Content Warning: This section of the guide refers to stereotypes and problematic depictions of people of diverse racial backgrounds as well as underserved communities and neighborhoods (including the use of the word “slums”), which feature in the novel. This section of the guide also discusses the novel’s depiction of classism, misogyny, sexism, and death by suicide.

The Prologue flashes back to Waxillium Ladrian’s early days as a law enforcement officer in the Roughs, away from the laws and enforcement of Elendel, the major city and center of civilization. The flashback reveals Wax’s first meeting of Lessie, the woman he loved who died in the first book of the Wax and Wayne series, The Alloy of Law.

The flashback ensues: Wax arrives in a tiny Roughs town, searching for the outlaw Granite Joe. Accompanied by a teenage Wayne, he goes into the saloon alone and asks the bartender if he knows anything about Granite Joe. The bartender leads Wax into a back room and tells him to wait. A woman, Lessie, climbs in the window, and she and Wax introduce themselves and exchange quips. Lessie is confused by Wax’s “thing,” as he calls it, or his decision to have something notable about himself to help build his reputation as a law enforcement officer.