Originally, this book was going to be called The Final Hero. In the first draft of book one, that was the term I was using for the hero from Terris lore. I changed this for a couple of reasons.

First off, I just didn’t like the way The Final Hero sounded. Something about it felt off to me. In addition, if I titled book one The Final Empire and the last book The Final Hero, then it seemed that the second book should also be The Final (Something)—and I didn’t like that either. The Well of Ascension is actually my favorite title of the three, I think.

So I toyed around with other words and terms I could use. Eventually, I settled on The Hero of Ages. I’m satisfied with it, but it’s not my favorite title. If you’ve read the books, then it makes perfect sense and is a great capstone title to the trilogy—but to those who haven’t, I think it comes off as a rather bland title.

Regardless, I’m now very glad I didn’t go with The Final Hero. People were confused by book one having final in the title, as they weren’t sure if that book were the first or last in the series. I think having another book with final in the title could have been even more confusing—particularly if I decide to do any more books in the Mistborn world.