The Countdown

[Andrew the Great]

Kelsier getting the legends from the Kandra actually makes a lot of sense. I hadn't thought of that before.

[Chaos]

Well, we successfully failed at doing much theorizing (nor did you comment on my rabid insanity for that kandra theory. For shame!) today, but tomorrow, it's going to be better, right?

T-23 days! What shall we discuss?

[Elmandr]

The WOA,

Ok, whenever i think about this, i always turn back to LOTR. I always wonder--like the ring of saramon--does the power of the WOA effect its holder outside of the abilities it grants?

TLR was a tyrant, and in many ways evil--is this because the of POW (powers of the well,) or was he always that way.

For the holder of the POW,

 Does it take away their sanity? physically change them--for better or for worse? Do they become sinister, feral? Godly or angelic? What about the Paranoia factor, TLR slaughtered many skaa rebellians and circumsized the Terris people--careful or paranoid?

[Qarlin]

Sauron's Ring, it never belonged to Saruman.

Anyway, I think it just enhances what you already are. Knowing you can only use the power for a very short period of time, you would know that you can't do everything, and even that you don't know everything. You could make mistakes, or do things that would save countless people while killing countless others. You could start to put things in motion that would save the world, but not have enough time with the power to finish it.

What if that's what happened?

[darxbane]

The epigraph in Sample Chapter 2 Alludes to that very fact, Qarlin.  The Well's power gave knowledge but no wisdom.  It's like gaining the ability to run 100 miles an hour without learning how to stop safely.

[Qarlin]

So TLR could have started to fix things, realize he didn't have enough time with the power to finish, so he kind of stopped everything until the well filled up again, so he could finish, anchoring the freeze in time to himself, since he should still be around by then.

[darxbane]

That is as good a theory as any.

[Wielder]

The epigraph in Sample Chapter 2 Alludes to that very fact, Qarlin.  The Well's power gave knowledge but no wisdom.  It's like gaining the ability to run 100 miles an hour without learning how to stop safely.

I really like the metaphor.  I think this is definitely a possibility.  Omniscience is a tricky thing, though.  If you had full knowledge of what you could do, you might be able to see all the possibilities of using the power in the blink of an eye.  I'm not saying that the well really gives omniscience, but it did seem like it gave a panoramic view when Vin took it in.  She could literally see everything.  "You could make mistakes..." is about as true as it gets, for our minds at least.

So TLR could have started to fix things, realize he didn't have enough time with the power to finish, so he kind of stopped everything until the well filled up again, so he could finish, anchoring the freeze in time to himself, since he should still be around by then.

That's another thought.  I really like looking at the Lord Ruler as a tragic/heroic character.  What he said at the end of "The Final Empire" was a bit chilling, to say the least since Vin could have (and probably has) messed things up by killing TLR then failing to use the well to finish the job.  I love it!

[Chaos]

Okay, T-19 days. Theory?

[Qarlin]

The whole landscape will be changed... Again... As the Ashmounts erupt, destroying villages, earthquakes, mayhem and destruction.

[Elmandr]

The whole landscape will be changed... Again... As the Ashmounts erupt, destroying villages, earthquakes, mayhem and destruction.

I'm not sure if this is in question format...but i think that the world, by the end of the trilogy, will be back to the way Kelsier, Mare and now Vin dream it to be. It is constantly repeated.
In book one, right at the begining, when Kelsier is at the Tresting plantation, you get the first hints of the conflict the the story...

Mistborn; The Final Empire, pg. 5

...He had heard whispers of times when once, long ago, the sun had not been red. Times when the sky hadn't been clogged by smoke and ash, when plants hadn't struggled to grow, and when the skaa hadn't been slaves...

Obviously, a portion of the conflict has been resolved, leaving the....list (if you will) with the state of the world left to repair. Quite frankly, i think It would be highly anitclimactic of Sanderson if he does not return the world back to the way it was. IT is brought up in the story far to many times to not seal it by the end of the trilogy--i think we can all agree to that.

So, really, the question is how will the world be restored to its initial state?

[darxbane]

It may not be completely restored by the end of the book, but I agree there should at least be some overt sign that things are returning to normal.

[Elmandr]

It may not be completely restored by the end of the book, but I agree there should at least be some overt sign that things are returning to normal.

That can also be true...

"and as the ruin whithered away, into the deep abyss of the Ashmounts, Vin turned to something that caught her eye...A red flower. Hope in its blossoming form."

ending the story in that same, not so corney, context, would also be acceptable. In a way, nothing has changed really, but we are left with the closure of knowing that there is hope for the world yet--has he done that before....

Infact, since we are discussing this, i think this way would probably make more sense. It'll be hard to convince the readers that ten decades worth of TLR can be so easily undone.

[SarahG]

It'll be hard to convince the readers that ten decades worth of TLR can be so easily undone.

Ten centuries, you mean.

I think it could end that way, a glimmer of hope rather than complete restoration.  However, I wouldn't completely rule out a sudden and dramatic change.  After all, we get the impression that TLR made all his changes in virtually an instant; if the new HoA somehow has that same opportunity, the world could conceivably be restored in an instant.

[VegasDev]

The first big change could come in the form of stars being visible at night. What better way to let the skaa know they don't have to fear the night than to provide a light?