Editing The Hero of Ages

{{book
|cover=The Hero of Ages Cover.jpeg
|released=October 14, 2008
|series=[[Mistborn trilogy]]
|prequel=The Well of Ascension
|sequel=The Alloy of Law
|setting=[[Scadrial]], [[Cosmere]]
|publisher=Tor books
|ISBN=978-0-7653-1689-9
|page-count=572
|word-count=[[/Statistical_analysis|225,372]]
|annotations=annotation-mistborn-3-title-page
}}{{for|Hero of Ages|the [[Terris]] religious figure|pre="The Hero of Ages" redirects here}}
'''''The Hero of Ages''''' is the third and final volume of the [[Mistborn trilogy]] by [[Brandon Sanderson]]. It is preceded by ''[[The Final Empire]]'' and ''[[The Well of Ascension]]''.

== Summary ==
{{for|/Summary|a chapter by chapter summary}}
At the end of the previous book, Vin released the power in the [[Well of Ascension]] in order to achieve what she believed was protecting the world, at the expense of losing [[Elend Venture]], her husband. It is revealed that Vin was tricked into releasing the power at the Well, rather than using it, and unleashed [[Ruin]] who had been imprisoned there. Before Vin killed the [[Lord Ruler]] he warned her she was dooming the world and Vin now realises the [[Terris prophecies]] were falsified. An apparition helped her locate a bead of [[Lerasium]] - the condensed form of [[Preservation]] - in the Well's chamber, turning Elend into a Mistborn when he ate it and subsequently, with the ability to burn pewter, saved his life.

As the world begins to succumb to Ruin's influence, earthquakes shake the land in ever greater frequencies, the ash falls from the sky constantly and [[Inquisitor]]s and [[koloss]], no longer controlled by the Lord Ruler, rampage across the world. The mists are appearing in daylight now and even worse, killing those foolish enough to venture out into it. Elend holds a tenuous grip as Emperor as he and Vin search for the storage caches and [[Atium]] stash the Lord Ruler hid in the event Ruin was freed.

[[Sazed]] continues to struggle with his faith, trying and failing to find a religion that makes sense, while he, along with [[Breeze]], try to help Elend take over the rebel city of [[Urteau]]. Sent as a spy, [[Spook]] attempts to uproot the Urteau rebellion and incidently gains strange abilities. He is referred to as the "Survivor of the Flames" for his near miraculous actions followed by his involvement in the rebellion in Urteau.

[[TenSoon]] returns to the kandra Homeland in the hopes to convince his kind to work with the humans to fight Ruin. Instead he is called a liar, imprisoned for his numerous crimes and stripped of his bones, and placed in a pit as punishment. Later in the book, TenSoon is called for sentencing, where they give him a set of dog bones he had kept, imagining this would be degrading to TenSoon. Instead, TenSoon uses the agility of the bones and his experience with them to dodge his captors and escape from the Homeland.

Vin and Elend attempt to conquer [[Fadrex City]] and its rebel king, [[Aradan Yomen]]. Along the way they discover patterns to the mist killings and the secrets of [[Hemalurgy]]. Fearing to discuss their plans openly in case Ruin could overhear, Vin is captured by Yomen when she attempts a solo mission to get into the storage cache and find the atium stash. Yomen uses her as ransom while Elend's koloss army succumbs to the will of Ruin. Turning against him, Elend and his human army are granted sanctuary inside the walls of Fadrex City. Meanwhile, Vin escapes and heads towards Luthadel where she confronts the last of the [[Inquisitors]].

In the ensuing battle, [[Vin's earring]] is torn out of her ear, finally allowing her to absorb the power of the mists. In a devastating show of power, Vin levels most of [[Kredik Shaw]] and kills the Inquisitors, but is vaporized herself as she ascends to take up the [[Shard]] Preservation and attempted to right the world but failed in almost the same way as [[Rashek]].

With the knowledge of the atium stash's location, Elend sets out for the kandra Homeland. On his journey he is left wondering why so many people had gotten sick longer than others when they had been exposed to the mists. Upon arriving at the kandra Homeland, he discovers the atium in the [[Trustwarren]] and comes to the realization that those sick for longer had become atium [[Misting]]s. Using this powerful force, they meet the approaching koloss army on the fields outside the Homeland. Fighting until their atium is used up, Elend confronts a Ruin-controlled Marsh.

Watching the fight between Elend and Marsh, fueling the former with mist-power, Vin witnesses her husband die and, with nothing left to lose, she hurls herself at the form of Ruin, destroying them both and leaving Sazed to pick up the two Shards. As the new Shard of [[Harmony]], he uses all of the knowledge from his copperminds to bring the world back to its pre-Rashek state -- the orbit is corrected and green plants and colorful flowers return. As [[Scadrial]] is now safe, Sazed, as Harmony, leaves Spook a note, explaining how Elend and Vin are happy together and he makes Spook a Mistborn.

== Main Characters ==
;[[Vin]]: A fully fledged Mistborn who was thought to be the Hero of Ages until recently. She is the wife of Elend Venture and a very powerful Allomancer. She is also a Sliver of Preservation later in the book.
;[[Elend]]: The Emperor of the Central and Northern Dominances after The Lord Ruler's fall. He is the husband of Vin, and a powerful Allomancer after ingesting a bead of Lerasium at the Well of Ascension.
;[[Sazed]]: A [[Terrisman]] who is also a [[Keeper]] that specialises in religion. He has currently lost faith in religion after the death of [[Tindwyl]].
;[[TenSoon]]: A kandra of the Third Generation, contracted to Vin after his original master, [[Zane]], was killed by her. TenSoon returns to his homeland only to be imprisoned there and to later escape. He encountered Sazed and takes him back to the kandra homeland.
;[[Spook]]: A Tineye Savant working as a spy in Urteau. He inadvertently gains the title of "Survivor of the Flames" and instigates a rebellion against the government of Urteau. He is made into a Mistborn by Sazed.
;[[Marsh]]: Kelsier's brother turned Inquisitor. He is forced to do Ruin's will although still retaining all his mental faculties. He eventually kills Elend at the command of Ruin.

;[[Hammond]]: Once a member of Kelsier's band, he now serves as a General in Emperor Elend's army. Ham is a Thug, a Misting who can burn pewter to strengthen his body. 
;[[Breeze]]: A nobleman masquerading as a skaa, Breeze established his own noble house after Elend became Emperor. It is assumed that [[Waxillium Ladrian]] is his descendant.
;[[Aradan Yomen]]: Lord and king of Fadrex City. He is Elend's biggest rival and even manages to capture Vin for a short while.
;[[Ashweather Cett]]: Advisor to Emperor Elend Venture.
;[[Human]]: A koloss that talks to Vin and reveals the origins of his species.
;[[Quellion]]: Also known as the ''Citizen''. A man who took over control of Urteau after The Lord Ruler's demise.

== Series ==
''Hero of Ages'' is the final book in the first trilogy of what Brandon initially called a "trilogy of trilogies," with the second trilogy occurring when Scadrial reached roughly modern-day technology levels and the final trilogy taking place after they developed faster-than-light travel. Brandon then wrote [[The Alloy of Law]], which takes place between the first and second trilogies, but he did not initially consider that to be a new era.{{wob ref|2827}} In part due to ''The Alloy of Law'''s positive reception, however, Brandon plotted out a new trilogy to continue to the story from ''The Alloy of Law'', which he now considers to be [[Mistborn (series)#Era 2|Era 2]]; he still also plans a [[Mistborn (series)#Era 3|modern trilogy]] and a [[Mistborn (series)#Era 4|space opera]] one.{{wob ref|7616}}{{wob ref|6249}}

== Cover Gallery ==
{{for|/Covers|a cover gallery of The Hero of Ages}}

== Interior Art ==
{{for|/Interior art|a gallery of the book's interior art}}

== Statistical Analysis ==
{{for|/Statistical analysis|a full statistical analysis}}
''The Hero of Ages'' consists of eighty-two chapters, one prologue, and one epilogue, reaching a total 225,372 word count. There are ten different unique point-of-view characters in a total of 131 POVs.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Word Count 
| style="text-align:center" | 225,372
|
|-
! Page Count 
| style="text-align:center" | 572 
| Tor hardback
|-
! Chapter Count 
| style="text-align:center" | 82
| Including prologue and epilogue.
|-
! PoV Characters
| style="text-align:center" | 10 
|
|-
! PoV Count
| style="text-align:center" | 131
|
|}

== Notes ==
<references />
{{meta/partial}}
{{Mistborn|Era 1}}
{{books}}
[[category: Mistborn| e1.3]]
[[category: Mistborn Era 1| 3]]
[[category: list articles]]