Mistborn #02 The Well of Ascension

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    He described a strange world of colors and beauty—a place foreign and difficult to conceive, but somehow wonderful all the same. Flowers and green plants were strange, alien things to these people; even Vin had trouble visualizing them, and she had heard Sazed's descriptions.
    Demoux was giving the skaa a paradise. It had to be something completely removed from normal experience, for the mundane world was not a place of hope. Not with a foodless winter approaching, not with armies threatening and the government in turmoil.
    Vin pulled back as Demoux finally ended the meeting. She lay for a moment, trying to decide how she felt. She'd been near certain about Demoux, but now her suspicions seemed unfounded. He'd gone out at night, true, but she saw now what he was doing. Plus, he'd acted so suspiciously when sneaking out. It seemed to her, as she reflected, that a kandra would know how to go about things in a much more natural way.
    It's not him , she thought. Or, if it is, he's not going to be as easy to unmask as I thought . She frowned in frustration. Finally, she just sighed, rising, and walked to the other side of the roof. OreSeur followed, and Vin glanced at him. "When Kelsier told you to take his body," she said, "what did he want you to preach to these people?"
    "Mistress?" OreSeur asked.
    "He had you appear, as if you were him returned from the grave."
    "Yes."
    "Well, what did he have you say?"
    OreSeur shrugged. "Very simple things, Mistress. I told them that the time for rebellion had arrived. I told them that I—Kelsier—had returned to give them hope for victory."
    I represent that thing you've never been able to kill, no matter how hard you try . They had been Kelsier's final words, spoken face-to-face with the Lord Ruler. I am hope .
    I am hope .
    Was it any wonder that this concept would become central to the church that sprang up around him? "Did he have you teach things like we just heard Demoux say?" Vin asked. "About the ash no longer falling, and the sun turning yellow?"
    "No, Mistress."
    "That's what I thought," Vin said as she heard rustling on the stones below. She glanced over the side of the building, and saw Demoux returning to the palace.
    Vin dropped to the alleyway floor behind him. To the man's credit, he heard her, and he spun, hand on dueling cane.
    "Peace, Captain," she said, rising.
    "Lady Vin?" he asked with surprise.
    She nodded, approaching closer so that he'd be able to see her better in the night. Fading torchlight still lit the air from behind, swirls of mist playing with shadows.
    "I didn't know you were a member of the Church of the Survivor," she said softly.
    He looked down. Though he was easily two hands taller than she, he seemed to shrink a bit before her. "I. . .I know it makes you uncomfortable. I'm sorry."
    "It's all right," she said. "You do a good thing for the people. Elend will appreciate hearing of your loyalty."
    Demoux looked up. "Do you have to tell him?"
    "He needs to know what the people believe, Captain. Why would you want me to keep it quiet?"
    Demoux sighed. "I just. . .I don't want the crew to think I'm out here pandering to the people. Ham thinks preaching about the Survivor is silly, and Lord Breeze says the only reason to encourage the church is to make people more pliant."
    Vin regarded him in the darkness. "You really believe, don't you?"
    "Yes, my lady."
    "But you knew Kelsier," she said. "You were with us from near the beginning. You know he's no god."
    Demoux looked up, a bit of a challenge in his eyes. "He died to overthrow the Lord Ruler."
    "That doesn't make him divine."
    "He taught us how to survive, to have hope."
    "You survived before," Vin said. "People had hope before Kelsier got thrown in those pits."
    "Not like we do now," Demoux said. "Besides. . .he had power, my lady. I felt it."
    Vin paused. She knew the story; Kelsier had used Demoux as an example to the rest of the army in a fight with a skeptic, directing his blows with Allomancy, making Demoux seem as if he had supernatural powers.
    "Oh, I know about Allomancy now," Demoux said. "But. . .I felt him Pushing on my sword that day. I felt him use me, making me more than I was. I think I can still feel him, sometimes. Strengthening my arm, guiding my blade. . .."
    Vin frowned. "Do you remember the first time we met?"
    Demoux nodded. "Yes. You came to the caverns where we were hiding on the day when the army was destroyed. I was on