Mistborn: The Hero of Ages (14 page)

Sazed looked up.

"But I didn't," Vin said. "I let him bleed, and released the power instead. I consigned him to death."

"How ? " S azed asked. "How could you do such a thing?"

"Because I looked into his eyes," Vin said, "and knew it was what he wanted me to do. You gave me that, Sazed. You taught me to love him enough to let him die." She left him alone in the tent. A f ew moments later, he returned to his shaving, and found something sitting beside his basin. A small, folded piece of paper. It contained an aged, fading drawing of a strange plant. A flower. The picture had once belonged to Mare. It had gone from her to Kelsier, and from him to Vin. Sazed picked it up, wondering what Vin intended to say by leaving him the picture. Finally, he folded it up and slipped it into his sleeve, then returned to his shaving. . 32 201

The First Contract, o f t spoken of by the kandra, was originall y just a series of promises made by the
First Generation to the Lord Ru ler. They wrote these promises down, and in doing so codi fied the f
irst kandra laws. They were worried about governing themselves, independently of the Lord Ruler and
his empire. So, the y took what they had written to him, asking for his approval
.
He commanded it cast into steel, then personally
scratched
a signature into the bottom. This code was
the f irst thing that a kandra learned upon awakening from his or her li f e as a mistwraith. It
contained commands to revere earlier generations, simple legal rights granted to each kandra,
provisions f or creating new kandra, and a demand for ultimate dedication to the Lord Ruler
.
Most disturbingly, the First Contract contained a provision which, if invoked, would require the mass
suicide of the entire kandra people
.

11

KANPAAR LEANED FORWARD ON HIS LECTERN,
red crystalline bones sparkling in the lamplight. "All right, then, TenSoon, traitor to the kandra people. You have demanded this judgment. Make your plea."

TenSoon took a deep breath it felt so good to be able to do that again and opened his mouth to speak.

"Tell them," KanPaar continued, sneering, "explain, if you can, why you killed one of our own. A fellow kandra."

TenSoon f roze. The Trustwarren was quiet the generations of kandra were far too well behaved to rustle and make noise like a crowd of humans . They sat with their bones of rock, wood, or even metal, waiting for TenSoon's answer.

KanPaar's question wasn't the one TenS oon had expected.

"Yes, I killed a kandra," TenSoon said, standing cold and naked on the platform. "That is not forbidden."

"Need it be forbidden? " KanPaar accused, pointing. "Humans kill each other. Koloss kill each other. But they are both of Ruin.
We
are of Preservation, the chosen of the Father himself. We don't kill one another!"

TenSoon frowned. This was a strange line of questioning.
Why ask this?
he thought.
My betrayal of
all our people is surely a greater sin than the murder of one
. "I was compelled by my Contract," TenSoon said frankly. "You must know, KanPaar.
You
are the one who assigned me to the man Straff Venture. We all know what kind of person he was ."

"No different from any other
man,
" spat one of the Seconds . Once, TenSoon would have agreed. Yet, he knew that there were some humans, at least, who
were
dif f erent. He had betrayed Vin, and yet she hadn't hated him for it. She had understood, and had felt mercy. Even if they hadn't already become friends, even if he hadn't grown to respect her greatly, that one moment would have earned her his devoted loyalty.

She was counting on him, even if she didn't know it. He stood a little straighter, looking KanPaar in the eyes. "I was assigned to the man Straff Venture by paid Contract," TenSoon said. "He gave me over to the whims of his twisted son, Zane. It was Zane who commanded that I kill the kandra Ore S

eur and take his place, so that I could spy on the woman Vin."

There were a few hushed whispers at her name.
Yes, you've heard of her. The one who slew the Father

.

"And so you did what this Zane commanded? " KanPaar asked loudly. "You killed another kandra. You murdered a
member of your own generation !
" "You think I enjoyed it?" TenSoon demanded.

"OreSeur was my generation brother a kandra I had known for seven hundred years! But . . . the Contract . . ." "Forbids killing," KanPaar said.

"It forbids the killing of men."

"And is not a kandra life worth more than that of a man? "

"The words are specific, KanP aar," TenSoon snapped. "I know them well I helped write them! We were both there when these servi ce Contracts were created using the First Contract itself as a model!

They forbid us from killing humans, but not each other."

KanPaar leaned forward again. "Did you argue with this Zane? Suggest perhaps that he should perform the murder himself? Did you even try to get out of killing one of our people?"

"I do not argue with my masters," TenSoon said. "And I certainly didn't want to tell the man Zane how to kill a kandra. His instability was well known." "So, you didn't argue," KanPaar said. "You simply killed OreSeur. And then you took his place, pretending to be him."

"That is what we do," TenSoon said with frustration. "We take the place of others, acting as spies. That is the entire point of the Contract !"

"We do these things to
humans,
" snapped another Second. "This is the first case where a kandra has been used to imitate another kandra. It is a disturbing precedent you set." It was
brilliant ,
TenSoon thought.
I hate Zane for making me do it, but I can still see the genius in it.
V in never even suspected me. Who would?
"You should have refused to do this act," KanPaar said.

"You should have pled the need for clarification of your Contract. If others were to begin using us in this way, to kill one another, then we could be wiped out in a matter of years!"

"You betrayed us all with your rashness," said another.

Ah,
TenSoon thought.
So that is their plan. They establish me as a traitor f irst, so that what I say
later lacks credibilit y
. He smiled. He was of the Third Generation; it was time he started acting like it.

"I betrayed us with my rashness?" TenSoon asked. "What of you, glorious Seconds? Who was it who allowed a Contract to be assigned to Kelsier himself? You gave a kandra servant to the ver y man who was planning to kill the Father! "

KanPaar stiffened,
as if he'd been slapped, translucent face angry
in the blue lamplight. "It is not your place to make accusations, Third!"

"I have no place anymore, it se ems," TenSoon said. "None of us do, now that the Father is dead. We have no right to complain, f or we helped it happen." "How were we to know this man would succeed when others hadn't," a Second sputtered. "He paid so well that " KanPaar cut the other off with a sharp wave of the hand. It wasn't good for those of the Second Generation to defend themselves. However, HunFoor the kandra who had spoken hadn't ever really fit in with the others of his generation. He was a little more . . . dense.

"You shall speak no more of this, Third," KanPaar said, pointing at TenS oon.

"How can I defend myself if I c annot "

"You aren't here to defend yourself," KanPaar said. "This is not a trial you have already admitted your guilt. This is a judgment. Exp lain your actions, then let the First Generation pronounce your fate !" TenSoon f ell silent. It was not time to push. Not yet.

"Now," KanPaar said, "this thing you did in taking the place of one of your own brothers is bad enough. Need we speak on, or would you accept judgment now?" "We both know that OreS eur's death has little to do with why I am here," TenSoon said.

"Very well," said KanPaar. "Let us move on, then. Why don't you tell the First Generation why if you are such a Contract-abiding kandra you
broke
Contract with your master, disobeying his interests and helping his enemy instead? "

KanPaar's accusation echoed in the room. TenSoon closed his eyes, thinking back to that day over a year ago. He remembered sitting quietly on the f loor of Keep Venture, watching as Zane and Vin fought.

No. It hadn't been a fight. Zane had been burning atium, which had made him all but invincible. Zane had played with Vin, toying with and mocking her. Vin hadn't been TenSoon's master TenS oon had killed her kandra and taken his place, spying on Vin at Zane's order. Zane .
He
had been TenSoon's master.
He
had held TenSoon's Contract.

But against all of his training, TenSoon had helped Vin. And, in doing so, he had revealed to her the great Secret of the kandra. Their weakness: that an Allomancer could use their powers to take complete control of a kandra's body. The kandra served their Contracts to keep this Secret hidden they became servants, lest they end up as slaves . TenSoon opened his eyes to the quiet chamber. This was the moment he had been planning for.

"I didn't break my Contract," he announced.

KanPaar snorted. "You said otherwise when you came to us a year ago, Third."

"I told you what happened," TenSoon said, standing tall. "What I said was not a lie . I helped Vin instead of Zane. Partially because of my actions, my master ended up dead at Vin's feet. But I did not break my Contract."

"You imply that Zane wanted you to help his enemy ? " KanPaar said.

"No," TenSoon said. "I did not break my Contract because I decided to serve a greater Contract. The First Contract !"

"The Father is dead!" one of the Seconds snapped. "How could you serve our Contract with him?"

"He is dead," TenSoon said. " That is true. But the First Contract did not die with him ! Vin, the Heir of the Survivor, was the one who killed the Lord Ruler.
She
is our Mother now. Our First Contract is with her!"

He had expected outcries of bl asphemy and condemnation. Instead, he got shocked silence. KanPaar stood, stupefied, behind his stone lectern. The members of the First Generation were silent, as usual, sitting in their shadowed alcoves .

Well, TenS oon thought, I suppose that means I should continue . "I had to help the woman Vin," he said. "I could not let Zane kill her, for I had a duty to her a duty that began the moment she took the Father's place."

KanPaar finally found his voice . " She ? Our Mother? She killed the Lord Ruler!"

"And took his place," TenSoon said. "She is one of us, in a way."

"Nonsense !" KanPaar said. "I had expected rationalizations, TenS oon perhaps even lies. But these fantasies? These blasphemies?"

. 33 201

"Have you been outside recently, KanPaar? " TenSoon asked. "Have you left the Homeland in the last century at all ? Do you understand what is happening? The Father is dead . The land is in uphe aval. While returning to the Homeland a year ago, I saw the changes in the mists . They no longer behave as they always have. We cannot continue as we have. The Second Generation may not yet realize it, but Ruin has come! Life will end. The time that the Worldbringers spoke of perhaps the time for the Resolution is here !"

"You are delusional, TenSoon. You've been amongst the humans too "

"Tell them what this is all really about, KanPaar," TenSoon interrupted, voice rising. "Don't you want my
real
sin known? Don't you want the others to hear?" "Don't force this, TenSoon," KanPaar said, pointing again. "What you've done is bad enough. Don't make it "

"I told her," TenS oon said, cutting him off again. "I told her our Secret . At the end, she used me. Like the Allomancers of old. She took control of my body, using the Flaw, and she made me fight against Zane!
This
is what I've done. I've betrayed us all. She knows and I'm certain that she has told others. Soon they'll all know how to control us. And, do you know why I did it? Is it not the point of this j udgment for me to speak of my purposes?"

He kept talking, despite the fact that KanPaar tried to speak over him. "I did it because she has the
right
to know our Secret," TenSoon shouted. "She is the Mother! She inherited everything the Lord Ruler had. Without her, we have nothing. We cannot create new Blessings, or new kandra, on our own! The Trust is hers, now! We should go to her. If this truly is the end of all things, then the Resolution will soon come. She will "

"Enough!" KanPaar bellowed.

The chamber fell silent again.

TenSoon stood, breathing deep ly. For a year, trapped in his pit, he'd planned how to proclaim that information. His people had spent a thousand years, ten generations, following the teachings of the First Contract. They deserved to hear what had happened to him.

And yet, it felt so . . . inadequate to just scream it out like some raving human. Would any of his people really believe? Would he change anything at all? "You have, by your own admission, betrayed us," KanPaar said. " You've broken Contract, you've murdered one of your own generation, and you've told a human how to dominate us. You demanded judgment. Let it come." TenSoon turned quietly, looking up toward the alcoves where the members of the First Generation watched.

Perhaps . . . perhaps they'll see that what I say is true. Perhaps m y words will shock them, and they'll
realize that we need to of f er service to Vin, rather than just sit in these caves and wait while the
world ends around us
.

But, nothing happened. No motion, no sound. At times, TenSoon wondered if anyone still lived up there. He hadn't spoken with a member of the First Generation for centuries they limited their communications strictly to the Seconds.

If they did still live, none of them took the opportunity to offer TenSoon clemency . KanPaar smiled.

"The First Generation has ignored your plea, Third," he said. "Therefore, as their servants, we of the Second Generation will offer judgment on their behalf. Your sentencing will occur in one month's time." TenSoon frowned. A month? Why wait?