Difference between revisions of "User:Chaos2651/Cosmere"

They came up with a deal: they would work together to create life, with the condition that Ruin would eventually get to destroy them.{{book ref}} But Preservation wanted to create life that they had seen before--humanity{{citebook ref|mb3|76}}--and creating sapient life required more energy. Ruin was not willing to put in that extra energy, so Preservation did. This lead to Preservation being slightly weaker than Ruin. Because of this, Preservation knew that Ruin would inevitably triumph and destroy what they created.{{epigraph ref|mb3|54}}

Preservation attacked Ruin with his mental power--the distinct mind controlling the Shard's power, rather than the power itself. This would trap Ruin's mind, making him mostly impotent.{{epigraph ref|mb3|55}} However, it cost almost all of Preservation's mind. Preservation knew that the moment he did this attack, he would not be able to help life on Scadrial. Preservation saw the future, creating the [[Terris Prophecies]], to give hope to humanity, and to let humanity know that he had a plan in mind.{{annotation ref|mb3|chapter=81}} He also altered [[Allomancy]] so that there would be [[atium]] (and [[malatium]]) Mistings,{{cite}} and set up his power--the mists--to Snap those Allomancers.{{cite}} And with that, Preservation gave up his mind, imprisoning Ruin in the [[Well of Ascension]], the essence of Preservation's mind.

{{sidequote|He bears the weight of God's own divine hatred, separated from the virtues that gave it context. He is what we made him to be, old friend. And that is what he, unfortunately, wished to become.|The Second Letter|left|300px}}

On Scadrial, the [[Well of Ascension]], that power that came from Preservation's mind, could be utilized by humanity. For much of Classical Scadrian history, a person called the [[Hero of Ages]] by the [[Terris Prophecies]] would take up the power and become a protector of mankind. They would live the rest of their lives blessing people with the power of Preservation, renewing Ruin's prison, and watch over the world.{{citeqa ref|727|43|What was Vin supposed to do at the end of Well of Ascension?|date=October, 2008}} The power did not vanish, instead returning every 1024 years.{{citeqa ref|691|3|The well refills every 1024 years|date=May, 2010}}

Ruin was keenly interested in the Well of Ascension. If he could get a person to hold the power there, but instead of utilize the power, release it, then the prison on Ruin's mind would vanish, and he would then be free to finally destroy the world.{{bookepigraph ref|mb3|46}} To do this, Ruin manipulated the Terris Prophecies over a long period of time. He made it so the Hero of Ages would include the "sacred piercings," actually [[Hemalurgy|Hemalurgic]] piercings, so he could influence the Hero.{{bookqa ref|727|30|Alendi's "Piercings of the Hero"?|date=Oct 16 2008|asker=VegasDev}} More importantly, Ruin changed the Prophecies extensively so that the Well and the Hero's purpose was obscured.{{qa ref|727|43|What was Vin supposed to do at the end of Well of Ascension?|date=October, 2008}} Now the Hero was supposed to take the Well's power and release it.{{book ref}}

Then, Ruin drove the world into desperate straits so that people would believe in a hero of ancient prophecy. If he fought Preservation, the mists--the Shard of Preservation's direct essence--which still protected the land would oppose him. So, he used Preservation to his advantage: the mists Snapped [[Allomancy|Allomancers]], and people misinterpreted the mists as a negative thing. Instead of fighting against the mists' action, Ruin enhanced them, bringing the death of plants, and causing the threat that became the [[Deepness]].{{bookepigraph ref|mb3|81}}

Thus, when a [[Terris]] [[Worldbringer]], [[Kwaan]], claimed that [[Alendi]] was the Hero of Ages,{{bookepigraph ref|mb2|13}} Ruin saw an opportunity. He altered the Terris Prophecies to fit Alendi more perfectly.{{bookepigraph ref|mb2|40}} Alendi came to persuade kings and all the Worldbringers who denied him that he was the Hero, and under the threat of the Deepness, Alendi was their leader.{{bookepigraph ref|mb2|23}}{{epigraph ref|mb2|24}} So, to defeat the threat of the Deepness, Alendi traveled to the mountains of Terris, where the Well of Ascension lay, to take up the power, and release it to eliminate the Deepness.{{bookepigraph ref|mb2|50}}

And Rashek did murder Alendi. Rashek took the power of the Well himself, and in those few moments of [[Ascension of the Lord Ruler|Ascension]], he tried to stop the Deepness by moving Scadrial itself closer to the sun, to burn the mists. To counteract the heat, he created the Ashmounts.{{epigraph ref|mb3|4}} He also altered humans on Scadrial, creating [[skaa]] and [[noble]]s. He learned of the [[Metallic Arts]], developing Hemalurgic constructs, and with the discovery of [[Allomancy]], he figured out a way to combine Allomancy and his Feruchemy to become immortal (through Compounding).{{epigraph ref|mb3|9}} Rashek would be the Lord Ruler, the Hero of Ages, and protect the world from Ruin.{{book ref|mb3|48}}

Ruin saw the Lord Ruler's poor use of the power and saw that the Lord Ruler would be an agent of spectacular destruction.{{book ref|mb3|63}} So, subtly, Ruin manipulated him to destroy. The Lord Ruler did do things to stymie Ruin, such as hiding [[atium]],{{book ref|mb3|71}} but Ruin's subtle manipulations took a toll on the man, and led to him subjugating his own people, among other atrocities. But as destructive as the Lord Ruler was, a thousand years later, the Well of Ascension was about to refill. The Lord Ruler planned to retake the Well's power,{{annotation ref|mb3|2|chapter=63}} and Ruin would not have that happen.

So, Ruin plotted the Lord Ruler's downfall. He subtly put in [[Kelsier]]'s mind the idea of an [[malatium|"eleventh metal"]] to the ten known Allomantic metals of the time.{{epigraph ref|mb3|24}}{{book ref|11m}} This, combined with Kelsier's desire to see his [[Mare|dead wife]] avenged and her dreams of a world without ash be a reality, led Kelsier to seek to kill the Lord Ruler. He formed his [[Kelsier's crew|crew]], consisting of many, but including [[Vin]], a skaa Mistborn who Ruin manipulated; [[Marsh]], his brother; and [[Sazed]], a Terris [[Keeper]], who studied the past before the Lord Ruler. In the process of leading the skaa to revolt against the Final Empire, the Lord Ruler killed Kelsier.{{book ref|mb1|34}} Vin confronted the Lord Ruler, and using the power of the [[malatium|"Eleventh metal"]], discovered that the Lord Ruler was a Feruchemist.{{book ref|mb1|38}} She somehow drew upon the mists and pushed the Lord Ruler's metalminds away, leading to his death a mere two years before the Well was replenished.{{book ref|mb1|38}}

Ruin now needed a person who could hold the Well's power. The servants he could touch most easily through Hemalurgy, the [[Steel Inquisitor]]s, could not hold Preservation's power,{{epigraph ref|mb3|49}} so Ruin hadchose Vin to do it. Ruin, early in Vin's life, had caused her mother to go insane, killing her sister with an earring. The earring turned out to be a Hemalurgic spike, so Ruin could influence Vin. The spike, through increased [[bronze]] Allomancy, allowed Vin to hear the pulses of the Well of Ascension.{{epigraph ref|mb3|74}} Ruin strengthened the mists again to recreate the threat of the Deepness, and influenced events so that Vin seemed like the Hero of Ages.

With all this, Ruin led Vin and Sazed to the Well of Ascension for them to "save" the world once again. However, Preservation had a shadow of his mind left, and in the form of a mist spirit, tried to foil Ruin.{{epigraph ref|mb3|56}} Preservation even wounded Vin's husband, [[Elend]], at the Well so Vin would use the power to heal Elend instead of releasing it. But Vin did what the prophecies supposedly asked, releasing the power.{{book ref|mb2|58}}

Ruin could now directly affect the world, but the power of Preservation--in the form of the mists--still protected the planet.{{epigraph ref|mb3|58}} Ruin had been weakened since the Lord Ruler hid his essence, [[atium]], and so Ruin and Preservation were balanced again. Ruin could not find the atium personally, as he could not see metal, and the [[Steel Inquisitors]], had spikes in their eyes, and so had this same flaw. So, Ruin continued to use his pawn, Vin, along with Elend, to find the atium for him.{{cite}}

Ruin did not know that Preservation had actually selected Vin to take up his power,{{epigraph ref|mb3|74}} which enabled Vin to draw upon the mists--Preservation--directly.{{epigraph Thisref|mb3|79}} allowedUnfortunately, Vin to draw upon the mists, but she could not douse sothis power with her earring being a Hemalurgic spike, as Hemalurgy, being of Ruin, pushed away Preservation.{{epigraph ref|mb3|77}}

In those final days, the shadow of Preservation's mind that remained communicated with Elend, and then passed.{{book ref|mb3|55}} This had the potential to be a catastrophic event: when a Shard lacks a mind controlling it, and the power has no "release," it is incredibly baddangerous, as happened on Sel when [[Odium]] destroyed [[Devotion]] and [[Dominion]].{{citeqa ref|944|7|Does Roshar have a similar problem, with Honor being Splintered?|date=March 2013|asker=Windrunner}} Fortunately, Kelsier, who had not passed on beyond the [[Realmatic Theory|Three Realms]], held onto Preservation's power for just a little longer, until Vin could take it up.{{qa ref|727|50|Hero of Ages Q&A - TWG|date=2008-10-17}}

Vin eventually caught onto Ruin's ploys, and would not find the atium for him.{{book ref|mb3|67}} Because of this, Ruin sent his Inquisitors, along with Marsh, his main Inquisitor, to kill Vin.{{book ref|mb3|72}} Marsh, though almost entirely under Ruin's direct control, held a small bit of himself back, and he used that shred of humanity to tear the Hemalurgic earring from her.{{book ref|mb3|72}} Vin could now access the mists--Preservation's power--fully, and upon burning it, she ascended, becoming Preservation.{{book ref|mb3|73}}