Yomen

[Philomath]

So I just finished another re-read of Hero of Ages. And again I am blown away by how much I love the conclusion of Era 1. But this time I also really came to appreciate Yomen as a character. I think he is underrated. I really like how he remained faithful to his beliefs, but was still willing to accept new information. His beliefs colored how he saw the world, but he ultimately let people and their actions speak for themselves. He was able to change his opinions of Elend after truly getting to know him better and earned Elend’s respect in return. I just think he was a really neat character. 

[+Invocation]

I enjoyed Yomen's character as well, and was happy to see the nod to his beliefs in Era 2.

[+robardin]

On 5/15/2019 at 1:15 PM, Invocation said:

I enjoyed Yomen's character as well, and was happy to see the nod to his beliefs in Era 2.

I'd be curious to see Sliverism of Era 2 fleshed out a bit more. It is evidently the continued veneration of The Lord Ruler (who styled himself as the "Sliver of Infinity"), as propagated by Yomen's descendants, where Yomen himself is called "The Last Obligator" by VenDell, and where the religion also continues to venerate Marsh as the Last Inquisitor.

Given how Harmony literally remade the world and dropped two volumes of Holy Writ at the same time that document his human origin as a Terrisman steward of the Final Empire, clinging to a veneration of The Lord Ruler must be quite the feat of doctrinal reconciliation. Basically, "The Lord Ruler PLANNED for all of that to happen! -- And look, Harmony himself says that Rashek planned very well for that day (to fight Ruin), that he had Ascended, had ultimately had good intentions, and was responsible for saving mankind, since without the storage caverns, Harmony would have Ascended to become God of a planet with nobody living on it!" (Them not having learned about the Southern Hemisphere yet, after all.)

[Karger]

27 minutes ago, robardin said:

The Lord Ruler PLANNED for all of that to happen! -- And look, Harmony himself says that Rashek planned very well for that day (to fight Ruin), that he had Ascended, had ultimately had good intentions, and was responsible for saving mankind, since without the storage caverns, Harmony would have Ascended to become God of a planet with nobody living on it!" (Them not having learned about the Southern Hemisphere yet, after all.)

It actually kind of make sense if you accept TLR implicitly as a deific being.

[Calyx]

I like Yomen as well. He was clearly intelligent and one of the most thoughtful characters, perhaps even up there with Sazed. I love it when he seems to realize what is actually going on. However, many of the chapters in that section were difficult to read; I didn't like Vin feeling (and being) so helpless.

I am curious how well he got on with the other important people - i.e. Spook, Breeze, etc. - after Sazed remade the world. Clearly his descendants are still members of the elite, but unless I'm mistaken the only people who would have known and respected him were Elend and Vin, who both died. Can't imagine integrating into the rebuilt society was comfortable for him.

[+Invocation]

51 minutes ago, Calyx said:

I am curious how well he got on with the other important people - i.e. Spook, Breeze, etc. - after Sazed remade the world. Clearly his descendants are still members of the elite, but unless I'm mistaken the only people who would have known and respected him were Elend and Vin, who both died. Can't imagine integrating into the rebuilt society was comfortable for him.

I think he'd have had an easier time with it than some people suspect. After all, the Words of Founding are very clear that Rashek did hold some portion of Preservation and attempted to help with it, while also being very clear that Sazed now holds that power in entirety. Seems like between that and Marsh's continued existence, he'd be able to integrate nicely.

[Calyx]

On 5/23/2019 at 10:48 AM, Invocation said:

I think he'd have had an easier time with it than some people suspect. After all, the Words of Founding are very clear that Rashek did hold some portion of Preservation and attempted to help with it, while also being very clear that Sazed now holds that power in entirety. Seems like between that and Marsh's continued existence, he'd be able to integrate nicely.

Obviously Yomen is intelligent and diplomatically skilled, but his position would have made him such a natural enemy of many of the other prominent survivors. Breeze and Ham seem to have spent most of their lives involved with schemes targeting nobility. Spook was also steeped in that culture. Though I guess its true that the least understanding of the group - ie Kelsier, Dox - weren't around either.

As you say, I'm sure he was able to integrate well eventually, but I think it would be interesting to see exactly how the world gets rebuilt.

[Calderis]

Shy would Yomen be automatically hated because he was an obligator? Vin and Elend had an obligator working directly for them. 

When you have a few hundred people total to build a civilization and everyone is contributing, the past needs to be left in the past. 

[Karger]

3 minutes ago, Calderis said:

When you have a few hundred people total to build a civilization and everyone is contributing, the past needs to be left in the past. 

They had quite a few more then a few hundred people but I think that Yoman's organizational skills and the respect that he held over such a large segment of the population would make him to important to alienate on purpose.