Why does Ruin have spines/spiders under his skin?

[FoxOfScadrial]

Kelsier describes Ruin as having spines/spiders under his skin, but I don't understand why. Ruin isn't coming apart like Preservation is, and we don't know any other Shards who are described like this. Is it just to make Ruin creepier without any explanations? 

[Quantus he/him]

I think it's just supposed to be thematic of Ruin's connection to Hemalurgy and general spikiness, in the same way that [SA]

Spoiler

vines are shown with Cultivation even though that doesnt necessarily mean plants.  

 

Edited October 30, 2024 by Quantus

[Treamayne]

1 hour ago, FoxOfScadrial said:

Kelsier describes Ruin as having spines/spiders under his skin, but I don't understand why. Ruin isn't coming apart like Preservation is, and we don't know any other Shards who are described like this. Is it just to make Ruin creepier without any explanations? 

Kelsier is seeing Ruin's Cognitive Manifestation at a time when Ruin is heavily warping Hemalurgy. It is beleive (but not confirmed AFAIK) that the imagery was meant to reinforce the marionette way he was controlling som many Hemalurgic Constructs, and also how Ruin's Intent was so closely tied to Hemalurgic Spikes. 

While shards do not necessarily create a Manifestation of Invetiture directly, there is a correlation btween the Shards, the World and the People that, when brought together, the Realmaics of teh cosmere result in the Manifestation of Investiture that we see. This imager was Kelier's big clue that Ruin was tied to Spikes (nd he missed it until it Urteau). 

WoB (Stormlight and other Realmatic spoilers - minor):

Spoiler

asmodeus

You've said before that a lot of the magics we see across the cosmere come from an interaction of Shards and their Investiture with the planets they Invest in. What does this mean practically? If Scadrial explodes tomorrow, will Hemalurgy stop working across the cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson

Hemalurgy wouldn't stop working, most likely, but it could. There are ways that you could make it stop working. I kind of mean that the Shards are an innate part of physics in the cosmere, and the magics that arise are an innate part of physics because of that. Like atium seeped out into the Pits of Hathsin, in the same way, these magics are just gonna leak out, and different places are going to affect them. You'll see Lightweaving happening in different places, and the way the Shard is interacting with the local... The way the Shard is is going to affect how Lightweaving is administrated in the various magics, but it's still gonna be there. Hemalurgy is kind of a similar thing to that. You will see Midnight Essence, you will see some of these recurring ideas popping up, and these are like natural parts of the physics, but they're influenced by the Shards on the local planets.

I don't know if that answer, that's gonna be a really fun one for them to transcribe into the Q&A thing, because I go around in circles on that question a ton. Put this part in when you do it.

Footnote: It was a really fun one.
YouTube Spoiler Stream 4 (June 16, 2022)

Hope that helps

Edited October 30, 2024 by Treamayne
SPAG

[alder24]

3 hours ago, FoxOfScadrial said:

Kelsier describes Ruin as having spines/spiders under his skin, but I don't understand why. Ruin isn't coming apart like Preservation is, and we don't know any other Shards who are described like this. Is it just to make Ruin creepier without any explanations? 

I think Kelsier partially saw Ruin's Connections to everything. This is evident when he looked directly into the Spiritual Realm and saw Ruin reaching into everything and everyone on Scadrial. Ruin at this time was pressing hard on the fabric of this world, which might have allowed Kelsier to view Ruin like this, with all of his Connections. SH ch 3-3:

Quote

“Send me back. I need to see that again.”
“Your mind is too fragile. It will break.”
“I broke that damn thing years ago, Fuzz. Do it. Please.”
Preservation hesitantly gripped him, and this time his eyes took longer to start glowing. They flashed, his form trembling, and for a moment Kelsier thought the god would dissipate entirely.
Then the glow spurted to life, and in an instant Kelsier was consumed. This time he forced himself to look away from Preservation— though it was less a matter of looking, and more a matter of trying to sort through the horrible overload of information and sensation that assaulted him.
Unfortunately, in turning his attention away from Preservation he risked giving it to something else—something equally demanding. There was a second god here, black and terrible, the thing with the spines and spidery legs, sprouting from dark mists and reaching into everything throughout the land.
Including Kelsier.
In fact, his ties to Preservation were trivial by comparison to these hundreds of black fingers which attached him to that thing Beyond. He sensed a powerful satisfaction from it, along with an idea. Not words, just an undeniable fact.
You are mine, Survivor.

 

SA spoilers:

Spoiler

The only other similar situation happened with Odium. We've seen Rayse's manifestations unravel and burst with heat when he was in a conflict with the power he held, losing control over it, or when he expressed strong emotions. This might mean that Ati was still trying to fight against Ruin's urge to destroy, or that Ati was not in control of Ruin's power at all, or that Ruin really, and I mean really wanted to destroy Scadrial. RoW I-2:

Quote

You question? Do not question.
“I will not question.” However, she felt a surging to the power that moved within him. The mind did not like being questioned, but the power … It liked questions. It liked arguments. It was passion.
There was a weakness here. In the division between the Vessel and the Shard.

RoW ch 112:

Quote

“You didn’t write this,” Odium said, his eyes narrowing. “Nor did that Elsecaller.” The light grew more vibrant beneath Odium’s skin, and Dalinar could feel its heat—like that of a sun—rising. Making his skin burn.
Anger. Deep anger, white hot. It was consuming Odium. His control was slipping.
[...]
“I cannot break my word,” Odium said, the heat increasing. “I basically am incapable of it.”
[...]
The light pulsed inside Odium and he turned his eyes back toward the horizon. “I … cannot agree to this.”
[...]
“Curious,” Dalinar said. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your ‘hardening’ tactic has resulted in Fused who are going mad from the stress.”
The light grew stronger inside Odium, seeming as if it might explode from his skin.
[...]
So he turned to go. “Send me back, Odium,” Dalinar said. “There will be no agreement today.”
A flare of heat washed over him from behind. Dalinar spun, finding Odium glowing with a bright red-gold light, his eyes wide, his teeth clenched.

 

[AleStaar he/him]

1. I noticed something similar when I was highlighting my Kindle copies of Mistborn books. I noticed that the form he used throughout most of Secret History was Ati's form with red hair. But Ati's form declined as SH and Hero of Ages progressed.

2. When Kelsier Ascended, his persona briefly broke and Ruin’s cloudy form showed up. Then when Kelsier failed to use the power at first, the persona came back. But as Kelsier foiled his plans for Spook, gave Preservation to Vin, and Elend’s army burned all the atium, only the cloudy form was presented.

3. I believe all this, and the spines/spiders under Ruin's skin, are representations of what happened to Ati across millennia. Especially as the final phase of Leras’ plan finally came to fruition during The Hero of Ages. 

4. He was a betrayed, chained, and broken god for several thousand years. Constantly outsmarted by a plan he could not understand. Ati was already suffering and losing control millennia prior to his release. But even after he was released, in the moments he could’ve almost been freed of Preservation’s interference - Splinter the Shard or recover the atium - he was foiled. It seems Vin Ascending to Preservation - something he spent effort to foil - was the last straw for all of Ati’s direction leaving the combination of Ati and Ruin.

Edited November 5, 2024 by Ale the Metallic Conjurer