Ok, I will examine your posts in great detail and see what I can come up with right off the top.
We know the well was always there but we assume it is meant for the HOA--what if thats wrong. What if the Well was meant for Ruin? And It was up to the Hero to Destroy it after the fact? What if It returned every "Age" and an Anointed warrior is chosen for each uprising?
Umm....What? I'm a little confused. Are you suggesting that the well of ascension was meant for a super-deity that wants to turn the world into a bunch of unorganized matter? Lack of foresight on someone's part, there...
Perhaps whoever the next HOA is just one of many...perhaps there were hundreds--spread thousands of years apart?
So the question rises, then how come we don't know of the others before TLR?
This is possible, and is a good idea. However, I must state that this is not the wheel of time. Brandon has not made numerous references to cyclic history. I would also like to point out that it's entirely possible that the hero of ages in previous times (if this is the case) did not have access to the same abilities as Vin, and therefore (if this is the case) we can rule out allomancy as being important (Which, I think, is not the case).
If there were previous Heroes of Ages, you would think there would at least be legends about them, as opposed to a bunch of random religious prophecies.
Another point. The title of the book is THE Hero of Ages. This is not by any means confirmation that there is only one hero, but it seems to imply it. And even Hero of Ages as a title tends to imply that there is only one hero of ages. But, it is entirely possible.
HERO by definition is a person who has died for the cuase. Or in Battle with glory. Perhaps each hero must Die. Another is that the lord ruler, like hitler, would have destroyed anything that suggests or prooves this.
As has already been mentioned, I think you are referring to the word "martyr." Hero has no such connotation. In fact, all it means is someone who other people (or a person) admire. This is usually because of something cool that they did, like save the world, but not necessarily.
Where does the Deepness come in?
I believe that the deepness is the spirit of the HOA's of the past.
This is where you really start to stretch it. You're suggesting that the deepness (some terrible thing that killed hundreds of people and convinced everyone that unless it was stopped would destroy the world) is made of the souls of past Heroes of Ages (who are supposed to somehow save the world)? Doesn't really make sense, though again, it's plausible.
it wasn't there before TLR because with him still alive, the spirit could not remain.
Why not?
So are you suggesting that the Lord Ruler is also a Hero of Ages? That's an interesting thought.
And if the above statements are true, then this makes a lot of sense, though you seem to be merging the mist spirit and the deepness in your theory, which doesn't really make sense for reasons I'll get into in a moment.
"Why not" what? Are you referring to why couldn't the spirit remain here, or why would this theory not work, or something entirely different?
I think that the chosen HOA, must unite himself with the deepness....This would explain Vin's battle with the TLR...when she thought she had used the mist....
That is a really cool idea. However, as has been mentioned, we have no idea how the hero will defeat the deepness because we don't really know that much about the deepness.
...perhaps he was just stalling for the real HOA to come and, this is going to sound far fetched, stopped time, there by putting a stop to the Ruins usurpment.
Not if the Lord Ruler is actually a Hero of Ages as you suggested above. Otherwise, him being alive should not keep the mist spirit from showing up by your logic. There could be other reasons why it can't come while he's alive, but not that he's a hero of ages. Or, alternately, the Lord Ruler is a Hero of Ages and is doing something to stop Ruin. Or a combination of the two.
This still works with my theory that the mist-spirit is the collective souls of past HOA's and the real HOA(for that "Age") will merge and become one with the spirits and achieve the knowledge that allows s/he to wield the power properly and perhaps develop the knowledge of how to destroy the Ruin.
This is another problem spot. First of all, earlier, you suggested that the Hero of Ages must merge with the Deepness (which seems to be of Ruin) in order to defeat it. Now you are suggesting that he/she/it must merge with the mist spirit (which I personally feel is of Preservation, though I can't prove it). The mist spirit and the mist are most definitely not the same thing, though. So pick a side of the theory and go with it. I vote the mist spirit, as it makes more sense.
Even if you do use the mist spirit, though, there is a problem. If the Hero of Ages, in order to defeat Ruin, must gain the knowledge of all of the previous Heroes of Ages, then how did the first Hero of Ages defeat Ruin? I think it much more likely that the Hero will glean limited knowledge from holding the power at the Well of Ascension, which he/she/it can then use to piece together what they need to know.
Well if the deepness is indeed the mist, and the mist spirit is the collective souls of the HOA's then is it not one and the same?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: No. The deepness-mist kills people and things and stays out during the day. The other (I think I'm going to call it lord ruler) LR-mist goes away during the day and is relatively harmless at night.
Prophecy means a religious, or supernatural promise of the coming of a future event(disaster/prosperity) or person(anionted one/apollyon). So if the tellers of a prophecy could perdict the future, couldn't they see the Ruin changing the prophecy at hand, and then actually succeeding? wouldn't a prophecy be able to foresee this? Of cousre, it would. And i believe it did. The real prophecy probably tells of the Ruin coming up great power and a great person of that age would...and the Ruin would be destroyed, and all will be good again. The Expected.
Actually, to prophesy something, you don't have to be able to see the future. I read a series once where the whole way through you are hearing things from prophecies that tell how the Heroes will defeat the villain in a very vague way (as most prophecies do). Then you get to the end of the series and the main character finds a letter from the original person who wrote the prophecies. In said letter, the guy states that he made the entire thing up to fill a need that he knew would one day come, and in the hope that the prophecies would give the heroes the courage they needed to fill the role of the hero.
And though it is only semi-related, I don't think Ruin can be destroyed. If it is, the world would be taken over by Preservation, and everything would stagnate. If they were both destroyed...that's an interesting question.
My opinion is that the prophecy is that the H.O. of that A. must unite him or herself with the mist spirit, not attain the power of the well. how do i know? because the Ruin has the power, so it definitly not that...so what else has appeared or distinguished itself since the death of the TLR? The Mist spirit.
We know that Vin will find a way to do it without the power of the well (unless there are two wells as some (including me) theorize[though with little proof]). We don't know that it can't be done with the power of the well. In fact, The Lord Ruler seems to indicate that it can be done with the power of the well.
And Ruin may not actually have the power. It's possible (and even likely) that the power is some type of Preservation (hence what the Lord Ruler did seeming to be of Preservation). Thus, if the power was of Preservation, it is logical to assume that it is what was trapping Ruin. So it's entirely possible that Vin released the power back to Preservation, and Ruin is now just free in its natural (unrestricted) form.
another something that only convinces me further. Remember back to when Vin fought TLR? what did she use to do it....? yes, i know, im genius. Grin. Which would explain why the Ruin would spread rumors about the mist, getting people to turn away from it. Did the mist really kill people? or was it there superstiousness that made for there starvation? think about it? has anyone ever been reported to have been killed by the mist from a reliable source?
She used the mist through allomancy, which leads me to believe that the mists of the time were of preservation (though the deepness mists probably aren't) and were able to be burned by allomancy (which I also think is of preservation).
the kandra hold a secret, a dear, dear secret. Vin knows it. And you and i know it. Thats my thoery of how she could do it.
There I think you have something. There is a good chance that the Kandra know several things that will be critical in the long run.
Surely, the mist spirit would have wanted Vin to keep the power and not let the ruin have it--that doesn't mean she was supposed to keep it. It's just a better option. If she was indeed MEANT and supposed to have the power, doesn't she? The Prophecy, and i mean the true and unkown prophecy, has not come to pass. Otherwise we wouldnt have a book left of reading.
if something is meant for you, you can never lose it.
Firstly, if something is meant for you, that means absolutely nothing whatsoever. I could send a gift to you right now, and it would be meant for you. That does not in any way mean that it will reach you, or that you will not eventually lose it. In the same way, just because the power is meant for the Hero, does not mean that the hero will take the power. Or, if the power is meant for the hero, does not mean that the hero will not lose the power (as Vin did).
I would like to point out once again that it is quite likely that Ruin does not have the power that Vin held at the Well of Ascension.
The only other factor in the story, other than the Ruin and the Well, that has become a factor post TLR's death, is the mist spirit.
That's possibly the least true statement I've ever seen. Think about everything that was introduced in the second book... We learn more about hemalurgy, we meet Zane, we learn about the kandra, we learn how to control Koloss, we learn about feruchemy....We pick up all sorts of interesting things. The mist spirit is not in any way the only other factor introduced.
Give it some considerable thought, and if it doesn't hold up i'll be the first to eat my hat.
Careful what you say... If you're proven wrong, we'll give you recipes. Then we'll expect you to post the video of you eating your hat online and provide a link.
Other than that, I pretty much agree with Chaos and SarahG.
