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My Idiotic Theories: A Retrospective


Chaos

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So you know how sometimes I'm quick to say if something is blatantly false, and I sometimes have an inflated opinion of my theories? It's time you got the true scale of madness and idiocy.

Background: Way back when, before Hero of Ages came out, we made a lot of theories. Finally we made the "Final Hero of Ages Theory" topic. So we compiled our masterful, "brilliant" theories, of which mine are really kind of not. You can find the original topic here.

I'd like to make some disclaimers: if you're new to 17S, don't take a lot of these seriously. It was a time before we knew about Shards (indeed, the major flaw with these theories is that I did not focus on Ruin and Preservation as much I should have). Secondly, WARNING WARNING WARNING! This is a really frickin' long post. It was so long on TWG that I had to split it into three separate posts. It's also longer than most chapters are, clocking in at 7386 words long. Someone initially said "Good Lord, Chaos! It'll be faster to read the book!"

So pull up a chair. Put some relaxing music on. Enjoy the madness. You'll be here a while, though.

(Yes, seriously, I did write a 3000 word analysis of Hemalurgy)

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PART ONE - THE SETTING

1-A The Epigraphs

We only know of two people who ever held the Power: Rashek and Vin. The person who writes the epigraphs "knows everything" and did, indeed, hold the Power. The Vin option is out, because she didn't use the Power, but released it. Plus, if Vin wrote the epigraphs, that would totally screw up the epigraphs being written by some dude in Alendi's age. For this reason, I believe Rashek is the one writing these epigraphs. Rashek certainly knows a lot more than other people as the Lord Ruler, so perhaps a lot of this knowledge came from holding the Power at the Well of Ascension.

Furthermore, in each book in the trilogy, the main characters found an artifact which had the epigraph's words in it. Because the Amazon.com description of it says Elend is going after the clues the Lord Ruler left behind, it's likely that in the process of searching for these "clues", he finds whatever artifact that hold the words of the epigraph on. The Lord Ruler's clues = Lord Ruler's epigraphs.

Plausibility: Very plausible.

Flaws: Well, the epigraphs don't sound like our hardened Lord Ruler...

Related Topics: The Ashmounts and the Dreary Scenery, The Lord Ruler's Goals

1-B The Ashmounts and the Dreary Scenery

The primary questions are: why is the sun red, why are there no flowers, and why do the Ashmounts even exist? To sum it up in simpler terms: what did the Lord Ruler do, and why did he do it?

The sun is red because of the ash in the air, just as anyone who has been a place where there is a lot of smoke would know. That's the first part of the question down. The second part relates to the first: no flowers or green plants exist because of the lack of sunlight from aforemention smoke and ash.

The third segment is a bit trickier: why do the Ashmounts exist in the first place? I think the Lord Ruler wouldn't want to make the Ashmounts just to give the skaa something to do because there are multiple problems exist with that line of thinking. Firstly, the Lord Ruler did not know of the skaa or conceive of the idea of skaa until he unified all non-noblemen into one homogenous race of slaves, which happened in the third century after the Ascension (if I remember correctly, at least. The point is not necessarily the date but that it was quite a long time after the Ascension). That means that the Ashmounts preceded the skaa. Secondly, since the Ashmounts precede the skaa, then there is some sort of reason for the Ashmounts to exist--because after all, he only gets to burn the Power once, and then it is gone. The Ashmounts must have been created during the Ascension.

But if we look at the sample chapters, then we can surmise what had happened. The Lord Ruler moved the planet too close to the sun, and then in horror, he created the Ashmounts so the sun didn't kill them all. A screen, if you will.

Plausibility: Extremely plausible.

Flaws: It does nothing to explain why the Ashmounts are more active in MB3, as the sample chapters suggest. That seems to imply some relationship with Ruin or Preservation which escapes me.

Related Topics: The Lord Ruler's Goals

1-C The Kandra and Koloss

The koloss have nails in them, which lends credence to the idea that Ruin is controlling them, much like he does with the Inquisitors. The nails themselves could mean that the entire reason they are so creepy is because of Hemalurgy, somehow and someway.

The kandra could be made of liquid metal, but that's a stretch for me. Still, the koloss and kandra can both be controlled with really strong Allomancy, and for the life of me, I cannot find a logical reason how that could even occur. Sure, the Lord Ruler made that a weakness, but how? If the kandra have some liquid metal in them, it could be some weird Hemalurgy-Allomancy relationship that makes this weakness possible. I don't know.

Plausibility: Well, from what I said about the koloss, that seems extremely likely. Kandra being made of liquid metal? That's implausible, but not impossible.

Flaws: Couldn't powerful Mistborn or Inquisitors look at a kandra's body and identify if there is metal inside of them? More importantly, why did the Lord Ruler create these things in the first place?

Related Topics: Hemalurgy, The Lord Ruler's Goals

1-D Statlin City

Statlin City was circled in the first chamber in the secret hallway that the Lord Ruler built into Kredik Shaw--on a metal plate, no less. The metal plate could be important, but that could just be the Lord Ruler liking to set things in metal--Kwaan's words "I write these words in steel, for anything not set in metal cannot be trusted" acting as a religious basis for all of this "Steel Ministry" stuff (aren't the Ministry buildings actually made of metal? I don't remember. Also, how does Kwaan know that anything not set in metal cannot be trusted?).

The more important question, as Elend puts it, "Why is Statlin City circled?" Why indeed, good Emperor. Why is Statlin City circled? Some people think that that is where the atium cache is located; I disagree. It has been a year since MB2 and MB3, and surely, Elend or Vin would have investigated the city by then. The atium cache is too important to be found off-screen, especially since in Sample Chapter 3, they don't have atium and instead rely upon electrum. No, the atium cache is not at Statlin City.

Rather, I believe that Statlin City holds one of the Lord Ruler's storehouses, as referenced in the Spook Sample Chapter. After all, the Statlin City plate was in the chamber which held all the canned goods, so there's a logical link there. Plus, in Spook's sample chapter, Elend has already found several of these storehouses in order to keep Luthadel from starving. If Statlin City had a storehouse, then it's not such a bad thing to have that discovery happen off-screen. Storehouses and graneries are not my idea of a good time (but killing koloss is!).

Plausibility: Extremely likely

Flaws: If I was the Lord Ruler, why would I place my steel plate showing where a storehouse is on the pathway to the Well of Ascension? Something does not add up there.

Related Topics: The Lord Ruler's Goals.

PART TWO - RUIN AND PRESERVATION

2-A The Lord Ruler and the Force He Touched

As stated in a MB1 annotation, there are two forces in the world (Ruin and Preservation), and the Lord Ruler only touched one of these forces--I believe this is MB1 Chapter 34. By the way, Ruin is the force that Vin released at the Well of Ascension, as confirmed in the Prologue for MB3. So, if Ruin was in the Well of Ascension and the Lord Ruler touched only one force--via Ascending--you would logically think that he touched Ruin. I disagree.

The Lord Ruler "broke the world in order to preserve it." The Lord Ruler stagnated growth in the Final Empire. "Preserving" something implies keeping something like it already is, which if it is taken too far, stagnates. For this reason, I am of the opinion that the Lord Ruler touched Preservation, not Ruin. Even though we don't know what Preservation is or if it is even in the Well. Still, actions speak for something, and the Lord Ruler is not a harbinger of Chaos, but Order.

Plausibility: Very plausible.

Flaws: We don't know anything concrete about Preservation, or even if it is inside the Well with Ruin. There's too much we don't know.

Related Topics: Preservation

2-B The Deepness

The Deepness is the killing mists. Or, if you want to be picky, the "mists which sometimes kill, sometimes don't kill, and sometimes are just lazy", but that doesn't have the same ring to it. I am certain the Deepness is some misty agent of Ruin. It is the catalyst which Ruin uses to drive men to desperation, and to rely on a Hero of Ages. This way, a Hero is manipulated into releasing Ruin. I think that in order for Ruin to do this, Ruin has some ability to utilize the mists in some manner.

It is interesting that the Deepness sometimes kills, sometimes leaves people sick, and leaves some people in perfect health. Why this is escapes me, but curtesy of darxbane, he has given a great idea as to why this is, or at least a basic direction: it has to deal with metal impurities. If an Allomantic metal is impure, it can make the user sick, and even kill them off. Maybe... maybe those two old men the Deepness killed ingested a lot of impure metal, and the Deepness imbued the metal with power only to kill them.

Plausibility: Plausibility depends solely on what the old men's diets are like.

Flaws: How am I supposed to know what old men in the Eastern Dominance eat? And either way... this explanation doesn't exude "coolness" to me.

Related Topics: Allomancy and the Mists, Mist Burning

2-C The Mist Spirit

I'm not even going to touch this one. Yup. I don't have a clue on anything about the mist spirit, why it exists, or why it has Allomancy. I do know, however, that the mist spirit is not the combined spirits of all previous Heroes of Ages--that I am immensely confident of. The best mist spirit theory I have is that the mist spirit is... the guardian of the Well of Ascension. Somehow, someway. Yeah, I don't have a clue about the mist spirit.

Plausibility: Considering I didn't actually give a theory, I'd say it's pretty dang plausible.

Flaws: I don't have a theory on this one.

Related Topics: The "Give Chaos a Clue" Foundation.

2-D Preservation

I believe Preservation is the entity the Lord Ruler touched when he Ascended (somehow, he touched Preservation. Somehow). Preservation is right up there with the Hero of Ages in mysteriousness. It's doubtful that the mist spirit is the embodiment of Preservation on the sole basis that it sounds really lame. Preservation is a primordial force on par with Ruin, not some loser mist spirit.

Somehow, inside the Well of Ascension there are two forces: Ruin, which wants to be freed, and Preservation, the force I surmise the Lord Ruler touched. I have no theory for that. It defies my mortal logic. I cannot understand crazy things of gods like the Well of Ascension. However, there is some logic to Preservation being the force the Lord Ruler touched. In MB1 Annotation Prologue Part Two, Brandon says the world is a little frozen in time. In the MB3 Prologue, Marsh says that there is something like a shield over the land. I think both are the works of Preservation; the Lord Ruler burning the power of Preservation to freeze the world.

This freezing of the world with the force of Preservation could be the thing the Lord Ruler did to lock Ruin from influencing the world during the Final Empire's time.

Plausibility: Plausible.

Flaws: We don't know enough, and we can only surmise Preservation was the force the Lord Ruler touched. We don't know anything for certain.

Related Topics: The Well of Ascension

PART THREE - HEMALURGY

3-A Hemalurgical Theory, Lightning-Rod Hemalurgy

Hemalurgy is this mythical magic system that is completely unmentioned in Final Empire and Well of Ascension, but it is integral nonetheless. It is what Steel Inquisitors have that keeps them alive and the reasoning behind why metal spikes are "in" nowadays. Before the MB3 Sample Chapters, we only knew of Hemalurgy from annotations which referred to its name. The most important parts of Hemalurgy are: 1. It pushes the mists away; 2. It has a connection with blood; 3. It utilizes metal; 4. It grants decidedly non-Allomantic or Feruchemical properties; 5. Large amounts of Hemalurgy makes Inquisitors tired.

I am going with the assumption that Hemalurgy is a new magic system, not merely a system that compounds powers from other magics. No, Hemalurgy is its own thing, and I make this claim by citing that Brandon usually talks about it as the "third magic system" in annotations, as well as in the news post with the table of Allomantic metals, where Brandon says the table will list Allomantic, Feruchemical, and Hemalurgical properties. That statement implies that Hemalurgy has different effects from other magic systems.

Now, going off of that assumption that it is a new magic system than Allomancy and Feruchemy, we automatically know some basic things about Hemalurgy. Firstly, it uses metals in some manner like the other two systems do. The clear evidence that Hemalurgy uses metals is... well, the gigantic spikes thrust into Inquisitor's eyes. Metals piercing the body, not merely touching as Feruchemy and not inside the stomach like Allomancy, is absolutely vital for Hemalurgy to work. If it weren't, then there would be no need for metal spikes, especially metal spikes located in particular painful places. Secondly, each metal in Hemalurgy does different things, just as Iron and Pewter do not do the same things in Allomancy and Feruchemy. Knowing this, we also can assume that Inquisitor's spikes are made of different metals (as seen in the Conventical of Seran) for different Hemalurgical properties.

The next key thing that Hemalurgy does--as seen by the Inquisitors--is that the mists are pushed away from the Hemalurgist, which is exactly the opposite from Allomancy's effect on the mists. Now, why is that important? Well, the mists are the foundation of the magic system, and the mists reacting to Allomancy/Hemalurgy is something very interesting. I believe that Hemalurgy is sort of an opposite to Allomancy in this respect. So, let's analyze what Allomancy does. Allomancy burns the metal's power through the body for an external effect. What if Hemalurgy is the opposite to that, burning the body's power through the metals?

I call this Lightning-rod Hemalurgy. Under this model, a metal spike acts as a lightning rod or focus for the body's power. This idea doesn't seem very far-fetched for my tastes, since Inquisitor's do get tired quite a lot, so they need to rest. I think this is because the process of using Hemalurgy drains their own strength, "burning" the body's energy instead of the metals. Looking at it that way, an Inquisitor does not actually burn the metal spikes away, but just utilizes the body's energy. Also, in the MB3 prologue, the first sentence of paragraph five is "The spikes gave him power." Speaking of Marsh, naturally.

Plausibility: Plausible in my mind, but this does not explain the Allomantic ability or how that works. If the reasoning behind that is explained differently than this method, then consider this model relatively useless.

Flaws: Well, it doesn't explain why the mists are pushed away or the necessity for blood.

Related Topics: Every Hemalurgy article.

3-B Imbued Metals

My Hemalurgy model does not explain the vital importance of a blood sacrifice, which is very important to Hemalurgy. Hemalurgy and blood have a long history of coexistence. Marsh describes the process of creating an Inquisitor as a "messy business" more than once, requiring more than one body to create an Inquisitor. Clearly, the process is more detailed than stabbing metal spikes into the body.

To "activate" a metal for Hemalurgy, or Hemalurgify, a sort of blood sacrifice is required. I call these metals which have been blood-activated as "imbued metals", because "Hemalurgified metals" is a handful to say. I'd imagine it is one sacrifice per metal, because in the end of the MB3 Prologue: "The spike would need to pierce the man's body, passing through the heart, then be driven into the body of the Inquisitor tied below. Hemalurgy was a messy art." Apparently, it is not merely blood, but a particular organ that must be pierced for the sacrifice.

I have always known the importance of blood sacrifices, but I have never quite understood why. But now that I have looked at the MB3 Prologue once again, I have come up with some semblance of a theory. "The spikes protruded from the back of his skull; if he reached up to touch the back of his head, he could feel the sharp points. There was no blood." There was no blood from his spike. I think this rather logical: if you have eleven spikes stuck through vital organs, I don't think you operate like a normal human being any more. Your organs do not work--your eyes and brain are obviously pierced (that can't be good)--so essentially, you are dead. All that keeps you alive are your spikes. Why is that?

Well, perhaps the sacrifice and stabbing a spike through a particular organ imbues the metal with the strength from the body. For example, if you were an Inquisitor and have a spike through your heart, your heart no longer works, but perhaps you are operating by using the power of the sacrifice's heart. Maybe. I'm throwing that out there as a possibility. Under that idea, maybe the particular metal of a spike is only important for its external effect, not actually keeping the Hemalurgist alive. Keeping the Inquisitor alive is the reason behind sacrifices, not necessarily the effect of burning the body's power.

Plausibility: The reasoning for blood sacrifices is something I just came up with now. You should take this theory for a grain of salt. I don't know if I'm convinced of it... but it really sounds good.

Flaws: The necessity for blood is something I don't quite understand.

Related Topics: Everything about Hemalurgy.

3-C External Effects & Power Stealing

Let's get this one out of the way: I do not know what Hemalurgy does. I have a vague idea that it is a new magic system, and the metal spike determines the ability, but I have no idea what any of said abilities are. Over the course of theorizing on TWG, two schools of thought have arised about Hemalurgy's actual abilities: 1. Passive Hemalurgy, and 2. Active Hemalurgy.

"Passive Hemalurgy" entails that whatever Hemalurgy's effects are, users of Hemalurgy do not know when they activate the power. The effect is sort of latent and does not require the user to make the conscious effort to use it, as an Allomancer would burn a metal or a Feruchemist would tap a metalmind. There is a strong case for Passive Hemalurgy, because I think it is pretty obvious Marsh does not need to make a conscious effort to stay alive. An Inquisitor staying alive would be an excellent example of a Passive or unconscious effect. However, if my 3-B theory is right, then that point would be moot. In this section, we are trying to determine the external effects of Hemalurgy, not something that is just intrinsic to a blood sacrifice.

Since Allomancy and Feruchemy are both active, conscious magics, I must think that for the sake of symmetry that Hemalurgy is also active. The process, as I theorize in 3-A, is to actively use the body's energy through the metal spikes for some external effect. One effect we know for certain is that Inquisitors heal quickly. Another one of the clearest effects we see is the use of Allomancy. The question arises whether Inquisitors really use Allomancy, or it is some sort of Hemalurgical construct. And if it is a Hemalurgical construct, how do metal spikes give off an effect very similar to Allomancy, when Hemalurgy should be a different magic system?

There are more divisions in thought here. One idea is that if Elend received Allomancy from the 15th metal, then couldn't Inquisitors just eat the same metal and automatically become Mistborn? Well, after seeing Elend's power in MB3 Chapter 3 and its near-Lord Ruler power, I do not think this is how Inquisitors received Allomancy, because if so, they would almost be their own Lord Ruler in itself, which Inquisitors are not described as.

No, another, much more probable theory is that Hemalurgy has some sort of ability to steal power from a sacrifice. Sacrifice a misting who burns Pewter, and bam, now with a pewter spike, you have the ability to burn Pewter like an Allomancer. This could also be why the Inquisitors are killing Feruchemists: kill a Feruchemist and gain their power. However, I cannot reconcile this idea with my 3-A model. Power stealing can't be all there is to Hemalurgy, there has to be something more. Indeed, it is different than pure Allomancy, but how and why does it differ?

I have no idea.

Another idea is that Hemalurgy pumps up basic Allomancy, like something that enhances basic attributes. But still, I refuse to believe that is all Hemalurgy is. There is something more, but I do not know what it is.

Plausibility: I do not know.

Flaws: Too many divergent theories. Which one is correct?

Related Topics: Vin's Earring, Hemalurgy and Mists

3-D Ruin and Hemalurgy (and Zane)

One of the far more fascinating (and less frustrating, because it is easier to see) effects of Hemalurgy is its relationship with Ruin. Ruin--the thing Vin freed at the Well of Ascension--is an immensely manipulative being with colossal power. He manipulates metalminds and things not set in metal. In addition, Ruin uses Hemalurgy to its distinct advantage.

The force that controls Marsh is Ruin. We can assume that all new Inquisitors are also controlled by Ruin. Zane has a spike inside of him, and the voice of "God" says he was never insane. Well, the clearest explanation for that is Zane was hearing Ruin's voice all along and just interpreted it as "God". Certainly, killing everyone sounds like a thing Ruin would want--similarly to how when Marsh is under Ruin's grasp, he enjoys suffering--and Zane never heard Ruin want Vin dead. Obviously, Ruin wanted Vin to free him from the Well, so obviously Ruin wouldn't want Vin dead.

Ruin controls people who have metal stabbed into them. Zane's probably wasn't as bad as any Inquisitor because Inquisitor's have more spikes. I'm sure quantity is integral to that equation.

The question I have is: how? How does having metal spikes relate to hearing Ruin's voice? How does it relate to blood (since in an annotation Brandon said that when Zane cuts himself--letting out blood--it makes Ruin's voice weaker)? The answer is obvious: I have no idea.

Plausibility: It is absolutely plausible that Ruin and Hemalurgy has a connection--that much is undeniable. How it works, on the other hand, is a different story...

Flaws: No "how".

Related Topics: Hemalurgy and Mists.

3-E Preservation and Hemalurgy

While we see plenty of instances of Ruin's power, we see very little of Preservation's influence. There is one instance of a voice, however, which is definitely not Ruin. At the end of MB2, Sazed fights Marsh:

"I'm sorry," Marsh said again, then raised a hand and Pushed the bag at Sazed.

The pouch shot across the room and hit Sazed, ripping, the bits of metal inside tearing into Sazed's flesh. He didn't have to look down to know how badly he was injured. Oddly, he could no longer feel his pain--but he could feel the blood, warm, on his stomach and legs.

I'm... sory, too, Sazed thought as the room grew dark, and he fell to his knees. I've failed... though I know not at what. I can't even answer Marsh's question. I don't know why I came here.

He felt himself dying. It was an odd experience. His mind was resigned, yet confused, yet frustrated, yet slowly... having... trouble...

Those weren't coins, a voice seemed to whisper.

The thought rattled in his dying mind.

The bag Marsh shot at you. Those weren't coins. They were rings, Sazed. Eight of them. You took out two--eyesight and hearing. You left the other ones where they were.

In the pouch, tucked into your sash.

There is no reason why Ruin would tell Sazed this since Marsh--who Sazed is fighting--is controlled by Ruin. This voice is helping Sazed to defeat Marsh, and by consequence, foil Ruin's plan. Since there are only two prime forces in the world (Ruin and Preservation) and Ruin is not telling Sazed this, then obviously, this must be Preservation's voice.

It's interesting to note that this voice seems to also be Hemalurgy. The metal rings are sticking in Sazed's flesh here, and so I believe that this is Hemalurgy somehow. After all, I doubt Hemalurgy is that picky and requires metal spikes (metal spikes are just things that are the most convenient form of metal to pierce through organs and bone). I'm sure any metal piercing the flesh would work to some extent, as long as the metal is of Allomantic proportions. These rings definitely pierce the skin, so I don't think it's a stretch to assume this is Hemalurgy in action. Thus, Preservation could act through the metal spikes just as Ruin could. Ruin does not have exclusive power over Hemalurgy.

However, it's commonly assumed Hemalurgy requires blood sacrifice, and there isn't some massively convoluted process of the rings puncturing organs of a sacrifice here. The blood sacrifice is absent, yet some qualities of Hemalurgy exist (assuming that Preservation does indeed act through Hemalurgy as well). Of course, if theory 3-B is valid, then a sacrifice need not be required, because Sazed does not need an organ to become some weird Hemalurgical construct. Perhaps Preservation can talk to people who have metals without sacrifices and Ruin talks to people who have sacrificially-imbued metals, or perhaps Hemalurgy requires a blood sacrifice, but Ruin/Preservation talking through the metals does not require a sacrifice. I don't really know for certain.

The other thing that I noticed was, "Oddly, he could no longer feel his pain--but he could feel the blood, warm, on his stomach and legs.". Is it "odd" to no longer feel pain? Could this be a Hemalurgical property we don't know about yet?

There's also an instance where Elend hears a voice when he kills that one koloss, but I don't remember where that one is explicitly. That one is also most likely Preservation's voice (but since I do not have the quote, it could also be Ruin's voice).

Plausibility: The voice is definitely Preservation's.

Flaws: It seems to defy rules of Hemalurgy, but that could just mean our "rules" of Hemalurgy are incorrect.

Related Topics: Lightning rod Hemalurgy, Imbued Metals, Vin's Earring

3-F Vin's Earring

Vin pierces copperclouds. It seems excessively strange, but then if one looked closer at MB2, it is clear that Vin's earring is bronze. Bronze, the metal Seekers use. This is not a coincidence if Brandon clearly indicates that a particular item is made of the metal that just happens to identify Allomantic pulses.

The earring pierces the flesh, so it qualifies as metal piercing the skin (the first requirement for Hemalurgy). Secondly, if you believe that all Hemalurgical metals needs to be imbued, then that condition is also met, because Vin's mother killed Vin's full sister. Blood sacrifice, check. And if you believe it must be a misting who needs to be sacrificed, well, Vin's sister was her full sister who could definitely have latent Allomantic powers. Essentially every requirement of every conceivable Hemalurgical model agrees with the idea that this earring could qualify as a Hemalurgical construct.

The piercing of copperclouds could just be because "piercing copperclouds" is the external effect of bronze with Hemalurgy. In fact, Marsh confirms that Inquisitors can pierce copperclouds, so that lends to a whole new level of credence to this idea. Also, as Vin heads up to Kredik Shaw at the end of MB2, Elend says that the mists seem to be pushing away from Vin. Pushing away mists is another crucial part of Hemalurgy (see 5-C for more on that). It is the clearest solution to the question of how Vin pierces copperclouds: Hemalurgy.

Furthermore, I would say that Vin's earring is the best example of a theoretical Passive Hemalurgy. Vin certainly doesn't know she is using a form of Hemalurgy to pierce copperclouds.

Plausibility: The overwhelming evidence and logic behind it makes it seem Phenomenally likely.

Flaws: How does Vin use this Hemalurgy? Is it active or passive?

Related Topics: Hemalurgy and mists, Mist burning

PART FOUR - ALLOMANTIC METALS

4-A Allomancer Hobo! (aka Kelsier and the Eleventh Metal)

We know Kelsier believed the legend that the 11th metal--malatium--can defeat the Lord Ruler, but how did this legend come into being? Some say that it is a form of actual prophesy, but I do not think it is a real prophecy. I think that coincidences do occur, and it's not unthinkable that a set of coincidences could turn into a secretive prophecy which would defeat the Lord Ruler. So, I present... Allomancer Hobo.

Think for a moment about the Final Empire. The Lord Ruler's oppression is brutal if you are a skaa. There are some skaa Mistborn in the world during the Lord Ruler's fall (Kelsier and Vin), so there would be other skaa Mistborn/Misting earlier in the Empire for certain. Furthermore, if you are an Allomancer during the Final Empire's reign, you believe that there are eight basic metals and two high metals--not realizing that there are really sixteen metals.

Let us say that some random Allomancer, who could be any random person, even a hobo, discovered atium's alloy on accident. He would need to be an Allomancer to ensure that the metal was of Allomantic proportions. Now, he wouldn't even need to know it is atium's alloy. The metal is discovered by accident, not by careful formulation like Duralumin was discovered in MB2. Once this Allomancer Hobo finds a metal that is not one of the ten known metals, this is where the "prophecy" came into play.

If someone was truly convinced that there were only ten Allomantic metals and one suddenly discovered another one, I don't think it is a stretch to assume that some sort of mystical properties would be endowed upon the object. Combine that with the longing to end the Lord Ruler's reign, it's not unthinkable that this "special metal" which isn't really that special turns into the mystical metal which can kill the Lord Ruler.

The Allomancer Hobo would probably distrust people and wouldn't go tell every random passerby of the secret to defeat the Lord Ruler (especially if he is a skaa Allomancer). This would be a logical reason why few people have heard of it, because... few people know of it. As a corollary, that means that either Kelsier or Gemmel would have been highly trusted by the Allomancer Hobo for him to bestow the knowledge upon Kelsier or Gemmel.

The point is, this "prophecy" isn't really based upon strategy, but hope (tt's right up Kelsier's alley, really). Kelsier doesn't know how it will help defeat the Lord Ruler because the Allomancer Hobo doesn't know how it works. It's mysticism, pure and simple.

Plausibility: Well, it fits the events of MB1, so it's not unlikely.

Flaws: Let's face it, the kandra could have given Kelsier the eleventh metal hoping to defeat the Lord Ruler, throw the world into Ruin's grasp, and have the humans kill themselves. (Joke... if that was really how it happened, I am going to laugh for a week)

Related Topics: None

4-B The Final Two Metals (External Enhancement Metals)

Looking at the Table of Allomantic Metals Brandon posted on his website, we finally know what the last quartet of metals are: "Enhancement". These metals include Aluminum, Duralumin, and the final two metals. Obviously, the metals enhance Allomancy in some manner. Aluminum and Duralumin are internal metals, so that means that the final two metals are External. They... externally enhance Allomancy?

It is vastly assumed that one of those two metals is the metal which caused Elend to become Mistborn. Reading the ending of MB2 once again, I believe that is the most likely cause. I'm not exactly how sure that is more "external", but perhaps these final two metals influence how a person interacts with the mists. That would be external, and could create Allomancy.

Plausibility: It's very likely that there is a metal which Elend ate which gave him the powers of a Mistborn.

Flaws: Of course, how do you "burn" a metal which would give you the power to burn metals? Seems very circular to me.

Related Topics: Allomancy and the mists

PART FIVE - THE MAGIC TRIAD AND THE MISTS

5-A Allomancy and the Mists

Allomancers are called Mistings or Mistborn. If someone uses Allomancy, the mists react. There is a very clear link between Allomancy and the mists, and Brandon has even stated in an annotation that the mists are like the foundation of the magic systems. Obviously, there must be a reason why Allomancers are called Mistborn. It's like, the title of the book. Tends to be pretty important.

So, I strove to find what that link could possibly be. The mists pull closer to the user during Allomancy. Furthermore, metals by themselves don't seem very powerful. How is there "power" in a metal for an Allomancer to burn in the first place?

Warning: this theory is my largest leap of logic on all of these topics. What if, instead of the mists reacting to Allomancy, the mists actually caused Allomancy? The mists are mysterious; I wouldn't be surprised if it held some hidden power. Metals, by themselves, aren't going to do anything, but when you add the mists to the picture, the mists could grant the metals power.

The mists are the cause of Allomancy. You heard it here first.

In addition, at the MB1 Epilogue, Sazed says that the first Allomancers "came out with the mists", which definitely implies that the mists are a prerequisite for Allomancy. Though, the mists did exist in some form in the ancient age, but perhaps the Lord Ruler did some incalculable thing which enabled the use of Allomancy.

Plausibility: Plausible.

Flaws: Well, you can burn metals in the daytime, where there are no mists...

Related Topics: The Final Two Metals, Mist Burning

5-B Mist Burning

Vin has the power to burn mists. Why? There must be a logic behind it, but what is it? Well, if 5-A is even somewhat valid (that the mists hold power), then a theory can be hacked together. If the mists grant the power of Allomancy, then they must be pulled into your body to imbue the metals with energy, so to speak. In essence, that would make Allomancy more accurately called "Mist-Pulling", where the action of burning metals is just the process of pulling the mists toward you. Well, if the mists hold power, then Vin--by mist-pulling--could have just really willed the mists to be pulled toward her to such an extent that she could burn it like a regular metal.

Of course, a question arises with that theory: why can't Vin do it all the time? The answer lies within Hemalurgy and it's interaction with the mists along with Vin's earring. Hemalurgy, as you know, pushes the mists away. Furthermore, Vin's earring is a form of Hemalurgy (or an imbued metal, whatever you want to call it). Well, if Vin wants to pull upon the mists with all her strength, it would be natural physics that the Hemalurgical earring would oppose this action, slightly pushing back the mists just enough so the mists can't be pulled close enough to be burned themselves.

There is some evidence for the weakness in the earring. The Lord Ruler rips off the earring in the battle, and only then could Vin burn the mists. In addition, she wears the earring for the vast majority of both MB1 and MB2. The only time we see it off just happens to be the same moment where she burns the mists.

Plausibility: Plausible.

Flaws: Why can't other Allomancers use this ability if they don't have Hemalurgy opposing the action? Is it just a matter of strength?

Related Topics: Allomancy and the Mists, Hemalurgy and the Mists.

5-C Hemalurgy and the Mists

5-A has an explanation for the mist-pulling with Allomancy, and in Part Three, I did not talk about that relationship. Well, now I shall.

Essentially, the mists imbue the metals with power for Allomancy. Is it coincidence that I call metals which have had a sacrifice on them "imbued" metals (Actually, it is, but it works out incredibly nicely that way)? While the action for Allomancy requires power to imbue the metals, Hemalurgy does not require that. The power is already inside the imbued metals because of the blood sacrifice. Therefore, the most likely explanation I can see for mist-pushing is that this imbued energy from sacrifices and/or the Hemalurgist's own body is pushed outwards for a certain effect, which then pushes the mists away.

If this is valid, then it is likely that Hemalurgist's Allomancy is, in fact, actual Hemalurgy and not real Mistborn powers. Though to be fair, Vin shows us that one can use Allomancy and Hemalurgy simultaneously, with the mists both pushing away and pulling towards you.

Plausibility: Fairly likely.

Flaws: If blood sacrifices don't operate this way, this theory is moot.

Related Topics: Imbued Metals

PART SIX - THE TERRIS PROPHECIES

6-A The Well of Ascension

The Well of Ascension is woefully unexplained. So much power is in there and it is so colossally important, and yet, there are so many questions. Where did the Well come from? Why does it fill up every thousand years? Does it really fill up every thousand years, or is that just a myth that Ruin manipulated? What is the Well filled with, and where does the Power come from? How does it get filled by "well-liquid", is it just spontaneous? I'm certain all of these questions are tied to the nature of Ruin and Preservation, and if these questions are answered, a lot of things get answered with it.

One question I've always had is when Ruin manifests his will. The Lord Ruler was doing something to stop Ruin in the span of the Final Empire, but in Alendi/Kwaan/Rashek's time, there was no such assurance. Even Ruin trapped inside the Well had some measure of power. What set off Ruin in the ancient age? The only answer I can think of is that the "millennial power" was filled at the Well, which then prompted Ruin to do his thing. It could also be that Ruin did not have any power when the Well was empty, only gaining his power back when the Well filled.

Plausibility: Extremely plausible.

Flaws: We don't know enough about the Well of Ascension. "It filling" seems almost like an abitrary event.

Related Topics: Origins of the Prophecies

6-B Ages

The "Hero of Ages". Ages. That implies multiple Ages. We already have a good marker for when these "Ages" occur: every time someone holds the Power at the Well. So, for certain, we know of three Ages: Alendi/Kwaan/Rashek's age ended by Rashek's Ascension, The Final Empire's reign ended by Vin's Ascension, and the current Age in MB3.

Plausibility: Extremely plausible.

Flaws: Rashek changed the world with his Ascension, but there is no evidence which suggests previous Ascensions, especially not Ascensions with as many side effects.

Related Topics: Origins of the Prophecies

6-C Origins of the Prophecies (The One Guy)

The Prophecies are the most enigmatic things in the Mistborn Trilogy. No one knows exactly what they entail, and they were manipulated by Ruin in the first place, so if we did find out what the Prophecies meant, they are useless. Ruin twisted the original words.

In order for Ruin to twist words to begin with, there had to be Prophecies to begin with. Ruin did not create the Prophecies itself. If it had, then it would have created the Prophecies in such a way that the metalminds would already say to give up the power (thus freeing Ruin). It's illogical to assume Ruin created the Prophecies. Plus, while Ruin shows its ingenuity, it is not a creative force, but a destructive one. It is not in its nature to create anything.

Which leaves us with a quandry: how were the Terris Prophecies created to begin with? I reject the idea that they were just created from thin air--that's not good enough. Someone or something created them. Preservation, I think, is also not a creative force. It merely preserves what already exists (in the Lord Ruler's case, to extreme stagnation). Therefore, I think it is also unlikely that Preservation created the Prophecies.

With our two mythological forces of ultimate power out of the picture, that leaves us with... people. However, there is one person--One Guy--who is almost to the scale of a mythological figure. This One Guy had Ascended pre-Alendi, and during that Ascension, the One Guy sealed Ruin inside of the Well's power (or something like that). I think it is somewhat unlikely that Ruin had been inside the Well since the beginning of time, so I'm assuming here that the One Guy sealed Ruin in there by some weird means.

I noticed that in the epigraphs of MB3, Rashek seems wary. He seems to have known the horror that he had wrought, and quickly created the Ashmounts to preserve the world from his utter lack of experience. I'd imagine that no person would be ready to hold the Power, not even this One Guy. If as the Well filled up, Ruin began to exert his destructive will upon the world via the Deepness, the One Guy would want to stop it. Let's assume that there are no Terris Prophecies to manipulate at this point for the sake of the argument.

The One Guy--like every Hero of Ages--wanted to save the world by defeating Ruin. Perhaps the One Guy Ascended similarly to Rashek only to realize that he had made the wrong option by sealing Ruin in the Well. In horror, knowing he did not finish the fight, the One Guy created these Terris Prophecies so that when the Well filled next time, the next Hero would make the correct option to defeat Ruin. If Ruin brought out the Deepness during the One Guy's time, then of course, the prophecies he wrote would include the Deepness, which it does. It would also reference the Well of Ascension and the Hero of Ages (of course) and over time, this could turn into the Terris religion.

Plausibility: More plausible than any other theory on the Prophecies--especially the creation of them.

Flaws: This assumes a lot. Ruin would have needed to set off the Deepness, the Well of Ascension would have needed to exist prior to Alendi's time, and most importantly, the One Guy must not know Ruin could manipulate metalminds. But then again, we don't know how Feruchemy was created, and the Lord Ruler most likely did not expect his Inquisitors to be manipulated by Ruin either. It's just a set of good intentions gone bad. Oh, and this also assumes the epigraphs in MB3 are written by Rashek.

Related Topics: The Lord Ruler's Goal

6-D The Lord Ruler's Goal

Having escaped death at the climax of The Well of Ascension only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world.

Elend is searching for clues left behind by the Lord Ruler. Perhaps the Lord Ruler isn't the purely tyrannical overlord of the Final Empire and actually has some redeeming qualities (like the MB3 epigraphs, which show his regret). Maybe a lot of the Lord Ruler's actions are merely to right the wrong which he did earlier. Maybe like the One Guy before him, he realized the correct way to defeat Ruin and left clues behind for that goal. Also, he did build Kredik Shaw on top of the Well so that when it filled again, he could Ascend and finish the job.

Plausibility: Plausible.

Flaws: It assumes that the epigraphs in MB3 are written by Rashek. Furthermore, why would the Lord Ruler leave storehouses/clues behind when he fully intended to live forever?

Related Topics: The Hero of Ages

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This gives me hope for our theorizing. It's amazing how close TWG (and you) got to the truth. Although I have to chuckle a bit about the Allomantic Hobo. If for nothing else than the name.

Also, when is the RPG coming out for Mistborn? I hate hearing "soon". I want a date!

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This gives me hope for our theorizing. It's amazing how close TWG (and you) got to the truth. Although I have to chuckle a bit about the Allomantic Hobo. If for nothing else than the name.

Also, when is the RPG coming out for Mistborn? I hate hearing "soon". I want a date!

You know, rereading it all, even with the dumbest things I did (like Hemalurgy), it at least asked good questions. I do still have a fondness for Allomancer Hobo, too.

The Mistborn RPG... oh man, I'd love to know.

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wow chaos no offense, but you must have no life to write all that. Either way it was really good. Its amazing how close most of this stuff is.

It did take a full day of writing... (Just imagine how large the Cosmere guide will be when I start that)

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Oh, I've already got one. You want to borrow it?

Here it is.

hehe.

In reality, that's what I do. I say little ideas that pop into my head, then usually find a quote to back me up, then find a quote that destroys my theory. Thus why I am the Quoter Extraordinaire.

Well yes, but I mean a compact, user guide to the cosmere. I can't even imagine getting into all this Shard stuff after all this time. Something that can give a satisfactory explanation to "what is a Shard" in a sentence.

But if I need quotes, I'm calling you :P

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Reminds me of the theories being thrown around just before Harry Potter 7 came out. Though most of that was based on literary things like allegory and symbolism, which turned out to be total crap once the book came out, but actually had some pretty cool ideas. This is like that, but with actual FACTS rather than literary bullcrap. XP

I know I've already told you, Chaos, but the line about there's no way Preservation would be some kind of loser mist spirit is HILARIOUS in hindsight.

I laughed so hard at that, and mocked him over IM about it, along with other snippets. I also debunked one theory he'd been holding onto, using the power of Annotations!

Mistborn RPG, I'd love to get my hands on that. I bet the mechanics of pushing and pulling are really difficult to turn into dice rolls, though.

I love how you basically assume that Preservation had absolutely nothing to do with the stuff he was actually the main cause of.

It'll be awesome when we can look back on stuff like this for Stormlight Archive books. It'll probably be me putting up the long list of bunk theories for people to snicker at. Can't wait. XD

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We could already have another one for AoL:

Chaos: There is precisely zero evidence that holding two Shards changes the intent of those Shards. They are merely two powers, connected through Sazed's mind. Since the name of a Shard is the Shard's intent, you can't say Sazed holds "Balance" or anything else. That's silly. It's false, and makes no sense. It's obvious that magic is caused in accordance with a Shard's intent. Changing the Shard's name would inherently change the magics they form. Obviously, the magics are not inherently changed, this implies that hey, Sazed just holds two Shards.

Don't even think about changing their intents. You will make me cry from the sheer madness of doing such a thing.

Puck (from Vericon): A nickname for Sazed is "Harmony" (I think)

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We could already have another one for AoL:

Chaos: There is precisely zero evidence that holding two Shards changes the intent of those Shards. They are merely two powers, connected through Sazed's mind. Since the name of a Shard is the Shard's intent, you can't say Sazed holds "Balance" or anything else. That's silly. It's false, and makes no sense. It's obvious that magic is caused in accordance with a Shard's intent. Changing the Shard's name would inherently change the magics they form. Obviously, the magics are not inherently changed, this implies that hey, Sazed just holds two Shards.

Don't even think about changing their intents. You will make me cry from the sheer madness of doing such a thing.

Puck (from Vericon): A nickname for Sazed is "Harmony" (I think)

I stand by my statement. There is no evidence for it actually changing the Shards' Intents, and there still isn't. Harmony is a great nickname for Sazed, but that does not mean the Shards' Intents changed. They are still independently Ruin and Preservation. I intend to be very bullheaded about this.

My personal theory about that (as well as Kerry's) is that the Shards are to Adonalsium as Mistings are to Mistborn. Separate aspects to a greater power. In order for the Intents to go away, you have to have all the Shards together.

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I'm with Chaos on the Preservation/Ruin thing. Sorta. I think the shards probably work better together, since they were originally two parts of the same whole. In a weird sort of metaphor, it's like rock paper scissors. If Preservation beats Ruin and Ruin beats Preservation, you wouldn't want to play the game because it's pointless. But if you've got both then they just become tools. You can use Preservation when you need to and Ruin when you need to. Like the old saying, "Too much of anything is a bad thing. Everything's better in moderation."

Did that make any sense at all?

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I'm with Chaos on the Preservation/Ruin thing. Sorta. I think the shards probably work better together, since they were originally two parts of the same whole. In a weird sort of metaphor, it's like rock paper scissors. If Preservation beats Ruin and Ruin beats Preservation, you wouldn't want to play the game because it's pointless. But if you've got both then they just become tools. You can use Preservation when you need to and Ruin when you need to. Like the old saying, "Too much of anything is a bad thing. Everything's better in moderation."

Did that make any sense at all?

I like that, except it is a game with 16 possible options to pick from. Where some options beat the others by more than another option would beat the ones from before. Some are equal, but not Sazed holds two options and it makes them even more powerful because he can play them both at the same time if he feels he needs to. Or something like that. Maybe.

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I like that, except it is a game with 16 possible options to pick from. Where some options beat the others by more than another option would beat the ones from before. Some are equal, but not Sazed holds two options and it makes them even more powerful because he can play them both at the same time if he feels he needs to. Or something like that. Maybe.

Yeah. Sorta. We apparently need a better metaphor for the Shards...

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