In the landscape of modern fantasy, no writer is quite as prolific as Brandon Sanderson,
author of the Mistborn Saga, the Elantris Trilogy, and the Stormlight Archive, among others.
Well known among his fans, but less so among casual observers, is that every
separate series written by Sanderson actually takes place within the same shared universe:
the Cosmere, with each of his series taking place within a separate planet within this
universe, complete with its own set of heroes, villains, magical beings,
and systems of magic ultimately derived from the same divine source. In this new series,
we will cover the history of perhaps the most famous of Cosmere worlds, Scadrial, the setting
of Sanderson’s flagship series: the Mistborn Saga. One of the things we’ll be covering is the use of
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Our story begins when Ruin and Preservation, two shards of the shattered god Adonalsium,
made their way to an empty star system within the Cosmere. Although the two beings were inherently
at odds with one another, they struck a bargain to work together, creating the planet Scadrial. The
bargain struck was harsh for Preservation, who had to give up a segment of himself in the process,
leaving him far weaker than his counterpart, and essentially ensuring that Ruin would eventually
destroy the planet they had just created. Due to the influence of Ruin and Preservation,
the people of Scadrial were capable of practicing three distinct forms of Investiture. Allomancy,
focused on the ingestion of various metals, granted the user powers based
on the metal ingested, such as strength from pewter and future-sight in the case of
Atium. An individual who could only use one form of metal was known as a Misting, but those who
could make use of all the metals and the powers attached to them were referred to as a Mistborn.
Hemalurgy focused on the transfer of certain characteristics of allomancy or feruchemy through
metallic spikes which were inserted into certain points on a person’s body requiring a connection
with moving blood in order to add or subtract the attribute in question. Feruchemy, which was
practiced by the ancient Terris people, was far more in balance than either of the afore-mentioned
methods, being equally attuned to both Ruin and Preservation. It operated by transferring
certain characteristics into pieces of metal which could be retrieved later when required.
Examples of this include the transfer of strength into a metal band, however this would require the
Ferring to deprive themselves of said strength as it was being transferred leaving them weak
and borderline powerless during the process. Knowing that Ruin would eventually turn on
Scadrial, and unwilling to see his most precious creation destroyed, Preservation
broke the agreement between them, sacrificing his mind, and in doing so, imprisoning Ruin.
Furthermore, to balance their respective powers, Preservation separated an element of Ruin’s power,
placing it within the metal atium. Ruin’s prison came to be known as the Well of Ascension.
However, this prison was not infallible. Every one thousand and twenty-four years,
its perpendicularity would fill, usually taking the form of a pool of liquid. Whenever
the perpendicularity of the well of Ascension emerged, an mortal individual had to take it up.
This was perilous, for if they gave it up, it would free Ruin. The individual who was to take
up the Power was to be known as the Hero of Ages. In spite of his imprisonment, Ruin could still
exercise a modicum of his power, affecting the wider world in a number of small,
yet decisive ways. For example, he was capable of altering anything that was written down
on a material which was not metal, the most important of which were the Terris Prophecies,
preserved by the world bringers, the spiritual leaders of the Terris People. The Terris
Prophecies had been created by Preservation to ultimately defeat Ruin, and foretold the
Hero of Ages taking up the power of the Well of Ascension and using it to save Scadrial.
During this Classical Era of the Kingdom of Khlennium rose in prominence and drew to its
streets the man who would come to be known as the Hero of Ages: Alendi. The son of a blacksmith,
Alendi left the tiny village he called home and made his way to Khlennium some sixteen
years before the Well of Ascension refilled. When the Well eventually refilled, Ruin became
increasingly powerful, exerting his influence upon Scadrial in what was referred to as the Deepness.
Due to the mist that began blighting the countryside, many considered this to be
an apocalyptic event. In truth, though, this phenomenon was merely Preservation’s
way of revealing the allomantic powers of the residents of Scadrial: a process called Snapping.
However, in invoking the Snapping, Preservation had miscalculated. He had believed that Ruin
would destroy the Mist. Instead, Ruin strengthened them, and in doing so, turned it into a phenomenon
which blocked off sunlight, destroyed crops and killed people who ventured out into it.
As the situation continued to worsen, Alendi, the prospective hero of ages, met a Worldbringer
named Kwaan and apprenticed himself to him. During this time, Alendi began to increasingly
show signs that he was the hero of prophecy. The Worldbringers initially scorned Kwaan for this,
believing Alendi to be a false hero, but they were slowly convinced after Ruin used his influence to
alter Prophecies in order to fit Alendi’s description: a man birthmark on his arm and
whose hair had turned completely gray by 25. Alendi would go on to become the King of
Khlennium, and from there, would unite the nations of Scadrial, most importantly Terris,
mostly by diplomacy, but also through conquest. As a result, barring a dissenting minority,
he was able to create a united front to face Ruin’s Deepness in short order.
After a few decades leading Scadrial’s united armies against the forces of Ruin’s deepness,
the Worldbringers of Terris would finally accept Alendi as the Hero of Ages, and allow
him to make his way to the Well of Ascension. However, the Prophecies had been altered by Ruin,
and instead of saying that the Hero had to hold the power born of the Well of Ascension,
it now dictated that the Hero of Ages would be required to resist the temptation of such
ultimate power and give it up for the greater good of humanity. Of course, by doing this,
the Hero would unwittingly release Ruin from Preservations’ prison. Alendi soon left in
order to make his way to the Well, however his travels and years spent fighting for what seemed
to be a dying world had changed him. He retained his fundamentally good heart, but in his logbook,
he wrote the ominous phrase: “Sometimes I worry that I'm not the hero everyone thinks I am.”
Once he arrived in Terris, Alendi replaced his normal retinue with Terris Packmen, who’s capacity
to make use of feruchemy would prove vital in making their way up the harsh and unforgiving
mountain. Among them was a young Terrisman named Rashek who was the nephew of Kwaan.
Rashek believed that Alendi was not the Hero of Ages, and resented him as an outsider and
an oppressor of his people who had fooled the Worldbringers to gain ultimate power.
Unbeknownst to Alendi, Kwaan, who had figured out that Ruin had altered the prophecies, had given
secret orders to Rashek to prevent Alendi reaching the Well of Ascension at all costs. The trip was
perilous, with each member of the expedition risking their lives on every treacherous slope
of the Mountain. If not for the Feruchemy of the Terrismen, it is unlikely they would have reached
the peak. The trek was not without incident either, as Fedik, a member of Alendi’s retinue,
was stabbed by a mist spirit either representing Ruin or Preservation after discovering Ruin’s
Perpendicularity. Continuing onwards Alendi could hear pulses emanating from the Well due to his
ability as a Allomantic Seeker, which thwarted Rashek’s attempts to lead Alendi the wrong way.
Thus, with no other recourse, when the party reached the well of ascension,
Rashek murdered Alendi. Ignominiously, the King of Khlennium and would-be saviour of Scadrial, died
upon those frozen peaks with doubt in his heart. In spite of his faults and the treachery of Ruin
challenging him at every step, Alendi proved himself to be of the finest quality even in his
final moments, a stark contrast to the harsh and violent Rashek who entered the Well of Ascension.
Here, the young Terrisman was to take the power of Preservation and ascend to become the Lord Ruler
of Scadrial, impersonating Alendi and making the people believe him to be the Hero of Ages.
The power was unlike anything a human could ever experience,
as it was derived from a Shard of Adonalsium, granting Godlike characteristics to its wielder.
From his new perspective, Rashek in spite of his inferior character to Alendi, recognized that
action must be taken to save the world from the Deepness. He began to change the composition of
Scadrial in order to counter its threats, yet he was but a child in such matters and much of what
he did to save the world presented further challenges which brought Scadrial closer to
destruction. In order to burn the Ruin’s choking mists away, he moved Scadrial closer to the Sun,
however this altered orbit was far too close to the immense heat of such a star and almost
destroyed all sapient life on the planet. Frantically attempting to remedy his failure,
Rashek raised numerous large volcanoes which would become known as ashmounts, they would produce
enough ash and smoke in order to cool down the planet and prevent its imminent destruction. Once
more, this presented further issues, as the ash would have to be broken down, otherwise it would
choke the very air destroying the ecosystem of the planet. Recognizing this would not be enough
Rashek was forced to alter the very physiology of the humans residing on his planet in order to
make them capable of resisting the harsher, more apocalyptic conditions he himself had created.
All of Rashek’s changes reflected his inner darkness and desire for control.
For example, among the surviving people of Scadrial, social changes were implemented,
namely a strict caste system between the nobility and the skaa of what was to be his
Final Empire. The nobility were altered, becoming taller, stronger and more intelligent, while
simultaneously being less fertile in order to make them easier to control. By way of comparison,
the skaa, who were to be the lowest class possible in the Final Empire were changed to be shorter,
more fertile and hardier, providing the work force and peasantry of the Empire.
Furthermore, seeing the threat of Feruchemy to his rule, Rashek changed the Feruchemists into
Mistwraiths: mindless beings charged with wandering the Mists aimlessly.
However, his personal friends among the Feruchemists were spared this fate,
for Rashek had them changed into Kandra, allowing them to retain their minds, and providing them the
capability of shapeshifting by using the bodies of other humans or animals through Hemalurgic spikes.
However, Rashek had however failed to account for the dormant Feruchemy genes within the
Terris people, allowing for the return of this art in the coming generations.
Other beings that Rashek was able to create with Hemalurgy were the Koloss and the Inquisitors,
who formed the backbone of his armies and secret police force respectively. Koloss were created
by placing four hemalurgic spikes through a human body at certain points and were immensely
strong and hardy despite their distinct lack of intelligence, with rumours that they could only
be controlled by the Lord Ruler. These warriors towered over the ordinary human and were clad
in blue skin, they continued to grow throughout the entirety of their lives, despite the fact
their skin volume did not increase, resulting in tearing and ripping as they grew ever larger.
Inquisitors, meanwhile, were considered to be the peak of hemalurgic power, being able to
practice all of the Allomantic powers, as well as some of those inherent within a Feruchemist.
Of all the Spikes an Inquisitor receives, most prominent of all are the two driven
through their eyes, meaning they could only see by constantly burning steel and/or iron.
The inquisitors would form part of the Steel Ministry, an organization which spread the worship
of the Lord Ruler as a deity, a religion which spread quickly throughout the rebuilt Scadrial.
No other religion was tolerated, and all who practiced them were hunted down and destroyed,
with the last surviving religion the Valla, being destroyed in the fifth century of his millennium
long rule. As his final act with the power of the Well of Ascension, Rashek rebuilt himself
to become a fully fledged Mistborn by condensing some of the power into the Beads of Lerasium
which emerged in the pool after doing so. With such immense power coursing through his veins,
the Lord Ruler became aware of life on other planets throughout the Cosmere and if he had
wished it, he could have left Scadrial behind. The Final Empire was formed as the ultimate act
of vengeance against the peoples he believed had oppressed Terris by encroaching upon their land.
The Lord Ruler would lead his armies on a bloody path of conquest, his obsession with
order driving him to destroy all who refused to acknowledge him as their ruler and God.
All but Ten Kings he deemed worthy were brought to their knees, the following ten were turned
into Mistborn through the Beads of Lerasium to rule over the masses of Skaa within his Empire
at the head of Great Houses. Attempts at rebellion or even the assassination of the Lord Ruler were
always doomed to failure, due to the immense power he had garnered at the Well of Ascension.
Early attempts at resisting Rashek centered around fighting for the survival of one’s religion or
country, however, as the centuries passed on, the common identity of the Skaa and their oppression
became the defining factor in such revolts. This culminated in the Massacre of Tougier,
which occurred in the Seventh Century of the Final Empire and resulted in the slaughter of seven
Thousand Skaa at the hands of the Lord Ruler. The immortal knowledge that Rashek had garnered
allowed him to recognize that Ruin would someday be given another chance to emerge from his prison.
As such, during his rule, the Lord Ruler made contingencies, creating five storage
caches throughout the Final Empire with large supplies of food and other such necessities,
as well as information about Allomancy which only he possessed, and information pertaining
to the weaknesses of his hemalurgic constructs such as the the Kandra, Koloss and Inquisitors.
These were to be used if he was deposed prior to the Power returning to the Well of Ascension.
The Empire was further divided into several Dominances, with the capital
Luthadel as well as the Seven Ashmounts being contained within the Central Dominance.
The population soon soared to a hundred million citizens and,
recognizing the need to maintain order with such a vast population, technological advances
were suppressed, with anyone who discovered gunpowder immediately sentenced to death.
The nobility were controlled by continuously placing them at odds with one another in a
Great Game of sorts, while also controlling the supply of the beads of Atium, whose innate
allomantic powers could be the deciding factor in any conflict between the Houses.
Despite all of the Lord Ruler’s draconian policies, the spark of resistance had not
entirely faded, and would new life in Marsh and Kelsier, bastards of a dalliance between a
Noble father and a Skaa mother. Marsh became the leader of the Skaa Resistance, whereas Kelsier,
who hated his brother, instead joined a gang of Misting thieves in order to steal directly from
the great houses, falling in love with and marrying another member of the group Mare.
Kelsier’s arrogance would be his downfall, however, when he dreamed up the greatest of
all heists: the taking of the Lord Ruler’s atium supply within his residence at Kredik
Shaw. This would inevitably fail, with the Lord Ruler himself openly thanking Mare for helping
them to apprehend the thieves, leading to the false belief that his wife had betrayed him.
Kelsier was then sent to the Pits of Hathsin alongside Mare in order to mine Atium, which was
effectively a death sentence, as all who were sent to such a duty would be executed if they could not
find one Atium geode a week. When the week came in which Kelsier could not find such a geode,
Mare lied, claiming she had found two, and giving up her geode. She was brutally beaten to death
by the guards in front of Kelsier who was beaten for his protestations causing him to snap. Using
his newly found powers as a Mistborn, Kelsier killed the Guards and escaped the Pits of Hathsin
becoming the first such Skaa to do so, and earning the moniker the Survivor of Hathsin: a title which
reignited the hope of the Skaa people for a fairer world outside of the tyranny of the Lord Ruler.
This brings us to the events detailed within The Final Empire; however, this is the story
for our next documentary on the history of Scadrial. The next few videos in this series
will be dedicated to the Downfall of the Lord Ruler and the consequences of his deposition,
but we are planning to cover the battles of many other fantasy, sci-fi, and space opera universes,
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