Pits of Hathsin
| Pits of Hathsin | |
|---|---|
| Related to | Ruin |
| Use | Produce atium |
| Era | Final Empire |
| Region | Central Dominance |
| World | Scadrial |
| Universe | Cosmere |
The Pits of Hathsin are a system of caves near Luthadel on Scadrial at the time of the Final Empire in which atium crystals grow.
It is also a skaa labor camp the Lord Ruler set up to mine atium crystals. It serves the dual purpose of punishing skaa criminals and concealing the location of the atium mines, as the prisoners cannot leave.
Allomancy cannot be used to retrieve the crystals, because an Ironpull would cause them to shatter, so the imprisoned skaa have to mine it by hand.
All skaa in the Pits have small scratches along their arms from the jagged crystals. The Pits are overseen by House Venture. Each skaa has to find an atium geode every week; if they fail, they are savagely beaten to death.
Kelsier is the only known person to survive the Pits. He was there with his wife Mare as punishment for sneaking into the Kredik Shaw. Mare died in the Pits, and Kelsier Snaps and escapes.
Only days before the fall of the Final Empire, Kelsier returns to the Pits, destroying all the atium crystals he can find, and setting all the skaa prisoners free.
After the Collapse of the Final Empire and the end of the atium mining, the Pits in the Central Dominance become the new home of the Terris people, as the remaining infrastructure from the old mining camp have buildings, shelters, and most importantly, fresh water along with farm crops of resilient hardy plants adapted to ash that need little water. Once settled, the Terris people improve the valley, building more structures, brushing ash from the plant foliage to provide grazing for the adapted short-legged sheep that roamed the hills, and returning to their heritage of herding, before the Lord Ruler's Ascension. The Terris people's lives become easier than most on Scadrial, living in pastoral villages that replace the once brutal prison camps.
The Pits are also the location of a Shardpool that is the liquid form of Ruin, as the Well of Ascension is to Preservation.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
After the events of the Final Ascension, the crystals in the Pits are ultimately removed by Harmony.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content It is, however, possible that they have since been recreated. Harmony is doing something to reduce Ruin's power to balance out the power Preservation lost to humankind.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content It is possible that the crystals are now in the Pits of Eltania.