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Difference between revisions of "Final Empire"
→Atium: added citations
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=== Atium ===
The atium economy acts as one of the many ways the [[Lord Ruler]] takes a firm hold on the Final Empire. Its scarcity, along with its godly Allomantic use, makes atium an extremely valuable currency; a small bead being valuable enough to cover the cost of living for a skaa for several years.{{
The only place atium can be mined is at the [[Pits of Hathsin]], where skaa criminals are sent to work as punishment for their crimes until death. A [[noble]] house is in charge of the profitable mining camp, with [[House Venture]] being the last House to oversee the operation before the destruction of the mine. The fact that atium is mined here is kept top-secret. Not a single prisoner has escaped before [[Kelsier]], hence his nickname "the Survivor of Hathsin".{{book ref|mb1|4}}
A portion of the [[atium]] mined at the Pits of Hathsin is secretly transported to [[Luthadel]] by the [[Canton of Resource]], mixed into and disguised as Ministry funds. Since metal coins radiate powerful light in the [[Cognitive Realm]], the atium beads, when mixed with other coins, can be transported safely without being discovered by [[Ruin]].{{book ref|mb3|79}}
[[Kandra]] are known to only accept atium for their service. Their "contract", purchased with steep prices, provides the [[Kandra]]'s absolute loyalty and their powerful imitating skills. However, the fulfilling of Contracts actually has another purpose. All the atium they earn is brought to their Homeland where it is stockpiled in a metal vault, the Trust. They do this on account of their [[First Contract]] with the [[Lord Ruler]]. For atium is condensed power of Ruin, by storing it in a place where Ruin has no influence, they deny him access to a part of his power.{{
With enough atium, a Mistborn with its future-seeing ability is almost invincible. At the time of the Final Empire, the only known way to counter it is to have more atium than your opponent. The result of an atium match is almost always fatal for the one with less amount of atium. Therefore, it is essential for the Noble Houses, especially the Great Houses with one or more Mistborn, to maintain a steady supply of atium. The atium has to be bought from the [[Lord Ruler]] with very high prices. Usually, the uncertainty of who has the more atium forms a balance of terror, making none of the sides dare to start burning atium.{{
The Lord Ruler [[Compound]]s [[atium]] to gain access to near-infinite amount of youthfulness. As he ages, he needs more and more atium to remain youthful.{{wob ref|3923}} It is unknown how much atium he eventually needs to consume at the last years of the Final Empire.
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