Editing Burnlands

{{geography

|type=Desert

|region=Final Empire

|world=Scadrial

|universe=[[Cosmere]]

|books=[[Mistborn Era 1]]

The '''burnlands''' were an area of barren desert that covered the majority of [[Scadrial]] during the time of the [[Final Empire]], with the notable exceptions of the magnetic north pole and part of the [[Southern Scadrian|southern continent]].{{wob ref|8042}}

== History ==

=== Ascension of the Lord Ruler ===

When [[Rashek]] took the power at the [[Well of Ascension]], he attempted to move Scadrial closer to its star to burn away the [[Deepness]].{{book ref|hoa|76}} The planet became too hot, so he attempted to move it back. Unfortunately, he overcompensated, and the planet was now too cold for life;{{book ref|hoa|76}} Rashek did not know how to return it to its proper orbit.{{epigraph ref|mb3|4}} He again moved Scadrial closer to the sun, giving up on fixing the orbit and instead devising other measures to protect humanity from the heat, such as the ashmounts.{{book ref|woa|57}} Because the new orbit was still dangerously hot and the ash was magnetically attracted to the north pole,{{wob ref|8042}} the middle of Scadrial was left vulnerable and scorched clean of life.{{book ref|woa|57}}{{wob ref|1222}} Almost everything not at the poles was destroyed, with a few exceptions.{{wob ref|1222}}{{wob ref|7545}} The planet's calendar changed, and [[cosmere]] scholars were later forced to show two different orbits for Scadrial on their star charts.{{au ref|scadrian}}{{File ref|Starchart scadrial color.jpg|The Scadrian system}}

=== Final Empire ===

During the time of the Final Empire, the burnlands completely encircled the empire.{{wob ref|10137}} The borders of the burnlands were somewhat habitable, growing less and less habitable at larger distances from the Final Empire, eventually resulting in temperatures so hot that survival was impossible.{{wob ref|1224}} The burnlands separated the people of the southern continent and the Final Empire, as it would take a small miracle to survive a crossing.{{wob ref|1224}}

==== Wasted Men ====

Some groups of [[skaa]] fled to the burnlands{{wob ref|7544}} because they were far from the reach of the Lord Ruler and the Final Empire, and were therefore mostly autonomous.{{wob ref|1224}} The border areas of the burnlands were sometimes referred to as the "wastes",{{book ref|hoa|26}} and human residents of the burnlands were known as "wasted men".{{wob ref|7707}} Bandit kings and robber-barons lived in semi-nomadic kingdoms and clans, striking inward at parts of the empire in order to steal food and supplies.{{wob ref|7707}} In order to survive, the inhabitants of the burnlands developed some technologies not found throughout the rest of the Final Empire.{{wob ref|10137}} They were capable of doing so because the Lord Ruler could not suppress new technology growth to the extent that he did in the Final Empire.{{wob ref|10137}}{{epigraph ref|mb3|28}} Despite having to deal with uncontrolled koloss who could survive surprisingly well in the burnlands,{{wob ref|10137}} the bandits were actually the cause of a few successful uprisings.{{wob ref|7544}} During [[Clubs]]'s time as a soldier, he fought in skirmishes with rebels in the burnlands,{{wob ref|7544}} sometimes alongside [[koloss]].{{book ref|woa|52}} One successful bandit named [[Vershad]] pulled many scams on the Final Empire, but drew the attention of the Lord Ruler, resulting in his capture by an [[Inquisitor]] and a squad of koloss; Vershad was turned into the koloss known as Human.{{wob ref|7707}}

=== Post-Collapse ===

After the death of the Lord Ruler, the [[Synod]] sent [[Sazed]] to the Eastern Dominance to teach the people who were living near the burnlands.{{book ref|mb2|23}}

When [[Vin]] took up the power of [[Preservation]], she was able to see why the Lord Ruler failed to fix the planet's orbit, but she quickly realized that she could not do any better than he did.{{book ref|hoa|76}} However, during the [[Final Ascension]], [[Harmony]] was able to return Scadrial to its correct orbit and restore life to the burnlands. This was possible due to his study of the planet's many religions, including the astronomically-inclined [[Nelazan]].{{book ref|hoa|82}}

== Trivia ==

*Brandon has stated that the border of the burnlands would be a good setting for a game,{{wob ref|10137}} and they are mentioned in the [[Mistborn Adventure Game]].

*Characters in the post-Catacendre era on Scadrial refer to deserts beyond the [[Roughs]],{{book ref|bom|13}}{{book ref|bom|19}} but little is known about these deserts or any relationship they may have to the burnlands.

{{complete|[[User:Big Smooth|Big Smooth]] ([[User talk:Big Smooth|talk]]) 16:42, 3 April 2019 (MST)}}

{{Mistborn|Era 1}}