Vin

Lore & Background

Vin is a half-skaa Mistborn recruited by Kelsier based on her Allomantic potential; the discovery that she can burn pewter comes during training. She is trained by Kelsier's crew to burn metals such as pewter for strength, tin for enhanced senses, and steel and iron for limited telekinesis over metal. She poses as Valette Renoux at noble balls, where she falls in love with Elend Venture. After Kelsier's death, Vin fights the Lord Ruler. She discovers the Lord Ruler is actually Rashek, a Terrisman advisor who killed the true Hero of Ages. Using the mists to empower herself, she physically pulls off his Feruchemical bracelets, causing him to age rapidly, and executes him with a spear. His last words are 'You don't know what you do' (or similar), and the warning about a greater threat comes later from other sources.

In Their Own Story

The mist curled around her ankles like cold fingers as she crouched on the rooftop. Below, the ash fell softly, burying another day of Luthadel. She tapped steel, feeling the surge speed through her veins. A guard turned the corner below, lantern swinging. Vin didn't blink; she pushed off the edge, gravity bending to her will, vanishing into the shadows before the light could catch her red hair.

Reader's Guide

Vin begins as a wary and abused street urchin recruited by Kelsier's crew after being discovered to be a Mistborn. She is trained to develop her Allomantic powers, including burning pewter to strengthen the body, burning tin to enhance the senses, and burning steel and iron to gain limited telekinesis over metal. She is given the duty of spying on the nobility by attending opulent balls in Luthadel, where she poses as Valette Renoux. During these balls, she meets and falls in love with Elend Venture. After Kelsier's death, Vin inherits the Eleventh Metal and goes to the imperial palace to kill the Lord Ruler. She is captured by the Canton of Inquisition but rescued by Sazed. She fights the Lord Ruler, discovering he is Rashek, and with hints from the Eleventh Metal and aid from the mists, she separates him from his Feruchemical bracelets and executes him with a spear.

Did You Know?

• Vin is recruited by Kelsier because she is a half-skaa with Allomantic potential; her ability to burn pewter is revealed during training.
• Vin poses as Valette Renoux, niece to Lord Renoux, to spy on the nobility at balls in Luthadel.
• Vin falls in love with Elend Venture, heir to House Venture, during these balls.
• Vin kills the Lord Ruler by using the mists to empower herself and physically pulling off his Feruchemical bracelets, then stabbing him with a spear.
• The Lord Ruler's last words to Vin are 'You don't know what you do' (or similar); the warning about a greater threat comes later from other sources.

The World of Scadrial and Its Magic

Mistborn: The Final Empire is set on the dystopian world of Scadrial, where ash constantly falls from the sky, all plants are brown, and supernatural mists cloak the landscape every night. One thousand years before the start of the novel, the prophesized Hero of Ages ascended to godhood at the Well of Ascension to repel the Deepness. The Hero took the title 'Lord Ruler' and has ruled over the Final Empire for a thousand years as an immortal tyrant. Society is stratified into the nobility, believed to be descendants of his allies, and the brutally oppressed skaa, descended from those who opposed him. Magic is central to the world, with Allomancy allowing users to gain supernatural abilities by swallowing and 'burning' specific metals. Allomantic potential is a genetic trait concentrated in the nobility, though skaa Allomancers exist due to crossbreeding. Normal Allomancers have access to one power, but the rare Mistborn have access to every Allomantic power.

Vin's Transformation from Urchin to Hero

Vin is introduced as a wary and abused street urchin. She is recruited by Kelsier's crew after Kelsier is notified by his brother Marsh that she is a Mistborn. Vin is trained by Kelsier's crew to develop her Allomantic powers, including burning pewter to strengthen the body, burning tin to enhance the senses, and burning steel and iron to gain limited telekinesis over metal. She is given the duty of spying on the nobility by attending opulent balls in Luthadel, where she poses as Valette Renoux, niece to Lord Renoux. During these balls, she meets and falls in love with Elend Venture, heir to House Venture. Elend flouts the rules of nobility culture and secretly plans to build a better society. After Kelsier's death, Vin uses the Eleventh Metal to confront the Lord Ruler. She discovers the Lord Ruler is actually Rashek, and with hints from the Eleventh Metal and aid from the mists, she separates him from his Feruchemical bracelets and executes him with a spear.

Kelsier's Rebellion and Strategic Sacrifice

Kelsier, a half-skaa thief who discovered he is Mistborn and escaped the Pits of Hathsin, returns to Luthadel to overthrow the Final Empire by stealing its treasury and collapsing its economy. He hopes to destabilize the city with a house war between the nobility and then invade with a skaa army. The crew succeeds in starting a house war by assassinating several powerful nobles and recruiting about seven thousand soldiers. However, about three quarters of the soldiers are slaughtered when they attack an unimportant Final Empire garrison with hopes of divine protection from Kelsier. The remaining soldiers are smuggled into Luthadel. Kelsier is killed by the Lord Ruler himself in a dramatic confrontation in Luthadel's city square. It is revealed that his real plan was to become a martyred symbol of hope for Luthadel's superstitious skaa population. The skaa react to his death by rising up and overthrowing the city with the help of Kelsier's army.

The Final Confrontation with Rashek

Before his death, Kelsier attempted to unlock the potential of the 'Eleventh Metal,' rumored to be the Lord Ruler's weakness. He left it to Vin to finish the job. Vin goes to the imperial palace to kill the Lord Ruler but is captured by the Canton of Inquisition and left in a cell to be tortured. Sazed, her faithful Terrisman servant, rescues her using Feruchemy. Marsh is revealed to be alive, having been made into a Steel Inquisitor; he betrays his fellow Inquisitors and slays them before being overpowered by the Lord Ruler. Vin fights the Lord Ruler, whom she recognizes as not the Hero of Ages, but his Terrisman advisor Rashek, who had killed the Hero and taken his place as an incredibly powerful Allomancer and Feruchemist. Vin is almost destroyed, but with hints from the Eleventh Metal and unexpected magical aid from the mists, she separates the Lord Ruler from his Feruchemical bracelets that provide constant youth, causing him to age rapidly. Vin uses a spear to execute the Lord Ruler, who with his last words warns her of a great doom.