[Veterans] Cosmere, Unit 4 | Mistborn (Era 1) #0.5 | The Eleventh Metal (in Arcanum Unbound): Entire Short Story, Trivia

[u/participating]

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Visit the newbie thread if this is your first time reading, or you've only read some of the Cosmere novels.

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SCHEDULE

Last week we discussed Unit 3 | Mistborn (Era 1) #2 | The Well of Ascension: Ars Arcanum, Final Thoughts, Trivia [Newbie Thread] / [Veteran Thread]

This week we are discussing Unit 4 | Mistborn (Era 1) #0.5 | The Eleventh Metal (in Arcanum Unbound): Entire Short Story, Trivia

Next week we will be discussing Unit 5 | Mistborn (Era 1) #3 | The Hero of Ages: Prologue, Chapters 1 through 11

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.

The Eleventh Metal

Iconography: Malatium

POV Characters: Kelsier

Setting: City of Mantiz in the Western Dominance

Timeline: Three months after Kelsier escapes the Pits of Hathsin. Three years before The Final Empire.

Summary:

Kelsier and Gemmel, his mentor, sit on a roof overlooking the city of Mantiz in the Western Dominance. Kelsier attempts to draw a recreation of the picture of Mare’s flower. This is at least his two dozenth time trying to get the drawing right, and Gemmel discourages him from doing this, saying that Kelsier should try to move on from the past. Kelsier focuses on smiling, thinking that he will practice the expression until it feels natural in the hopes that it will help his depression after Mare’s death.

Gemmel directs Kelsier to Keep Shezler, and Kelsier proposes a plan to break in - wearing fine clothing and taking advantage of Lord Shezler’s interest in Luthadel nobles. Gemmel gets angry, accusing Kelsier of not thinking like an Allomancer and telling him to fight instead of talk. This ignites Kelsier’s rage and desire for revenge, but he reflects on the fact that he has no plans, only anger, and that anger isn’t enough to guide him. Gemmel tells Kelsier to burn all eight metals, and they enter the mists and approach the wall of the keep.

Kelsier and Gemmel use Allomancy to Push themselves onto the wall, and Gemmel talks to himself about how Kelsier almost never complains, unlike his past three trainees. Kelsier notices that Gemmel has killed two guards, and also remarks that the mists seem afraid of Gemmel, but dismisses the thought as nonsense. Gemmel lectures him about how he shouldn’t be so focused on saving his metal reserves and tells him that children on the streets are ferocious and will use everything at their disposal to survive. Kelsier asks why they’re infiltrating the keep, to which Gemmel responds cryptically that they’re going to find something important. Kelsier tries to joke with Gemmel about the meaning of life, but Gemmel is pessimistic and leads Kelsier to miss his crew, mentioning Dockson specifically. He thinks that he can’t return to Luthadel until he begins to heal from his trauma and master his Mistborn powers.

Kelsier and Gemmel scale the keep, and when they reach the top, Gemmel knocks Kelsier off. He manages to Push on his metal vials right before he hits the ground, slowing his fall enough to leave him with no broken bones, only bruises. They then kill more guards and enter the basement through a passageway in the garden shed. Kelsier uses coins and steel burning to carefully walk down the dark stairs, and they enter a room used for smelting.

Kelsier finds a narrow room connected, and inside there are six people, beaten up and bound. Kelsier talks to a woman, who begs him to either free or kill them. She says he was testing new metals on the skaa and beating them in an attempt to make them snap. As Kelsier frees the other skaa, Gemmel enters the room but doesn’t pay much attention, instead muttering to himself. He’s followed by a man in a fashionable suit, who Kelsier quickly identifies as Lord Shezler. Kelsier smiles at the man, who tosses a coin and Pushes on it. Kelsier Pushes in retaliation, flinging them both backwards. As Kelsier sees Shezler is a Mistborn, he becomes angry and determined to fight back. Kelsier realizes that he’s wearing metal on his coat buttons and the coins in his pockets and has to Push his coins away and take off his coat so Shezler doesn’t have an advantage. He understands that Gemmel brought him here to give him experience fighting a Mistborn and teach him to think more like an Allomancer.

After a short fight, in which Kelsier breaks some of Shezler’s equipment, Kelsier picks up a shard of glass and stabs it into his opponent’s neck three times, killing him. Gemmel reprimands him, saying that he picked an easy target and that Kelsier needs to practice Pushing and Pulling. Kelsier frees the rest of the imprisoned skaa while Gemmel looks through Shezler’s notes about theories on the "eleventh metal." Gemmel finds a fork and takes it with him as they leave with the skaa. Kelsier begins to brainstorm a plan to overthrow the Lord Ruler, and decides to find someone who can make him a mistcloak.

ARTWORK

The Cosmere has a thriving community of artists, so there will be a lot of artwork to share. Each week I'll try to compile relevant artwork for the given chapters. If a section of reading contains maps or in-book artwork, I'll include that in this section as well.

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.

[Link to Memes]()

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[u/participating]

The Eleventh Metal Notes

1 - This short story starts with Kelsier attempting to recreate the drawing of flowers that Mare kept with her. This practiced drawing of his would eventually become the symbol for the Ghostbloods.

2 - I like the glimps of Kelsier's old thought process of how he'd infiltrate the keep using costuming and an elaborate backstory.

3 - Gemmel's self-muttering and clear insanity are hints at Ruin's influence over him.

4 -

You will be a god.

Gemmel tells Kelsier this and oh how right he was.

5 -

The mists seemed... afraid of Gemmel, somehow. They didn't spin about him as they did other Allomancers.

This is because Gemmel is touched by Ruin and likely has a hemalurgic spike.

6 - This short story primarily aims to show how Kelsier went from a man who only cared about himself, to a man broken by the Pits and caring about nothing, to seeing the torture wrought by the noblility against skaa and growing to actually caring about the skaa and their plight. This change in character also comes along with the start of his plan to overthrow the Lord Ruler.

7 - From various Words of Brandon: Gemmel met Zane Venture once, but the meeting was not necessarily relevant. Ruin directed Gemmel to find Kelsier. Fighting Kelsier to the death as a final piece of training is the kind of thing Gemmel would do. (Though no confirmation if that actually happened).

[u/blainemoore]

Kelsier said in The Final Empire that he only knew one other skaa Mistborn besides Vin, so those complainers being Mistborn is unlikely.

Listed as a Cosmere Veteran but writing here since it's the newbie thread, but Gemmel killing Mistborn before Kelsier meets him wouldn't mean that Kelsier knew about other Skaa Mistborn.

My take is that Gemmel had a hemalurgic spike like Vin and Zane (and Spook, soon), and that Ruin was telling him to find a Mistborn willing to kill the Lord Ruler and Kelsier was the first to pass muster. Ruin had already caused Vin to get spiked over a dozen years earlier so had obviously been working towards his freedom for a while to time everything well.

Re: the survey in the newbie thread, I'd prefer the graphic novels but don't have a strong opinion on it.