Contents
Chapter 77
Overview
Elend returns to a devastated Luthadel, finding Kredik Shaw leveled, the mists gone, and Penrod dead by suicide. Realizing Ruin can alter text, Elend deduces refugees went to the Terris people and departs west. Meanwhile, Vin—wielding Preservation—can scarcely communicate, grasping that Preservation weakened itself to balance Ruin.
Summary
Elend arrives at Luthadel and discovers catastrophic destruction: Kredik Shaw flattened, districts burned, and the city eerily empty. He notes the ash has thinned, the sun behaved erratically, and night has come without mists, leaving him unprotected and unsettled.
Searching Keep Venture’s ruins, Elend finds decomposing guards and Penrod dead by apparent suicide, a sword through his stomach. A charcoal message claims something controlled Penrod and directs survivors toward the Terris Dominance. Remembering Ruin’s ability to alter written words, Elend distrusts the exact phrasing.
Reasoning that Penrod likely meant the Terris people—an organized refugee center with food and herds—Elend concludes Luthadel’s citizens fled west. He departs the city, deciding against checking the storage cavern at ruined Kredik Shaw, and heads toward the Terris settlements.
Elsewhere, Vin, now the vessel of Preservation, struggles to influence events. Despite Ruin’s interference, she manages a faint guidance that helps Elend reach the correct conclusion. Vin reflects on the cosmic Balance: Preservation previously sacrificed part of its strength to equalize itself with Ruin, creating only a temporary stalemate.
Who Appears
- Elend VentureArrives at ruined Luthadel, discovers Penrod’s suicide note, deduces refugees went to the Terris people, and heads west.
- VinAs Preservation’s vessel, struggles to communicate; briefly guides Elend and learns Preservation self-weakened to balance Ruin.
- RuinOpposes Vin, blocks communication, and can alter written text, prompting Elend’s suspicion of Penrod’s message.
- PenrodFound dead by suicide at Keep Venture; leaves a note partly subverted by Ruin, implying the refugees’ direction.