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Discrepancy in the Epigraphs from Mistborn (HOA spoilers)


gjustice99

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So as I was transcribing the epigraphs from the first Mistborn (I know they are on Coppermind it helps me to write them) I noticed this

His name shall be Discord, yet they shall love him for it.

This is from the epigraphs from chapter 8.

This is weird because, as we know, the Hero of Ages (which this line is about) becomes Harmony, which is the exact opposite of Discord.

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WoA and HoA spoilers

As Kwaan tells us in WoA, Alendi was working from Ruin-corrupted prophesy. Any change that would make Alendi more Heroey was made, obscuring the true nature of the Hero.

Edited by LabRat
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It actually makes sense that it would be Discord, since Ruin would want to place his own champion in the position of hero if possible.  This would be a key change that Ruin could use to totally shift how the prophecy is interpreted so it makes sense that it was changed.  

 

Good catch though that Discord is an opposite to Harmony.  I hadn't thought of the two together before.  

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First, the epigraphs are un-Ruined copies, yes? That we know of, they disagree with the in-text Prophecies at several times, and each time the epigraph is the true Prophecy while in-text was Ruined. We don't know that for sure, but I think it's enough that we can't really dismiss this as, "well obviously that was just Ruined." Cuz if that's the case, then we have not a single word we can actually trust.

 

Second, as has been pointed out, Sazed was tremendously discordant. The purpose of the Synod was peace. Total and utter peace. Just sit there and wait, forever if need be, and see if things get better on their own. Sazed waded in, stirred up trouble, and thanks to his efforts saved the world. He was Discord, and they loved him for it, because sometimes peace is just another word for surrender.

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And speaking from a musicological point of view, sometimes the difference between Discord and Harmony is shifting a single note in the chord up or down a half-step. 

 

Taking that metaphor, it only took a small change in Sazed to shift from being discordant within himself to at peace.

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First, the epigraphs are un-Ruined copies, yes? That we know of, they disagree with the in-text Prophecies at several times, and each time the epigraph is the true Prophecy while in-text was Ruined. We don't know that for sure, but I think it's enough that we can't really dismiss this as, "well obviously that was just Ruined." Cuz if that's the case, then we have not a single word we can actually trust.

 

Second, as has been pointed out, Sazed was tremendously discordant. The purpose of the Synod was peace. Total and utter peace. Just sit there and wait, forever if need be, and see if things get better on their own. Sazed waded in, stirred up trouble, and thanks to his efforts saved the world. He was Discord, and they loved him for it, because sometimes peace is just another word for surrender.

 

The logbook was unaltered, but the prophesies Alendi was working from were absolutely altered. Kwaan flat out states that Ruin's changes were the reason he carved his stuff into metal.

 

http://coppermind.net/wiki/The_Well_of_Ascension/Epigraphs

 

1: I write these words in steel, for anything not set in metal cannot be trusted.

 

40 And yet . . . something about all this seemed so convenient. It felt almost as if we constructed a hero to fit our prophecies, rather than allowing one to arise naturally. This was the worry I had, the thing that should have given me pause when my brethren came to me, finally willing to believe. 41 After that, I began to see other problems. 42 Some of you may know of my fabled memory. It is true; I need not a Feruchemist's metalmind to memorize a sheet of words in an instant. 43 The others call me mad. As I have said, that may be true. 44 But must not even a madman rely on his own mind, his own experience, rather than that of others? 45 I know what I have memorized. I know what is now repeated by the other Worldbringers. 46 The two are not the same. 47 Alendi believes as they do
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Sorry, I meant to say that I was talking specifically about the epigraphs of the second book, not the first or the third.

 

So we all agree that the epigraphs of the second book are exactly what Alendi put on that steel plate, unaltered by Ruin? Which is not to say that Ruin hadn't been altering them for thousands of years in order to manipulate prophecy, so even Alendi's writings aren't sacrosanct. The Piercings of the Hero, for example, were likely altered long, long ago because it doesn't take Alendi's specific circumstances for Ruin to realize that whoever the Hero is, it's best he be a hemalurgist.

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The writings of Kwaan are unchanged. (Book 2)

Alendi's logbook MAY have been changed, but it seems doubtful because it was in support of Ruin's already made changes. (Book 1)

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