Sazed is also a Keeper, a Terrisman with the power of Feruchemy (or, storing physical ability in metals to use later). Vin is taught how to act like a noblewoman by Sazed. Kelsier’s brother, Marsh, is assigned to infiltrate the Lord Ruler’s Steel Ministry and gather information about his Inquisitors, creatures with extraordinary Allomantic abilities that regularly hunt skaa half-bloods. The other members of the crew-Ham, Breeze, Dockson, Spook, Clubs, Sazed, and Lord Renoux-focus on recruiting soldiers from among the skaa for a rebellion they hope to start the following year. Her part in the crew is to infiltrate the nobility and help Kelsier in instigating a war among Luthadel’s noble houses. Vin learns the art of Allomancy, how to “burn” metals she has ingested, Allomancy’s dependence on the physical laws of Scadrial, and how to fight other Allomancers. She is offered a position on his crew and the opportunity to learn Allomancy from himself and the crew’s Mistings, half-blooded skaa with only one Allomantic power. Vin is a Mistborn, and her powers attract Kelsier’s notice. He escapes from the Pits and travels to Luthadel to gather a team of skaa thieves for his plan to overthrow the Lord Ruler. He is a Mistborn with the ability to use every Allomantic metal. Mare is killed at the Pits and Kelsier “Snaps,” or comes into his full Allomantic powers. After being betrayed by his wife Mare on a job stealing from the Lord Ruler, Kelsier is sent to the Pits of Hathsin to mine atium geodes, one of the most sought-after Allomantic metals. He is a half-blood skaa with a father from the noble class. Kelsier is a former thief from the capital city of Luthadel. In addition, its land lost much of its fertility. Since the Lord Ruler’s ascension, Scadrial has been plagued by nightly mists and frequent ashfalls. When the novel begins, the Lord Ruler has subjugated the skaa people for a century while the noble class lives in luxury. Assuming the identity of the Hero of Ages, Rashek rose to Lord Ruler and established the Final Empire, subjecting all nations of Scadrial to his will. He became a skilled Feruchemist and Allomancer, two of the magic systems operating on Scadrial. At the Well of Ascension, Rashek betrayed the Hero of Ages and took the power of the Well for himself.

He kept a logbook during the journey, sections of which act as epigraphs for each chapter in Mistborn. The Hero of the Ages arrives and traveled through the mountains with the guidance of a packman named Rashek. Philosophers predicted the coming of a Hero of Ages who would use the power of the Well of Ascension to defeat the Deepness. Prior to the events of Mistborn, the planet Scadrial was threatened by a mysterious power known only as the Deepness.

The final empire sanderson