Ale the Metallic Conjurer he/him Posted September 11 Report Share Posted September 11 Hello all! Here is part 2 of my chain of posts that analyzes each line of the Terris Prophecies, and links them to the major historical figures that were concerned about them. Here is of the chain. This entry covers the excerpts covered in The Final Empire. Quote ALENDI - Sometimes I worry that I'm not the hero everyone thinks I am. The philosophers assure me that this is the time, that the signs have been met. But I still wonder if they have the wrong man. So many people depend on me. They say I will hold the future of the entire world on my arms. What would they think if they knew that their champion - the Hero of Ages, their savior - doubted himself? Perhaps they wouldn't be shocked at all. In a way, this is what worries me most. Maybe, in their hearts, they wonder - just as I do. When they see me, do they see a liar? HoA chapter 82 - “I am no Hero,” he whispered, still reaching to the sky. His arms twinkled, golden. His copperminds, worn on his forearms, reflected the light of the sun. They had been with him for so long, his companions. His knowledge. Knowledge… The words of the prophecy were very precise, he thought suddenly. They say… they say that the Hero will bear the future of the world on his arms. Not on his shoulders. Not in his hands. On his arms. By the Forgotten Gods! Alendi and Vin - Interpreted that line the same way someone would "in his hands" or "on his shoulders." Rashek - The atium bracers on his arms. They granted Rashek virtual immortality, which gave him enough time to formulate countermeasures to delay Ruin and protect humanity from his apocalypse. Rashek's countermeasures were also a vital piece of Preservation's plan. Kwaan - Doesn't apply to him, but a nice twist does. The lack of anything on Kwaan's arms - his lack of copperminds - ensured the world's survival. It was the catalyst for Rashek, and later Vin, to know about a vital piece in delaying Ruin. Sazed - The iconic epigraph that started it all. Bearing the future of the entire world on their arms fits Sazed the best. Sazed bore his coppermind bracers on his arms, and used their 1000 year-old knowledge to save the world from burning down. And to restore the world to what it once was. Quote ALENDI - If men read these words, let them know that power is a heavy burden. Seek not to be bound by its chains. The Terris prophecies say that I will have the power to save the world. They hint, however, that I will have the power to destroy it as well. The Hero will have the power to save the world. But he will also have the power to destroy it. We never understood. He wouldn’t simply bear the power of Preservation. He needed the power of Ruin as well. Alendi - He could've destroyed the world with the Well's power in two ways: 1) either accidentally wreck something due to inexperience, or 2) give up the power and release Ruin. Rashek - Rashek accidentally destroyed the world with the Well's power. But he also created the Ashmounts and ash eating microbes/plants, to ensure humanity could survive in the new environment. I also believe that line could've been referring to his actions as the Lord Ruler. The Lord Ruler could've chosen more altruistic ways to unite humanity against Ruin's threat. Vin - With the Well, same reasons as Alendi. As a Vessel of Preservation, Vin's erasure of all ash almost burned all life to a crisp. But as a Vessel of Preservation, she also committed the penultimate step of Leras' Plan. Thus saving the world and ending the millennia long conflict. Sazed - The Hero of Ages would bear both Preservation and Ruin. Quote ALENDI - "He shall defend their ways, yet shall violate them. He will be their savior, yet they shall call him heretic. His name shall be Discord, yet they shall love him for it." Alendi - It seems that Alendi tried to respect the Terris culture and prophecies. But his interference as the Hero and major ruler was a violation, in some people's eyes. He tried to save all nations including Terris, but some Terris saw him as a heretic. Rashek - Humanity wanted to be safe from the Deepness. Rashek tried to protect them from the Deepness, but almost burned and froze down everything. He protected them from a worse threat, but did so by ruining everything familiar to humanity. Vin - Vin defended the nobility's preference for a stable world, but did so by against it. Instead of keeping the old world's cruelty and callousness, she destroyed it and helped make something better. And now, long after her death, Scadrial's people love the Ascendant Warrior, Sazed - He defended the Terris people's desire to be free, yet violated their isolationist ways. He worked to save them, yet he was derided. But the Terris refugees at the Pits of Hathsin grew to admire him, and even asked him to lead. Sazed as God - The Lost Metal heavily hinted that Sazed's Shard is becoming Discord. My theory is the other parts of this verse were a major plot point of era 2, and will be major again in Era 3. I think a big part of Era 2 was the people of Scadrial hating Sazed for being inactive, and yet all the books showed him subtly planning/acting without anyone suspecting a thing. The Southerners thought Sazed was angry at them; instead he gave them harmonium and a perpendicularity. Which they put to amazing use. Wax thought Sazed never helped defeat each book's threat; but Wax didn't know he subtly arranged pieces for the enemy's defeat. The Ghostbloods think Sazed dislikes them, unaware HE was responsible for their mobilization. Kelsier thinks he distrusts him; and yet Brandon implied in a WoB that Sazed trusts Kelsier and has a big plan for him. Quote TFE Chapter 21 - “The Hero of Ages shall be not a man, but a force. No nation may claim him, no woman shall keep him, and no king may slay him. He shall belong to none, not even himself." Alendi - He survived many attempts against his life, and wasn't only married to one person. Rashek - During his brief Ascension, Rashek was a literal Sliver of Infinity. The Lord Ruler was a force. No army could defeat his armies or TLR himself, no woman could keep him for long, and he survived many assassination attempts from other kings. Vin - Vin is a woman, and a soldier of the highest caliber. As a devotee of Elend's government and its eventual empress, no other warlord could claim her. No woman shall keep her... ?? No "king" had the power to slay her, not even the Lord Ruler. Sazed - The Terris didn't claim him, because he rebelled. The nobility didn't claim him, he was only a steward to them. Tindwyl died. And he survived all the turbulence the trilogy's events put him through. But at many moments Sazed didn't have faith in himself. Sazed as God - The Hero of Ages is not a human, but a force of pure Investiture. No nation can claim him, because he's known and worshipped in all nations. No woman shall keep him, for no mortal can do that to a Shard. And no king may slay him, as that's currently impossible for Scadrians. I'm afraid of the last line. I don't want Sazed to be overtaken by Intent. I don't want him to be like the other Shards... I want him to keep the nuanced viewpoint seen in SoS and BoM. Quote TFE Chapter 21 - “What proof do we have? The words of men long dead, only now deemed divinatory? Even if we accept the prophecies, only tenuous interpretation links them to me. Is my defense of the Summer Hill really the “Burden by which the Hero shall be dubbed"?” Alendi - Defending the Summer Hill. Rashek - Not applicable. Everyone rejected him as the Hero. Vin - Killing the Lord Ruler, encountering the mist spirit, and defending Luthadel from the siege. Sazed - Taking up the powers of Preservation and Ruin, and tapping all the memories stored in his copperminds. All for the burden of ending the Shardic conflict. Quote TFE Chapter 21 “My several marriages could give me a “Bloodless bond to the world’s kings,” if you look at it the right way. There are dozens of similar phrases that could refer to events in my life. But, then again, they could all just be coincidences.” Alendi - POLYGAMIST! Rashek - Gave lerasium beads to nine kings, who became his first allies in exchange. Vin - Connected to Elend as his loving wife and confidant. Sazed - Trusted advisor to Elend and officiant for his wedding. Sazed as God - Harmony/Discord has Connections - Spiritual bonds/relationships - to everyone and everything that was, is, and will be on Scadrial. Quote TFE Chapter 27 - I think I've finally discovered why Rashek resents me so very much. He does not believe that an outsider such as myself - a foreigner - could possibly be the Hero of Ages. He believes that I have somehow tricked the philosophers, that I wear the piercings of the Hero unjustly. WoB about the Piercings of the Hero Alendi - Ruin manipulated people into spiking Alendi with earrings, giving Ruin fingers into his mind. Rashek - I don't remember Rashek wearing earrings. Vin - Bronze earring given by her mother under Ruin's influence. Sazed - The many earrings that are part of Terris fashion. Quote TFE Chapter 29 - I will have the ability to fulfill any wish of my heart. Rashek - Emperor of the Final Empire. Could do anything he desired. Vin - Exact storming opposite Sazed as God - Can do anything he wants, so long as the ultimate goal falls under his Shard's Intent. Difficult to do so with Harmony. I hope Discord makes it easy. Quote TFE Chapter 29 - “He will take upon himself authority that no mortal should hold.” Rashek - No one should rule over an entire continent for 1000 years Vin - No one else has taken up the Well of Ascension's power, the Mists, AND the Shard of Preservation. Sazed as God - Judging from The Lost Metal, it seems that no other Vessel has taken up two Shards. Yet. This line and Preservation's Plan make me wonder... if Leras ever regretted taking part in the Shattering. Maybe his Plan was partly made from seeing or foreseeing the Shattering's consequences. Especially with someone as shortsighted as Ati-Ruin, or as considerate of the long-term as Bavadin, around. Quote TFE Chapter 30 - Most of the Terrismen are not as bad as Rashek. However, I can see that they believe him, to an extent. These are simple men, not philosophers or scholars, and they don’t understand that their own prophecies say the Hero of Ages will be an outsider. They only see what Rashek points out - that they are an ostensibly superior people, and should be “dominant” rather than subservient. Before such passion and hatred, even good men can be deceived. Alendi and Vin - Neither were ever born in Terris. Rashek - An outsider to his era's preference of using Feruchemy for agriculture and scholarship. Sazed - An outsider to his era's dislike of open rebellion. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alder24 Posted Thursday at 01:32 PM Report Share Posted Thursday at 01:32 PM 14 hours ago, Ale the Metallic Conjurer said: Rashek - I don't remember Rashek wearing earrings. His metalminds were piercings, it wasn't just about earrings. Before his Ascension, he would probably wear many of his metalminds as earrings, like Sazed. But there were WoBs suggesting he had a Hemalurgic spike, however Brandon didn't remember if he had any spike later. Spoiler Darxbane In an annotation from book one, it is mentioned that The Lord Ruler needed all three magic systems in order to do what he did. I always assumed that it meant his Hemalurgy enhanced his Allomancy. Did Marsh get a double power, or is the Feruchemy-Allomancy combo enough? (a sidebar to this question is whether or not stacking abilities is possible through Hemalurgy) Brandon Sanderson He used Hemalurgy to pull off his most dramatic effects. Marsh didn't need them, but it makes things much easier. Hero of Ages Q&A - Time Waster's Guide (Oct. 15, 2008) Spoiler Questioner Why in the world would the Lord Ruler spike himself? Questioner No. Brandon Sanderson ...Because he needed to give himself the powers that he didn't have. He could have done it like-- gained the knowledge but the power was gone so fast he actually needed to-- Well no no no, the spikes, the spikes, the spikes. So, it doesn't matter if he was spiked because he was hiding the metals inside himself so people couldn't Push or Pull on them. That's the real reason he was doing that. Does that make sense? Brandon Sanderson Metal that's inside of him-- Questioner Ruin influenced him, what did the spiking do? Brandon Sanderson Well, the metals that were stuck through him were so people couldn’t Push or Pull on them. If they were outside his body people would know he was a Feruchemist. Which is the very thing he was-- so he would stick the metals inside of himself to hide them. Questioner And he did that as Hemalurgic spikes? Brandon Sanderson I'd have to go back and look because-- Lord Ruler is he spiked or has he just got-- Isaac Stewart I thought he was... spiked but I can't remem-- Brandon Sanderson You're asking something that I wrote 12 years ago. Isaac Stewart Peter, was the Lord Ruler spiked? Brandon Sanderson Lord Ruler was spiked, right? Or is it just-- Peter Ahlstrom I don't think so. Brandon Sanderson --piereced with metalminds, right? They're not actual spikes, just metalminds. And I want to ask the Sharders on there [the recorder] about that Lord Ruler question, because I didn’t think he was spiked but-- Isaac Stewart I think I recall him having the bands with spikes in them? Footnote: Brandon has previously stated that the Lord Ruler did in fact have Hemalurgic spikes. Shadows of Self release party (Oct. 5, 2015) 14 hours ago, Ale the Metallic Conjurer said: Rashek - Emperor of the Final Empire. Could do anything he desired. Vin - Exact storming opposite Both held the full power of the Well and could do anything they wanted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treamayne Posted Thursday at 03:20 PM Report Share Posted Thursday at 03:20 PM 16 hours ago, Ale the Metallic Conjurer said: Rashek - During his brief Ascension, Rashek was a literal Sliver of Infinity. Technically, he was not a Sliver until after using the Power of the well, as the Definition of a Sliver is "one who has been a Vessel and given up the power" as a way of describing the permanent change to their Spiritwebs for having held so much power. Vin (during HoA), Rashek (During TFE), Kelsier (post _MSH), Hoid are all Slivers (of a sort). Spoiler Quote In the cosmere, Sliver is a term generally used by scholars[1][2] for someone who previously held at least a significant portion of a Shard's Investiture and has since released it,[2][3][4] though the term can have a variety of meanings and its exact usage is something of a moving target.[2][5][6] Quote Puck (paraphrased) Is the definition of Sliver: Someone who has held a large part of the raw form of a Shard temporarily Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) That is it. Vericon 2011 (March 19, 2011) Quote Questioner (paraphrased) What kind of changes do Slivers go through after letting go of a Shard's power? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) It leaves them, imagine it like a balloon that has been deflated. Questioner (paraphrased) Okay, so would Rashek still have had powers? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) He would have had some residual effects. But it also works the soul in weird ways, like a balloon that has been deflated. Words of Radiance San Diego signing (March 4, 2014) The Spiritweb is Expanded by holding the power, so once an entity is no longer a Vessel (Shard, Avatar, Dawnshard, etc) they are described as a Sliver due to these lingering effects. 1 hour ago, alder24 said: 16 hours ago, Ale the Metallic Conjurer said: Rashek - I don't remember Rashek wearing earrings. But there were WoBs suggesting he had a Hemalurgic spike, however Brandon didn't remember if he had any spike later. Technically, that WoB does not suggest he had Hemalurgic Spikes, only that he used Hemalurgy to create <effects>. It could just as easily (in Brando-Obfuscation) refer to how he created Kandra, Inquisitors and Koloss through the use of Hemalurgy (which is using the art to create very dramatic effects. . . on others). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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