r/readalong • u/participating • 3h ago
Read-Along [Newbies] Cosmere, Unit 19 | Mistborn Era 1 #1.5 | Mistborn: Secret History (in Arcanum Unbounded): Parts 1 through 4 (Week 1) Spoiler
This is the newbie thread. Make sure you read the rules before commenting.
Visit the veteran thread if you have already read all of the Cosmere.
For more information, or to see the full schedule, please see the wiki page for the read-along.
SCHEDULE
Previously, we discussed Unit 18 | Mistborn Era 2 #3 | The Bands of Mourning: Postscript, Ars Arcanum, Final Thoughts, Trivia [Newbie Thread] / [Veteran Thread]
Today we are discussing Unit 19 | Mistborn Era 1 #1.5 | Mistborn: Secret History (in Arcanum Unbounded): Parts 1 through 4
Next week we will be discussing Unit 19 | Mistborn Era 1 #1.5 | Mistborn: Secret History (in Arcanum Unbounded): Parts 5 through 6, Epilogue
CHAPTER SUMMARIES
I have provided summaries for each chapter below and hidden them behind spoiler tags. There are no spoilers within the summaries. I've tried to make them as factual and unbiased as possible. If, however, you want a completely blind read through, then ignore what's behind the spoiler tags and proceed to the discussion below. I will not be guiding that in any way, so post any thoughts and questions you have. It will be other new readers who reply to you.
Part 1: Empire
Iconography: Malatium
Chapter 1
Iconography: Iron
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Fountain Square in Luthadel. The Cognitive Realm of Scadrial, in Luthadel.
Timeline: Concurrent with The Final Empire, Chapter 34.
Summary:
Kelsier stands before the Lord Ruler after his defeat of the Inquisitor and burns the Eleventh Metal. He sees a vision of the Lord Ruler's past as Rashek but can't figure out how to use the information. The Lord Ruler slaps him, and he flares the Eleventh Metal. He sees a vision of Rashek taking the power at the Well of Ascension and changing the world. He dies. It turns out to be a painful experience.
Kelsier tears into the Cognitive Realm, where things in the Physical Realm appear misty, except for metal, which shines. Leras arrives and Kelsier punches him. Despite his being a god, Leras appears to be weak and unstable. Other people, victims of the Lord Ruler's purge, arrive in the Cognitive Realm with Kelsier and are almost immediately pulled away to the Beyond. Allomancers take longer to leave. Leras explains that Kelsier saw into the Spiritual Realm when he flared the Eleventh Metal and saw Rashek's Connection and past. Kelsier tricks Leras into revealing the location of the Well of Ascension, and he races there, begging Leras for help in staying alive. Leras "preserves" him by making him part of the power of the Well, trapped, like Ruin, but "alive."
Chapter 2
Iconography: Steel
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Well of Ascension, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Hours after Chapter 1. Concurrent with The Final Empire, Chapter 38.
Summary:
Kelsier examines his prison and tries to break free, but cannot. At the other end of the cavern, he sees glowing bits of metal (the last two Lerasium beads). Some Inquisitors enter the cavern and dump the body of their fallen comrade into the Well. They keep his spikes in a container of blood so they won't lose potency. Kelsier asks Leras how the revolution is going, but Leras is fading and doesn't answer coherently. Leras reveals his plan for signaling his followers: using the number sixteen, the true number of metals in Allomancy. Kelsier watches as Vin kills the Lord Ruler, and the Lord Ruler shows up in the cavern, now in the Cognitive Realm. He tells Kelsier that he was only a pawn in letting Ruin destroy the world. He touches the power in the Well briefly then goes to the Beyond. Kelsier sits down to wait.
Part 2: Well
Iconography: Kredik Shaw
Chapter 1
Iconography: Tin
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Well of Ascension, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Days, weeks, months after Part 1, Chapter 2.
Summary:
Kelsier sits in his prison, bored. He starts to sense "whisperings" and pulses from the power. He decides to gaze upon it, and he sees infinite decay and destruction. He gets really bored and starts talking to himself. Hoid shows up and chides Kelsier for destroying the Pits of Hathsin, the only perpendicularity that was easy to access. Hoid shows interest in the pool of power, so Kelsier punches him when he approaches. Hoid easily beats him up but doesn't actually damage his soul; Kelsier's pain is his own creation, his mind creating the pain that he expects. Hoid goes to the center of the pool and transitions to the Physical Realm. He triumphantly grabs one of the Lerasium beads and leaves. Leras shows up and Kelsier tells him what happened. He refers to Hoid as Cephandrius. He lectures Kelsier on the three Realms: Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual. While Kelsier doesn't understand much of it, he has a new reason to fight and live.
Chapter 2
Iconography: Pewter
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Well of Ascension, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Months and months after Part 2, Chapter 1. A full year and more after Part 1, Chapters 1 and 2. Concurrent with The Well of Ascension, Chapters 3 through 51.
Summary:
With a renewed sense of purpose, Kelsier studies Ruin and his motives, riding out the pulses into the world. He occasionally sees the Drifter/Hoid. He wonders about a certain mistborn (Zane) that Ruin pays a lot of attention to. He realizes that Ruin is changing the Terris religion, but doesn't know why. He's infuriated when he figures out that Elend is king and pouts for days. But his craving for any sort of contact with his friends has him out on the pulses again. He sees Marsh as well, and decides that while he isn't fond of him, he does love him. He observes Ruin attacking Elend, but notes that he waited for Vin to see him do it.
Chapter 3
Iconography: Zinc
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Well of Ascension, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: About a day after Part 2, Chapter 2. Concurrent with The Well of Ascension, Chapters 57 and 58.
Summary:
Preservation is spending more time near the Well. His appearance is becoming less human-like, with half of his face missing and other parts of his "body" decaying away. He has a plan in place that he can't remember. He tells Kelsier that the power must not be released, but Vin will probably do just that, thinking it's right, just like Alendi would have. Ruin has confused Vin and made her distrust Preservation. Leras tries to stop her, but Ruin's tools are too strong. Kelsier suggests that he could take the power instead, but Leras tells him that wouldn't work in his current state, and in any case, he doesn't have enough Connection to him. Vin and Elend enter the chamber, and Kelsier gets an idea to motivate Vin to use the power instead of releasing it. He tells Leras to stab Elend, but he can't do it, so Kelsier grabs his arm and slashes Elend for him. Vin is distraught, but she releases the power anyway, being deceived by Ruin. The power rips through Ruin's prison, and he escapes.
Chapter 4
Iconography: Brass
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Well of Ascension, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Immediately after Part 2, Chapter 3. Concurrent with The Well of Ascension, Chapter 59.
Summary:
Leras gets Vin's attention and has her feed Elend the last bead of lerasium. Elend's soul lights up as he is Invested with Preservation's power and survives his wound by burning pewter. Vin is obviously happy and Kelsier compliments Leras, then leaves.
Part 3: Spirit
Iconography: Atium
Chapter 1
Iconography: Copper
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: Luthadel, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Immediately after Part 2, Chapter 4.
Summary:
Kelsier leaves his prison and goes to find his friends in Luthadel. He finds them at Keep Venture having a funeral. He wants to stop Ruin, but Preservation appears and tells him that is impossible because Ruin is entropy, a universal constant. Kelsier mentions the plan that Preservation can't remember now and offers to help. He learns that Dox and Clubs were killed in the Koloss battle. Kelsier is angry at Preservation for his apathy and bitterness and grabs him. As he does, he sees into Preservation's depths and feels his pain and love for his people, so he winds up hugging him in sympathy. Kelsier also sees some people to the south. Preservation says he can find someone that might be able to help Kelsier do the impossible.
Chapter 2
Iconography: Bronze
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: Lake Luthadel, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Immediately after Part 3, Chapter 1.
Summary:
Kelsier follows a tendril of Preservation, out of the city, and to Lake Luthadel. The lake rises like an island above the mists and feels more solid. There are even strangely substantial plants emitting mist on the stony surface. He continues on and Preservation's tendril goes away. He happens upon a campfire with two people. Having no weapon, he decides to just walk in on them, and they both recognize him and wonder how he's there. They introduce themselves as Khriss and Nazh. Khriss lectures Kelsier on the sixteen shards and Adonalsium. She arrived hoping to help, but Kelsier's destruction of the Pits of Hathsin means she can't get to the Physical Realm, and the Eyree won't talk to her. When they learn of Hoid's visit, they pack up to leave. Nazh gives Kelsier his knife and tells him where the Eyree are.
Chapter 3
Iconography: Cadmium
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The edge of Lake Luthadel, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Immediately after Part 3, Chapter 2. Concurrent with The Well of Ascension, Epilogue.
Summary:
Kelsier asks Preservation about the Ire. They are from another land, who have died, but have not. They have built a city "in a place between worlds." Preservation gazes into Kelsier's eyes, giving him a vision of godhood and the future. He senses that his Connection to Ruin is much stronger than that to Preservation. In no possible future does he defeat Ruin, but he does sense some chance of Vin winning if he goes west. Preservation insists that the Ire won't help, but Kelsier doesn't plan on asking.
Part 4
Iconography: Lerasium
Chapter 1
Iconography: Bendalloy
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: West of Luthadel, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Immediately after Part 3, Chapter 3.
Summary:
Kelsier runs west toward the ocean, following a canal from Luthadel. He knows he can't beat Ruin, but he can try to help Vin beat Ruin. As long as he doesn't think about getting tired, he can just keep running.
Chapter 2
Iconography: Gold
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: Longsfollow, a town well outside the Central Dominance, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Days? after Part 4, Chapter 1.
Summary:
Kelsier pauses at a town he used to live in called Longsfollow. He realizes how long he's been running and suddenly feels exhausted. He remembers that he killed several nobleman here in retribution for killing a skaa girl, and that had forced he and Mare to skip town. In the end, it only caused more deaths after the Inquisitors came -- just like the death of the Lord Ruler, who would have prevented Ruin from coming, will cause more deaths. He finds someone alive in the place where he used to live, and his thoughts turn to Mare. He asks Preservation where she is, and the man in the room hears him. Kelsier tries to talk to him, but he is mad and won't respond coherently. He continues on to the west.
Chapter 3
Iconography: Electrum
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: Travelling west in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Weeks... months after Part 4, Chapter 2. Concurrent with The Hero of Ages, Chapter 12.
Summary:
Kelsier stops at a fire pit and learns how to start a fire with his mind. He notices a lot more ash on the ground. Skaa travel to the west, trying to escape the ash. He's lonely and craves interaction with anyone, even Hoid. He continues west.
Chapter 4
Iconography: Chromium
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The ocean on the western edge of the Final Empire, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Weeks after Part 4, Chapter 3.
Summary:
Kelsier finally reaches the ocean after traveling for weeks. He's collected several things along the way. Objects with a strong Identity persist better in the cognitive realm. He calls out for Preservation, but there's still no response. Instead, Ati shows up and starts monologuing on how the world's doom is inevitable and natural. He tells him that the end is very near and that he can't do any good out here, which leads Kelsier to conclude that the opposite is true. Kelsier continues on, and Ruin taunts him, trying to break his will.
MEMES
I will attempt to find and share memes relevant to each week's discussion. There may be some weeks that just don't have good or appropriate memes, but I will share all the ones I can find in this section.
r/readalong • u/participating • 3h ago
Read-Along [Veterans] Cosmere, Unit 19 | Mistborn Era 1 #1.5 | Mistborn: Secret History (in Arcanum Unbounded): Parts 1 through 4 (Week 1) Spoiler
This is the veteran thread. Make sure you read the rules before commenting.
Visit the newbie thread if this is your first time reading, or you've only read some of the Cosmere novels.
For more information, or to see the full schedule, please see the wiki page for the read-along.
SCHEDULE
Previously, we discussed Unit 18 | Mistborn Era 2 #3 | The Bands of Mourning: Postscript, Ars Arcanum, Final Thoughts, Trivia [Newbie Thread] / [Veteran Thread]
Today we are discussing Unit 19 | Mistborn Era 1 #1.5 | Mistborn: Secret History (in Arcanum Unbounded): Parts 1 through 4
Next week we will be discussing Unit 19 | Mistborn Era 1 #1.5 | Mistborn: Secret History (in Arcanum Unbounded): Parts 5 through 6, Epilogue
CHAPTER SUMMARIES
I have provided summaries of each chapter we will be discussing. I've tried to make them unbiased, but if you see anything that could be construed as spoilery, please point them out because I'm using these same summaries in the newbie thread. I'd like to keep their experience as spoiler-free as possible, so even if I make a tiny mistake, please let me know.
I usually make a comment for each chapter, but feel free to start your own comment thread to discuss anything you want.
Part 1: Empire
Iconography: Malatium
Chapter 1
Iconography: Iron
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Fountain Square in Luthadel. The Cognitive Realm of Scadrial, in Luthadel.
Timeline: Concurrent with The Final Empire, Chapter 34.
Summary:
Kelsier stands before the Lord Ruler after his defeat of the Inquisitor and burns the Eleventh Metal. He sees a vision of the Lord Ruler's past as Rashek but can't figure out how to use the information. The Lord Ruler slaps him, and he flares the Eleventh Metal. He sees a vision of Rashek taking the power at the Well of Ascension and changing the world. He dies. It turns out to be a painful experience.
Kelsier tears into the Cognitive Realm, where things in the Physical Realm appear misty, except for metal, which shines. Leras arrives and Kelsier punches him. Despite his being a god, Leras appears to be weak and unstable. Other people, victims of the Lord Ruler's purge, arrive in the Cognitive Realm with Kelsier and are almost immediately pulled away to the Beyond. Allomancers take longer to leave. Leras explains that Kelsier saw into the Spiritual Realm when he flared the Eleventh Metal and saw Rashek's Connection and past. Kelsier tricks Leras into revealing the location of the Well of Ascension, and he races there, begging Leras for help in staying alive. Leras "preserves" him by making him part of the power of the Well, trapped, like Ruin, but "alive."
Chapter 2
Iconography: Steel
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Well of Ascension, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Hours after Chapter 1. Concurrent with The Final Empire, Chapter 38.
Summary:
Kelsier examines his prison and tries to break free, but cannot. At the other end of the cavern, he sees glowing bits of metal (the last two Lerasium beads). Some Inquisitors enter the cavern and dump the body of their fallen comrade into the Well. They keep his spikes in a container of blood so they won't lose potency. Kelsier asks Leras how the revolution is going, but Leras is fading and doesn't answer coherently. Leras reveals his plan for signaling his followers: using the number sixteen, the true number of metals in Allomancy. Kelsier watches as Vin kills the Lord Ruler, and the Lord Ruler shows up in the cavern, now in the Cognitive Realm. He tells Kelsier that he was only a pawn in letting Ruin destroy the world. He touches the power in the Well briefly then goes to the Beyond. Kelsier sits down to wait.
Part 2: Well
Iconography: Kredik Shaw
Chapter 1
Iconography: Tin
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Well of Ascension, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Days, weeks, months after Part 1, Chapter 2.
Summary:
Kelsier sits in his prison, bored. He starts to sense "whisperings" and pulses from the power. He decides to gaze upon it, and he sees infinite decay and destruction. He gets really bored and starts talking to himself. Hoid shows up and chides Kelsier for destroying the Pits of Hathsin, the only perpendicularity that was easy to access. Hoid shows interest in the pool of power, so Kelsier punches him when he approaches. Hoid easily beats him up but doesn't actually damage his soul; Kelsier's pain is his own creation, his mind creating the pain that he expects. Hoid goes to the center of the pool and transitions to the Physical Realm. He triumphantly grabs one of the Lerasium beads and leaves. Leras shows up and Kelsier tells him what happened. He refers to Hoid as Cephandrius. He lectures Kelsier on the three Realms: Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual. While Kelsier doesn't understand much of it, he has a new reason to fight and live.
Chapter 2
Iconography: Pewter
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Well of Ascension, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Months and months after Part 2, Chapter 1. A full year and more after Part 1, Chapters 1 and 2. Concurrent with The Well of Ascension, Chapters 3 through 51.
Summary:
With a renewed sense of purpose, Kelsier studies Ruin and his motives, riding out the pulses into the world. He occasionally sees the Drifter/Hoid. He wonders about a certain mistborn (Zane) that Ruin pays a lot of attention to. He realizes that Ruin is changing the Terris religion, but doesn't know why. He's infuriated when he figures out that Elend is king and pouts for days. But his craving for any sort of contact with his friends has him out on the pulses again. He sees Marsh as well, and decides that while he isn't fond of him, he does love him. He observes Ruin attacking Elend, but notes that he waited for Vin to see him do it.
Chapter 3
Iconography: Zinc
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Well of Ascension, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: About a day after Part 2, Chapter 2. Concurrent with The Well of Ascension, Chapters 57 and 58.
Summary:
Preservation is spending more time near the Well. His appearance is becoming less human-like, with half of his face missing and other parts of his "body" decaying away. He has a plan in place that he can't remember. He tells Kelsier that the power must not be released, but Vin will probably do just that, thinking it's right, just like Alendi would have. Ruin has confused Vin and made her distrust Preservation. Leras tries to stop her, but Ruin's tools are too strong. Kelsier suggests that he could take the power instead, but Leras tells him that wouldn't work in his current state, and in any case, he doesn't have enough Connection to him. Vin and Elend enter the chamber, and Kelsier gets an idea to motivate Vin to use the power instead of releasing it. He tells Leras to stab Elend, but he can't do it, so Kelsier grabs his arm and slashes Elend for him. Vin is distraught, but she releases the power anyway, being deceived by Ruin. The power rips through Ruin's prison, and he escapes.
Chapter 4
Iconography: Brass
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The Well of Ascension, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Immediately after Part 2, Chapter 3. Concurrent with The Well of Ascension, Chapter 59.
Summary:
Leras gets Vin's attention and has her feed Elend the last bead of lerasium. Elend's soul lights up as he is Invested with Preservation's power and survives his wound by burning pewter. Vin is obviously happy and Kelsier compliments Leras, then leaves.
Part 3: Spirit
Iconography: Atium
Chapter 1
Iconography: Copper
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: Luthadel, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Immediately after Part 2, Chapter 4.
Summary:
Kelsier leaves his prison and goes to find his friends in Luthadel. He finds them at Keep Venture having a funeral. He wants to stop Ruin, but Preservation appears and tells him that is impossible because Ruin is entropy, a universal constant. Kelsier mentions the plan that Preservation can't remember now and offers to help. He learns that Dox and Clubs were killed in the Koloss battle. Kelsier is angry at Preservation for his apathy and bitterness and grabs him. As he does, he sees into Preservation's depths and feels his pain and love for his people, so he winds up hugging him in sympathy. Kelsier also sees some people to the south. Preservation says he can find someone that might be able to help Kelsier do the impossible.
Chapter 2
Iconography: Bronze
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: Lake Luthadel, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Immediately after Part 3, Chapter 1.
Summary:
Kelsier follows a tendril of Preservation, out of the city, and to Lake Luthadel. The lake rises like an island above the mists and feels more solid. There are even strangely substantial plants emitting mist on the stony surface. He continues on and Preservation's tendril goes away. He happens upon a campfire with two people. Having no weapon, he decides to just walk in on them, and they both recognize him and wonder how he's there. They introduce themselves as Khriss and Nazh. Khriss lectures Kelsier on the sixteen shards and Adonalsium. She arrived hoping to help, but Kelsier's destruction of the Pits of Hathsin means she can't get to the Physical Realm, and the Eyree won't talk to her. When they learn of Hoid's visit, they pack up to leave. Nazh gives Kelsier his knife and tells him where the Eyree are.
Chapter 3
Iconography: Cadmium
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The edge of Lake Luthadel, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Immediately after Part 3, Chapter 2. Concurrent with The Well of Ascension, Epilogue.
Summary:
Kelsier asks Preservation about the Ire. They are from another land, who have died, but have not. They have built a city "in a place between worlds." Preservation gazes into Kelsier's eyes, giving him a vision of godhood and the future. He senses that his Connection to Ruin is much stronger than that to Preservation. In no possible future does he defeat Ruin, but he does sense some chance of Vin winning if he goes west. Preservation insists that the Ire won't help, but Kelsier doesn't plan on asking.
Part 4
Iconography: Lerasium
Chapter 1
Iconography: Bendalloy
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: West of Luthadel, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Immediately after Part 3, Chapter 3.
Summary:
Kelsier runs west toward the ocean, following a canal from Luthadel. He knows he can't beat Ruin, but he can try to help Vin beat Ruin. As long as he doesn't think about getting tired, he can just keep running.
Chapter 2
Iconography: Gold
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: Longsfollow, a town well outside the Central Dominance, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Days? after Part 4, Chapter 1.
Summary:
Kelsier pauses at a town he used to live in called Longsfollow. He realizes how long he's been running and suddenly feels exhausted. He remembers that he killed several nobleman here in retribution for killing a skaa girl, and that had forced he and Mare to skip town. In the end, it only caused more deaths after the Inquisitors came -- just like the death of the Lord Ruler, who would have prevented Ruin from coming, will cause more deaths. He finds someone alive in the place where he used to live, and his thoughts turn to Mare. He asks Preservation where she is, and the man in the room hears him. Kelsier tries to talk to him, but he is mad and won't respond coherently. He continues on to the west.
Chapter 3
Iconography: Electrum
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: Travelling west in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Weeks... months after Part 4, Chapter 2. Concurrent with The Hero of Ages, Chapter 12.
Summary:
Kelsier stops at a fire pit and learns how to start a fire with his mind. He notices a lot more ash on the ground. Skaa travel to the west, trying to escape the ash. He's lonely and craves interaction with anyone, even Hoid. He continues west.
Chapter 4
Iconography: Chromium
POV Characters: Kelsier
Setting: The ocean on the western edge of the Final Empire, in the Cognitive Realm.
Timeline: Weeks after Part 4, Chapter 3.
Summary:
Kelsier finally reaches the ocean after traveling for weeks. He's collected several things along the way. Objects with a strong Identity persist better in the cognitive realm. He calls out for Preservation, but there's still no response. Instead, Ati shows up and starts monologuing on how the world's doom is inevitable and natural. He tells him that the end is very near and that he can't do any good out here, which leads Kelsier to conclude that the opposite is true. Kelsier continues on, and Ruin taunts him, trying to break his will.
MEMES
I will attempt to find and share memes relevant to each week's discussion. There may be some weeks that just don't have good or appropriate memes, but I will share all the ones I can find in this section.