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Harmony

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Harmony
Harmony by Kelley Harris.jpg
by Kelley Harris
Vessel Sazed
Constituents Ruin and Preservation
Slivers None
Splinters None[1][2]
Status Whole
Perpendicularity The Far South[3]
Magics Allomancy, Feruchemy, Hemalurgy
Residence Scadrial
Universe Cosmere
This page or section needs to be updated with new information for The Lost Metal!
Be aware that in its current state, it may not include all additional content yet.

“I am, unfortunately, the Hero of Ages. ”

—The first line of the Words of Founding

Harmony is the name taken by Sazed after the Final Ascension and his acquisition of the Shards Ruin and Preservation as he felt it fit the Shard.[4] With the opposing forces of Preservation and Ruin both Invested within him, balance and Harmony is achieved. Three hundred years post-Catacendre the name is in widespread use by the inhabitants of the Elendel Basin and the surrounding Roughs.

His perpendicularity is in an uncertain location in the far south, it is under careful control, supposedly by the Malwish.[3] Because Harmony has two Shards, he is considered to be the most Invested being in the cosmere.[5]

Intent

Harmony

“The point is Harmony, creating a way for as many as possible to make their own choices. ”

—Harmony's stated interest[6]

What this means in terms of exact intent is unknown, but as Harmony holds both Ruin and Preservation, his intent is certainly a blending of the intents of both. At one point he seems to indicate that his natural inclination as a former human being towards Preservation is somehow separate from his need as Harmony to balance the two forces. If Sazed had been unable to balance the two powers, the Shard's name would be different.[7] In his response to one of Hoid's letters he states that the Shards he holds are in such conflict that even simple actions are difficult.[8] Odium is scared of Harmony, as he represents the possibility that two Shards can merge and, by being in harmony, become more powerful.[9]

Although Harmony allows free will, he is not beyond causing or allowing interference, as evident from having Ironeyes act as his agent, and communicating to Waxillium through an earring. He also controls the kandra, which act as his agents.

Discord

“His name shall be Discord, yet they shall love him for it. ”

—Excerpt from the Terris Prophecies of the Hero of Ages[10]

If Sazed was less in control of the conflict between the two halves of Harmony, the Shard's Intent could shift from Harmony to Discord.[7][11][12] The difference between these two Intents is related to the rhythms and pure tones of Ruin and Preservation and how they respond to each other; in Harmony, they are working together, but in Discord they would not be doing so.[13] By 348 PC, a dark and shadowy double sometimes appears behind Harmony,[14][15] which Kelsier calls "a representation of his other self."[16] Kelsier also stated that Ruin had always been more powerful, indicating that Ruin would be more in control than Preservation in Discord. Telsin Ladrian, an avatar of Autonomy, believes that part of the reason Harmony pushed to make Waxillium Ladrian his sword was because Harmony knew he would become Discord soon.[17]

Associated magic

by Kyle Pearson

Harmony holds both the shards Preservation and Ruin, and they have become intermingled. If Sazed were to die, the shard left behind would be Harmony (this supposedly would also apply to Discord, if he changes), not Ruin and Preservation separately. It would require effort to split them back up again.[18]

Metallic Arts

For more information, see Metallic Arts.

The Metallic Arts of Ruin and Preservation are still associated with their Shards, and thus with Harmony. No new magic systems are known to have come from Harmony.

Harmonium

For more information, see Harmonium.

Harmonium, also known as Ettmetal, is the God Metal associated with Harmony. Due to the merging of Ruin and Preservation's intents into Harmony, ettmetal's Spiritual aspect is in opposition with itself, leading to effects on the metal's Physical aspect, which makes it extremely reactive.[19][20] It reacts violently with water, similar to alkali metals. Alloying atium and lerasium will not give harmonium.[21]

It reacts in an especially violent manner when heated and made to interact with Trellium, converting part of the metal directly into energy in a powerful explosion.[22][23] Not even Harmony fully understands how powerful these explosions can be.[24] This, with the proper intent, produces small amounts of atium and lerasium.[15][16]

Mists

by Connor Chamberlain
Harmony
For more information, see Mist.

The mist of Scadrial is the gaseous form of Harmony's Investiture. After Sazed picked up both Shards, becoming Harmony, more than one type of mist began appearing, and the mists no longer obscured the land every night. There are now two types of mists: a darker mist representing Ruin and a lighter mist representing Preservation.[25][26] Where there are mists, Harmony can more directly influence things.[27]

The mists sent forth by Harmony are capable of powering both Allomancy and Feruchemy, and they no longer pull away from Hemalurgy.[28] However, as of 348 PC, this is no longer the case and mists once again pull away from Hemalurgy.[6][24] This change is likely tied to Harmony's rapid descent towards Discord.[14][17][15][16]

If a person is in the mists, Harmony can give them impressions of their memories.[29]

Direct intervention

Being both of the Shards that directly created Scadrial, Harmony can rearrange continents, recreate extinct forms of life, and even move the planet within the solar system, permanently changing its orbit. Additionally, Preservation is Invested in every Scadrian, and can alter the way their bodies function.[30][31] Harmony can also read and alter any text not written in metal.[32]

Harmony has the ability to speak to, and read the thoughts of any person with a Hemalurgic spike. He gains the ability to hear from Preservation and the ability to speak from Ruin, mentioning that he found it interesting that while separate one could only hear and the other only speak.[33] It can manifest a body in Scadrial's Cognitive Realm, which Sazed uses to speak with the recently-deceased before they pass on through to the Beyond, he is likely able to manifest multiple bodies which can act independently, like Leras before him, though this isn't confirmed.[34][35] He occasionally has Marsh do this job for him.[36]

As time went on and he became more and more affected by his Intent and the conflict between his Shards, Harmony found it more and more difficult to actually take any meaningful action, causing him to rely more and more upon agents to bring forth change in the world.[8][37][38][39]

History

For the history of Harmony's original Vessel prior to his Ascension, see Sazed#History.
For the history of Preservation prior to its merging with Ruin, see Preservation#History.
For the history of Ruin prior to its merging with Preservation, see Ruin#History.

Catacendre

by Gar_leyva
Harmony

“By the forgotten Gods! ”

—Sazed's reaction upon realizing the Terris prophecies referred to him[30]

After taking up the powers of both Ruin and Preservation at Final Ascension, Sazed proceeded to repair the damage wrought upon Scadrial by Ruin, and the clumsy efforts of Vin and Rashek to repair the world.[30] He accomplished this by using the information stored in his copperminds, which contained references to what Classical Scadrial was like. Unhindered by another Shard opposing his every action and limiting what he could do, he was able to restore Scadrial to the planet that existed prior to Rashek's ascension. Using the power of the Shards, he was also able to change the koloss into a true breeding race.

After his Ascension, Sazed began working to understand the nature of the cosmere,[40] though there are forces working to limit his knowledge.[41]

In order to help humanity rebuild, he created an extremely fertile basin known as Elendel Basin, and granted them extensive records on history, science, religion, city planning, and so forth known as the Words of Founding.[42][43] These documents did much to help humanity, and became holy documents to a religion that grew around the newborn god, The Path,[44][45] which came to be one of the most significant religions in the new world.

Letters to Hoid

At some point around three centuries after Sazed's Ascension, Harmony received a letter from Hoid asking for help dealing with Odium. He wrote a response, in which he expressed surprise at some of the information Hoid shared and explained that the conflicting nature of Ruin and Preservation made it hard to act.[46][8] He also expressed a reluctance to help Hoid as they had never met and Hoid had hid himself before while visiting Scadrial, but agreed to consider the matter further if Hoid visited him openly.[47][48]

Some time later, Harmony wrote another letter to Hoid, detailing his attempts to contact other Shards[49][50] and sharing his concerns about both the damage Odium had already done[51][52] and about other Shards he could not sense potentially encroaching on Scadrial.[37] In response to these threats, he wrote that he was hoping to find a person to act as his "sword," someone who could act on his behalf when the conflicting nature of Ruin and Preservation make it near-impossible for him to act directly,[38] and asked Hoid to do his best to maintain Odium's prison until other Shards could be convinced to act and a plan could be made.[53]

by Connor Chamberlain
Speaking to Wax and showing him Trell's red mist

Arrival of Trell

The Shard he detected encroaching upon Scadrial turned out to be Autonomy, who claimed the planet for themselves and their Avatars.

Harmony indirectly used Waxillium Ladrian, his sword, by way of his earring as a pawn, doing his work in the Physical Realm, such as fighting against various figures and cults which sought to help Autonomy take over the planet, such as The Set. He assigned the kandra Paalm to play the human Lessie and protect Wax during his time as a lawman in the Roughs.[54] Paalm eventually removed one of her spikes to avoid Harmony's control.[33] She took the alias of Bleeder and attempted to overthrow Harmony's control of mankind.[55][26] She was stopped by Wax who fired a Hemalurgic bullet into her skull, allowing Harmony to regain control of her.[54] Wax learned of Harmony's manipulation and felt used.

Later on, the kandra VenDell and MeLaan implied that Harmony was getting distracted and were worried that something bad was happening on Scadrial. Sazed confirmed this to Wax during their conversation after his temporary death, showing him a red glow around the planet from some unknown hostile force. Wax confronted Harmony about his interference and lack of assistance. Harmony explained that he could not always intervene because mankind would only ask for more help and always be dissatisfied. He gave Wax the option of moving on to the Beyond or going back, and Wax chose to go back.[34]

At some point before this, he became unstable and his Intent began to shift towards Discord. This is shown through the manifestation of a shadowy reflection of Harmony which closely follows him.[14][15][16] Telsin, a burgeoning Avatar of Autonomy, believed that Harmony choose Wax as his Sword because he knew that he would eventually become Discord, this suggests that he was starting to fall beforehand, as he began to look for a sword many years before.[38][17]

Around 348 PC, he was forcibly Invested by Autonomy, and through this blinded.[56] This, along with his knowledge of the harmonium-trellium bomb that the Set have discovered and the formation of an Avatar of Autonomy on Scadrial, led him to requesting Wax to once again become his Sword, a request to which he agreed.[56]

He spoke to and stood by Wayne as he tried to stop the Set's bomb from destroying Elendel.[15] Following Wayne's death from the explosion, he presented himself to him in the Cognitive Realm as he began to be pulled into the Beyond, having a conversation and answering his questions before he disappeared forever.[57]

Three weeks later, he had a meeting with Kelsier concerning Autonomy, technological advancement, and how to create an army of Allomancers in order to fight off the Shard's army. Though he vehemently disagreed with his friend's intended methods, and with his wishes for Harmony to give his knowledge to humanity to bring about advancement like have been seen on Taldain.[16]

At some point long after the flight of Autonomy, he survived and remained as the Vessel of a Shard (albeit whether it is of Harmony or Discord is currently unknown), and he released the kandra and allowed them to wander the cosmere.[58] The exact point at which this happened is unknown.

Notes

  1. ↑ Steelheart Chicago signing
    — Arcanum - 2013-10-05#
  2. ↑ Minicon 2015
    — Arcanum - 2015-04-02#
  3. ↑ a b The Lost Metal chapter 50#
  4. ↑ /r/books AMA 2015
    — Arcanum - 2015-06-17#
  5. ↑ The Lost Metal chapter 20#
  6. ↑ a b The Alloy of Law chapter 18#
  7. ↑ a b Holiday signing
    — Arcanum - 2015-12-12#
  8. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 55 epigraph#
  9. ↑ San Diego Comic-Con@Home 2020
    — Arcanum - 2020-07-23#
  10. ↑ The Final Empire chapter 8 epigraph#
  11. ↑ Bands of Mourning release party
    — Arcanum - 2016-01-25#
  12. ↑ Skyward Seattle signing
    — Arcanum - 2018-11-10#
  13. ↑ JordanCon 2021
    — Arcanum - 2021-07-17#
  14. ↑ a b c The Lost Metal chapter 26#
  15. ↑ a b c d e The Lost Metal chapter 71#
  16. ↑ a b c d e The Lost Metal epilogue 4#
  17. ↑ a b c The Lost Metal chapter 66#
  18. ↑ /r/fantasy AMA 2013
    — Arcanum - 2013-04-23#
  19. ↑ Boskone 54
    — Arcanum - 2017-02-19#
  20. ↑ Arcanum Unbounded Hoboken signing
    — Arcanum - 2016-12-03#
  21. ↑ Skyward Houston signing
    — Arcanum - 2018-11-19#
  22. ↑ The Lost Metal chapter 15#
  23. ↑ The Lost Metal chapter 17#
  24. ↑ a b The Lost Metal chapter 69#
  25. ↑ Hero of Ages Q&A - Time Waster's Guide
    — Arcanum - 2008-10-15#
  26. ↑ a b Shadows of Self chapter 11#
  27. ↑ The Bands of Mourning chapter 11#
  28. ↑ The Alloy of Law Annotations
    — Arcanum - 2015-11-30#
  29. ↑ The Lost Metal chapter 62#
  30. ↑ a b c The Hero of Ages chapter 82#
  31. ↑ The Hero of Ages Annotations
    — Arcanum - 2010-03-30#
  32. ↑ The Well of Ascension chapter 1 epigraph#
  33. ↑ a b Shadows of Self chapter 7#
  34. ↑ a b The Bands of Mourning chapter 28#
  35. ↑ Mistborn: Secret History part 1 chapter 1#
  36. ↑ The Lost Metal epilogue 7#
  37. ↑ a b Rhythm of War chapter 28 epigraph#
  38. ↑ a b c Rhythm of War chapter 29 epigraph#
  39. ↑ Words of Radiance Los Angeles signing
    — Arcanum - 2014-03-05#
  40. ↑ The Hero of Ages chapter 39 epigraph#
  41. ↑ Calamity San Antonio signing
    — Arcanum - 2016-02-26#
  42. ↑ The Alloy of Law chapter 1#
  43. ↑ The Alloy of Law chapter 10#
  44. ↑ Shadows of Self chapter 19#
  45. ↑ The Alloy of Law chapter 11#
  46. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 54 epigraph#
  47. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 56 epigraph#
  48. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 57 epigraph#
  49. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 24 epigraph#
  50. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 25 epigraph#
  51. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 26 epigraph#
  52. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 27 epigraph#
  53. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 31 epigraph#
  54. ↑ a b Shadows of Self chapter 26#
  55. ↑ Shadows of Self chapter 6#
  56. ↑ a b The Lost Metal chapter 19#
  57. ↑ The Lost Metal chapter 74#
  58. ↑ Tress of the Emerald Sea chapter 42#
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