Chapter Two

Allomantic fights are fun.

I’ll admit it. I LIKE to write things that are fun. I’m an entertainer–and that is what my stories try to do. I think there’s great value in that.

That said, I think this might be my least favorite fight in the book. You may remember that I said the same thing about the first battle in book one (that’s the fight where Kelsier takes on the Hazekillers in Keep Venture.) Getting the mechanics of Allomancy down, showing things step by step, takes longer, and lacks a bit of finesse. I hope this fight was still enjoyable, but it was far too step-by-step to be really great, in my opinion.

The fights I really like are the ones where there is a beauty–a sense of grace and poetry–to the fight itself. The one at Keep Hasting later in this book is a much better example off that.

So, this is what I wanted to have in chapter one (see the last annotation.) Reading it again, I can see–yet again–why that was a bad instinct. It’s much better here, in chapter two. I still feel that it’s a tad long. I cut it down significantly (if you can believe that.) I worry that pacing wise, we spend too long in a fight for this early in the book. However, some of the things I get across in this battle are invaluable for the rest of the story. I introduce the Watcher, and I get rid of Vin’s atium–thereby compounding the large danger of the kingdom being at war with the more personal danger of Vin being stalked while she’s exposed without any atium.

We’ll get to a third level of danger–that of something threatening the entire world–later on.

Moshe wanted me to cut this chapter further, but admitted that there wasn’t really any way to do it. I hope it’s fun to see old characters–such as OreSeur–coming back to us in different forms, having changed a bit during the time between books.

Also, thanks to my writing group for the Soundsticks suggestion. They probably don’t remember it–it’s been years since one of them suggested it (I think Nate H. was the one who actually said it) and I thought it was a great idea. This is a perfect way to deal with a Mistborn–they’re going to have enhanced senses, so you play off of that and make them pay. I love this, since I talk so much about balance and use of force in Allomancy. Actions and reactions. I wanted this magic to feel very Newtonian.