Wyrmhero Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 (edited) We know from the novels that the Well refills every 1024 years with power. We know TLR and Vin both go there to take the power, and that if it is released instead, Ruin gets released. So my question is, what about the previous few times? Presumably, humans have been around on Scadrial for a long time, so do we know what happened the last times? Is there a line of Heroes of Ages who each came along and took the power, and used it? Essentially, I'm asking if we have WoB on this. If not, what do people think might've happened before? Edited April 19, 2014 by Wyrmhero 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lyht Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 That is interesting to think about. I thought TLR was the first one to go there. That would imply Ruin was only imprisoned 2000 years or so before the books. But then do we know for sure the well wasn't filled when Preservation imprisoned Ruin? In other words, what if the well just sat there full for who-knows how many years before TLR used up the power? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 The Well has been on Scadrial for about as long as humanity has, and humans reached around the AoL tech level during the time before the Lord Ruler came to power. Before, people would hike up to the well, take the power and use it to fix problems in the world, chief among them being any influence Ruin had used during the last thousand years. Eventually, Rashek took the power and used it to empower himself permanently, and during the next cycle Vin used it to release Ruin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arook Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 The Well has been on Scadrial for about as long as humanity has, and humans reached around the AoL tech level during the time before the Lord Ruler came to power. Before, people would hike up to the well, take the power and use it to fix problems in the world, chief among them being any influence Ruin had used during the last thousand years. Eventually, Rashek took the power and used it to empower himself permanently, and during the next cycle Vin used it to release Ruin. Is there official WoB on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Regarding the timeline: CHAOS (15 OCTOBER 2008) When did Preservation decide to imprison Ruin in the Well? No need to be specific, I should think. A simple "Near Alendi's time" or "Way before Alendi's time" would suffice, or whichever time of reference you want to use. Also, this one is not a question, but nice Hoid reference in there. I especially like it how the Ars Arcanum refers to Slowswift as "bears a striking resemblance to a well-known storyteller." I'm on to you... BRANDON SANDERSON (15 OCTOBER 2008)Way before Alendi's time. Hence the need for the prophecies. But Ruin managed to corrupt them. The following also may be useful: KAIMIPONO (16 OCTOBER 2008)What was Vin supposed to do at the end of Well of Ascension? How exactly did not-using the power, end up releasing Ruin? I still don't get how that all worked. Can you explain it? BRANDON SANDERSON (17 OCTOBER 2008) What was she supposed to do? Well, this is difficult to answer, since the prophecies have been changed and shifted so much. Originally, the prophesies intended for a person to go take the power every thousand years and become a protector of mankind for a period of time. Someone to keep an eye on Ruin in Preservation's absence and watch over the world as he would have done. Imagine an avatar who arrives every thousand years and lives for their lifetime blessing the people with the power of Preservation, renewing Ruin's prison, and generally being a force for protection. (Note that Ruin wouldn't have gotten out if the prison wasn't renewed, he'd simply have been able to touch the world a little bit more.) Obviously, it changed a LOT during the years that Ruin was playing with things. What should she have done? Well, Ruin's release was inevitable. Even if she hadn't let him go, the world would have 'wound down' eventually. The ashfalls would have grown worse over the centuries, and the next buildup of the Well might not have come in time for them to do anything. Or, perhaps, mankind would have found a way to adapt. But Ruin was going to get himself out eventually, so the choice Vin made was all right. There weren't really any good choices at this point. She could have decided to take the power and become a 'good' Lord Ruler, trying to keep the world from falling apart. Of course, she would have had to make herself immortal with Hemalurgy to make that work right. And since she was already tainted, chances are good she wouldn't have ended up any better than the Lord Ruler himself. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Well done Lightning! It's good to see somebody can find those WoBs, since I'm almost starting to rely on people popping up to support my totally groundless claims while I scramble around on the floor looking for something in the cupboards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortaan Posted April 21, 2014 Report Share Posted April 21, 2014 I'd wager a lot of these people who took on Preservation's power lived on in lore as the gods of various religions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts