Southern Scadrian

Southern Scadrian
World of Origin	Scadrial
Universe	Cosmere

“ The land was soft and warm, and now it is harsh and broken and frozen. ”

— Allik Neverfar describing the events that nearly destroyed his people

The Southern Scadrians are a culture on Scadrial. They were placed at the south pole by The Lord Ruler during his Ascension. When he moved the planet closer to the sun, he altered the physiology of the skaa to enable them to survive the ash and the warmer temperatures. However, he also placed an unaltered group of Scadrians at the south pole to act as a control group for his genetic experiments. The Southern Scadrians lived there without any interaction with the Final Empire for over a thousand years until the Catacendre. When Harmony moved the planet back to its original orbit and orientation, it caused a change in climate that the Southern Scadrians failed to adapt to. The Southern Scadrians were at the brink of extinction until they were rescued by the Sovereign.

History

Relocation to the South Pole (pre Final Empire, circa 1025 anteverdant)

During his Ascension, the Lord Ruler moved Scadrial out of its original orbit, putting it closer to the sun in order to burn off the Deepness. The planet's surface became too hot, forcing the Lord Ruler to move inhabited lands to the north and south poles. In the north, a combination of the planet's magnetic field and ferromagnetic ash from the Ashmounts shielded the land from the heat of the sun. The Final Empire was at the northern magnetic pole of the planet, where the genetic alterations made to the skaa allowed them to adapt to the constant ashfalls. However, the Lord Ruler also placed an unaltered group of people at the south pole. These people were placed there by the Lord Ruler as a reserve in case his genetic modifications of humanity failed. The Lord Ruler managed to find a way other than genetic modifications or Ashmounts to help them survive in the world he created.

The southern peoples had the seeds of the Metallic Arts, though since none of them had ingested lerasium, Allomancers were extremely rare and Mistborn completely unheard of. Because of this, instead of using the Metallic Arts in a way based on genetics like the people of the Final Empire, the southern peoples use them in a more "mechanical way."

The Ice Death (Catacendre)

In the north, about three years after the death of the Lord Ruler, a man named Sazed took up both of the planet's Shards and Ascended. Sazed tried undoing most of the Lord Ruler's changes, setting the continents back in their original places and moving Scadrial back into its original orbit, removing the need for heat-lessening solutions like the Ashmounts. This event was known to the Northern Scadrians as the Catacendre or "end of the ash."

Because of this, the weather in the Southern continent became colder. The Southern peoples could not adapt to this change, and many died from the cold. Southern Scadrians call this event the Ice Death.

Years had gone by and the Ice Death did not end. The Southern peoples failed to recover from it on their own, leading to the almost complete collapse of their society. The reason for this failure has not been revealed, but expeditions from the south to the north have notably shown that Southern peoples still feel unnaturally cold even in Northern Scadrian weather.

The Sovereign (12 years Post-Catacendre)

Eventually, a man appeared among the Southern Scadrians offering them help. He gave them devices called the Excisors, which allowed them to create medallions that granted the power of Feruchemical Heat. This new technology enabled them to survive the cold.

This man became known as the Sovereign, ruling over his Southern Scadrian followers. He started the tradition of the Firemothers and Firefathers, people who live only to fill the medallions with heat. After a period of time, the Sovereign took the Bands of Mourning and hid them in a temple in the mountains of Northern Scadrial. His priests travelled with him, then returned to the southern continent to pass on the legend of the Bands.

Although the Sovereign has been rumored to be the Lord Ruler himself, he was in fact another man from northern Scadrial named Kelsier.

Looking for the Bands (336-337 years Post-Catacendre)

As the Southern Scadrians began scouting farther and farther north using their airships, they eventually discovered the lands of the Elendel Basin. The Hunters sent a large expedition to the north, looking for the temple where the Sovereign left the Bands of Mourning. They intended to use an ettmetal bomb to destroy the Bands. Though most of the expedition perished, supposedly in a blizzard, one skimmer managed to return to the southern continent and tell their story. However, Waxillium Ladrian believes that some of the crew, desiring the power of the Bands, betrayed the others and attempted to take the Bands for themselves. This attempt was unsuccessful due to the traps at the temple.

First Encounters with the Northern Scadrians (341-342 years Post-Catacendre)

Ironsights, an exploration vessel thought lost, returned to Elendel with a refugee they picked up who told stories of "people of the oceans". The refugee claims to have encountered these people in a distant land when they attacked his ship. He described these "people of the oceans" as a violent seafaring race who have access to "Unknown Metals". Soon after that, Lady Nicelle Sauvage, a citizen of Southern Roughs city New Seran, reported briefly glimpsing a figure in a mountain range in the Roughs, describing it as having "piercing eyes, and a face like some otherwordly beast".

The two cultures fully intersected once Jordis took a second airship, Brunstell, on an expedition north to find the temple of the Sovereign. The ship was hit by a powerful storm and crashed near the village of Dulsing. Their ship was discovered by The Set and the crew was taken captive and interrogated. The Set learned of the medallion technology, as well as the legend of the Bands of Mourning, and began preparing an expedition into the mountains to find the temple. At the same time, the kandra ReLuur was attempting to find the Bands in the same mountain range. Though The Set accosted him and took one of his spikes, he was able to return to Elendel and alert the other kandra of what he had witnessed. The kandra asked Wax and Marasi Colms to investigate ReLuur's claims. The two, along with their band of adventurers, discovered the location where The Set was holding the Southern Scadrians and helped one of them, Allik Neverfar, to escape on a small airship, Wilg.

The Set and Wax's group raced to find the temple, each hoping to be the first to claim the Bands. Ultimately, Wax and his friends found the Bands first and defeated The Set, freeing the remaining Southern Scadrians from captivity. Steris Harms negotiated a trade agreement between the north and the south, establishing the first official relationship between the two peoples.

Culture

The Southern Scadrians have a tradition of wearing masks, with each of the five peoples of the continent having its own mask-wearing rules and customs. There is also a group called the Deniers of Masks that the other Southern Scadrians oppose, but nothing is known about them other than the fact that they are very dangerous.

The Sovereign had priests accompanying him who did not belong to any of the current Southern peoples living. Not much is known about them.

Nations

The Southern Scadrians are divided into different nations. So far, the names of three have been revealed.

Malwish

The Malwish wear red masks that change according to their profession or their mood. Allik Neverfar and Jordis are Malwish. Dancing is very important to them, so much so that they have been known to give harsh (although friendly) punishment just for getting the steps to a dance wrong.

The Hunters

The people known as the Hunters receive one mask at birth, which is replaced by a second mask upon reaching adulthood. This second mask eventually grows into the skin. The Hunters were warriors before the Ice Death, but now they search for the cause of the cataclysm that ruined their society. They took an airship to find the Bands of Mourning, intending to destroy them.

The Fallen

The former rulers of the Southern Scadrians became known as the Fallen after they lost their authority due to the Ice Death, which is seen as their divine punishment. A member of the Fallen wears a plain, unpainted mask until he earns the right to wear an ornate one through some great achievement. The Fallen were the kings before the Ice Death, and their simple masks are a punishment for having offended the Jaggenmire.

Religion

The Southern Scadrians worship the Jaggenmire, an entity composed of two beings who are always one and always apart. The Jaggenmire is made up of Herr and his sister Frue, who is also his wife. The Southern Scadrians believe that Herr can make things go and Frue can make things stop, though neither can make life on their own. These concepts have been compared to Preservation and Ruin, and how both now exist in Harmony. The Southern Scadrians believe that their kings did something to offend the Jaggenmire, causing the Ice Death.

The Southern Scadrians also worship the Sovereign, the person who saved them following the Ice Death. He taught them to revere Metalborn, who they consider pieces of God. They believe that he created the Bands of Mourning and hid them in the mountains for him to use upon his return. Some clans believe that this warning was intended as a test and that the Southern Scadrians have to prove themselves by finding the Bands. Others, the Hunters, believe that the Bands should be destroyed.

The Southern Scadrians believe that hell is up in the sky. They believe that, since below ground is warmer, hell must be the opposite direction.

They have stories of the kandra.

Technology

The Southern Scadrians are more technologically advanced than the Northern Scadrians in many ways. The Sovereign gave them the Excisors, devices that allowed them to create medallions that grant the power of Feruchemical Brass. They later reverse-engineered these medallions to grant other Feruchemical powers. Notably, they use Iron medallions to allow many people to store their weight, leading to their development of airships.

The process of creating the medallions requires both Metalborn and the Excisors. The Southern Scadrians also constructed medallions with several types of metal, granting the wearer several Feruchemical powers at once. Wearing multiple medallions at once does not work, as the medallions interfere with each other.

While talking to Wax, Harmony reflects on the limited progress the people of Elendel have made since the remaking of Scadrial due to the benevolent environment of the Basin, mentioning "...others, who were nearly destroyed", and implies they are significantly more advanced than those in the Basin.

They have access to something called ettmetal, which is a kind of metal that has not yet been discovered in the north. Among other things, ettmetal is used to fuel the Southern airships.

Notable People

For a complete list of Southern Scadrian characters, see :Category: Southern Scadrians.

• Allik Neverfar
• Jordis
• Iyatil (heritage)

Theories

This page or section deals with theories or speculation.

Please read carefully and note that this is not necessarily canonical.

One theory is that the southern peoples are the men of "red and gold" that Miles Dagouter refers to shortly before his death.

It is not known exactly what the "Unknown Metals" of the Southerners are. These may be the 32 alloys of atium and lerasium theorised about in the Ars Arcanum of The Alloy of Law, although this is unlikely, as they have never been shown to have any access to either atium or lerasium. They may be the unidentified silver and red metal used by Paalm to create her hemalurgic spikes. It may also be ettmetal.

Iyatil is a mask-wearing woman living on the planet Roshar. She wears a red and orange carapace mask, which seems to have grown into her skin. This is similar to a description of the Hunters given by Allik Neverfar. Though she is confirmed to have Southern Scadrian heritage, it is unknown which Southern nation her ancestors belonged to or where she was born.

Trivia

They are mysteriously referred to in The Hero of Ages annotations, suggesting that something is perhaps there. Later, Brandon confirmed that there is life on the southern pole of Scadrial.

Notes

This page is probably complete!

This page contains most of the knowledge we have on the subject at this time.
It has yet to be reviewed.