The following is commentary, written by Brandon, about one of the chapters of MISTBORN: THE HERO OF AGES. 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 of Brandon’s books. For those who have read some of MISTBORN 3, 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.

Vin Reminisces about Her Early Days with the Crew

There’s a lot to talk about here. First off, this is one of several nostalgia chapters I threw into this book. When I worked on the second book, I missed getting to write about some of the themes from the first book. Gone were the balls and a lot of the banter, and Kelsier’s death removed one of the series’ most dynamic characters.

When I got to this book, I wanted to see if I could blend what worked well in the first book with what worked well in the second book—and then, of course, add some things unique to this book. Among the most charming parts of the first book were the balls and the noble society.

So here we get to have Vin contemplate those days as a slight foreshadowing to gear us up for a few scenes that hark back to those days. As this is the final volume of the trilogy, I think it’s very appropriate to recapture some of the tendrils from the first book and weave them in.

Vin’s Tactics Improve

Cloth-wrapped coins are something I probably should have thought of in the very first book. The problem is that I worked very hard to establish the “we use coins as weapons and to jump around” idea that I wasn’t thinking about ways to improve the method. The coins are cheap, abundant, and effective, not to mention aerodynamic. However, they’re also noisy. Adding a thin layer of cloth makes a ton of sense when using them to jump around.

Also, Vin finally ditched the mistcloak. Her reasoning is correct, unfortunately. I loved the image and the symbol of the mistcloak, but it was no longer useful, so it was time for her to go about without one. I’m sure there’s symbolism in there somewhere—finally becoming her own woman, shrugging off the mantle Kelsier gave her, something meaningful like that. The truth is, I didn’t think about that. I just acknowledged that the cloak no longer made sense. It was too noisy to be worth wearing.

Architectural and Character Cameos

Many of the High Noble keeps I described in the first book are real buildings. Keep Venture, for instance, is based on the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. Well, Keep Orielle here is based on the LDS Salt Lake Temple, only with more stained glass. Go read the description again (I think it’s in this chapter) and maybe you’ll be able to see it.

In a similarly amusing cameo (I must have been in a cameo mood) we have Slowswift—who is based on Grandpa Tolkien. (See this picture.) The name itself comes from his love of wordplay and of names that are inherently self-contradictory.

I’m no Tolkien scholar—I don’t know the man’s personality or how he would have reacted to this situation. I’m just a layman and a fan—who for some reason felt like sticking in a tiny side character in imitation of the master. We authors do strange things like that occasionally.

Slowswift Talks about Cett and Yomen

Yes, Cett is a poet. I threw in this little tidbit to give a hint of his background and personality. I find it appropriate that despite his frequent condemnation of Elend’s methods, Cett himself was something of a scholar (though, more of an artist) before leaping into politics himself.

Yomen is one of my favorite characters in this book. In fact, I’ve liked all three main human villains—the Lord Ruler, Zane, and Yomen—from this series. All were intended to present an antagonist who, in some ways, wasn’t as expected. You’ll see much more of Yomen in the future, of course, but know that Slowswift isn’t lying. Yomen is a good man—and a dedicated one. Perhaps too dedicated.

Vin Tells Slowswift Why He Should Care

Vin’s little speech on change here is another of the interconnected weavings I mentioned earlier. This paragraph is supposed to hark back to book one, when Vin is walking with Sazed in the Renoux gardens near the middle end of the book. She says that everything is going to change, and Sazed offers wise council on the need for change in one’s life. She’s learned through her own experience that Sazed was right, and here she is able to use that knowledge to persuade Slowswift to be her ally.

Vin Senses She’s Being Followed

I hope you haven’t forgotten about Vin’s ability to pierce copperclouds. It was a major plot point in books one and two, though I haven’t had much time to introduce it yet in book three. It isn’t that necessary a plot point in this book, which is why I haven’t bothered to deal with it much yet. However, know that the explanation for why she can do this will finally come in this novel at some point. (In one of the epigraphs, actually.)

Vin Avoids Hoid

Ah, and Hoid is in this chapter. Hum . . . wonder what he was up to.