Let’s try to track Era 1 lerasium

[Mistchemist16]

We know two lerasium beads have been used in Era 1 itself. One went to Elend and the other to Hoid. In addition, the epigraph for HoA made reference to the original nine Allomancers having lerasium level power. 

Rashek makes things more complicated because we don’t know if he counts as one of the nine. If he does, then that’s one less lerasium bead, since he used the Well to become Mistborn

I personally suspect Rashek did take a bead for himself. He may have used it to become stronger than a lerasium Mistborn, hence his absurd power level. But the more likely reason he would take one was to use as a metalmind. We don’t know exactly what F-lerasium does but it is a God Metal, so I imagine it’s not useless.

That means we can account for a minimum of ten beads and a maximum of twelve. This could’ve been all the beads Leras created because he knew that was needed. But we do still have reason to believe there were 16.

SageOfTheWise

Is there a reason why Rashek left a nugget of Lerasium at the Well of Ascension?

Brandon Sanderson

He left several. It was, in his opinion, one of the best kept secrets and best protected locations in his empire.

Phantine

Were there originally 16 of them?

Brandon Sanderson

An excellent guess.

/r/books AMA 2015 (Aug. 11, 2015)

Let’s assume there were 16 beads, created by Leras and some found by Rashek. There must be 4-6 beads unaccounted for. Here are the possibilites I can see

1. They were burned up by past Allomancers. Perhaps Rashek had experimented on them or tried Compounding. Perhaps he gave himself an extra power boost, though this is unlikely since the Well could give him basically anything

2. Rashek used them as metalminds. Very unlikely. If there was an unknown metal on his body, someone should’ve noticed. 

3. They were used as Hemalurgic spikes, most likely on a Kandra. However, we haven’t heard of any special kandra in the First Generation. If such a Blessing did exist, it should’ve been fairly obvious

4. More worldhoppers took the beads. Secret History suggests most worldhoppers used Ruin’s perpendicularity, so only a select few could’ve taken the beads. If they had Fortune too, then they may not have taken every bead for the same reason that Hoid only took one

5. Rashek hid the beads somewhere else. The most interesting possibility is that he had four beads and put one each in the storage chambers. The problem is that someone should’ve noticed it during or immediately after the Catacendre, especially Harmony. It is also more likely that if such beads did exist, they were alloyed. That way, they would only create a Misting, which doesn’t contradict Era 2 having basically no Mistborn except Spook. 

6. Rashek didn’t find all of the beads. Leras was the one who originally placed the beads. So if he put them in seperate places for any reason, Rashek may not have been able to find them all, especially if they were hidden in an area with regular metal

Questioner

Did the Lord Ruler create the lerasium that he gave to the ten foreign kings? Or where they put there by Leras--

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, good question… No one's asked me that before, I don't believe. Did the Lord Ruler create the lerasium that he gave-- No, he found the lerasium. It was existent before his Ascension.

Questioner

Can I ask if it was placed there intentionally by Leras or did it sort of grow similar to how atium--

Brandon Sanderson

The Lord Ruler-- It was not placed for him, he had to-- he had to get it.

JordanCon 2016 (April 23, 2016)

If there were 16 beads at all, then some combo of those six should be true. It is also possible that some or all of them are alloyed with other metals. But those six possibilities are the most plausible explanations for how there could be more lerasium that we haven’t seen yet. Let me know if there are any other possibilities I missed. Thanks for reading!

[alder24]

4 minutes ago, Mistchemist16 said:

Rashek makes things more complicated because we don’t know if he counts as one of the nine. If he does, then that’s one less lerasium bead, since he used the Well to become Mistborn

He didn't, he got his Allomancy from the power of the Well, and he didn't use the bead.

Spoiler

Chris King

Did the Lord Ruler use lerasium to gain his super Allomantic abilities or did he grant that to himself with the Well's power? If he used the bead, does he count as one of the nine original Allomancers that Sazed mentions?

Brandon Sanderson

Excellent question. He did not use the bead. He-- In all of this he granted himself basically, he rebuilt himself to be extremely powerful and he did not use one of the beads.

Chris King interview (Sept. 24, 2013)

 

Spoiler

Leinton (paraphrased)

Did Rashek use the Well or a bead of lerasium to become a Mistborn?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

He didn't know at first, I told him there were interviews with him saying both, and he eventually answered with "I'm canonizing it as he used the Well".

Firefight San Diego signing (Jan. 20, 2015)

 

If Rashek didn't use the bead, then there are 11 beads used, and 5 missing. Rashek found beads, so they must've existed before Rashek Ascension. It's simply possible that those 5 missing ones were used by other people, or other Ascendants before Rashek. There is a way to create Feruchemist with god metals, and Feruchemy was a known and common among Terrisan art before Rashek Ascension, Alloamcy was not, it was very rare and weak, so no one could have used the bead to become Mistborn, as they would pass strong Allomantic genes to next generations. So that's what I think happened. Those 5 Lerasium beads were used long before Rashek Ascended, and created the first Feruchemists.

Spoiler

Yoitsthew

Would a Lerasium/Atium alloy create a Feruchemist, rather than an atium misting?? What with the way that it’s an alloy of god metals, and the way that lerasium can be used to acquire other magics? As far as I know there is no lerasium left currently, so this one is also just for my curiosity!!

Brandon Sanderson

You can use the god metals from Scadrial to make a Feruchemist, but I have to RAFO the actual means.

General Reddit 2020 (Sept. 30, 2020)

There is also a way to create a metalmind that can store everything, so maybe Rashek metalminds were those types of metalminds, most likely this includes god metals.

Spoiler

Argent

Lerasium grants all Allomantic powers when burned. Atium, when used as a spike, can steal any power. Is there a way to create a metalmind that can store anything?

Brandon Sanderson

There is a way to create a metalmind that can store anything.

Argent

Harmonium?

Brandon Sanderson

I’m not saying; I gave you an answer…

Shadows of Self Chicago signing (Oct. 12, 2015)

 

[Mistchemist16]

37 minutes ago, alder24 said:

He didn't, he got his Allomancy from the power of the Well, and he didn't use the bead.

  Reveal hidden contents

Chris King

Did the Lord Ruler use lerasium to gain his super Allomantic abilities or did he grant that to himself with the Well's power? If he used the bead, does he count as one of the nine original Allomancers that Sazed mentions?

Brandon Sanderson

Excellent question. He did not use the bead. He-- In all of this he granted himself basically, he rebuilt himself to be extremely powerful and he did not use one of the beads.

Chris King interview (Sept. 24, 2013)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Leinton (paraphrased)

Did Rashek use the Well or a bead of lerasium to become a Mistborn?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

He didn't know at first, I told him there were interviews with him saying both, and he eventually answered with "I'm canonizing it as he used the Well".

Firefight San Diego signing (Jan. 20, 2015)

 

I said that Rashek used the Well to get Allomancy. If he counted as one of the nine, that means there were eight original Allomancers who got lerasium: ten beads total. If he didn’t count, there were nine kings and 11 beads. It’s technically possible that he used a lerasium bead to power up, but the Well could’ve done that too. Thus, if he did take an 11th bead, it probably would’ve been a metalmind. But we have no evidence of a foreign metal on his body, so that might just be ten known beads

37 minutes ago, alder24 said:

If Rashek didn't use the bead, then there are 11 beads used, and 5 missing. Rashek found beads, so they must've existed before Rashek Ascension. It's simply possible that those 5 missing ones were used by other people, or other Ascendants before Rashek. There is a way to create Feruchemist with god metals, and Feruchemy was a known and common among Terrisan art before Rashek Ascension, Alloamcy was not, it was very rare and weak, so no one could have used the bead to become Mistborn, as they would pass strong Allomantic genes to next generations. So that's what I think happened. Those 5 Lerasium beads were used long before Rashek Ascended, and created the first Feruchemists

That’s actually a really good point. The question is “How many people Ascended before Rashek did?” One of those could’ve used the Well of Ascension knowledge to mix God Metals and make Feruchemists. But I don’t think you could figure out lerasium without that Shard knowledge, especially if you have to alloy God Metals. Even if you did think to eat it, you’d get Allomancy, which we know isn’t possible

Edited March 22, 2023 by Mistchemist16

[alder24]

13 minutes ago, Mistchemist16 said:

I said that Rashek used the Well to get Allomancy. If he counted as one of the nine, that means there were eight original Allomancers who got lerasium: ten beads total. If he didn’t, it’s 11. It’s technically possible that he used a lerasium bead to power up, but the Well could’ve done that too. Thus, if he did take an 11th bead, it probably would’ve been a metalmind. But we have no evidence of a foreign metal on his body, so that might just be ten known beads

I know, I just wanted to point out that he isn't one of the nine, likely. The way it was written suggests it more than the other option. HoA ch 22

Quote

The beads of metal found at the Well—beads that made men into Mistborn—were the reason why Allomancers used to be more powerful. Those first Mistborn were as Elend Venture became—possessing a primal power, which was then passed down through the lines of the nobility, weakening a bit with each generation. The Lord Ruler was one of these ancient Allomancers, his power pure and unadulterated by time and breeding. That is part of why he was so mighty compared to other Mistborn—though, admittedly, his ability to mix Feruchemy and Allomancy was what produced many of his most spectacular abilities. Still, it is interesting to me that one of his "divine" powers—his essential Allomantic strength—was something every one of the original nine Allomancers possessed.

 

2 minutes ago, Mistchemist16 said:

That’s actually a really good point. The question is “How many people Ascended before Rashek did?” One of those could’ve used the Well of Ascension knowledge to mix God Metals and make Feruchemists. But I don’t think you could figure out lerasium without that Shard knowledge, especially if you have to alloy God Metals. Even if you did think to eat it, you’d get Allomancy, which we know isn’t possible

The Shattering of Adonalsium was around 10000 years before Era 1. So Rashek was at most the 9th Ascendant, but likely there were fewer of them. It all started with Ruin demanding his right to destroy Scadrial and being trapped by Preservation, and this could have taken a few thousand years. So we don't know. 1-8 Ascendants before Rashek. And Rashek gain the knowledge of what Lerasium does when he Ascended, so every Ascendant would gain that knowledge and could figure out what to do with Lerasium and Atium that was left there, to give powers of Feruchemy to people.

HoA ch 9:

Quote

Allomancy was, indeed, born with the mists. Or, at least, Allomancy began at the same time as the mists' first appearances. When Rashek took the power at the Well of Ascension, he became aware of certain things. Some were whispered to him by Ruin; others were granted to him as an instinctive part of the power.

One of these was an understanding of the Three Metallic Arts. He knew, for instance, that the nuggets of metal in the Chamber of Ascension would make those who ingested them into Mistborn. These were, after all, fractions of the very power in the Well itself.

 

[cometaryorbit]

I don't think TLR had lerasium metalminds, because Vin and Elend got the atium from his bracers after his death - presumably they'd have checked the other metalminds left on his body. But experimenting with lerasium alloys in Allomancy could have used some up.

There could be a kandra somewhere with a Lerasium Blessing. ReLuur's pewter Blessing suggests TLR might have experimented with the kandra.

Its being taken offworld by worldhoppers also makes sense.

Edited March 26, 2023 by cometaryorbit