aeromancer he/him Posted August 12, 2013 Report Share Posted August 12, 2013 (edited) Disclaimer: The following is a theory on the Allomantic effects of Lerasium. The author realizes that this may / may not be a highly controversial topic, and realizes that many people will disagree with this theory. That being said, the author kindly requests that all dissenters refrain from posting unless they have a very good argument. Remember in the end of WoA when Preservation (in Mist Spirit Mode [MSM]) mortally wounded Elend in an effort to get Vin to take the power of the Well of Ascension for herself? Theory #1: Preservation knew that in the event Vin gave up the power of the Well of Ages, she would give Elend the Lerasium Preservation can see the future, so this is still in the realm of possibility. Which may seem insignificant by itself, That is why I have theory two, which makes sense given Preservation's desire to preserve, and Elend's "innate goodness" Theory #2: Under no circumstances (save ones with world changing consequences) would Preservation want Elend to die Which, again is also not that important. But now we bring in the facts: Fact #1: Elend was mortally wounded by the Mist Spirit Therefore, Preservation only mortally wounded Elend because he knew that Elend would survive, and Elend would imbibe Lerasium. Theory #3: When burning Lerasium, by default one triggers the intended purpose, as one will become a Mistborn by burning the smallest amount, so the rest of the burn must have the actual power of Lerasium used. Therefore: Theory #4: Lerasium allows one to survive Near Death Experiences. And it makes sense! Preservation's power preserves you! Edited August 12, 2013 by aeromancer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claincy he/him Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 Theory 1: It wasn't going to be terribly hard for what was left of preservation to get her too, honestly I don't think that one even needs knowledge of the future. Theory 2: Well, yeah, no reason for preservation to want him dead. But, keep in mind that this was a situation with world changing consequences, if there was just a "high chance" of Elend surviving preservation would presumably have done it anyway (this may actually be the case anyway). Can we please note here that preservation, while better at seeing the future than ruin is still far from perfect from it. Preservation didn't know that Vin would release the power anyway or he never would have harmed Elend. If he knew it would make no difference where would be the point? 3/4 is where stuff gets more contentious. It is possible that lerasium somehow helps you cheat death, your argument is helped by lerasium having physical/enhancement effects. However the lerasium itself evidently didn't heal him and without the subconcious burning of pewter helping him heal after that point I don't see anything to indicate that the lerasium would have kept him alive. In regards from that viewpoint to preservation *knowing* he would live, preservation would have known that Vin had pewter there. I view it more that lerasium helped him survive *by* granting him allomancy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromancer he/him Posted August 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 In response to your response to theory two, I have: Pure Abject Speculation #1: Preservation knew Vin would give up the power of the Well, and mortally wounded Elend for two purposes. One, to make him a Mistborn, and Two, toshow he is the "goog guy". If this is true, this makes my theory all the more realistic. However, this is merely pure speculation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windrunner he/him Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 There doesn't need to be a theory for why Leras stabbed Elend, it's explained in the book. Something loomed above her. She looked up at the mist spirit, but couldn't even really feel rage. She was having trouble feeling anything at the moment. The spirit raised an arm, pointing. "It's over," she whispered. It pointed more demandingly. "I won't get to them in time," she said. "Besides, I saw how bad the cut was. Saw it with the power. There's nothing any of them could do, not even Sazed. So, you should be pleased. You got what you wanted . . . " She trailed off. Why had the spirit stabbed Elend? To make me heal him, she thought. To keep me . . . from releasing the power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromancer he/him Posted August 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) That's what Vin thinks. Not necessarily Preservation's (or Leras') true intentions. Edited August 13, 2013 by aeromancer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardlet he/him Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 True that in-world character expressed thoughts and beliefs should not generally be taken as absolute fact. But, I think in this case it is an extremely safe assumption. Preservation almost certainly stabbed Elend in an act to preserve Ruin's imprisonment and, by extension, to preserve Scadrial. Nothing else really makes sense. If Preservation only wanted Elend as a mistborn, he could have directed them to lerasium without stabbing him first. It may have taken a couple of days to actually get Elend to burn it. But, he would not have needed to risk Elend's life to do it. Recall, that Elend's recovery with pewter was not certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromancer he/him Posted August 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 2 things: One, "Pure Abject Speculation" is now chucked out the window. [window shatters] Mental Note: Open window first. Two, the premise of this theory states that since Elend burned Lerasium, he wasn't in danger of dying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaelan he/him Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 I have always found ironic that the Lerasium's alomantic function is to rewrite your sDNA. By the way, Leras died. I'm pretty sure that when he stabbed Elend he was trying to convinve Vin of taking the power of the well for herself. I guess there's no future plan from or for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardlet he/him Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) I actually wasn't speaking to your theory about lerasium having preservation (note the non-capitalization) power. I was responding to your response to Windrunners post. As to your actual theory, the only issue I would have with it is the nature of Preservation's future sight. Future sight sight (literarily speaking) tends to be either broader strokes over broader spans of time and setting or detailed views which are small in time-scale and setting. Now, that is not necessarily limiting since that is a tendency thing. But consider also that Preservation imprisoned Ruin at some point in time before TLR ascended. I personally suspect that the prison was formed at some point in time not too terribly long after Ruin and Preservation completed their collaboration. This would suggest a sizeable span of time pre-ascension since Scadrian history developed a rather culturally diverse population. When preservation formed Ruin's prison he became a shadow of his former self and power. I would expect that Preservation's future sight was also seriously hampered by this change. That means for your theory to be fully valid, Preservation would have had to seen extremely detailed events (down to the personalities and desires of those involved) to make those sort of plans. (Edit: or retained much of his future sight). I also point out that Preservation is actively working against Ruin (albeit in a very limited capacity) during all the intervening years which would result in a constantly shifting future. As to some portion of the lerasium having preservation power after the standard mistborn change, sure, why not? I don't see anything to support it or contradict it. But it is a fun theory. But, since it is "pure abject speculation", I would invite you to accept the speculation of others. Particularly when there is an evidentiary basis for the speculation. It is one thing when someone says little more than "I don't buy it" or "nuh uh". Those sort of comments are always frustrating and not productive. But can it be anything other than good when someone presents an idea to shape the discussion at issue? I really hope this doesn't come off as hostile. I am trying very hard to make sure it doesn't. Edited August 13, 2013 by Shardlet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromancer he/him Posted August 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2013 Agreement in full, which is why this thread started with a disclaimer to prevent people from popping and telling me I'm insane. Someone like you, who has a valid point which is the biggest weakness the theory has, is more than welcome to throw in his two cents. Heck, make it a dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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