Difference between revisions of "Tindwyl"

{{character

|abilities={{tag+|feruchemist}}

|profession=[[Keeper]]

|died={{date|c 1024|fe}}

|nation=Terris

|world=Scadrial

|universe=[[Cosmere]]

}}

'''Tindwyl''' is a [[Keeper]] of [[Terris]] and a member of the [[Synod]]. She is well-known and respected among the Terris people. She spent much of her life in the [[Lord Ruler]]'s breeding program, and had over twenty children, around fifteen of which were girls.{{book ref|mb2|45}} A year after the [[Collapse]], she traveled to [[Luthadel]] at [[Sazed]]'s wish in order to train [[Elend Venture]] in leadership. She quickly became a member of Elend's inner circle. After this, she and Sazed studied the rubbing he made of [[Kwaan's inscription]], and during that time they became romantically involved. She died during the [[Siege of Luthadel]], slain by [[Koloss]].

 

== Appearance and Personality ==

 

Tindwyl is highly knowledgeable and intelligent. Like all Keepers, she has a love of learning.{{book ref|mb2|37}} Her area of focus is the biographies of great men of the past — generals, kings, and emperors, most of whom have been forgotten under the [[Lord Ruler]]'s reign.{{book ref|mb2|14}} When she is absorbed in a task, she is single-minded in her dedication towards it, staying awake for over a week while she and Sazed study the [[Kwaan's inscription|rubbing]] he made at the [[Conventical of Seran]].{{book ref|mb2|45}}

She is also very perceptive and quick to see the truth of people, and adept at giving them what they need — in tutoring Elend, she is firm and harsh; with Vin she is kind and tries to help her see and accept herself.{{book ref|mb2|25}} Due to her perceptiveness, while studying the rubbing she is also able to pick out the inconsistency in [[Kwaan]]’s narrative, which has been tampered with by [[Ruin]].{{book ref|mb2|41}} Her understanding of people also helps her to achieve things through indirect means. She masterfully gets Elend to do things and admit things to her on more than one occasion, such as getting him to accept being referred to by an honorific, and getting him to express the sincerity of his love for Vin.{{book ref|mb2|20}}

 

 

 

== History ==

Tindwyl had also invited Allrianne, and commandeered the services of [[Spook]] to act as packman. During the carriage ride on their way to Kenton Street, Tindwyl observed Vin and Allrianne’s interactions. When Allrianne asked Tindwyl if they would be safe, she assured her that they would be, looking at Vin.

 

 

Upon arriving at their destination, Tindwyl surveyed the area before leading them to a dressmaker’s shop. Allrianne and Spook went ahead, and Tindwyl remarked upon her eagerness to Vin, noting how she must not have had an opportunity to shop in weeks. Vin, unsympathetic, expressed her annoyance at this. Tindwyl chastised her, pointing out that judging Allrianne for her flippancy was akin to others judging Vin herself for her simplicity. Vin protested that she liked when people judged her, for then they didn’t expect anything from her. Tindwyl, ever-perceptive, gestured to the shop, where gowns and dresses were on display, and asked whether Vin didn’t miss it all in that case. As they went on into the shop, Tindwyl remarked that she had heard Vin enjoyed noble society, and dressing as a woman. She asked if her refusal to do so now meant she didn’t like it after all, to which Vin admitted that she had stopped wearing dresses because she had, on the contrary, liked them too much. Over the course of their conversation, Vin admitted to Tindwyl how she felt at odds with herself, unable to consolidate the person she had pretended to be as Valette with the other sides of herself. Tindwyl then brought up Elend, and why they had not yet married. Vin voiced her insecurities, confessing how she believed herself to be wrong for him, because he should marry someone who could be a queen and not just a bodyguard — someone like Allrianne. Tindwyl gently reassured her that Elend had fallen in love with Vin, and loved her as she was. When Vin protested that Elend had loved her fake persona, Tindwyl pointed out that after discovering her true self, he was still with her. She explained to Vin how people had more to them than was immediately apparent, encouraging her to see and accept herself as Elend did. Vin asked if Tindwyl was trying to turn her into a queen for Elend, to which she responded that she was simply trying to help Vin become herself, before pushing her to try on a few dresses.

 

==== A King Deposed ====

 

As Elend began going through his law books, he asked whether Sazed had been summoned. Spook said that he had not been able to wake him, and Tindwyl called this an ‘issue of the Keepers’, assuming the crew had no knowledge of Feruchemy. When it was revealed that Sazed has explained it to them, she was highly displeased. She then went on to note that Sazed could not be of any assistance to them in this anyway, since as a travelling Keeper he was not to take sides in politics. When Breeze noted that overthrowing the Lord Ruler had been political, Tindwyl, annoyed, told the crew that if they were truly Sazed’s friends they would not encourage him to break his vows. Breeze wondered if she was simply put-out that the Synod couldn’t punish Sazed’s rule-breaking, and attempted to Soothe her. Tindwyl was unruffled, telling him that he would find no success in trying to push on her emotions, and he gave up.

Elend explained what had been on his mind: that during the vote for king, he had had an opportunity to lie, which would have secured his place on the throne. Instead he had told the truth, and lost the throne to [[Penrod]]. Tindwyl was unsurprised by this, as Elend had expected. He went on to ask whether what he had done was foolish. Tindwyl found it so, but argued that it wasn’t specifically that which lead to his losing the throne; rather, it was because he refused to do anything dishonorable to secure his place. Elend asked whether it was possible to both follow his conscience and be a good king, to which neither Tindwyl nor Sazed had an answer. Elend posed his question to Sazed about whether he should have lied; Sazed disagreed, saying that Elend had been true to himself. Tindwyl liked Elend’s ideals, but worried that his losing the throne could end badly for Luthadel’s people. However, Sazed maintained Elend had done the right thing and believed the rest was up to providence — or rather, God. Elend, skeptical, expressed his view on God being simply a tool of the [[Steel_Ministry#Obligators|obligators]]. As they discussed religion further, Elend noted the inconsistency of all the different religions Sazed preached and how they couldn’t all possibly be real. Tindwyl, returning to the original topic, told Elend that while she didn’t agree with his decisions, he had done what he thought was right, which was commendable. When Elend asked Tindwyl what he should do next, however, she had no answer.He then asked what the men in her biographies would have done. She again had no answer as according to her they would not have found themselves in his situation to begin with. Elend debated about whether a title was all there was to being king, before seeming to realize something and abruptly leaving. Slightly confused, Tindwyl allowed Sazed to guide her attention back to their studies.{{book ref|mb2|41}}

 

 

The day after Vin’s attack on Cett’s army, Tindwyl and Sazed were still studying the rubbing and looking for the context they desired. Tindwyl found a quotation of the [[Hero of Ages]] prophecy, having used the rubbing as a means of translating different names for the Hero, and she wrote it out for Sazed. While the quote she found did not tell them anything new, the careful wording used in prophecies was something to consider. Sazed, noting her discomfort at the prophecy, did not expect such a reaction from her considering what they were studying. Tindwyl, not being a believer, told him that while she collected knowledge, she thought religion was untrue. The discussed further, Sazed expressing his opinion that religions were expressions of hope. Tindwyl pointed out that the religions of the past had not saved the people from the Lord Ruler. She saw the value of religion from an academic standpoint, but could not believe it to be true. She then realized that Sazed believed Vin to be the Hero of Ages, which she found to be too big a coincidence to be plausible. Her rationale for studying the Deepness and the Hero was that since the Deepness had been defeated in the past, they could look to history to see how to defeat it again by studying the myths and legends by which the story had survived. Deciding this was something they could not agree on, they returned to their research.

=== Legacy ===

In Northern [[Scadrial]], Tindwyl is remembered as one of the [[Preservers]] and is given the epithet "Mother of Terris."{{book ref|mb6|13}} In [[Elendel]], Tindwyl Promenade in the Fourth Octant is named for her.{{map ref|Elendel}}

 

== Relationships ==

=== Sazed ===

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== Notes ==

<references />

{{Mistborn|Era 1}}