[Secret History Spoilers] Last words

[FirstSelector]

Wow, what a story.  My mind is still ringing from the implications...
 

I want to look at Ati's last words.

 

Ati ran his hand through his red hair, then looked about. “Vax?” he said, sounding confused.

 

Based on the (new) Elantris Ars Arcanum, it is very probable that Vax is one of the other Shardworlds in the cosmere.  This raises disturbing questions about Ati and Ruin, since he has been trapped on Scadrial since its creation.

 

In particular, I hypothesize that Ati was last "cognizant" on Vax, which is to say that Ruin had not yet overwhelmed his mind.

 

This has some important implications.  It means that, chronologically, there was an intermediate stage between Ati picking up the Shard on Yolen and creating Scadrial.  Maybe something terrible happened on Vax, and Preservation drew him out with the agreement to create a new planet?  If Ruin had succeeded in Splintering Preservation, he would have been free in the cosmere to wander around and destroy other planets.

 

People have also guessed that Vax is the world for "The Dark One," the tentative title of a cosmere YA book about the person prophesied to destroy the world.  The person in question could be Ati, although this would mean that he picked up the Shard from a previous Vessel of Ruin, which seems highly unlikely.  However, it would fit into Ruin's modus operandi and provide a reason for Preservation to stop him.

 

There's also the question of the magic system on Vax, about which we know nothing except that its method of Initiation is distinct from other worlds.  I thus wonder if Ruin participated in the magic there.

Finally, we know that an early version of Ruin showed up in Aether of Night, and that parts of that book have been cannibalized.  One might reasonably guess that Ruin's interaction with that world could also have been cannibalized, except now it takes place on Vax.

 

In any case, I think it is definitely worth considering why Ati's last words referenced this obscure planet.

Edited January 27, 2016 by FirstSelector

[Havoc]

From this snippet, 'Vax' seems more like the name of a person. It would be really odd for me to wake up groggy and say 'Earth?', 'Home?' or something of the sort. It would be more natural to say 'Where?'. However, it would be completely understandable to see someone and ask 'Vax?' if that's who you think they look like.

 

On the other hand, from the Elantris excerpt, it seemed more like Vax is a shardworld. How do we reconcile the two?

 

I posit that Vax is the name of both the shardholder, and the planet said shardholder has settled on. Vax, bearer of God's own Narcissism...

[ecohansen]

For some reason Theoryland isn't letting me search right now, but I'm sure I remember  WoB that Ruin's actions represent the "least harmful" interpretation of Ruin's intent.  That would seem to imply that Ati still had a bit of influence on Ruin, which in turn would seem to imply that Ati wasn't completely comatose.  I think. 

[lookingglass she/her]

I just assumed that maybe Kelsier looked like Vax and Ati free from Ruin's influence thought he was Kelsier.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

This is the quote from Elantris: "Even Taldain’s and Vax’s methods do not seem to apply here."

 

I think it can still be the name of a person, in this context. Yes, Taldain is a world, but the Author of these Ars Arcani(?) might just have referred to Vax by their own name, maybe because he/she is more directly involved in the Initiation.

[ricree]

For some reason Theoryland isn't letting me search right now, but I'm sure I remember  WoB that Ruin's actions represent the "least harmful" interpretation of Ruin's intent.  That would seem to imply that Ati still had a bit of influence on Ruin, which in turn would seem to imply that Ati wasn't completely comatose.  I think. 

 

 

I've always assumed that the Marsh pov was the closest thing we're going to get to a genuine Ati perspective during those final days.

 

In them, I can easily see a "kind and generous man" who genuinely believed that it was right and proper to bring about the utter end of everything. In his every interaction, we see a kind of understanding, almost fond exasperation at how everyone struggles to avoid the inevitable end. He gets why they do, even as he knows the truth: that he is doing them, and the universe as a whole, a great kindness by breaking it all down to nothingness.

 

Things could definitely be worse. There never seemed to be much malice in it, though he often made use of monstrous tools. Nor, for that matter, much inclination towards suffering or pain. Some still happened, a great deal, in fact, but I imagine he saw that as either an unavoidable but transient occurrence on the way to their final fate, or else something caused by their unfortunate struggle against what was right and proper.