Steel Ministry

The Steel Ministry was the religion of the Final Empire, made up of various divisions, named Cantons, that also served as the government's bureaucracy. Obligator is the title for those who are part of the Ministry. It also contains the Inquisitors.

One of the main purposes of the Ministry was to witness a myriad of contracts and agreements, even something as simple as promise to come to a game of shelldry.

Cantons

The Cantons were the subsections of the Steel Ministry.

Canton of Orthodoxy

Organized the Steel Ministry and looked after the religious side of things.

Canton of Finance

The bank of the Final Empire.

Canton of Resource

Tasked with trade, transport, and taxation.

Canton of Inquisition

Organized the Steel Inquisitors and acted as law enforcement over the Allomantic community.

There was a long standing rivalry between the Canton of Orthodoxy and Inquisition, for the Canton of Inquisition believed that they should have dominance over the other Cantons. They are eventually given the dominance when they capture Vin and prove that she is the Lord Prelan's half-breed daughter.

It was in charged of the financial operations of the Final Empire. Their work included the transport of funds. The majority of atium mined at Pits of Hathsin was transported along with the coins, in order to hide them from Ruin's view.^{[citation needed]}

The Canton's headquarters was an imposing building. It was tall and blocky with a massive rose window in the front, with two red banners hanging down beside the window, proclaiming praises to the Lord Ruler. Upon entering the building, one would find a desk at the end of an extended entryway, with an obligator manning the desk. Decorations within the building were sparse and lacking. It was often described as austere, bearing only the most necessary furniture and simple grey carpeting, the walls also lacking adornments.

An exception to that rule was the waiting room. With plush chairs and lavish décor, the room clearly catered to the tastes of visiting noblemen.

It was in charge of maintaining supply lines to the other Cantons, for feeding the people and maintaining the canals.

Headquarters

The national headquarters of the Canton of Resource was in Luthadel while the Western Dominance's regional headquarters was in Fadrex City and housed one of the Lord Ruler's supply caches.

During the Final Empire the Canton of Inquisition of the Steel Ministry was run by the Steel Inquisitors, and acted as law enforcement, especially over the magical elements of society. Obligators of the Canton of Inquisition were marked by the regular Ministry tattoos with the addition of a stark red line.

In addition to dealing with anyone that went against Ministry protocol, the Canton of Inquisition also had bases all around the city of Luthadel, called Soothing stations. These were to dampen the emotions of everyone in the area, calming and depressing them. In addition, it is possible that many Inquisitors found skaa Mistings this way.

By revealing that Vin was the daughter of the Lord Prelan Tevidian, shortly before the death of the Lord Ruler, the Canton of Inquisition gained dominance over the other Cantons.

In The Well of Ascension, Sazed and Marsh visited Conventical of Seran, was a sort of temple for the Inquisitors. Sazed is the only non-Inquisitor to ever enter and leave alive. While there, Sazed discovers a message inscribed in a sheet of metal. The epigraphs in The Well of Ascension are taken from this message.

During his argument with Elend, Yomen mentions how the Canton of Inquisition had been formed sometime during the sixth century, and it was this Canton which suggested the Terris breeding programs to the Lord Ruler in order to keep that population under control. The Lord Ruler agreed to it provisionally, and the programs were then kept until the collapse of the Final Empire. However, it is also mentioned that the subjugation of the Terris people had started far before the Canton of Inquisition had come up with the idea of the breeding programs.

Obligators

The obligators would have to be called in to witness or approve of anything significant going on in the Final Empire.

In addition to their bureaucratic functions the obligators served as the Lord Ruler's religious leaders. They would teach the Lord Ruler's religion to skaa and noblemen alike. They were required to witness any wedding, even that of skaa. Template:Annotation ref

Obligators were notable in having a deep faith in the religion surrounding the Lord Ruler and Obligators were distinguished by intricate tattoos around their eyes to signify to their rank and Canton membership. There were also assassins in the Steel Ministry. Any assassination in the Empire would have required the Ministry's approval from bribery.

Organization

Obligator

Prelan

High Prelan

Steel Inquisitor

Outside the regular chain of command, but technically ranked lower than the Lord Prelan

Lord Prelan

Known Obligators

• Lord Prelan Tevidian
• Prelan Laird: Canton of Finance
• High Prelan Arriev: Canton of Finance
• Noorden
• Prelan Yomen: Canton of Resource Template:Annotation ref
• Marsh

Notes

This article is a stub. Please help The Coppermind by expanding it.