Where are the Mistborn in Era 2?

[WasingtheWhy]

I haven't done a reread of the Mistborn books in a while, so my remembrance of fine details is admittedly sketchy. But is it weird that they don't come across any full Mistborn during this era, or is that just me? You would think with the way the Set operates that there would be a couple of them, hemalurgically or not, that are full Mistborn. Or perhaps society at large tries to keep them secret, like the noble families did in Era 1? And with Twinborn out there, the possibilities of a full Mistborn with Feruchemical powers is a little bit terrifying. Or worse yet, a full Mistborn/Full Feruchemist like the Lord Ruler was.

And with the newer metals like bendalloy, Mistborn are even more dangerous. It's something to expect for the final Wax and Wayne book, I suppose. I guess I am just picturing a crazed dual aluminum pistol wielding sociopath hopping through the streets of Elendel cursing Harmony's name while cackling like Vincent Price on a sugar high. But we all have dreams.

[Weltall]

The allomantic sDNA is heavily diluted as a result of no mistborn other than Spook (who was weak) surviving the Catacendre and the heavy interbreeding with the Terris people with their 'feruchemy sDNA'.

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Questioner

So, did Sazed change that no more Mistborn are born? Because I noticed that--I know he made Spook one-- in Alloy they talk about Mistborn...

Brandon Sanderson

The idea is-- I won't say absolutely no to Sazed's manipulation. But, there weren't any Mistborn other than him that survived. The Allomantic lines were very diluted. So, his direct descendants-- you might be able to even find one potentially now. Someone might be born, or one might have been born that didn't tell people about it. But in the general public and population, it's just, there's not as much Allomancy around... He did also change Snapping, which had an effect on it.

Firefight Miami signing (Jan. 8, 2015)

 

42 minutes ago, WasingtheWhy said:

You would think with the way the Set operates that there would be a couple of them, hemalurgically or not, that are full Mistborn.

'Hemalurgic mistborn' would be utterly counterproductive to the Set's goals because anyone with that many spikes would be 1) immediately obvious due to them being more pincushioned than a Steel Inquisitor and 2) open to full control by Harmony. There's a reason the Set restricts themselves to only three spikes.

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And with Twinborn out there, the possibilities of a full Mistborn with Feruchemical powers is a little bit terrifying. Or worse yet, a full Mistborn/Full Feruchemist like the Lord Ruler was.

Given what the inclusion of Terris sDNA did with the allomantic sDNA (ie, it diluted everything) the odds of a 'natural fullborn' ever arising is... pretty much nil.

Edited December 22, 2020 by Weltall

[WasingtheWhy]

Fair point. Like I said, I was a bit rusty on my Mistborn. Need to read those again once I finish my re-read of Stormlight.

I guess my cackling Mistborn dreams must die unfulfilled. 

[Weltall]

Well, Brandon's original pitch for what's now Mistborn Era 3 was 'Allomantic SWAT team hunting a Mistborn serial killer' and while some of that's known to have shifted with time, there's a pretty good bet that we're getting mistborn again since it's the title of the whole franchise and there's a good chance it'll include the killer mistborn.

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Argent

You've dropped a few tidbits about the plot of the next Mistborn series over the years. Putting all those things together, we have a necrosil Ferring Terriswoman hacker recruited for fieldwork in an "Allomancer SWAT team" to chase a Mistborn serial killer. Could you give us a more recent and concise pitch/blurb if the above is no longer accurate?

Brandon Sanderson

Ha. That's not far off, as all of those things still exist in the series, though the weight I'll give them is relative. With the Alloy series covering some of the police procedural aspect of storytelling, I'm inching the outlines slowly away from the SWAT idea and toward more spy thriller--but the SWAT team isn't not gone completely. (Of course, who knows what will happen in the intervening years between now and when I write it.)

Stormlight Three Update #4 (Oct. 4, 2016)

 

[Stormtide_Leviathan]

On 12/22/2020 at 2:06 PM, Weltall said:

Brandon's original pitch for what's now Mistborn Era 3 was 'Allomantic SWAT team hunting a Mistborn serial killer' and while some of that's known to have shifted with time, there's a pretty good bet that we're getting mistborn again since it's the title of the whole franchise and there's a good chance it'll include the killer mistborn.

That's true, but we do know of. At least one mistborn still hanging around Scadrial. Who doesn't have the best moral compass

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

4 minutes ago, Stormtide_Leviathan said:

That's true, but we do know of. At least one mistborn still hanging around Scadrial. Who doesn't have the best moral compass

No, he’s Fullborn now. And... busy. With spoilers that can’t be discussed here, so let’s not bring him up.

Although Spook might still be around too.

[Stormtide_Leviathan]

Just now, Kingsdaughter613 said:

Although Spook might still be around too.

True, though he doesn't strike me as serial killer potential. It does seem more likely that the Set succeed somehow, since I doubt any mistborn raised by them would be in a great place, mentally

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

1 minute ago, Stormtide_Leviathan said:

True, though he doesn't strike me as serial killer potential. It does seem more likely that the Set succeed somehow, since I doubt any mistborn raised by them would be in a great place, mentally

I agree with this. Or it could be random genetic luck, which I actually think would be the most interesting.

[Raven Wilder]

Another possibility that I brought up in a different thread: the lerasium beads that Rashek used to create the first Mistborn, along with the two he left by the Well, add up to ten or eleven beads ... but given the cosmic significance of the number 16 on Scadrial, there's a not unreasonable theory that there were originally sixteen beads of lerasium, meaning there are five or six beads unaccounted for. Someone discovering one of those could be a handy way to create a new Mistborn.

[Stormtide_Leviathan]

9 hours ago, Raven Wilder said:

Another possibility that I brought up in a different thread: the lerasium beads that Rashek used to create the first Mistborn, along with the two he left by the Well, add up to ten or eleven beads ... but given the cosmic significance of the number 16 on Scadrial, there's a not unreasonable theory that there were originally sixteen beads of lerasium, meaning there are five or six beads unaccounted for. Someone discovering one of those could be a handy way to create a new Mistborn.

It could be cool to read a book about people searching for this.... Lost Metal 

[The Silverlight Scholar]

I don't remember the exact WoB but I think I remember something about somehow being able to obtain lerasium from the mist, and that seems like a very easy way to reintroduce mistborn to scadrial.