The Hero of Ages
Chapters - Brandon Sanderson
Prologue
The novel opens with a visceral act of Hemalurgy, establishing the stakes and the nature of Ruin's control. Marsh briefly resurfaces from Ruin's domination to witness his own complicity in creating a new Inquisitor, a fleeting moment of horror that underscores how thoroughly he has been subjugated. The scene functions as both a primer on the metallic art that will prove central to the plot and a declaration that this story begins where autonomy ends.
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 1
Elend arrives alone at the besieged town of Vetitan, presenting himself not as a saviour but as a collaborator, carefully preserving local leadership even as he assumes tactical command. His decision to charge the koloss camp rather than defend from behind walls reveals how fundamentally the scholar-king has transformed - he now leads from the front, trusting his Allomantic power to inspire where his philosophy once faltered. The chapter establishes the post-Well status quo: a world under siege, an emperor stretched thin, and the partnership between Elend and Vin operating as a coordinated military instrument.
On page: Elend Venture
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 2
TenSoon's imprisonment in the kandra Homeland introduces a parallel narrative of trial and judgment that mirrors the broader cosmic conflict. Stripped of bones and senses, he nonetheless insists on a public hearing rather than quiet dissolution, signalling that his true purpose extends beyond personal defence. The chapter quietly establishes the kandra legal system and its rigid adherence to the First Contract, structures that will become pivotal as the story progresses.
POV: TenSoon
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 3
The battle at Vetitan reaches its climax as Vin descends into the koloss army with devastating precision, exploiting TenSoon's betrayed secret to seize emotional control of the creatures. Elend and Vin's coordinated assault draws out a Steel Inquisitor - now armoured against its known vulnerability - forcing an improvised kill that demonstrates both their resourcefulness and the escalating difficulty of their enemies. The chapter showcases the married pair as a tactical unit, each covering the other's weaknesses.
POV: Vin, Elend Venture·Mentioned: Tindwyl, Kelsier
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 4
Sazed's crisis of faith crystallises as he methodically examines and discards the Canzi religion, unable to reconcile any doctrine with the catastrophic state of the world. His refusal to preach despite Breeze's encouragement reveals a scholar paralysed by the gap between knowledge and belief. Meanwhile, the signed treaty with King Lekal advances Elend's empire-building, though the narrative weight falls squarely on Sazed's spiritual desolation.
POV: Sazed·On page: Breeze·Mentioned: Vin, Elend Venture, Tindwyl
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 5
The discovery of the Lord Ruler's hidden storage cache beneath Vetitan marks a turning point, revealing not just supplies but a metal plate bearing crucial intelligence about controlling koloss and kandra, the existence of Malatium, and the location of another cache in Fadrex City. Most critically, a postscript warns that their enemy can perceive anything spoken or written, restricting safe communication to thought alone. Vin's investigation of the dead Inquisitor yields a pewter spike, prompting Elend to wonder whether a third metallic art exists beyond Allomancy and Feruchemy.
POV: Vin, Elend Venture·Mentioned: Kelsier, Ashweather Cett
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 6
A brief but structurally important chapter that returns to Marsh, who regains lucidity long enough to survey Ruin's growing army of enhanced Inquisitors. His wish that Ruin would simply keep permanent control rather than allow these agonising intervals of awareness establishes the internal struggle that will ultimately prove decisive. The chapter functions as a reminder that even among Ruin's instruments, resistance persists.
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 7
TenSoon receives a body and is escorted toward the Trustwarren for trial, a procession that reveals the kandra's rigid generational hierarchy. The brevity of the chapter belies its importance: TenSoon's willingness to face judgment rather than resist speaks to his conviction that the kandra must be confronted with truths about the changing world above.
POV: TenSoon
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 8
Vin watches the mists claim their predictable toll on the Vetitan refugees, while Elend argues the grim calculus that controlled exposure now prevents catastrophic losses later. Her interrogation of the koloss called Human begins probing the mystery of koloss reproduction, a thread of inquiry that will eventually reveal the horrifying truth of Hemalurgic creation. The chapter also brings the narrative threads together as the army regroups under Demoux's command.
POV: Vin·On page: Elend Venture, Demoux·Mentioned: Sazed, Kelsier, Ferson Penrod, Breeze, Ashweather Cett, Hammond
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 9
TenSoon's trial commences before the assembled kandra, framed as a contest between the conservative Second Generation and TenSoon's reformist Third. The arrival of hundreds of kandra spectators, including his ally MeLaan, transforms what was meant to be a quiet punishment into a political event. The chapter positions TenSoon as a catalyst for change within a society that has remained static for centuries.
POV: TenSoon
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 10
Sazed continues his systematic dismantling of recorded religions, rejecting Larstaism as he and Breeze debate whether the world's unravelling has supernatural origins. His emotional state deepens when Vin visits, offering both encouragement and Mare's flower drawing - a gesture that connects three characters across the series through a single image of beauty in an ashen world. The chapter charts Sazed's descent from respected Keeper to a man unable to practise the very discipline that defines him.
POV: Sazed·On page: Breeze, Goradel, Allrianne Cett, Vin·Mentioned: Elend Venture, Kelsier, Demoux, Tindwyl
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 11
TenSoon mounts his defence by reframing the entire kandra legal tradition, arguing that Vin - as the one who killed the Lord Ruler - has inherited his contractual authority and should be served as 'Mother.' His revelation that he willingly disclosed the kandra's vulnerability to emotional Allomancy is meant to shock the assembly into recognising the world's desperate state. KanPaar shouts him down, but the seeds of doubt have been planted among the watching kandra.
POV: TenSoon·Mentioned: Vin, Ruin, Preservation, Straff Venture, Zane, OreSeur, Kelsier
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 12
Elend and Vin grapple with the crew's flagging morale as the war grinds on. The council meeting that follows lays out the strategic picture: mists encroaching, food diminishing, two critical caches remaining in hostile cities. Elend's invocation of 'What would Kelsier do?' is both a tactical gambit to motivate the crew and a philosophical question about whether inspiration requires deception - a tension that runs through the entire novel.
POV: Vin, Elend Venture·On page: Sazed, Breeze, Allrianne Cett, Ashweather Cett, Ruin, Hammond, Demoux·Mentioned: Tindwyl, Clubs, Dockson, Kelsier, Spook, Ferson Penrod, Straff Venture, Yomen
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 13
Marsh sits motionless in the koloss camp, deliberating on surrender as strategy. His decision to feign compliance while waiting for a critical moment to betray Ruin is the chapter's quiet revelation - a long game played by a man who has almost nothing left but patience. The meditation on Kelsier and Mare grounds his resistance in personal loyalty rather than abstract principle.
POV: Marsh·Mentioned: Ruin, Kelsier
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 14
Spook emerges as a viewpoint character in his own right, skulking through Urteau as a tin savant whose enhanced senses have become both weapon and affliction. His self-appointed surveillance of the Citizen's regime and his fixation on Beldre establish the political dynamics of a city ruled by revolutionary excess. The chapter positions Spook as the crew member most desperate to prove his worth, a vulnerability that will make him susceptible to manipulation.
POV: Spook·On page: Quellion·Mentioned: Elend Venture, Kelsier, Clubs, Vin, Straff Venture
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 15
Vin senses a fundamental shift in her relationship with the mists, which no longer feel protective but hostile. The brief exchange with Human - who declares that the mists hate both him and Vin - crystallises a thematic reversal: the very force that once empowered her may now be her adversary. Meanwhile, Elend and Hammond debate the ethics of mist exposure, a conversation that foreshadows Elend's most controversial decision.
POV: Vin·On page: Elend Venture, Hammond·Mentioned: Sazed, TenSoon, Kelsier, Breeze, Dockson
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 16
Spook witnesses Quellion's regime at its most brutal as nobles are locked in a building and burned alive. His confrontation with Beldre during the Citizen's public address escalates into violence when he is identified and attacked by hidden Allomancers, leaving him stabbed and unconscious. The chapter charts the cost of Spook's recklessness and introduces the mystery of the burning buildings' secret exits.
POV: Spook·On page: Quellion·Mentioned: Vin, Elend Venture, Kelsier, Hammond, Clubs
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 17
Elend makes the calculated decision to expose his entire army to the mists under controlled conditions, accepting short-term casualties for long-term immunity. Demoux's challenge - that Elend should not invoke Kelsier's name without genuine faith - introduces a tension between pragmatic leadership and the religious movement growing within the ranks. The chapter forces Elend to confront whether he is using belief as a tool or genuinely seeking something beyond strategy.
POV: Sazed·On page: Breeze, Goradel·Mentioned: Vin, Elend Venture, Allrianne Cett, Kelsier, Hammond
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 18
Sazed's journey toward Urteau becomes a pilgrimage of avoidance as he continues searching for a viable religion while visiting the Terris refugees at the Pits of Hathsin. His discovery that no Terris person has suffered mist sickness introduces a crucial data point that he catalogues but cannot yet interpret. The warm reception from his people contrasts sharply with his insistence that he is unworthy to lead them.
POV: Sazed·On page: Goradel, Breeze·Mentioned: Hammond, Allrianne Cett, Elend Venture, Vin, Kelsier
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 19
Spook's apparent death becomes a resurrection when a figure resembling Kelsier guides him to Allomantic vials and grants him the ability to burn pewter - a power he never possessed. The chapter operates as a seduction narrative: Spook, desperate for relevance and bleeding out in a burning building, accepts a miraculous gift without questioning its source. The voice's instruction to seek revenge rather than safety signals that this benefactor's motives may not be benign.
POV: Spook·On page: Ruin·Mentioned: Quellion, Kelsier
Source: Coppermind