La esperanza de Elantris

Elantris #1.5

by Brandon Sanderson

Tras la restauración de Elantris, Raoden se sienta solo en su palacio y observa la nueva riqueza de la ciudad. Ashe, el seon de Sarene, entra flotando por una ventana abierta para informar a Raoden de que su esposa no asistirá a su cena, porque está embarazada y "es culpa suya". Raoden se acomoda para escuchar el testimonio de Ashe sobre su paradero durante las últimas horas antes de la restauración de Elantris.

La esperanza de Elantris es un relato corto escrito por Brandon Sanderson en enero de 2006. Inicialmente se publicó como libro electrónico a la venta en Amazon y con el tiempo se publicó en la propia web de Brandon Sanderson. El libro está ambientado en el mundo de Elantris y ocurre al mismo tiempo que ciertos acontecimientos del libro, pero se centra en personajes diferentes. Brandon Sanderson comentó: "Si no has leído la novela Elantris, esto contiene spoilers importantes. Le sugiero que lea primero el libro, esta historia no funcionará si no lo has hecho"

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, High Fantasy, Audiobook, Epic Fantasy, Adult

26 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

I’m Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers.

The release of Wind and Truth in December 2024—the fifth and final book in the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive series—marks a significant milestone for me. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it’s the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. Now is a great time to get into the Stormlight Archive since the first arc, which begins with Way of Kings, is complete.

During our crowdfunding campaign for the leatherbound edition of Words of Radiance, I announced a fifth Secret Project called Isles of the Emberdark, which came out in the summer of 2025. Coming December 2025 is Tailored Realities, my non-Cosmere short story collection featuring the new novella Moment Zero.

Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, came out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that saw the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit Man. These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.

November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. Now that the first arc of the Stormlight Archive is wrapped up, I’ve started writing the third era of Mistborn in 2025.

Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, four of the five Secret Projects, and various novellas, including The Emperor’s Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you’ve read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.

I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, released in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.

Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the three stories in Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. These two novellas are also featured in 2025’s Tailored Realities. There’s a lot of material to go around!

Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart, The Emperor’s Soul, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you’re already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.

I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan’s notes.

Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com—and check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.

Reviews

[Tharindu Dissanayake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another short and neat novella by Sanderson to help explain a couple of thing went unsaid with Elantris. There's also some hints on how things progressed after the original story, so might be a good idea to try this as soon as you're done with Elantris.

[Petrik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mini review (I read this in Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection)

The Hope of Elantris is a really short story that took place straight and during the climax of Elantris. It’s only 25 pages and it featured the main character, Matisse, who had a role to take care of the children in the city of New Elantris. Overall, a good short story but this 10-15 minutes read doesn’t provide anything new to the main story of Elantris itself other than the first few and last paragraph.

This novella is more of a tribute to the real life ‘Matisse’, a student of Emily (Sanderson’s wife) back when they were dating. Sanderson addressed the reason behind the creation of this novella in his postscript (do not skip it) and I personally find reading the postscript made the novella a better experience.

You can find the rest of my Adult Epic/High Fantasy & Sci-Fi reviews at Booknest

[Kogiopsis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, so sue me. I thought it was sweet. Unpolished, but sweet, and a good hole to fill in the story. I was actually wondering about how the finale went on the inside, so it was nice to have this question answered. And the annotation.... SQUEEEEEEEE. Brandon Sanderson is slowly becoming my antidote to a bad day. The way he writes, the way he talks about writing, the way he interacts with fans - it makes me love the world again, even when I've spent my most recent classes learning about terribly depressing things.


Authors who write stuff like this, for reasons like this, are the kind of person I want to be - whether or not I'm ever an author.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si soy sincero y completamente objetivo a esta pequeña historia (situada justo en los acontecimientos finales de la novela Elantris) debería darle menos de las tres estrellas.

Pero no, como soy bien subjetivo y no me quejo de ello le pongo sus cuatro estrellas. Primero, porque ya ha pasado un año y medio aproximadamente desde que leí Elantris y fue empezar a leer esto y mi mente desbloqueó de una todos los recuerdos sobre la trama, el sistema de magia, los maravillosos personajes y enseguida me vino un gustillo dulce al paladar de recordar lo mucho que me gustó esa novela. Además, como soy bien sentimental, la historia detrás de la creación de este relato corto también me tocó el corazón y me pareció un detalle lindo y maravilloso por parte de Sanderson.

[Markus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost feel guilty for criticising this story after reading Sanderson's postscript, including the reason for writing it in the first place. Apparently on a date with his eventual wife, Sanderson learned that one of her students had written a book report about Elantris. That the guy would then go on to write a short story dedicated to said student set in the same universe, shows yet again that he is a thoughtful writer who cares about those who read his work.

That being said, the story in itself is rather pointless. It doesn't really add anything to the Elantris universe except a chance for the reader to look around and observe the city's environment during a time of upheaval.

[Wera · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars
**This review contains spoilers for Elantris and The Hope of Elantris**

“'Where were you during those last hours before Elantris was restored? I don’t remember anything of you for most of the night. In fact, the only time I remember seeing you is when you came to tell me that Sarene had been kidnapped and taken to Teod.'
'That’s true, Your Majesty,' Ashe said.
'So, where were you?'”
~ Exchange between Raoden and Ashe

This is such a heartwarming 25 pages. Although it doesn't add a lot to the story, and it was done sort of as fan service, I do think it is quite cute. During the events of Elantris, aon Ashe disappears for a segment during the final battle. This short story answers what it(?) was up to...

The story opens with Raoden talking with Ashe. Sarene is mentioned and I just love how them together. I also love the atmosphere that I get whenever I read a Sel book. Sel is my favorite Cosmere planet, so whenever I get anything on it, I am really excited. I NEED Sanderson to write something new on it! I like when an author puts out a short story that centers around a new character/different aspect of the world during the main plot-line, just because it shows the impacts of the story on other people. This makes the story seem more grounded and the world more vivid, which is always a plus.

In the postscript Sanderson says that he hopes that this short story doesn't come across as melodramatic, honestly, though, it kind of does especially at the end when Elantrians are healed. Is that an issue? No not really. Why then is this just 3 stars? Well. If a short story is to be rated high, it has to really blow me away. Although I love the setting and characters present, it just wasn't enough for more stars. I do recommend this though for some wholesome reading over a cup of tea during a rainy day. :)

Thank you all for joining in for Episode 5 of Quickie Review with Valliya!



Previous episode: Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell - Brandon Sanderson ★★.75

Next episode: The Eleventh Metal - Brandon Sanderson ★★★

[April (Aprilius Maximus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

COSMERE UNIVERSE

1.) Elantris ★★★
*.) The Hope of Elantris ★★★★
*.) The Emperor's Soul [ON TBR]

1.) The Final Empire ★★★★★
*.) The Eleventh Metal [ON TBR]
2.) The Well of Ascension ★★★★
3.) The Hero of Ages ★★★★.5

-----------------------------------------------

This was such a sweet story, especially when you read the postscript and discover why Brandon Sanderson wrote it in the first place. I rated this so highly because I could relate to Matisse so much as a childhood educator. It was also interesting to see what happened IN Elantris while the climax of the original book was happening.

[Victor Almeida · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5
Fofo, mas não acrescenta nada kkkkk

[Somormujo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/3
No esperaba mucho más que una prolongación de Elantris y eso es lo que me ha dado. Por supuesto, en mi opinión, no está a la misma altura …

[Saimi Vasquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta es una pequena historia con un grupo de personajes nuevos, de lo que paso cuando los soldados atacaron Elantris. Nos muestra otro punto de vista de ese momento, y como los elantrianos lucharon, se defendieron y sobrevivieron a uno de los dias mas dificiles de sus vidas.

[Iloveplacebo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia corta que nos narra el ataque a Elantris por parte de los Dakhor, desde dentro de la ciudad.

La trama sigue a Matisse, una adolescente que se encarga de cuidar a los niños/as más pequeños. Cuando el ataque llega a Elantris, ella se convertirá en la heroína de esta historia.

Al leer la nota del autor este relato se hace tierno e incluso tiene más sentido.

[Aleja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reto PopSugar 2021 #42. El libro más corto (por páginas) en tu lista TBR.

Creí que iba a tener más respuestas sobre el final de Elantris pero no😅

No me desagradó esta breve historia, estuvo lindo y me gustó que nos contara qué sucedió con los niños que tanto Karata había luchado por proteger.

[Marcos GM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tras haber terminado El alma del emperador me he quedado con ganas de más Elantris, y este relatito corto es secuela directa de la misma, así que ha caído como está mandado. No aporta demasiado, pero me ha hecho recordar lo mucho que me gustó el libro y sirve para conocer un pelín del futuro de los personajes.

Contiene spoilers del final del libro, no abrir si no se ha leído:

Esperando a Sarene que llega tarde a cenar por culpa de su embarazo, Raoden pregunta a un Seon cómo vivió la restauración de la ciudad y la vuelta de la magia, y este Seon, Ashe, nos cuenta lo que ocurre en una aventurilla con una chica llamada Matisse.

Si te ha gustado el libro (¿alguien que no? porque puede ir saliendo por la puerta 😂) este corto relato es casi obligatorio, se lee en un ratito y además está gratis en la web del autor siempre que leas en inglés.

[Repellent Boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"La esperanza de Elantris" es un relatito que hay que leer después de haber leído "Elantris", porque pese a tratar de un tema que ocurrió paralelamente durante los últimos acotencimientos de la obra, desvela detalles importantes del final. En este relato conoceremos a Matisse, la encargada de cuidar y y vigilar a los niños elantrinos. La misma Matisse no es más que una adolescente, pero a diferencia del resto de elantrinos, se siente más feliz y viva ahora que nunca. En el mundo de fuera, antes de que el Shaod la tocara, era una simple vagabunda. Sin embargo, ahora tiene un cometido.

La historia nos situará en la batalla final de "Elantris", y veremos que hacían algunos personajes secundarios dentro de la ciudad, mientras la gran parte de la atención se concentraba fuera. Da voz a esos secundarios que no siempre la tienen y eso mola. Me ha gustado mucho Matisse, y pese a lo breve del relato, creo que refuerza mi teoría de que Sanderson es capaz de hacer personajazos femeninos, solo tiene que aprender que debe añadir más. No cuento más, que es muy corto, pero me ha encantado.

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confession time

I liked the reason behind on why this novella was written more than the novella itself.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-stars.

Just a short story adding a little more background to Elantris.

Nothing special, in my opinion.

Thanks for reading.

[Holden Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, touching story of a woman who saved all the children. Nothing special, but good just the same.

[Deborah Obida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved it, It was only 24 pages long but it was worth it.

[Literally Lesia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Я розумію, як важливо було Сандерсону написати цю новелу в першу чергу для себе, бо він відчував, що щось лишилося недосказаним. Це чудове повернення в Елантріс, до вже знайомих героїв, однак для нас, читачів, навіть таких поціновувачів творчості письменника, до яких я і себе зачисляю, саме цей епізод не мав якоїсь великої ваги. ОДНАК я вірю, що у Сандерсона нічого не написано просто так і не здивуюсь, якщо в якому-небудь «Загубленому металі» зустріну Матісс чи вона зʼявиться в інтерлюдіях до Архіву. (I’m so sorry але я продовжу називати цикл АРХІВОМ Буресвітла, бо це його дослівний переклад. «Хроніки» sounds ok, але не моє).

[Scott Hitchcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in Arcanum Unbounded.

Good story of what was happening back in Elantris while the main characters were fighting their climax in the main book.

[Marnie (Enchanted Bibliophile) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Light, Illumination.”



I love knowing every little extra detail in a series, so I’m a big sucker for short story extras like this one.
If you ever wondered what happened to Ashe during the chaos of the fall of Kae you should defiantly read this one.

[Rodrigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pequeño relato breve que narra lo que les ocurrió a los niños elantrinos cuando atacaron los sacerdotes. Un añadido mas para leer después de Elantris ya que hace un gran spoiler.

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Надеждата на Елантрис“ е много хубав разказ! Лично на мен ми допадна повече от самия роман „Елантрис“, на който представлява вълнуващо допълнение и определено носи надежда във фентъзи света Сел.



„— За какво говори той, татко?
Даш сви рамене:
— Изглежда, Духът вярва, че по някаква причина Аоните могат да проработят сега. Рисували сме ги погрешно през цялото време, или нещо такова. Не виждам обаче как учените, които са ги измислили, може да са пропуснали по цяла линия за всеки Аон.
Матис се съмняваше, че учените са „измислили“ Аоните. У тях просто имаше нещо твърде... първично. Бяха природни творения. Не бяха измислени от човек не повече, отколкото вятърът бе роден от човешки замисъл.“

[The Fantasy Review · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read The Hope of Elantris Brandon Sanderson in the collection, Arcanum Unbounded.

The postscript to this short story is beautiful – don’t skip it. Brandon Sanderson’s heart is the size of his Cosmere – every writer should aspire to be this amazing with their fans. Anyway, I’ll stop gushing!

The story in The Hope of Elantris is a nice little snippet into the lives of those left in Elantris when the fighting at the end of the book, Elantris, begins and ends. I won’t give you any spoilers for Elantris or The Hope of Elantris, don’t worry!

I only gave this short story 3 stars because it’s not incredible, yet it is still worth reading and adds a little extra to the Cosmere. It’s only about 25 pages long.

View the full review at The Fantasy Review

[Audrey Dry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un relato que nos muestra otro punto de vista de la batalla de Elantris. Buen relato, pero nada más. No hay nada nuevo, ni tampoco se explican más cosas relacionadas con el mundo de Sanderson. Recomendable a quien le guste la serie, aunque el hecho de no aportar nada nuevo no lo hace obligatorio.

[Melcat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful touching story with a nice backstory behind it (check the authors note at the end!). This one is best read immediately after Elantris (to still be in the mood), but is not necessary.

[Steph ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5✨
Loved being back in the Elantris story. I can't wait for more.

[aria ✧]

[ Read in the Cosmere collection Arcanum Unbounded ]

A short story showing how the kids were kept safe during the attack on New Elantris.

Sanderson writing this story in honour of one of his wife’s student (who did a book report on Elantris!) is so cute. Matisse, wherever you are, you are so lucky.

I also listened to the dramatized adaptation and that had me crying

[Anish Kohli · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very small, nothing story. It wasn't really needed and adds nothing to the story of Elantris, BUT...but, the reason it is written, as mentioned by Sanderson in the postscript after the story is kinda really sweet and it makes perfect sense as to why it was needed, even if wasn't needed.

PS: Yes, I am reading short stories to meet my reading challenge. I've had a shitty year. Let's move on.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short story, told by Ashe, about the Elantrian children and the ones who took care of them. To be read after Elantris.

It can be found here: http://brandonsanderson.com/Elantris-...