Chapter 25

Approaching on the Conway Canal, Elend and Ham survey Fadrex City nestled among red-orange rock formations that create natural terraces and a narrow, trapped canyon entrance. Ash has clogged the canal behind them, prompting Ham’s worry that fate is stranding the army, but Elend orders a camp established on a nearby mesa.

At night, bonfires blaze above the city, signaling Yomen’s confidence in the mists. In council with Ham, Cett, and Vin (Demoux sick from mistsickness), Elend learns there are roughly twenty-five thousand defenders in Fadrex, with more forces likely in the field and potential raids expected. He orders doubled guards, heavy scouting, and for soldiers to stay in tents during mists to bait a raid.

Cett advises holding the canal, posting sentries on high ground, then moving on to conquer surrounding, unfortified cities. Elend refuses, prioritizing the Lord Ruler’s storage cache over territorial gains, believing it may contain the key to surviving ash and daymists. Cett argues for agriculture on higher plateaus, but Elend remains committed to the cache.

On assassination, Cett suggests killing Yomen using their two Mistborn. Elend rejects assassination for now and insists on trying diplomacy, even if it jeopardizes Cett’s bid to reclaim his city. Elend pointedly asserts his imperial authority over Cett, promising future rewards but denying him choice of domain or timing.

Elend tasks Vin to infiltrate Fadrex, contact potential informants from Cett’s list, gather intelligence, and attempt entry to the cache. He directs engineers to find ways across the canyon troughs and scouts to locate possible water inlets and food stores for sabotage. After a brief, affectionate exchange—Vin teasing that Elend is too “noisy” and scents like an emperor—Vin coins into the mist to begin the mission.

Epigraph: The old “Balance” was real—Lord Ruler’s changes made nobles slightly less fertile but stronger and smarter, and skaa hardier and more fertile—though a millennium of interbreeding mostly erased differences.