(page numbers are from the original hard cover edition)
- "Most of the buildings had been built from stone blocks, with tile roofs for the wealthy, and simple, peaked wooden roofs for the rest. The structures were packed closely together, making them seem squat despite the fact that they were generally three stories high.
"The tenements and shops were uniform in appearance..."
- "Interspersed throughout the city were a dozen or so monolithic keeps. Intricate, with rows of spearlike spires or deep archways..."
- "Most of the open ground in the city was around these keeps."
- "Every structure in Luthadel -- virtually every structure Kelsier had ever seen-- had been blackened to some degree."
(2.37)
-Luthadel's main export is metal, Kredik Shaw is several times larger than any nobleman's keep, a coloured vest is a sign of nobility, workers wear "simple coats and trousers."
(2.38)
- "Tall, and blocky, the building had a massive rose window in the front, though the glass was dark from the outside. Two large banners hung down beside the window, the sooth-stained red cloth proclaiming praises to the Lord Ruler." - on the Canton of Finance (2.42)
-High Prelan Arriev has tattoos extending all the way back to his ears and up over his forehead. (2.44)
- "[Obligators] are trained to recognize when their passions are being manipulated. Even the high nobility are forbidden from Pulling or Pushing the emotions of an obligator.?" (3.59)
-"Even among the nobility, Vin, Allomancy is modestly rare... ...with most of its powerful lines among the high nobility. However, breeding alone does not guarantee Allomantic strength."
-"You can usually find one Misting in... oh, about ten thousand mixed-breed skaa. The better and closer, the noble ancestry, the more likely the skaa is to be a misting." (3.61)
- "Most ranking obligators in the steel ministry are high noblemen." (3.62)
-Even amongst the nobility, Mistborn are incredibly rare. (3.62)
-At the Massacre of Tougier, three centuries before the events of FE, seven thousand skaa were slaughtered for rebelling. Kelsier lists the "occaisonal raid of a traveling canal boat or the kidnapping of a minor noble official," as the rebellion's successes.
- "It's difficult enough to get one in a thousand to listen to us, let alone rebel!" (4.72)
*Maybe this could be because of our rebellion: to cover it up, even whispers of rebellion are now harshly punished....
-Kelsier claims to have found the eleventh metal in the north, on the far peninsula (4.79)
-Venture has a standing force of several hundred men, and the local house nobility includes a good two dozen mistings, and a dozen haze killers. (5.86)
-Desciption of Keep Venture: "While it maintained a defensive wall around the grounds, the keep itself was more an artistic construction than a fortification. Sturdy buttressings arched out from the sides, allowing for intricate windows and delicate spires. Brilliant stained-glass windows stretched high long the sides of the rectangular building, and they shone with light from within, giving the surrounding mists a veriegated glow."
"He found the balcony with ease. Wide and broad, it was probably a sitting balcony, used to entertain small groups."
"The second room was a quiet, greenhouse-like conservatory. Low beds containing cultivated bushes and small trees ran through the room, and one wall was made up of enormous floor-to-ceiling windows to provide sunlight for the plants. Though ti was dark, Kelsier knew that the plants would all be of slightly different colors than the typical brown-some would be white, others ruddy, and perhaps even a few light yellow. Plants that weren't brown were a rarity cultivated and kept by the nobility."
The room next to the conservatory: "was obviously a study; a lantern burned on each wall beside bookcases, and it had a desk in the corner."
"There was a large safe in the corner of the room . . . . . . another strong source of metal shone from inside the eatsern wall."
"Like many walls in noble keeps, this one was painted with a soft mural. Foreign creatures lounged beneath a red sun. The false section of wall was under two feet square, and it has been placed so that its cracks were obscured by the mural."
"the panel swung open, revealing a small safe embedded in the wall."
(5.88-90)
-Ministry Doctrine says the Lord Ruler brought the ash and mists as a punishment for the people's lack of faith (6.103)
- "The rebellion has been trying for a thousand years to get the skaa in this city to rise up. It never works." (6.104)
- "The high nobility are growing increasingly powerful--the Lord Ruler barely has control over them anymore, which is why we have a chance of shattering his grip." (6.104)
- the rebellion uses the Arguois caverns to hide people, and the ministry knows about them. (6.106)
-Renoux is a Western Lord, with a great deal of power in the Farmost dominance [meaning that is where he is based?]. He wants to ship fine southern weapons to the north in order to gain enough money and contacts to establish himself in Luthadel. (6.110)
- "Major House wars seem to happen every couple of centuries or so"
"The high nobility take Mistborn attacks very seriously--they have an unspoken agreement that they won't use Mistborn to assassinate each other." (6.112)
-"Can you name all ten Great Houses of Luthadel in order of power?"
"Venture, Hasting, Elariel, Tekiel, Lekal, Erikeller, Erikell, Haught, Urbain, and Buvidas." (9.157)
- "I am Lady Valette Renoux, fourth cousin to Lord Teven Renoux, who owns this mansion. My parents--Lord Hadren and Lady Fellette Renoux--live in Chakath, a city in the Western Dominance. Major export, wool. My family works in trading dyes, specifically blushdip red, from the snails that are common there, and callowfield yellow, made from tree bark. As part of their trade agreement with their distant cousin [Lord Renoux], my parents sent me down her to Luthadel, so I can spend some time at court." (Emphasis mine) (9.158)
-A few old religions lasted into the 5th century (10.174)
-"A nobleman pedestrian was not an irregular sight, especially in the commercial distrect, where more fortunate skaa and less fortunate noblemen mixed on the streets-- though each group did it's best to ignore eachother." (11.181)
-"There hasn't been an all-out war among the Great Houses for over an century, but the last one was devastating. We need to replicate it." (12.187)
-The Venture Ball was "far beneath [the Lord Ruler's] attention."
-Venture's keep description: "The massive building was enveloped in an aura of misty light."
"eight enormous lights blazed along the outside of the rectangular building. They were as bright as bonfires, yet far more steady, and they had mirrors aranged behind them to make them shine directly on the keep."
"A crowd of aristocrats was pooling slightly in the foyer, waiting to enter the main hall."
"The Venture main hall was a grand and imposing sight. Four or five daunting stories high, the hall was several times as long as it was wide. Enormous, rectangular stained-glass windows ran in rows along the hall, and the strange, powerful lights outside shone on them directly, throwing a cascade of colors across the room. Massive, ornate stone pillars were set into the walls, running between the windows. Just before the pillars met the floor, the wall fell away, indenting and creating a single-story gallery beneath the windows themselves. Dozens of white-clothed tables sat in this area, shadowed behind the pillars and beneath the overhand. In the distance, at the far end of the hallway, Vin could make out a low balcony set into the wall, and this held a smaller group of tables."
"The dining table of Lord Straff Venture," Sazed whispered, gesturing towards the far balcony."
"A string orchestra played on a platform to her left, providing music for the couples who danced in the very center of the hall. To her right, serving tables held platter upon platter of foods."
The windows" were religious, like many scenes preferred by the aristocracy"
"Central to many of the windows was the Deepness. Deep black--or, in window terms, violet--it was formless, with vengeful, tentacle-like masses creeping across several windows. Vin looked up at it, along with the brillliantly colored depictions of the Lord Ruler..."
"The pillars in the hall weren't just normal columns, they were carved masterpieces. Wide banners hung from the ceiling just above the windows, and the arching, lofty ceiling, was crisscrossed by structural buttressing and dotted with capstones. Somehow she knew each of those capstones was intricately carved, despite the fact that they were too far away to be seen from below."
"a lofty, inset balcony that ran just above the entire far wall. It was like a counterpart to the alcove beneath the windows, except it ran at the top of the wall, between the stained glass windows and the ceiling. She could see movement upon it, couples and singles strolling along, looking at the party below."
"There are stairs just to the side of the orchestra, my lady," the boy said. "Climb them to the top landing."
"The upper balcony was dark--lit only by several small blue-glassed lanterns on the walls--and it gave an amazing view of the stained-glass windows . . . . . . The stone tiles of the floor below formed a pattern she hadn't noticed, a kind of freeform curving of gray upon white. Mists?"
The railing "like the lantern bracket behind her, was intricate and detailed--both had been wrought in the form of thick, curving vines. To her sides, the tops of the pillars were carved into stone animals that appeared frozen in the motion of jumping off the balcony."
(12.188-195)
-"The solitary table will mark you as single . . . . . . respectfully and rightly, you can refuse these men. They will assume you are simply flustered by your first ball, and no harm will be done." (12.190).
-Balls require invitations. (12.190)
-"The garrison watches the skaa, Vin thought, Apparently the obligators perform a similar function for the nobility." (12.191)
-"Long hair was certainly the fashion, though an equal number kept their hair up as left it down." (12.192).
-"Maybe he won't attend."
"Perhaps," Sazed said, "But not likely. The young nobility are quite fond of their nightly diversions."
"They do this every night?"
"Nearly," Sazed said. "The balls are, after all, a prime reason people come to Luthadel. IF one is in town and there is a ball--and there almost always is--one generally attends, especially if one is young and unmarried. You won't be expected to attend quite so frequently, but we should probably get you up to attending two or three a week." (12.192-193).
"To the steward's dinner," Sazed said. " A servant of my rank is generally dismissed once my master's meal is finished. I hesitate to go and leve you, but that room will be filled with the self-important servants of the high nobility. There will be conversations there that Master Kelsier wishes me to overhear." (12.193).
-"Vin's father is an Obligator," Kelsier said. "And apparently and important one if he had enough pull to go to a ball like this." (Note, Vin's father is Lord Prelan, but Kelsier does not know this). (13.201)
-"The Lord Ruler controls its production and distribution. The Great Houses get to buy a monthly stipend of Atium, which is one of the main ways the Lord Ruler controls them. Go ahead and swallow it." (13.206)
-Atium cannot be sold by theives, they are tracked down and executed if they try. (13.206)
-"Atium is fragile, and your digestive juices will ruin it in a matter of hours." (13.208)
-Rain clears the mists slightly (14.209)
-Kredik Shaw has no outer wall (14.211)
-"None of the guards in this palace wear metal. Haze killers, they were called." (14.212)
-"as intoxicating as streetspice," (17.238)
- Elariel Ballroom Description (Starting 18.247) "...the steps to Keep Elariel. It was a bit smaller than the keep of House Venture. However, Keep Elariel apparently had a separate party ballroom, while House Venture had it's gatherings in the enormous main hall..."
"...the squat ballroom building?one of several low wings extending from the main keep..."
"The Elariel ballroom was very different from the majestic Venture grand hall. The dim room was only a single story high, and while it had a lot of stained-glass windows, they were all in the ceiling. Circular rose-window skylights shone from above, lit by small lime-lights on the roof. Each table was set with candles, and despite the light from above, there was a reserved darkness about the room. It seemed... private, despite the numerous people in attendance..."
"This room had obviously been designed to accommodate parties. A sunken dancing floor lay at it's center, and this was better lit than the rest of the room. There were two tiers of tables circling the dancing floor: The first tier was only a few feet above, the other was farther back and about twice as high..."
"The deep, crystalline colors from above projected patterns across tables and people, creating an impressive atmosphere, yet making it difficult to distinguish faces..." (18.247)
-It's two months travel by canal to get from Chakath to Luthadel, including stops. (18.251)
-"...the plantation system has produced a far more stable government than previous methodologies. The structure of Dominances with each provincial lord taking command of and responsibility for his skaa has fostered a competitive environment where discipline is harshly enforced.
The Lord Ruler apparently finds this system troubling because of the freedom it allows the aristocracy. However, the relative lack of organized rebellion is undoubtedly enticing; during the two hundred years that the system has been in place, there hasn?t been a major uprising in the Five Inner Dominances.
Of course, this politicial system is only an extension of the greater theocratic rulership. The aristocracy's independence has been tempered by a renewed vigor in obligator enforcement. No lord, no matter how lofty, would be advised to think himself above their law. The call from an Inquisitor can come from anyone." -("Current Political Structure") (18.257)
-"You could learn much from the ladies here in Luthadel."
"Such as?" Vin asked, trying to keep the snappishness out of her voice.
"Look at yourself sometime, child. Hair like you've undergone some terrible disease, so scrawny that your dress hangs like a bag. Being a noblewoman in Luthadel requires... perfection. Not that." -(18.258)
-"When regarding the Final Empire in its entirety, one certain fact is unmistakable. For a nation ruled by a self-proclaimed divinity, the empire has experienced a frightening number of colossal leadership errors. Most of these have been successfully covered up, and can only be found in the metalminds of Feruchemists or on the pages of banned texts. However, one only need look to the near past to note such blunders as the Massacre at Devanex, the revision of the Deepness Doctrine, and the relocation of the Renates peoples.
The Lord Ruler does not age. that much, at least, is undeniable. This text, however, purports to prove that he is by no means infallible. During the days before the Ascension, mankind suffered chaos and uncertainty caused by an endless cycle of kings, emperors, and other monarchs. One would think that now, with a single, immortal governor, society would finally have an opportunity to find stability and enlightenment. It is the remarkable lack or either attribute in the Final Empire that is the Lord Ruler's most grievous oversight."
-Book of the False Dawn (18.260)
-Keep Tekiel has low garden wall (19.265), a larger wall, and 'outer grounds' outside of the garden wall (19.1266). They also have a "whitewased garden veranda that sat beside a small reflicting pool" (19.266).
-"The Great Houses were growing nervous. Keeping five Tineyes on watch wouldn?t be that hard for a house like Tekiel, but the noblemen Allomancers would resent being forced into simple guard duty. And if there were five Tineyes on watch, chances were good that a number of Thugs, Coinshots, and Lurchers were on call as well. Luthadel was quietly in a state of alert." (19.266)
-"However with five Tineyes on watch, Kelsier wouldn?t be able to get very close to the keep without serious risk of being spotted." (19.266)
-Lord Charrs Entrone was known for enjoying skaa blood fights. Entrone is an ally of Tekiel, and both Entrone and Tekiel are enemies of Izenry (Izenry is Tekiel's rival). Crews Geffenry is a known mistborn, whose house was petitioning House Tekiel for an alliance. (19.266).
-"There hadn't been a true war in the Final Empire for centuries. The occasional 'rebellion' consisted of nothing more than a few thousand men hiding in hills or caves, coming out for periodic raids." (19.267)
-"I'm no merchant, skaa," Kelsier said. "I don't care about profits and shipping!" Let him chew on that. Now he thinks I'm of a Great House--of course if he hadn?t suspected that because of the mistcloak, then he doesn't deserve his reputation." (19.268)
-"..the group of nobling philosophers that lounge at the Broken Quill?" (19.269)
-"Straff Venture snorted. His house was powerful--incredibly powerful--and relied on no specific industry or enterprise to fuel its wealth. That was a very difficult position to achieve in the final Empire, considering the Lord Ruler's taxes and atium costs." (19.271)
-"Its author--Deluse Couvre--went on to write some books that were even more damning. Though he didn't blaspheme against Allomancy, the obligators made an exception in his case and strung him up on a hook anyway." (19.275)
-"the Lord Ruler is far more lenient with the nobility than he is with skaa. He sees them as the children of his long-dead friends and allies, the men who supposedly helped him defeat the Deepness. He occasionally lets them get away with things like reading edgy texts or assassinating family members." (19.275)
-"I suspect that many full Mistborn neglect these powers," Marsh said. "And that is a mistake. Bronze and copper may not be as flashy as other metals, but they can be very powerful in the hands of someone properly trained." (20.283)
-"You can identify precisely which parts of a person's emotions a Soother or Rioter intends to influence. You'll also be able to tell when someone is flaring their metal. If you grow very skilled, you might even be able to tell when they're running low on metals." (20.284)
-"You can already determine pulse origins. That takes practice." (20.284)
-Bronze is a pushing metal. (20.284)
"It took me six months of practice to distinguish pulse lengths--if you'd done it on the first try, I'd have felt incompetent. (20.285)
"If you can tell Pulling metals from Pushing metals already... well, you apparently have talent." (20.285)
"Internal metals, like bronze and copper, give off longer pulses than external metals, like iron and steel. Practice also lets you sense the three patterns within the pulses: one for the physical metals, one for the mental metals, and one for the two greater metals.
Pulse length, metal group, and Push-Pull variance--once you know these three things, you will be able to tell exactly which metals your opponent is burning. A long pulse that beats against you and has a quick pattern will be pewter--the internal Pushing physical metal." (20.285)
-It took weeks of travel to reach the caverns by canal boat from Luthadel. (21.290)
- "I've known skaa women to have as many as a dozen children," Ham said. "But I can?t name a single major noble family with more than three." (21.298)
- "And the height difference? They say you used to be able to tell skaa and noblemen apart by sight alone. That's changed, probably through interbreeding, but most skaa are still kind of short."
"That's nutritional. Skaa don't get enough to eat." (Note: There really are physical differences between nobles and skaa) (21.298)
- "Ordinary skaa, even city skaa, didn't know of things like Steelpushing or Pewter-burning. When they saw Kelsier flying through the air or sparring with supernatural strength they would just attribute it to formless 'Allomancy Magics." (21.299)
- "Noblemen have a tradition. When two men have a dispute, the settle it with a duel. Defeat my champion and you are free to leave."
"And if he defeats me?" Bilg asked.
"Then you'll be dead." (21.302)
- Dresses for daily use are only slightly less luxurious than Vin's ball gowns. (22.308).
- "it has long been imperial fashion to accent one's wardrobe with metal... ...many of the nobility only wear wood painted to look like metal." (22.309)
-"You know we can't play unless we have a fourth man." (Referring to Shelldry) (23.319)
-Obligators witness every mercantile contract, authorize weddings, divorces, land purchases, and ratify the inheritance of titles. (23.319)
- "Self important in a way that could make even a confident person uncertain, Shan was--as Vin was beginning to realize--exactly what most of the aristocracy thought was the perfect woman." (23.320)
-Keep Hasting description: "The ball this evening was being held at the marvelous Keep Hasting. Its tall, round central keep was attended by six auxiliary towers, each set off from the main building a short distance and connected to it by walltop walkways. All seven towers were set with winding, curving patterns of stained glass."
"The ballroom was at the top of the wide central tower. Fortunately, a system of skaa-powered pulley platforms kept noble guests from having to walk all the way to the top. The ballroom istelf wasn't as sepectacular as somm Vin had visisted--just a squarish chamber with vaulted ceilings and colored glass runing around the perimeter." (23.322)
"The balcony-one of many jutting from the top of the central Hasting tower--was empty. A single stone lanter stood as part of the railing, and some tastefully placed plants lined the corners . . . . . . the balcony was close enough to the keep's warmth that the mist was weak." (23.323).
Stairwells at the side of the room lead to auxillary towers (23.327).
"the tower ahead of hear had a lit sentrypost at its base."
"The power appeared to have several rooms, and a couple of them were lit." (23.328).
-Roughly a third of noblemen visit skaa brothels. (23.323)
- "By whom? Country nobility? Valette, they don?t know us. They're jealous because we control most of the canal systems." (23.323)
- Lekal and Hasting are political enemies of Venture (23.327).
- "Every year, the nobility grow weaker," Jastes said in agreement. "Our skaa belong to the Lord Ruler, as does our land. His obligators determine who we can marry and what we can believe. Our canals, even, are officially 'his' property. Ministry assassins kill men who speak out too openly, or who are too successful. This is no way to live." (23.229)
-"They're doing what noblemen do--planning alliances. It's not unusual for the next generation to start organizing their house coalitions before they come to power" (23.330).
- "House Tekiel is vulnerable," she said. "Its allies are scattering , and the vultures are moving in. Some whisper that debts and lost business will force the Tekiel to sell of their keep by the end of the month. There's no way they can afford to continue paying the Lord Ruler's keep tax." (24.336)
- "Most of the Tekiel nobility--including Mistings and Mistborn-- will have to move to outer plantations to recoup their losses." (24.336)
- "There are places in the final empire that a lot of people don't know about--places where a man with enough money can live the life of a nobleman." (24.339)
- "the game can get addicting" (24.339)
-"the customary crowded lines of people waited for permission to pass through the city gates. She and Ham walked quietly past the solemn group--workers being sent out to the docks, men off to work one of the outer mills alongside the river or lake, lesser noblemen wishing to travel. All had to have a good reason to leave the city; the Lord Ruler strictly controlled travel inside his realm." (24.340)
-Valtroux City and Holstep are two cities in the north of the central dominance, near the caverns. (24.343)
-A two week trip can be done in sixteen hours on a pewter drag. (25.348)
-defeating the Holstep garrison was the greatest skaa victory in decades, perhaps even in centuries. (25.355).
- EXECUTION DESCRIPTION: "Supposedly all the men in the city, skaa or noble, were required to attend execution ceremonies, but theiving crews knew how to remain hidden. Bells rang in the distance, announcing the event, and obligators watched at the sides of the streets. They would go into mills, forges, and random houses seraching for those who disobeyed the call, meting out death as a punishment." (26.362)
- "Luthadel wasn't like most other cities; its population was enormous. Even with only the men in attendance, there was no way everyone would have a view of the executions." (26.362)
- "The noblemen were ate the center of the square, separated from the skaa by soldiers. They were close to the central fountain patio, which stood about five feet above the rest of the square. Someone had constructed seating for the nobility, and they lounged, as if they were visiting some show or horse race. Many had servants holding up parasols against the ash, but it was falling lightly enough that some just ignored it.
Standing beside the noblemen were the obligators, regular ones in gray, Inquisitors in black. Vin shivered. There were eight inquisitors, their lanky forms standing a head above the obligators. But it wasn't just height that separated the dark creatures from their cousins. There was an air, a distinctive posture, about the Steel Inquisitors." (26.363)
-The Lord Ruler's carriage is all black, pulled by white stallions. (26.364)
- "The aristocracy is primarily a financial institution, and lack of funds will bring any house down." (27.372)
- "If Venture falls, the whole final empire would feel the tremors." (27.372)
- Obligators usually have five years of training before joining the ministry. (27.381)
- "He needed to tell them he was a Misting so that he could get into the more secretive ministry sects. Most of the higher ranking obligators are mistings of one sort or another. They tend to favour their own kind."(27.381)
- "The obligators say that Inquisitors change occasionally. The creatures are very long-lived, but they do eventually die of old age." (27.382)
- Keep Lekal description: Keep Lekal has the most detailed stained glass windows.
"Keep Lekal's Ballroom was shaped like the inside of a pyramid. The dance floor was set on a waist-high platform at the very center of the room, and the dining talbes sat of four similar platofroms surrounding it. Servants scuttled through the trenches running between the platforms..."
"Four tiers of balconies ran along the inside perimeter of the pyramidal room, each one a little closer to the point at the top, each one extending just a little bit more over the dance floor. Though te main room was well lit, the balconies themselves were shadowed by their overhangs. The design was intended" to allow proper viewing of windows.(28.385)
Each window "was an extravagant, detailed marvel of resplendent color. Exotic animals pranced, distant landscapes enticed, and portraits of famous noblemen sat proudly." There were also windows dedicated the the ascension, which Vin recognizes from the log book (28.386).
"Most of the windows glowed inside small viewing alcoves along the balcony, and so the balcony before her was interspersed with pockets of dark and color." (28.386).
- Other houses besides Great ones have balls, perhaps there is only one Great House Ball a week? (28.386)
- "If all went well, the entire city would soon expect a Hasting withdrawal. Their allies would plan for it, and might even being to withdraw themselves. People seeking to buy weapons would instead look other places, fearing that Hasting wouldn?t be able to make good on contracts once it left. When Hasting didn?t withdraw, it would make them look indecisive. Their allies gone, their income weakened, they coudl very well be the next house to fall.
House Hasting, however, was one of the easy ones to work against. It had a reputation for extreme subterfuge, and people would believe that it was planning a secret retreat. In addition, Hasting was a strong mercantile house--meaning it depended a great deal upon its contracts to survive. A house with such and obvious, dominating source of income also had an obvious weakness. Lord Hasting had worked hard to increase his house's influence over the last few decades, and in doing so he had extended his house's resources to the limit." (28.387-388)
- "Their reputation destroyed, their finances unhinged, the Tekiel had tried to pull out of the city--and this final show of weakness had been to much. Some of Tekiel?s nobility had been assassinated before they left; the rest had been found in the burned-out ruins of their canal boats, apparently hit by bandits. Vin, however, knew of no theiving band who would are alaughter so many noblemen.
"Kelsier still hadn?t been able to discover which house was behind the murders, but the Luthadel nobility didn't seem to care who the culprit was. House Tekiel had allowed itself to grow weak, and nothing was more embarrassing to the aristocracy than a Great House that couldn?t maintain itself." (28.388)
- "The atmosphere was only made more dangerous by its polite niceties. Underneath that front were plots, assassinations, and--perhaps most importantly--Mistborn. It was no accident that all the balls she had attended recently had displayed great numbers of guards, both wearing armor and not. The parties now served the additional purpose of warning and showing strength." (28.388)
- The Hastings finished off the Tekiels (28.390)
-Venture's stability depends entirely on the Lord Ruler's whims. He doesn't like when the delivery schedule is disrupted. Elend's father "[C]an't meet the Lord Ruler's quotas, and the last time that happened... ...things could soon go very bad for the Ventures." The Lord Ruler sells extra amounts of atium for lavish amounts. (28.391)
- "The longer you stay in Luthadel, the more you'll realize that little we do here is done in the name of wisdom. The Lord Ruler wears metal rings--and so, therefore, does the nobility." (28.392)
-Keep Lekal has a gentleman's lounge, "a small chamber adjacent to the ballroom," furnished in deep green colors. (28.395)
- "My family hired thses women--we know their houses, their backgrounds, and their allegiances." (28.396)
- "He was a Tineye--his senses were so keen that he'd probably heard Elend's carriage approaching outside." (28.397-398).
- "Hasting is the second-most-powerful House in the city. If we made an allegiance with them, together we could keep Luthadel from chaos. We could stop the house war, not enflame it." (Elend speaking of House Venture) (28.398)
- "She had seen snow on some distant peaks, but she had rarely seen it fall--and even then it was usually just an icy slush." (29.402)
- "Renoux had to keep a low profile; too many Allomancers would make him stand out." (29.408)
- "There's an unused drainage ditch that passes right under Keep Lekal's defensive wall. You'd think they'd get that patched up." (29.409)
- The Inquisitors make the nobility uncomfortable, and don't normally come to balls. (29.410)
- Marsh's map has some notes on House Defenses (Inquisition notes?) (29.411)
- "That's a hundred and thirty Ministry Mistings--they must have recruited across the entire Central Dominance to gather those kinds of numbers." (29.411)
- "It took returning to the Venture ballroom to remind Vin what true majesty was... ...There was something special about Keep Venture, however--something that the other keeps strived for, but never quite achieved. It was as if Venture was the parent, and the others were well-taught children. All of the keeps were beautiful, but there was no denying which one was the finest." (30.415)
- "House Shunah has already announced that it won't be holding any more balls." (30.418)
- "You've killed a fully trained Mistborn? Kelsier thought with shock. You?ve practiced for barely eight months." (31.430)
- "when House Elariel hears that she was found dead on Venture property..." (referring to Shan Elariel) (31.436)
- "They were noblemen, so Venture couldn't execute them, but he was very fond of the more brutal disciplinary forms." (31.441)
- "They'd been engaged, and she'd never even mentioned that she was an Allomancer. that probably meant...
She'd been a plant all along. Perhaps House Elariel had planned to have Elend killed once an Elariel grandson was born to the house title." (31.442)
- Straff is young and healthy for a Lord of his power. (31.442)
- "Keep Hasting's destruction had been expected for some time-- it had suffered a half-dozen raids from different houses during the last week. Allies withdrawing, finances wrecked, it was only a matter of time before it fell..
Oddly none of the houses attacked during the daytime. There was a feigned air of secrecy about the war..." (32.446)
- "Three entire great houses were no more, and the rest were seriously weakened. IIt would take decades for the nobility to recover from their own squabbling." (32.446)
- Skaa tenements (32.449)
- "It's like the regular obligators don't even care about the world outside, except for the prestige they earn by being the most clever or successful in applying the Lord Ruler's dictates.
The Inquisitors, however are different. They are far more loyal to the Lord Ruler than the regular obligators--and this is, perhaps, part of the dissension between the two groups.
Regardless, I feel that I am close. They do have a secret, Kelsier. A weakness. I'm sure of it. The other obligators whisper of it, though none of them know it." (32.452)
- "And the Inquisitors aren't riding with the prisoners--they'll come down from the palace, like last time. There can't be more than a hundred soldiers guarding those people.? (33.462)
- Inquisitor fight. (34.469)
- "He was dressed in a black and white uniform somewhat like a nobleman's suit, but far more exaggerated. The coat reached all the way to his feet, and trailed behind him as he walked. His vest wasn't colored, but a pure black, though it was accented with brilliant white markings. As Vin had heard, his fingers glittered with rings, the symbols of his power...
...Handsome, with jet black hair and pale skin, the Lord Ruler was tall, thin, and confident. and he was young...? (34.477)
- "There are four great houses that retain a strong military presence in the city." (Venture, Elariel, Lekal...?) (35.489)
- "Temadre predicted this, Elend realized. So did half a dozen other political theorists. They said the Final Empire couldn't last forever. God at its head or not, the people would someday rise up...
...What was it Temadre warned in his writings? That, when a real rebellion finally came, the skaa would slaughter wantonly... that every nobleman?s life would be forfeit.
He predicted that the rebellion would die out quickly, but that it would leave piles of corpses in its wake. thousands of deaths. Tens of thousands." (36.496)
- "We were leaveing anyway. Something... happened at the Pits a few days ago. The Lord Ruler isn?t going to be very happy when he discovers it."
- Keep Lekal is more defensible than Venture. (36.498)
- "He seemed so... worn. He sat strongly on his throne, but there was still a weariness to his posture and his voice." (36.503)
- "It's done," Ham said. "Keep Elariel just fell. Looks like Lekal [and the Venture soldiers who evacuated to there] is still holding, however." (37.508)
- One of Venture's colors is red. (37.513)
-Despite the earlier note that all palace guards are hazekillers, the Ministry soldiers, though they wield quarter staffs instead of swords or spears, are wearing metal. (37.514)
- "The Inquisitors had been waiting for two centuries, carefully politicking, subtly encouraging corruption and dissension among the regular obligators. And finally it had worked." (38.519)
- "The Lord Ruler chucked as he sat back on his throne. 'You'll have little success with Kar, child. He was a soldier, many years ago. He knows how to hold a person so that they can?t break his grip, no matter how strong they may be." (38.520)
- "Your rebellion--you think I haven't seen its like before? You think I haven't destroyed entire armies on my own? What will it take before you people stop questioning? How many centuries must I prove myself before you idiot skaa see the truth? How many of you must I kill!" (38.523)
- "All eleven of them.. throb. The pain reacts to my emotions somehow." (E.532)
- "The kandra?' Sazed said. 'I'm fear even the Keepers know little of them. They are related to mistwraiths--perhaps even the same creatures, just older. Because of their reputation, they generally prefer to remain unseen--though some of the noble houses hire them on occasion." (E.533)
WORD OF BRANDONS
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Brandon
Note: Total population of the Final Empire being around 100 million, with 1-2 million in Luthadel is a good guess at the population, and if it is off, it is close.
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In my mind, it's related to how much 'work' the metal has to do. That's why pewter, steel, and iron burn so quickly. A lot of weight and power is getting thrown around, while copper only has to do something simple. However, I never really set any of these things hard-fast.
And, only atium is really all that rare. Because of the value of the metals, the noble houses expended a lot of resources finding and exploiting mines to produce the metals. This resulted in a slightly higher value for most of them as opposed to our world, but not really noticeably so, because Allomancers really don't need that much metal. Even fast burning metals, like pewter, are generally only swallowed in very small amounts. (i.e. A small bit goes a long way.)