User:BeskarKomrk/Southern Peoples of Scadrial/

{!{culture |world=Scadrial |books=Mistborn Era 2 }}

“ 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 race 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 the previously inhabitable area to freeze over. The Southern Scadrians were at the brink of extinction until they were rescued by the Sovereign.

History

Relocation to the South Pole (Circa 1025 Years Before the Catacendre)

During his Ascension, the Lord Ruler moved Scadrial out of its original orbit, putting it closer to the sun. Life could only exist at the poles, where a combination of the planet's magnetic field and ferromagnetic ash 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 heat and ash. 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 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 (0)

When Harmony moved Scadrial back into its original orbit, he caused the south pole to freeze over, leading to the deaths of many Southern Scadrians.

The Sovereign (12)

The Sovereign came and gave the Southern Scadrians the Excisors, which allowed them to create medallions that granted the power of Feruchemical Brass. This new technology enabled them to survive in the freezing temperatures. As their king, 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. His priests traveled with him, then returned to the south pole to pass on the legend of the Bands.

Looking for the Bands (336 - 337)

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 south pole 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)

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 are divided in to five different clans. All the clans wear smooth wooden masks over their faces, though the masks differ depending on which clan the wearer belongs to. There also existed another group, the Sovereign's priests, whose members do not belong to any of the five clans.

Clans

Malwish

The Malwish clan wear red masks that change according to their profession or their mood. Allik Neverfar and Jordis are members of this clan. Dancing is very important to them, and they once threw a crew member overboard for getting the steps to a dance wrong.

The Hunters

The clan 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 Catacendre, 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

Another clan called the Fallen wear plain, unpainted masks, until the wearer earns an ornate one. The Fallen were the kings before the Catacendre, and their simple masks are a punishment for having offended the Jaggenmire.

Religion

The Southern Scadrians worship the Jaggenmire, a single being who is always one and always apart. The Jaggenmire is made up of Herr and his sister/wife Frue. The Southern Scadrians believe that Herr can make things grow and Frue can make them stop, though neither can make life on their own. Marasi believes these concepts to be analogues of Harmony, Preservation, and Ruin. 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, machines 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 a metal unknown to the northerners that they call ettmetal. Its exact properties are unknown, but several different uses have been observed. It provides a fuel source for the airships, as well relating in some way to the primer cube.

Notable People

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

• Allik Neverfar
• Jordis
• Iyatil (heritage)

Theories

{/{theory}} 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 character in Words of Radiance that wears a red and orange carapace mask, which is growing 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 clan her ancestors belonged to or when 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.

The people of southern Scadrial were known to those in the north by the time of Shadows of Self.

Notes

{!{partial}} {!{Mistborn}}