Mistborn: The Well of Ascension

Mistborn: The Well of Ascension
Author Brandon Sanderson
Cover artist Jon Foster
Country United States
Language English
Series Mistborn
Genre Fantasy novel
Publisher Tor Books, Macmillan Audio
Publication date
 August 21, 2007
Media type Print (Hardback), digital audio download
Pages 590 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN ISBN 978-0-7653-1688-2 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC 122715367
813/.6 22
LC Class PS3619.A533 W45 2007
Preceded by Mistborn: The Final Empire
Followed by Mistborn: The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: The Well of Ascension is the second novel in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy.

Plot summary

Believed to be impossible, the Lord Ruler was destroyed in Mistborn: The Final Empire, but it turns out to be the easy part. Now everything becomes complicated and much harder. The five Inner Dominances of The Final Empire are in turmoil, with regions disintegrating into anarchist disorder. The Collapse of the Lord Ruler and his religion has left the liberated capital city of Luthadel in the Central Dominance in chaos from internal struggles and external forces. Three armies lay siege to Luthadel, the wealthiest and most populated city rumored to hold a priceless treasury of Atium, and where Elend is now King. Vin, the Mistborn Destroyer of the Lord Ruler, is Elend's consort and personal guard, and with the rest of Kelsier's crew, comprise the inner Council of Elend Venture's fledgling government. Vin, Elend and the crew are the only ones who know that the Lord Ruler had been just a regular person with Feruchemical and Allomantic abilities and opportunities he exploited into a clever illusion of mythical powers and false immortality. Elend's ruthless father, Straff, head of Luthadel's most powerful House Venture, leads one of the hostile armies intent on ruling Luthadel and The Final Empire, with another army headed by Ashweather Cett, one of many who have declared themselves as King of the Western Dominance. A third army made up of brutal and almost mindless koloss, creatures similar in form to humans but with bodies that keep growing until their hearts can no longer support their size, is led by Elend's former friend Jastes, who is buying their obedience with counterfeit coins.

Vin is becoming suspicious of the mists, as they no longer feel familiar and comforting to her. On his journeys Sazed has come across suspicious deaths which appear to be due to the mists. Sazed is tracked down by Marsh, Kelsier's brother and a Steel Inquisitor, to accompany him to a Ministry stronghold called The Conventical of Seran, where the Steel Inquisitors and High Obligators of the Lord Ruler's religion had retreated after the Collapse. They discover everyone murdered at the Conventical, but Sazed also finds a mysterious steel engraved Terris journal and Marsh begins to act secretive and strange. Elend's idealism for an equal society is hampered by his gentle scholarly manner, causing him to be viewed as weak and foolish, until Sazed's friend Tindwyl arrives. A Terriswoman knowledge Keeper whose specialty is biographies of successful leaders, she mentors Elend, teaching him that his studies of political theory are less valuable than the psychological and physical aspects of great leaders that lived. The inner Council of Elend, Vin and the crew gains another problem, a kandra impostor that has taken the form and identity of one of Kelsier's crew, to spy on their hidden strategies.

Heavy and cumbersome politicking cripples Luthadel, as Elend becomes a victim of the same laws he wrote as the Assembly has voted to depose him and elect a new king. The Assembly elects Lord Penrod as their new king, rejecting Elend. During this time, Vin has personal struggles involving her growing infamy of having mystical powers as The Heir to The Survivor of Hathsin, and Zane, the son of Straff Venture and Elend's half brother. A powerful Mistborn and possibly mentally unstable, Zane seems to obey Straff, but secretly spars with Vin nightly and is trying to seduce her and convince her to go away with him.

Groups of Misting assassins attack Elend at a political Assembly and Vin brutally slays them in front of Elend, causing their relationship to change. Although the most powerful Mistborn alive, Vin feels helpless against multiple enemy armies and at Zane's urging that the assassins belonged to Cett, seeks revenge, killing hundreds of Cett's soldiers at his temporary Luthadel mansion. Convinced that Cett is a Mistborn, she stops short of killing him upon discovering he is not. Cett decides to leave the city and abandon his siege. Convinced she should leave with Zane, Vin changes her mind to stay and support Elend with her trust. Zane is enraged and tries to kill her, while revealing he is the real Contract owner of Vin's kandra, a fake imposter, TenSoon impersonating the dead OreSeur. To save Vin while technically keeping his Contract, TenSoon warns Zane that Vin had earlier learned all Kaandra's secret weakness. Reminded of her discovery, she uses Allomancy to take control of TenSoon's body, and is able to kill Zane. Freed from her own and Zane's negativity, Vin accepts Elend's longstanding marriage proposal. Sazed and the rest of the crew scheme to get Elend and Vin out of the city, with Sazed creating a fake map to the Well of Ascension, where Vin is convinced she must go.

Straff Venture withdraws his forces to allow the koloss army to attack Luthadel, planning to rescue the city after the koloss have destroyed most of it and suffered casualties. Vin returns to Luthadel just in time to save Sazed. She also realizes that she is able to control the koloss using her allomancy, which is how the Lord Ruler kept them in check. She stops the slaughtering and pillaging that they were doing, and with the rest of the human army from Luthadel, attacks Straff Venture's army. Vin kills Straff and his generals as Cett decides to ally himself with Luthadel. Vin tells the armies that Elend is their new emperor, and Cett, Penrod and the last general of Straff's army can be kings under him.

Vin realizes that the Well of Ascension is in Luthadel, and finds a hitherto unknown doorway in the Lord Ruler's former dwelling, that leads down to a series of caves. She finds the Well of Ascension, but is urged to "release" the power for the good of the world. She decides not to try to use the power to heal the dying Elend or fix anything else, but to release it. The moment she releases it, an entity shouts out that it is now free.

Vin feeds Elend a small piece of metal which makes him a Mistborn and he heals himself.

Characters

Vin - a half-skaa street urchin who becomes the most powerful Mistborn alive. Protagonist.

Elend - A nobleman, estranged son of Straff Venture. He is the new leader of the Crew and King of the Central Dominance.

Dockson, or "Dox" - Crewmember. He is in charge of operations and administration for the Crew and Luthadel, not an Allomancer, but seems much more intelligent than the rest of the crew gives him credit for.

Hammond, or "Ham" - Crewmember, and a Pewter Thug. Ham enjoys philosophical bouts, especially when the receiver of his wisdom is Breeze.

Ladrian, or "Breeze" - Crewmember, and a Soother. Breeze likes his wine. Almost as much as he likes himself.

Cladent, or "Clubs" - Crewmember. He is the Smoker, and he along with the rest of his apprentices are able to shield their hideouts from the Ministry's Allomancers.

Lestibournes, or "Spook" - Crewmember. Clubs' nephew, one of his apprentices, and a Tineye. Youngest member of the crew. Clubs saved Spook, just as his father was about to kill him. Kelsier said Lestibournes was too difficult and named him "Spook". In Eastern street slang, Lestibournes is "Lefting I'm born", for "I've been abandoned".

Marsh - Crewmember. A Steel Inquisitor who is the brother of Kelsier.

Sazed - A Terrisman from the Northern Dominance of Terris. He is a Keeper, and specializes in religions.

Tindwyl - A Terriswoman from the Northern Dominance of Terris. She is a Keeper, and specializes in political leaders.

OreSeur - A Kandra. He is bound to Vin by a Contract.

Straff Venture - Elend's father and a Tineye. King of the Northern Dominance. He and his army lay siege to Luthadel.

Ashweather Cett - King of the Western Dominance. He and his army lay siege to Luthadel.

Zane - a Mistborn who considers himself insane. The illegitimate son of Straff Venture.

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