Well of Ascension

by Brandon Sanderson

  Hanging from the very tip of the tree, Sazed tapped his tinmind. The edges of his vision fuzzed, as always, but with the increased vision he could make out details about the large group settled into a hollow before him.

  He was right about it being an army. He was wrong about it being made up of men.

  "By the forgotten gods ..." Sazed whispered, so shocked that he nearly lost his grip. The army was organized in only the most simplistic and primitive way. There were no tents, no vehicles, no horses. Just hundreds of large cooking fires, each ringed with figures.

  And those figures were of a deep blue. They varied greatly in size; some were just five feet tall, others were lumbering hulks of ten feet or more. They were both the same species, Sazed knew. Koloss. The creatures-though similar to men in base form-never stopped growing. They simply continued to get bigger as they aged, growing until their hearts could no longer support them. Then they died, killed by their body's own growth imperative.

  Before they died, however, they got very large. And very dangerous.

  Sazed dropped from the tree, making his body light enough that he hit the ground softly. He hurriedly searched through his copperminds. When he found the one he wanted, he strapped it to his upper left arm. then climbed back up. the tree.

  He searched an index quickly. Somewhere, he'd taken notes on a book about the koloss-he'd studied it trying to decide if the creatures had a religion. He'd had someone repeat the notes back to him. so he could store them in the coppermind. He had the book memorized, too. of course, but placing so much information directly in his mind would ruin the-

  There, he thought, recovering the notes. He tapped them from the coppermind, filling his mind with knowledge.

  Most koloss bodies gave out before they reached twenty years of age. The more "ancient" creatures were often a massive twelve feet in height, with stocky, powerful bodies. However, few koloss lived that long-and not just because of heart failure. Their society-if it could be called that-was extremely violent.

  Excitement suddenly overcoming apprehension. Sazed tapped tin for vision again, searching through the thousands of blue humanoids, trying to get visual proof of what he'd read. It wasn't hard to find fights. Scuffles around the fires seemed common, and, interestingly, they were always between koloss of nearly the same size.

  Sazed magnified his view even further-gripping the tree tightly to overcome the nausea-and got his first good look at a koloss.

  It was a creature of smaller size-perhaps six feet tall. It was man-shaped, with two arms and legs, though its neck was hard to distinguish. It was completely bald. The oddest feature, however, was its blue skin, which hung loose and folded. The creature looked like a fat man might, had all his fat been drained away, leaving the stretched skin behind.

  And ... the skin didn't seem to be connected very well. Around the creature's red. blood-drop eyes, the skin sagged, revealing the facial muscles. The same was true around the mouth: the skin sagged a few inches below the chin, the lower teeth and jaw completely exposed.

  It was a stomach-turning sight, especially for a man who was already nauseated. The creature's ears hung low, flopping down beside its jawline. Its nose was formless and loose, with no cartilage supporting it. Skin hung baggily from the creature's arms and legs, and its only clothing was a crude loincloth.

  Sazed turned, selecting a larger creature-one perhaps eight feet tall-to study. The skin on this beast wasn't as loose, but it still didn't seem to fit quite right. Its nose twisted at a crooked angle, pulled flat against the face by an enlarged head that sat on a stumpy neck. The creature turned to leer at a companion, and again, the skin around its mouth didn't quite fit: the lips didn't close completely, and the holes around the eyes were too big, so they exposed the muscles beneath.

  Like... a person wearing a mask made of skin, Sazed thought, trying to push away his disgust. So... their body continues to grow, but their skin doesn 'l'.'

  His thought was confirmed as a massive, ten-foot-tall beast of a koloss wandered into the group. Smaller creatures scattered before this newcomer, who thumped up to the fire, where several horses were roasting.

  This largest creature's skin was pulled so tight it was beginning to tear. The hairless blue flesh had ripped around the eyes, at the edges of the mouth, and around the massive chest muscles. Sazed could see little trails of red blood dripping from the rips. Even where the skin wasn't torn, it was pulled taut-the nose and ears were so flat they were almost indistinguishable from the flesh around them.

  Suddenly, Sazed's study didn't seem so academic. Koloss had come to the Central Dominance. Creatures so violent and uncontrollable that the Lord Ruler had been forced to keep them away from civilization. Sazed extinguished his tinmind, welcoming the return to normal vision. He had to get to Luthadel and warn the others. If they-

  Sazed froze. One problem with enhancing his vision was that he temporarily lost the ability to see close up-so it wasn't odd that he hadn't noticed the koloss patrol surrounding his aspens.

  By the forgotten gods! He held firm to the tip of the tree, thinking quickly. Several koloss were already pushing their way into the stand. If he dropped to the ground, he'd be too slow to escape. As always, he wore a pewtermind; he could easily become as strong as ten men, and maintain it for a good amount of time. He could fight, perhaps.

  Yet, the koloss carried crude-looking, but massive, swords. Sazed's notes, his memory, and his lore all agreed: Koloss were very dangerous warriors. Strong as ten men or not, Sazed wouldn't have the skill to defeat them.

  "Come down," called a deep, slurred voice from below. "Come down now."

  Sazed looked down. A large koloss, skin just beginning to stretch, stood at the tree's base. It gave the aspen a shake.

  "Come down now," the creature repeated.

  The lips don't work very well, Sazed thought. He sounds like a man trying to talk without moving his lips. He wasn't surprised that the creature could talk; his notes mentioned that. He was, however, surprised at how calm it sounded.

  I could run, he thought. He could keep to the tops of trees, perhaps cross the distance between patches of aspens by dropping his metalminds and trying to ride gusts of wind. But it would be very difficult-and very unpredictable.

  And he would have to leave his copperminds-a thousand years of history-behind.

  So, pewtermind ready in case he needed strength, Sazed let go of the tree. The koloss leader-Sazed could only assume that was what he was-watched Sazed fall to the ground with a red-eyed stare. The creature did not blink. Sazed wondered if it even could blink, its skin stretched as it was.

  Sazed plunked to the ground beside the tree, then reached for his pack.

  "No," the koloss snapped, grabbing the pack with an inhumanly quick swipe of the arm. It tossed the pack to another koloss.

  "I need that," Sazed said. "I will be much more cooperative if-"

  "Quiet!" the koloss yelled with a rage so sudden that Sazed took a step backward. Terrismen were tall- especially Terrismen eunuchs-and it was very disconcerting to be dwarfed by this beastly creature, well over nine feet in height, its skin a blackish blue, its eyes the color of the sun at dusk. It loomed over Sazed, and he cringed in spite of himself.

  Apparently, that was the proper reaction, for the lead koloss nodded and turned away. "Come," it slurred, lumbering through the small aspen forest. The other koloss- about seven of them-followed.

  Sazed didn't want to find out what would happen if he disobeyed. He chose a god-Duis, a god once said to watch over wearied travelers-and said a quick, silent prayer. Then he hurried forward, staying with the pack of koloss as they walked toward the camp.

  At least they didn't kill me out of hand, Sazed thought. He'd half expected that, considering what he'd read. Of course, even the books didn't know much. The koloss had been kept separate from mankind for centuries; the Lord Ruler only called upon them in times of great martial need, to quell revolts, or to conquer new societies discovered on the inner
islands. At those times, the koloss had caused absolute destruction and slaughter-or so the histories claimed.

  Could all that have been propaganda? Sazed wondered. Maybe the koloss aren't as violent as we assumed.

  One of the koloss beside Sazed howled in sudden anger. Sazed spun as the koloss jumped at one of its companions. The creature ignored the sword on its back, instead punching his enemy's head with a blocky fist. The others paused, turning to watch the fight, but none of them seemed alarmed.

  Sazed watched with growing horror as the aggressor proceeded to repeatedly pummel his enemy. The defender tried to protect himself, getting out a dagger and managing to score a cut on the aggressor's arm. The blue skin tore, seeping bright red blood, as the aggressor got his hands around his opponent's thick head and twisted.

  There was a snap. The defender stopped moving. The aggressor removed the sword from his victim's back and strapped it on beside his own weapon, then removed a small pouch that was tied beside the swowas that for?"

  The wounded koloss turned around. "I hated him," he said.

  "Move!" the lead koloss snapped at Sazed.

  Sazerd. After that, he stood, ignoring the wound on his arm, and the group began to walk again.

  "Why?" Sazed asked, shocked. "What d forced himself to start walking. They left the corpse lying in the road. The pouches, he thought, trying to find something to focus on besides the brutality. They all carry those pouches. The koloss kept them tied to their swords. They didn't carry the weapons in sheaths; they were simply bound on their backs with leather straps. And tied to those straps were pouches. Sometimes there was just one, though the two largest creatures in the group each had several.

  They look like coin pouches, Sazed thought. But, the koloss don't have an economy. Perhaps they keep personal possessions in them? But what would beasts like these value?

  They entered the camp. There didn't appear to be sentries at the borders-but, then, why would guards be necessary? It would be very difficult for a human to sneak into this camp.

  A group of smaller koloss-the five-foot-tall ones- rushed forward as soon as the group arrived. The murderer threw his extra sword to one of them, then pointed into the distance. He kept the pouch for himself, and the small ones rushed off, following the road in the direction of the body.

  Burial detail? Sazed wondered.

  He walked uncomfortably behind his captors as they penetrated into the camp. Beasts of all sorts were being roasted over the firepits, though Sazed didn't think any of them had once been human. In addition, the ground around the camp had been completely stripped of plant life, as if it had been grazed by a group of particularly aggressive goats.

  And; according to his coppermind, that wasn't far off the truth. Koloss could, apparently, subsist on practically anything. They preferred meat, but would eat any kind of plant-even grass, going so far as to pull it up by the roots to eat. Some reports even spoke of them eating dirt and asge musk that he assumed was koloss body odor. Some of the creatures turned as he passed, watching him with steady red eyes.

  Although Sazed found that a little difficult to believe.

  He continued to walk. The camp smelled of smoke, grime, and a strant's like they only have two emotions, he thought, jumping as a fireside koloss suddenly screamed and attacked a companion. They 're either indifferent or they 're enraged.

  What would it take to set them all off at once? And... what kind of a disaster would they cause if that happened? He nervously revised his earlier thoughts. No, the koloss had not been maligned. The stories he had heard-stories of koloss running wild in the Farmost Dominance, causing widespread destruction and death-were obviously true.

  But something kept this group marginally reined in. The Lord Ruler had been able to control the koloss, though no book explained how. Most writers simply accepted this ability as part of what had made the Lord Ruler God. The man had been immortal-compared with that, other powers seemed mundane.

  His immortality, however, was a trick, Sazed thought. Simply a clever combination of Feruchemical and Allomantic powers. The Lord Ruler had been just a normal man-albeit one with an unusual combination of abilities and opportunities.

  That being the case, how had he controlled the koloss? There was something different about the Lord Ruler. Something more than his powers. He did something at the Well of Ascension, something that forever changed the world. Perhaps his ability to control the koloss came from that

  Sazed's captors ignored the occasional fights around firepits. There didn't appear to be any female koloss in the camp-or. if there were, they were indistinguishable from the males. Sazed did, however, notice a koloss corpse lying forgotten near one of the fires. It had been flayed, the blue skin ripped free.

  How could any society exist like this'.' he thought with horror. His books said the koloss bred and aged quickly- a fortunate situation for them, considering the number of deaths he had already seen. Even so, it seemed to him that this species killed too many of its members to continue.

  Yet they did continue. Unfortunately. The Keeper in him believed strongly that nothing should be lost, that every society was worth remembering. However, the brutality of the koloss camp-the wounded creatures who sat, ignoring the gashes in their skin, the flayed corpses along the path, the sudden bellows of anger and subsequent murders-tested this belief.

  His captors led him around a small hillock in the land, and Sazed paused as he saw something very unexpected. A tent.

  "Go," the lead koloss said, pointing.

  Sazed frowned. There were several dozen humans outside the tent, carrying spears and dressed like imperial guards. The tent was large, and behind it stood a line of boxy carts.

  "Go!" the koloss yelled.

  Sazed did as he was told. Behind him, one of the koloss indifferently tossed Sazed's pack toward the human guards.

  The metalminds inside clinked together as they hit the ashy ground, causing Sazed to cringe. The soldiers watched the koloss retreat with a wary eye; then one picked up the pack. Another leveled his spear at Sazed.

  Sazed held up his hands. "I am Sazed. a Keeper of Ter-ris, once steward, now teacher. I am not your enemy."

  "Yes, well." the guard said, still watching the retreating koloss. "You're still going to have to come with me."

  "May I have my possessions back?" Sazed asked. This hollow appeared free of koloss; apparently, the human soldiers wanted to keep their distance.

  The first guard turned to his companion, who was perusing Sazed's pack. The second guard looked up and shrugged. "No weapons. Some bracelets and rings, maybe worth something."

  "None of them are of precious metals," Sazed said. 'They are the tools of a Keeper, and are of little value to anyone but myself."

  The second guard shrugged, handing the bag to the first man. Both were of standard Central Dominance coloring- dark hair, light skin, the build and height of those who'd had proper nutrition as children. The first guard was the older of the two. and was obviously in charge. He took the bag from his companion. "We'll see what His Majesty says."

  Ah, Sazed thought. "Let us speak with him then."

  The guard turned, pushing aside the tent door and motioning for Sazed to enter. Sazed stepped from red sunlight into a functional-if sparsely furnished-tent room. This main chamber was large, and contained several more guards. Sazed had seen perhaps two dozen so far.

  The lead guard walked forward and poked his head into a room at the back. A few moments later, he waved Sazed forward and pulled back the tent door.

  Sazed entered the second chamber. The man inside wore the pants and suit jacket of a Luthadel nobleman. He was balding-his hair reduced to a few struggling wisps- despite his youth. He stood, tapping the side of his leg with a nervous hand, and jumped slightly when Sazed entered.

  Sazed recognized the man. "Jastes Lekal."

  "King Lekal," Jastes snapped. "Do I know you. Terris-man?"

  "We have not met, Your Majesty," Sazed said, "but I have had som
e dealings with a friend of yours, I think. King Elend Venture of Luthadel?"

  Jastes nodded absently. "My men say the koloss brought you. They found you poking around the camp?"

  "Yes, Your Majesty," Sazed said carefully, watching as Jastes began to pace. .This man isn't much more stable than the army he apparently leads, he thought with dissatisfaction. "How is it that you have persuaded the creatures to serve you?"

  "You are a prisoner, Terrisman," Jastes snapped. "No questions. Did Elend send you to spy on me?"

  "I was sent by no man," Sazed said. "You happened to be in my path, Your Majesty. I meant no harm by my observations."

  Jastes paused, eyeing Sazed. before beginning to pace again. "Well, never mind. I*ve been without a proper steward for some time now. You will serve me now."

  "I apologize. Your Majesty," Sazed said, bowing slightly. "But that will not be possible."

  Jastes frowned. "You're a steward-I can tell that from the robes. Is Elend so great a master that you would deny me?"

  "Elend Venture is not my master. Your Majesty," Sazed said, meeting the young king's eyes. "Now that we are free, the Terrismen no longer call any man master. I cannot be your servant, for I can be no man's servant. Keep me as prisoner, if you must. But I will not serve you. I apologize."

  Jastes paused again. Instead of being angry, however, he simply seemed ... embarrassed. "I see."

  "Your Majesty," Sazed said calmly. "I realize that you commanded me to ask no questions, so I will instead make observations. You appear to have placed yourself in a very poor position. I know not how you control these koloss. but I cannot help but think that your grip is tenuous. You are in danger, and you appear intent on sharing that danger with others. "

  Jastes flushed. "Your "observations' are flawed, Terrisman.

  I am in control of this army. They obey me completely. How many other noblemen have you seen gather koloss armies? None-only I have been successful."