Timewaster's Guide Archive

That's right.  Thanks for pointing that out.  Hold on a minute.  At the end of book 1 didn't Vin and Sazed realize that mixing Feruchemy and Allomancy together would allow TLR to live indefinitely?  That was why Atium was so important to him!  He would store age, then burn the Atium to increase the effects.  He would protect his stash more than anything else.  He would never let it dissapear completely.

I also wonder what, if any, Feruchemical power Atium possesses.

Didn't anyone else find it odd how Marsh left Sazed alone to explore for a while, but was suddenly in a big hurry once Sazed found the plaque? There was no real reason why they couldn't have waited until Sazed read the whole thing, except of course for the fact that the last line blew the entire prophecy out of the water!   That section of the story was practically beating us over the head with how "different" Marsh seemed to be acting, especially when you look back on it knowing what we know now.  Marsh definitely completed his task there, which I believe was to restore the Prophecy of the Hero.  If Sazed had read that last line, Marsh would have killed him right there.  Instead, it was placed on a rubbing, and then in metalminds, both of which could be manipulated.

Maybe it means Feruchemy is created, as well.  Maybe there is some secret way to gain that power.  I have to disagree with the magic bead being given to Inquisitors.  I have a feeling that he wouldn't even let them know where the Well was, which means they didn't have any additional beads to give to all those new Inquisitors they made at Seran.

That's what I think happened.  He vanished shortly afterwards.

Wow.  We are getting a little out of control here.  Let's clarify a few points:

First, Vin's explosive headbutt was due to a Duralumin enhanced flare of Pewter.  Her piercing of copperclouds was the only definitive strength above Kelsier, and she didn't appear to have any clear advantages over Zane. In fact, when Zane countered with his own duralumin he sent her flying.  Also remember that the only other person we know of who could pierce copper clouds was the Lord Ruler, and he was using all three magic systems.
Second, we know of three "Skaa" Mistborn, not two, and there is no proof that there aren't more out there that we just don't know about.  The only difference between Skaa and Nobles are that the ancesters of the "Nobles" were sympathizers of the Lord Ruler's cause.  Brandon has said that the work Skaa is another word for peasant.  That does not lead me to believe that Skaa are a separate race of human from nobles.

Third, Kar implied that only a relatively pure bloodline would lead to a Skaa Mistborn who was this powerful.  It does not mean that it is impossible for other nobles to bear Skaa Mistborn.  Straff proves that with Zane.  In fact, all of Straff's mistings are also born of Skaa mothers.  The lord ruler didn't want Skaa to become Mistborn because he didn't want his gift given to those who opposed him.

Fourth,  if the Lord Ruler had enough of these allomancy beads to give to  all the noble ancestors and continue to make Inquisitors (they do die after a while), then why all the spikes?  If he wanted a way to control them, why not just the one in the back?  Has anyone thought about the fact that in order to see, an SI would need to burn Iron or steel at all times? 

  I do believe that Elend will be more powerful than Vin. If Tevidian (sp?) was from a very pure line, then there may be little difference, however. 

Finally, I will throw in a theory of my own.  Let's say that Vin's mom did, in fact have Hemallurgy powers of some sort.  There has been no mention of what would happen to a Mistborn's abilities if one of their parents were Hemallurgical.  Maybe that is the source of her overall strength.

I don't think it was trust as much as it was hubris.  Straff was far too arrogant to believe one of his Skaa mistresses would try to harm him, mostly because they knew he would kill them, which is exactly what happened.   Vin killed Straff, not the poison.  It is one of the most visual parts of the story.  It is so easy for me to imagine this little spec fly through the air, slowly taking Vin's shape as it moves closer, giving Straff just enough time to realize he is screwed before she splits him like a puddin'.