Page 147 of The Well of Ascension
“I want to meet with each of you,” Cett said to the Assemblymen. “If you’ll allow, I wish to move into Luthadel with some of my men. Say, a force of five thousand—enough to make me feel safe, but not to be of any real danger to you. I’ll take up residence in one of the abandoned keeps, and wait until your decision next week. During that time, I’ll meet with each of you in turn and explain the…benefits that would come from choosing me as your king.”
“Bribes,” Elend spat.
“Of course,” Cett said. “Bribes for all of the people of this city—the foremost bribe being that of peace! You’re so fond of name-calling, Venture. ‘Slaves,’ ‘threats,’ ‘honorable.’ ‘Bribe’ is just a word. Looked at another way, a bribe is just a promise, turned onitshead.” Cett smiled.
The group of Assemblymen was silent. “Shall we vote, then, on whether to let him enter the city?” Penrod asked.
“Five thousand is way too many,” one of the skaa Assemblymen said.
“Agreed,” Elend said. “There’s no way we can let that many foreign troops into Luthadel.”
“I don’t like it at all,” another said.
“What?” said Philen. “A monarch inside our city will be less dangerous than one outside, wouldn’t you say? And besides, Cett has promised us all titles.”
This gave the group something to think about.
“Why not just give me the crown now?” Cett said. “Open your gates to my army.”
“You can’t,” Elend said immediately. “Not until there is a king—or unless you can get a unanimous vote right now.”
Vin smiled. Unanimous wouldn’t happen in that case as long as Elend was on the Assembly.
“Bah,” Cett said, but he obviously was smooth enough not to insult the legislative body further. “Let me take up residence in the city, then.”
Penrod nodded. “All in favor of allowing Lord Cett to take up residence inside with…say…a thousand troops?”
A full nineteen of the Assemblymen raised their hands. Elend was not one of them.
“It is done, then,” Penrod said. “We adjourn for two weeks.”
This can’t be happening,Elend thought.I thought maybe Penrod would provide a challenge, Philen a lesser one. But…one of the very tyrants who is threatening the city? How could they? How could they even consider his suggestion?
Elend stood, catching Penrod’s arm as he turned to walk off the dais. “Ferson,” Elend said quietly, “this is insanity.”
“We have to consider the option, Elend.”
“Consider selling out the people of this city to a tyrant?”
Penrod’s face grew cold, and he shook Elend’s arm free. “Listen, lad,” he said quietly. “You are a good man, but you’ve always been an idealist. You’ve spent time in books and philosophy—I’ve spent my life fighting politics with the members of the court. You know theories; I know people.”
He turned, nodding to the audience. “Look at them, lad. They’reterrified. What good do your dreams do them when they’re starving? You talk of freedom and justice when two armies are preparing to slaughter their families.”
Penrod turned back to Elend, staring him in the eyes. “The Lord Ruler’s system wasn’t perfect, but it kept these people safe. We don’t even have that anymore. Your ideals can’t face down armies. Cett might be a tyrant, but given the choice between him and Straff, I’d have to choose Cett. We’d probably have given him the city weeks ago, if you hadn’t stopped us.”
Penrod nodded to Elend, then turned and joined a few of the noblemen who were leaving. Elend stood quietly for a moment.
We have seen a curious phenomenon associated with rebel groups that break off of the Final Empire and attempt to seek autonomy,he thought, recalling a passage from Ytves’s bookStudies in Revolution. In almost all cases, the Lord Ruler didn’t need to send his armies to reconquer the rebels. By the time his agents arrived, the groups had overthrown themselves.
It seems that the rebels found the chaos of transition more difficult to accept than the tyranny they had known before. They joyfully welcomed back authority—even oppressive authority—for it was less painful for them than uncertainty.
Vin and the others joined him on the stage, and he put his arm around her shoulders, standing quietly as he watched people trail from the building. Cett sat surrounded by a small group of Assemblymen, arranging meetings with them.
“Well,” Vin said quietly. “We knowhe’sMistborn.”
Elend turned toward her. “You sensed Allomancy from him?”
Vin shook her head. “No.”
