Elend had learned something very important about himself: He was honest. Perhaps too honest. If he was uncertain, it would show in his face. The soldiers would sense his hesitation. So he’d learned to confine his worries and concerns to when he was alone with those closest to him. That meant Vin saw too much of his brooding, but it left him free at

destriers,

he had lost some of his joviality. He tended to sit around a lot with a look of consternation on his face, as if considering things very, very carefully—and not much liking the answers he came up with.

Yet it felt so … inadequate to scream it out like some raving human. Would any of his people really believe? Would he change anything at all?

For a year, trapped in his pit, he’d planned how to proclaim that information.

“I … am doing what I can, Lady Vin,” Sazed finally said. “In my own way. I must find answers for myself before I can provide them to anyone else.

The Larsta believed that life was about seeking the divine. They taught that art draws us closer to understanding divinity. Since not all men can spend their time in art, it is to the benefit of society as a whole to support a group of dedicated artists to create great works, which then elevate those who experience them.

bivouacked

The nature of the world is such that when we create something, we often destroy something else in the process.