Does Sazed Die?

[Tesh]

I just finishers HoA, and I've been wondering, does Sazed die? I mean, he is a

Spoiler

god,

but in the summary thing in Alloy of Law, it says that

Spoiler

All of the original crew members are history. And the list included Sazed.

And on the Coppermind, it doesn't say when he is born or when he (maybe) died.

So should I trust the summary thing for AoL, or the end of HoA?

Oh, HA! This is sorta kinda barely like when Sazed was going through the religions!

Edited June 20, 2017 by Tesh Kholin

[Thunder_93]

Just like you said, he is "god" now. He took up both shards, Ruin and Preservation.

He surely isn't dead. What you can say, is that he isn't around anymore in the same way as he was in the original series.

[Calderis]

His physical body was destroyed by the power of so much raw investiture (not really destroyed so much as assimilated and preserved, as Vin and Ati both show upon their deaths) so in Cosmere terms, he's as dead as anyone else who didn't go beyond. 

[+Extesian]

So, he ascends. Basically when you take the power of a Shard, the flow of investiture is too much for your body to take and the body vaporizes. You then ascend to the spiritual realm. So his body ‘died’. But death means different things in the Cosmere.

But of course the bodies of Leras and Ati fell at the end. However they hadn’t been ‘alive’ for thousands of years, they’d been in a different realm with their physical body dead. Like a Cognitive Shadow. When they no longer have the Shard, part of that power is used to restore their original physical bodies into the physical realm.

So yeah, he died. But forever? Certainly not. If he chose to simply relinquish the two (or one blended) Shards now I assume he’d get his old body back and live a long, depressing life.

Sorry, I’m in a rush or I’d quote sources, and my realmatic explanation is not quite on point, but it gives you an idea. Here's a free WoB or two

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Melhay

Also, We just took for granted that Sazed is with Tindwyl now. Is that so?

Brandon Sanderson

Well, here's the thing. What Sazed is right now is something of a god in the classic Greek sense—a superpowered human being, elevated to a new stage of existence. Not GOD of all time and space. In a like manner, there are things that Sazed does not have power over. For instance, he couldn't bring Vin and Elend back.

Where Tindwyl exists is beyond space and time, in a place Sazed hasn't learned to touch yet. He might yet.

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Kaimipono (16 October 2008)

Allomancy is fueled by Preservation's body? How exactly does that work? And how does that interact with Atium—it's fueled by both gods' bodies?

Brandon Sanderson (17 October 2008)

The powers of Ruin and Preservation are Shards of Adonalsium, pieces of the power of creation itself. Allomancy, Hemalurgy, Feruchemy are manifestations of this power in mortal form, the ability to touch the powers of creation and use them. These metallic powers are how people's physical forms interpret the use of the Shard, though it's not the only possible way they could be interpreted or used. It's what the genetics and Realmatic interactions of Scadrial allow for, and has to do with the Spiritual, the Cognitive, and the Physical Realms.

Condensed 'essence' of these godly powers can act as super-fuel for Allomancy, Feruchemy, or really any of the powers. The form of that super fuel is important. In liquid form it's most potent, in gas form it's able to fuel Allomancy as if working as a metal. In physical form it is rigid and does one specific thing. In the case of atium, it allows sight into the future. In the case of concentrated Preservation, it gives one a permanent connection to the mists and the powers of creation. (I.e., it makes them an Allomancer.)

So when a person is burning metals, they aren't using Preservation's body as a fuel so to speak—though they are tapping into the powers of creation just slightly. When Vin burns the mists, however, she'd doing just that—using the essence of Preservation, the Shard of Adonalsium itself—to fuel Allomancy. Doing this, however, rips 'troughs' through her body. It's like forcing far too much pressure through a very small, fragile hose. That much power eventually vaporizes the corporeal host, which is acting as the block and forcing the power into a single type of conduit (Allomancy) and frees it to be more expansive.

 

[manukos]

an argument could also be made that Sazed of terris is dead  but harmony is alive

[TeleWorms]

10 minutes ago, Manukos said:

an argument could also be made that Sazed of terris is dead  but harmony is alive

As was stated in above post, Sazed the Terrisman ceased to be sometime after taking up Ruin and Preservation. The shards would have changed him as a person, not to mention the fact that they destroyed his physical body. Instead, he became Harmony the Sort-of God after taking up the shards, whose intent(s) were responsible for shaping and changing his character and personality from there on out.

[The One Who Connects]

By technicality, he is alive. From The Letter:

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One need only look at the aftermath of his brief visit to Sel to see proof of what I say. In case you have turned a blind eye to that disaster, know that Aona and Skai are both dead, and that which they held has been Splintered. Presumably to prevent anyone from rising up to challenge Rayse.

The underlined portion highlights that the Vessels were still considered to be alive until Rayse killed them and Splintered D&D. By this logic, Sazed the personality still exists. His body is .. blended in, i believe the phrase was. (found it.)

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Yados

Does Sazed's biological body still exist somewhere? If so, does that body still possess Feruchemical abilities?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, it does exist, though kind of...blended-in, so to speak, as happened with the others when they ascended. Yes, it still has his abilities, though they are kind of moot now.

Until such point as a Vessel is killed, I would still consider them alive. It's not alive in the normal sense, but I imagine that life as a mostly spiritual entity would be rather odd.

Edited June 20, 2017 by The One Who Connects

[Pagerunner]

The relevant quote from the synopsis:

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Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history or religion.

I don't see how that says Sazed is dead. It's just telling the readers to expect new main characters for this book.

[Tesh]

@Pagerunner Well, I assumed that it referred to him as dead because if he is a god, he would probably show himself. Take Ruin and Preservation. They both turn up to change things very frequently, for better or worse.

[Calderis]

1 minute ago, Tesh Kholin said:

@Pagerunner Well, I assumed that it referred to him as dead because if he is a god, he would probably show himself. Take Ruin and Preservation. They both turn up to change things very frequently, for better or worse.

So your asking this question having not read AoL yet? Sazed is God. Read the book and you'll see if he shows up. 

[Tesh]

@Calderis OK. But I do have it on the top of my pile of books I need to read, so as soon as I'm done with Warbreaker...

And thanks for all of your help!

[Andy92]

I am going to sum up your main question rather simply.

RAFO!