𝙼𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝙶𝚘 𝙰𝚠𝚊𝚢 - H&S

“If we have any more spare time while you’re here, we can come back and sit on the top row of the staircase over there. Scarcely anyone goes that high, because they don’t want to put that much energy in when there are other places to sit that are a lot easier to get to, but the top benches are really good for people watching. You’re not pressed too tight against too many other people, and you’re high enough up that you can see some of the acts people like to gather to watch. And you can watch the people themselves. I’ve always thought that was really interesting. Every one of these people is just… going about their lives, and we get to see it for just a moment. It’s something I think about a lot when it comes to history. A lot of history is lost because nobody really cares what the every day person was doing. All they care about is the important stuff.” He felt a little more comfortable as they broke away from the crowds. The street was by no means unoccupied, but it wasn’t as though they were hemmed in on every side anymore.

“Your history really only exists if you’re the right kind of person in this world,” Nico admitted after a long moment, looking at the ground. “I mean… if you’re a white man with a fair bit of wealth… then you can be fairly confident that the way you lived will be taught to future generations. If you’re anything other than that… you might not get any confirmation that other people will know that people like you even exist. It’s… kind of stupid. People seem to forget that black people existed before a certain time period. They act as though they suddenly popped up just when they were needed, and that there weren’t just normal people wandering around before that who just happened to have darker skin because of their heritage. It’s not just for them, either. There are a too many people whose stories aren’t told by history. Entire cities that existed before they were destroyed, but the people destroying them didn’t think keeping a record of them was important. So I guess… we have a history, but it’s really incomplete. We could really do some work on it. I think… I’d like to try. It’s not like we have Keepers hwere to help.”

Nico doubted there were very many worlds where people existed whose history hadn’t been erased. People, whether or not they were fundamentally good, had a habit of wanting their version of society to get ahead. That usually meant getting rid of anyone in their way. It had happened countless times in Nico’s world. There were people that he didn’t’ even know existed because their stories had been decimated by the people who had ended up in charge. It was a sad state of affairs, but that was just how people were. There were efforts now, of course, to try to make sure everyone’s stories and histories were heard, but there were few records left from certain peoples and certain time periods.
“It’s not even intentional sometimes, I think,” Nico murmured. “Like… there used to be people living on this land before people from elsewhere came and settled on it. The Europeans who settled here may have had more advanced weaponry, but that didn’t matter. They also had resistance to certain diseases that come with living in closed in spaces with other people and with livestock. Those diseases were foreign to the people who lived here first – over 80% of the original population here died of diseases they had never been exposed to. Their stories died with them, and it wasn’t even intentional.” He shook his head, then looked up at Kelsier, eyes wide.
“I’ve never thought about that,” he whispered, clearly enamored with the idea. “I could learn from the ghosts. I could ask them if they’d be willing to share their stories…”

“I think there’s a lot of history that was lost because of the Lord Ruler,” Nico admitted, giving a small shake of his head. “I mean… on my world, it took humans almost ten thousand years to even figure out how to write things down in a way that could be translated later. There’s probably a lot of history that exists that the Lord Ruler either got rid of entirely or doesn’t want people to know. I wonder… if there are prehistoric caves on your world. Depictions of what animals used to be like when people were just starting to be people. I don’t know… there’s a lot of history on my world that people have dedicated their entire lives to studying, but most of that history is stuff we don’t know. We learn a lot of things from bones or pottery fragments, or even stones that were flaked off until they could be used as knives… I think it’s really interesting, even if it’s not the kind of history I spend a lot of time learning about. I wonder if any of that stuff exists on your world. Things that people can study and discover when you defeat the Lord Ruler. I’m sure your Keepers would have a field day if they discovered an archaeological site or something.” He gave a small shrug, then looked ahead, a small smile touching his lips as he continued to think.
“I’ll have to do that. I’m sure my father wouldn’t be opposed. I mean… he doesn’t like it when I spend a lot of time in the Underworld, cause he thinks I should spend more time trying to be a normal kid, but… if it’s for a good cause, I don’t think he would mind. He knows that a god’s existence depends on if people believe in them. I think… it would be pretty cool to resurrect a god by learning from the people who worshipped them.”

“It’s hard to tell if caves are prehistoric,” Nico admitted after a moment. “I mean… the ones that clearly are often have paintings in them from people who wanted to create art, but a lot of that wears away really easily just because of the elements. I don’t know… maybe there are prehistoric caves in your world. Maybe there aren’t. I don’t think that’s something you’ll be able to know until well after the Lord Ruler is gone. I don’t know how long it will take for people to start being interested in science and history enough to explore that kind of thing. I don’t know how long it will take the Skaa to recover from the Lord Ruler.” It wasn’t something that was pleasant to imagine, but it did have to be taken into account. The Skaa had been through a lot in their lives. It was going to take a long time for them to adjust to being able to do whatever they wanted without having to fear death at every corner. How long would it take for innovation to flourish? With Kel at the lead… Nico had to admit that he didn’t think it would take very long. Even if Kelsier himself wasn’t necessarily interested in history.
“The Keepers might have the best idea of where to find ancient sites, if they still exist,” he added, considering. “I mean… surely there have to be some of them who have geography knowledge on top of whatever their specialty is. Does Sazed know where the religions he teaches about were most concentrated? If he does… then those might be good places to start. Religions had to come from somewhere, and often when a religion roots itself somewhere, it means that religion has been there for a while.”
Nico ducked to his right, motioning with his head for Kelsier to follow. They were getting close.

Nico had hope for Kelsier’s world. Perhaps it was misguided hope, but… he didn’t want to believe that. He wanted to believe that there was a reason to hope for the best. While not always the most optimistic, Nico knew that humans could rebound from even the most horrible things. Wasn’t he living proof of that? It wasn’t like he was anything extraordinary. He was just a boy who had been through hell and had demonstrated the extremely human ability to bounce back from it. He glanced over at Kelsier, then gave a small nod.
“That’s one way to erase history,” he whispered, giving a small shake of his head. “It’s what the British did to try to destroy the Irish language. They changed all of the place names into anglicized versions, stripping them of their original Irish names. Unless you know the history, it’s hard to correlate some of the modern day places with the names they use in their stories.” The Lord Ruler very clearly understood how to enact cultural genocide well.
“Your Keepers probably have all the answers hidden in their heads. They just… have to find ways to connect the information in the right way. I think… it’s really cool that there are people who are still willing to be Keepers, even with how dangerous it must be.” As much as Nico loved and respected Kelsier, Survivor of Hathsin, he had to admit that the Keepers may have earned more of his respect in a different way. They were heroes, though nobody would ever know their names. Maybe, Nico thought, he could relate to that. Or maybe that was just what he wanted to be.

“I’d like to meet him,” Nico admitted, flashing Kelsier a small smile. “I think… he’d be really interesting to talk to. Maybe that’s just because I like history. And language. Do you think he’d be willing to take note of religions that never existed on Scadrial? I have a few I could tell him about. Ones from my world, I mean.” Sazed… seemed like a hero, in Nico’s eyes, but Nico didn’t think he seemed to recognize it himself. That was, of course, entirely based on what Kelsier had told him, but Kelsier didn’t tend to lie or exaggerate. He really seemed to surround himself with heroes. Even Spook, who Nico doubted saw himself as a hero, seemed like he could be. Perhaps that was the downside of Kelsier visiting Nico and not vice versa. Nico’s world was a kinder, more interesting place to explore and spend time, but there were very few people he wanted to introduce Kelsier to who weren’t busy. All of the people Nico wanted to meet were in Kelsier’s world. Maybe he’d be able to travel there, one day. Maybe he’d get to meet them in person instead of just texting them whenever Kelsier felt like giving up his phone.
“I know,” he said after a moment, his voice solemn. “People always do. And they always bounce back, even if things aren’t the same as they were before.” He looked up, about to say more when he realized how close they were getting.
“Do you see those trees up ahead? That’s the border of Central Park!”

“I guess… I don’t focus a lot on religion, it’s just… not what I study as much, but… I know a lot about it, still. I was raised into a religion I don’t really practice anymore, and technically Hades is part of a religion, so…” Nico gave a small shrug, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked forward. The point was that if Sazed wanted to talk to someone about religion, Nico was probably the right person. He didn’t know a lot about other religions, but the two he understood he knew a lot about. Maybe not as much as Sazed would have liked to know, but it was a start. Besides, he was probably a walking treasure trove of information compared to the people still on Scadrial. Had Sazed ever learned about a religion from someone who still practiced the religion, or had he just learned about them on paper or from someone who had known someone who had interviewed someone who believed in it? The Lord Ruler had been thorough. Surely that made being a Keeper harder than it had to be.
“These are small compared to a lot of other trees,” Nico laughed as he broke out into a jog to keep up with Kelsier. He didn’t mind the extra exercise, and he understood Kelsier’s hurry to get to the trees more quickly. He likely hadn’t seen anything like this. “We need to take you upstate to go hiking. You won’t believe some of the trees that have been growing for centuries. These were planted… probably around a hundred years or so ago?” It was sad, that there were no trees in Kelsier’s world that had stood before the Lord Ruler had taken power. There should have been. If Kelsier’s world were fair in the slightest… there would have been.

Nico gave a small smile at that. He was pleased to know that Sazed might be as interested in talking to him as he was in talking to Sazed. Hopefully that would make the conversation go that much more smoothly. He took in a breath, trying to imagine what it would be like to appear on Scadrial. He didn’t know how to get there, but Kelsier had figured out how to blink here, hadn’t he? And technically, Nico hadn’t tried shadow travelling to another world. It might be possible, assuming it didn’t kill him. He decided not to mention that particular idea to Kelsier. Kel had enough on his plate without trying to convince his son not to end up dying because of a stupid idea. They’d already both had enough of that.
“You should tell him I’m not a superhero,” he told Kelsier, crossing his arms. “I’m just… a kid who’s trying to help things.” He was about to say more, but Kelsier was already racing ahead of him, seeming to try to get to the trees as fast as possible.
“Wait up!” Nico shouted, breaking into a full out sprint beside him. “You’ve got an advantage ‘cause your legs are so long!” he gasped as he tried to keep pace with him. As even as they were when it came to fighting, Kelsier was always going to be faster in a race. Nico had short legs and he didn’t run very often. Kelsier had much longer legs and he ran through Luthadel almost every night, even if it was pewter-enhanced. “The trees aren’t going anywhere!”

Although Nico didn’t know Kelsier had been tempted by the idea, he was grateful that he hadn’t done anything stupid involving Allomancy yet. Being a Mistborn in a world where Skaa Mistborn were dangerous, he was probably used to not using Allomancy out in the open, but being Kelsier, it was probably a struggle. There were probably a number of times Kelsier decided the risk was worth it in his own world. In this world, however… using magic was dangerous, especially if the Mist wasn’t going to protect you. He was curious, however, if the Mist would try to obscure Kelsier’s doings too. Perhaps he’d ask Percy if he could visit his stepfather later. Paul couldn’t see through the Mist, so he might be able to tell them if Kelsier’s antics would be visible to the general public.
Nico finally caught up, breath coming in huffs as he pulled to a stop at the base of a tree beside Kelsier. He glanced up, eyes wide as he peered into the branches. It was pretty tall, but definitely not the tallest Nico had seen. Probably not even the tallest in Central Park.
“C’mon,” Nico said, striding right past the tree and further into the park. “I know this one seems pretty impressive, but there are some taller ones near the other end. They’re pretty good for climbing, and this is something that nobody will stop you from climbing.” He didn’t say he knew that Kelsier had probably been considering scaling the skyscrapers, but he knew his dad well enough to know that the thought had occurred to him. Hopefully, he got the hint that climbing the skyscrapers was probably about the worst thing you could do when you were trying to stay under the radar.
“I don’t climb them myself that often, but… I think you might enjoy it. And at least I know I’ll have some help getting down if I happen to get stuck.” He didn’t foresee it happening, but it was a possibility. Going up always felt a lot easier and less precarious than coming down.

Nico could see the absolute astonishment on Kelsier’s face. He was fairly certain that anyone could, even if they didn’t know Kel as well as Nico did. It was a good thing that New Yorkers weren’t in the habit of questioning strangers. If they were, they may have been asking why Kelsier was so enamored by a tree. They were right, it didn’t exactly make sense in the context of this world, but how would they feel if they saw Kelsier use Allomancy? In a way, that was the same thing. The Skaa wouldn’t even blink if someone were to turn out to be an Allomancer. They might avoid that person to save their own skin, but they wouldn’t be surprised to see an Allomancer in Luthadel. Nico might have avoided large, dying trees for his own safety, but that didn’t mean they were an unusual sight. Okay, so maybe the analogy was imperfect, but he wasn’t too concerned. It wasn’t like he was going to have to use it out loud at any point.
“Taller,” Nico confirmed, pushing forward and giving Kelsier a small glance over his shoulder. He didn’t know how astonishing it would be to Kelsier, but hopefully he would be pleased by the sight of the taller ones. “These aren’t the tallest trees in the world, or even in the state, but they’re pretty impressive, aren’t they?” He grinned, moving forward another few steps until he had located a tree he thought would be good for climbing.
“Not all of them will support your weight. You have to look for ones where the branches are thick enough. But that one up ahead will, if you want to try to climb it. And… if you like the patterns in the leaves, grab a leaf or two. I can show you how to get a copy of the pattern that you can take back to your world with you.”

“Just a bit?” Nico asked, eyes glinting with amusement. “Tough crowd, I guess.” He glanced up at the tree, grateful that Kelsier seemed as excited by the possibility of climbing it as Nico had anticipated. He wasn’t sure how easy it would be to climb, but… surely it couldn’t be that much more difficult than some of the buildings Kelsier had scaled in the past. He may have been worried if Kelsier hadn’t proven himself capable of scaling buildings even without the use of metals. How else had he done it before he had Snapped? This would probably be a piece of cake to Kelsier.
“It won’t hurt the tree,” Nico added after a moment, looking up the trunk at some of the more sturdy branches near the bottom. “It’s pretty resilient. I mean… it’s probably been through a lot. There are people who sometimes string hammocks up in trees like this, and the trees bear their weight just fine without breaking. And even if you break a few twigs off, it’s not like the tree can really be hurt by it. First off, they don’t feel pain, and secondly… they can regrow things pretty easily.” He gave Kelsier one more glance before taking a running start towards the tree and hoisting himself up to the first branch. It was a little difficult for him to reach, but with Kelsier’s height it would be easy enough.

Nico gave a quiet laugh as Kelsier threw himself at the tree as well. He was clearly more practiced at this than Nico was, but he had never climbed a tree before. Though Nico hadn’t done it very often, it was still something he’d had experienced in the past. He had never gone up very high, especially not since he had found out that Zeus would take any excuse to kill him he could find, but… climbing trees wasn’t entirely foreign to him. It was a little bit like climbing into the crow’s nest on the Argo II. Nico had always found comfort up there, so maybe that was why he wasn’t nervous right now.
It seemed they both had an advantage when they climbed, and it sort of evened itself out. Kelsier was taller. He could reach more branches. Nico, however, was lighter. It meant he didn’t have to worry so much about the branches wobbling underneath him. They were all stable enough to hold his weight completely.
“I guess so,” Nico shrugged, giving a quiet grunt as he pulled himself onto a higher branch. “I’ve never really thought about it like that, but… yeah, essentially.” He paused where he was, a thin smile pulling across his lips as he looked out from the tree.
“It’s not the same as being at the top of a skyscraper, but it’s not a bad view of the city. You can… sort of see how the city was planned with the street grid and stuff.”

Nico had never had to worry about his weight in comparison to things. He hadn’t ever had Allomancy to consider. He figured that Kelsier had a very different way of seeing the world, informed entirely by what his Allomancy required. How differently did he see the world now compared to how he had seen it before he’d had Allomancy? It was a question Nico knew he would never know the answer to. That was alright. He didn’t need to know absolutely everything about Kelsier. Nico saw the world very differently now than he had before Tartarus or before he had learned about his powers.
“We can still go higher,” Nico commented, grabbing onto the branch right above his head and pulling himself onto it. Okay, so… he might need a little bit of help down unless he trusted himself to drop and land with precision. He had been climbing onto several branches that were very nearly out of reach for him standing on his tip toes. He might have to wiggle his way down the trunk in some places. Neither option felt particularly dignified.
“The city is really easy to navigate that way,” he added, calling down to Kelsier. “It’s all in a grid. And it’s numbered, so you always know where you are relative to other things.”