Mistborn Series

Mistborn is a fictional series by Brandon Sanderson. It consists of , , and . For information on the plot of each book go to the page for it. This page is for information about the world of Mistborn.

Geography

Dominance

Dominance is a term for a territory within the Lord Ruler's empire.

Luthadel

The capital of the Central Dominance, this city is the heart of the Lord Ruler's power, as well as the site of his palace, Kredik Shaw. It is also the home of the Well of Ascension. Before the Lord Ruler remade the world, Luthadel used to be a mountainous region known as Terris, but he flattened the mountains and made new ones to the north to hide the Well's location.

Terris

Terris is the ancestral home of the Terrismen. Little is known about the region except that is was mountainous and to the north.

Peoples in Mistborn

Humans

Nobles

Nobles are the descendants of people who were early supporters of the Lord Ruler. Because of this support he gave them the gift of Allomancy, which has been passed down through the generations. Their Allomantic gifts have grown weaker over the years, so there are fewer Mistborn. At first there were no Mistings, but now Mistings far outnumber Mistborn. Allomancy is the main reason the interbreeding of Nobles and Skaa was illegal. Noble men were allowed to sleep with Skaa women, they just had to make sure to kill them afterward. The Lord Ruler had more control over the Nobles, so he didn't want the Skaa to have Allomancy. All Skaa Allomancers have some Noble blood.

Skaa

Skaa are the descendants of people who did not support the Lord Ruler when he first came to power. During the reign of the Lord Ruler they weren't technically slaves, because the law said they weren't the property of their masters, but in practice they were. There were lots of Skaa rebellions over the centuries, but they never had a chance because the Lord Ruler alone could destroy them all, especially because there were so few Skaa Allomancers.

Mistwraiths

Mistwraiths are the reason why most people fear the mists, even though they do not deserve some of their reputation for terror. They are scavengers, but have the ablility to add the body parts of creatures they consume to their own forms. This gives them a somewhat hideous appearance.

Kandra

Kandra are sometimes referred to as "Mistwraiths that have grown up." Unlike their mindless brethren, they are quite intelligent, and valued for their skill as impersonators. They follow rigidly to an idea called 'The Contract', through which they offer their services to humans.

Koloss

Bestial creatures, the Koloss have only two emotional states: boredom and rage. They have superhuman strength and grow to a maximum height of about 12 feet, at which point their hearts cannot support their bulk and they die. Although powerful in combat, they are seldom used, for they have a tendency to completely ravage the enemy in battle, making them unsuitable for attacking cities and other civilized targets.

Supernatural Powers in Mistborn

Allomancy

Allomancy is the most prominent set of abilities that people have in Mistborn. It works by people ingesting metals and then burning them to power their abilities. Allomancers are divided into 2 main groups: Mistborn (people who can burn all of the allomantic metals) and Mistings (people who can only burn one allomantic metal).

Feruchemy

Feruchemy is the second most prominent set of abilities in Mistborn. It is an ancient trait passed down among the race known as Terrisman. Those with this ability are known as Keepers. It allows people to store attributes of themselves (strength, speed, weight, memory, senses, etc.) into metals which they can later draw upon to gain a temporary boost. The Keepers primary goal is the preservation of knowledge, which they accomplish by storing memories in metals. They make sure to recite these memories to young Keepers before they die so nothing is lost.

Hemalurgy

Very little is known about Hemalurgy. It is first mentioned in the Prologue to , which can be read online at the author's website [cite web|url=http://www.brandonsanderson.com/library/29/Mistborn-3-Prologue|title="Mistborn: Hero of Ages Prologue"|publisher=BrandonSanderson.com|accessdate=2008-07-31] . It is apparently how Inquisitors are created.

Well of Ascension

The Well of Ascension fills with liquid every 1,000 years. The person who enters the Well absorbs the liquid and is temporarily granted god-like power. The Lord-Ruler did so and completely reshaped the world as well as created at least 2 races. It's also possible that he created Allomancy and Hemalurgy, as these were unknown prior to that time.

The Mist

During the night the world is covered in mist. Most of the population fear the mist. However Allomancers, especially Mistborn, do not share this fear. There are a few creatures made of Mist. Some, such as the Mistwraiths, Kandra, and Koloss, were created by the Lord Ruler when he took the power of the Well, but there are at least two that predate him.

Ruin

Ruin is one of two Mist creatures that predate the Lord Ruler. It was imprisoned in the Well of Ascension for thousands of years. It has the power to change writing as well as Feruchemical Memories, but not writing inscribed in metal or normal memories. It also has the power to control Inquisitors. Perhaps the worst of Ruin's powers is that he strengthens the Mist so it can come out during the day and also he can make it kill people. The Lord-Ruler was able to cancel Ruin's abilities. He considered this fulfilling his duties as a god, but when he died, Ruin's abilities began to return. At the end of Ruin tricked Vin into freeing him from the Well. It is unknown what powers he had that were limited by his imprisonment in the Well, but now he has them, and also his powers over the Mist will likely be stronger now.

Nameless Mist Being

There is another being of the Mist which worked to keep Ruin imprisoned. This creature does not seem to be as powerful as Ruin, yet has a more direct hand in events. While Ruin plays with the minds of others, this other Mist being physically affects the world (as is shown in his attack on Elend). As the Kandra believe the world is divided into two groups, Ruin and Preservation, it is likely this being is the embodiment of Preservation.

Religion in Mistborn

The Steel Ministry

The Steel Ministry is the name of the religion that the Lord Ruler established to worship himself. The Lord Ruler allowed the Nobles to control most aspects of the empire, such as the production of resources, but he used the Steel Ministry to control the Nobles. The Ministry was divided into the Inquisitors and the Obligators.

Inquisitors

These were Nobles who were turned into Inquisitors through Hemalurgy. Inquisitors have the abilities of a Mistborn, but they apparently have a connection to 'Ruin'. This connection was apparently canceled by the Lord-Ruler, but now that he's dead Ruin has been able to turn all the Inquisitors into his unwilling minions. During the reign of the Lord-Ruler they acted as the police, hunting down and punishing criminals.

Obligators

The Obligators were drawn from the ranks of nobles, usually Allomancers, and are trained in the arts of bureaucracy and the teachings of the Steel Ministry. They are marked by tattoos which decorate their face and body; the more tattooed an Obligator is, the higher his rank. They served as witnesses for every possible legal contract (e.g. Business deals, Marriages), which meant that they were privy to all happenings among the nobles. This gave the Lord Ruler great control over the nobility, as any contract not witnessed by one of his Obligators did not officially take place.

The Church of the Survivor

The Church of the Survivor worships Kelsier, who served as its first martyr, and thus Vin, who was Kelsier's 'disciple'. Kelsier created the Church as means of creating passion in the Skaa so they would finally rebel. With his death, the Skaa turned their devotion to Vin and Sazed, who are unsure of their own beliefs and uncomfortable with the worshiping masses.

Other Religions

There are a number of other religions in the series. Sazed mentions that the Keepers record nearly three hundred different religions in their metalminds. However, none are currently practiced as the Lord Ruler has suppressed them.

References

External links

* [http://www.brandonsanderson.com Sanderson's personal website]
* About the [http://us.macmillan.com/series/Mistborn Mistborn series] at Tor Books