The Well of Ascension (2007) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters edit see section history

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• Vin: A half-skaa street urchin who possesses the power of a Mistborn. Primary protagonist.
• Elend Venture: King of Central Dominance, son of Straff Venture.
• Sazed: A Terris Keeper who joined Kelsier's crew against the wishes of his people, then helped overthrow the Final Empire.
• Breeze: Member of the original crew - a Soother. Now one of Elend's foremost counselors. His real name is Ladrian.
• Tindwyl: A Terris Keeper and a member of the Synod.
• Clubs: Him real name is Cladent. A Smoker on Kelsier's crew. He once was a skaa carpenter.
• Rashek: A Terris packman before the Ascension. Rashek was hired by Alendi to help him make the trek to the Well of Ascension. Rashek never got along well with Alendi, and eventually killed him.
• Kelsier: Formed the thief crew that recruited Vin. The Survivor of Hathsin. He raised a rebellion of skaa and overthrew the Lord Ruler, but was killed in the process. He was Mistborn, and was Vin's teacher.There is now a new religion based around him, the Survivor, the Lord of the Mists.
• Demoux: Ham's second-in-command, a soldier in Elend's palace guard.
• Hammond (aka Ham): Original member of the Kelsier's crew. He is a Thug or Pewterarm. Now captain of Elend's palace guard.
• Allrianne: Cett's only daughter.
• Marsh: Kelsier's brother. Inquisitor. Part of the original crew that created the skaa rebellion.
• Jastes Lekal: Former friend of Elend, heir to the Lekal house title. He and Elend often talked politics and philosophy together with Telden.
• Alendi: A man who conquered the world a thousand years ago, before the Lord Ruler's Ascension.Vin found his journal in the Lord Ruler's palace, and thought -- at first -- that he had become the Lord Ruler. Alendi was a friend and protege of Kwaan, a Terris scholar who thought that Alendi might be the Hero of Ages.
• Zane: A Mistborn working for Straff Venture.
• Reen: Vin's brother, the one who protected her and trained her as a thief. Reen was brutal and unforgiving, but he did save Vin from their insane mother, then protected her during her childhood.
• Janarle: Straff Venture's second-in-command.
• Ashweather Cett: He is the most prominent king who has managed to gain power in the Western Dominance. His home city is Fadrex.
• Noorden: Former obligator, He chooses to stay in Luthadel and now is a secretary for Elend Venture.
• Camon: Crewleader of Vin's last crew before Kelsier recruited her to his crew. A harsh man who often beat her, Camon was cast out by Kalsier. The Inquisitors eventually killed him.
• Goradel: Once a soldier in the Luthadel Garrison, Goradel was guarding the palace when Vin decided to infiltrate and kill the Lord Ruler. Vin's convinced him to switch sides, and he later led Elend through the palace to try and rescue her. Now a member of Elend's guard.
• Straff Venture: Leader of the house Venture; Elend's father
• Penrod, Ferson: One of the most prominent noblemen left in Luthadel. A member of Elend's Assembly.
• Dockson (aka Dox): Original member of Kelsier's thief crew. Now that Kelsier is dead he act as the informal leader of the crew. He has no Allomantic powers.
• Felt: Once one of Straff's spies, the man was (like most of Straff's employees) left behind at the fall of Luthadel. He gave his allegiance to Elend instead.
• Kwaan: A Terris Scholar before the Ascension. He was a Worldbringer, and was the first to mistakenly think that Alendi was the Hero of Ages. He later changed his mind, betraying his former friend.
• OreSeur: A kandra employed by Kelsier. He once played the part of Lord Renoux, Vin's uncle.Vin now holds his Contract.
• Philen: A prominent merchant in Luthadel and a member of Elend's Assembly.
• Spook: A Tineye on Kelsier's crew. The youngest member of the crew, Spook was only fifteen when the Lord Ruler was overthrown. He is Clubs's nephew, and was once known for his use of garbled street slang. His real name is Lestibournes. Spook is the name Kelsier's given him.
• TenSoon: Straff Venture's kandra.

Quotes edit see section history

• “He found insanity no excuse, however, for irrational behavior. Some men were blind, others had poor tempers. Still others heard voices. It was all the same, in the end. A man was defined not by his flaws, but by how he overcame them.”

• “He understood that he was insane. It hadn't really been all that hard to determine, all things considered. Normal people did not hear voices. Zane did.”

• “At first glance, the key and the lock it fits may seem very different. Different in shape, different in function, different in design. The man who looks at them without knowledge of their true nature might think them opposites, for one is meant to open, and the other to keep closed. Yet, upon closer examination, he might see that without one, the other becomes useless. The wise man then sees that both lock and key were created for the same purpose.”

  Sazed

• ““It's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith."”

• “The entire point of life is to find ways to get others to do your work for you. Don't you know anything about basic economics?”

  Breeze

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• “At first glance, the key and the lock it fits may seem very different,” Sazed said. “Different in shape, different in function, different in design. The man who looks at them without knowledge of their true nature might think them opposites, for one is meant to open, and the other to keep closed. Yet, upon closer examination, he might see that without one, the other becomes useless. The wise man then sees that both lock and key were created for the same purpose.”

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• Those who take lightly promises they make to those they love are people who find little lasting satisfaction in life.

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• He found insanity no excuse, however, for irrational behavior. Some men were blind, others had poor tempers. Still others heard voices. It was all the same, in the end. A man was defined not by his flaws, but by how he overcame them.

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• “What is a government but an institutionalized method of making sure somebody else does all the work?”

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• “Good men don’t need to become legends.” She opened her eyes, looking up at him. “They just do what’s right anyway.”

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• A man can only lead when others accept him as their leader, and he has only as much authority as his subjects give to him. All of the brilliant ideas in the world cannot save your kingdom if no one will listen to them.”

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• A man can only stumble for so long before he either falls or stands up straight.”

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• “It was his ability to trust,” she said. “It was the way that he made good people into better people, the way that he inspired them. His crew worked because he had confidence in them—because he respected them. And, in return, they respected each other.

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• Love must be allowed to flow both ways—if it is not, then it is not truly love, I think. It is something else. Infatuation, perhaps? Either way, there are some of us who are far too quick to make martyrs of ourselves. We stand at the side, watching, thinking that we do the right thing by inaction. We fear pain—our own, or that of another.”

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• This is not an easy time in which to live. That does not mean that it has to be a difficult time to love, but it does mean that you will find unusual stresses upon your lives and your relationship.

  Highlighted by 48 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Kredik Shaw: The Lord Ruler's palace in Luthadel. It means "the Hill of a Thousand Spires" in the old Terris language.
• Urteau: Capital of the Northern Dominance, and the seat of House Venture.
• Pit of Hathsin: A network of caverns and crevasses that were the only place in the Final Empire that produced atium. The Lord Ruler used prisoners to work them. Kelsier destroyed their ability to produce atium shortly before he died.
• Khlennium: An ancient kingdom that existed before the rise of the Final Empire. It was Alendi's homeland.
• Terris: The dominance in the far north of the Final Empire. It is the only dominance to retain the name of the kingdom it used to be, perhaps a sign of the Lord Ruler's fondness for his homeland.
• Fadrex: A modestly sized, well-fortified city in the Western Dominance. Capital city and home to Ashweather Cett. A main place of stockpile for the Canton of Resources.
• Luthadel: Capital of the Final Empire, and largest city in the land. Luthadel is known for its textiles, its forges, and its majestic noble keeps.

Organizations edit see section history

• Worldbringer: A sect of scholarly Terris Feruchemists before the Collapse. The subsequent Order of Keepers was based on the Worldbringers.
• Steel Ministry: The Lord Ruler's priesthood, consisting of small number of Steel Inquisitors and a larger body of priests called obligators. The Steel Ministry was more than just religious organization; it was the civic framework of the Final Empire as well.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Allomancy: A mystical hereditary power involving the burning of metals inside the body to gain special abilities.
• Allomantic Metals: There are 8 basic Allomantic metals.These come in pairs, comprising a base metal and its alloy. They can also divided into 2 groups of four as internal metals (tin, pewter, copper, bronze) and external metals (iron, steel, zinc, brass). It was long assumed that there were only 2 other allomantic metals: gold and atium. However, the discovery of alloys for gold and atium has expended the number of metal to twelve. There have been rumors of other metals, one of which has been discovered. (See also: Aluminum)
• Allomantic Pulse: The signal given off by an Allomancer who is burning metals. Only someone who is burning bronze can "hear" an Allomantic Pulse.
• Aluminum: A metal Vin was forced to burn in the Lord Ruler's palace. Once known only to the Steel Inquisitors, this metal, when burned, depletes all of an Allomancer's other metal reserves. It's alloy, if it has one, is unknown.
• Ashfalls: Ash falls frequently from the sky in the Final Empire because of the Ashmounts.
• Atium: A strange metal formerly produced in the Pits of Hathsin. It collected inside of small geodes that formed in crystalline pockets in caves beneath the ground.
• Boxing: The slang name for an imperial gold coin. The name comes from the picture on its back of Kredik Shaw, the Lord Ruler's palace - or, the "box" in which he lives.
• Burn (Allomancy): An allomancer utilizing or expending the metals in their stomachs. First, they must swallow a metal, then Allomantically metabolize it inside of them to access its power.
• Clip (Coinage): The nickname for an imperial copper coins in the Final Empire. Commonly used by Mistborn and Coinshots for jumping and attacking.
• Coinshot: A Misting who can burn steel.
• Coppercloud: The invisible, obscuring field set up by someone burning copper, If an Allomancer burns metals while within coppercloud, their Allomantic pulses are hidden from those burning bronze. The therm "Coppercloud" is also, sometimes used to refer to a Smoker (a Misting who can burn copper.)
• Ironpull: Pulling on a metal when Allomantically burning iron. This Pull exerts a force on the metal item, yanking it directly toward the Allomancer. If the metallic item, known as an anchor, is heavier than the Allomancer, he or she will instead be Pulled toward the metal source.
• Kandra: A race of strange creatures who can ingest the dead body of a person, then reproduce that body with their own flesh. They keep the bones of the person they imitate, using them, as kandra themselves have no bones. They serve Contracts with mankind -- which must be bought with atium -- and are relatives of mistwraiths.
• Keeper (Terris): "Keeper" is often used as simply another term for a Feruchemist. The Keepers are actually an organization of Feruchemists dedicated to discovering, then memorizing, all of the knowledge and religions that existed before the Ascension. The Lord Ruler hunted them to near extinction, forcing them t o remain hidden.
• Lurcher: A Misting who can burn steel.
• Mistborn: An Allomancer who can burn all of the Allomantic metals.
• Mistcloak: A garment worn by many Misborn as a mark of their station. It is constructed from dozens of thick ribbons of cloth that are sewn together at the top, but allowed to spread free from the shoulders down.
• Misting: An Allomancer who can burn only one metal. They are much more common than Mistborn. (Note: In Allomancy, an Allomancer has either one power or all of them. There are no in-between with two or three.)
• Mistwraith: A nonsentient relative of the kandra people. Mistwraiths are globs of boneless flesh that scavenge the land at night, eating bodies they find,then using the skeletons for their own bodies.
• Pewterarm: Another term for a Thug, a Misting who can burn pewter.
• Rioter (Allomantic): A Misting who can burn Zinc.
• Seeker (Allomantic): A Misting who can burn bronze.
• Skaa: The peasantry of the Final Empire. They were once of different races and nationalities, but over the thousand year span of the empire the Lord Ruler worked hard to stamp out any sense of identity in the people, eventually succeeding in creating a single, homogeneous race of slave workers.
• Smoker (Allomantic): An Allomancer who can burn copper. Also known as Coppercloud.
• Soother: A Misting who can burn brass.
• Synod (Terris): The elite leaders of the Terris Keeper organization.
• Thug (Allomantic): A Misting who can burn pewter.
• Tineye: A Misting who can burn tin.
• Obligators: A member of the Lord Ruler's priesthood. Obligators were more that just religious figures, however, they were civil bureaucrats, and even a spy network. A business deal of promise that wasn't witnessed by an obligator was not considered legally or morally binding.
• Steel Inquisitor: A group of strange creatures, priests who served the Lord Ruler. They have spikes driven completely through their heads -- point-first through the eyes -- yet continue to live. They were frantically devoted to him, and were used primarily to hunt out and kill skaa with Allomantic powers. They have the abilities of a Mistborn, and some others.
• Anchor (Allomantic): A term used to refer to a piece of metal that an Allomancer Pushes on or Pulls on when burning steel or iron.
• Ashmounts: Seven large ash volcanoes which appeared in the Final Empire during the Ascension. They eject mainly ash, rather than magma.
• Pull (Allomantic): Using Allomantic to Pull on something -- either on people's emotions with zinc, or on metals with iron.
• Push (Allomantic): Using Allomancy to Push in something either -- either on people's emotions with brass, or on metals with steel.
• Riot (Allomantic): When Allomancer burns zinc and Pulls on a person's emotions, enflaming them.
• Soothe (Allomantic): When an Allomancer burns brass and Pushes on a person's emotions, dampening them.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Mistborn, and followed by The Hero of Ages.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Brandon Sanderson (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Christian McGrath (Cover Artist)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3619.A533 W45 2007
• Dewey: 813/.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

If the child can appreciate Tolkien, Robert Jordan, and other epic fantasy novels, this will be a great addition to their library. There is some violence.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Epic
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Brandon Sanderson's Official Website

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history