Chapter Thirty-three

Vin asks OreSeur if the Kandra have a Religion

There is a kandra religion. I’m not going to be able to talk about it until book three, however. The things OreSeur is talking about here aren’t really fundamental aspects of it, however. More. . .lore associated with the religion than actual tenets of that religion.

Elend discovers that a well has been poisoned

This poisoned well scene is another one that was added to the book during the final draft. Much like Straff’s test attack on the walls, this scene is here to remind you that the armies are out there, that Luthadel is besieged, and that things are not going well for the heroes. I don’t want you to forget about the armies just because our focus is on politics for the moment.

Vin Tries to Determine if Dockson is the spy.

This Dockson scene is one of my favorites in the book. I’m a little bit sad that Dockson, like Ham, doesn’t have much time for development in the series. In book one, he only got a single good scene–the one that Vin references here. During that scene, we really got a good look at his personality and his inner demons.

Those demons come up again in this scene, where we get to see the haunted worries of a man who has received what he wanted, but then come to realize that he shouldn’t have wanted it so badly in the first place. He’s a good character, Dockson is–but the only thing I can give him is one powerful scene per book. At least he gets one. Ham and Clubs don’t even get that.

By the way, Vin calling Dockson boring is particularly ironic here because during our first introduction to Dockson in book one, he tells Kelsier that he’d ‘Grown boring’ over the last few years.

OreSeur and Vin discuss their interview with Dockson

This series, in total, is about trust. About what it costs to trust people, and what you earn by trusting. In book one, Vin learned to trust–and she learned one of Kelsier’s prime beliefs. That it’s better to trust, and be betrayed, than to always worry about everyone around you.

The theme, then, for this book is service and friendship, and trusting those you serve. Elend has to earn the trust of his people. Vin has to earn the trust of the kandra who serves her.

OreSeur’s explanations about the Contract are mixed with Zane’s worries and problems with being Straff’s tool. This story is, in part, about what it’s like to serve–what it’s like to be a tool–and the difference between a good leader and a bad one.