power at the Well of Ascension? It wasn't exact… but they seemed regular. Sazed would expect them to be offset more, by centuries… but they weren't. But it wasn't exact. There was a 2,000 year gap, in which no mention of a Hero of Ages, Amanessor, or Rabzeen came along.

Did this have to do with the Terris Religion? Could this be why the Terris Prophecies were so well-developed? Was there another Terris Hero of Ages?

The door slammed open, and Sazed jumped, feeling it more more than hearing it. Turning, he saw Nazh. "Oh, Deputy Minister Hoffman! It's been a week or two. How was your… are you okay?" Sazed took off his glasses, and stopped storing his eyesight and hearing to get a better look at Nazh.

Nazh had seen better days. His face was bruised, his clothes were in tatters, and small cuts decorated his body. His clothes were dirty, and ash-stained. Beneath his characteristic cloth mask that covered his mouth and nose, what looked like weeks of stubble covered his face. He clearly hadn't had an opportunity to bathe, but he had at the very least cleaned his skin, likely with a wet washcloth. "I… I have had worse, but no, I am not doing okay. Are you the head Keeper in Luthadel? I have news, for the Synod."

"Darzon is, but he is out in the fields again, I think." Sazed responded to the man.

"You'll have to do. I am sorry to tell you this, but Keeper Vorzeth is dead." he said, solemnly.

Sazed startled once again. "How did he die?" he asked the Deputy Minister. Vorzeth studied nature, and last he heard he had gone into the Eastern Dominance in search of ancient relics or information.

"He was slain by an Inquisitor. We put up a good fight… but he got cornered, and he was mortally wounded, the Inquisitor draining his goldminds in the fight. I am sorry, but my medical knowledge was not good enough to save him. But I bring his work, and his last will and testament. And if there is a silver lining, I have a coppermind he handed me, along with what he found in Chathram. I do not think it is worth the life of a Keeper, but he thought so, and I believe the Premier Minister would as well." Nazh sighed at the end, and reached down, to pick two small cloth bags out of a satchel he possessed. "He said he found them in a grave that predated the Ascension."

Sazed took them in his hands, placing them on his desk. He opened one, lifting a Clip and a tarnished silver coin that predated the Ascension. A palm tree was on one side of the coin, and a face of one of the last kings of Saran on the other. The clip held an accessible feruchemical store. Sazed nodded solemnly, placing the two coins back in the bag. Poor Vorzeth… but what was so precious that Vorzeth considered dying over?
Sazed opened the second bag, and gasped.

"No, it can't be…" Sazed felt a shiver go down his spine. "These would be a thousand years old. There is no way they will be able to sprout." Several mummified fruits, unassuming, sat at the bottom of the bag.

Nazh spoke, with a wan smile visible beneath his mask of cloth. "Vorzeth thought differently. You have the seeds for Kelsier's dream of a green world, or perhaps the last embers of the old in your hands. Take care of them. As for me… shadows, I'm going to take a long, hot bath, change my clothes, tell Ham about how the Inquisitors are covering their back spikes with a metal shell, and then go meet with my employer. I got what I needed from Chathram, the least I can do is aid the New Republic in the process."

Nazh left the room as Sazed stared at the dried fruits for several minutes, before carefully placing them in a completely dry bowl, before getting up, stepping into the hall, and then tapped his steelmind as he ran to get Darzon.

---

Spook adjusted his mask. His sweat clung to it, pressing it against the bridge of his nose. He was sweating so much, despite the chill of the night. After all, he was in Palace Venture, the heart of the Pretender Empire, and surrounded by what had to be a thousand nobles. At least his mask merely hung on the nose. Many noblemen and noblewomen wore masks that covered their full faces. Monsters, in ceramic faces of black and white, although some grew more elaborate, with some masks being sequined, or possessing horns or teeth or beaks.

OreSeur wore the mask of a demon. Dark black face, a grotesque sneer, with white tusks and horns. It was a joke. One only Spook and OreSeur got. A demon in the guise of a man in the guise of a demon. Spook shivered. Although he was given permission to burn tin tonight. He was in disguise, and there were so many nobles here, someone burning tin would be looked over, or even smoked by Smokers.

Times like this he was glad he was skaa. He wished he could be in the mists, in his trousers and button down linen shirt, and not in these breeches that made it impossible to sit down, and this baggy shirt with too many frills. He glanced at the large stained glass windows, hoping to see the mists swirling outside, or even the snow. But all he saw was the limelight, burning through the glass.

Spook walked through the crowd, picking up on conversations. Listening for mentions of Luthadel, or Penrod. OreSeur, in the guise of Enfram Entrone, mingled freely, temporarily free of the distaste many had for him, as he was anonymous, and, thanks to his excellent impersonation abilities, could keep the nobles guessing about who he was until whenever he decided to reveal it.

Some were not disguised- well, everyone was, it was a rule of the ball. But some clearly accentuated several features, wore revealing masks, or presided over the meetings. The Emperor, Straff Venture, was clearly visible, despite his mask covering his upper face, from his near-uniform costume, beard, and height. The Princess, Shan Venture, wore a domino mask, and was cavorting with the sons and daughters of the nobility.

Suddenly, Straff stood up on the balcony, ringing a fork against his glass. The conversation silenced. "Welcome to the first Midwinter Masquerade. I see everyone who has reason to be here is here. May your time be rewarding." he said, before standing back down. So little, and yet everyone started chatting double fold anyways.

Spook went through the crowd, searching for hints of conversation about the Republic. And he found that few spoke about it. Oh, it was the crux of their conversations. Noblemen spoke of their contracts to provide for the army, noblewomen spoke of the wealth promised. The young men spoke of positions of officers, the young women spoke of their loves going to war. Spook was certain he was the only one here who had seen a battle, when he traveled with Clubs to aid in the liberation of Austrex. There was no glory in war. But he supposed that there was money to be made.

He found an interesting trail. OreSeur left a trail of people discussing the Luthadel nobility, and the traits there. Listening in to OreSeur's conversations, he found that if he could not get any information about Luthadel from a group, he would try anyways, performing a faux pass, leading to the group discussing Luthadel anyways. And Spook did pick up some interesting tidbits. 'Letters from Penrod', something about the Haught Mistborn, and one of them being a spy for the Pretender Empire. He didn't know what it amounted to, and after an hour, it seemed that OreSeur had exhausted that, and conversation moved onto more personal things, after enough wine was consumed.

Spook grabbed a napkin-full of 'Allomantic snack cakes', the ones marked as safe for non-Allomancers. Brass, bronze, tin and zinc. He sat in a chair in a dark corner, and listened to the party. But he wasn't the only wallflower.

A young nobleman looking to be around the age of twenty walked up, with a small plate and a cup of wine, and sat next to him. "Tineye, are you?" he asked. He was wearing a mask that covered the upper face, same as him, but it was pitch black. He was wearing breeches and a coat of some sort, but they were also black. His head was topped with short brown hair, a tricorn covering it up. He looked pretty fashionable.

"Uhhh…." Spook responded.

"I'm an Allomancer myself. Heard you burning, and saw you weaving through the crowd. Put up to it by your father. Given a task, and forced to complete it. Shackled to someone else's interests, when you can thrive alone. Captive knives, that's all we are to the lords." the stranger said.

"That's not why I'm here, exactly…" Spook said.

"Whatever your story is, it is certainly similar. It's all the same. Whichever relative it was, you were told to listen for anything that could interest your House, although they probably don't trust you with anything big. Despite many lords being Allomancers themselves, they have us do their dirty work. For instance, Emperor Venture is a Tineye, like you, but you won't see him going around and listening to people's conversations. Rumor has it that Shan is Mistborn, but she won't be traipsing around the rooftops at night, shooting coins at people. It's not like this everywhere, though. In the Republic, the lords there use their powers, to their full extent." the stranger said.

Spook's heart pounded in his chest. "Don't talk about the Republic here." he hissed to the stranger.

"It's not what they say it is." the stranger shook his head. "Besides, who knows who we are? Tonight is a night for sedition, and you should know that the conversation tonight strays from the typical orthodoxy."

Spook nodded. He had picked up on many loose conversations like that, ignoring them because they weren't what he was looking for.

"Say, what's your name?" the stranger asked Spook.

Spook was about to blurt it out, reconsidered, and then smiled as the realization hit. "Spook." he said to the stranger.

The stranger chuckled. "Well, I should have expected that. In that case, Spook, you may call me Mist. Good name for a Tineye, isn't it? Always in the shadows, you are, like a ghost. Well, not the Old Spook up there." Mist gestured to Straff, standing below the raised deck that occupied half the ballroom, very visible in the center of the ballroom.

And then the Spook heard something. He craned his head, towards the raised deck, trying to hear through the crowd. Mist did the same, seemingly copying Spook, although he doubted Mist could hear anything. Spook picked up on something. The hiss of fire.

A man arrived at the banister, sweaty and breathing heavily. He raised something up. Spook's eyes went wide. A grenade! The man yelled "For House Elariel!" as he threw the grenade, right towards Straff.

"Oh, Hell." Mist said, quickly dropping a coin behind him, and Pushing against it, soaring through the air into the middle of the room. Nobles were panicking, running, and while some stood where they did, perhaps Coinshots and Lurchers, no one dared to push or pull the grenade.

Spook ducked under a table, keeping his eyes on the grenade, flaring tin to focus on its movement and arc. No, it would land straight on Straff Venture. Who was just standing there, looking up at the grenade, unconcerned. The reason for that was apparent. Mist landed on a table next to Straff Venture, and pushed on the grenade, causing it to rocket upwards. But he didn't slam it into the ceiling. It hung, suspended, among the chandeliers, until its fuse ran out, and it exploded.

Then Mist flared steel, sending all the shrapnel rocketing into the ceiling. A chandelier was caught in the blast, and Mist was clearly straining to hold its twisted remains in the air. Crystal rained down into the crowd. But Mist held everything suspended. The waiters cleared the center of the room from guests, and Mist stopped his pushing to let the metal fall back down to earth. Mist stood on the table, shrapnel falling around him, but none of it hitting.

After some skaa cleaned up the shrapnel, crystal, and wax, the masquerade resumed, but the tone was subdued. The Elariel had been caught, Spook gathered, but killed attempting to escape. OreSeur found him after a few minutes, and the two left the masquerade. The two got into their carriage, and Spook removed his mask, feeling the cool winter mist on his face. OreSeur did too, although Spook knew the face he saw was a mask.

"Well, as the Emperor said, that was certainly rewarding." OreSeur said. "Instability among the nobility, especially among the Great Houses that were diminished by the Revolution, expecting better treatment."

"I spoke to the Mistborn, by chance." Spook started. OreSuer raised an eyebrow. "He spoke to me of the injustice in the ways nobles treat young allomancers, and said that he looked up to the New Republic as it is led by Allomancers who used their abilities to their full extent."

OreSeur smiled. "A Mistborn with Republican sympathies? Dangerous."

"Could he defect?" Spook asked.

"It could be just talk. I know how young men are, as you are learning. But I will check." OreSeur said.

Spook found that the information he picked up on, OreSeur had already gathered. But he did feel pride for speaking to that Mistborn, and finding that seed of doubt.

Now they just needed to cultivate it.

---

The wind picked up. It rattled the windows, throwing flakes of snow into it. It was dark already, despite the clocks pointing to it being late afternoon. But it was bright and warm inside the print shop, a fire roaring in the hearth, and multiple oil lamps cast a warm light across the room.
Two strong Terrismen tended to the press, printing pamphlet after pamphlet in the steel alphabet. Rindel sat at his desk, listening to the background noise, as he wrote some of tomorrow's printing. And then, as it often did, he felt what he was doing, his finger on the wheel of something greater than him.

Rindel controlled the news in Tathingdwen. Not all the news, but a good portion of it. The Tathingdwen Kahlik was a daily paper, a new issue being released every day, and cheap enough that every household could afford a copy. They were running at a slight loss, but it was a necessary loss.
Their only competitor was the Synodic Newsletter produced by the Synod. And copies were only released on Copperday. Seven out of the eight days of the week, the Tathingdwen Kahlik was the only option for the up-to-date Terrisman to stay informed. And while it was a single page, they quickly had to escalate to printing on both sides. After all, what news was in Terris? Turns out, quite a lot.

The liberation of Terris and the suddenly free flow of information and introduction of native Terris landowners had made large amounts of splashes. It was all hasty and uncontrolled. Synodic Terris, he realized, didn't exist. The Synod truly only controlled Tathingdwen, the Valley, and the Terris Gift, and a few mines outside of that region. The rest of Terris was a patchwork. Terris Kahl had free reign over the Wayendeth Valley, and was the second largest polity in Terris. But there were others, some cities with control over surrounding areas, and they were a mix of republics, theocracies, and little monarchies. There was also the Wethcowd, which was under control of the Kingdom of the Burning Crescent, the only place in all of Terris that could be called verdant.

This mix of polities and influential people led to news. The going-ons of these locations and the people who were their leaders was always interesting, For instance, the leader of the only bit of the Welgcowd out of foreign hands was pleading for aid to retake the forest, while a landowner in the western vale's sheep had reached tremendous proportions.

And then there was international news. The Synod had their informational networks, but they only made public the most notable news. The Tathingdwen Kahlik regularly reprinted or rewrote articles found in Republican broadsheets. It took a few days to make the trip from Luthadel to Tathingdwen, but generally the Synodic Newsletter didn't print news before they did.

Tomorrow's edition was a big one. It was on the front page of the Republican Flame, the official paper of the New Republic. Straff Venture had experienced an assassination attempt at a Midwinter Masquerade. By an Elariel, so not ideologically motivated. But any sign of instability in the New Republic's enemies was lapped up. It wouldn't be lapped up in Terris, but it would go in the paper anyways.

There were four sections of the Tathingdwen Kahlik. Local news, from Tathingdwen, the Valley, and the Terris Gift. Terris news, from the rest of Terris, or international news impacting Terris. International news, from the world outside. And the ads. The ads were equally important. They were what rendered the paper a slight loss. And they worked. People would actually go and investigate businesses in the ads, if they had the need. And so, business allies of Terris Kahl, or businesses owned by Terris Kahl, would receive a discount or even ads free of charge. The Synodic Newsletter didn't have ads, but there was talk among the Synod, Fisal said.

Everything they did, backlash and complaint grew. They just had to hope upon winning out, at least in Tathingdwen, to strongarm the Synod into accepting Terris Kahl's rule of Terris. But Rindel was the Keeper of War, and he had read that no enemy took an assault lying down.

Heavy knocks sounded at the door, and Rindel got up to answer it. Vedzan near-burst in, the wind sweeping through the room as Rindel closed the door against it. "God damn!" Vedzan said, taking his scarf off. "It's practically a blizzard out there."

"How did the training go today?" Rindel asked, grabbing a jug of Terris beer he had sitting next to the fire.

He poured four glasses- two for him and Vedzan, and two four the workers, who he suggest take a break for a while. "Well. Trained outside for a few hours, before the blizzard set in. Half of the men went home, with Captain Demoux continuing to train the rest in the gymnasium. He had things under control, so I came back." Rindel nodded, as he was expecting Vedzan to return. "Temmir's doing well- many of the skaa are comfortable with factory and mining jobs, and we're getting a lot of use out of them."

Rindel and Vedzan went upstairs, and while Vedzan was the upstairs hearth, Vedzan spoke. "We should make a decision about our weapons soon. I do not believe we should neglect our home front, and produce matchlocks to begin building up an army that would defend Terris."

"Two separate armies, at least right now, is a bad idea. Especially when one used tactics that are more traditionally Terris. As we are looking for loyalty right now, until the Synod relinquishes their loose control over Terris, a second army more susceptible to being usurped by the Synod would not be a good idea right now." Rindel argued.

"I don't see why we can't just mobilize Terris Kahl's troops in the Wayendeth. They've proven loyal even now the Lord Bastard's dead, and we could even bring them into Tathingdwen to help on other projects." Vedzan suggested.

"While producing matchlocks is possible in Terris, all gun-related production is expensive and hard to develop. It's best if we focus on it after we gain control of Terris, importing the flintlock mechanisms in the meantime." Rindel said.

"Terris is built for hit and run warfare. We need an army for home defense, as the encroachment of the Crescent and the Koloss shows." Vedzan argued.

"Terris needs to aid the New Republic in the wars that consume the world. Even the limited number of men Terris could provide is small, wars can be won or lost for want of a single man." Rindel waxed poetic.

"This is getting nowhere. Is compromise on the table? The skaa troops we train, Demoux trains them in skaa methods, the Terris troops we train, we train them in Terris Kahl methods?" Vedzan reached out for a compromise.

"Yes, that would work." Rindel smiled.

The two rogue Keepers clinked glasses, and toasted to the health of Terris.

Relaxing in the heat of the fire, Rindel asked Vedzan, "How goes your quest to spread Feruchemy to the children of every woman in Tathingdwen?"

"Oh, have invitations from two women later today. Although it's become so regular, it's becoming almost boring." Vedzan smiled.

"I'll fill out if you want, although, well, I can't spread Feruchemy." the words soured in Rindel's mouth. "I still don't know how we'll solve this, even when we gain control over Terris. All but the youngest babes are castrated, the Final Empire did quash Feruchemy in many villages it deemed at no risk of Feruchemy or a rebellious mindset, and the Synod participated in this devil's marriage, by having Feruchemists join the stewards, and as the stewards were castrated, the few Feruchemists born in the rest of Terris ended up having their balls below the knife anyways."

Vedzan slumped. "Tathingdwen alone will be a monumental task. The few fertile married couples in the city pale in comparison to even the amount of skaa in the city, and a few men in twenty years won't be enough. We cannot restart the breeding program, it will be a brilliant day in hell before I do that. I think I'm on the right track- but even a Feruchemist can't lay with every woman between the ages of 20 and 40 in Tathingdwen. Plus, adultery is punishable by death by stoning."

"And so is killing a Feruchemist." Rindel smiled, but it quickly turned down. "Perhaps there's a solution that doesn't upset every man in the city, or run the risk of inbreeding in a generation. The legalization of polygamy is, of course, necessary, but many couples do want children, even if they wouldn't be happy being cuckolded. Is there some way to impregnate a woman without laying with her?"

"There should be, shouldn't there… I'll try, although it'll be months before I'll be able to tell. This hopefully should get more women onboard, and I can start asking the husbands." Vedzan said.

"If it's possible, then we should be able save Terris, and prevent Feruchemy from being wiped out. Once you find out, if its possible, we can ask other fertile Feruchemists to donate. Even if they're not willing to lay with a woman, they might be willing to do this." Rindel postulated.

"I will. Any cost is worth paying to save Terris." Vedzan said, almost distracted by the endlessly changing fire.

---

Kelsier sat on the roof of Clubs' shop, reminiscing about the past, and pondering the future. The mist swirled around, with only a few torches burning along the canal to the north. In one hand, he nursed a bottle of whisky. In the other, he held a large glass vial, filled with the crusted blood of a hog. In it, was a spike of gold. It was the promise of immortality, or at least invulnerability. For it bore a charge of Feruchemical gold, the power taken from some poor Keeper by a Steel Inquisitor.

He had done this a dozen times before, always backing away from the edge, putting it off for another day. But that conversation with Marsh, and the realization of the inevitable war that would consume the world, put him in a strange mood. He would be leading the charge into battle a hundred times, and he became aware of his own morality.

So many had died around him. His mother, Redd, Mare, Trap, and nearly Marsh. While he was harder to kill than all of those, it could happen. With the advent of guns and cannons, all it would take was one lucky shot in his skull, and he would die. And he couldn't stop thinking about what would happen next.

Dox and Marsh would pick up where he left off, assuredly. But the hopes of everyone relied on him. If he died, he didn't know if the people of the New Republic could move on. But what about his friends? What about Vin? He could not abandon them.

And… he wasn't sure if there was a Heaven, or a Hell. He snorted at the irony of it, an atheist searching for divine power. They hadn't tested Hemalurgy to any extent, really- just listening to the word of Marsh. And Kelsier knew Marsh was being untruthful, or at least obfuscating it, a reaction to the bloody violation of his humanity. From what he gathered, Inquisitors were like Koloss, both inhuman creations of Hemalurgy. Both were bloodthirsty, and their behaviors were more likely a character of their transformation.

Small amounts of spikes should be fine. And this combination would be powerful. Full gold. Infinite health. The thing that allowed the Lord Ruler to shake off mortal wounds, survive decapitation, and be burned to a crisp without a scratch. He could afford the gold, too.

Ah, if only he had one of the Inquisitor's Feruchemical atium spikes. Kar, the Inquisitor in charge of the Steeled Empire, reportedly had one- he had been alive for twice as long as a man should live, allegedly, so he was definitely compounding. But that thought made him consider atium. The slowly-dwindling metal. It had been shouted down every time it was proposed, but he would have to restart production at the Pits of Hathsin… he shivered.

How could he subject anyone to that, to what he and Mare went through? Well, maybe nobles fit only for execution… no. Not even that. It would have to be treated like a normal mine, or even above a normal mine. If that was the case, best start now, establish the infrastructure to allow a constant supply of Atium in the upcoming war.

Or the Pits of Hathsin could forever remain empty. He had everything he needed to combat atium. Electrum didn't make atium useless, but definitely helped. Except… atium could provide immortality. How much suffering was he willing to cause to pay for living forever?

But he could at least live out the rest of his life. If he died, especially in some battle, he couldn't live with himself. He could ensure he survived to the days of clear skies, and… Vin. She needed one of these spikes as well. He was further instructing her in iron and steel, and with her he was experimenting with the new useful metals, chromium, duralumin, and electrum.

If she died in battle… no, he couldn't bear the thought. He looked down to the spike. Would he give Vin this spike? No, not yet. Not without further testing. He found that he needed to test this spike, to see whether it could preserve Vin's life. For if he didn't, when would Marsh be feeling well enough to evaluate use of Hemalurgy?

The spike could always be taken out. He found the base of his sternum, counted up his ribs, to one of the spots Marsh showed him. One, two three. Kelsier ripped the spike out of the crusted blood, and brushed it off, wetting it with his ceramic canteen and wiping it off with his handkerchief.

Would he do it? He needed to leave Luthadel soon, and who knew when an assassination attempt could occur? Austrex was more unstable than Luthadel, some lesser noble with false dreams could get lucky.

He found that the urge to put the spike in exceeded the urge to put it back. Kelsier guzzled the last of the whisky, coughing as it burned its way down. He felt nice and numb. Perfect for Hemalurgy. Kelsier unbuttoned his coat and shirt, and he flared pewter, maneuvering the spike right in front of that spot. Kelsier lifted it, and plunged it into his flesh.

And the Son of Man Fell to Temptation.

---

Vote for who or where you want to see a slice of the life of the Former Final Empire, of people we haven't seen much. Vote for three. The top one or two votes will be chosen.

[ ] Tevedian Tekiel
[ ] Kelsier's Crew
[ ] Elend
[ ] The Republican army.
[ ] The Synod
[ ] The Oligarchy of the Southern Islands
[ ] The Pretender Empire
[ ] The Steeled Empire
[ ] The Aspirant Empire
[ ] The Kingdom of the Burning Crescent.
[ ] Write-in.

End of the Prologue for Mistborn: Smoke and Ash.

Welcome to the world of Mistborn: Smoke and Ash. I have been a Brandon Sanderson fan for years, and Mistborn era 1 has remained my favorite work, but other than occasional remembrances and a re-read or two, I left the series alone. And then, amidst sleep deprivation and caffeine overdose in the midst of my collegiate Finals, on July 13th, came an idea that felt divine inspiration, despite me and others pondering it before.

What if Kelsier survived the events of Mistborn: The Final Empire, and went on to found a nation? It took some restructuring, with me first going with the general end of TFE but with Kelsier surviving, to an explicit showdown, with Kelsier going from killing the Steel Inquisitor Bendal in canon, to killing the Lord Ruler after a long and pitched duel in Fountain Square- with the aid of the Eleventh Metal, which in Mistborn: Smoke and Ash, is Chromium, which could potentially be used to defeat the Lord Ruler- everything going as it did, until the Lord Ruler slaps Kelsier's face, and breaks his wrist. Another difference is the suggestion for the Mistborn screenplay, with Shan being Elend's sister or cousin, and the two competing for the position of House Heir. There are some other changes- Vershad escaped the Lord Ruler's grasp, becoming King of the Crescent Dominance, and Yeden follows Kelsier's directives, taking the city of Holstep after Kelsier tests the army for allomantic abilities- not providing many allomancers, but providing enough to give the army an edge in battle against the Holstep Garrison, and then the Valtroux Garrison as they held Holstep for days against them. Everything else is a result of these four divergences. I also have an industry-heavy interpretation of Mistborn, with early industrial technologies being rare, or found in the metalminds of the Keepers- no trains or rockets, just steam and powder for now. There will be more divergences in the future- such as the caches being significantly larger and beneath the largest cities in the Final Empire as they were planned to be originally, and a slight edit to the mists, as they've bothered me ever since I first read Mistborn.

While the Lord Ruler's death only comes perhaps six hours before that in canon, there are far-reaching effects. More nobles and Obligators flee the city, partly due to the Lord Ruler's death being seen by hundreds of thousands in the middle of the day, partly due to the Canton of Orthodoxy retaining its leadership over the Steel Ministry, and partly due to the revolutionaries being fully considered Iconoclasts and fully denying the caste system of the Final Empire, although Kelsier, Marsh, and Vin are able to track down high-level targets such as wealth and skilled professionals fleeing the city.

Tevidian Tekiel retains his position as Lord Prelan, and flees the city to Austrex along with those loyal to the 'true' successor of the Final Empire, before the Republican Army marches on the city, combined with an uprising, displacing him to Fadrex. Kar, the head Steel Inquisitor, slips the city with some other Steel Inquisitors, fleeing to the Coventical of Seran, and then taking over the Eastern Dominance. Straff Venture flees to Urteau as in canon, but proclaims himself Emperor, to distinguish his state as an Imperial Successor.

In Luthadel, Kelsier and his crew are dragging the weight of the world forwards. Through the revolution and the Great Change, society has reached a state one might describe as normal. People work eight hour days seven days a week(out of eight), they are paid for their labor, people have last names, people can vote, and people are free to sell and purchase goods, services, furniture, and properties. Steam engines power mills and boats, and cannons are revolutionizing warfare.

But for every similarity there is a difference. Last names are new, and chosen by the individual, government ministers are unelected, ash still falls from the sky, equality is valued above personal liberty, the New Republic owns a vast majority of factories, transportation, and properties in some way, and the government is bound together primarily by a cult of personality surrounding Kelsier, the Survivor of Hathsin. The concept of separation of powers is disliked as restricting democracy, as government ministers are encouraged to be Assemblymen to establish accountability. Compared to canon, Kelsier will never let anyone threaten his friends and Luthadel, as long as he lives, and he will not let the New Republic stagnate- it must always be moving, it must always be revolutionary for better and for worse.

Here is an in-depth in-universe informational text written by the Keeper Salys, working for the University of Luthadel, with information on the major nations and peoples of Mistborn: Smoke and Ash.

Nations:
Medium Green: The New Republic
Faded Green: Republican Client States, the Austrex Commune in the south and the Ashen Hands Chiefdom in the North.
Off-White: Synodic Terris
Faded Teal: The Oligarchy of the Southern Isles
Faded Blue: The Pretender Empire
Dark Red: The Aspirant Heartlands.
Light Red: Dominances under Aspirant control- the Western, Southern, and Farmost Dominance.
Faded Black: The Steeled Empire
Pale Yellow: The Kingdom of the Burning Crescent
Bright Blue: Various Koloss Hordes

Geography:
Bright Green: Habitable but Unknown Owner
Grey: Desolate Mountains
Salmon: The Burnlands
White: Unknown Lands





The Final Empire lasted for one thousand and twenty two years from its founding in the year after the Ascension to the late summer of 1022, ruled by the Lord Ruler, Rashek, for that entire time. The Final Empire is still alive, through its culture, religion, institutions, and infrastructure. Its caste system still lies intact in most nations, the skaa and nobles separated by the vast gulf of lack of education and lack of opportunity.

Religion is heavily influenced by the Final Empire's faith, whether it be through Sliverism's successors, the faiths that pride themselves on being in opposition to Sliverism, or simply what survived the thousand years of oppression to slip through the cracks in the end.

The Nobles and Obligators still lord over a majority of the world and its people through the Imperial Successors, running the Imperial Successors and the Oligarchy, although in spite of their reaction, each of the Imperial Successors has vast changes.

The canals, cities, plantations, and mines of the Final Empire are fought over, and each is pushed to their breaking point to gain an extra ingot of iron, or an extra bag of grain, for wars can be won and lost for want of a single nail. But they are not being maintained as rigorously as they once were, which, I think, invites disaster.



"The House of Ashes burns, by the Survivor of Hathsin's hand. The Thousand Year Reign of Terror has ended. Blessed be the New Republic."

As the Empire Fell, the Republic rose. A thousand years of speculation by scholars who all perished for their beliefs was put into practice, the skaa cast off their chains, and the Republic rejects all that made the Final Empire. As such, the New Republic is very distant from the Final Empire, despite that seemingly being impossible, with less than a year separating the two. Luthadel has an air about it, an air of brightness, of freedom and revolution, where previously it was an air of darkness, of oppression and slavery.

The New Republic is ruled by unelected Ministers, and elected Assemblymen. The Ministries are all very influential within the New Republic. The disorganized nature of the Revolution has led to these Ministries all taking shape somewhat haphazardly- Kelsier's crew finding their respective niches, and turning the small groups each worked with into the Ministries, and often giving the positions of Deputy Minister to the first candidate who is literate and has a basic interest in the subject. The Deputy Ministers who lead the component Departments are appointed by the Ministers, while lesser bureaucrats can be appointed by either Minister or Deputy Minister. Many Deputy Ministers have seats in the Assembly, and they use the Assembly as a platform to organize joint projects between their various Departments.

The Ministry of Republican Labor, is led by Minister 'Dox' Dockson, and is specialized in the civilian industries of the New Republic, of all sorts. Within the Ministry, you have the Department of Agriculture, which manages plantations and the fields outside of Luthadel, and it is led by the Deputy Minister and Keeper Darzon. The Department of Republican Industry is focused on running and improving factories and mines, and is led by Deputy Minister Kinaler Fabron. The Department of Finance mints the coins of the New Republic, is responsible for overseeing and limiting private enterprise, and it is led by Getrue Marchand. The Department of Natural Resources is focused on industries such as logging, fishing, and keeps track of old or new mining sites that could potentially be exploited, and is led by Vet Dubois. The Department of Transportation specializes in the transportation of goods and resources and the maintenance of a fleet of canal ships and the canals themselves, and was led by Nazh Hoffman, but as he has since disappeared since the Assemblial Reformation, something his colleagues say is an event that occurs often, and the position is currently empty.

The Ministry of War is led by Minister 'Ham' Hammond, and is focused on military action and foreign affairs. Within the Ministry, you have foremost the Department of the Republican Armies, under which the Republican Army is managed, maintained, and it is led by Minister 'Ham' Hammond personally. The Department of Military Transportation manages the procurement and transportation of military weapons and supplies to the Republican Armies, and is led by Deputy Minister Shum Arguois. The Department of Military Engineering develops and produces weapons, owning all weapons factories and powder mills in the New Republic, and was led by the Keeper Rindel, but now he has gone back to Terris, and is led by Haws Arsenault. The Department of Foreign Affairs deals with sovereign nations- whether as allies, or more commonly, enemies, and they own embassies in both Tathingdwen and Isdathleux, and they are led by Jasten Docker. The Department of Allomancy produces Allomantic metals, catalogs information on Allomancy and Feruchemy, and is responsible for investigating new metals as well as for finding Allomancers among the populace of Luthadel, oversees the Iconoclast Hazekillers, and is led by Deputy Minister Terion Sauvage.

The Ministry of Republican Justice is led by Minister Marsh, and both maintains public order and serves redressement to nobles who committed innumerable crimes during the Final Empire. Within the Ministry, you have the Department of Redressement, which is devoted to finding nobles who were passed over during the Revolution, rooting out traitors to the Republic, executing them at the weekly hangings, members of the Department being known as 'Redressment Men', with the Department being personally directed by Minister Marsh. The Department of Steel is a sad remnant of the entire Steel Ministry, tasked with working on plumbing the secrets of the Cantons, going through a millennia's worth of paperwork to ensure their inevitable dissolution, and it is led by the Deputy Minister Noorden Steel. The Department of Public Order enforces the laws of the Assembly, through the Constabulary, although they organize public events as well as stop thieves and murderers, and they are led by Deputy Minister Thurts Consteux.

The Ministry of Public Betterment is led by Minister 'Breeze' Ladrian, and improves the life of the people of the New Republic, oversees education, and is solely devoted to improving the standard of living. The Department of Public Works focuses on the main physical things- building less cramped tenements, seizing the largest gardens of the nobles and turning them into public parks, working on the illumination of the streets of Luthadel, providing the skaa with enough furniture and food, and is directed by Minister Breeze himself. The Department of Republican Education specializes in the written word, owning most printing presses in Luthadel, and as such, all periodical publications, along with producing state-printing pamphlets, for the sole purpose of encouraging literacy among the skaa, and the Department is led by Deputy Minister Rudd Brassburner. The Department of the University of Luthadel oversees the new University of Luthadel, and the scientific and historical work its members do benefits all of humanity, being notable in having four Keepers on its staff- including me-, and is led by Deputy Minister and Keeper Sazed. The Department of Republican Engineering is focused on civilian technological engineering, such as steam engine production, non-Allomantic metallurgy, and general mechanical advancement, and is led by Deputy Minister Hettel Miller.


The Assembly is the most democratic institution on all of Scadrial. Elections are frequent, all men and women above the age of eighteen can vote, although Assemblywomen are not common. The Assembly was over 400 members and heavily skewed towards Luthadel previously, each block possessing a vote making the institution oversized and unwieldy. The Assemblial Reform has trimmed the Republican Assembly down to 200, and now there are 8 voting districts for Luthadel, and about 40 for its surrounding cities- equal representation, given Luthadel and its suburbs population of around eight million. As a parliament, the Premier Minister is selected from the Assembly members, so while they are elected, they are not elected to the position of Premier Minister by the citizens of the New Republic. The Premier Minister happens to be Kelsier, who is the Assemblyman of Luthadel's Old City. He is the first and so far only Premier Minister, Mistborn, and has a large cult of personality, to the extent some consider him a prophet. His defiance of the Final Empire, and promises to free the world and bring back clear skies do not help with reducing this, given he considers those promises fact.


The New Republic must prepare for war. The Imperial Successors act as vipers, waiting for spring to strike. And so, they recruit young skaa, who are trained, equipped with pikes produced in the forges of Luthadel, and sent all over the New Republic. There are 340,000 men in total, but the four Republican Armies possess a wildly different amount of men. A recruitment percentage of 2% or so has been achieved in the New Republic proper. The Army of the Center consists of 60,000 soldiers, and is primarily for guarding the Central Dominance from raids, and training before being sent off to the other armies. The Army of the East is the largest, at 140,000 soldiers, being posted along the eastern border of the New Republic- primarily along the border of the Pretender Empire, but also in the garrisons that serve as the borders between the Steeled Empire and the New Republic. The Army of the North is composed of 100,000 soldiers, and fights both the Aspirant Empire and Pretender Empire, while also aiding Synodic Terris against its enemies. The Army of the South consists of 40,000 soldiers, but other than a core led by Captain Goradel, it is locally recruited, and the Austrex Commune's internal issues prevent it from gaining numbers too quickly.

The New Republic is in the informal leadership position of the Republican Alliance, a network of nations connected solely by the New Republic- the Austrex Commune, the Ashen Hands Chiefdom, Synodic Terris, and the Oligarchy of the Southern Islands. The nations are bound together by economic ties more than any political ones, but this has allowed trade to flow all the way from Isdathleux to Tathingdwen. Time will tell whether this alliance can hold up, for it is the only thing that can stop the three Imperial Successors from reclaiming Luthadel and crushing the New Republic in its crib.

The New Republic reigns over most of the Central Dominance, from Luthadel, the largest city in the world, at two million people. The Central Dominance is the smallest Dominance, but also the most populated Dominance. It is this way due to being the center of the Final Empire's flow of resources, as well as its great climate- several Dominances could certainly eclipse it, were they in command of their own resources. The New Republic also has control over a good portion of the Terris River, and through this, has many ties and trades with Terris. In all, the New Republic proper possesses around twenty million people- thanks to the Central Dominance being the most populated Dominance in the entire Final Empire.
The New Republic has several large cities, of which Luthadel, the Heart of the World, is simply the largest of these cities, although none but Luthadel exceed a million people. Luthadel's outskirts are heavily populated, having three cities which sit in the hundreds of thousands- but these cities, plus the countless other smaller cities and towns which occupy the area, are simply considered the suburbs of Luthadel. They are Fellise, Tenes, and Tourneur.

To the south along the Channerel is the city of Courteline, while the farmlands atop the Eastern Plateau are home to Statlin City, both of which are farming cities, and hubs where grain and foods are sent before traveling to Luthadel.

The Northern Central Dominance is more desolate, but the land between the Terris River and Arguois River is as verdant as the rest of the dominance. The cities of Valtroux, Holstep, and Haverfrex use their positions between the mines of the Arguois hills and the farms of the Central Dominance to be manufacturing hubs. The only large city along the Terris River is Mantiz, which, due to poor conditions between two Ashmounts, has an economy mainly based around mining and pastoralism.

The New Republic sits between three vast lakes. Lake Luthadel is the finest of the lot, with its waters being potable, and a slight blue on good days. Two large cities sit on its shores, but they are both owned by the Pretender Empire. Lake Tyrian's waters are always churning, and its waters are inundated with ash, from the presence of the Ashmount Tyrian. Some small cities sit upon its shores, but primarily, it functions as a highway for trade between the Central and Western Dominances. Third and finally, there is the Black Lake, named for its salty and undrinkable waters. No cities period sit upon its shores, with the closest the New Republic has is one at the edge of the salt flats, whose economy is based on harvesting salt.


"Is it the Flame-that-Enlightens, or the Flame-that-Devours?"

The Austrex Commune rose from the port cities of the Final Empire, but not from the stock exchanges and restaurants of the cities, but from the slums and docks. Kelsier's shadow stretches far indeed, and the Austrex Commune is perhaps even more Iconoclastic than the New Republic. The Commune was founded in the weeks following the Revolution, as gangs and revolutionaries rallied against the Aspirant Empire's brutal actions attempting to secure its rule, and when the Republican Army appeared on the horizon, Austrex rose in a night of blood and fire, placing the defenders between the anvil of the revolutionaries and hammer of the army, and sending Tevidian Tekiel and many other Obligators running off to Fadrex.

The Austrex Commune has a similar government structure to the New Republic, and is officially a part of the New Republic, but it has significant autonomy. It has its own Assembly, but lacks its own Ministries- the political parties run most industries, with only the most critical industries being managed by the New Republic's Ministries. Common industries, such as farms, some factories and mines, and dockworkers, are organized into companies, unions, and cooperatives.

The Austrex Commune is dominated by two parties- the Austrex Iconoclasts and Austrex Commercantists. Both are evolved from gangs prominent in the Austrex underground prior to the Austrex Uprising. The Austrex Iconoclasts are led by Baz'en Wraithkiller, who is the First Minister, and the leader of the Commune. She is Mistborn, having led a gang before the fall of the Final Empire. That gang, the Mist Riders, have evolved into the Austrex Iconoclasts, and many of its members were allomancers. She enforces her rule of the country through a paramilitary evolved from the Mist Riders, and has carved out a cult of personality around herself through deliberate echoing of Kelsier's actions, having killed a Steel Inquisitor in the Uprising through ripping out its back spike, and navigating the city in broad daylight in her Mistcloak.

The Austrex Commercantists are led by Renholm Callenos. He is a gold misting, but did not know that until after the Uprising. Before the Uprising, he was the leader of the Boxings, and focused primarily on financial crimes and defrauding of lesser nobles. He was half-skaa, and pushed into the underground of Austrex due to this being released- although he was not actively hunted, due to bribing the local Obligators, as well as Baz'en occupying the time of the Inquisition. His gang, the Boxings, was not directly involved in the Uprising, but managed to achieve legitimacy, integrating several other wealthy underground organizations, and transforming into a political organization, attracting wealthy skaa merchants and craftsmen, as well as former nobles who fear for their lives.

These two political parties are enemies of one another. Baz'en wishes to remove the wealthy's control over the economy, and achieve governmental control of almost everything in the Austrex Commune. Renholm wishes to survive, and enshrine the wealthy's control over the government, stealing the common man's only hope of his life belonging to himself. Factories, mines, forges, and, most concerningly, the army. Every battalion, except a neutral one led by Captain Goradel, is aligned with either the Iconoclasts or Commercantists. This system is incredibly unstable, held together only by the New Republic as an outside force. It will go up in flames, that is certain, and the only thing that can be done is to limit the damage, and ensure victory for the New Republic's preferred faction.

The Austrex Commune controls only one region of the former Final Empire. The land between the Ashmounts Zerinah and Faleast, which is dominated by the Channerel Delta. It was here, millenia ago, that was the birthplace of the Tilancain Empire, but its marble columned works have sank into the silt, and its imperial cities have been razed and built over, several times even before the rise of the Final Empire. It was the home of Hallant, a merchant nation, before its conquest by the Final Empire. And now the Austrex Commune finds itself at the end of empire, with command over seven million people, with the most fertile land in the Southern Dominance.

While the Austrex Commune only has three large cities, Austrex itself is one of the largest in the world. It exceeds a million people in population, due to it being the crux of half the Final Empire's trade, and the resource flow to Luthadel- the reason Tevidian Tekiel attempted to make it his capital in the wake of the Revolution. Austrex's economy is primarily based around this flow of resources, as well as refining agricultural products, from the Channerel Delta or the rest of the Dominance, although it has a little bit of everything, as such a large city. The other city is Lancagne, which was the Final Empire's primary port, and a good portion of the city is built around docks and warehouses. It was home to the Final Empire's fleet, which was a small thing, enough to take on pirates, the sorts of fleets needed to take on the once-regular Southern Islands rebellions being considered not worth maintaining. It is known as a city of sin, where the nobles plied in the trade of alcohol and flesh, to milk the clips from the sailors in the Imperial Navy. Now, these trades of vice continue, now expanded into gambling parlors and drug dens. With the government of the Austrex Commune busy with infighting, Lancagne will languish, along with the hopes of a Republican Navy.

Longsfollow is the third city of the Commune, and the smallest major city. It has been turned into a veritable fortress, for its position on the edge of the border with the Aspirant Empire. It was a large canal town, supplying ships traveling on the relatively desolate stretch of the Middle Cassern, growing and shrinking with the influx and outflux of Canal Skaa. Now, all those Canal Skaa reside there permanently, and its population has exploded following the influx of refugees fleeing from plantations that lie undefended from Aspirant raiding parties, or from the Aspirant Empire itself. Longsfollow is the location of a majority of the Austrex Commune's army, and even has the few cannons and rifles the Commune has produced itself. It lies unknown if this fortress-city can hold up to the Aspirant Empire.



"We do not simply work to refound the Final Empire. We aspire to restore the Lord Ruler's reign over the world in full. It is what drives us, and all our actions must be made with this in mind."

The Aspirant Empire is the largest of the Imperial Successors, ruling over the better parts of three dominances. It is ruled by the Steel Ministry of the Final Empire, the continuation of the government of the Final Empire, not in full, and with many changes, but the Obligators continue to rule, and aim to restore the Final Empire in full.

The Aspirant Empire was first founded in Austrex following the Revolution in Luthadel, primarily by Tevidian Tekiel, the Steel Ministry taking refuge in the seemingly safe city, as the Steel Ministry could have controlled a majority of the Final Empire. The Southern, Western, Farmost, Southern Islands, and Remote Dominances. Over fifty million people, and the resources of half the Final Empire. But less than two weeks after the establishment of the Aspirant Empire, came the Republican Army, drunk off a hundred cities liberated without a shot fired, and at the same time, the underground of Austrex rose up, with the songs of revolution on their lips.

Tevidian Tekiel fled a second time, up the Cassern river, but not to Tremredare, but Fadrex, a city within staging grounds of Austrex, with previously heavy Steel Ministry presence. And so, the Steel Ministry sat, organized, and planned. The Steel Ministry has taken on a government role, seizing vital industries and infrastructure to be managed under government ownership, although nobles close or loyal to Tevidian Tekiel receive preferential treatment. And the Aspirant Empire prepares for war. The skaa are trained with the pike and sword, and those who are not recruited are worked to the bone in the mines, factories, and farms, or in the forges where iron is cast into cannon, while nobles are coerced into the military, to serve as the commanders of the skaa, or as artillery crews or to utilize allomancy. While they did not obtain their fifty million, the Aspirant Empire possesses a population hovering around twenty-five million.

The Lord Prelan Tevidian Tekiel is the lord of the Steel Ministry, and as such, he is the lord of the Aspirant Empire. But he is not the sole lord. The Cantons still exist, and their High Prelans still reign over them, and the Dominance Lords of the dominances still lord over the regions as well. The Canton of Inquisition is the least powerful Canton, the rivalry between Orthodoxy and Inquisition leading to it being stripped of resources. The Canton of Orthodoxy has taken over most of its functions, with the remaining obligators working towards their dissolution, and there is no High Prelan. The Canton of Finance is led by the High Prelan Arriev, who managed to escape both Luthadel and Austrex during their respective revolutions, which still maintains its power in the minting of currency and allocation of financial resources. The High Prelan of the Canton of Resource was slain during the Austrex uprising, and, interestingly, Tevidian Tekiel promoted the local Fadrex Prelan instead of any exiles, and so, the new High Prelan is Aradan Yomen. The Canton of Resource mainly manages resources- mines, factories, farms, and oversees the flow of resources to the army, thus making it the second most powerful Canton in the Aspirant Empire.

The Canton of Orthodoxy is the most powerful Canton, even though Tevidian Tekiel no longer reigns over it. The position of High Prelan did not exist for the Canton of Orthodoxy, but now the Lord Prelan manages the entirety of the Aspirant Empire, that position has been created. And so, the High Prelan Lusus Izenry occupies this new position. The Canton of Orthodoxy manages politics, intrigue, the Imperial Army, and polices the thoughts and speech of the people of the Aspirant Empire, as well as the former domains of the Canton of Inquisition- policing allomancy. Noble allomancers are heavily pressured into being recruited, for either Ministry or Army work, mostly through financial mechanisms- tax breaks from the large war taxes. The Canton of Orthodoxy also pays a high price for atium, and has amassed a small amount of the resource, although most of that comes from atium the Canton of Finance managed to escape with.

The most unsettling fact is that the Aspirants have learned, somehow, to control small groups of Koloss. It is unknown how they have achieved this. Any enemy they face- primarily the New Republic- will also face these Koloss. It must be known how they control the beasts- either to learn how to shake their control, or usurp it.

The Aspirant Heartlands are a relatively small slice of land, consisting of Fadrex, and the Cassern River down to just a bit before Longsfollow, which has been turned into an Austrex citadel. These lands are where the Aspirant Empire does most of its military buildup, waiting for the coming of spring to assault Longsfollow and push to Austrex- and as the Commune stands, it would fall were that to occur. The Aspirant Empire has around half a million men, and a majority of those, an estimated 300,000 are in the fields outside Fadrex, preparing for the war against the New Republic.

The Dominance Lords also exist, and technically rule a majority of the Dominances. The most powerful, and the one the Aspirant Empire clashes with the most, is Lord Ashweather Cett, of the Western Dominance. From his Keep in Tremredare, he makes himself out to be a Venture of the West, but he is a disagreeable character, and many of his allies are only siding with him out of pragmatism. The Dominance Lords have dominion over their dominances, although that dominion is slowly lapsing. Cett, with his portion of the Western Dominance, has three large cities. Tremredare is the largest in the Aspirant Empire, at over a million people, and is a cultural center in the Dominance, although many Luthadel Obligators and Noblemen refuse to admit the existence of its cultural portfolio, due to the uncouth nature of most Western noblemen. The Western Dominance itself has a bit less than fourteen million people.

However, Tremredare does not care what the Luthadel exiles think. Many young noblemen sit in restaurants, write poetry, and attend plays. Cett is, at the behest of the Obligators in Fadrex, cracking down on this, selectively funding some noblemen who are writing on the glories of war, inspiring many to sign up with the Aspirant Army. Tremredare itself is famed for its textile production, but as a large city, it has a little bit of all manufacturing. Between Tremredare and Fadrex is Chakath, a city known for its wool production, which is now serving as the heart of the game of influence between Cett and the Obligators after the relocation of the eastern branch of House Renoux to the Farmost Dominance in the wake of Teven Renoux's death in Luthadel. BasMardin, an agricultural hub in the center of the Western Dominance, is in the hands of House Hasting, which has allied with Cett for protection from Tevidian Tekiel, who seeks redressement for their slaughter of House Tekiel.

The second most powerful Dominance Lord is Ostice Lekal, ruling in what is left of the Southern Dominance, west of the mountain Zerinah. The region is heavily agricultural, but despite this, it will be facing famine soon. The Aspirant Empire is paying top dollar for grain, needing it to feed armies, and is encouraging the nobles in the Southern Dominance to switch from cash crops to foodstuffs, but Ostice Lekal is not cooperating. Instead, he simply grows both cash crops and foodstuffs, sending needed grain to Fadrex, and what grain he does not export can be sold at a high mark up in the Southern Dominance. The skaa in the region are already going hungry, and this will only worsen as time progresses, with five million in total at risk of starvation. But Ostice Lekal is dying. A wound received in Luthadel during the Revolution festers, and he is bedridden more days than not. His brother, Audil Lekal, and son, Jastes Lekal, fight with one another for the position of preferred heir. Jastes is young, and has Venturist leanings, while Audil is conservative, and aligns more with the Aspirant Empire.

The remnants of the Southern Dominance are home to two large cities. Both are similar, being canal and agricultural hubs, with industry solely relating to refining raw foodstuffs and cash crops into flour, spools of thread, fruits into preserves, and tobacco into snuff. The main difference between the two is that Tersta is a coastal city, while Zerinau is located in the middle of the Dominance, close to the lower Cassern River and the Aspirant heartlands.

The third Dominance is the Farmost Dominance, in the west of the Final Empire. It is the most unstable of the three Dominances of the Aspirant Empire, for many reasons. First, the Dominance Lord, Harden Renoux- a cousin of the late Teven Renoux, from the eastern branch of the House. He found himself inheriting the position of House Lord of House Renoux after Teven's death in Luthadel under suspicious circumstances in Luthadel, and as such, the position of Dominance Lord of the Farmost Dominance. This was a poisoned position. Harden found that Teven had made allies with an illegal skaa organization, his cousin's heterodoxy proving deeper than he ever knew. But he could not haul those responsible out of their homes, for the northern reaches of the Farmost Dominance were under assault from the Koloss, and the skaa formed militias to defend their homes and families against the beastial barbarians, providing much needed manpower against them, as well as allowing him to send recruits to the Aspirant heartlands in the east.

Further investigation into Teven's demise has revealed he was under arrest at the time of the Lord Ruler's death, being killed by a Steel Inquisitor. He was covering for the young skaa Mistborn known as Vin, who now rules the roofs of Luthadel. His inability to purge the Skaa Emancipationist Movement, in combination with Teven's treason, is painting a large target on his back- he is too busy fighting against the Koloss to participate more than sending whatever can be spared for the aspirations of Tevidian to Fadrex, mostly surplus of goods unneeded for war. The Aspirant Empire is considering recalling him for someone who will be able to provide more, casting the Farmost Dominance aside, extracting a temporary benefit at the cost of the lives of millions.

But the Skaa are also an actor. The Skaa Emancipationist Movement was reformist and started out completely pacifist, looking to reinstate laws from a previous era of the Final Empire, laws which were much more lenient on the skaa. Their pacifism and non-revolutionary propaganda was how they avoided being executed during the Final Empire. While they have found themselves in the Aspirant Empire, and those laws can still technically be reinstated, they have grown more cynical after the Revolution and the death of the Lord Ruler. They go further than monarchism, preaching of the Republic. But they cannot revolt, for the Koloss are attempting to take everything they have, and have already butchered a hundred thousand in their sweep down from the Farmost Peninsula. So, they arm themselves for the war, with revolution perhaps a possibility after they slay the Koloss that beat themselves at their northern border. They would revolt were the Dominance Lord to not focus all their efforts on the war with the Koloss, or attempt to purge them- as long as Harden Renoux has the Koloss as his main priority, they will not revolt, for the choice between giving up their arms, what they believe in, dying to the Koloss in the end, and that of revolution, with potential for victory, is an easy one.

The Farmost Dominance stretched from the latitude of Luthadel to about Tathingdwen- beyond it is the Farmost Peninsula, which while technically a part of the Farmost Dominance, has been inhabited by Koloss for so long that the ruins of the Final Empire there are closer to the Ascension than today. The Farmost Peninsula served as one of the borders beyond the edge of the Final Empire, and various forts prevented koloss hordes from ranging south, and regularly launched expeditions to pacify them.

South of that was the bulk of the dominance, although it was not relatively populated, being tundra with some taiga. There were also a handful of koloss warbands, but they never served more than a minor annoyance, at least to the Dominance Lord. And then the Lord Ruler died, and the Aspirant Empire pulled the troops in the garrisons to crush revolts and help grow the Aspirant Army. The Koloss poured south, and destroyed this region.

The Farmost Dominance exists as a small stretch of land between the western mountains and the Far Sea, holding out against the Koloss. It is a humid land, with many thick forests, given its position along the sea, and as such it gets many rainstorms and hurricanes. Not a particularly warm land, however- snowfall is assured in winter. Agriculture tends to be more of a problem of a lack of suitable land than a lack of irrigation. The population is large for an outer dominance, at 6 million inhabitants. It possesses two large cities- the capital, Carinole, the agricultural hub of the dominance, and, to the north, on the edge of the tundra, is Boroff, a city at the edge of the tundra, which was full of trappers- now it is the bulwark of the Farmost Dominance against the Koloss, and where Harden Renoux spends most of his time, organizing and commanding his troops.



"Monarchy is the perfect system. The absolute rule of a single man was what made the Final Empire, and it will be reborn through absolute rule. It has no hope for reunion through oligarchy or ochlocracy."

The Pretender Empire is the only Imperial Successor with any popular support. It rules the Northern Dominance, stretching slightly into the Central and Eastern Dominances. It is ruled by Emperor Straff Venture, but his rule is not absolute, for the Pretender Empire is ruled by the nobility of the Final Empire, looking to remake the Final Empire, but with the nobility on top.

The Pretender Empire was founded in Urteau by Straff Venture, fleeing to his Keep in the city after the Revolution. Here, he founded the Kingdom of the Northern Dominance- but as his fief grew, and news filtered in from the other Imperial Successors, he decided that he could not be simply a king. He had to be an Emperor, the continuator of the Final Empire. Straff Venture subjugated lord after lord, with words, threats, and force of arms. The Pretender Empire is a patchwork of estates and villas, with all those nobles paying fealty to Straff Venture, and obeying his commands. Nobles who lose favor with Straff Venture may have their land stripped, and handed to allies or neighboring nobles.

The Pretender Empire eagerly marshals for war, as all do in this world. Conscripting skaa, handing out battalions to noble houses with promises of spoils and land, retooling forges for war, and working the skaa not recruited to the bone. The Pretender Empire's government has been constructed out of the Dominance system and the localized government of the Final Empire, the system of alliances of House Venture, and some writers from during the Final Empire, and before it.

As such, House Venture and its allies possess a preeminent role in the country. Straff Venture has several advisors, most commonly consisting of prominent figures in his greatest allies, such as Lord Alistir of House Haught. The Pretender Empire also depends heavily on a class of Obligators to both provide a bureaucratic function, as well as provide legitimacy. But none of these positions and titles are truly standardized. The Pretender Empire is functioning solely to retake Luthadel and the remainder of the Final Empire. When that day comes, perhaps Straff will lay down the sword, and attempt to forge a state that will last a thousand more years.

Straff Venture is Emperor, and the official name of the Pretender Empire, other than the typical 'The Final Empire', is the Venture Empire. His word is law, although he has inherited the law codes from the Final Empire, despite many changes, and a lot of previously theoretically in use outdated laws were trimmed. For instance, skaa are now owned by the noble families who formerly rented them, and the Obligators on owning much of the infrastructure has led to confiscation and repossession of Steel Ministry property by noble families. His named successor is Shan Venture, who is a known Mistborn, and was on the top of the social ladder of young nobles in Luthadel before the Revolution.

There is a wide array of individuals serving in the government of the Pretender Empire. The aforementioned Obligators make up a majority of the bureaucrats, and they serve in administrative roles, but have lost all their properties but a handful of administrative buildings, are no longer are able to arbitrate contracts between noble houses, and are encouraged to rejoin their old noble houses, or seek employment in the service of one. The Canton of Resource is the most influential, having been cannibalized into the Imperial Army, and the obligators organize the construction of the army. For the nobles will have to kneel before Straff in the matter of War, as Luthadel is a prize which cannot be denied. The Obligators are split between the bureaucrats and fanatics- the bureaucrats tend to be older and cynical, while the fanatics are the young, who possess faith. They are heterodox in they wish to spread their faith to nobles, which has led to the mainstream Sliverist sect of Venture-Acceptanism being formed, and popularized as it lends credibility to Straff's rule.

Straff has several key allies. There is House Hasting, led by Agna Hasting. The Lord Hasting was slain during the Revolution, and House Hasting found it impossible to travel to their traditional estates in BasMardin, as it was controlled by Tevidian Tekiel, who would assuredly butcher them in redressement for House Tekiel. While their fortunes may be diminished, they are a favored ally, and they have received many promises of land and gold in the Central Dominance. Many members have signed up for positions of officers in the Pretender Army. But Straff's ally in House Haught- or, Urteau-Haught, as many would say- is his favorite. Why Kless Haught has betrayed him, Alstir Haught and his sons have the largest promises of land, and if land is seized from nobles in the Pretender Empire, more often than not, it ends up in the hands of House Haught. Their manufacturing knowledge has proven useful, and word has it that the Pretender Empire is increasingly making use of steam engines in mines and factories. There are other nobles, but they are diminished, or simply lack enough power to be worth discussing.

The Pretender Army, officially known as the Imperial Army, is a large force, at around 300,000 men, and growing. The Pretender Empire is perfectly willing to conscript any skaa they can get their hands upon, depriving entire villages of young men. While most of it is marshaling for war, small contingents raid the border regions, in hopes of finding weaknesses in the New Republic's defense. Straff intends to lead the army himself, but he has several generals below them, most notable the noble Janarle- the Eastern Army has clashed several times with forces led by him, and Straff's former Guard Captain has a great skill in tactics.

The Pretender Empire is almost entirely located in the Urtan Basin, which makes up the Northern Dominance, as well as a small portion of the Central Dominance. Its population is, in total, around 16 million. As such, it is replete with natural waterways, and the transportation in the Dominance allows Urteau to enforce itself over the entire Dominance easily. Urteau itself is one of the largest cities the Final Empire, at over one million, thanks to this geographical feature. During most of its existence, it was a beautiful city, with transportation easy and abundant thanks to the myriad of canals criss crossing the city. But a hundred years ago, after an earthquake, these canals dried up, being disconnected from the Urtan river to preserve its flow. They are likely being drained, but where to is unknown. The city is a manufacturing hub, even though its importance has diminished since the canals dried up. Furniture production and metal production are two of the largest industries in the city. Urteau was also where House Venture began, nearly a thousand years ago, a cadet house of the King of Urtland.

Samenflow is located at the confluence, and is in fact Old Urtan for confluence, of the Urtan and Channerel rivers. It is the trading hub of the Dominance, thanks to its position at where the waterways of the Dominance meet, and on the route to Luthadel. While it has boomed while Urteau has declined, that is changing- for its former trading infrastructure is being used for war, and many of its more important noble houses have gone to Urteau, seeking the promise of power.

Canarhull is the only sizable city along the northern branch of the Channerel. Its economy is based around the refining of ore mined in the Urtan Heights, as well as the agricultural products of the upper Channerel. Its forges have only increased in business since the Revolution, to better prepare for the war.

Waldsley is located to the north of Urteau, at the confluence of two rivers amidst the vast tree plantations. It is the heart of the lumber industry, and its planks float downriver to Urteau.

Soligan is the easternmost city in the Northern Dominance. It is the agricultural hub of the Dominance, daily bargefulls of grain and cattle coming into the city of the plains that lay between the rivers Urtan and the Channerel. Its canneries are working all hours a day to provide enough food for the Pretender Army.

The final city of the Pretender Empire is Rive-juxta-Lutha. Not located in the Northern Dominance at all, but instead the Central Dominance. The most scenic city in the Central Dominance, it sits upon the shores of Lake Luthadel. Thanks to that scenic charm and a lack of ready economic resources, the city is one of the most noble-heavy cities in the Empire, only having their servants and enough material to support the canal skaa, who have dredged Lake Luthadel for centuries.



"The Devil pulls the strings which make us dance; we find delight in the most loathsome things; some furtherance of Hell each new day brings, and yet we feel no horror in that rank advance."

The Steeled Empire is Hell on Earth. The Inquisition of the Final Empire is utterly unfettered, and it is working to fulfill their terrible Great Work. It lacks either legitimacy or popular support, with power being its only defining factor it has. But power it has in spades.

To explain the Steeled Empire, it is best to start with its history. The Inquisitors that survived the Revolution, and the Uprisings in Austrex and Tathingdwen, over half their number slain, fled to the Coventical of Seran. The Lord Ruler's favored Steel Inquisitor, Kar, took leadership of them, and enforced order upon the Eastern Dominance. The Dominance Lord Tryss Erikell was forced to bow before the Inquisitors, and the Inquisitors gained control. Obligators from the Canton of the Inquisition made their way to the Steeled Empire, but, like the other Imperial Successors, the transition was generally swift, much to the Eastern Dominance's suffering.

The Inquisitor Kar has taken on the title of Grand Inquisitor, which existed in the Inquisition's more active phase, prior to the extinction of the last faiths in the 6th century of the Final Empire. He has full command over the Steel Ministry, and uses it to full effect. Sheriffs, Obligators turned to law enforcement, prowl the streets, a sight not seen in centuries, to haul away dissidents and skaa allomancers to unknown locations. The local members of the Cantons of Resource and Finance manage the mines and farms of the Dominance. The only major noble house in the entire Dominance is House Erikell- their weapons factories and knowledge in weapons creation sparing them, as long as Tryss Erikeller behaves. The nobility is equally at risk in the Steeled Empire, with any who do not fulfill their role or scheming to overthrow the Inquisitorial Government whisked away, to never be seen again.

The cities are places of fear, what hope has refused to be squashed is entirely of the New Republic- rumors of the Survivor of Hathsin emerging to bring down the Steeled Empire, one Inquisitor at a time, the Republican Army coming sweeping down south, liberating city after city, or the road that led to the Lord Ruler's defeat and death being retrod by domestic revolutionaries. In truth, as long as the Steeled Empire does not pose a threat to the New Republic, Kelsier has opted to leave their liberation to the last, after the Pretender and Aspirant Empires are cast down. They may have to wait years yet.

It is unknown what the Steeled Empire is driven by. Religion or ideology, their exact driving force and motives are unknown. It is even unknown whether their religion is the same one the Final Empire practices- they possess significant derivative practices- most likely originating from a cult in the highest ranks of the Steel Ministry. Beaked masks of steel, scars resembling the Prime Minister Kelsier's on their arms, but it is hard to make a distinction between what is done for faith, and what is done for power.

The Inquisitors bristle with more spikes than ever. Assuredly they kill thousands, every skaa they detect using allomancy, knowingly or unknowingly, they haul away to their hemalurgic laboratories, to create new Inquisitors, and add more spikes. This would explain the reports of skaa being stolen away despite being loyal- they are allomancers. In addition, they wear metal shells that pierce the skin of their back, to prevent anyone from ripping out their back spike. Most alarming is that the number of distinct Inquisitors has increased. They are multiplying, making more of themselves, certainly for a nefarious purpose. We are lucky that they are limited, being unable to secure atium, and hopefully have no knowledge of the Republican Metals.

The Steeled Empire wars. They seek to claim the Remote Dominance, with only the Oligarchy of the Southern Islands resisting them in the region- according to the Oligarchy. Refugees seem to have no knowledge of the conflict, even ones from Fareau, although the Oligarchy claims they mainly fight men. The other war is known least about- far to the east, in the Crescent Dominance, Koloss hordes are led by the Steel Inquisitors against the Kingdom of the Burning Crescent, and they do not even annex the land, ravaging it and burning all towns instead. What is known is that they are producing massive amounts of weapons. It is certain they plan on ruling the world, with a fist more iron than even the Lord Ruler's.

The Steeled Empire's territory has 18 million people- 16 in the Eastern Dominance and the small portion of the Southern Dominance they possess, and two million in their territory in the Remote Dominance. A majority of their population lives in the area surrounding the Seran Lakes, at the edge of Dominance, where it meets the Crescent Dominance. The largest city is the City of Seran, the capital of the Dominance, where the North Seran lake empties into the Seran River. It exceeds a million people, and is the capital of the dominance. The city is wealthy, being the locale where a large amount of the resources produced in the Dominance flowed, before being refined for export- a needed thing, given the lack of large river networks in the Dominance. The city of Seran has industry of all varieties, and plenty of agricultural production.

Ribeur is the only other city on the shores of North Seran, and serves primarily as a transportation hub- caravans depart across the barrens of the mid eastern dominance, to transport goods to Chathram, and then, before the Collapse, Luthadel. It is also where the mines of the Urtan Heights shipped their metal, after processing.

Lasserine is the only sizable city on the shores of South Seran. Its people farm on the shores of the lake, and fish in its depths. It is notably impoverished- the city of Seran possesses more agricultural land, and at the end of the extractive routes of the Final Empire.
Fareau was the only point where the Eastern Dominance met the sea. While the Steeled Empire now possesses a large stretch of coastline along the Southern Sea, the only notable city, with any sizable port cities, is Fareau. It lies at the termination of the other navigable river in the Dominance, the first being the Seran River. It was the primary port of the Dominance, but as of late, its ports have gone quiet, raids from the Oligarchy and skaa piracy making it nonviable for them to supply their troops in the Remote Dominance overseas.

Chathram is the closest city in the Eastern Dominance to Luthadel. A vast majority of refugees come from Chathram, and it is said its Keeps can be seen from Republican territory. It is one of the closest cities to an Ashmount, and straddles a thin strip of arable land- between the ash wastes surrounding Faleast, and the salty Black Lake, it is the only reliable land route through the ash wastes. Chathram was notably abandoned for decades immediately following the Ascension, and the ash built up, the city being buried by the time it was reclaimed- and the Lord Ruler decided not to level it. As such, the city was rebuilt, the tallest structures were reclaimed, their vast undersides becoming crypts and sub-basements. There lies an entire city, buried, once plundered for its riches by skaa, but now possession of those ancient artifacts are forbidden, so it lies fallow, for now. The skaa underground makes quite a lot of use out of these tunnels, and rarely, a Keeper has plunged into them, emerging with a great discovery.



"Happy is the man, I thought, who had the fortune to live on the blessed shores of the Southern Isles. But now I go hungry, for all the silver, gold, silk, and dye in the world cannot feed a man."

The Oligarchy of the Southern Islands was born out of circumstance and compromise. It took weeks for the Southern Islands, ruled by Lord Ioan Teniert, to learn of the Lord Ruler's death, and it took even longer for them to catch onto the going-ons of the world. By the time Lord Ioan Teniert learned what was going on in the world, the New Republic had displaced the Aspirant Empire from Austrex, and he had been excommunicated by the Lord Prelan for failing to aid the Aspirant Empire in its time of need.

Lord Teniert found his grip loosening, and turned to compromise, founding a small body of the three most important nobles in the Southern Islands, including himself. But he found the skaa tradesmen and merchants opposing his rule, and so he freed the wealthiest from service, who founded new houses, and gave the three wealthiest and most important a seat at the table. But then the Oligarchy found itself isolated, skaa pirates, from free towns, having gained a great deal of ground, and being able to harass most of the Oligarchy's shipping. And so he gave the three most important of those a seat at the table, giving them an opportunity to become legitimate merchant-captains.

How did this occur? The Southern Islands have always been the most unstable Dominance. Its nobility have followed their own traditions, descended from the Bennet nobility and high culture that was their mark prior to the Ascension. They were recognized as an Inner Dominance following the Ascension, and had a population twice of the modern day nine million. Due to the Dominance being removed from the mainland, possessing self-sufficiency, and its nobility being divergent led to a half-dozen major uprisings, and hundreds of smaller uprisings in the Dominance over the lifetime of the Final Empire.

Every rebellion resulted in more of the population culled, more and more of their autonomy stripped away. The last large rebellion, two hundred years ago, was both a result and the reason the modern plantation system was instituted. After that, strict limits on the resources plantations were allowed to produce were put in place, to remove their self sufficiency.

The Oligarchy found itself cut off from all trade. While it did find itself with the largest fleet in the two seas, it found itself with no allies. While it was able to secure significant parts of the Southern Dominance, Western Islands, and Remote Dominance, these regions were not enough to avert starvation. For its first few months, the Oligarchy was beset by famine. Not a particularly long one, but only thanks to it establishing a trade agreement with the New Republic was it defeated.

Now, the Oligarchy is the most powerful ally of the New Republic- although most of that strength is borrowed. Like the old Final Empire, the Oligarchy sends raw resources north, including luxury goods of wine, sugar, silk, tea, and tobacco, while the New Republic sends grain and finished goods. The Oligarchy is working on changing this, however- purchasing mining, forging, and agricultural equipment, and purchasing seeds, marshaling its people, not just for war, but for refurbishing old roads, and digging irrigation and clearing fields that have lain fallow for centuries.
While it is good to see a state that is allowed peace, and I think it would be nice if the New Republic could do the same, I doubt their intentions, and many more in the New Republic do as well. The ideological difference between the two states shall inevitably lead to division. It will take several years for the Oligarchy to establish self-sufficiency- but it will also take several years for the immediate enemies of the New Republic to be defeated. They will be a significant opponent, even if they are the weakest of the world's five major nations.

Each faction of the Oligarchy of the Southern Islands has an informal leader. The nobles are led by Lord Ioan Teniert, the skaa merchants are led by Dondel Dav, and the newly legitimized pirates are led by the infamous Baran Black. Each Assemblyman is a leader of a larger faction, whether it be noble Houses, alliances of tradesmen skaa, or fleets of pirate ships. Allegedly this Assembly is held together by wealth and wealth alone, with Ioan Teniert promising more and more cash and land to the Assemblymen.

The Southern Islands are a rich Dominance, and possess the largest population outside the Inner Dominances, at nine million. They are, on paper, wealthy, producing sugar, tea, tobacco, wines, silk, and many other luxury goods.But that means little when they cannot sustain themselves. There are two major islands- the island of Benne, and the island of Alicia, with a majority of the Dominance's population located on Benne. Isdathleux is the capital of the Oligarchy, and is its largest city, nearing one million people in population. It was the capital of the Dominance as well, as well as the terminus of the trade routes within the Southern Islands, as well as to a lesser extent the Southern Sea. It sits bestriding a bay, and is a rich, wealthy city, home to myriad noble families, a unique culture and architectural style, consisting of plaster made of sand and ash.

On the western portion of the island of Benne, on the rocky northern shore, is the city of Lacillia. The second-largest city on the Southern Isles, it has command over a large swathe of the rolling hills which make up most of the landscape of the Southern Islands, and, in addition to the wine, olives, and tobacco, Lacillia is the home of the silk industry of the Southern Isles. It was its main product, has an entire culture based around silk production, and rumor has it, that during the brief famine, the people of Lacillia ate excess boiled silkworms.

Volqas is the only sizable city located on the southern portion of Benne, on the only large swathe of fertile land on Benne- allegedly Mount Volqas, the largest, if not the tallest, mountain of the Southern Island's ranges, built up over millennia before the Final Empire. While not an Ashmount, Volqas has resources only found in volcanoes, such as sulfur- something not commonly found even in the Ashmounts. As the closest city to the highest mountains that make up the spine of Benne, it was also the largest mining hub in the Dominance, for the high-in-demand metals and gems allowed to be mined. Rumor has it that you've had many old mineshafts being opened up, and the city exists as a center of industrial development.

But the Oligarchy has expanded outside of the Southern Islands as well. Cape Solom is its largest territory on the mainland. Cape Solom is very fertile despite its extremely close proximity to the Ashmount Doriel, a mixture of rains and winds coming off the sea pushing the ash east, while enough ash fell upon the Cape that the land is very fertile, were enough ash cleared off it. In total, the region has two million inhabitants, a large portion of the former Southern Dominance's. Its capital is Bilmare, a sizable city on the northern shore, and the home of House Bylerum, which has a seat in the Assembly.

A part of the Remote Dominance is under Oligarchic control as well, primarily in the westernmost portion of the Dominance, although its capital, Esephalas, is located on a peninsula well in the eastern portion of the Dominance. Their land in the east is poor, primarily used for pastoralism. In total, their possessions add up to about a million. Esephalas is the largest city in the Dominance, as well as its capital- and it served as the only extractive hub of the Dominance, as well as the only point of culture. It lies under siege, allegedly, by the Steeled Empire, and has remained under siege for six months. It is a loose one, given it is supplied by sea by the Oligarchy's fleets.

The final domain of the Oligarchy are the Western Islands- although control is loose, given the Final Empire always had a loose grip over that region, since its conquest. The Western Islands are a humid, tropical land, constantly buffeted by the hurricanes coming off the Far Sea, and one of the last to enter the fold of the Final Empire, when entire nations were discovered in lands that were considered too inhospitable for settlement. The Koloss were loosed, but they did not prove as effective- the thick forests of the Islands serving as a great counter to them. But where civilization existed, they burned it down, with the remnants being enslaved, placed into the Farmost Dominance, and rendered into Imperial Compliance. Sapavno-Luca is the largest city, located in the extreme southern portion of the archipelago, and is primarily extractive, exploiting the resources of the regions, to be shipped back to the mainland.




After a thousand years, Terris is once again free. But I think we are not ready, for the Synod is unable to capitalize on this millennial opportunity. Terris lies divided, surrounded, with only the New Republic willing to aid it.

It is everything we ever dreamed of, the dreams of the Terris people, the Keepers, and the Synod, all fulfilled at once. But perhaps we were naive. The Synod did not lift a hand against the Final Empire until it was already dead, the skaa being the ones who ended it, with aid from a then-rouge Keeper.

Keepers do not roam Scadrial, teaching information to eager-eyed skaa. The Imperial Successors would not allow a Terrisman to travel unmolested. The skaa themselves are more focused on surviving the winter than education. The Synod has decided that until the whole world is safe, they will not teach Scadrial's people. The most effective Keepers are the ones who have ventured into Republican territory, either the four Keepers on loan to the New Republic as a part of the Agreement, or various Rouge Keepers. There they copy down the contents of their copperminds into a physical medium, and experiment with things untested for a millennia.

I am sorry, I think I have gotten ahead of myself. Terris was under the Final Empire's dominion of a thousand years, never fully put into Imperial Compliance. The Breeding Program was the Final Empire's greatest sin, controlling the births of many urban centers, Tathingdwen included- all to destroy Feruchemy and rebellion totally. Even a single suspect death of an Obligator in a village could ensure its deportation to Tathingdwen.
The Synod acted against this- the Keepers kept information safe and secret, and the Synod coordinated the salvation of many newly-discovered Feruchemists across all of Terris, and had a finger in all the Dominances of the Final Empire, by the Keepers joining the Stewardship program, to give them an opportunity to access information across the Final Empire. But the Synod could have done more, and Terris Kahl- Free Terris- formed twenty years ago to, indeed, do more.

As tensions rose over the past decades, Terris Kahl grew, led by the Rouge Keepers Rindel and Vedzan, before the Final Empire's fall, Northern Terris was alight in Rebellion. It was in this that the news that the Lord Ruler died, slain by the Survivor of Hathsin, reached our ears. The Synod acted- we Keepers took to the streets of Tathingdwen openly, and battled the Steel Inquisitors and the Garrison, alongside the people of Tathingdwen, finally seeing their opportunity for freedom. Through this, we gained our freedom, although we lost too many.
The Synod is a council of half a dozen elder Keepers, having reached an age where they were retired from service in the Stewardship, and found themselves Terris Elders, and as Keepers, garnered such respect from being both Elders and Keepers, they lead the Keepers, and today officially lead all of Terris. The Synod directs the actions and laws of the Keepers, and leads the Terris faith. All of Terris looked and still looks up to them, and despite the words of Iconoclasts in Luthadel, they could not be overthrown, not without much grief. The Synod has contacts among all of Terris, and it is known that there are Stewards still outside of Terris.

But the Synod exists as an informal government, unable to capitalize upon this opportunity. Terris remains divided, there being no central government, no army, no tax collectors- just the Synod's efforts to run Tathingdwen. This culminated in The Agreement- the Keeper Sazed came north seeking forgiveness, and Minister Dox Dockson of the New Republic came north seeking to establish an agreement between Synodic Terris and the New Republic.

Terris would continue its shipment of raw resources south- iron and copper, wool and rugs, and what wood and food could be spared. In return, it would receive luxuries, and finished goods- fruits and wine, paper and tools. Terris would receive a small swathe of land, just south of Terris, that the New Republic could not manage- the Terris Gift. Many former Stewards would go south, to manage the New Republic until such a time when the New Republic gains enough expertise to function without them. Four Keepers would volunteer to go to Luthadel, to aid the New Republic in bringing their information to the people of the New Republic, while the New Republic would aid Terris in building up industry- forges, smithies, and mills, as well as protect it militarily. The Republican Army would find itself managing the transportation of resources.
The Keepers Sazed, Tindwyl, and Fisal went, while the Rouge Keeper Rindel joined in of his own accord. Vedzan went south as well, to hunt Obligators who had escaped the Tathingdwen Uprising. The Synod has had months to reshape Terris, and while it has done some work, Terris is still divided. A month ago, the Rogue Keeper Rindel and the Keeper Fisal left Luthadel, with the Keeper Darzon and the Keeper Salys- I- traveling to the city in their place. Vedzan also traveled north, and Terris Kahl has reorganized, for better or worse.

Terris Kahl has spotted the Synod's weakness, that much is clear. They seek to build up a Terris government- already having founded a daily newspaper, a militia, and are seeking ownership of new forges and mills, greatly aiding in their construction. While I may disagree with their Iconoclast-adjacent rhetoric, they greatly emphasize that something must be done to save Tathingdwen from extinction- while the Breeding Program has ended, almost all men in Tathingdwen are castrated. Were this to continue unabated, the city would be a third of its size in a generation, and majority skaa. I fear how far Terris Kahl will go in its efforts to save Terris from itself.
Terris has several notable regions. The Tathingdwen Valley is the archetypal Terris region, and to those who know anything about Terris, their knowledge likely begins and ends here. Tathingdwen had no Dominance Lord, instead being ruled by a High Prelan of the Canton of Orthodoxy, and was never in Imperial Compliance. While noble houses were present in Terris, they were few, and prohibited from either importing too many skaa or employing too many Terris in typical work. The Steel Ministry ran the entire Dominance, in essence. Synodic Terris's population today lies around four million, although that number is uncertain.

Tathingdwen's economy is built around textile production, and the basics of refining iron and copper, with the crushed ore typically being sent south to Luthadel. While forges are being set up, and textile machines are being produced by some Keepers or shipped from Luthadel, the full effects of this have not been seen yet. The Garrison Quarter, abandoned by the Terrismen of the city, has been taken over by skaa, looking for employment in the newly expanding industries of the city, while Terris shy away from such work, at the Synod's behest.
The Terris Gift is one of the New Republic's trades with Terris. The New Republic had great difficulty in controlling the region, thanks to its isolation from Mantiz along the Terris River, and it being inland, away from the river. And so, the region was given to the Synod as part of The Agreement. It is administered by the Synod, but is skaa majority.
Further north is the Wayedeth Valley. Possessing some marginal arable land, it is one of the most populated regions in Terris. It is notable for being home to the only copper mines in the Dominance, and being Terris Kahl's stronghold, the organization controlling most of the region today. Despite that, it is mostly a pastoral region.

The Welgcowd is the only region in Terris that can be called lush. Sitting on the shores of the warm Arctic Ocean, it is a large forest of towering trees, and the communities that lived in them. Because of its distance, strict population limits were placed on the region- easily enforced after a rebellion that burned across the Arctic shore was brutally put down. It explored wood, general forest products, but only the shore was allowed agriculture. Following the Collapse and the Tathingdwen Uprising, the Welgcowd has been conquered by the Kingdom of the Burning Crescent. Many Terris live under his rule, but, at least thanks to intervention from Vershad's Terris wife, they are not persecuted. Instead, they have been put to work, chopping trees and opening up old mines, to fuel his war machine. God save them.

Western Terris is a relatively desolate part of the Dominance. Entirely pastoral, lacking large urban centers and universally, facing down the Koloss. Only in Western Terris were Terrismen allowed weapons, universally to repeal invading Koloss from the Far Peninsula. For all its desolation, Western Terris possesses a majority of the iron mines in Terris- were they to become unusable, it would cripple Terris's resource production. One town has already fallen into Koloss hands, but it was on the other side of the mountains, in a valley facing the Far Dominance. The Koloss are not looking like they will sweep through Western Terris, but could burn cities and towns one by one.



"Our forces are numerous, our valor is vigorous; our horses forward dash, our lances deeply gash, our spearheads like lightning flash, our sabres like thunder crash. Our hearts are as the mountains strong, like sands in number our armies' throng, and we among Scadrial's heroes and kings belong. Our kingdom none can assail, our subjects from harm shall never ail, by our might our rule shall ever prevail. To him who makes peace with us will safely ensue, but he who makes war with us will repent and rue."

Little is known about the Kingdom of the Burning Crescent. Over the Urtan heights, it is difficult at best to reach the Dominance. During the Collapse it is nearly impossible. Being at the edge of the Burnlands, the Kingdom is an unusual nation.

It is the only skaa monarchist state, a collection of bandit lords having been forged into an army by King Vershad. The Crescent Dominance before the Collapse was the least populated Dominance in the entire Final Empire, with a population lower than even the city of Luthadel. It held little other than ever-present skirmishes against bandit-rebels and the Wasted Men, the only notable export being exotic animals and fruits that like the heat and lack of ash, such as watermelons. It possessed the position of Dominance Lord, but it was a poison pill, the noble families desperately avoiding the title- the taxes required to fund the Lord Ruler's constant military expeditions in the region driving the house claims it often into bankruptcy.

King Vershad got his start as just another bandit lord, although some claim his mind for tactics and dealing perhaps even exceeds the Lord Ruler's. What is known he established a bargain with some skaa settlements, extracting taxes in exchange for casting off their chains. This got the Inquisitors sent after him, allegedly, but he escaped their grasp in a daring maneuver planned by his Terris wife, Fillo. It is unknown how they met, but I have met Fillo's family, and they said her services as a Steward were purchased by a noble family in the Crescent Dominance. It appears she escaped her service, and began working with Vershad.

When the Collapse occurred, Vershad was in the perfect position to take ownership of the Dominance, banding together other bandits, skaa rebels, nobles holding some power, even getting tribes of the Wasted Men under his banner. He proclaimed himself King, but is fond of extravagant titles. It is presumed he has a collection of advisors, most notable the ex-Steward Fillo, but it is unknown who these are.

The Kingdom has been at war ever since the day of its creation. The Steeled Empire wages not a war, not of conquest, but of extermination. Leading great hordes of koloss into their lands, to lay waste to village after village and tribe after tribe. Vershad leads villagers and tribals north, away from their grip, and leads forces in combating the Koloss and the Inquisitors sent against him. He has his capital on the eastern slopes of the Urtan Heights, where the flow of water from the mountains is sufficient for a small amount of agriculture.

The Burning Crescent's heartland is the shore of the Arctic Ocean, having the largest population in the Dominance, although this has expanded thanks to Vershad's conquest of the western extremity of Terris, although not by much more. The Arctic Shore is not that lush, but it is more than the typical eternal desert, and that is what is important.

The Burnlands are the final region they have control over. Full of bandits and tribes, with the line thin, they are desolate regions with only an occasional oasis, tent-city, or old fortresses being inhabited. Some of the people there were never conquered by the Final Empire, living at the edge of the edge of the Burnlands, outside settlements, wandering, following the rain. Nevertheless, Vershad has unified them under one banner, finally. It makes one wonder of what could have driven these free-spirited groups to gather under a banner at last, and if some of Vershad's boasting is true, if he was able to wrangle the Wasted Men.




"...They swarm down from every slope. In number they are like sand on the seashore. Their only attribute greater than their number is their thirst for blood."

At the edges of the Final Empire, are the Koloss. A barbaric blue-skinned race, that eat everything they can get their hands on, from animal, to vegetable, to man. With the fall of the Final Empire, garrisons and walls designed to keep the Koloss contained in the deserts and tundras have been abandoned, and the beasts have surged forth into civilized lands in great hordes.

They are worse than barbarians. They cannot build anything, they cannot feel more than anger and boredom, they eat everything they can find, including the flesh of man and other koloss. They were used to great extent in the Final Empire, to crush revolts, exterminate bandit groups in the Farmost, Remote and Crescent Dominances, and to conquer new societies found, although the lattermost have been few and far between.

Koloss biology is gruesome. Koloss grow throughout their lifespan, about 20 years long. They start off at about five feet, and grow to about twelve feet tall before their hearts give out. They start with baggy blue skin, which fits more tightly around their body as they age. The skin never fits right, always exposing the muscle near their eyes and mouths. In their old age, it stretches thin, pressing their noses against their face, and tears, blood seeping out from these cracks. Their irises are red, and their eyes display a startling lack of intelligence.

Koloss have two emotions: anger and boredom. They have no semblance of government, with groups of Koloss only sticking together to make war, and for their hierarchy to function. There are no 'wild' Koloss. Every Koloss was created from a helpless man or woman, who was an enemy of the Final Empire. They were given some scraps of clothing, and a sword, although more of a wedge of dull iron, by their obligator overseers, before being sent to various fronts.

These swords form the main expression of their brutish hierarchy. Koloss grow throughout their life, from five feet tall to a maximum of twelve. When Koloss find their sword unsuitable, they fight another Koloss with a larger sword, and either die, or succeed in gaining the sword that better suits them. Some younger koloss have been seen with logs, suggesting that excess swords are abandoned, the koloss lacking the long term planning necessary to carry excess swords until young koloss are produced.

A koloss camp is a savage place. The koloss sleep beneath the stars, having no tents, and do not search for nearby buildings or caves to shelter in for the night. In fact, if they camp in a town, they burn the buildings for firewood, even if rain or ash falls from the sky. They strip the land bare, eating all animals they can find, and even leaves and grass when they inevitably run out of flesh.

This loathsome hierarchy is tailored to one singular purpose. War. The koloss seek fights. One horde of koloss will not fight another, only merge and mingle. They march towards the settlements of man, looking to tear them down, and leave nothing standing, only to march forwards to repeat the process.

And they are marching. They will not stop until all the works humankind has ever built have been torn down, or they all die. The world will be stripped bare, and empty of any creature capable of appreciating it.

Perhaps the worst thing about the beasts is that they were likely once human. Dissections have led to the discovery of four iron spikes in their sides, a key sign of the dark art of Hemalurgy. They are abominations, the sacred form of Man twisted into beast. Removing a spike seems to only sicken a Koloss, and they grow sicker the more removed, until they perish. Assuming a Hemalurgic origin of Koloss, the only conclusion that can be made towards their reproduction appears to be that they have learned somehow to fashion more of their kind through Hemalurgy.




Faith is experiencing a revival in the Collapse of the Final Empire. For a millennia, there have been two distinct faiths in the Final Empire. That of Sliverism, the only legal faith of the Final Empire, and the faith of the Terris, although the latter is a shadow of what it once was. Sliverism has been repudiated to its fullest extent- the Lord Ruler has died, Luthadel is held in the hands of Iconoclasts intent on tearing down everything the Final Empire prided itself on, with those who lorded over the Final Empire having found themselves opposed completely to one another. As such, other faiths are finally growing, for the first time in a millenia.

There are three main religious groups, each with common characteristics- all believe in a paradisiacal heaven where the just are rewarded, an ashen pit where sinners and the wicked go, and in a singular God. Who speaks on behalf of God, and who exactly is just and wicked, depend heavily on the faith.

Sliverism is the name of the faith which dominated the world for a thousand years, the only faith allowed in the Final Empire. But it is not dead. It has the majority of the world under its hold, but it has splintered. Like the three other faiths, it believes in Heaven and Hell, believing that virtuous Nobles and Obligators go to Heaven, while Skaa lacked souls, and dissipated into oblivion after death, while wicked Nobles, Obligators, and all Terris went to Hell. Orthodox Sliverism was never popular among the Skaa and the Terris, with Skaa being legally restricted from worship, although they did so anyways. The Lord Ruler was the only legal mouthpiece of God, with Obligators taking all their temporal power from him.

Acceptantism is the most popular, and most unchanged, being championed by both the Aspirant Empire and Pretender Empire, although there is only a singular major difference between them. Both faiths accept the death of the Lord Ruler, viewing it as part of his plan, to hand leadership over to humankind. The two Empires disagree, however, on who is ordained to be his successor- the Aspirant Empire views Tevidian Tekiel as the chosen successor, while the Pretender Empire views Straff Venture as that successor. May they never get a chance to determine who is correct.
Tribulationism is a small sect, currently- Tribulationists believe that the Final Empire has entered into a period of divine trials, and its adherents need to see them through, to prove their worthiness to the Lord Ruler, and if they are able to, he will return. It is primarily found among faithful Nobles and Obligators across the former Final Empire.

Flagellism primarily hails from the vulgar faith of the skaa, and its divergence from mainstream Sliverism has only widened in the wake of the Collapse. Skaa who were supportive of the Lord Ruler for whatever reason only have one faith to turn to, being banned from worship with the other faiths, and that is Flagellisms. Most of its sects believe that the Lord Ruler's absence was due to unfaithfulness from the skaa, and they must undergo flagellation to debase themselves to show they are sorry enough. It is small, currently, found only in the Imperial Successors.

There are more practices, but primarily they are Sliverism unchanged, practiced as it always has by Skaa, Nobles, and Obligators. The only one worth mentioning is the faith of the Aspirant Empire- perhaps a divergent sect within the highest ranks of the Inquisition, or hidden rituals made public at last. Ritualized bloodletting and raven masks seem to be two newly observed practices of the Inquisitors, and seem to have no other purpose than for faith alone.


The Terris faith is a shadow of what once was. Only a small remnant survived the reign of the Final Empire, Keepers kept a few practices and tenets alive down the years. Some classical inscriptions, found carved in isolated valleys of Terris, have been added to the faith, but it is hard to tell which features mentioned in these inscriptions are true, or exaggerated. Like the three other faiths, the Terris faith believes in a Heaven and a Hell, but believe all can earn their place in Heaven.

The main distinguishing feature of the Terris faith is the blessed nature of Feruchemy. Given to the Terris people by God Himself, Feruchemists are to be respected, and given leadership roles where possible. This is where the Synod takes its mandate- you cannot be a member of the Synod if you are not also a Feruchemist. It has received criticism for this tenet by others- being accused of limiting Terris society by limiting important social roles to a small caste of Feruchemists, but Terris social roles naturally congregate around Feruchemists. However, this national focus of the faith has prevented it from gaining converts among skaa, and other portions of the former Final Empire.

There are reports of Terris offshoot faiths- charismatic preachers spreading new sects in other portions of the Final Empire, starting from the Terris faith- primarily because of its Terris-focused doctrine, and as it is completely separate from the Final Empire's faith, the theology is the best, out of the three faith groups, to base new religious doctrine off of. None of these groups have reached large enough sizes to note.


Survivorism is the third faith group, found most commonly in the New Republic and its allies, and the only one of these that is not that old, taking shape over the course of the past four years following the Premier Minister Kelsier's escape from the Pits of Hathsin, and the growth of his legend. Despite the New Republic's, and the Premier Minister's atheism, it has proven popular- for it is the only major creed the religious among the skaa of the New Republic can take up.

Survivorism views the struggle of Kelsier and the New Republic against the Final Empire and the Imperial Remnants as a holy one, with Kelsier as a divine or near-divine figure- a prophet, to the more knowledgeable among the faithful. Other figures in the government of the New Republic possess some divine tendencies, although it depends on the individual worshiper. The faith has little organization, being a natural development of the nigh-mythological struggle that led to the fall of the Final Empire, with Kelsier, in some ways, taking the place of the Lord Ruler, theologically. There are a few priests, however- these people gravitate towards government roles, serving and leading with a passion unmatched, and binding together communities in support of the Republic. Survivorists tend to support the New Republic above other skaa, Kelsier's position of power ensuring the Republic, in their eyes, a divine right of rule.

Marewill Larstaism's adherents say their faith is back from the dead, for a third time. While many of its tenets are the same as Classical Larstaism, its theology is very different, and it puts into practice its tenants in a very modern way. Marewill Larstaists believe, like Classical Larstaism, that the closest way to God is through art, and a society should support monks who create art for that society. As such, you have a growing group of Larstaist monks who live off the support of others, writing newspapers, making statues, painting houses, or making murals- to benefit as many people through art as possible.

The Marewill Larstaists revere Mare, as a martyr- slain for her faith, and belief that the world was once green and possessed clear skies. A minor belief among the Survivorists, the Marewill Larstaists believe that Kelsier will fulfill her dream of the world being that way once more, as he regularly makes this promise- their brightening of the world is partly to aid him in this goal, as the more beauty the world has, the easier it will be to restore it. They fully believe that paradise awaits, and all they need to do to bring it is paint the world.




Iconoclasm is the primary ideology of the New Republic. It is defined by its opposition to the Final Empire in all purposes, and revolves around the New Republic, with almost all Iconoclasts ruling parties, or heavily supported by the New Republic. Economically, Iconoclasts believe the state should manage the entire economy, although all Iconoclast states supplement this with privately-owned industries, out of pragmatism. Iconoclasm is a very social ideology- Iconoclasm is a vulgar movement, depending on support by an overwhelming majority of the population, with everyone allowed to participate in the government. The Iconoclasts believe in dismantling the entirety of the old system and raising up a new, constructed system in its place- however, this extends beyond the government and the economy.

Iconoclasts wish to tear down the very fabric of society, and raise up something new- the Premier Minister Kelsier viewing a full transformation of the way people live and think as necessary for total liberation. This was the New Republic's primary goal after its creation, with the government tailored towards this process, although recent reforms have led to a military focus. It is total- tenements are demolished and rebuilt with smaller rooms for families, and hotels are seized to be converted into tenements. Excess furniture, taken from abandoned townhouses or seized from nobles subject to reappropriation is given to the skaa, while furniture is made. This extends to every sphere of the social life- parks are made, light is brought to the streets, plantations are reorganized into communes, skaa pick up last names, the written word is used to both spread ideas and encourage literacy, and so much more. It is similar in the Austrex Commune, and all Iconoclasts strive for this- outside the Republican territories, being an Iconoclast can set one apart from one's fellow man, as you tear down the social walls that you lived for your entire life.

There are Iconoclasts in many nations- Terris Kahl has adopted Iconoclasm, although it was fairly Iconoclastic before the Collapse, there is a party in the Oligarchy of the Southern Isles, and there are rebels in the Aspirant and Pretender Empires. Primarily, skaa are very sympathetic to Iconoclasm, and the legend of the Survivor of the Hathsin travels hand in hand with the legend of the New Republic, gaining allies even in the darkest corners of Scadrial. A flame has been lit, which cannot be put out- and the armies of the New Republic march to bring this flame to the remainder of the world.


Primarily, Commercantism is motivated by economic ideas- being that private enterprise should run the entire economy, with minimal government interference in the economy, with private enterprise leading to eternal prosperity for everyone. Commercantism is divided between anti-noble individuals, commonly skaa who possessed some standing as a noble-sponsored craftsman, and forward-thinking nobles who accept the Collapse, but see an opportunity to gain power and prestige using their wealth.

Liberal Commercantism is found in several political parties across the Republican Alliance, in the New Republic, the Austrex Commune, the Oligarchy of the Southern Islands, and even a minor political club in Terris. It is made distinct by its liberal government beliefs- believing in democracy, but a more limited one, believing that a government should function to aid free enterprise, focusing on individual liberty above the equality of the people. Some even suggest limiting representation to only those who own property. As such, it is a minor relatively ideology, although one with potential, as the middle class grows.

Noble Commercantism is the ideology of the Oligarchy Southern Isles, although some would say it arrived at it purely by accident. An elite wealthy ruling class of merchant-families runs the state- while the Oligarchy officially possesses representation for skaa, the skaa lack much wealth compared to the nobles, which limits their power. This was more prevalent in Classical Scadrial, among mainly the Hallant and several city-states across the world. In practice, it is the Final Empire with enough compromises made for it to not collapse when the central authority has. While it has no official supporters, those conditions can likely occur again, possibly spawning more Noble Commercantist nations out of convenience. It will be interesting see where the Oligarchy evolves, as they have control over a lot of resources and land which can be developed, but they are going against the grain of Republicanism.


Venturism lacks a defining ideal, instead being defined by the supporters of Emperor Straff Venture of the Pretender Empire. As such, it has two large subsets. Generally, they agree that the economy should be managed by the Nobility. There are the autocrat Venturists, who support Straff Venture as an absolutist autocrat, and wish to gain prestige in his court, becoming, perhaps, Dominance Lords in the future. They are primarily those who have much to gain- Straff Venture's greatest allies, those he has in his court, those he has made promises of power and wealth to. It is primarily an ideology of the urban nobles, who interacted with the Final Empire near-constantly, and are used to being lorded over, viewing it as required for the existence of a nation. They wish to see all free skaa re-enslaved, and the nobles who sided with the New Republic have their property stripped and given to them.

The others wish for autonomy above all else, viewing the Lord Ruler's death as the perfect opportunity for gaining complete independence from governance. These are the petty tyrants of the plantations, who cannot abide someone else owning their skaa, even in name, cannot abide quotas, and cannot abide taxes. They fear skaa liberation perhaps even more than the autocrat Venturists, as they spend most of their time projecting what little power they have over their enslaved skaa, and are fearful of redressement being done unto them. They support Straff Venture solely to achieve this goal, and as Straff looks for more resources, they may find themselves opposing him.


Continuationism is the ideology of the Aspirant Empire, and the one that can be most accurately said to continue the Final Empire's governance. Economically, Continuationists believe that nobles should run most industries, with government institutions only managing a select few which are too high value to trust in the hands of nobles, with the obligators overseeing every transaction between nobles. They wish to continue the Final Empire, with all its ills. Continuing the social structures, continuing the oppression of the skaa, continuing the whole rotten structure. They have little ideological basis- faith in the Lord Ruler's failed plan is what keeps them afloat. I have nothing but scorn for the Aspirant Empire, and, seeing how everyone else has changed in some capacity to adapt to the changing world, the Aspirant Empire finds itself standing in a house of ashes in a world that despises it. I can only hope the beast goes quietly.




The Calendar of the Final Empire is a simple, bureaucratic thing, lacking no imagination. The 256 day long year is split up into sixteen months, consisting of two weeks further consisting of eight days. The only named things are days, with months, weeks, and years simply gathering a number. The days of the week are named after the base eight allomantic metals, starting with Copperday, followed by Bronzeday, Tinday, Pewterday, Ironday, Steelday, Zincday, and the final day of the week is Brassday.

There were no official holidays during the Final Empire. But the bounds of the year is tied to the winter solstice, with the two solstices and equinoxes becoming notable days. The Terris people have holidays, while the skaa are gaining them, a day in autumn being the focus of its greatest holiday- when the Lord Ruler was slain by Kelsier. Many more days have been designated holidays, but we will have to wait to see which turn into days of celebration, and which fade with time.




Mistborn: Smoke and Ash is the furthest I've ever gotten a project- this update is a crowning achievement of mine, and one I was planning on the very beginning in June, slowly typing away, slowly changing pixels on my custom map or the various flags I've thrown together, but I seemingly just can't worldbuild as fast as I write dialogue. Now that I'm past this, however, the future is looking bright, as I can stand upon the shoulders of this giant.

I will be changing the voting system as the quest continues- one vote per update on an event or choice, as well as trying out allowing people to choose the direction of Smoke and Ash, because I find myself the only one to carry out Kelsier's victory as far as I have, and it would be great if readers could request direction to the story. However, this is a story chronicling the salvation of Scadrial- for better or worse, the New Republic is the best hope for survival for Scadrial, and the weight of the world rests upon Kelsier's shoulders. Characters will not make decisions that go against their characters. Things will not divergence significantly from my plans, and I will stop trying to maximize quest options, instead limiting it- and as the story grows as I write, it'll be a surprise even to me where Mistborn: Smoke and Ash ends up.

Happy Koloss Head Munching Day, and here's to another 19 years of Mistborn!

And on the Winter Solstice, While Many made Merry, The Son of Man Endeavored to Bring the Commune to Heel, and the Shadow Chose to Bring Salvation to the World of Ash.

---

Mistborn: Smoke and Ash​

Revolution in the Final Empire​

The steamboat Pyroferrous departed Luthadel on a bright and clear winter morning, exiting the Port before turning to steam downriver. Coal smoke rose from its singular smokestack, and paddle wheels pushed against the water. Ashfalls weren't as common during the winter, typically, from a mix of rains and cold weather meaning the ash wasn't buoyed as high. But the sky was still full of haze. It was always like that, even if he had false memories of clear blue skies.

A boxing twirled through the air, although it was not moving as if a Coinshot Pushed it or Lurcher Pulled it. It was hanging in place, spinning around an axis, the red sunlight gleaming off it. The peak of a Mistborn's skill in iron and steel, it was said by many. Similarly, an iron spun through the air, although it wobbled often, and sometimes fell. Kelsier smiled, for he was training Vin in the metal he was most skilled at.

Vin spoke up. "Why does the coin not move? The boat is moving, shouldn't the coin move with the ground, instead of the boat?"

Ah Vin, minutes of observations leading to a well thought out question. "This is debated by scholars, but it seems like it's the individual's frame of reference. Our ground is the deck of the boat, and as we are standing on it, it appears to us that we are moving. So, the coin's velocity moves with the boat, and our velocity." Kelsier said.

"That makes sense." Vin said. "How are you acclimating to the spike?"

"Good. I have trouble remembering when I've felt better." Kelsier smiled. He stopped spinning the boxing, Pulling it into the palm of his hand, and felt something that he thought impossible a few short months ago. A feruchemical charge. The boxing was a metalmind, and it was his metalmind. He had spent the day experimenting with it, seeing what could be done, and how exactly feruchemy and compounding worked.

He had the basic rules down. Typical Feruchemists could only store in and tap a metalmind. Most attributes worked the same- you stored a percentage of an attribute, and you couldn't store 100%. He had tried at first, when he didn't know what he was doing, and he had been knocked out. Luckily, his health returned to full the moment he lost consciousness, and he woke up a few seconds later. Dangerous, with the spike newly in him and the hangover. He stored about 50%, and felt like hell for a bit, then moved to storing 20%. And then he clipped the boxing, burning a bit of its metal. His hangover went away, and his spike stopped throbbing.

But he had no health left over. He clipped the coin again, and stored in the small clipped piece of it, until it filled up- he ate and burned it, and stored a large percentage of his health in the boxing, and another clipped piece, the extra health from burning the small completely full clipped piece making him feel like he wasn't storing health at all. He supposed he would keep clipping and burning the boxing until what was left was full. The boxing already was hard to manipulate via allomancy.

After he finished the boxing, he supposed he would store in his hemalurgic spike. Marsh said he did that, as it was the largest piece of gold on his body. Kelsier knew why his spike was empty of a charge, and that was because the Inquisitor had tried to heal from getting its back spike ripped out by Marsh, draining it and perishing anyways.

Kelsier presumed he would find a good balance eventually, but he needed to work at getting a full metalmind first. He sat back down, and resumed clipping the boxing, burning the clips, and storing the excess health in more clips, putting the excess in the boxing. Soon enough, he filled up the boxing to full, and began clipping it and storing in another boxing. When that was filled up, he cut what was left of the boxing up, and stored the health in his spike, and even had enough to fill up a second boxing halfway.

Kelsier wondered what the limits of healing were. He could be stabbed and shot, sure. But what about being cut in half, or being struck by a cannonball, or getting a body part cut off? He should ask Sazed. He avoided telling anyone about his spike, not wanting Marsh to fret, or abandon his recovery to track him down. He only told Vin this morning, after they had departed Luthadel.

"So how long should it take for us to get to Austrex?" she asked.

"More quickly than the typical human, ox, or horse-pulled canal boat, that's for sure. Not only does this go at about five kilometers per hour, but we'll be going downstream, so the estimate is about seven kilometers per hour. So, we should get to Austrex tomorrow morning."

"Transport is getting fast." Vin said, awed.

Kelsier chuckled. "We're catching up. Classical Scadrial had many wondrous inventions, forcibly removed from our world by the Lord Ruler. When you're my age, you should be able to travel to anywhere in the former Final Empire in a month."

"Sazed showed me the drawing of that train. It's amazing that it was present in the past. What else is there?"

"Oh, so many things. Our ancestors waged their wars with hundreds of cannons, and every man in their armies had a rifle. They knew the secrets of lightning, in addition to the world being habitable in its entirety."

"But they didn't have Allomancy." Vin remarked.

"No, they didn't. It is said the Lord Ruler turned nine kings who bowed before him into Mistborn, using an unknown metal. There's also the rumors that Allomancy came with the mists… but I don't believe that." Kelsier said.

Vin shrugged. "Could be true. The mists love Allomancy. You know how they swirl about you when you're burning something."

Kelsier waved it off. "There's not enough evidence to say either way."

Tenes quickly passed, being the one of the two cities on the Channerel between Luthadel and Austrex. Kelsier found himself chatting with the crew of the Pyroferrous. The mechanist tending to the engine was particularly proud of it, as this ship had only come into existence after many revisions. There were two sorts of steam engines- low pressure engines, and high-pressure engines. Low pressure engines were what was used in the retooling of the various mills and forges of the cities, and in certain mines and factories in the Final Empire. This steamboat was powered by a low pressure engine.

The high pressure engine was the other sort of steam engine. It was unwieldy, and the couple of models assembled had exploded. The people who had preserved it down the centuries didn't think of its fragility, but they could keep on experimenting with various metals. By this time next year they should be able to get one working. The machinist smiled, explaining that the small size of the high pressure steam engine when compared to its power would allow for trains, and would replace the low pressure steam engines.

While Kelsier wouldn't say he understood all of this, he could definitely understand that a smaller more powerful engine would be better than a larger low power engine. And the thought of trains hurtling across the world was a good one.

But he could do more than think of a future that was a long and brutal war away. And that was politics. It was somewhat impressive that he could involve himself in politics in a small self-contained boat, but that was just what he was good at.

The crew of the steamboat were all former canal skaa, and he strove to learn about what happened to the third group of skaa since the Revolution. While trade had declined, resources still flowed, and they found themselves the main source of labor for both piloting, maintaining, and transporting ships. Some had settled, of course, but others had joined their ranks, to see what there was in the world, or to secure a reliable source of income.

For in the face of the lack of the New Republic in aiding them, a gang, the Ashen Veins, had stepped up. The gang had moved to aiding communities of canal skaa, pointing them in the direction of work, which, once found, proved to be reliable for months on end. Trade even was on the upswing, after the agreement with Terris and the Oligarchy of the Southern Isles. It wasn't that hard to be a canal skaa in the New Republic- especially when compared to the Final Empire, even if there was negligence on behalf of the state.

At least one of the canal skaa had been in the Eastern Dominance in the months after the Revolution. He hadn't seen much, but all but essential work dried up, so he worked on transporting arsenic ore, and he had seen an Inquisitor impale one of his fellow workers, and he got spooked, fled to Chathram, and from there into the New Republic. It was strange, he considered, that the Steeled Empire let refugees go without issue. No refugee group reported being molested by Inquisitors or the border guards- but few refugees said they were from the City of Seran.

The sun reached its peak, and Vin and he joined the boat workers for some bread and bean stew. Traditional skaa dish- he supposed that while working on the canals paid, it didn't pay enough to afford meat for every meal. Vin asked him a question. "Could you use a Keeper's goldmind if they stored their Identity?"

"I don't see why I couldn't." Kelsier remarked.

"Then… could you burn a Keeper's unkeyed goldmind?" she asked.

A revelation blessed Kelsier, the same one Vin apparently had had. "I should be able to. And you… should be able to burn an unkeyed goldmind. We should be able to burn any unkeyed metalminds. Vin, you've done it!" Kelsier laughed and was just about jumping for joy.

"This is it! The Aluminum of allomancy! Feruchemy is within our grasp!" Vin's excitement diminished, and she suddenly looked sallow. "Sazed and I tried this, and he framed it as… Allomancers stealing strength from the Terris people. We'll face some pushback from the Keepers."

"Damn, yeah. We'll be relying on handouts. Probably limited gold… but we have a ton of Inquisitor spikes, and once I determine if Hemalurgy in small quantities is safe, we can just give our mistborn Feruchemical gold." Kelsier said.

"So why can't we give you Feruchemical aluminum, or the Keepers Allomantic gold?" Vin asked.

"Because the metals needed to take those traits are undiscovered." Kelsier said.

"You haven't tested the new metals Hemalurgically, right?" Vin asked.

"No, I haven't. But I don't know how to start." Kelsier said. He had thought about this many times- and mostly, he needed people who would be willing to experiment on condemned nobles, who were trustworthy. The Keepers weren't willing, and neither was Marsh- but he thought the Ministry of War might.

"If you plan on investigating this third metallic art, this is the perfect time. There will be many captives taken in this war, and many of them we will be executing anyways. If you wait, I do not see another time in which this sort of testing will be possible." Vin said.

Oh, Vin, beyond her years in many ways. "You're right. The remaining Hemalurgic metals have to be in the Spiritual categories, given the way the chart's balanced out. The pushing lower metals are those that steal Allomantic and Feruchemical traits, while the Internal temporal metals fill that role in the temporal category, so it should be aluminum and duralumin. No, that doesn't make sense, the Final Empire could've used aluminum hemalurgically…"

"You need to experiment. And we should use every tool we have. In my experience, those who don't, die." Vin said.

"So many will die…" Kelsier said darkly.

After that, Kelsier found himself thinking of war. There were three armies that would be facing combat. The Army of the North led by Yeden, Army of the East led by Clubs, and the Army of the South, technically under Bazen's command? She had probably selected a delegate for that though. The Army of the North would sweep west, across the northern plain. The Army of the East would march first, taking Rive-juxta-Lutha, attempting to reach Samenflow before the marshes thawed in the spring. The Army of the South would withstand the sheer numbers of the Aspirant Empire, having turned Longsfollow into a veritable fortress, one that must be assailed, for its spot along the Cassern River making it impossible to pass on by. And an engagement that could be set was one that needed to be invested in.

But the Army of the South could not win the war in one battle, no matter how fortified and well-stocked Longsfollow was. And so, he needed to check on the Army of the South, and see how well Baz'en was doing. The Austrex Commune was the most steadfast ally of the New Republic, and was the furthest along to integration. Austrex must not fall. And for that to occur, the Army of the South must be expanded, to include at least a hundred thousand men, to hold off the Aspirant Empire.

He had heard that the army sizes were a bit lower, but surely all he needed to do was meet with Baz'en and make her consider the inevitable war. The Austrex cache would be a great aid to the Commune. He wondered how long he would need to stay in Austrex. Well, he would find out soon enough.

---

The sun had risen above the Verdigris Plateau by the time the Pyroferrous entered the harbor of Austrex. The ruddy sky was painted the pink and blue of dawn, a faint echo of the ancient age when the skies were clear. Fog clung to the surface of the Grand Laguna, an echo of the nightly mist, while gulls whirled overhead.

Kelsier noticed that it was the winter solstice- the ending of the old year, and the beginning of the next. Ten twenty-three… the first full year where the Final Empire was dead. He hoped they'd keep it that way. The superstitions of the canal skaa were fully visible- they said this was a time of darkness, where the walls between worlds were thinnest- they warned him to watch out for Mistwraiths, or the Lord Ruler coming to take his revenge. They agreed that he was a powerful Lord of Hell, ruling a large swathe of the ashen pit.

The Austrex harbor was something special- one of the largest in the Final Empire, and Austrex sat on a small peninsula jutting into the Grand Laguna, the largest city upon one of the central lakes. So many lakes surrounding the New Republic, and so underused, even for transportation.

But transportation was not a thing he was here for. Baz'en was awaiting his arrival, with a thousand soldiers, and tens of thousands of skaa- likely having skipped breakfast for him. The soldiers were lined up, keeping the crowd back from the dock, and two people were waiting for him- Baz'en Wraithkiller in a mistcloak, and two other people- a man, and a Keeper. Kelsier stepped off the gangway, onto the dock, in front of the two. "Welcome, Premier Minister. I hope Austrex is as welcoming as your home." she said.

Kelsier smiled. "I wish I could be here for pleasure, First Minister, but the state of the world renders that not the case. It has been a couple months since our last meeting. Tell me, who are your companions?"

"Why, this is Assemblyman Eufraso Steelburner, my friend and close accomplice, as well as the current general of the Southern Army. And this is the Keeper Axindweth, who has been a great aid in the construction of the Austrex Commune." Baz'en introduced the man, who bowed, and the Keeper, who curtsied her robes. Kelsier shook their hands.

"And this must be Vin!" Baz'en turned to Vin, almost leaning over her. "It's good to see the next generation. And there's a second young Mistborn woman in Luthadel, I've heard?"

"Yes, but she's with the Haughts." Vin said.

Baz'en tutted. "Can't trust nobles in this day in age, can we?"

Kelsier spoke up. "I would love to chat, but we're here on government business. Our search will be long- it's best if General Eufraso here mobilizes his men. The Steel Ministry buildings- there is a vast sub-basement below one of them. Search for low points- wine cellars, basements, and you, Eufraso, should be able to see a blue line pointing straight through the wall- although I believe only a Mistborn can open it. Come to me when you find it- or just the likely areas in each of the Steel Ministry buildings." The General nodded, turning and rallying his soldiers, to scour Austrex for the cache.

"So I suppose we do have some time, for them to find this sub-basement." Baz'en said.

"We do. What do you have in mind?" Kelsier asked.

"Axindweth here has been working on something amazing. Perhaps you would like to see it?"

"It would be great to see what accomplishments you have made in Austrex, Lady Keeper." Kelsier said to the Feruchemist.

"Then we will go to what used to be known as Keep Lekal, Premier Minister." Axindweth proclaimed.

"How much math will this include?" Vin asked, eyes narrowed.

"Quite a lot. I can teach you the basics, I think." Axindweth offered, smiling.

"No thank you. Kel, can I train with Baz'en? I've never trained with another Mistborn." Vin asked.

Kelsier turned to Baz'en, asking her a silent question. "Of course!" Baz'en said, "And don't worry, I'll take good care of her." The two ran off, Baz'en complimenting Vin ruthlessly.

The soldiers were departing, the crew of the Pyroferrous was leaving to spend however long in Austrex, and the crowd was closing in, to perhaps speak to him. Kelsier had only one route left- learning about whatever Axindweth wanted to show or teach him.

---

The two walked through the streets of Austrex, conversing. Axindweth had chosen physics as her Keeper's portfolio- the sciences of gravitation, chemistry, mathematics, the metallic arts, and more. She had a lab in the former Keep Lekal, where she wrested the secrets of the world- not that of history or government or engineering, although Baz'en funded her efforts based on how many needed texts she would provide the First Minister.

But something was more interesting, for now. This was the first time Kelsier had found himself in Austrex following the Revolution, and it had changed. It was much like Luthadel, but there was something else, in the air, and in the faces and words of its people. It took a moment, but Kelsier put his finger on it. Tension, as a result of division.

Baz'en's words when she came to Luthadel were reflected in the population of the Austrex Commune. Various sigils flew from stores and tenements, opposed to one another. The Spear and Book against the Ship, the Spear and Book against the Lighthouse. Iconoclasm against Commercantism.

There was a problem here, that hopefully could be resolved, or made to dwindle, before the war came. He would have to speak with Baz'en about many things, assuredly. But Kelsier had time- perhaps the situation with the Southern Army was better than he'd heard. At the very least, the cache would provide enough weapons to give the military of the Commune an edge.

They arrived at Keep Lekal. It wasn't like the one in Luthadel, shaped like a pyramid, instead being the more traditional noble keeps- in the model of the greatest churches, before the Ascension. House Lekal had nearby bankrupted their house building the Luthadel keep They slipped through a side door, moving through a short hallway, before exiting into a former dining room.

A large stained glass window made up one wall, illuminating the contents of the quite large room. The floor was stone, and he noticed portions of it were bleached from acid stains. And what Kelsier saw was a collection of curiosities. Various scientific instruments sat on tables, many glass jars sat on shelves, there were chalkboards filled with mathematical equations complete with symbols Kelsier had never seen, and there were various metalminds sitting on a bench. Was that a fish in a tank?

Kelsier approached the fish. A ray. "Why do you have a fish?" he asked Axindweth, smiling in the absurdity of whatever value the Keeper found in the creature.

Axindweth smiled. "That's a numb-ray. It is a very unique specimen, for it can generate electricity."

"A fish can generate electricity?" Kelsier asked, dumbfounded.

"It can. It has special organs that generate electricity." the Keeper said.

In a flash of insight, Kelsier realized the Keeper had cracked the secret of lightning. "How far have you gotten?" Kelsier asked Axindweth, smiling.

Axindweth laughed. "Far! I've been working on testing what little knowledge we have- I've reconfirmed that lightning is electricity, found that humans and animals utilize electricity to control their muscles, and I'm working on linking magnetism and electricity, and I think chemistry and electricity are linked."

"Magnetism and electricity are linked?" Kelsier asked.

"And possibly more! Come, I have a test I'd like you to see." Axindweth hurried over to one of her machines- copper wiring wrapped around an iron bar twisted into the shape of a horseshoe. She put on thick leather gloves, and grabbed a… thing of metal, metal circles of zinc and copper stacked in a cylinder. "Do not touch anything, Kelsier, too much electricity can hurt or even kill you."

Before assembling it, Axindweth got a compass, and placed it to the north of the instrument. "Watch the compass." she said, hooking up the thing of circles of zinc and copper to the copper wire. And to Kelsier's surprise, the compass' needle turned south, to point at the device.

"What is this? It wasn't a magnet before?" Kelsier asked, furrowing his brow.

"An electromagnet- a magnet created via electricity. Just like an ordinary magnet, but artificially created. As for this," she gestured at the stack of zinc and copper circles, "it's a pile battery- it utilizes a chemical reaction to generate a continuous electric current, as opposed to the spark of the batteries you've seen used in the typical Final Empire-era electrical experiments, or the shock of the numb-ray."

Kelsier nodded. "Does electricity have any practical uses?"

Axindweth smiled. "I've found several, and have records of more. First, electricity can be used to plate metal, which increases its strength and corrosion resistance. Second, I have been able to create some new gases and chemicals, or obtain rare gases and chemicals more easily, by using electricity to cause reactions in or between various substances. Third, I have been able to make new magnets- removing our reliance on limited deposits of naturally occurring magnetized metals. I've found that it is possible to generate electricity using magnetism, it is possible to turn electrical energy into motion and vice versa, and it is possible to generate a light which can match the brightness of limelight using electricity. For the less likely options, Classical texts make mention of using electricity to communicate a vast distance over wiring, as well as the reanimation of dead tissue- but even using very fresh human cadavers, I've not managed to get more than twitching."

"You've done a lot. Do you think you could replicate the limelights?" Kelsier asked.

"No… I need more facilities, and more hands. This is the best electrical lab in the entire former Final Empire, and all because I swept up half the equipment in Communard territory. The only people dabbling with electricity before were eccentric nobles, and there's not many left of those in the New Republic. It'll take decades to rebuild the general scientific base needed for this, as long as Terris remains as it is. You'd best stick to limelights." Axindweth said.

"You could work for the University in Luthadel?" Kelsier asked.

"No, I'm needed in Austrex. Baz'en isn't the best at statecraft, and we need to focus on the war instead of the sciences, despite how much I wish it weren't so. That's why you're in Austrex, right?" Axindweth asked, hopefully.

"Right. Damnable shame about your lack of facilities. The copper wiring, though- that reminds me of an attempt the University made to do that, using an unkeyed copper metalmind." Kelsier mentioned, off-handedly.

"Oh, right! I wanted to test something with you." Axindweth adjusted the connection between the pile battery and the electromagnet, loosening it so if either parts were moved, it would come apart. "Attempt to push or pull on the iron bar here, just enough to tip it over." she pointed to the electromagnet.

Kelsier burned steel, and lightly pushed on the electromagnet- it fell over with a clatter, disconnecting itself, and the compass' needle spun back towards Luthadel.

"Damn it…" Axindweth rubbed her eyes. "I thought that would work. But, I suppose the lack of a resistance proves something else."

"Like if I tried to push or pull on a full metalmind. But what does the absence of resistance prove?" Kelsier asked the Keeper.

"That the Metallic Arts are disconnected from electricity, chemistry, or magnetism. Come, let's examine my metalminds." Kelsier and Axindweth moved to another part of the room- many metalminds, marked with small notes of paper numbering them, atop shelves, along with papers with many, many calculations. "This is agonizing as it seems." Axindweth deadpanned. "All attributes- except the mess that is memory, vary depending on the individual."

"For instance, my baseline level of strength I store is much less than Vedzan's, and it would be the same for a sickly individual or a healthy individual for gold. Thanks to aluminum's Feruchemical property being discovered, however, it should be possible to establish a universal baseline unit to measure Feruchemical Investiture- I've even established a preliminary baseline based on myself alone, but I need more Feruchemists, and I would need to study Compounding to truly find the baseline."

Kelsier was feeling overwhelmed, but he knew that Axindweth likely knew something integral he did not. "So what's notable about the lack of resistance? And what's Investiture?"

Axindweth stammered. "I'm sorry, I got carried away there. It was previously believed that the charge in metalminds was a form of static electricity- I've run tests with my own metalminds, there being no resistance to the flow of electricity, and even tried to move the charge in a full metalmind into a near-empty one using electricity. That test we just did was just the final nail in the coffin- if a 'Feruchemical charge' was electricity, or related to it, there would be resistance to the flow, and it would act as if you were manipulating a metalmind with iron and steel Allomancy. As that does not happen, and I doubt gravitation is responsible, I theorize there is a third force, which provides the power of Allomancy, and makes up both Feruchemical and Hemalurgic charge."

"Don't metals power Allomancy?" Kelsier asked.

"No." Axindweth shook her head. "It's hard to explain… but imagine you have a lock, key, and a door, or perhaps a container. This is the same structure for Feruchemy, as well- I don't know how Hemalurgy works enough to judge, although I would like to. The lock is the ability to use the metallic arts- something few people have. The key is the metals, likely the specific axial structure of individual metals. The door is the source of power, of Investiture- in Feruchemy, someone's inborn attributes when storing, or the Investiture in their metalminds when tapping. In Allomancy, the door is… a source of power. While energy cannot be created or destroyed, it's not the metals- I learned that from someone else."

Kelsier nodded. "Locks, keys, and doors…" he muttered, trying to map this system to hemalurgy. "Metal would be the key in all three, the charge in a spike would be the door… but what's the lock? The bindpoints?"

"I'd need to test more." Axindweth said. "Some ancient religions mention three realms- including that of the Terris mythology, with the Feruchemical categories of metals being based around this. This test proves that these three realms exist, or at least there is a non-Physical charge that can occupy the same space as a Physical charge. The Physical is our realm, of planets and stars, the Cognitive is the realm of the mind, and the Spiritual is the root of the Metallic Arts… and Gods."

"Do you propose to measure God?" Kelsier asked, smiling.

"No… I know next to nothing about this theory. Not even how to test it. But I have made progress on the Spiritual Metals you have discovered." Axindweth said, getting out a duraluminmind. "This was unusually difficult to figure out- like the rest of the Spiritual metals. But, Kelsier, it stores Connection. I'm tapping it right now." Axindweth tapped a bracelet around her wrist.

"And what does it do?" Kelsier asked, although he could already guess, now that he knew the term Connection. Axindweth was speaking with an Austrese accent. And… why did he trust her so, going with her experiments and not asking questions?

"Many things. I gain the local accent when tapping enough, and I might be able to speak other languages using it, in regions where people speak languages other than Demotic. Other people trust and remember me more when tapping it, and when storing it, people do not trust me, overlook me, or more often than not, forget me. I stored up a large quantity of it when I figured that out- I completed a lot of experiments in the free time it gave me, when Baz'en was not asking over every little thing predating the Ascension." Axindweth smiled. He didn't want to tell her to stop tapping it… damn it, it was altering his mind!

"Please stop tapping it. What properties of the other Spiritual metals have you found?" Kelsier requested. He then felt something change, and his suspicions of this Keeper increased- but she still seemed like someone happiest alone in a room doing equations than a spy.

"I just wanted to get your ear, but that was a mistake, I think." Axindweth said, having slipped back into her Terris accent.

"No, this is all really interesting- I assure you. Before this, I thought the Metallic Arts were one of the most unexplained and unexplored sciences- and it goes deeper than I thought. This all has grand implications- who knew you could measure the relation between a person, and the culture of their land? If you want, after things are more stable, you would make a great Deputy Minister of the Department of Allomancy, as one day, we'll need to know the peacetime uses of these abilities." Kelsier offered the Keeper, smiling.

"Thank you so much." Axwindeth smiled. "I think you wanted me to cover Chromium specifically- that is Fortune. It is not luck, despite what many would claim. Luck is skill, or random. A cardsharp, or a cheater, many would claim to be lucky, while it is truly skill. As for randomness, the roll of the dice is not truly random, depending on what face the dice was thrown on, with what velocity, and the wind- and it may be possible for the most experienced to judge that."

"That is Fortune, or a close enough analogy to it, I think. My experiments are crude, but I felt you coming, Kelsier. I see the most potential in this metal, at least until we discover the External Pushing Spiritual Metal. Think about what it could store, Kelsier… Fortune, Identity, Connection, what fundamental thing would it store?"

Kelsier had caught on, and there was only one other fundamental thing it could be. He smiled as he spoke. "Investiture. All-purpose metalminds… if we gave a Mistborn Feruchemical Investiture-storage, then they could compound Allomantic ability. I suppose that's the limit of the Metallic Arts- excepting the mystery of what atium is, if it's not on the chart."

Axindweth's smile bloomed into a grin. "I believe that the ability to use a Metallic Art is also a form of Investiture."

No, that wasn't possible. "No, how could that be… no, the ability to use a Metallic Art IS an attribute, one linked with Investiture…" Kelsier looked up, with a grin that matched Axindweth's. "The democratization of Feruchemy is at hand. We just need that fourteenth metal."

Kelsier glimpsed the future, a world in which all sixteen metals were known- where anyone could access Goldminds, filled to the brim with health, produced from compounding. Where soldiers could pick up an… unsealed metalmind, and gain the ability to accelerate coins or grow many times stronger than an ordinary man.

But what use was a future of ash? "What do you know of the Well of Ascension, Axindweth?" he asked the Keeper.

"Nothing more than the Obligators said, unfortunately, as well as the Journal of Alendi. Most things about Terris were removed from the records. Used by the Lord Ruler to make himself a Mistborn, and change the very world." Axindweth responded.

"I should ask Sazed if he has any idea where it is. We have the journal, it should be possible to find, if the Lord Ruler didn't bury it under a thousand tons of rock. This meeting has been fruitful, and I hope to see you working in Luthadel in several years." Kelsier said.

"Thank you for your faith in me, Premier Minister. I wish you well on your ventures in Austrex, and hope you find what you are looking for." and they parted, Kelsier taking to the rooftops to find Baz'en and Vin.



Now Kelsier has seen the city of Austrex, he must decide his primary goal while he is in the Second City of the Republic. The Austrex Commune has several large issues, and the war for the fate of the world will not wait for these to be solved. However, Kelsier's word and determination is unparalleled, and he can fix one of these issues, if he puts his mind to it, even if only spends a few brief days in the city- after all, if there is a Cache in Austrex, some of its resources could be used to fuel his efforts.

[ ] The Communard Army. From what Kelsier has heard, the Communard army is not adequate, and is slow in building up. This cannot continue. Austrex must be able to resist the Aspirant Army, even if it cannot defeat it. Kelsier will investigate why the army is limited, and do what he can to increase the amount of trained men in the army. There is no reason to have a state if it cannot defend itself.

[ ] The Political Divisions. There is an ever-present tension between the Iconoclasts and Commercantists in Austrex. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Kelsier will investigate the reason behind these political divisions, and see what can be done to end them, or at least diminish them. There is no reason to have an army without a functional state.

---

Nazh shoved open the stone door, which toppled to the dirt below. He panted heavily, but had to keep running. He whirled around, finding himself in a graveyard bathed in red sunlight and falling ash, and having come out of a mausoleum. No, not in a graveyard! Ash and shadows, the worst place to fight one of them. A manor house sat quietly in the distance, built in a Daysider style.

He found a treeline, and darted for it. He scrabbled over the iron fence at the edge of the graveyard, his hat falling off in the process. Damn, just when he needed a hat, amidst the falling ash. At least his coat didn't get stuck. Luckily, Nazh got into the treeline, quickly becoming covered by the forest, when the thing, of spikes and shadow, emerged from the underground. Or was it a forest? The trees were evenly spaced, all pines, and the ground was covered by nothing larger than a weed. A tree farm, for turpentine for camphine oil, to power the lamps of this world.

He heard rustling in the treetops. Helmore! The thing likely couldn't see him if he was standing behind a tree- he carried no metal, and trees were full of metal. Especially on Scadrial.

Nazh whispered a quick prayer as he slipped behind another tree, pulling his blunderbuss pistol out of his coat. Adonalsium, let his plan work… it was weak from the fight, it could be slain!

"Your God cannot save you, wretch. He is dead, and Ruin reigns." the gravelly voice taunted, an unknown distance away.

"My God is not either of those." Nazh boasted. "Every action your lord takes is following a plan laid down ten thousand years ago."

"You're one of the interlopers, aren't you? Kar will reward me handsomely for your capture…" the voice stopped suddenly.

Nazh closed his eyes, reaching out, sensing the life in the area. Amidst nothing but trees and the few small animals that hadn't been scared off, it stuck out like a glowing mushroom. He waited, feeling it move around- falling gently right behind him. Nazh whirled around, finding the Inquisitor standing there, with a too-wide grin on its face, its robe a cloak of shadow. He pulled the trigger, filling its chest and skull with shot of rock. Blood spattered onto his coat and cloth mask.

The thing stood there for a second, a confused look on its face, before falling over, dead. A pyrite flash pan worked, combined with a wooden barrel to not give its Allomancy any grip on the gun. Nazh kneeled down, pulled back its cloak of shadow, feeling at its ribs, finding the spike of gold, and removing it with a glass knife, along with the right steel spike in its eye, and one of the bronze spikes in its ribs. All he could carry.

He didn't remember how he found his way back to Vorzeth, but he was standing over the dying Keeper, in one of the many tunnels that ran below Chathram. Vorzeth was leaning against the rough rock wall of the tunnel, carved centuries ago by some noble. The only source of illumination was a small ventilation shaft in the roof.

"Oh thank God you prevailed against it. I thought… you were it coming back to haul me away." Vorzeth's lips were flecked with bloody spittle. He didn't have long, the coin wounds being too much for him.

"Is there any way to secure your salvation?" Nazh asked, kneeling before the living well of knowledge.

Vorzeth coughed blood. "It is too late for me. But my discoveries won't pass with me. Take what I found, tell of the Synod of my death, return to Luthadel." Vorzeth handed Nazh the bag containing the ancient dates, and pressed two coins into his hand- one was a silver coin of Chathram, and the other was a clip, that the Inquisitor had used to mortally wound Vorzeth. "The clip is an unkeyed metalmind. Any Keeper will be able to tap it." Nazh took his hand, holding it. But Vorzeth didn't die.

"Are you sure your time has passed?" Nazh asked the Keeper.

"As you know, my associates in Chathram up above were found out, and got hooks through their throats. There will be people sent once the Inquisitor doesn't come back, and you said you were here alone. To survive, I would need intensive medical care, or an unkeyed goldmind from a Keeper- impossible to get here. I'm dead, Nazh. You must save yourself." Vorzeth said.

"But they will locate you, extract everything they can, and that event cannot occur." Nazh implored.

"If you can bear the guilt, then kill me. I will die anyways, indeed, it is a better death than the one the Inquisitors will provide." Vorzeth reasoned.

Nazh pulled out the spike of gold from his satchel. A chill ran down his spine. "Are you willing to sacrifice yourself even further, for the aid of all free men? I assure you, despite what they say, your immortal soul is not at risk."

"Ah, Hemalurgy. Just… make it quick." Vorzeth said, and closed his eyes.

Nazh raised up the spike, and plunged it into Vorzeth's arm. The spike glided right through the flesh, and Vorzeth let out only a gasp before he died.

Nazh picked up the spike, saddened. The toll of war… no matter how much he sallied across the cosmere, no matter how much he saw and how old he got, there were things he'd never get used to. He'd better get out of here, though. But then, Nazh found his arm moving against his will. He was shocked to see it plunge the spike into his ribs, with a sharp pain.

Nazh looked down to see his arms wither away to a black husk, and then crumble into ash, being replaced with a white translucent image of what once was. A voice spoke, a harsh and grating tone, gloating. You thought you could escape my sight, Nazrilhof? Thought you could outwit a Shard? This is what I will do to you, Threnodite, and the Darksider you brought with you.

A feeling of visceral terror filled Nazh, as he felt two spikes of cold steel appear in his eye sockets. He found himself overlooking Luthadel. And the city was burning.

---

Nazh woke up. His body was immersed in tepid water, and all it took was fluttering his eyelids for him to remember where he was. He had fallen asleep in the wooden bathtub. After checking his ribs for that gold spike that was not there, finding only a small cut, Nazh sighed, laying back, enjoying the memory of heat, and pondering over this nightmare.

He thought they were dwindling- he hardly had any on the road from Luthadel to Chathram and back, and he had noticeably fewer in Chathram itself. But now they were back. That one on the ship, and then this one. It definitely wasn't Ruin speaking to him in a vision, it was too dream-like, and there were too many inaccuracies.

Everything was a mix between the entire Cosmere, with a Scadrian setting. But mostly Threnody and Scadrial. Shade-Inquisitors popped up in that last one- an impossibility. Was he haunted by killing Vorzeth? He did it at his behest, and fulfilled his last requests. That should be enough for his spirit to rest in peace- although a piece of his soul was now on that spike.

Was Ruin really responsible? He had started getting nightmares just after he decided to attempt to save Scadrial, with Khriss and him relocating to the Physical… right before Kelsier had destroyed half the Pits of Hathsin, and as such the easiest way on and off Scadrial. There was another conceivable route, but he would only use that in an emergency- and it was due to become unusable no matter what happened in a year or two.

Yes, the nightmares had started after he had learned he was stuck on this world. That was when he felt he had to see this through. And he had shouldered the burdens of saving Scadrial, solely upon himself. How had he gotten so attached to this planet where ash fell from the sky so much so he constantly had to wear a mask, and the mists obscured the stars every night? Dammit, if he didn't love this world!

But there had to be a better way. He needed to reduce the stress, he couldn't be single-handedly responsible for saving Scadrial, after all, he had basically no idea on how to go about that. Maybe Khriss would have some ideas. And if relieving the stress didn't relieve the nightmares… then Ruin knew he was present, and he had bigger issues.

Nazh got up, a course of action set in his mind. He should go to Khriss, and bring back what he found in Chathram.

---

Nazh walked up the steps. Tourneur was a small city, but that still meant it had well over a hundred thousand inhabitants. The cities were comparable to some of the largest in the Cosmere- The Final Empire attempted to make up for most of the world being a sun-scorched desert.

At least there wasn't looking to be a famine as a result of various dominances and food sources being cut off, thanks to a reduction in food waste, and a projected agricultural output increase thanks to the adoption of many farming tools and introduction of cattle and horses to aid skaa farmers. Although the crop planted last spring was the one feeding them now- it felt like it had been longer since the Final Empire dominated the world.

Nazh entered into Khriss's study, where she was, as usual, writing. She lived in this shop's upstairs, having paid in aluminum. Her study was also lined with aluminum foil- It was significantly out of the way- but that was how Khriss liked it. It was him sallying out into the Physical, bringing back whatever Khriss wanted, with Khriss staying in the Cognitive. But this time, Khriss had come onto the stage, joining him in playing his role.

"Khriss, now I'm feeling better, let's cover what occurred on my latest expedition. I obtained the map of Old Saran, before the Lord Ruler Ascended. And some spikes, taken from one of the Inquisitors in the Chathram." Nazh placed the crumbling manuscript, sealed in a folder, on her desk. Khriss had set up her mobile chemistry and investiture set in the back of the study.

"Welcome back, Nazh. How difficult was it?" Khriss placed her pen down, gesturing Nazh to take a seat, which he did. The room was very clean, with hardly any specks of ash- that ash room was effective in keeping the space clean.

"I slew it only after some difficulty. I became involved in the New Republic's efforts as typical, however- the Keeper Vorzeth was there, looking for artifacts predating the Ascension. He found some- ancient dates, seeds predating the Ascension. They still carried the seed of life, even after the passing of a millenia. He was found out, his contacts in Chathram slain, and a Steel Inquisitor was sent to pursue him. He and I fought it, but he was fatally wounded, but it weakened the Inquisitor enough for me to slay it." Nazh knew Khriss would not like that.

"You killed a Steel Inquisitor?" Khriss exclaimed. "The Seventeenth won't be happy."

"Bah, the Seventeenth is too scared to come to Scadrial. They're even scared of coming into the Cognitive, even though Hoid's very blatantly intervening. We have free reign over this planet- and I used nothing that I cannot obtain here. I acquired several Hemalurgic spikes from the Inquisitor, and also slew the Keeper Vorzeth- at his request- by using the Inquisitor's Feruchemical gold spike on him. You will be able to experiment with Hemalurgy, without anything weighing on your conscience." Nazh said.

"That's great, but… Nazh, you've been doing a lot. Every chance you get, you go somewhere on Scadrial, and do all you can to carve out an opening for the Republic. You're high strung, I can tell. You're also having nightmares- have you tried aluminum foil yet?" Khriss asked.

"Ruin cannot be influencing me- it would spell doom for our efforts before they even began. Can't sleep with aluminum foil on my head, anyways." Nazh brushed off her concern.

"Then what would cause you to be less stressed?" Khriss asked.

Nazh considered this, truly. "We need to stop pretending we're not intervening. Scadrial was set back for a thousand years, and it was criminal of us to just let the Final Empire continue its reign unopposed. But we can right those wrongs, and I know what we must do. I must join the Ministry of War in some fashion- bloody helmore, I can't sit at a desk when damnation is at hand! I will be able to carry out your requests, and the Republic's efforts, in a unified fashion. And as for you… Khriss, you need to join the University. Help them in catching up, exploring the limits of the Metallic Arts. Shadows, a path lies to salvation, Khriss. We just need to act."

Khriss sighed. "If you wish, you can join the Ministry of War. I'm not going to aid the University, though, Nazh- I believe that we shouldn't intervene- I don't have the capabilities to do so effectively, and I do not want this to become a regular thing in the future- the Seventeenth won't know, but they will know if we intervene in the future." Khriss said.

"How can you not? Scadrial will burn!" Nazh exclaimed.

"Many worlds suffer- it is a natural thing in the Cosmere. Do you suggest that we attempt to save Ashyn from its eternal conflagration, put down Odium once he breaks his chains again, overthrow empires across the worlds, or bring innumerable quantities of silver to Threnody to put down the shades?" Khriss asked.

And a fire lit in Nazh's mind, the words of dissuasion, of impossibilities made possible. He saw clearly the road he must take. "Yes… yes, I do. And there is only one power in the Cosmere that can do that." he said, smiling.

"Are you an Iconoclast, Nazh?" Khriss asked.

"I do not know what I am, but I do know that Scadrial's best chance at survival lies in the New Republic. They have lit a fire that cannot be put out. And if there lies a chance to save my home world, I will take it." Nazh said.

"Nazrilhof, Scadrial has incredible technological progression! They're already catching up to where they were a thousand years ago- smokestacks are becoming an ever-present sight in Luthadel. If they surmount this crisis, they will be unfettered- their Shards are chained. And if they gain access to the cosmere… it will be forever changed." Khriss said in one last attempt to convince him.

"We knew this would occur one day. If it did occur, why would it not be Scadrial? And better the Republic than The Final Empire or Imperial Khlennium." Nazh said. "I'm going to need the revolver, the special one."

Khriss sighed. "I can't dissuade you, it seems. But wouldn't you be fighting Allomancers?"

"Not that common in the sorts of wars the Republican Army will be fighting. While nobles will naturally be more present on the battlefield, only one out of a hundred know they have Allomantic abilities. Coinshots and Lurchers are one in four allomancers, just overrepresented, for their ability to act as a firearm in a land without them. But that is changing, Khriss." Nazh stood up.

"I wish you luck, even if I disagree." Khriss said.

"And you as well. Goodbye, I will return in two weeks, to see if you need anything you cannot get in this city or Luthadel." Nazh picked up the special revolver from the false-bottomed cupboard where it was hidden, as well as grabbing an aluminum-lined pouch, as well as a nightcap, lined with aluminum. Shadows, so many precautions! But if he could get a good night's sleep, maybe that would be for the best. He caught Khriss smiling out of the corner of his eye as he walked out that door. He hoped Khriss would come to his reasoning one day.

---

Frost clung to branches and the brown twigs of bushes, with an black slush on the edge of the trail, slippery underfoot, shining in the sun's rays that peered through the haze. Smoke from the fires of the camp rose high in the distance, and laughter paired with joyful screams rang out, for the soldiers had captured a mistwraith.

"It's just over the hill!" Captain Shum yelled, smiling, to General Yeden, who slogged through the slush, hands in the pockets of his thick coat.

"I know, I know! It's bloody cold, and you know full well I think we should be all back in Mantiz, Captain, training for the war, maybe inside one of those warm Keeps." Yeden complained.

"This is training- rumor has it that the Nobles, and as such the Aspirants, have access to mistwraith spies. And we have to let the men have some fun- the Premier stole smiles and laughter back for us. What good is our freedom if we can't enjoy it? At least, that's what I've learned from him." Captain Shum said.

"We've learned so many things from him, haven't we? It feels like so long ago that I scoffed at his proclamations, and took refuge in ignorance and apathy. I've learned that anything is possible, with enough determination, empires can fall and gods can die." General Yeden said.

"And demons can be tracked, found, and captured." Captain Shum grinned.

The Captain and the General crested the hill, and Yeden peered around, eyes settling on the stone-lined pit the men had used to capture the mistwraith. His eyes narrowed, as if he had trouble believing what he was seeing. "Dear God!" Yeden yelled, although it had a tinge of amazement to it.

"It's hideous, ain't it?" Captain Shum smiled, as the two men descended the slope to the pit. And it was hideous indeed. It had translucent skin, with the texture of muscle, wrapped around various bones. Rib cages were as far down as he could see, but a few limbs- one was a cluster of bird talons atop a cow's leg bone, another a human hand at the end of a tail, prodded the tied together mesh of logs at the top of the pit. It wasn't having much luck, however, thanks to some large stones that weighted the mesh down, and the beast couldn't manuever its dozen loathsome legs to put pressure against it.

The beast looked like it was looking at the crowd of people, mostly soldiers, their families, and some skaa from nearby villages and plantations, but Shum knew it couldn't see, given the cow, badger, and human skulls the demon had as heads didn't have eyes.

"How did you capture it?" General Yeden asked in awe, as the two men walked to the edge of the pit, to look down at the mistwraith.

"It's not as dangerous as the stories presume. I tracked it for several days, and the demon didn't kill anything larger than small animals. We found this pit during that, the local nobles having used to hunt in these woods, and I came up with the idea to lure it into this pit. We built that mesh, and another mesh of flimsy twigs, covered it with leaf litter, and put a dead goat on top of it. The beast wouldn't go in, though- so I and a few other men pushed it in with some pikes and sticks, learned that on the plantation with the cows I handled. Nothing worse than a few bruises and a broken arm, from where it kicked a man." Captain Shum explained, pointing to the soldier with an arm in his sling, laughing as he told a group of children the same story, albeit more exaggerated.

"So it's nothing like the rumors? No ambushes, no taking your faces and laughing as you slay the wrong imposter, no magic, Allomantic or otherwise?" General Yeden asked.

Captain Shum shook his head. "No, it's just a beast. Even followed us while we were tracking it, and hasn't learned to fear man. Tried to run when we forced it between the pikes and the pit, and only lashed out when it realized we weren't going to let it escape. I don't even think it hunts anything larger than maybe a badger- we strung up a plantation-lord here five months ago, and the skaa later reported that the body went missing, assuredly eaten by a mistwraith. Well, see that broken leg bone?" Shum pointed to a barely-visible bone, a fracture wrapped in muscle to prevent it from giving out. "I broke that bastard's leg himself, and there it is. It primarily eats whatever dead people or animals it can find. It might be able to eat a small child or baby, but other than that, it's harmless." he said.

"So I suppose that the rumors about the Aspirants having mistwraith spies is false." Yeden said, and remained silent for a minute, as he mulled something over. "Could you transport this beast back to Mantiz?" General Yeden asked.

"It'd be hard, but it could be done. There's a road not too far from here, could shepherd it to a livestock cart. What are you thinking?" Captain Shum asked.

"Oh, just that it'd be good for defeating all the misassumptions about mistwraiths we have, and maybe learning the roots of all these legends. It's downright frightening… but it's clearly an animal. Not a demon." General Yeden squatted, looking into the sockets of the cow's skull.

"And we could charge a clip per family, get some extra cash in our coffers!" Captain Shum proposed.

"It'll be the rage in Mantiz, won't it?" General Yeden said, staring intently at the mistwraith. "Kelsier, is that what you did with Renoux?" he muttered.

Captain Shum was about to ask what Yeden meant, when he heard his name being called. He saw his wife and daughter coming down the trail, and he hurried to embrace them, and laughed as his daughter squealed "Eww!" upon seeing the mistwraith. Today was a great winter solstice, and the best he'd ever had, Shum thought.

---

Eli kneeled in the cage. He had been in this jail for months, but he refused to languish in captivity like the other prisoners. He maintained his strength by doing stretches, and many intensive exercises. He was blessed with power, power he had only tasted sparingly, and so he needed to cultivate it, to make it more potent when he could finally wield it again.

It was strange- they were feeding him well, better than he had been when he was just a skaa on the streets of Seran. There was much time to think. Were they keeping him in storage, like a pig in a nobleman's keep, to devour his soul at a later date? Why that gladiatorial fight? Did a warrior's soul taste better than a common man's? But they also said he didn't have a soul.

What was the truth? He thought too much, sometimes, always got him in trouble. But he couldn't see why the Inquisitors kept him. Perhaps they were more like men than he thought. Taking pleasure in a fight, albeit one more brutal than Eli had ever seen. No, it just didn't add up. But Eli was certain in one thing.

He needed to escape. His best chance was with Allomancy, but he only had that power when he ate pewter. And there was none of it given to him, except at the gladiatorial matches. And they gave it to him with something else, that made him throw up when he calmed down after a fight. And they were there, attending the matches. One, two, never more than three. He couldn't run away from one, and he wasn't sure if he could kill one.

He wished the other prisoners were less wary of him. They weren't all thrown into the ring at once, so all the new ones quickly learned that he was the victor, and shied away from him. There was that pretty girl in the next cell, that spoke with him rarely, even if she was shy. If it was possible, he would escape with her.

And then, dozens of guards came in. They opened up his cell, and clamped him in manacles, along with seven others, dragging them off through dim corridors to the stadium. They force fed him a bar of pewter, washed down with water containing something else that would limit its permanence in his body, before taking off his manacles, and shoving him out a thick wooden door, and he heard a bar of wood being slid into place behind him, preventing escape.

Once again, he found himself in the arena, the crimson sun high above, in a smoky sky. The raven-masked Inquisitor sat in the seat of honor, silently observing the stadium. There were less watchers here today. He had no idea why they fluctuated so. And then he saw a horrifying sight. The girl was standing in one of the corners of the stadium, looking hopeless, at a short sword in her hands. Eli reached within himself, finding a source of power, and kindled it, his soul erupting with Allomantic fire.

This time, he had a metal mace laid in front of him. He picked it up, and slowly walked forwards. He found the rules the Inquisitors laid out bent easy for him, and he stood some distance from his original starting position, looking at the girl.

"Begin." the raven-masked Inquisitor said. Eli charged towards the girl, surprising someone who saw her as an easy target. The man fell in seconds, blood spilling upon the sand. The girl screamed when Eli approached her, and so he turned, standing some distance, to defend her. Minutes passed, where the girl quailed in her corner, not daring to move, while Eli struck down all that came near.

Soon, the only people that were left were Eli and the girl. The crowd stayed silent, the inscrutable Inquisitor observing the arena, as Eli stoked his anger, to keep from throwing up the pewter. Minutes passed, and the girl threw up her metal. The Inquisitor raised an arm, and pointed to the girl. "Kill her." he commanded.

"No." Eli said sternly. "You demon, if you want her dead, you will have to get through me first." he readied the mace. "I will send you back to the pit whence you came!"

The Inquisitor shifted. "So be it." it said in a monotone. It threw itself into the air, landing in front of him. The Inquisitor struck with a flurry of blows, but Eli could match it. He felt hopeful for one great moment, that these demons in the skin of men could be defeated, and then his hopes were dashed as an unknown force yanked the mace out of his hands.

Eli then felt nothing but crushing anguish and shame. He sank to the sand below, throwing up almost immediately, retching onto the ground, and falling flat. He tried to reach for the bar of pewter, but his hand sank into the vomit as he gave up.

He caught the Inquisitor scooping the girl up from the corner of his eyes, and then him, and he could not protest, the anguish he was feeling being too great. Why did he think he could save her? Better just cooperate. Now both of them would die. That was the way of the world.

Eli regained awareness when he found himself being thrown down onto a stone slab, hard, and the girl was thrown, screaming, on top of him. He heard a pounding sound, and only realized what was going on when a sharp pain in his ribs started. It grew and grew, the girl's blood spilling over his chest, until the girl's screams suddenly stopped, and Eli remembered nothing more but blood and pain.

---

Vote for who or where you want to see a slice of the life of the Former Final Empire, of people we haven't seen much. Vote for three. The top one or two votes will be chosen.

[ ] Tevedian Tekiel
[ ] Kelsier's Crew
[ ] Elend
[ ] The Republican Army
[ ] The Synod
[ ] The Oligarchy of the Southern Islands
[ ] The Pretender Empire
[ ] The Steeled Empire
[ ] The Aspirant Empire
[ ] The Kingdom of the Burning Crescent.
[ ] Write-in