Mistborn: The Final Empire

In the chapter’s epigraph, the Hero of Ages contemplates the morality of his rule, worrying that his people may perceive him to be a “religious tyrant” with considerable military support.

In Scadrial’s capital city of Luthadel, home to the Lord Ruler, Vin hides in her thieving crew’s lair. Vin is a teenage orphan bound to her crewleader, Camon, after her brother Reen abruptly abandoned her six months previously. Reen left a considerable monetary debt to Camon for Vin to fulfill. Reen remains a constant in Vin’s life as a voice she often hears in her mind instructing her to remain distrustful of people: “Anyone will betray you, Vin. Anyone” (20). Vin is summoned by another crewmember to meet Camon at a hotel, where the crew plans to stage a risky con of the Steel Ministry. Camon desires Vin’s presence because of her “Luck,” or ability to gently manipulate others’ emotions. Vin does not realize she is using emotional Allomancy.

Camon imitates a nobleman and meets with Prelan Laird, from the Steel Ministry’s Canton of Finance. The Prelan has tattoos around his eyes, a symbol of his rank in the Ministry. Camon’s false noble identity presents Prelan Laird with an opportunity for discounted rates in transporting Ministry acolytes to Luthadel, while actually planning to rob the transport trains. Vin perceives that Prelan Laird is not impressed by Camon’s presentation and uses her “Luck” on him. Because she doesn’t understand the power, Laird notices her emotional manipulation. He makes note of her before he leaves, telling Camon the Ministry will be in touch soon.

Chapter 2’s epigraph describes the Hero of Ages as a prophesized messiah with the ability to both save the world and destroy it. The Terris people have prophesized his power.

Kelsier stands on top of the city wall that surrounds and protects Luthadel. It has been three years since he was last in the city, when his theft of the Lord Ruler’s treasury failed after he was betrayed by his wife, Mare. The city is divided between skaa slums full of accumulating ash and noble homes of elaborate architecture. Kelsier is joined by his friend and accomplice Dockson, who is a half-blooded skaa like Kelsier. They are planning a meeting for later that evening with a group of skaa Mistings, half-blood skaa with the ability to use one Allomantic power. Before the meeting, Dockson takes Kelsier to the Canton of Finance building.

Camon and Vin arrive at the Canton of Finance to meet with a prelan about the transport deal. Camon plans to betray the other crewleader who helped to set up the con by taking money from the prelan upfront, then disappearing. Though Vin expects betrayal from the people in her life, she is still upset by Camon’s actions. Camon and Vin meet with High Prelan Arriev, who has intricate eye tattoos that tell of his influence in the Ministry. Vin doesn’t trust the situation but uses her “Luck” as directed by Camon. When she does, High Prelan Arriev suddenly agrees to the deal and presents Camon with a large sum of money. The two leave the building and return to the crew’s lair.

Kelsier and Dockson, after observing Vin from the canton building’s waiting room, leave as well. They agree that Vin is at least a Misting and using trace metals in the city’s drinking water for her Allomantic abilities. Kelsier resolves to meet Vin and teach her Allomancy. A Steel Inquisitor exits the building. A metal spike drives through the Inquisitor’s eye socket and out the back of their head, symbols of the Inquisitor's range and power with Allomancy. Kelsier realizes the Inquisitors must have picked up on Vin’s powers. 

At Camon’s lair, the crew is assembled to hear Camon talk about their successful betrayal and theft. He flaunts the money that High Prelan Arriev gave him, which makes Vin nervous as it might disrupt the delicate politics of the underground skaa crew by inciting other crewmembers to challenge Camon’s leadership. Vin’s uneasiness prompts her to consider abandoning the crew herself, but she is afraid of being alone in the city. She approaches Ulef, a fellow crewmember, to leave with her. While collecting her things, Ulef tells Camon that Vin plans to escape, and Vin is beaten

Kelsier and Dockson break into the lair and stop Camon’s abuse of Vin. The crew recognizes the Survivor of Hathsin. Kelsier claims that he stopped an Inquisitor from finding their lair and demands payment; one of the crewmembers gives him the money Camon received from High Prelan Arriev. Kelsier has the crew promise to make Camon a beggar, then requests to speak with Vin alone.

Kelsier, Dockson, and Vin talk about her possible Allomantic powers. Kelsier gives her a vial of metal shavings in an alcohol solution. After drinking it, Vin is able to burn both metals. Like Kelsier, she is a Mistborn, a half-blooded skaa able to burn all the Allomantic metals. Vin’s father is a high prelan in the Steel Ministry. All Vin remembers of her mother is her being a skaa woman that tried to kill Vin; Reen saved her. 

In this chapter’s epigraph, the Hero of Ages and his followers travel to the north of Terris and hire Terris packmen to help transport their belongings.

Camon’s crew temporarily returns to the lair before Kelsier’s planned meeting with his new crew. The crew is excited to be under Kelsier’s command now, especially Ulef, whom Vin does not blame for betraying her plan to escape to Camon. She is both unsettled and intrigued by the apparent trust between Kelsier and Dockson. Vin’s goal is to learn as much about Allomantic power as possible from Kelsier.

Camon’s crew leaves the lair as Kelsier’s team begins to arrive. Vin meets Breeze, an Allomantic Soother able to influence people’s emotions, and is discomfited by his easy ability to influence her. Ham arrives; he is an Allomantic Thug who burns pewter for increased physical strength and endurance. Ham and Breeze debate the moral implications of Breeze’s power. Clubs arrives—the crew’s prospective Smoker, with the ability to hide the use of Allomancy from the Inquisitors. Finally, Yeden, the leader of the skaa rebels in Luthadel arrives. He does not have Allomantic powers.

Kelsier and Dockson return. Yeden has hired Kelsier to overthrow the Lord Ruler’s empire. They begin to explain their plan of inciting a skaa rebellion in Luthadel even though the skaa rebels have struggled for a century to inspire hope for change in the skaa people. With the garrison distracted by the rebels, Kelsier plans to rob the Lord Ruler’s treasury and its supply of atium, the rarest of metals on Scadrial, used only by the nobility and the Lord Ruler himself. Kelsier reveals that atium is mined in the Pits of Hathsin by its prisoners. Clubs is suspicious of Kelsier’s true motives and decides against joining the crew; he leaves, and Vin is surprised that Kelsier doesn’t order him killed to protect their plans.

They must come up with a plan for dealing with the Steel Ministry and the Lord Ruler’s koloss, creatures created by the Lord Ruler using the same Allomantic process of Hemalurgy that creates the Inquisitors. In addition to overthrowing the empire and robbing the Lord Ruler, Kelsier plans to kill the Lord Ruler by using a sample of the Eleventh Metal—a mysterious metal he learned of while traveling in the north of Scadrial, which is said to be the Lord Ruler’s only weakness. 

Kelsier, Dockson, and Vin are alone again in Camon’s lair. Dockson finds hidden bottles of wine, to which Kelsier replies, “The trick is to never stop looking. There’s always another secret” (84). Clubs returns with his teenage nephew, Lestibournes, whom the crew nicknames Spook. Spook can burn tin to enhance his senses and speaks Eastern street slang that prioritizes adjectives and gerunds. Clubs agrees to be part of Kelsier’s crew but is not interested in payment; he is devoted to skaa freedom.

Kelsier gifts Vin a Mistborn cloak made of tattered strips of cloth that curl in the mists. Kelsier leaves to steal atium from a noble house. He targets Keep Venture, the most influential and wealthy Great House in Luthadel. He removes all metal he carries and uses glass daggers. The narrator notes how the mists respond to Kelsier’s Allomancy: “The mists knew him; they claimed him” (91). At Keep Venture, Kelsier breaks into the lord’s study and steals a safe from the wall by using Allomancy. While retreating, Lord Venture’s hazekillers, soldiers trained specifically to fight Allomancers, attack him. Kelsier defends himself while killing the hazekillers. When Lord Venture’s Mistings arrive, Kelsier escapes with the safe full of atium.