Miles Dagouter

Miles Dagouter
by Romeo Barrera
Died	342 PC
Abilities	Augur & Bloodmaker twinborn, Hemalurgist
Aliases	Hundredlives
Religion	Trellism
Groups	Vanishers, Set
Residence	Elendel
Ethnicity	Terris
Homeworld	Scadrial
Universe	Cosmere

“You are fools! One day, the men of gold and red, bearers of the final metal, will come to you. And you will be ruled by them. Worship. Worship Trell and wait ... ”

—Miles Dagouter's last words

Miles Dagouter, also known as Miles Hundredlives, was the former lawman of True Madil in the Roughs of Scadrial and leader of the gang of thieves and kidnappers known as the Vanishers. Miles was determined to bring the government of the Elendel to its knees in his quest to get justice for its perceived mistreatment of the people of the Roughs.

Appearance & Personality

Personality

“I do what needs to be done, Wax. Isn't that the code of the lawkeeper? I haven't stopped being one; you never stop being a lawkeeper. It gets in you. You do what nobody else will. You stand up for the downtrodden, make things better, stop the criminals. Well, I've just decided to set my sights on a more powerful brand of criminal. ”

—Miles to Wax

Miles is not a kind or gentle man. He is full of scowls, a grumpy man who would rather shoot a suspect than actually take the time to determine his guilt or innocence. Despite his character flaws, True Madil is kept clean of any wrongdoings by Miles, so his methods, though they may be harsh, are effective. Miles never brings back a criminal alive though, he kills each and every man that he hunts down. Miles is not afraid of change, due in part to his nature as an Augur. Early on in his life, Miles hated all who broke the law. His punishments were harsh and he was merciless, particularly towards those that once followed the law, but turned their back on it. The severity of Miles' punishments were due to his feelings of helplessness. He did not believe that he could really make a difference in the amount of crime in the Roughs.

“I was a dog, Wax. A hound, kept in line with false promises and stern orders.”

—Miles on his time as a lawkeeper

After many years in the Roughs, an enduring hatred for the city of Elendel and its leaders grew within Miles. Early in life, this did not bother him as much. However, as time went on, Miles became more and more disillusioned by his role and the things he saw every day as a lawman. He began to believe the City had betrayed him and slowly grew bitter at the injustices he felt that he faced. He has come to believe that there is nothing truly sacred about the law, it is merely a tool of the wealthy to maintain their power and influence. He hates that he used to allow others to make rules for him. Miles will occasionally burn gold so that he can view the lawman he used to be and the criminal he is now. Although he finds it disturbing how much the two hate one another, he believes that this practice is good for him. Miles thinks this allows him to combine something of what he was and something of what he is into a new alloy of himself.

Miles is a complex man, but his personality is dominated by one desire, vengeance on Elendel. Miles' real issue is a rage that he sometimes has difficulty controlling. Typically, Miles has a careful crafty mind with a flair for the dramatic that can be easily seen in the Vanishers. He can methodically pursue a goal without letting it cloud his vision. The one exception is when Miles loses control of his temper, as is often seen with Waxillium or when he thinks too much about the the behavior of the wealthy. It is quite possible he was also being influenced by something.

“Miles always had a darkness in him, I know. But this? Are you sure?”

—Ranette on Miles' crimes

Even while working outside the law, Miles still sees himself as a lawman in many ways. Miles still acts like a lawman rather than a criminal, hunting down those who try to interfere with his plans, rather than going to ground. He believes that he serves the spirit of the law, if not the letter, and that he can now mete out real justice. He believes that the true criminals are the lords and ladies of Elendel, and to ever create lasting change in reducing crime in the Roughs, he has to destroy the place that crime comes from, which he believes to be the City. Miles thinks that a man can only help the poor or serve the nobility, but not both. He also feels that the elite do nothing to actually help the poor and needy in the Roughs and in the City. His desire to overthrow the establishment and destroy the City is not only to help the poor, he takes some small satisfaction in the idea of seeing the corrupt nobles punished for their uselessness. Even with his new convictions, Miles still often questions himself and his decisions, as he has all his life. Despite this uncertainty, Miles displays an imperious and confident attitude.

Despite his strong beliefs, Miles is still heavily impacted by how people see him. As a former hero of the Roughs, Miles hid his face when going on Vanisher raids for fear of being recognized and branded a criminal. He was hurt when people in the Roughs hated him even while he did his job, but now as the leader of the Vanishers people love him, despite their fear. However, Miles eventually comes to realize that he is an outlaw now and proud of it, and stops covering his face when committing a robbery.

by Ben McSweeney

Appearance

Miles has a hawk-like, but narrow face, with prominent eyebrows and short, black hair. He is an athletic man, with a powerful chest. As a lawman of the Roughs, he normally wears a white duster over regular rugged clothing of the Roughs. He never wears a hat and instead greases his hair back. He also wears tinted spectacles to shade his eyes against the sun. After moving to Elendel and taking up with the Vanishers, Miles' style of dress changes noticeably. He begins to wear the clothes of a city worker, frayed trousers held with suspenders over a buttoned shirt. He also develops a slouch. When Miles prepares to confront Wax for the final time, he wears his old lawman's uniform, one more time. Whatever the clothes, Miles wears boots. Miles wears his goldminds on his lower arms, and likely elsewhere in his body, piercing his skin like bolts to prevent them from being Pushed or Pulled on. He has around thirty goldminds on his person at all times.

Miles carries a silver lighter with the insignia of the lawkeepers of True Madil etched on its surface. He also smokes Citizen Magistrates, an expensive brand of cigar, which he often has on his person. Many times there is a stick or two of dynamite concealed inside the cigar box Miles carries a big-bore revolver, preferring firepower to accuracy, as well as a knife in the back of his boot. Later, after joining the Set, Miles' weapons and rounds are often made of an aluminum alloy to prevent Pushing and Pulling. When committing crimes as the leader of the Vanishers, he wears a mask to hide his identity, as he is a rather well-known man in some circles.

Religious Beliefs

See Also: Survivorism and Trellism

“I don't care about the Survivor's mandate. I've found something better. ”

—Miles to Wax on his religious beliefs

At one point in his life, Miles was a Survivorist. However, he felt that Elendel's current social and political establishment made a mockery of the religion, professing to believe in the independence and self-reliance of Kelsier but in actuality discouraging people from thinking for themselves. Once Miles came into contact with Edwarn Ladrian and the Set, his religious beliefs began to change.

Miles converted to Trellism, a religion explained in the Words of Founding that preaches the divinity of Metalborn and their superiority to those without access to the Metallic Arts. Because of Miles' invincibility, he has come to think of himself as divine. Miles believes that the reason that Trell made men like him is to right the wrongs of the world. He thinks that because of his powers, Miles and other Metalborn have been chosen to rule. Miles has an extreme zealotry for Trellism; even in his last moments he implored that others worship Trell. Miles tried to get Wax to agree with this belief, with no success. Despite Miles' conversion to Trellism, some of his Survivorist beliefs still linger to inspire him.

Attributes & Abilities

Twinborn

Allomancy

See Also: Allomancy

Miles is an Allomancer, more specifically an Augur. Burning gold is not terribly useful on its own, and has become synonymous with one who does nothing. It grants him the ability to see the person that he would have become if he had made other choices. This power is not nearly as combat useful as the Physical metals, which is sometimes an irritation for Miles. He makes a point of burning gold on occasion, though, to take a careful look at his present character and what he could have been. Due to constantly confronting changes in his personality, Miles does not fear change, because he knows it also brings opportunities to become something you're not. Miles believes that occasionally confronting these possibilities allows him to mix the best of what he is with the best of what he could be. However, usually Miles ignores the Allomantic side of his powers, except when using it in concert with his Feruchemy.

by Ari Ibarra

Feruchemy

See Also: Feruchemy

Miles' Feruchemical power is also gold. As a Bloodmaker, Miles can store health in his goldminds, spending some time in poor health, in order to heal himself instantly later. This allows Miles to take wounds that would otherwise permanently cripple or kill another ordinary man. Gold returns a man to the state he was before the injury. Therefore, it tends to not cure long-term injuries or genetic problems. It does heal the Spiritweb, and as such could heal someone who has had their soul damaged by the theft of spiritual attribute via Hemalurgic spike. The greatest limit on gold Feruchemy is the amount of health stored up, which can be difficult to collect. However, Miles manages to overcome many of these limitations via Compounding. Miles has used this ability with Compounding enough to savant in the metal.

Compounding

See Also: Compounding

As Miles can both create Feruchemical reserves in goldminds, and burn gold, he is capable of Compounding. A powerful technique, this allows him to essentially create a new metal, burning his metalminds which instead of showing gold's usual visions, power his Feruchemical healing directly via Preservation and the powers of creation. This allows Miles to sustain truly horrifying wounds and be healed to full strength nearly instantaneously. Miles is not continuously burning his goldminds though. Rather, he spends some time burning them for a massive amount of health, and then stores a huge amount of health in his metalminds, which he wears as spikes that pierce his body all over. As they are inside of Miles, they are incapable of being Pushed or Pulled on by most Allomancers. This gives Miles access to a constant supply of nearly limitless health.

“You can rip the tendons in my foot, Wax, but they'll reknit immediately. I think your body will give out before mine does. Push harder. Let's see what happens.”

—Miles to Wax while they fight

Due to the large amount of health available to Miles at all times, he can overcome many of the limits of the average Bloodmaker. Most obviously, normal Bloodmakers are limited in how many wounds or how large a wound they can heal. If their Feruchemical storages are not enough, they have to wait for a wound to heal naturally, or if the wound is severe enough, they simply die. Miles does not have to worry about conserving his Feruchemical storages, because his goldminds are more or less infinite. As a result, Miles is constantly drawing on his goldminds, even when there is no real wound to heal. This impacts him in several ways, both minor and major. Miles has not been sick in years; he never has to deal with sore muscles or headaches or feelings of tiredness. Even when there is nothing for the gold to heal, Miles can still feel a faint sense of extra energy from the health he is drawing. By drawing even more additional health, Miles can eliminate his need to breathe, as he is constantly healing the damage done to his cells from hypoxia. It should be noted that this is not the same thing as cadmium Feruchemy. Gasper Ferrings have the ability to store breath in a cadmiummind. They store oxygen and then withdraw it later so they do not have to breathe. Miles cannot do that. His gold Feruchemy continually heals the damage done to his cells dying of oxygen starvation rather than provides them with oxygen. However, the power of gold is not limitless. It cannot allow Miles to stop his heartbeat or reverse the process of aging like the Lord Ruler managed with his atium Compounding. Additionally, after suffering the pain of thousands of wounds that should have killed him, Miles has also grown completely invulnerable to pain. It is little but a distant memory to him. It also potentially has an impact on Miles' stamina, allowing him to run longer and farther than a normal man, although this is uncertain.

This constant influx of health allows for Miles to do things that would destroy a lesser man. He can fall from great heights and break his legs, only to have them heal as they break. As such he has no fear of falling and can therefore engage in fights on places such as the top of a moving train, jumping from car to car without fear. He can take a shotgun blast to the face without flinching. He has no need to seek cover from gunfire and can walk through a firefight like nothing is happening. It also increases his ability to brawl. He can punch as hard as he likes without injuring himself and cannot feel the pain of others hitting him. One of Miles' favorite tricks is to detonate a piece of dynamite in his hand to free him from any ropes or nets or kill those near him.

The largest downside of Miles' Compounding abilities is the high cost. A normal Feruchemist needs to only buy metal once. Their metalminds are not consumed by their Feruchemy like they would be in Allomancy, so a single metalmind could, in theory, be used for a person's entire life. However, Miles must burn some of his metalminds to Compound their Feruchemical attribute. In his case, the metal he consumes is gold, so his Compounding is even more expensive than other types of Compounding that make use of more common metals, such as iron or steel. Miles must have a steady stream of income to keep up his constant Compounding or he risks having to stop.

Hemalurgy

This page or section deals with theories or speculation.

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

See Also: Hemalurgy

While Miles' metalminds may have taken the form of spikes piercing his form, it appears that he may have had at least one Hemalurgic spike. It is unknown what metal Miles is spiked with and what attributes it granted. Due to his last words, it appears that Miles may be influenced by or have have some connection to the Shard currently known only as Trell. It is possible that the metal his Hemalurgic spike was made from is trellium, the same metal that the rogue kandra Bleeder used for her spikes.

Fighting Skills

For all of his incredible durability, Miles lacks the power of the prime battle metals, such as steel, iron, and pewter. Therefore, he has no Allomantic or Feruchemical powers to enhance his combat abilities. This means Miles is reliant primarily on guns and other mundane weapons when he wishes to deal damage. Most of the time, Miles uses a pair of big-bore pistols. He prefers firepower to accuracy, believing it is better to miss a handful of times and be sure that when you do hit someone they stay down. As leader of the Vanishers, Miles' guns and bullets are typically made of aluminum, making them impossible to affect with a Steelpush or Ironpull.

Miles' true combat skills are in knife fights and brawls. He fights with a long-bladed knife that he usually keeps tucked into the back of his boot. Miles is known as one of the best knife-fighters in the Roughs. One of his strategies is to stab his own knife into his forearm. This prevents the knife from being able to be Pushed or Pulled by an Allomancer until he gets into close quarters with them. It also frees up his hands for grappling, while still keeping the knife within easy reach. Miles cannot feel pain, so this does not hurt him at all. As leader of the Vanishers, Miles fights with an aluminum knife. Miles is also still relatively young, as well as fast and strong, which allows him the advantage in brawls.

Weaknesses

Miles' abilities have a few primary ways to be countered. Other than keep killing him until his gold runs out, which can take a lot of time, the first way would be via Hemalurgy. If someone could manage to remove his ability to both burn and tap gold with a Hemalurgic spike, Miles would be unable to heal himself, and his abilities would be countered. However, Hemalurgy is nearly always fatal and during Miles' time, Hemalurgy is basically unknown on Scadrial, so this is not a viable option. Another easy way to counter Miles is to simply catch him. His abilities do not truly allow many offensive capabilities, so once Miles has been captured, there is little he can do to escape. Tangling Miles in nets, or simply delaying him until overwhelming force arrives can physically capture him, though if he brings a bomb, he can blow himself up along with the trap then heal himself. Another way to defeat Miles would be to remove his metalminds, which permit him to constantly be tapping health. He has so many metalminds that he would need to be captured before this method would be possible. However, this cannot be done completely since some of his metal minds are buried in his body, which cannot be removed. The final way would be to shoot him with aluminum bullets, as the presence of aluminum in a wound prevents Feruchemical healing until it is removed.

History

Early Years in the Roughs

“Fifteen years I spent out in the Roughs, trying to protect the weak. And you know what? It never got better. All that effort, it meant nothing. Children still died, women were still abused. One man wasn't enough to change things, not with the corruption here at the heart of civilization. If we're going to change things, we need to change them here, first. ”

—Miles Dagouter

Little of Miles Dagouter's early life is known. As an adult, he worked as the lawman of True Madil. Miles spent his time hunting down criminals, often migrants from the city. Miles' methods were brutal and he killed all men he hunted down if he got the chance. It was there in the Roughs that Miles first met Waxillium Ladrian. The two men did not get along well, but still they managed to become allies, if not friends. Wax and Miles occasionally worked together to enforce the law, along with Jon Deadfinger of Far Dorest, and Miles saved Wax's life on multiple occasions, and helped Wax in his capture of Pars the Deadman. During this time, Miles' legend grew, he became known as Miles Hundredlives for his incredible healing abilities, and tales of his heroics reached even Elendel.

However, his time in the Roughs wore on Miles. He saw all that happened to those under his protection, despite his best efforts. Miles began to feel as if his actions were a drop in the bucket compared to the sheer amount of crime coming out of Elendel. He saw it as a den of crime and corruption. His frustration with the leaders of the city who did nothing to help and themselves were a source of the corruption was incredible. As the years went by, Miles' feelings of anger continued to grow until he could take it no more. After fifteen years of keeping order in the Roughs, a disillusioned Miles decided that he needed to change tactics in order to truly help the people of the Roughs.

Leader of the Vanishers

Once the injustices of the City became too much for Miles, he left True Madil and struck out for Elendel. He came with a goal, to end the rule of the wealthy Elendel elite, punish them for their excesses, and set up a new uncorrupted government. It is unknown how he came into contact with Edwarn Ladrian or the Set, however they put him in charge of a gang of thieves. It is also unknown how much of the Sets' goals Miles was aware of, but Miles joined them not because he shared the Set's aims, but rather in order to further his own plans for revenge against the City. He also wanted to use the goods he stole to finance those plans. Miles did not trust Edwarn fully though, and he tracked his movements recording railway routes and times in an old cigar box. During this time, Miles learned of the religion, Trellism from Edwarn, which revered Metalborn as nearly divine. He came to agree with this belief, abandoning Survivorism to become a Trellist.

Miles began to design the concept of the Vanishers, an idea that he developed as time went on. Miles wanted the robberies to be fantastic and confusing, to befuddle any and all who investigated as to how the crimes were taking place. He designed a barge called the Machine that had a crane capable of lifting train cars. The core of his robberies were all the same. Miles and his men would create a disturbance to stop the train nearby a canal and while the train's engineers were distracted, Miles' barge would pick up the target train car off of the tracks and replace it with an identical but empty train car. The Vanishers would retreat and the car would proceed onward, none the wiser.

“Ashamed? Ashamed? To rob these? After what you people have done to the Roughs all these years? This isn't shameful. This here, this is payback.”

—Miles on the Elendel nobility

The robberies began with a fraudulent shipment of aluminum, disguised as wool, belonging to House Tekiel. However, as the robberies continued, Miles' visions of the Vanishers began to take shape. For the first robbery, a downed tree brought the train to a halt. Later, to increase mystery, Miles would set up a hand-crank car with a false front, which would appear to be an oncoming train. When the panicked engineers stopped their train to investigate, the phantom train, as well as their cargo, would already be gone. The Set then began asking Miles to take women on the train cars hostage. These women were specific, always of certain bloodlines connected back to Spook, the Lord Mistborn. Miles and his men also stole jewelry from the passengers to further fund themselves. However, the nobility of Elendel grew more cautious and stopped traveling by railway. In order to continue kidnapping the women the Set required, the Vanishers had to expand the scope of their raids. After several robberies, they hit the Coolerim Playhouse, robbing the nobility and kidnapping Lady Armal.

“I will clean this city up, Suit. Even if I have to rip out its blackened heart with my fingernails, I'll do it.”

—Miles on Elendel

After the robbery at the Coolerim Playhouse, Miles chose the Yomen-Ostlin wedding dinner, attended by High Lord Waxillium Ladrian and Wayne, as his next target. He personally took part in the robbery, wearing a knit mask over his face to hide his identity. During the robbery he ranted about the injustices of the City and the mistreatment of the Roughs. When Lord Peterus protested the robbery and challenged Miles, he hit Peterus, cutting his head. Miles ordered the valuables of the partygoers seized and attempted to have his men take Lady Steris Harms and Lady Marasi Colms as hostages to be turned over to Edwarn Ladrian. This action enraged Peterus once again, who called Miles a coward and demanded to be taken as a hostage himself in their place. Losing his temper, Miles shot Peterus in the head to silence him, and told the Vanishers that they were allowed to have some fun with the guests now.

This murder and attempted kidnapping incited Wax and Wayne into action. They returned fire on the Vanishers and successfully managed to rescue Marasi. Miles was shot in the head by Wax, but feigned death to throw off any of Wax's suspicions and escaped with a handful of men and Steris still as his hostage. Knowing that Wax would soon be on his trail, Miles ordered the Vanishers to pack up their base at the foundry in Longard and move to another foundry beneath the Ironspine Building, owned by Edwarn Ladrian. This was much to Miles' displeasure, as Edwarn had wanted the Vanishers based out of the Ironspine foundry all along, but Miles had wanted to avoid constantly being under Edwarn's watch.

As the Vanishers set up the new hideout, Miles met with Edwarn Ladrian to discuss his failure at the wedding dinner. Edwarn rebuked Miles for losing his temper during the raid and questioned his actions regarding Waxillium. Edwarn wondered if Miles and Wax have some sort of grudge or if Miles was unable to kill Wax. Miles assured Ladrian that he was quite capable of taking care of Waxillium and agreed to kill him later that same day. Edwarn also revealed to Miles that the Set have made preparations to steal a final shipment of aluminum from the Breaknaught, the new unrobbable freight car belonging to House Tekiel.

“Is there any doubt that I have been chosen for something great? Why else would I have this power, Waxillium? Why else would we be what we are? And yet, we let others rule. Let them make a mess of our world while we do nothing but chase petty criminals.”

—Miles on his powers

Miles confronted Wax as Wax returned from investigating the scene of one of the Vanishers's train robberies with Wayne and Marasi. Miles waited for Wax to leave his train car, and then jammed the locks on the car, trapping Wayne and Marasi before attacking Waxillium. Wax had already come to the conclusion that Miles was the leader of the Vanishers and was expecting an attack. Miles followed Waxillium to the roof of the train, where he had fled to get civilians out of the line of fire. They engaged in a gunfight, but Miles was disarmed when Wax shot his guns out of his hands. Miles spoke to Wax and attempted to explain the reason he had turned his back on the city, but Wax saw him as a simple traitor. Miles managed to get close and throw Wax off of the train, but Wax caught himself with a Steelpush and returned to the train. Miles was surprised by Waxillium and was Pushed off the train by Wax and left behind outside of Elendel.

Defeated, Miles returned to the foundry beneath the Ironspine to meet with Edwarn Ladrian. Ladrian expressed his disappointment in Miles and informed Miles, to his chagrin, that their hit on the Breaknaught would be the last raid for six months. Miles was ordered to carry out the robbery, leave the foundry, and spend the coming months focusing on recruitment. Miles informed him that Wax was likely to interfere in the robbery and Edwarn ordered him to kill Wax that night. Edwarn gave Miles two Allomancers to use as resource, Push and Pull, and left the city, as Waxillium was drawing close to the Vanisher headquarters.

Capture and Execution

“I served [the law] too. But now I serve something better. The essence of the law, but mixed with real justice. An alloy, Wax. The best parts of both made into one. I do something better than chase the filth sent to me from the city. ”

—Miles to Wax on his new philosophy

The Vanishers' theft of the Breaknaught went smoothly and without incident, although Miles deduced that Wax had hidden himself in the train car itself. The Breaknaught was carried back to the Ironspine in Elendel on the Machine, Miles' barge with a crane. Miles brought the train car to the subterranean foundry, where he used the electric lift's engines and winch to pull off the door of the Breaknaught. When the door was ripped off, Miles found that Wax had attached dynamite to the inside of the door, which he detonated in an attempt to slow Miles and kill his men. Miles and his men began to fire on Wax but were interrupted when Wayne and Marasi blew open the doors in the ceiling of the foundry leading the the lift, opening the lair to the outside. Miles and his men did their best to kill Wax and Wayne while Marasi fired down on them from above.

“Don't tell me you never felt it. You worked every day to fix the world, Wax. You tried to end the pain, the violence, the robberies. It never worked. The more men you put down, the more troubles arose.”

—Miles on lawkeeping

Miles again attempted to reason with Wax, claiming that their powers were divine and gave both men the right to rule, but Wax paid his words no attention. Miles badly injured Wax by surprising him with a stick of dynamite, but due to aid from Harmony, Waxillium and his allies managed to rescue Steris and kill all of Miles men, including Push, Pull, and Miles' most loyal Vanisher, Tarson. Wax quietly ordered Wayne to go get the constables while he and Marasi confronted Miles by himself. Miles fought Wax in a one-on-one fistfight, not realizing that Marasi, a Pulser, was burning cadmium and hours were passing by them outside the bubble. Wax and Marasi managed to keep Miles distracted long enough for Wayne to return at dawn with a small army of constables to overwhelm Miles with sheer numbers and arrest him.

Imprisoned, Miles was brought to trial, prosecuted by a man named Daius with the help of Marasi. He was found guilty and sentenced to execution by firing squad. Miles' metalminds were removed and he was shot multiple times. Miles continued to draw health from one last hidden goldmind, proclaiming that all that opposed him were fools. As his last goldmind was emptied, Miles screamed that they were all doomed to become slaves of men of red and gold, bearers of some final metal. Miles proclaimed one final time that they worship Trell, and then he died.

Legacy

The most enduring component of Miles Dagouter's legacy is a Set that has gained far more power than it once possessed. Miles contributed to the growth of the Set in several ways. The first, and most simple, is in the funds he supplied the organization. The Set took a portion of the Vanishers' profits for their own personal use, although the rest goes to the Vanishers. The next way that Miles aided the Set was his role in the Set's seizure of crucial financial organizations in the City from House Tekiel. By purchasing the insurance companies bankrupted by the robberies, the Set gained ownership of a large part of the financial sector. They always intended for Miles to be captured so the goods would be recovered and they could avoid paying out any insurance claims. The final, and most important way that Miles impacted the Elendel was in the kidnapping of the women from Allomantic bloodlines. Whatever the specifics of the Set's plans, it is clear that the women are very important in achieving their long-term goals. Without Miles and his Vanishers, the clandestine capture of noblewomen would have been far more difficult.

Relationships

Waxillium Ladrian

See Also: Waxillium Ladrian

“You know, Wax, I used to wonder if I'd have to face you. A part of me always thought your softness would cause it—I thought you'd let someone go that you shouldn't have. I wondered if I'd have a chance to hunt you down for it. ”

—Miles to Wax

Miles Dagouter and Waxillium Ladrian are perhaps more similar than they are different. They share an odd sort of mutual respect for one another, especially in each other's lawkeeping abilities. Miles is the only man other than Wayne that Wax trusted to watch over Weathering in his absence. Wax was aware of some of Miles' hatred for the City though, and hoped that he would never act on his feelings. His own similarity to Miles scares Wax. Miles for his part had huge respect for Wax, particularly for his skill as a Metalborn.

“I know Miles. I know how he thinks. He's like me.”

—Waxillium Ladrian

Miles thinks that Wax is incredibly dangerous, but one of the finest men in the world, but that in returning to Elendel to associate with the nobility, he has abandoned any right he has to protection. Miles also believed that Wax was too soft though, he always wondered if he would one day have to hunt down Wax for letting someone go that he should not have. This mutual respect did not extend to actual friendship though, neither man felt particularly close to the other.

Miles and Wax's minds work in the same way as well. Miles deduced that Waxillium's strategy for catching the Vanishers would be to hide in the train car that they were stealing simply because he knew Wax so well. Miles is disappointed in Wax for becoming one of the men that, in his mind, are the cause of all of the problems in the Roughs.

“Wax is not a friend. We were never friends—no more than two rival kings could ever be friends. We respect each other, we did similar jobs, and we worked together. It ends there.”

—Miles on his relationship with Waxillium

He also feels that Wax wasted his potential, afraid to seize the true power that is his birthright as a Metalborn. When fighting against Wax, Miles often becomes reckless, throwing aside his normally cautious nature in his attempts to prove that his actions are justified.

In many ways, Miles and Wax are the same man that made a different decision, whether they were willing to work outside the law or not. Both of them struggle with upholding the law at times, and feel a certain amount of anger and jealousy that others are permitted to break the law, while they are forced to enforce it. Miles' frustrations however lead him to work outside the law, rejecting the established government. Miles mixes enforcement of an ideal law with vigilante justice carried out by himself and his men. Wax refuses to take matters into his own hands in this way. This ideological disagreement leads them into a conflict that cannot be avoided. Miles believes that since their paths have crossed,there is no way for it to end but in a final confrontation, which Miles welcomes.

Ultimately, Miles convinces Wax that the poor do need some help, even if Wax disagrees with the way the Miles goes about helping them. He promises Miles that he will do his best to help those in need.

Wayne

See Also: Wayne

“I've long been wanting an excuse to put a bullet in that man's head. ”

—Miles on Wayne

Miles and Wayne have never gotten along well. Even before Wayne knows that Miles is responsible for the Vanishers, he refers to him as a terrible human being. Wayne has disdain for the way Miles kills people himself rather than determining their guilt or innocence. Miles for his part finds Wayne to be a petty annoyance. Miles has quietly wanted an opportunity to shoot Wayne in the head for a long time. Wayne is unsurprised to find out that Miles is the leader of the Vanishers, recalling Miles' hatred for Elendel. Miles' actions as the leader of the Vanishers, especially killing Lord Peterus angered Wayne greatly.

Despite their disdain for one another, Miles and Wayne have a certain respect for one another's abilities. Miles is impressed by Wayne's ability to avoid capture, stating that it was easier to draw him and Waxillium in than it is to hunt them down. Miles is also careful to separate Wayne from Wax before engaging Wax in a fight, so he at least appears to have some respect for Wayne's competence as a fighter and lawman. Wayne for his part is well aware how dangerous Miles is with his infinite healing abilities.

Tarson and The Vanishers

See Also: Tarson and the Vanishers

“Of them all, only Tarson—dear, brutal Tarson—had anything resembling true loyalty. ”

—Miles on Tarson

Miles and Tarson's relationship was less like a friendship between equals, and more like that between a master and a servant. Tarson was the Vanisher most loyal to Miles, following Miles out of respect, instead of simply for money. Tarson's loyalty makes Miles more fond of him than most of his men. Despite Tarson's rank as second in command of the Vanishers, he did not take much of independent initiative in his leadership role within the Vanishers. Miles kept him in an enforcement role, keeping him around to take hostages and hit whatever Miles wanted him to hit. He also reported findings from the other Vanishers, as well as their general morale to Miles. Tarson assisted Miles personally during Vanisher robberies. When Waxillium and his allies confronted Miles in the foundry below the Ironspine, Tarson was the last of Miles' allies to die, shot by Wax while holding Marasi at gunpoint.

Despite his leadership of the Vanishers, Miles commanded little loyalty from most of the other men within his organization. The men followed him, not out of a sense of duty or because they shared his beliefs, but instead because of their fear of him and desire for money. Miles once fired a shotgun into his own head to prove to them that he could not be killed. Miles' past as a lawman worries them, and when they lose to Waxillium, some wonder if Miles had colluded with Ladrian and betrayed them. Miles has no real affection for the Vanishers himself, they are more tools in his mind and he expresses no sorrow when they are lost or captured. Miles believes that the fact that the Vanishers work for him pardons them from their previous crimes. He still carries his lighter bearing the symbol of the lawmen of True Madil, despite the fact that it makes the Vanishers uncomfortable. Miles is the mastermind behind the Vanishers' theatricality. He wants to gain attention from the City for his cause and draw people with similar beliefs to his cause. Miles also loves the notoriety that the Vanishers brings him, despite the fact that the people of Elendel fear him, they also love him as they never did when he enforced the law.

Edwarn Ladrian and The Set

See Also: Edwarn Ladrian and the Set

Miles and Edwarn Ladrian are at best allies of circumstance. Neither man particularly likes or trusts the other. Miles had the vision for the Vanishers, and Suit helped him make this vision a reality. Miles does not like being under close observation by Edwarn, but for his part he spends time tracking Suit's movements. Edwarn likes Miles because he is usually careful in his actions, but Miles' erratic behavior dealing with Wax causes him to question this belief. Edwarn wonders if Miles is has some lingering grudge with Waxillium from their time in the Roughs. He also does not understand Miles' obsession with creating an aura of mystery around the Vanisher robberies. Miles for his part does not like that Ladrian is a part of the Elendel nobility, but is willing to work with him to further his goals. However, Edwarn is so powerful and well-connected the Miles wonders if he has gotten himself entangled in forces beyond his control. Edwarn dislikes having to watch over his underlings too much, he prefers to allow them to run things on their own with occasional oversight, but Miles' actions force him to take a more active management role. As Edwarn's trust in Miles' ability to handle Wax falters, he assigns the Allomancers Push and Pull to keep an eye on him.

Miles did not know the Set particularly well. The Set does not like Miles, Edwarn Ladrian has to work hard to convince them that he is effective, despite the potential liability he also offers. Edwarn has particular trouble convincing them to continue to support Miles after the disastrous raid at the Yomen wedding. Miles has no real loyalty to the Set, as they are a part of the establishment themselves, but he is uncertain if he will eventually turn against them or not. After Miles fails to kill Wax himself, the Set fears he is becoming too well-known and orders him to go to ground for six months after his final raid. His thievery also helps to fund the Set itself. The Set always intended for Miles to be caught, and used the collapse of House Tekiel's insurance business to gain additional control of the financial sector in the Elendel Basin.

Quotes

“What we do, it is not outside the law. Not the true law. Oh, the rich will make their own codes, will force us to live by them. But our law is the law of humanity itself. Men who work for me, they are given the dispensation of reform. Their work here washes away their previous ... infractions. Tell them I am proud of them, Clamps. I realize we've been through something traumatic, but we did survive. We will face tomorrow with greater strength. ”

—Miles to the Vanishers after their defeat at the Yomen-Ostlin wedding dinner

“Nobody cares about the Roughs—they barely seem to notice us save as a place to deposit their trash. ”

—Miles on the Roughs

“I am tired of doing what the city tells me. I should be helping people, not fighting meaningless fights as prescribed by the corrupt and the uncaring. ”

—Miles to Wax

“You are fools! One day the men of gold and red, bearers of the final metal, will come for you and you will be ruled by them... Worship... Worship Trell and wait. ”

—Miles

Development

“Can't you see? Can't you see what important work we could be doing? Can't you see that we're meant to be doing it, perhaps even ruling. It's almost like like we, with the powers we have, are divine ”

—Miles to Wax

Miles was created to explore a different look at a character like Kelsier. In the original Mistborn trilogy, Kell is one of the heroes of the tale. A brave revolutionary, he commits whatever crime is necessary to overthrow the corrupt regime of the Final Empire, removing those in charge and starting a new era of peace. Miles on the other hand, wants all of those same things, but he is painted as a villain, because our heroes this time are on the side of the establishment. Kell and Miles have similar methods, personalities, and goals, yet one is hero and one is a villain. These are the sort of ideas Brandon wanted to play with in the development of the character of Miles.

This is also another place where Brandon wants to explore themes of how men act when they are given the powers of gods. This is a theme that he has touched on with the Lord Ruler, Kelsier, Zane, and Spook. In real life, there is no evidence for superior bloodlines, but on Scadrial Allomancy and Feruchemy are inherited traits, lending credence to the idea that some men are better than others. Miles, due to his invincibility, has come to think of himself as divine. Brandon one day wants to tackle this theme directly.

Trivia

• If Miles were somehow to be severed perfectly in half and he attempted to heal himself, his spirit would randomly choose a half of his body from which to regrow a new half of his body.

Notes

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Windrunner (talk) 21:54, 3 June 2016 (MST)