Timewaster's Guide Archive

Another point:  would anyone think to give someone Atium just to see if they could burn it?  I can see testing people out with brass or zinc or even copper, but the most precious of all metals?  Even if there were Atium Mistings, I doubt the Mistborns would share it.

If it was revealed by an omnipotent narrator, then I would agree, but Tensoon's bias must be take into the acount.  It is not a stretch to believe they have twisted the truth somewhat over the years.  Look at society in real life.  People have convinced themselves that killing innocent people is OK as long as it is in the act of killing "infidels".  In the 1600's, the Catholic church murdered thousands of people for "witchcraft".  Their crime?  In many cases, being midwives and herbalists, which people trusted more than affluent doctors.  There is a way to rationalize any action or belief.  Hope requires something to believe in and, for the Kandra, what is more hopeful than the death of their oppressors?  And to rationalize that?  Well their destructive and evil, so maybe they all deserve to die!   Look how surprised Tensoon is by Vin; she is different than any other human he has ever known, so much so that he risked his life (and his contract) to save her.   If he is willing to do this, than he must at least be questioning his beliefs.  If one human is good, than others can be too.   

Not to stray off topic, but it seems apparent that Preservation doesn't speak to anyone, which is why the mist spirit just points and stabs people.  OK, back on topic:  Marsh basically admits that he is being told to do these things.  There is no question in my mind that Ruin manipulates people through metals.  He can change what is stored in a metal mind, and it is apparent to me that it can exert some kind of control over Hemallurgic metals. 
       Chaos, since you are already rereading MB2, see if you can find something related to metals inside the Koloss.  I could have sworn I remember some reference about each of them have a small metal nail or something like that, but I could be wrong.

VeagsDev, I think that having Hemalurgic metal piercing your body is a prerequisite to hearing the voice of Ruin.  You should ask how the Inquisitors were so sure of Vin's existence?  I think they were subtly made aware of her.  The Lord Ruler was staunchly opposed to changing the Ministry's power structure.  The act of changing his mind caused his death, which is exactly what needed to happen in order for a new "Hero" to release the Well's power.   The Inq's also seemed to always be right behind her, almost as if she left a trail, or was being monitored through her earring.

I am glad you started this thread.  Let's get rolling.  I was reading MB2 Chapter 27's annotation and EUOL mentions that Zane cutting himself quiets the voice in his head, and this has something to do with the properties of Hemalurgy.  Of course, he then basically RAFO's us, but the connection to blood and Hemalurgy is again shown.

Another Hemalurgy possibility is, of course, Vin's earring.  Her mother kills her sister then jabs the earring into Vin's ear.  She also pushes away the mists at the end of MB2, and can't draw on the mists again like she did at the end of MB1, when her earring was pushed out by TLR.  Pretty good evidence, I'd say.

In addition to Chaos' points on Steel Inquisitors, I would also add that they seem to possess additional powers beyond that of a Mistborn, like incredible healing powers, and the ability to "see" the blue lines from even the smallest amounts of metal, so much so that they can see things in great detail purely through Allomancy.

Finally, should we spend any time discussing how the SI's feel pain from the spikes based on their emotions?  Marsh and the lead Inky (Kar?), mention the pain briefly at different times.    That's all I have for now.

You're right, I should post a new topic about Vin for that discussion.  As for this topic, I suppose it is possible that if you made enough attacks in a fast enough succession, you might be able to overwhelm your opponent, Atium or not.  It's pretty thin, though.  I would imagine an Atium flare would just allow you to see things a little sooner, but it probably doesn't last long enough to be worth it.

That was my thought as well.  Preservation is the good force, and Ruin is the evil force.  That poses a new question: was the power that Vin released the entity itself, or was the power holding the entity from touching the world freely, like a seal? (now I'm starting to steal from WoT).  Of course, we may just be reading too much into this.

That was part of why he was tyring to breeding them out, but wouldn't it be even more important to erase all knowledge of the prophecy?  Being a Terrisman, he knew that as long as even one Keeper lived, his secret could be discovered.  Or, in an even more twisted way, the Lord Ruler knew that the Well Spirit could manipulate the keepers into overthrowing him and finding a new hero who would release said Spirit.  Wait a minute, isn't that EXACTLY what happened?