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{{quote
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|[[Kelsier]]
}}
'''Preservation''' is a [[Shard]] of [[Adonalsium]], one of the two located on [[Scadrial]]. Its original [[Vessel]] was [[Leras]], but has since been held by [[Kelsier]]
== Intent ==
{{quote
|If he had his way you'd all be frozen in time, unable to act lest you harm one another.
|[[Ati]] on Preservation{{msh ref|4|4}}
}}
Preservation seeks to provide stability and preserve the world and its inhabitants in their current state. It values the status quo, regardless of whether or not the people living underneath it are happy, and supports those who seek to keep it.{{msh ref|1|1}} It has distinct difficulty acting in a destructive way; it causes the Vessel almost physical pain to wound or kill.{{msh ref|2|4}}
Preservation is the perfect opposite and complimentary Shard of [[Ruin]]. This is rather unique in the [[cosmere]], as most Shards cannot be paired off in this way.{{wob ref|5518}}
==
{{image|WOA GE cover art.jpg|side=right|width=250px|An [[Allomancer]] using her powers}}
=== Allomancy ===
{{for|Allomancy}}
Preservation fuels [[Allomancy]], one of the three [[Metallic Arts]] of [[Scadrial]]. Unlike most forms of magic in the [[cosmere]], the power is inherited rather than gained; an Allomancer can be a Misting, able to use only one allomantic ability, or a Mistborn, capable of utilizing all of them.{{book ref|mb1|4}} Power is gained by consuming and then "burning" a metal, but the metal itself is not the source of the power. Rather, it acts as a key, unlocking access to Preservation's power, which can be used differently depending on which metal has been burned.{{wob ref|6072}}
There are sixteen "base" metals that can be used in Allomancy, divided into four categories: '''physical metals''', which alter a person or their surroundings, '''mental metals''', which interact with emotions and supernatural senses, '''temporal metals''', which change the perception and passage of time, and '''enhancement metals''', which change the behavior of other allomantic abilities.{{file ref|Table of Allomantic Metals.jpeg|text=Table of Allomantic Metals}} Additionally, there exists a number of metals that are derived directly from [[Shard]]s, among them [[atium]], [[lerasium]] and [[trellium]]. Though most are not of Preservation, they and their alloys can also be burned by some Allomancers.{{book ref|mb3|74}}
=== Feruchemy ===
{{for|Feruchemy}}
[[Feruchemy]] is a Metallic Art created from both Preservation and [[Ruin]].{{wob ref|5269}} Much like Allomancy, it is inheritable, and a person can be either a Ferring, with access to only one power, or a Feruchemist, capable of using all of them.{{book ref|mb6|3}} A Ferring or Feruchemist stores an aspect of themselves, such as their strength or speed, in a piece of metal dubbed a metalmind, with the metal used determining the atribute stored. When storing, this aspect is diminished in them -- for example, storing strength makes one physically weaker. Later, the same person can withdraw the power from a metalmind, or tap the metalmind, to increase that attribute in themselves.{{book ref|mb4|part=ars}}
Feruchemy utilizes the same base sixteen metals as Allomancy, albeit the effects produced are slightly different. The metals in Feruchemy are divided into '''physical metals''', which store physical attributes of a person, '''cognitive metals''', which store attributes of the mind, '''spiritual metals''', which store attributes of the soul, and '''hybrid metals''', which store attributes related to bodily processes, like health or energy.{{file ref|Feruchemical table.jpg|text=Table of Feruchemical Metals}} [[Shard]]ic metals can also be used to store other attributes.
=== Lerasium ===
{{for|Lerasium}}
[[Lerasium]] is the so-called god metal of Preservation, or the metallic form of its body. Preservation's Vessel can create them deliberately; it's unknown whether it'll form on its own.{{wob ref|6046}} Unlike most metals, Lerasium can be burned by any person who ingests it. Doing so transforms a person into a Mistborn of power exceeding that of a natural-born Allomancer; if a Mistborn burned it, it would enhance their pre-existing powers.{{wob ref|10116}} It can also be alloyed with any of the base sixteen metals to make someone a Misting of the alloyed metal.{{file ref|Table of Allomantic Metals.jpeg|text=Table of Allomantic Metals}}
=== Mists ===
{{image|Vin In the Mists by clarinking.jpg|side=right|width=250px|[[Vin]] floating in Preservation's mists}}
{{for|Mist}}
The [[mist]] of Scadrial is the gaseous form of Preservation's [[Investiture]]. Unlike [[Stormlight]] and similarly to [[Breath]], the mist can be programmed to automatically perform specific tasks, albeit the only one capable of doing so is Preservation itself. Under [[Leras]]' command, the mists would go out at night and seek out potential Allomancers, then Snap them to awaken their power; this process continued even after Preservation has been killed, up until [[Sazed]] took on the power.{{epigraph ref|mb3|81}} Under [[Sazed]], the Mists only come out at specific nights, and turned from a continent-wide pattern into localized phenomena.{{wob ref|5308}} They are no longer used for Snapping, but some believe that [[Harmony]] can use them to observe the world.{{wob ref|4939}}{{book ref|mb6|14}}
The mists can be used by Preservation to manifest as a so-called '''mist spirit'''. The spirit has limited power to influence the world around it, curtailed further by Preservation's natural disinclination towards acting in general; however, under right circumstances it is able to interact with physical objects.{{msh ref|2|4}} Both Preservation and later Harmony can also use the mists to fuel the Allomancy of people they chose to empower, circumventing the need for metals.{{book ref|mb3|73}}
=== Direct intervention ===
{{quote
|They say that You come to all people when they die.
|[[Wax]]{{book ref|mb6|28}}
}}
Having directly created [[Scadrial]] along with Ruin, Preservation has vast amount of control over the planet. A person holding the Shard's power 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.{{book ref|mb3|82}}{{wob ref|8025}} Direct killing is, however, directly against its Intent and thus extremely difficult bordering on impossible.{{msh ref|2|4}}
Preservation is able to hear the voice of any living Scadrian, but cannot speak to them; full two-way communication is only possible through the use of both it and [[Ruin]].{{book ref|mb3|10}} It can manifest a body in Scadrial's [[Cognitive Realm]], which both [[Leras]] and [[Sazed]] use to speak with the recently-deceased before they pass on thorugh to the [[Beyond]].{{msh ref|1|1}}{{book ref|mb6|28}}
== History ==
{{for|Leras#History|the history of Leras prior to becoming Preservation}}
{{image|Fuzz by Matthew Johnson.jpeg|side=right|width=250px|Leras falling apart}}
=== The deal with Ruin ===
{{quote
|I was able to trick Ruin before, lock him away, by fooling him with our agreement.
|[[Leras]]{{msh ref|3|1}}
}}
Following the death of [[Adonalsium]], [[Leras]] and [[Ati]] picked up the Shards Preservation and [[Ruin]]. They departed [[Yolen]] together, before eventually finding their way to a star system empty of inhabitable planets.{{au ref|Scadrian}} The two Shards found themselves at a stalemate; both knew they could only create something together, yet with one wishing to preserve, and the other to destroy, they could not easily cooperate.{{epigraph ref|mb3|53}} Eventually, Preservation offered a deal -- the two would create a world together, and Ruin would eventually be able to destroy it. Preservation [[Investiture|Invested]] more of his power into humans, thus guaranteeing for Ruin that he would one day be able to overcome and destroy it.{{epigraph ref|mb3|54}} Thus, [[Scadrial]] was formed.
However, Preservation exploited a loophole in the pact and trapped Ruin's mind in Preservation's own [[perpendicularity]], the [[Well of Ascension]], and a portion of its power -- in the metal [[atium]].{{epigraph ref|mb3|46}} This made the two powers all but equal, but at the cost of Preservation's mind.{{epigraph ref|mb3|55}} Leras was, for all intents and purposes, dead; it was only a matter of time before his consciousness would dissipate, leaving the Shard free to be taken or fall apart.{{msh ref|2|1}}
However, before his mind began to truly die, Preservation made a series of preparations to orchestrate Ruin's downfall. Over time, Ruin changed many of them, but the core of the plan did remain.{{msh ref|2|4}}{{msh ref|1|2}} The [[mist]]s of Scadrial were part of this plan, designed to awaken [[Allomancy]]. Though they maintained this role, Ruin twisted the mists into the dangerous [[Deepness]].{{epigraph ref|mb3|81}}
=== Rashek ===
As the power in the Well of Ascension continued to build, it had to be taken up and used roughly once per millennium.{{book ref|mb3|63}} However, to give the power up altogether would release Ruin; as such, [[Ati]] twisted the prophecies to suggest that that was what had to be done.{{msh ref|2|3}}
In one such cycle, [[Alendi]] travelled to the [[Well of Ascension]], with the intent of releasing the power. Preservation attempted to stop him, and its mist spirit murdered one of Alendi's travelling companions. Afterward, [[Rashek]] took up the power in the Well to prevent the release of Ruin, and used it to reshape the world of Scadrial in an attempt to get rid of the mists. This was only partially successful, as he ended up moving the planet too close to the sun, and had to make further changes to compensate.{{epigraph ref|mb3|4}}
Eventually, Rashek used the power of the Well to make himself a [[Mistborn]] in addition to being a [[Feruchemist]]. He also empowered a cadre of allies and friends who would become the foundation of the nobility, leading to the creation of [[The Final Empire]].{{epigraph ref|mb3|62}}
{{image|Mist Spirit by Jan Sidoryk.jpg|side=right|width=250px|Preservation's mist spirit}}
=== The release of Ruin ===
A thousand years later, after [[Kelsier]] was killed by [[Rashek]] -- now know as the Lord Ruler -- he found himself in the [[Cognitive Realm]] and face to face with an apparition of Leras. After promptly punching it in the face, Kelsier tricked Preservation into revealing how to become a [[Cognitive Shadow]], and was subsequently trapped in the [[Well of Ascension]] as it began to overflow once more.{{msh ref|1|1}}
Both Preservation and Ruin picked [[Vin]] as one of its unwitting agents many centuries prior, though Ruin attempted to stifle Preservation's influence by piercing child Vin with a [[Hemalurgic]] spike at birth. The first sign of [[Vin]]'s connection to Preservation was when she attempted to fight the Lord Ruler and drew on the mist to fuel her [[Allomancy]].{{book ref|mb1|38}} A year later, she began to hear the beat of the Well as it called for someone to once more take up the power. At the time, Preservation's mist spirit began to appear to her on multiple occassions as Leras was looking for a way to stop her from releasing the power.{{book ref|mb2|47}}
Ultimately, Vin and [[Elend]] found themselves at the Well of Ascension, where, unseen to the, Kelsier's spirit had just learned of the danger in releasing the power. In a last bid to stop Vin from freeing Ruin, Kelsier grabbed Leras by the arm and forced him to slash [[Elend]], dealing him a deadly stomach wound. However, this was for naught, as Vin elected to release the power anyway out of sense of duty. To prevent Elend's death, Leras led Vin to the last remaining bead of [[lerasium]], making him a [[Mistborn]].{{msh ref|2|3}}
=== The death of Leras ===
{{quote
|Odd. After all these years appearing for others as they died, I never expected . . . that my own passing would be so cold and lonely. . . .
|[[Leras]]{{msh ref|6|4}}
}}
Following Ruin's release, Kelsier was once more able to move freely about Scadrial's Cognitive Realm. Resigned, Preservation led him to [[Khriss]] and [[Nazh]], a pair of worldhoppers with knowledge of the greater [[cosmere]] mechanics. Though Khriss insisted that they could not help, Nazh pointed Kelsier towards the [[Ire]], an [[Elantrian]] organization aiming to take the power of Preservation for themselves.{{msh ref|3|1}}{{msh ref|3|2}} In their fortress, Kelsier managed to acquire [[Ire's orb]], a device with capacity to grant [[Connection]] to Preservation.{{msh ref|5|2}}
At the same time, Leras was rapidly dying. As the mist spirit, he appeared one last time to [[Elend]] as the latter was almost ready to give up when escorting a large group of captured koloss back to [[Fadrex City]]. By this time, Preservation was too weak to perform any significant actions and could only vaguely communicate with Elend, attempting to convince him not to besiege Fadrex.{{book ref|mb3|55}} Shortly after Elend departed, Leras died, and his body fell back into the [[Physical Realm]].{{epigraph ref|mb3|56}}
=== Kelsier ===
{{quote
|Do you know why I always won at card tricks, Ruin? It's because I could always. Force. People to choose. The card '''I wanted them to.'''
|[[Kelsier]]{{msh ref|6|7}}
}}
Aware of Leras' death, Kelsier broke the orb and used its power to ascend to Preservation himself before the power could splinter fully. However, the power did not obey him fully, as he was not one of the people intended to use it.{{msh ref|6|3}} Kelsier resigned himself to affecting the world around him in minor ways, and eventually formed a plan to get the power to [[Vin]], who was held back by the hemalurgic spike in her ear.{{msh ref|6|4}} He finally managed to contact [[Spook]], who sent a message informing Vin about the spike.{{msh ref|6|6}}
The message was not, however, meant for Vin -- rather, it was meant for [[Marsh]], who was hunting Vin. When Marsh saw the letter, Kelsier put the whole of his power against Ruin to distract Ati. This allowed Marsh the freedom to understand what the letter meant and rip the earring out of Vin. This allowed Kelsier to give Preservation over to her.{{msh ref|6|7}}
{{image|Mistborn by Hunter Bonyun.jpg|side=right|width=350px|Vin empowering Elend}}
=== Vin ===
{{quote
|You created the thing that can kill you, Ruin.
|[[Vin]]{{book ref|mb3|81}}
}}
Initially, Vin was using Preservation's power with little skill, much like Rashek had, and at every turn, her actions were countered by Ruin.{{book ref|mb3|73}}{{book ref|mb3|76}} At the same time, Elend realized that the people being snapped by the out-of-control mists were in one-sixteenth [[atium]] Mistings, who Leras planned on to burn atium, denying Ruin its own power.{{book ref|mb3|81}}
At the [[Battle of Hathsin]], as Marsh and Elend fought, Vin fuelled Elend's Allomancy to allow him to keep up. During the fight, he burned [[atium]] with [[duralumin]], which allowed him to perceive whole of Preservation's plan. Now aware of what had to be done, Elend let Marsh kill him. Vin, now with her last reason to live gone, likewise realized why she held the power. As someone new to it, she was able to use it in destructive ways, as it has not yet warped her mind to its intent. She rammed into Ruin with the whole of her power, killing them both.{{book ref|mb3|81}}
=== Sazed ===
{{quote
|I am, unfortunately, the Hero of Ages .
|[[Sazed]]{{book ref|mb3|1}}
}}
As [[Sazed]] observed the battle drawing to a close, he ran out to find Vin, unaware that she was no longer alive. He eventually managed to find her and [[Ati]]'s corpses. Distraught, he called out to Preservation, raging that despite Ruin's death, the world was still ending. It was then that the two bodies began leaking the powers of Preservation and Ruin. Though initially doubtful that he could hold them, Sazed eventually realized that he was, in fact, the prophesied [[Hero of Ages]], bound to take up both powers and restore the world. Thus, he grabbed both powers and used them to restore Scadrial, merging the two Shards together into [[Harmony]].{{book ref|mb3|82}}
{{for|Harmony|the history of the Shard following its merging with Ruin}}
== Influence ==
{{quote
|When something grows, or dies, the Jaggenmire make that happen. There is Herr, and his sister Frue, who is also his wife. And she makes things stop, and he makes things go.
|[[Allik]] on [[Ruin]] and [[Preservation]]{{book ref|mb6|22}}
}}
Preservation is worshipped as a god by many Scadrian cultures. The [[Terris]] have perhaps honored it the longest; they were worshipping it before [[The Lord Ruler]] as '''Terr''', and have kept it up even centuries after the [[Final Ascension]], when the Preservation was already merged into [[Harmony]].{{book ref|mb3|64}}{{book ref|mb6|prologue}} In the [[Southern Scadrial]], Preservation is worshipped as part of a pair of gods with [[Ruin]]; the two are known together as a single entity, the '''Jaggenmire''', with Preservation's part of it being called '''Frue'''. Frue is considered to be female, and the Jaggenmire are believed to be both siblings and spouses.{{book ref|mb6|22}}
Preservation is the author of the [[Terris Prophecies]], a set of legends that foretold the coming of the [[Hero of Ages]]. Leras created them as part of his plan to ultimately defeat Ruin, and although [[Ati]] twisted the prophecies over time to serve his ends instead, they were successful in this regard and have led to the creation of Harmony.{{wob ref|8056}} On a smaller scale, Leras, with aid of [[Kelsier]], was responsible for stabbing [[Elend]] at the [[Well of Ascension]], leading to him becoming a [[Mistborn]], and the mist spirit snapped Allomancers for many centuries.{{msh ref|2|4}}{{epigraph ref|mb3|72}}
== Trivia ==
* The Southern name for Preservation, Frue, is the Danish word meaning "lady" or "Mrs", and is close to German Frau ("Miss"), matching the name for Ruin, Herr (German for "Mister").
== Notes ==
<references />
{{partial}}
{{Mistborn|Era 1}}
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