The reason Wax's experiment was different.

[Frustration]

So ever since TLM came out we've had the question: Why did Wax's trellium+harmonium explosion create lerasium when none of the others did?

And I think I found the answer.

The trellium Wax used was part of a hemalurgic spike.

 

The Set had access to new trellium, so they wouldn't waste their spikes by using them for bombs, and the stockpile they had is were everyone else has been drawing from.

Now as for why this would be the case, I have no idea. The extra ruin provided a new reaction pathway that allowed some lerasium to survive is my only guess, but I can't see anything else that Wax could have done differently.

So anyway, what do you think? Did I get it, or is there a different reason that Wax's experiment produced Lerasium?

[Werewolff Studios he/him]

6 minutes ago, Frustration said:

So ever since TLM came out we've had the question: Why did Wax's trellium+harmonium explosion create lerasium when none of the others did?

And I think I found the answer.

The trellium Wax used was part of a hemalurgic spike.

 

The Set had access to new trellium, so they wouldn't waste their spikes by using them for bombs, and the stockpile they had is were everyone else has been drawing from.

Now as for why this would be the case, I have no idea. The extra ruin provided a new reaction pathway that allowed some lerasium to survive is my only guess, but I can't see anything else that Wax could have done differently.

So anyway, what do you think? Did I get it, or is there a different reason that Wax's experiment produced Lerasium?

I'll have to re-read the scene again, but that's a valid theory - that the extra Ruin Intent (to break apart the bonds of creation) combined with the strong Autonomy Intent (to be separate and unbound) would have helped the situation. I also think that Wax's and Steris's Intent was part of it. They wanted to create Lerasium and Atium - the Set wanted to make bombs. 

[Ashbringer he/him]

I still like the earlier idea, where Wax wanted to Preserve instead of just Ruin, and thus lerasium manifested.

A Hemalurgic Spike could be responsible too. But there’s a lot of those available now. Kinda depends if Sazed is lying about the lerasium or not.

[Werewolff Studios he/him]

2 minutes ago, Ashbringer said:

I still like the earlier idea, where Wax wanted to Preserve instead of just Ruin, and thus lerasium manifested.

A Hemalurgic Spike could be responsible too. But there’s a lot of those available now. Kinda depends if Sazed is lying about the lerasium or not.

That's a valid point as well. However, didn't the experiment produce both Lerasium and Atium dust? 

[Ashbringer he/him]

1 hour ago, Werewolff Studios said:

That's a valid point as well. However, didn't the experiment produce both Lerasium and Atium dust? 

Yeah, but we’re not entirely sure if the Set produced atium at all. Harmonium might be more Ruin than Preservation, where the base reaction creates energy perfectly then puts the extra Investiture as atium, while Wax’s Intent (to Preserve, and also just to see what happens scientifically) let lerasium form.

But if that’s the case, Sazed is lying to Kelsier about being able to get lerasium.

[Stormtide_Leviathan]

8 hours ago, Werewolff Studios said:

the Set wanted to make bombs. 

Maybe eventually, after they ruled out the possibility of creating lerasium, but they were highly interested in making a new mistborn and I doubt they'd even discover the explosive reaction if they weren't trying to make it

[Werewolff Studios he/him]

14 hours ago, Stormtide_Leviathan said:

Maybe eventually, after they ruled out the possibility of creating lerasium, but they were highly interested in making a new mistborn and I doubt they'd even discover the explosive reaction if they weren't trying to make it

Yeah, that's a very fair point. Well said. 

Maybe the reason they weren't successful too leads off of what @Ashbringer said, that Wax wanted had the Intent to Preserve more than Ruin, whereas the Set only wanted Mistborn to Ruin.

[Ashbringer he/him]

15 hours ago, Stormtide_Leviathan said:

Maybe eventually, after they ruled out the possibility of creating lerasium, but they were highly interested in making a new mistborn and I doubt they'd even discover the explosive reaction if they weren't trying to make it

31 minutes ago, Werewolff Studios said:

Yeah, that's a very fair point. Well said. 

Maybe the reason they weren't successful too leads off of what @Ashbringer said, that Wax wanted had the Intent to Preserve more than Ruin, whereas the Set only wanted Mistborn to Ruin.

It's possible trellium was given to the Set directly by Trell/Autonomy to be used as an explosive, and they didn't research more into it. Unlikely, considering they're still experimenting with Hemalurgy and some form of gathering Allomancers, but possible. I think Intent is more likely though, yeah.

Depends if the Set were getting atium out of it. Which I don't think they were, otherwise they would have used it and we'd know a good bit more about "pure" atium vs electrum-atium