Ashfalls

[Andrew the Great]

What else happens when you've got a lot of ash in the air?

The sun's heat gets blocked, causing the temperature to cool.

Then

Does anyone in the story ever complain about the heat?  I can't remember.    I only remember them complaining about the cold.

I agree. I only remember hearing about the cold, which would be largely due to the ashmounts. But assuming this is the Lord Ruler's purpose....what good would it do him for it to be cold? I think it's got to be some other affect. Just out of curiosity, can anyone remember it ever raining in the books?

[Vintage]

No, but I do remember snowing, therefore, when it's not freezing, it has to be raining.

[Czanos]

I'm pretty sure they mention rain somewhere, but also that precipitation of any kind is rare.

[darxbane]

Czanos brough up an interesting statement from the books.  It leads me to believe that the Deepness was much more prevalent than previously believed.  It also makes me wonder what happens on the opposite pole of the world.  Did they even know who the Lord Ruler was?

[Vintage]

I don't know about that, but one thing is certain. The Lord Ruler wasn't ruling everywhere. It does say that much in MB1 somewhere...

[AvalonDreamer]

Has the book ever mentioned a time when an Ashmount has actually erupted, or do they just smoke and let up ash?

<<Edit>>
Or earthquakes, for that matter? Could it be possible that they have always been there in the form of volcanoes and something that TLR did killed the seismic/volcanic activity of the world?

[Chaos]

In Book One it says that Tyrian was "getting active", but all that meant was more frequent ashfalls.

[Qarlin]

There is a lot of heat; the skaa sweat in the heat of the red sun, but don't dare to wipe away the sweat. Something like that.

But if life only exists at the poles, I assume we're talking about the magnetic ones, which would mean they're on a pretty sharp tilt from the spin axis, otherwise we'd end up with Alaskan type seasons; times of no light, or all light.

And if the Ashmounts are more active, causing earthquakes and all that, then they could be part of Ruin (as I just mentioned in The Comprehensive Hemalurgy Thread) kept at bay by the LR.

[Vintage]

You're right, Qarlin, now that you mention it, I do remember about the sweating, even in MB1's prologue, with Tresting and the Obligator checking them work.

It could also be that the poles have changed dramatically. What would happen if the earth would turn for 90 degree ? And to be able to talk about the Northern Dominance, you have to be able to go still a little bit more North, considering that Terris is even more to the North that that one. Well a pole is quite large, in all cases.

[AvalonDreamer]

What if Atium crystal grows right on the pole, in the magnetic deadzone directly on top of it? It would explain it's sensitivity to allomantic pulses (which probably have some magnetic quality), and why they only grow in one place...

Sorry, that was off topic.

I too recall a few times when heat is mentioned, and I agree that the planet must be at a weird tilt by our standards, but it's a probable factor that the Ashmounts have mucked up the weather enough that they make it seem more radical than it otherwise would be.

Also, what do we know of life at the other pole? Or how do we know about it...?

[Andrew the Great]

That's an interesting thought about the atium, it would explain why it's so rare. I like the planet being tilted wierd idea too, it works well. I also think, though, that the ashmounts would have a much more drastic effect on warming the air than we give them. If you have volcanoes regularly spewing up greenhouse gasses as well as superheated ones, your atmosphere will get quite a bit hotter. Until the ash covers the sun, anyway...

[Vintage]

There are mentions of season, so it's not like it gets always colder. I would presume, like now, that summer tend to get warmer, and winter colder.

[darxbane]

I am curious as to how both poles can be heated enough to sustain life.  It must be a weird rotation, indeed.  Unless the amount of ash is so thick that it creates a type of blanket that keeps the temperatures regulated year round.  It may get somewhat warmer or colder, but the overall temperature would change little.  Just thought of something, when Elendi and Rashek approach the well, the mountains are all covered in ice and snow.  Could the constant eruptions be what prevents the ice from forming on the mountains?  Here's another good one.  Some people on this forum have theorized that Kredik Shaw is some big hemallurgical trap that keeps ruin in the well.  What if TLR actually carved Kredik Shaw out of the mountain where the well was found?  The name does mean Hill of a Thousand Spires, Hill being the key word here.

[Vintage]

I would not put this past him. Vin talks about it once. She says that if she had been the Lord Ruler, she would have hid the Well... placing mountains in valley and flattening the mountains. So it could be the case. But I do not think it is a simple trap. It did not seem such a big thing for Vin to free the power once she was at the Well. If he did it, and I think that it might have happen, it was only to hide the Well itself. He truly made it hard to find with this secret entrance that only him knew and had the strength to open (beside Vin, of course).

It would also give him another reason to destroy his own people. After all, if it was in the Terris mountain, these people would have known of the transformation. Erase their memory and the makeover is really done. Send them in other mountains, more in the North, let circulate the information that the Terris people lived in mountains and who would know the difference ?

It's the people of TLR's country that believe they live at the poles. Isn't it Sazed that tells us of this ? I first thought of a change in inclination because there are a lot of people and you just cannot change the weather and everything else,  without deep change, and lots of death due to that change. You just cant move so many people in the short time it took for the transformation to take place. Also, as you say Darxbane, there is not much change in temperature at the poles. It is always cold, always under zero. So, how could you explain that they sweat in summer and freeze in winter ? Of course, there are the Ashmounts, and of course, it would raise the temperature, but this does not explain how they can have snow in winter. So, instead of changing the inclination, after erasing the Terris's memories (i.e. feruchemist in general), he could have simply pretend that people lived at poles. Who would doubt his word ?

[darxbane]

It was actually Vin's point of view that mentions life only at the poles.  She sees it after she absorbs the well's power.  I have been thinking that this shows that the Deepness had been at work for sometime, slowly swallowing up the world, leaving only the extreme edges unaffected, although not for long, according to what we have read.