Author Topic: ***SPOILERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon****  (Read 335672 times)

Peter Ahlstrom

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You've also seen one other manifestation like this....
Such as...this?
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The "lake" was barely ten feet deep—more like a pool. Its water was a crystalline blue, and Raoden could see no inlets or outlets.
If that's what you're hinting at...I never thought of the connection before! I just kept thinking of Aether of Night, and never thought of this pool at all.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2008, 08:41:27 PM by Ookla The Mok »
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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #76 on: October 17, 2008, 08:40:19 PM »
Here's another question:

In one of the bumps, Sazed mentions a discussion between Vin and Ruin in which Vin asks Ruin why she was chosen to release him from the Well.  Did this discussion occur in the in-between afterlife where Vin, Elend, Kelsier, etc., were, or did it occur off-screen while Vin and Ruin were busy stopping each other from affecting the world?

Yes, as has been pointed out, that's in the text--unless I cut it during editing for pacing issues.  If I did, the conversation still happened, but it just didn't get shown on screen.
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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #77 on: October 17, 2008, 08:41:26 PM »
Another question came to mind:
Were the epigraphs meant to be in order? If so, reading them all straight through it seems Sazed keeps going off on tangents, seems more stream of conciousness than we're used to seeing from Saze...

They are in order, but there are large gaps of text left out.  So you're not getting the whole thing, just the 'good parts' versions.  That's why it feels jumpy.
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You've also seen one other manifestation like this....
Such as...this?
Quote
The "lake" was barely ten feet deep—more like a pool. Its water was a crystalline blue, and Raoden could see no inlets or outlets.
If that's what you're hinting at...I never thought of the connection before! I just kept thinking of Aether of Night, and never thought of this pool at all.

I'm also thinking that the Dor in Elantris is another Shard of Adonasium. Certainly in the Elantris world, where the Dor came from is rather ambiguous, which I expected it would be. Of course, if other Shards of Adonasium do exist, the Dor could have come from that source.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2008, 08:46:10 PM by Chaos2651 »
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You've also seen one other manifestation like this....
Such as...this?
Quote
The "lake" was barely ten feet deep—more like a pool. Its water was a crystalline blue, and Raoden could see no inlets or outlets.
If that's what you're hinting at...I never thought of the connection before! I just kept thinking of Aether of Night, and never thought of this pool at all.

I'm also thinking that the Dor in Elantris is another Shard of Adonasium. Certainly in the Elantris world, where the Dor came from is rather ambiguous, which I expected it would be. Of course, if other Shards of Adonasium do exist, the Dor could have come from that source.

If that's the case, what's the counter-Dor Shard?

Here's my questions from the book:

1. Preservation can fuel Allomancy, (Minus Atium.) but can Ruin fuel Hemalurgy? (Or Atium?) And could Sazed fuel all three Metallic Arts?

2. Are Atium and the External Temporal Pulling metal really the same?

3. Are there any Allomantic metals we have not seen yet, besides Chromium and Nicrosil?

4. Does every metal have a Feruchemical and Hemalurgic property? If not, are there metals which have Feruchemical or Hemalurgic properties which do not have Allomantic ones?

5. When Vin is feeling out The Lord Ruler's final message plate, she finds a circle with a dot at the center. What does that mean?

I think that's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more soon though.
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Re: ***SPOLIERS Official Hero of Ages Spoilers Thread. Includes Q&A w/Brandon*
« Reply #80 on: October 17, 2008, 09:04:08 PM »
A few more questions, mostly minor, one major:

1.  What was Vin _supposed_ to do at the end of WoA?  How exactly did not-using the power, end up releasing Ruin?  I still don't get how that all worked.  Can you explain it?

Minor q's:

2.  If Sazed is the HoA, then who is the Announcer?

3.  Allomancy is fueled by Preservation's body?  How exactly does that work?  And how does that interact with Atium -- it's fueled by _both_ gods' bodies?  

4.  Why exactly do some spike removals kill (dual eye, or central spike) but most don't?  

5.  Did Zane get spiked intentionally?  Did someone else (Straff?) know about hemalurgy?  

6.  Very minor question -- was Reen a misting or mistborn, and if so, did he end up as a spike in an inquisitor somewhere?  

1.  What was she supposed to do?  Well, this is difficult to answer, since the prophesies have been changed and shifted so much.  Originally, the prophesies intended for a person to go take the power every thousand years and become a protector of mankind for a period of time.  Someone to keep an eye on Ruin in Preservation's absence and watch over the world as he would have done.  Imagine an avatar who arrives every thousand years and lives for their lifetime blessing the people with the power of Preservation, renewing Ruin's prison, and generally being a force for protection.  (Note that Ruin wouldn't have gotten out if the prison wasn't renewed, he'd simply have been able to touch the world a little bit more.) Obviously, it changed a LOT during the years that Ruin was playing with things.

What should she have done?  Well, Ruin's release was inevitable.  Even if she hadn't let him go, the world would have 'wound down' eventually.  The ashfalls would have grown worse over the centuries, and the next buildup of the Well might not have come in time for them to do anything.  Or, perhaps, mankind would have found a way to adapt.  But Ruin was going to get himself out eventually, so the choice Vin made was all right.  There weren't really any good choices at this point.  She could have decided to take the power and become a 'good' Lord Ruler, trying to keep the world from falling apart.  Of course, she would have had to make herself immortal with Hemalurgy to make that work right.  And since she was already tainted, chances are good she wouldn't have ended up any better than the Lord Ruler himself.

2.  The Announcer was a fabrication of Ruin intended to reinforce the person HE wanted to be the Hero.

3.  The powers of Ruin and Preservation are Shards of Adonalsium, pieces of the power of creation itself.  Allomancy, Hemalurgy, Feruchemy are manifestations of this power in mortal form, the ability to touch the powers of creation and use them.  These metallic powers are how people's physical forms interpret the use of the Shard, though it's not the only possible way they could be interpreted or used.  It's what the genetics and Realmatic interactions of Scadrial allow for, and has to do with the Spiritual, the Cognitive, and the Physical Realms.

Condensed 'essence' of these godly powers can act as super-fuel for Allomancy, Feruchemy, or really any of the powers.  The form of that super fuel is important.  In liquid form it's most potent, in gas form it's able to fuel Allomancy as if working as a metal.  In physical form it is rigid and does one specific thing.  In the case of atium, it allows sight into the future.  In the case of concentrated Preservation, it gives one a permanent connection to the mists and the powers of creation.  (I.e., it makes them an Allomancer.)

So when a person is burning metals, they aren't using Preservation's body as a fuel so to speak--though they are tapping into the powers of creation just slightly.  When Vin burns the mists, however, she'd doing just that--using the essence of Preservation, the Shard of Adonalsium itself--to fuel Allomancy.  Doing this, however, rips 'troughs' through her body.  It's like forcing far too much pressure through a very small, fragile hose.  That much power eventually vaporizes the corporeal host, which is acting as the block and forcing the power into a single type of conduit (Allomancy) and frees it to be more expansive.

4.  For the same reason that a bullet through one part of the body will kill you, but getting shot somewhere else won't.  The physical form of a person who has undergone a Hemalurgic transformation is no longer what we think of it.  The direct connection to Preservation starts keeping them alive.  (Imagine stapling someone's soul to another person's soul, their life essence, then stapling that to the power of creation itself, giving you a conduit directly to power, letting you leech it and steal it.)  That power keeps you alive, despite the wounds.  Some of the time, the other staples are enough to keep you alive, even if one is pulled out.  Others are too important.  

5.  Zane spiked himself.  It was...a very twisted and messy process.  Note that Ruin tries to get Spook to do something similar.  It's much easier for him to work with someone to get them to spike themselves than it is to arrange the exact circumstances where someone gets spiked.  

6.  Reen had no Allomantic powers, I'm afraid.  His father was skaa.  (He was Vin's half-brother, if you recall.) And yes, he is dead.  
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2)  Marsh is alive.  I changed this from when I talked to Ookla. I realized some things about his use of Allomancy that would allow him to survive.  Actually, he is immortal.  He can pull off the same Allomancy/Feruchemy trick that the Lord Ruler did.  (And he knows it too, since he was there when Sazed explained how it was done in Book One.)  He's actually the only living person who actually knows this trick for certain. (Though there's a chance that Spook, Ham and Breeze heard about it from Vin and the others.)  So yes, if there were another series, Marsh would make an appearance.

I thought that trick required atium and involved burning the atium.  With all the atium gone and Sazed not making any more, it would therefore not be possible even for a full mistborn/feruchemist.  Am I wrong, is Sazed providing atium specifically for Marsh to allow a friend and valuable servant to survive, or what?

In a future book series, Mistborn will also have become things of legend.  The bloodlines will have become diluted to the point that there are no Mistborn, only Mistings--however, the latter are far more common.   In this environment, a Nicrosil Misting could be invaluable both as an enhancer to your own team or a weapon to use against unsuspecting other Misthings.

I take it either Spook did not have children or Sazed made him a reduced-strength Mistborn rather than giving him the full potency of the 9 originals and Elend?

1.  Marsh has the bag of Atium that KanPaar sent to be sold, as well as several nuggets in his stomach.  So, I guess 'immortal' is the wrong phrase.  He's got the only remaining atium in the world and can keep himself around for a long, long while--but he WILL eventually run out.  Unless Sazed does something. 

2.  Spook is a reduced power Mistborn. 
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2) Kwaan went into hiding, and he was eventually discovered and executed by Rashek.  He wasn't among the First Generation, though he would have been if he hadn't turned against Rashek.

I'm assuming you meant Alendi hunted him down because he turned against Alendi. Or did Kwaan also turn against Rashek?

No, I meant that he turned against Rashek.  Remember, the members of the First Generation were offered immortality in exchange for their Hemalurgy .  They had to make this choice for all of the world's Feruchemists.  Because his uncle had been the one who gave Rashek the chance to become the Lord Ruler in the first place, Rashek blessed him and included him in the decision.  (Speaking directly into his mind along with the others during Rashek's moment of ascension.)

Rashek was the only one who turned down this offer, calling it a betrayal of who they were as a people.  Rashek could have just made him one anyway, but in a moment of anger, he tried to destroy Kwaan--which he couldn't do, not with Preservation's power.  As the other Feruchemists changed, Kwaan remained the same.  Rashek eventually hunted him down and killed him. 
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This is fun.

The note to Spook states that Sazed hasn't yet figured out how to put souls back into bodies.  Is he going to learn that skill eventually (I'm expecting a RAFO here, but I figured I'd ask anyway)?

Does Sazed get to see Tindwyl again now that he is a deity?

Did we already find out what metal is combined with Atium to make Malatium?
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How many moons circle Scadrial, ie. when the planet was moved were the moons moved as well?

Was there anything on the other side of the planet or did the entire population live on one side?

Pushing/Pulling use magnetics? Would a compass work on Scadrial?

Did Gemmel survive into the series or did he perish before MB1?

Would Hemalurgy work on animals?
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First off, WHAT A GREAT STORY!!! Though I am both sadden and disappointed that it has , alas, come to a completion...or has it??? I think it may be pointless to do a spin-off, but who else could pull off such a masterful storyline than Brandon?? Of course, it is HIS story...but I hope that we get to see the New Empire, and who knows maybe we, the fans, can convince him, Brandon, to bring back the gang! I for one would love to see Kel and El go at it!!! 
Second, I am a bit confused as to why Vin and El had to die. I could careless about the other characters, but it seems to me that the more dynamic the character, the more likely his or her life will be in jeopardy! And Saze, though it fits the stereotypical conclusion, he actually was the best person to become god! I just don't see why he didn't get the full understanding about the prophesy until the end!
Third, is there anyone out there other than me that would pay to see this in theaters??
Xan'deis

Well, I'd sure pay to see it in theaters!  ;) 

To be more serious, I think this series--particularly the first book--is quite cinematic.  I'd love to sell movie rights on it, assuming I can find the right people to work with.  So if you have any contacts, let me know.
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I also really loved that there's an "cameo" for Kel at the end... that made me really happy to see.

Glad you liked the book, Rainbow!

You may want to note that the moment Preservation dropped out and let the last of his consciousness die, someone was waiting in the Cognitive Realm to seize the power and hold on for a short period until Vin could take it up more fully.  You'll find him using it to whisper in moments of great stress in the book, to one person in specific in two places.  (I'll bet someone on here has already found them.)

He never could just let things well enough alone....
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Well, I'd sure pay to see it in theaters!  ;) 

To be more serious, I think this series--particularly the first book--is quite cinematic.  I'd love to sell movie rights on it, assuming I can find the right people to work with.  So if you have any contacts, let me know.

I have a camcorder; we could toss dummies through the air to simulate aerial combat. Who wants metal spikes pounded into their skull?
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You'll find him using it to whisper in moments of great stress in the book, to one person in specific in two places.  (I'll bet someone on here has already found them.)

He never could just let things well enough alone....

Off the top of my head, once would be letting Spook know that Kel considered him friend.
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Brandon, I'd like to see a timeline of when you fleshed out the parts of the cosmology we know about. I'd imagine Allomancy came before you fit it into the bigger picture, right? What was your method, come up with a cool image of hammering spikes through a living being, figure out how to integrate that into a larger picture, and then think about the implications of your new cosmology? Or what?

Boy, this is a hard one to ask because it's been such a LONG process.  There were bits of all of this popping around in my head almost twenty years ago, so it's going to be hard to define where what fit into place when.

Allomancy and Feruchemy were originally planned separately.  I linked them together into this book when I realized that the 'focus' items that could store attributes could be metal, and therefore work wonderfully with the Mistborn book I was planning.  

Hemalurgy came from the image of Inquisitors first, then developed as a need to integrate it in with the other two in a way that evoked the power of "Ruin" rather than the power of Preservation.  I figured that Ruin would steal, and it was a great way to add a third magic without having to overload people with a whole new set of powers.  The process of writing this series, since I did all three books together, was an interesting one, and I made a lot of connections as I went.  Some of the latest things on the timeline were figuring out how to fit atium and the Preservation nuggets into the already built framework.  But I don't know if I can give you an exact list.  Partially because there would just be too many spoilers in it.
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