The following is commentary, written by Brandon, about one of the chapters of MISTBORN: THE WELL OF ASCENSION. If you haven’t read this book, know that the following will contain major spoilers. We suggest reading the sample chapters from book one instead. You can also go to this book’s introduction or go to the main annotations page to access all annotations for all books. For those who have read some of MISTBORN 2, any spoilers for the ending of this book will be hidden, so as long as you’ve read up to this chapter, you should be all right.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Sazed and Tindwyl discuss the Deepness

When it says that “Sazed was the one who presented Tindwyl with the accumulated knowledge of the Keepers gathered while she was gone” that’s a lot more involved than you might think. It included him reciting to Tindwyl hundreds of hours worth of information, the two of them sitting there, him speaking, her memorizing. It took them months, during which time they really got to know each other well. I think that’s probably when he first started to have feelings for her.

I’ve worried about the romance between them, and not just because of Sazed’s nature as a eunuch. Tindwyl isn’t presented as the most sympathetic character in the series, yet Sazed is one of the most likable. I worry that readers won’t be able to see to the depth of their affection for one another. I didn’t originally intend to give Sazed a romance in this series, but when I was working through book two, I saw how many things it would help facilitate. You’ll see what I mean later on.

By the way, you should recognize Tindwyl’s line about making “occasional exceptions.” That’s virtually the same language she used with Elend when suggesting that it was okay for him to have a romance with Vin. That was the first hint I seeded that Tindwyl might have a soft spot for romance, and be willing to overlook some of her strict rules if love was involved. In truth, if Tindwyl were going to admit her real feelings to herself, she didn’t come to the city for Elend. She came hoping–yet dreading–that she’d find Sazed there.

Elend walks the city wall

In book three, you’ll be given a reason why the koloss diverted to the small village mentioned here before going on to Luthadel.

Elend talks about Arrogance as a kingly attribute

Arrogance. Elend is just voicing some of my own philosophies here–though in my life, they were applied to writing, not kingship.

You have to be arrogant to be an author. It’s tough, sometimes, to continue to believe that people should be willing to pay you for your work. You have to keep working, ignoring rejections, soldiering forward. There’s an arrogance to that. Call it self-confidence if you wish, but it’s the same thing.

I believe you can be arrogant about some things, yet humble about others. In fact, I think you need to be.