Ale the Metallic Conjurer

Considering he should have seen Elend's future vision within his possibilities, I'm leaning towards Ruin seeing his outplayed moments as unlikely impossibilities. Which... in hindsight I can understand why. I have a problem with it in terms of writing competent antagonists, but I understand why. Rashek was dead, Preservation was impotent, and no one could stand up to him without Pres' intervention.

The only issue I have with atium is that its potency doesn’t seamlessly tie back into whatever sort of incompetent half-wittery is going on with Ruin’s precognition. I’m still mad that Ruin seemingly didn’t use an ounce of precognition, even though I do have a headcanon on it. Alternatively - and probably more realistically - I think Sanderson just didn’t develop Shard future sight yet.

Thanks for the insight! I can go back to reading Alloy of Law! Excited to see y’all thoughts throughout my Era 2 read! I don’t remember Ruin struggling to control Hemalurgic constructs. But this is interesting and hammers in home the balance between Ruin and Preservation. I could be very wrong about this, but now I believe if either Shard completely created humanity rather than working together, they could exert perfect control over creatures.

I guess that’s good to know? But that’s not where I was going. Even though the Shards’ magic systems might exist as a natural interaction, it doesn’t necessarily mean humanity will automatically have the knowledge to access them. For example, it doesn’t seem like Hemalurgy was in use until Ruin manipulated Rashek and other ancient Scadrians. This makes sense because Hemalurgy is a very, very complex Art with a lot of hypothetical results. Feruchemy’s history is a mystery, but I have a headcanon that a Hero of an Age bestowed knowledge of Feruchemy to the “modern” Terris people. And it doesn’t appear that people were consciously burning Allomantic metals until Rashek disseminated knowledge of the Art. The Metallic Arts always existed in the minds of the Shards, but weren’t in play on a mortal scale until the recent cycles of their conflict. That’s the sense I’m getting from the WoBs and HoA’s plot. There were definitely Ascendants prior to Rashk. Ruin mentioned that Preservation’s mental decline existed for thousands of years. But I don’t understand why Brandon is being so secretive about these Ascendants. Maybe they’ll be important to Era 3??? I badly want to know more. Good thing there’s fanfiction lol. I haven’t read Secret History. But… huh, this is weird. I always thought Rashek was on a mission from Preservation. Guess he was just a self righteous scumbag lol. Or maybe he lost faith in Preservation over time? It would fit with Mistborn’s theme of losing faith in God. And he didn’t seem to discourage the first few Generations from worshipping Preservation. Idk lol. Though I still think Preservation was his God and Master, but in an unexpected way. I believe Preservation subtly handcrafted the Final Empire and the rise of its Allomancers, with Rashek unknowngly dancing to his tune. It would fit with Rashek having the seemingly unique knowledge of atium’s true nature, or the Shards’ “blindness” to metal, or glimpsing into the future with the Well’s power. I think there are hidden layers to Preservation and Ruin’s plans for Alendi and Rashek. I think Kwaan was a deliberate pawn too, but that’s a deeper rabbit hole hehe. Rashek’s paranoia is like an onion. It has layers lmao. Personally, I think Harmony was trying to say Ruin encouraged the Mists to shroud the world, killing plants. But the Mists were unintentionally killing people because of Preservation’s lack of direction. Sounds like the best explanation.

This answers a longtime assumption of mine: That the advent of Allomancy was a deliberate plot by Preservation to counteract Ruin. Pretty sure its ultimate purpose was to burn all the atium. Though to me, these WoBs manifest a few holes: 1. What was going on in the thousands of years prior to Rashek's Ascension? This means the Mists would've been Snapping people ever since the 1000 years after Ruin's imprisonment. So this has major implications for the true history of the first Allomancers, as well as the length of Preservation's planning. 2. According to the metal plate read in HoA chapter 4, Rashek called the Mists foul, hateful, scornful. If he knew his God and Master made the Mists, why did he say this? 3. Oh my rusting god, I really need to make a list of Preservation's plans. There are so many and it doesn't help that Scadrial's history has so many holes. 4. I hate Scadrial's history. We need answers.

Now I have a lot more questions about Preservation’s plans and the history between him and his enemy ^.^

I get Preservation’s purpose for them during Alendi’s era and post-Rashek - put them into M A X I M U M O V E R D R I V E to Snap normal humans into Allomancers that could eventually burn Ruin’s atium. But I don’t understand why they persisted for 1000 years. This is especially confusing because Rashek knew the Deepness’ appearance, and expected they would return by his death. It doesn’t seem like Rashek every suspected he was living in 1000 years of continental Deepness. This sounds like a big plot hole. Were the ordinary Mists still a medium for snapping people into Allomancers, or was Snapping a mechanic built into human souls? Or did Preservation “come down” from his shining throne to Snap? And if Rashek inherited so much knowledge from the Well of Ascension, why didn’t he know his God and Master was behind the Deepness?

All I can say is that the anatomy of Shards is so freaking weird XD

I think it should, yeah. But now I have a random thought. Both Ruin and Preservation are responsible for creating humans, but considering they were in the midst of the galaxy's biggest custody battle, I wonder if the Vessels actively had the desire to create each individual human. Was it the Vessels who created each human, or is it the Shard Investiture's vague mind that created each human? And how do these forces decide things like physical and biological attributes? Personally, I think it was the Shards doing it without the active hand of their hosts. Especially since Ati and Leras were losing their minds, albeit in different ways. Though with Sazed in charge of both, I think he would be the one completely in charge of creating humans, and be able to equalize the Investiture with this "kill all Scadrian" thing.

Ayyyy I’m happy to see this style of thread! I’m doing the same thing with the sequel series!

So excited!!! I really should get back to the manga. Been procrastinating on it.

I'm on the early section of Alloy of Law, so I don't yet understand a lot of terminology in this post. But for now, I'm going to say you can't artificially create Slivers with Feruchemy. Alternatively, this method wouldn't allow a glimmer of Ascension. With most attributes, it seems like the body gradually returns to its state prior to the filling and tapping process. So even if you could hypothetically fill a metalmind the size of a skyscraper, the Investiture wouldn't permanently warp or graft onto the body or soul. And I would probably say a metalmind that big would just be a bare fraction of the Well's Investiture.

Hi everyone! I’ve been busy with assignments and trying to get a starting date at a new job. Reading and my reactions will start again soon.

Good to hear I'm on the right track with the weird island. Chapter 9 reaction: This chapter's got the classic trope "The butler did it!" Man, the explosion was TENSE. And surprisingly gruesome once Wayne healed his back and had Wax rip it off. That was gross, my kind of scene! I forgot how gory the Cosmere could be. I have sone things to note about this chapter: 1. The sequence where the trio question how to escape the explosion reminds me that Wax isn't a Mistborn. His combo seems ridiculously powerful, but he can't make his body tougher or pull out metal. And I like the note that Wayne can't stop time. At first, I almost thought he did. Their powers keep getting more interesting. 2. Seems like Brandon is trying to get Wax together with Marasi, which sounds sweet. I love Marasi’s Inquisitive personality and her talk about the Ascendant Warrior. It takes me way back to the Warrior’s own journey on building up her confidence and desires. Marasi’s theories on crime are making me think a lot about the real world. Honestly, I feel like they could be true in our world. Wouldn’t be surprised if Brandon did research on what can affect crime rates. 3. Looks like Preservation's obsession with 16 became a thing in Scadrian beliefs - the Law of Sixteen. I wonder if Harmony has the same deal. 4. The chapter opened up with Wax thinking that Harmony either changed how Allomancy works, or the world doesn't truly understand it. I think it's both, cuz the Vanishers' supposed plot and Spook's genealogical lines have my gears spinning. Straff Venture was a Tineye. We know he slept with many non-Misting mistresses, and through his efforts was able to produce one Mistborn. Kelsier and Vin's parents were most likely not Allomancers, Spook the Lord Mistborn... was a Mistborn. But even after being the post-apocalyptic Genghis Khan, he doesn’t have any Mistborn descendants. And we know from Hemalurgy, and probably certain feats from Soul Forgery, that the ability to use Allomancy and Feruchemy can be ripped out of or grafted to the soul. I think Allomancy isn't granted by genetics, but by the soul. And I think Harmony altered all Scadrian souls so that Mistborn were no longer possible after Spook's death. But I have no idea why he would do this... I wonder if there was a similar alteration for Feruchemy.

@alder24 I think the reason F-iron is weird is because it's not storing the type of weight we may discuss with a relative. I don't think ironminds are storing the body's "heaviness" or mass, but rather the scientific definition of weight - the force of gravity on the human body. Which is why Wax's physical appearance isn't affecting. And I bet the tapped/stored Investiture creates a proportional increase/decrease in strength. This is Wax's guess and it feels like it's true. Thanks for trying to show me WoBs! I'll try to check out them out after I finish the book. Hopefully I see more koloss. Koloss body horror was one of my favorite things about books 2 and 3. Here comes the Chapter 7 reaction: I love Wax and Marasi’s dynamic in this chapter. It’s always fun seeing a character’s expectations of another be shattered. My own expectations were shattered ngl. When I saw Wax fanart and the book’s cover I thought Wax would be gruff. But he’s actually pretty fun! And smarter than I expected! Seems like Wax being a metallurgist will be an amazing addition to his character. Hobbies add flavor to a character, and I’ve recently been wishing the MB trilogy delved into metallurgy. I love his thoughts on alloys. Wax and Marasi’s theory that the Vanishers’ backer is breeding an army of Allomancers is SICK. We got Straff 2.0. On a lighter note, I liked seeing a man walk his dog. I'm a doggy person! And these small things make the world feel alive. Chapter 8: No one: Not even Wax: Wayne: THROUGH THE DOUBLE DOORS! AWAAAY! Wayne is such a vibe. He’s a man of sheer rusting confidence. He's pure vibes and so was this chapter. Loved his talk with Sindren. Pretty funny, a nice show of competence and heart. Bendalloy is crazy powerful. They had a two page long conversation in the time it took Brettin to say one word. I didn't think Investiture could do stuff like this, at least not on a mortal level. Heck, this mortal level enhances the threats Ruin and Preservation could've been. First set of broadsheets, forgot to react to them: Not much here. The art for the train and Scadrian language looks great. I love the idea of a fantasy world progressing their tech instead of stagnating. I like the description of the Tekiel designed car, Hmm, so the Tekiels have bounced back up after the Final Empire’s downfall. Though.. we see a highly protected train car right after hearing about a gang of robbers. Sounds like we got a train heist on our hands! There was something about a phantom railcar, but I don’t remember if this was due to the Vanishers. The Pits of Eltania sound like the homeland of Harmony's koloss, and a metal rich area. I think they're the Pits of Hathsin. With zinc counselors and Soothing parlors, Breeze, Allrianne, and their gang of Soothers would be eating good in the new world. Reshelle Tekiel, Mistress Halex, Lady Cett, Lady Entrone, and a train engineer... It sounds like women have more important roles here than in the Final Empire. Or… depressingly more than they did in our world’s Industrial Revolution. This is probably part of Vin's legacy. Second set of broadsheets: Sanderson was releasing his inner Chesire Cat when writing the broadsheet stories about carriages and automobiles. Those sound like those crappy 2000s about mEsEtHeLiOmA A lot of stuff in this set sounds very sus. There's an island filled with unusual animals, a sole refugee encountering seafaring people, and… Unknown Metals?!?! Oh Harmony, I wish there was a wider map. Because I have no idea what this means. But it sounds like something Harmony cooked up? We know R&P could carry out mysterious, indecipherable rust even as their hosts were decaying over the millennia. Don't see why Harmony can't do the same. You have no idea how happy I am to hear Marsh still kicking But how?? What is ol' Ironeyes doing in Elendel The Faceless Immortals story sounds like either a kandra impersonation or Harmony revived the dead husband. The Emperor's Soul spoilers:

Chapter 4 reaction: This was a fun chapter! We see more of Era 2’s humor. I wasn’t expecting crass humor lmao. Wax was out of pocket talking about shooting a dog’s balls. We learn about House Harms. Steris sounds oddly formal for a noble, Lord Harms is badly treating Marasi, and Marasi is cool. Marasi made an interesting theory on the amount of lawmen between Elendel and the Roughs. That honestly made me think about the tendency of crime and distribution of police resources in our world. We also learn more about Scadrial. The Originators must’ve been the people that were in the storage caverns. Spook became known as the Lord Mistborn and got bizzzzayyy. Marsh is worshipped in Sliverism, which is an odd name. Sliverism sounds like it would worship the Lord Ruler or the other Ascendants. Wayne’s waiter disguise was hilarious. I think Kelsier and Breeze would like Wayne. Chapter ends with a robbery Vanishers: Nobles, open up! Chapters 5 and 6 reactions: Fight scene! Fight scene! We're gonna have a fight scene! And it was GLORIOUS!!!! I missed Mistborn’s fights so much!!! They’re like reason #1 why it should be adapted into a cartoon!!! Going into this book I was worried about how guns would translate into the Metallic Arts. I thought they would have Stormtrooper aim against Coinshots. But thankfully, Brandon did not disappoint. He did a great job applying limits to Wax's Twinborn combo and Wayne's steel bubbles, while making it clear that both sides are very dangerous. Especially with the introduction of aluminum bullets... and aluminum guns??? The Vanishers aren't playing around lol. Though, the aluminum gun is a terrifying and very strange concept. Aluminum is very expensive and rare in this era of Scadrial and our world. Doubt anyone could have the resources or knowledge to make an aluminum gun, let alone ten of them. Wax's combo takes me back to when Vin burned duralumin and steel/iron. I LOVE THIS FIGHT! Though I can tell Wax's combo is different from duralumin, and it makes me wonder what the hell duralumin enhanced. Tapping iron while burning steel enhances the physics of Allomancy, but there were times where duralumin was influencing the magical aspect of the Metallic Arts. Weird. I wonder if Wayne has his own Twinborn combo, like healing at a faster rate when speed bubbles are up. Oh neat Wax Pushed on metalminds. Been quite a while since I saw that. Nothing to analyze here, it's just been a long time since we saw Allomancy interact with metalminds. When a Feruchemist stores most attributes, their body returns to their original state. So how is Wax always at three quarters of his weight? If Wax is a Crasher, then what's Wayne? We got a koloss blooded Pewterarm SMH. I'm surprised Harmony kept koloss around. Would the koloss blooded need spikes??? I want to know who saw a koloss and told them “I likes ya, and I wants ya. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours.” Wax is a Skimmer. Wayne is a Bloodmaker. Must be the Feruchemist equivalent of a Misting. Has something happened to the number of Feruchemical abilities a person can use? Facepalm moment: It took me too long to remember Wax is a descendant of Breeze

Chapter 2: We got Wayne in the house! And I already love him! He's already a fun character with a cool new power. Coming from a JoJo and HxH fan, time manipulation is always a fun power to write about. The limitations of bendalloy are cool, but at this point that's expected from Brandon. And apparently he's a regenerator, with the power of Feruchemical gold! Looks like it’ll be fun seeing this combination, we already got a peek with his disguises and talk with Wax. Aluminum is back and I was NOT expecting it to negate steel and iron Allomancy. Now that's a problem for Metallic Artists. I noticed that Pathians and Survivorists seem to dislike each other. Now that! Is! Ironyyy! It was funny when Wayne got his hopes up for bi Steris Chapter 3: Wax has been wearing an aluminum hat. His theories are spicy. Speaking of aluminum, we've learned more juicy stuff about it. It prevents emotions from being Pushed or Pulled! It’s like a coppercloud wtf. I wonder how Harmony felt when these discoveries were made. Speaking of Harmony, the Path is.. interesting. It’s contradictory, I think. Steris said he forbids worship and the Path says not to waste time worshipping Harmony, but there are still 15 minute daily prayers. Makes me wonder if Harmony himself created the Path, or influenced its founders. I’m disappointed his religion has the typical “no lust without commitment” principle. Are the Faceless Immortals the kandra? Was Harmony really whispering to Wax? The mentions of sensations during the prayer reminds me a bit of how Ruin created sensations for his pawns, or even the mists that responded to his influence. I hope Harmony is at least being more considerate than Ruin ever was.

Wax's skill would be like Breeze's skill, then. They're weaker than Mistborn, but their experience in one metal makes them better in the specific field. I'm excited to see how Era 2's gunplay and Skimming evolve. Here comes chapter 1: It starts off in the city of Elendel, designed by Harmony. Man, reading this has me shedding tears. Everyone believed in Elend more than he believed in himself, and he deserves to be remembered. And we see that the mists are back. I wonder if they're normal mists or the magical crumb of the Shards. Though it appears they don't appear as often as Preservation's mists. Meanwhile, we see Wax engaging in a Mistborn's favorite hobby - flying through the air. Though instead of using coins he uses bullet casings, and flying around with 3/4 of his body weight. It's a nice, subtle nod that Allomantic tools have evolved since Harmony rewrote the world. We see this with the reveal that Coinshots are now couriers. It's also shown that Scadrial is in the midst of an industrial revolution. Guns, locomotives, skyscrapers, electric lights in the past 20 years. This is very unique among fantasy. Most fantasy settings are medieval, some in modern times. I've rarely, if ever, seen settings in-between. The number of octants - eight - is a totally subtle reference to Preservation’s obsession with 16. Mistborn are myths, we got Twinborn who have one Allomantic and one Feruchemical power, and I'm wondering if Feruchemists with all powers still exist. All I know is that the Lord Ruler's fears have come true. Loved that Wax's ironminds are bracers and he puts whiskey in his vials. Wax being so light he couldn't be blown away makes me question the storing limits and physics of Skimming, and of Feruchemy as a whole. The poor man has PTSD

Okay, so in the prologue, our new MC Waxillium was trying to counter bullets. He did it with a unique application of steel Allomancy - a steel bubble. It was interesting and unexpected, though I never saw an application like it in Era 1. Not even from Vin. I wonder if it stems from pure skill or Wax being a savant (or approaching it). I can see skill being the reason, assuming no government is kidnapping Allomancers. The glimpses of gunplay were so cool. This time around, it feels like Sanderson's prose is more descriptive. It honestly took me a while to get past the six chapters because of this. Feels like the environments are described more vividly and the action so far feels more meticulous I quite like it! It was super great reading how the new world worships the crew. Good ol' Kelsier is still worshipped as the Survivor. If he could see this, he would have the biggest grin. Sazed's Shard name is Harmony, which is just beautiful. Death with nails in his eyes must be Marsh. That is such a badass moniker. but goddamn people. 300 years later and he still can't catch a break? My boi should be left praised. He tried his best under a bad hand. I can think of a lot of ways Skimming can be useful by itself. But combining it with Steelpushing is a combo I DO NOT WANT TO SEE in real life!! Steelpushing is all about weight, so I imagine Skimming would create very devastating warping of physics. The prologue has small bits of Skimming but it's already useful. Poor Wax. Poor Lessie. Brandon loves the dead wife trope.

I feel what you mean. I have a lot of ideas, but think I must parse the greater Cosmere first. Do you know any fictional death gods that are similar to my vision? Or antagonistic gods in general.

I haven’t read them. Not sure if I will, but will definitely keep them in mind.

I want to get into the hobby of writing stories. I'm bored and have previously had barebones ideas of an original universe. Since I love the divinity aspects of Mistborn lore so much, a story adapting the Lord Ruler's Ascension would be a good start. I want to write about his actions, enhanced sensations, speed, bestowed knowledge, Ruin's manipulation etc... Is there anything additionally I should know about it? From WoBs or other Mistborn books. I've only finished the original trilogy.

I understand all your perspectives on Ruin and how its host was shaped by the Shard. However, I still don’t think that makes for a particularly nuanced conflict like the type Sanderson is trying to convey. I’m fine with the host being shaped by the Shard, or Preservation being the superior seer. But on a personal level, I don’t particularly like seeing death gods being portrayed as DEATH DOOM DOOM OOGA BOOGA BOOGA! I’m as scared of death as anyone else, but I think even if a death god is an antagonist they should be portrayed in a clever, calm light. I would’ve liked if Ruin represented the infinite routes where death and destruction can be slow/calm or fast/violent. I also understand Ruin is supposed to be the force of entropy and decay, but I don’t think Sanderson did a good job at conveying it. And I have certain opinions on how much of a war and conflict the Shards’ relationship was. But I guess at this point it’s a matter of personal opinion rather than critique.