The Man, The Myth, The Mistborn

*****

The Grim is a myth, a scary story members of the underworld tell each other. "Those who betray their friends had best beware The Grim," they say.

No one really believes the stories of a rogue Mistborn-for-hire, tearing a bloody path through the city. Every time a corrupt nobleman is assassinated, every time an informant goes missing or a violent crew leader is found with their throat slit "...It must have been The Grim," folks laugh… but quietly, with their eyes on the shadows, because even a myth can be deadly.

But the stories are fun to tell…

Like the time he robbed the keeps of three Great Houses in the same night. They say he stole half the atium in Luthadel in one night's work.

Or the one about a man paid who The Grim 100 boxings to kill a rival… spinning lies about what she had done to deserve it. They say they found the man later nailed to a wall, with that same 100 boxings steelpushed right through him.

Or the time he broke into the Canton of Inquisition to rescue imprisoned skaa. They say he killed three Steel Inquisitors on his way out.

They say he's a hard man to find. Make the right kind of enquiries to the wrong kind of people, and the odds are he'll find you first.

But if he doesn't like your measure, it doesn't matter how deep your pockets are, you'll never catch a glimpse.

And if your cause is just, it doesn't matter how empty your pockets are… he'll be there without even being asked.

They say he's seven feet tall with muscles like a sack full of bears. They say he only has one eye, because he sold the other for the knowledge of secret allomantic powers. They say he has metals no one has ever heard of. They say he's the Lord Ruler's secret son, rebelling against his father.

They say a lot of things about The Grim.

Some of them are even true.