History Characters / Mistborn

** [[Characters/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogyKelsier Kelsier]]

** [[Characters/MistbornTheOrignalTrilogyKelsier Kelsier]]

** Characters/{{Kelsier}}

* Characters/WaxAndWayne: Characters from the sequel series.

* Characters/TheMistbornAdventures: Characters from the sequel series.

* Characters/TheAlloyOfLaw: Characters from the standalone sequel.

The ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'' has quite a few cool characters. They are organized by the work they appear in.

[[/index]]

While ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' doesn't have as [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters ridiculous a cast size]] as some fantasy books, it does have a sturdy group of characters.

This page is for characters from Creator/{{Brandon Sanderson}}'s original ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' Trilogy. See [[Characters/TheAlloyOfLaw here]] for characters in the SequelSeries, ''Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw''.

For characters from the other worlds of The Cosmere, see Characters/{{Elantris}} and Characters/TheStormlightArchive.

[[foldercontrol]]

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[[folder:The Crew]]
!!Vin/Lady Valette Renoux/[[spoiler:Empress Vin Venture]]
->"I bring you a message from a friend of ours. He wanted you to know that he's not dead. He can't be killed. [[spoiler:He is hope.]]"
-->--Vin to [[spoiler:The Lord Ruler]]

The main character of the series. Vin is a Mistborn, a special type of Allomancer who can use the powers of all the metals. This is because she is the bastard child of a Skaa woman and Lord Prelan Tevidian [[spoiler:Tekiel]], the leader of the Steel Ministry. At first, she is the member of a thieving crew, but Kelsier recruits her to his rebellion. For some strange reason, she has powers unlike any Mistborn ever before.

She's actually [[spoiler:the chosen one of both Preservation and Ruin. Her earring is a Hemalurgic spike, connecting her to Ruin. When it's out, she can wield Preservation's power: the mists.]]
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* ActionGirl
* [[spoiler:AlliterativeName]]: [[spoiler:After getting married to Elend, her name is Vin Venture.]]
* AntiHero: She can be ruthless and has a dark streak in her, but at the end of the day she's fundamentally a good person. She does sometimes veer into darker territory, most notably when [[spoiler:she assaults Cett's keep with Zane]] in ''The Well of Ascension''.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Valette Renoux, her noble alias, is one of the coolest names ever. [[spoiler:Vin Venture]] is also awesome, but it can't hold a candle to the former.
* {{Badass}}
* BadassCape: Mistcloaks are very cape-like and Vin wears one for quite a while. They're the most common symbol of a Mistborn; when you see someone wearing one of these, you look away, mind your own business, and pray to the Lord Ruler that they're not after you.
* BeyondTheImpossible: She can [[spoiler:pierce copperclouds]], something which the laws of Allomancy and all of Kelsier's crew state is impossible. ''The Hero of Ages'' reveals that [[spoiler:she's actually using Hemalurgy to enhance her abilities as a Seeker.]]
* BookDumb: Vin isn't very well educated and doesn't think very highly of reading and books in general. She is however a quick thinker, a quick learner and good at piecing together information.
* BoyishShortHair
* BrokenBird: At the beginning of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', but she gets better after joining Kelsier's crew.
* {{Chickification}}: played straight in that she becomes more traditionally feminine as the series progresses; averted in that this in no way makes her less of a Badass ActionGirl.
* ChosenOne: Sort of. [[spoiler:She's Preservation's chosen successor, but ''not'' the Hero of Ages- so she's ''a'' Chosen One, but not ''the'' Chosen one]]. As well, she was [[spoiler: Ruin's ChosenOne since her combination of an insane mother that Ruin could manipulate, a baby sister who was a seeker and fuel for a hemalurgic spike, and her being a Mistborn made all added up to person who Ruin could manipulate to his ends.]]
* CuteBruiser: As a Mistborn, she can burn pewter for enhanced strength and endurance. She may look like a scrawny teenager, but she could tie an Olympic weightlifter up in knots without breaking a sweat.
* DeadpanSnarker
* ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl: Mistborn are rare, but Vin is by no means unique, apart from being an unusually quick learner... [[spoiler:and for her ability to penetrate copperclouds, which is shared, for the most part, only by Steel Inquisitors.]]
* GuileHero: She's nowhere near the planner Kelsier is, but don't think that means she's not really good at thinking on her feet.
* TheHero: She's the main character of the books, and evolves into the BigGood and biggest {{Badass}} on the good guys' side after [[spoiler: Kelsier dies]]. Subverted in that [[spoiler: she's ''not'' actually the Hero of Ages]].
* HeroicBastard: She's the child of a Skaa prostitute and Tevidian [[spoiler:Tekiel]], the leader of the Steel Ministry.
* [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice]]
* IndyPloy: How she wins all her major fights, excluding her battle with [[spoiler:Ruin]] in ''The Hero Of Ages''. Special note goes to her atium-challenged battles, such as her fight with [[spoiler:Lady Shan Elariel]] in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', and her battle with [[spoiler:Zane Venture]] in ''The Well of Ascension''.
* TheInfiltration: Her role in the crew is infiltrating the nobility under the guise of Renoux's favorite niece.
* [[spoiler:ISurrenderSuckers]]: During her fight with [[spoiler:Lady Shan Elariel]] in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', she [[spoiler:stops burning her atium to give Shan the belief that it has run out. Then she stuns and kills Shan by reactivating it.]]
* JeanneDArchetype: How the skaa see her, more or less. Vin herself finds this ''very'' bothering.
* [[spoiler:LukeYouAreMyFather]]: [[spoiler:After the Lord Ruler uses emotional Allomancy on her, she points out Tevidian as her father.]]
* [[spoiler:NiceJobBreakingItHero]]: The ending of ''The Well Of Ascension'' where she [[spoiler:releases Ruin from the Well.]] Full stop.
* [[OneManArmy One Woman Army]]: Elend actually refers to her as 'an army' in ''The Hero Of Ages''.
* ParentalAbandonment: Her mom was crazy and tried to kill her. Her dad was high priest of the CorruptChurch and never knew nor cared that she existed. She was raised, more or less, by her half-brother, who wound up abandoning her too. [[spoiler:Or so she thought. Turns out he was captured by Steel Inquisitors that had been trying to find her for years.]]
* [[spoiler:PhysicalGod]]: In ''The Hero of Ages'', [[spoiler:she turns into them after absorbing all of the mists.]]
* PintsizedPowerhouse
* ProfessionalKiller: Considers herself an assassin, though there's more to her character than that.
* RealWomenNeverWearDresses: [[invoked]]Averted with a vengeance. Vin's mostly a tomboyish ActionGirl in terms of personality, but that doesn't mean she can't take the opportunity to appreciate fancy dresses, dance parties, or other traditionally feminine interests.
* [[spoiler: RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Empress Vin is every bit as {{Badass}} as Vin the Mistborn insurgent was.]]
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Very, very much on the cynical side. Becomes less cynical and learns to trust others as the series goes on.
* StreetUrchin: At first
* [[spoiler:TakingYouWithMe]]: [[spoiler:She defeats Ruin by causing her power to react with his, destroying them both.]]
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Vin is almost this ensemble in one person.
* WaifFu: Justified by her ability to burn pewter- she may ''look'' small and harmless, but she can acquire incredible superstrength pretty much whenever she needs it.

!!Kelsier ("Kell")
->"The trick is to never stop looking. There's always another secret."

->'''The Lord Ruler''': "I killed you once."
->'''Kelsier''': "You tried. But you can't kill me, Lord Tyrant. I represent that one thing you've ''never'' been able to kill, no matter how hard you try. I am hope."

One of the most legendary men known to the Skaa. Before the trilogy began, Kelsier was the greatest Crewleader any Skaa had known. Together with his wife Mare, he led daring heists and gained great renown. However, during an attempt to rob the Lord Ruler, he and his wife were captured and sent to work in the Pits of Hathsin, the Lord Ruler's Atium mine. After being a slave to the Final Empire for many years, Kelsier was Allomantically Snapped by the death of Mare. Awakening as a Mistborn, he used his powers to escape the Pits of Hathsin, which was said to be impossible. This feat earned him the title "The Survivor of Hathsin".

When ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'' begins, he has returned to attempt the greatest job the world will ever know. Gathering a team of Allomantic Specialists, Kelsier sets out to end the thousand year reign of the Lord Ruler and topple the Final Empire. Armed with the fabled Eleventh Metal [[spoiler:(Malatium)]], which is said to hold the key to defeating the Lord Ruler, Kelsier begins his battle.
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* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** In-universe. No one is entirely sure whether he's just an egotistical GloryHound, a MagnificentBastard bent on rather spectacular revenge, or a GuileHero who really does care for the ideals of the revolution, possibly [[WellIntentionedExtremist a little too much]].
** One of the first metals Kelsier Burned was Atium; we later learn that Atium [[spoiler:is the body of Ruin, and he can influence your thoughts through it.]] So, killing scores of Nobles and overthrowing the Lord Ruler, [[spoiler:aka the man who is stopping Ruin from destroying the world]]- how much of that was really ''your'' idea anyway, Kell?
* [[spoiler:AnAxeToGrind]]: [[spoiler:Chops Bendal's head off with his own axe.]]
* AntiHero: Type IV, or even Type V. Kelsier is ruthless, manipulative, and driven by an obsessive desire for personal revenge. He is a liar, a career thief, and a murderer who has killed probably hundreds of people, though most or all of his victims were [[AristocratsAreEvil the evil nobility or their servants]] and [[AssholeVictim generally deserved it]] (at least, he assumes that they do). But he has a sense of compassion and honour, fights a genuinelly evil and tyrannical empire, and really does believe in the cause of Skaa liberation. Which Type he is ultimately depends on how selfish he truly is, and that is left largely ambiguous.
* {{Badass}}
* BattleCouple: With Mare until she died.
* ByronicHero
* [[spoiler:DoomedMoralVictor]]
* FamedInStory
* GentlemanThief
* [[spoiler:AGodAmI]]: Deliberately invoked [[spoiler:to give the Skaa something other than the Lord Ruler to believe in]].
* GoodIsNotNice: Not to noblemen that is.
* HeroicBastard[=/=]BastardBastard: As a Skaa Mistborn, he's half-Noble and half-Skaa. Still, nobody can tell what his character was actually like.
* IAmTheNoun: "I am hope."
* [[spoiler:ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice]]: [[spoiler:After the Lord Ruler bitchslaps Kelsier to the ground, he kills him with a spear through the chest.]]
* MagnificentBastard[=/=]GuileHero: And no one seems to know which, in-universe or out.
* MasterOfNone: Vin worries that he spent too much time learning to use all the powers of Allomancy, leaving him without a specialty. [[spoiler:During the Fountain Battle, she realizes that he does have a specialty: Steelpushing and Ironpulling.]]
* TheMentor: Teaches Vin basic Allomancy.
* [[spoiler:MentorOccupationalHazard]]
* [[spoiler:MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning]]: [[spoiler:Dying to trigger a massive Skaa uprising was his master plan.]]
* TheObiWan: To Vin.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: When Kelsier gets involved in a fight, things blow up very quickly.
* RebelLeader
* SadClown: He always laughs and cracks jokes as a way of rebelling against [[CrapsackWorld how bleak the world is]].
* ShroudedInMyth: He worked hard to make himself a semi-mythic figure.
* StepfordSmiler: Despite not feeling happy very often, he always wears a smile. He says that while the Lord Ruler has enslaved the Skaa and taken their freedom, he can never take away happiness.
* [[spoiler:ThanatosGambit]]: [[spoiler:His plan was to die so that the Skaa would be inspired to start their uprising.]]
* [[spoiler:TogetherInDeath]]: [[spoiler:With Mare.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Often veers perilously close to this.

!!Sazed ("Saze")

A Terrisman who is a member of Kelsier's rebellion. He is a Feruchemist, a person with the ability to conserve their attributes (such as strength, weight, etc.) and use them later. He is also [[spoiler:the true Hero of Ages, as a result of taking the Shards of Preservation and Ruin.]]

In ''The Alloy of Law'' [[spoiler:he has come to be known as Harmony.]]
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* [[spoiler:AGodIAmNot]]: [[spoiler:Tries to avoid taking the powers of Ruin and Preservation by claiming he would only make things worse. He snaps out of it when he realizes that he can use the memories in his Copperminds to put the world back to normal.]]
* [[spoiler:AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence]]: [[spoiler:Near the end of ''Hero of Ages,'' Sazed claims Ruin and Preservation and ascends to godhood. By ''Alloy of Law,'' he is known as Harmony.]]
* BadassBookworm: He manages to incapacitate a Steel Inquisitor early in the first book; it happens off-camera, but it's the first instance of a Steel Inquisitor encounter being treated as anything other than "run or die".
* BattleButler
* BigDamnHeroes: Pulls this several times throughout the trilogy.
** At the end of the second part of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', [[spoiler:he uses his Feruchemy to save Vin from the Steel Inquisitors attacking her.]]
** In part five of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', [[spoiler:he lets himnself be captured by the Steel Inquisitors so that he can break Vin out of the cage they put her in.]]
* BladeOnAStick: He uses one as a walking stick. In the climax of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', [[spoiler:Vin kills the Lord Ruler by ramming Sazed's spear into his heart.]]
* BlingOfWar: His physical metal minds are rings and earrings.
* [[spoiler:TheChosenOne: "I am, unfortunately, the Hero of Ages."]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Occasionally.
* [[spoiler:DespairEventHorizon: Tindwyl's death hits him ''very'' hard.]]
* [[spoiler:ISurrenderSuckers]]: In the fifth part of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', [[spoiler:he lets himself be captured by the Steel Inquisitors and taken to Vin's cage. The trick is that he ate his Pewterminds, allowing him to gain enough strength to break her out.]]
* LetsGetDangerous: He's a polite, kindly servant/scholar who hates fighting. Threaten his friends or his life's work, though, and you'll find out [[spoiler: one of the reasons]] why the Lord Ruler feared Feruchemists.
* [[spoiler:MessianicArchetype]]
* NiceGuy: The most consistently nice character in the series
* PhotographicMemory: Variation. He doesn't actually have one himself (though his memory ''is'' very well trained) but through the use of his copperminds he can perfectly store a tremendous amount of memory. Basically, he achieves this through magic rather than being born with it.
* [[spoiler:PhysicalGod]]: [[spoiler:Becomes one after taking the powers of Preservation and Ruin.]]
* [[spoiler:ReligiousRussianRoulette]]: During ''Hero of Ages'', while [[spoiler:trying to come to terms with Tindwyl's death]].
* SuperStrength: When he taps his pewterminds.
* [[spoiler:TitleDrop]]: [[spoiler:"I am, unfortunately, the Hero of Ages."]]
* [[spoiler:YinYangBomb]]: [[spoiler:The power of both Preservation and Ruin makes him the Hero of Ages.]]

!!Dockson ("Dox")

A friend of Kelsier, and a member of his rebellion. He hates nobles, but not with the same fiery passion as Kelsier.
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* BadassNormal
* DeadpanSnarker
* [[spoiler:FaceDeathWithDignity]]
* {{Foil}}: To Kelsier.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Of all Kelsier's crew, is probably the most violently prejudiced against the nobility. [[spoiler:This proves problematic once Elend takes over.]]
* HypercompetentSidekick: Of sorts- Kelsier's the one with the vision, but Dox's careful eye for details keeps the crew running long enough for him to realize it.
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]
* TheLancer
* MasterOfDisguise: He's very good at making costumes that can be used for the purposes of disguise.
* NumberTwo: Again, to Kelsier.
* OnlySaneMan
* TheRunaway: Ran away from his plantation after the girl he loved was killed.
* StarCrossedLovers: He loved another Skaa when he lived on a plantation. However, the lord raped and killed her.
* TheTeamNormal

!!Breeze/[[spoiler:Lord Ladrian]]

A Soother, one who has the ability to calm emotions through Allomancy. He aides Kelsier as part of the Skaa rebellion.
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* [[spoiler:DarkSecret]]: [[spoiler:He's a full noble. He just never told anybody.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Especially when dealing with Ham.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: [[spoiler:Claims that his name "Ladrian" is one, but it's actually a lie. In reality, he doesn't want anyone to connect him to a certain Lord Ladrian who mysteriously disappeared several years ago.]]
* GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul: An arguable and generally benevolent case; he often toys with the emotions of those around him, lessening the effects of negative emotions such as fatigue, fear, or sadness, in order to emphasize the effect of positive emotions the subjects already feel.
* GoodIsNotNice: As noted below under JerkWithAHeartOfGold, he's overbearing, manipulative... and caring to a fault.
* HeroicBastard: [[spoiler:Subverted. Because he's a member of the Skaa Rebellion, everybody thinks that he's a half-Skaa, half-Noble. In reality, he's a full Noble.]]
* HeroicBSOD: Suffers one of these [[spoiler:After seeing all the suffering and death at the fall of Luthadel. He gets better by the next book, with Sazed's help.]]
* HiddenHeartOfGold: He's not nearly as selfish as he acts but prefers to downplay this.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He appears, at first, to be a pompous, selfish, lazy, egotistical, and manipulative scoundrel. All of this is absolutely true, but it becomes clear (especially in the second and third books whenever he becomes a point-of-view character) that at least as much of his manipulation goes toward helping others as toward getting his own way.
* MayDecemberRomance: With Allrianne Cett
* NonActionGuy: Despite carrying around a dueling cane, there's little indication that Breeze is a warrior of any kind.
* [[spoiler:OnlyKnownByTheirNickname]]: [[spoiler:His name isn't Breeze. It's Ladrian.]]
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Claims to be on the cynical side, despite his actions and emotions pushing him toward idealism.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Has something of this sort of relationship with Ham, due to the latter's insistence on submitting philosophical questions for consideration.

!!Hammond ("Ham")

A Pewterarm, one who has the ability to enhance their physical prowess with Allomancy. He aides Kelsier in his rebellion.
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* TheBigGuy
* DumbMuscle: WordOfGod is that he's a deliberate subversion- between his physical appearance and role in the crew, you'd expect him to be this, but he's really an intelligent, thoughtful guy.
* {{Foil}}: In the annotations of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', Brandon [[WordOfGod states that he made Ham]] because he wanted a character to contrast Breeze.
* GeniusBruiser
* GentleGiant: He may be a hulking professional soldier, but he's also an amiable family man who'd rather not fight at all if he can avoid it.
* InsistentTerminology: He doesn't like being called Thug, preferring the term "Pewterarm". (Pewterarm is an alternate name for a Pewter Misting, so he's justified in doing this.)
* ThePhilosopher: Though he's more interested in ''posing'' questions than answering them.
* SleevesAreForWimps: Ham wears vests rather than shirts if he has any say in the matter- he even ''rips the sleeves out of his general's uniform'' to create a makeshift one.
* SuperStrength: As a Pewterarm, he can use Allomancy to become extremely powerful.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Breeze.

!!Cladent ("Clubs")

A Smoker, one who has the ability to hide Allomantic pulses. He aides Kelsier in his rebellion.
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* {{Badass}}
** BadassGrandpa
** RetiredBadass
** HandicappedBadass
** [[spoiler:FourStarBadass]]: [[spoiler:Becomes a general in Elend's army.]]
* GoodIsNotNice
* HiddenDepths: Despite being mainly a grumpy old ex soldier, he has a deep passion for his art as a carpenter.
* TheInfiltration: Infiltrates the Lord Ruler's army.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]
* ParentalSubstitute: To his nephew, Spook.
* PowerNullifier: To an extent; as a Smoker, he's immune to emotional Allomancy himself and can shield others from being detected by Seekers, but he can't interfere with other Allomantic powers.
* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: He's the oldest member of the crew, and also the grouchiest and most standoffish, but his word is good and when he gives his loyalty, he means it. See JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
* SixthRanger: From the perspective of the other crew members- though he joins up near the beginning of the book, he's the only major crewmember apart from Vin who Kelsier has never worked with before.
* SourSupporter

!!Marsh ("Ironeyes")
->"They were ''people'', just like everyone else. And you killed them. Is this all a game to you, Kelsier?"

Kelsier's older and more level-headed brother. He is a Seeker, an Allomancer who can detect the use of Allomancy in others. He was involved in a love triangle with Kelsier over Mare, and grew a deep resentment of his brother when Mare died in the Pits of Hathsin. Marsh was formerly the the leader of the Skaa Rebellion, but he decided that his cause was hopeless and quit.

In the present day, he returns to call out Kelsier on his murderous tendencies. Kelsier ends up recruiting him to the Crew. Marsh's role in the mission is to infiltrate the Steel Ministry, learning their secrets and telling to Kelsier and his crew. [[spoiler:He eventually becomes a Steel Inquisitor, but one working for the good side. With the Lord Ruler's death, he becomes the leader of the Steel Ministry.]]

[[spoiler:Unfortunately, the Hemalurgic Spikes used to make Marsh into a Steel Inquisitor also allow Ruin to use him as a puppet. He spends the climax of ''The Well of Ascension'' and most of ''The Hero of Ages'' carrying out villainous work for Ruin.]]
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* [[spoiler:AndIMustScream]]
* [[spoiler:TheAtoner: In ''Alloy of Law'', he's working for Harmony, probably for this reason.]]
* [[spoiler:AnAxToGrind]]: [[spoiler:When working for Ruin.]]
* [[spoiler:BrainwashedAndCrazy]]
* [[spoiler:TheDragon]]: [[spoiler:To Ruin]]
* [[spoiler:FaceHeelTurn]]:[[spoiler:Forcibly, thanks to Ruin.]]
* GoodIsNotNice: At first.
* [[spoiler:TheGrimReaper]]: By ''Alloy of Law'', [[spoiler:the Church of the Survivor has a god of death named "Ironeyes."]] Kelsier would probably have found this hilarious.
* HeroicWillpower: [[spoiler:Resisting Ruin even to the small degree that he manages it is implied to take phenomenal amounts of this. It pays off when he saves the world.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Immortality}}: The same way as the Lord Ruler; in fact, he's still alive three hundred years later in the sequel]].
* [[spoiler:ImplacableMan]]: [[spoiler:As an Inquisitor.]]
* TheInfiltration: Kelsier's plan has him infiltrate the Steel Ministry. He chooses to infiltrate [[spoiler:The Canton of Inquisition]]. This later leads to [[spoiler:his transformation into a Steel Inquisitor.]]
* TheLeader: Formerly lead the Skaa Rebellion. [[spoiler:Later leads the Steel Ministry.]]
* [[spoiler:NiceJobFixingItVillain]]: Deliberately.
* [[spoiler:PhlebotinumRebel]]: Initially. [[spoiler:He kills every other Inquisitor in Kredik Shaw, then helps Vin fight the Lord Ruler]].
* [[spoiler:ReforgedIntoAMinion]]
* ReverseMole: Within the Steel Ministry.
* SourSupporter: He's extremely skeptical of his brother's motives in fighting the Lord Ruler, and helps the group more ''despite'' Kelsier than ''because of'' him.
* [[spoiler:SpikesOfVillainy: During his stint as Ruin's [[TheDragon super inquisitor]]. He had upwards of 20 spikes by the time he confronted Vin]].
* TheStoic: Earns him the nickname "Ironeyes". [[spoiler: Prophetically, as it turns out]].
* [[spoiler:ThatManIsDead]]: [[spoiler:He doesn't say it himself, but in ''The Hero of Ages'', Vin repeatedly tells herself that Marsh is dead, and only Ruin is left.]]
* [[spoiler:TragicMonster]]
* [[spoiler:WasOnceAMan]]
* WalkingSpoiler: See that wall of spoilered-out text up there?

!!Lord Teven Renoux (Impostor)/[[spoiler:[=OreSeur=]]]

A man working for Kelsier as part of his plan to overthrow the Lord Ruler and the Final Empire. After Lord Renoux's death at the hands of Kelsier and [[spoiler:[=OreSeur=] himself]], his life is taken over by this man. He somehow looks exactly like Lord Renoux, and has copied all of his mannerisms. His role in the operation is to serve as a front for the weapons purchased for use by The Crew and the Skaa Rebellion. [[spoiler:He is actually a Kandra, a special type of Mistwraith who has human level intelligence[[labelnote:''The Hero of Ages'' spoilers]]due to the third magic art on Scadrial, Hemalurgy[[/labelnote]]. His true role is only revealed after Kelsier's death: he is to devour Kelsier's bones to make the Skaa of Luthadel believe that Kelsier is a god. This will make them rise up and overthrow the Lord Ruler.]]

In ''The Well of Ascension'', [[spoiler:his contract has been passed to Vin because of Kelsier's death.]] However, [[spoiler:he is quickly killed off and impersonated by his fellow Kandra, [=TenSoon=].]]
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* [[spoiler:TheBlob]]: [[spoiler:In his true form, just like every other Kandra.]]
* CanineCompanion: Forced to take a dog's form at Vin's request since she doesn't want to kill a person just to give him a body. [[spoiler:He never gets to use it, because he is killed by [=TenSoon=].]]
* DeadPersonImpersonation:
** He impersonates Lord Renoux, who died because of Kelsier. [[spoiler:He was able to do this because because his race's ability to assume the form of living creatures after absorbing their bones naturally makes him very good at this.]]
** [[spoiler:His impersonating talent gets reversed on him when he is killed and impersonated.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]
* MasterOfDisguise
* [[spoiler:PosthumousCharacter]]: [[spoiler:We learn most of what we know about him after his death.]]
* {{Squick}}: [[invoked]] When Breeze realizes what he is, he tells Yeden not to ask about it, as the answer would seriously squick him out. When his secret is finally revealed to the members of The Crew who were left in the dark, it really, ''really'' bothers Vin. [[spoiler:This feeling is increased tenfold because one of the people he ate was Kelsier.]]
* TalkingAnimal: When in his dog body. [[spoiler:At least he should have been. [=TenSoon=] killed him before he could wear it.]]
* [[spoiler:VoluntaryShapeshifting]]

!!Lestibournes ("Spook")

A Tineye, one who can enhance their senses with Allomancy, who is the nephew of Clubs. He aides Kelsier's rebellion.

[[spoiler:Becomes a Mistborn at the end of ''The Hero of Ages''.]]
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* AscendedExtra
* BlindfoldedVision: In ''The Hero of Ages'' his constant tin burning his enhanced his super senses to such a level that he needs to wear a blindfold during the day to even function.
* [[spoiler:DarkMessiah: Ruin tries to turn him into one in ''The Hero of Ages''. It almost works.]]
* JiveTurkey: He speaks a certain dialect of street slang. It is very nearly utterly incomprehensible to both the reader and to anyone in-setting. At least one bit of translation is given in ''The Hero of Ages'', saying that 'wasing' means 'was doing,' and 'wasing the run of there' means 'I was running to that place'. It's ''still'' confusing.
** [[spoiler:Hilariously, by the time of ''The Alloy of Law'' this once annoying street slang is now known as High Imperial.]]
* OvershadowedByAwesome
** WhatMeasureIsANonBadass: His attitude about himself. It motivates him to try as hard as he can to be useful and he ends up powerleveling in badass in ''The Hero of Ages''.
* SuperSenses: Especially in ''The Hero of Ages''.
* TagalongKid
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''The Hero Of Ages''. [[spoiler:Twice.]]
* TheUnintelligible: The accent/slang he has at first. He gets better.

!!Yeden

The leader of the Skaa Rebellion. He joined Kelsier's crew in hopes of overthrowing the Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:He dies before this can be accomplished.]]
----
* ButtMonkey
* HotBlooded
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]
* TheLeader: Of the Skaa Rebellion. He's not very competent at leading.
* TookALevelInKindness: He becomes much nicer over the course of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.
[[/folder]]

----

[[folder:The Skaa]]
!!Reen

Vin's abusive half-brother, who warned her to beware of being betrayed. He eventually betrayed her one day, disappearing and never returning. His words still ring clear in Vin's head. [[spoiler:Actually, the voice in Vin's head is Ruin, pretending to be him.]]
----
* [[AbusiveParents Abusive Parental Substitute]]
* AloofBigBrother
* [[spoiler:AssholeVictim]]: [[spoiler:Played with in an odd way. He was an asshole who got tortured and killed by the Steel Inquisitors, but he did so heroically, protecting Vin from danger.]]
* BigBrotherBully: He beat Vin quite frequently. [[spoiler:This is later revealed to be a bizarre mix with BigBrotherInstinct. He abused Vin because he thought that [[BrokenBird breaking her]] was the only way she'd survive.]]
* [[spoiler:BigBrotherInstinct]]: [[spoiler:He will do anything to protect Vin.]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Both warns Vin of it and exhibits it himself.
* [[spoiler:DeadAllAlong]]: [[spoiler:He never betrayed Vin. He was actually captured and killed.]]
* [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice]]: [[spoiler:Letting Kar and the other Inquisitors kill him so that they wouldn't find Vin.]]
* {{Jerkass}}
* [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking Her, Big Brother]]: It's pretty clear that Reen was cruel to Vin primarily because he thought that she'd only survive if he toughened her up and taught her to always be suspicious and cynical. Unfortunately, this ''also'' lead directly into the BrokenBird nature she exhibits, particularly early in the series. Probably an example of why emotionally damaged cynical {{Jerkass}}es, even well-intentioned ones, shouldn't raise kids.
* ParentalSubstitute: To Vin, after their mother went crazy.
* PetTheDog: [[spoiler:Sacrificing his life rather than telling the Inquisitors where to find Vin]]
** [[spoiler:RedemptionEqualsDeath]]
* [[spoiler:PosthumousCharacter]]
* PromotionToParent: What with [[DisappearedDad their father being out of the picture]] and their mother going AxCrazy, he became Vin's primary caretaker.
* SpiritAdvisor: Vin frequently hears his voice, normally warning her not to trust people. [[spoiler: Turns out to have actually been Ruin most of the time]].

!!Camon/"Lord Jedue"

The abusive leader of Vin's thieving crew. He's fairly incompetent at his job. [[spoiler:Yeah, you can see where this is going.]]
----
* [[spoiler:AssholeVictim]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Happens often, but it's most notable when he betrays Theodar, who had spent years building up a plan, simply to get a few boxings.
* [[spoiler:DroppedABridgeOnHim]]
* {{Jerkass}}
* [[spoiler:LaserGuidedKarma]]: [[spoiler:Kelsier enforces it by getting his crew to turn on him and beat him.]]
* TheLeader: Of a Theiving Crew.
* MasterOfDisguise: He's supposedly really good at imitating noblemen. In reality, he's so arrogant that everyone thinks he's a nobleman.
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]
* SmallNameBigEgo: As Vin and Kelsier put it, he thinks of himself as a predator, but he's actually a scavenger.
* SmugSnake
* [[spoiler:WeHardlyKnewYe]]

!!Millev

The second in command of Camon's theiving crew.
----
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]
* [[spoiler:TheLeader]]: [[spoiler:Takes over after the crew turns on Camon.]]
* NumberTwo

!!Demoux

A younger man in the rebel army. He has a prominent scar on his head, and is appointed a captain by Kelsier, due to his bravery.
----
* [[spoiler:CombatClairvoyance]]: [[spoiler:He's an atium Misting.]]
* [[spoiler:FourStarBadass]]: [[spoiler:He eventually becomes one of Elend's generals. And yes, he is badass.]]
* [[spoiler:RedHerringMole]]: [[spoiler:Vin believes that he has been impersonated by a kandra. In reality, he was just joining the Church of the Survivor.]]
* ScarsAreForever
* SwordsAreHeroic
* YoungerThanTheyLook: His prominent scar makes him look older than he really is.

!!Captain Goradel

A Skaa soldier from Luthadel who works for the Lord Ruler and The Final Empire by extension. In the climax of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', [[spoiler:he is standing guard at Kredik Shaw when Vin decides to raid it. She tells him about the Skaa Uprising,]] leading to his decision to leave the Final Empire and join Vin.
----
* [[spoiler:BigDamnHeroes]]: [[spoiler:Shows up with Elend in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'' when they go to save Vin from the Lord Ruler.]]
* {{Courier}}: Carries Spook's message about [[spoiler:Hemalurgy]] in ''The Hero of Ages''.
* [[spoiler:DroppedABridgeOnHim]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Marsh offs him in ''The Hero of Ages''.]]
* MookFaceTurn
* [[spoiler:SmallRoleBigImpact]]: [[spoiler:He's a very minor character, but he is pivotal to saving the world on two separate occasions.]]
* {{Tuckerization}}: Named after the author's friend Gordon.

!!Quellion

(Also known as "The Citizen".) A man who wants to follow Kelsier's ways, which he does by executing nobles and Allomancers. He rules in Urteau.
----
* {{Expy}}: He's very remniscent of Robespierre.
* FromNobodyToNightmare
* HeWhoFightsMonsters
* KnightTemplar
* PresidentEvil: His role in Urtaeu, after kicking the nobility out.
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized
* ShadowArchetype: To Kelsier [[spoiler:and Spook, too]].
* [[spoiler:SpikesOfVillainy]]: [[spoiler:Ruin got a spike in there at some point.]]
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:To Ruin.]]

!!Beldre

Quellion's sister. She doesn't like her brother's extreme methods, but she does believe that he is a good person. [[spoiler:She's really a Coinshot.]]
----
* [[spoiler: ActionGirl: Sort of. She hates fighting, but because she's a Coinshot, she can still take out most trained soldiers if they're not ready for her]].
* TheChick
* [[spoiler: GlassCannon: Being a coinshot who isn't a warrior otherwise, she can't take much punishment but can dish out a ''lot'' of it if she's in the right mood]].
* [[spoiler: HiddenDepths: She may look and act like a sad, rather naive girl- but she's also a Misting, and her brother's hidden bodyguard]].
* MoralityPet: To her brother Quellion [[spoiler: and later, to Spook]].
* WideEyedIdealist: She's basically Vin's opposite in this regard; where Vin doesn't trust anybody easily, Beldre wants to trust everybody and thinks she can solve the conflict between her brother and Spook just by talking it out. [[spoiler: Actually, that probably would have worked if Ruin hadn't been prodding both Quellion and Spook to act more and more irrationally]].

!!Mennis

One of the Skaa on Lord Tresting's plantation.
----
* BreakoutCharacter: His popularity among the alpha readers caused Brandon to increase his role in the first book.
* [[spoiler:ChekhovsGunman]]: [[spoiler:Takes charge of the rebellion until Kelsier can arrive.]]
* IntroOnlyPointOfView
* MortonsFork: He has this placed upon him by Kelsier's actions: Stay and be killed by the Final Empire, or leave and be forced to join the rebellion.

!!Tepper

One of the Skaa on Lord Tresting's plantation.
----
* TheLancer: To Mennis.
* ProperlyParanoid: He was right to believe that no noble would pay his Skaa. The man Kelsier told him about was actually a Kandra.

!!Cobble

An apprentice to Clubs.
----
* TheApprentice: To Clubs

!!Amaranta

A herbalist who was a former mistress of Straff Venture. Nowadays, she hangs around Straff and prepares antidotes for Zane's poisoning attempts. [[spoiler:Actually, Zane didn't try to kill Straff. Amaranta got Straff hooked on drugs, and she tricked him into thinking that drug withdrawal was a poisoning attempt. She's also Zane's mistress.]]
----
* [[spoiler:TheDogBitesBack]]: [[spoiler:She finally gets sick of Straff and turns on him after Zane's death. It didn't do her much good.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledMidSentence]]: [[spoiler:Straff strangles her as she gloats to him.]]
* [[spoiler:LoveMakesYouCrazy]]: [[spoiler:But it's actually her love for Zane, not Straff.]]
* MagicAntidote: She has a herbal mixture that can cure every single poison that Zane throws at Straff. [[spoiler:Actually, that's not true. Straff mistakes the feeling of drug withdrawal for the feeling of being poisoned, and she simply prepares him more of the drug.]]
* [[spoiler:WomanScorned]]
[[/folder]]

----

[[folder:The Nobility]]
!!Lord Elend Venture

A young and idealistic noble who is the heir to the powerful Venture house. He meets Vin by chance, and grows quite close to her. [[spoiler:After the Lord Ruler is killed by Vin, he becomes King.]] Also, [[spoiler:as a result of consuming Lerasium, he becomes a Mistborn.]]
----
* [[spoiler:BadassBookworm]]
* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:He's Abel; Zane is Cain]].
* [[spoiler:FaceDeathWithDignity]]
* [[spoiler:TheGoodKing]]
* [[spoiler:GoOutWithASmile]]
* HeroicBSOD: In ''Hero of Ages'' he has a brief one before [[spoiler:Preservation]] manages to snap him out of it.
* NonActionGuy: [[spoiler: at least until the third book]]
* NotSoDifferent: In ''Hero of Ages'' he starts to realize his actions as emperor are very similar to what the Lord Ruler did to keep the empire intact.
* [[spoiler:OffWithHisHead]]: [[spoiler:Marsh lops his head off with an ax.]]
* {{Protectorate}}: To Vin.
* [[RebelliousPrincess Rebellious Prince]]
* ReplacementScrappy: Becomes one in-universe for [[spoiler:Kelsier]] after [[spoiler:he becomes king in Kelsier's place after the latter's death]].
* ShallowLoveInterest: He doesn't get much development in the first book, though when he becomes a POV character in books two and three, this changes.
* [[spoiler:TookALevelInBadass: Twice. First under Tindwyl's tutelage in ''Well of Ascension'', and then another after becoming Mistborn himself at the end of that book.]]
* [[spoiler:UnskilledButStrong: As a Mistborn, he's got more raw Allomantic power than anyone in the series short of the Lord Ruler himself- but he's also the first to admit that Vin has a far more subtle affinity for her powers]]. It turns out that his is because [[spoiler: he acquired his Mistborn powers directly from the same metal that was used to grant the ''original'', near-godlike Mistborn their powers by the Lord Ruler.]]
* WideEyedIdealist: Politically, at least.
* TheWisePrince

!!Lord Straff Venture/[[spoiler:"King" Straff Venture]]
->"I set the fashion now, boy."

Elend's abusive father, who is also a Tineye.

In ''The Well of Ascension'', [[spoiler:he leads a massive army in an attempt to take over Luthadel.]]
----
* [[spoiler:AbdicateTheThrone]]: [[spoiler:He makes Elend the leader of House Venture, but only because he thinks that his son is going to die.]]
* [[AbusiveParents Abusive Father]]
* ArchnemesisDad
* AristocratsAreEvil
* [[spoiler:BigBadWannabe]]:[[spoiler:He spends most of the second book being outwitted or outplayed or reacting to events, and is a threat mainly because he has the biggest army, the greatest resources, and the fewest moral qualms of all the kings (that is to say, [[TheSociopath none]]). After he is killed, the story continues for another Act until ''Ruin's'' EvilPlan comes to fruition, and Ruin had been manipulating half the cast the whole time, including Straff's own Dragon Zane, whom Straff never truly controlled anyway]].
* CompositeCharacter: Of a sort. The original version of Kelsier's informant scene had Kelsier talking to Lord Hastings, and it was the only scene featuring the latter. In the final version, Kelsier speaks to Straff Venture, making Straff a combination of himself and Lord Hastings.
* [[spoiler:DrugsAreBad]]: [[spoiler:He learns this after a former mistress of his gets him hooked on drugs. But it's inverted when he learns that drugs are (supposedly) ''good''. And then Vin kills him.]]
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Dear God, does he have a bad case of this. The very idea of altruism is alien to him and he ascribes nefarious or selfish motives to ''everything'' that ''anyone ever does''. For example, the idea that somebody could save the life of another because they didn't want to see an innocent man die is an idea he finds both hilarious and stupid, too stupid to be what really happened (even though it basically was). The person in question [[spoiler:was his son, Elend Venture. Vin had to save him from the assassins that Straff had sent [[OffingTheOffspring to kill him]].]]
* EvilOverlord: [[spoiler:Sets himself up as one after the Lord Ruler dies]].
* [[spoiler:HalfTheManHeUsedToBe]]: [[spoiler:Vin lops him in two, along with his horse.]]
* InsistentTerminology: In ''The Well of Ascension'', Straff wants everyone to call him [[spoiler:King Straff Venture]].
* ItsAllAboutMe
* LackOfEmpathy
* ManipulativeBastard: Though he's just as often the one being manipulated, and fails to realize it.
* [[spoiler:OffingTheOffspring]]: [[spoiler:Sends assassins to kill Elend, and tries to have Zane killed.]] Near the end of ''The Well of Ascension'', [[spoiler:it backfires on him when he does kill Zane, prompting his mistress to turn on him.]]
* SmugSnake
* TheSociopath
* SuperSenses: It comes with being a Tineye.
* TykeBomb: Straff made it a point to have ''many'' mistresses so that he could produce countless children who could potentially possess Misting or Mistborn powers, to serve as his personal assassins. He went so far as to deliberately violate the Lord Ruler's prohibition against allowing skaa women to bear children born from noblemen to ensure he had Misting children.

!!Janarle

Straff Venture's second in command. [[spoiler:He becomes one of the three kings under Elend Venture.]]
----
* TheDragon: To Straff Venture
** CoDragons: With Zane.
** DragonWithAnAgenda: [[spoiler:Straff suspects that Janarle will betray him if he learns of Zane's death.]]
* [[spoiler:HeelFaceTurn]]
* NumberTwo: To Straff Venture.

!!Lady Shan Elariel

Elend's fiance. She's a soother, and is arrogant and manipulative. [[spoiler:Actually she's a Mistborn with a hidden agenda.]]
----
* AlphaBitch: She's in a court, rather than school, setting, but otherwise fits the trope to a "t" [[spoiler:though she's rather more dangerous than most]].
* [[spoiler:DarkActionGirl]]
* [[spoiler:KnifeNut]]
* [[spoiler:MurderTheHypotenuse]]: [[spoiler:Vin kills Shan when she tries to assassinate Elend. It wasn't Vin's intention, but Shan ''was'' Elend's fiancee. Elend makes a dark joke along these lines in ''Hero of Ages'', mentioning that Vin married him after killing his fiancee, his [[AbusiveParents father]], his [[CainAndAbel brother]] and [[GodEmperor his god]], to boot]].
* [[spoiler:NotSoHarmlessVillain]]
* TheReveal: For most of her appearances, she's built up as practically a female [[HarryPotter Draco Malfoy]]- arrogant, obnoxious, and annoying, but ultimately harmless. [[spoiler:Then it turns out she's a Mistborn nearly as powerful as Vin]].
* RichBitch

!!Lord Hastings

The leader of House Hastings. He's apparently a pretty evil guy, even if we don't get to meet him. [[spoiler:He gets what's coming to him when his house is destroyed by Elariel assassins.]]
----
* AristocratsAreEvil: What we're told about him suggests this.
* TheGhost: We never actually get to meet him. He was originally going to have a one-shot appearance when Kelsier was posing as an informant, but his role was given to the much more important Straff Venture.

!!Ashweather Cett

The king of Fadrex, Cett left his city after [[spoiler:hearing about Straff Venture's siege of Luthadel. Fearing that Straff would take the atium within the city, Cett besieged Luthadel himself, wanting to take the atium and increase his wealth.]]
----
* BadassBeard: Vin even calls it a "monster".
* BigBadWannabe: Cett presents himself as a powerful, CardCarryingVillain tyrant [[spoiler: but he's neither as evil or as powerful as he'd like you to believe]].
* BoisterousBruiser: Played with; he has the personality, but is actually a cripple.
* CardCarryingVillain: Subverted. He certainly talks the talk, but then does a HeelFaceTurn.
* HeelFaceTurn: Allrianne initially tricks him into it. Vin's threats cement it.
* ObfuscatingDisability: Subverted. Vin thinks he's faking his paralysis to hide being a very powerful Mistborn. [[spoiler: Nope- it's genuine, and he's had the condition since childhood]].
* SirSwearsALot
* TokenEvilTeammate: Sort of. He's not exactly ''evil'', per se, but is the most traditional Imperial nobleman in Elend's court.
* [[spoiler: WarriorPoet: Not expecting that, were you?]]

!!Allrianne Cett

Cett's young and idealistic daughter.
----
* BrattyTeenageDaughter: How she presents herself. It's only part of the truth, though.
* TheChick
* HiddenDepths
* MayDecemberRomance: With Breeze
* ObfuscatingStupidity: More like Obfuscating Superficiality. Most of what you see ''is'' Allrianne's real personality, but it's not all there is to it, and she's much smarter than she looks.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: She's the Girly Girl to Vin's Tomboy. Yes, even Vin at her most feminine looks ''plenty'' tomboyish next to Allrianne.

!!Lord Jastes Lekal

The young heir to the Lekal house. He is a good friend to Elend, and the two of them often sneak away from parties to discuss politics, along with Teldu. He is idealistic, but not to Elend's extent.

[[spoiler:He flees Luthadel with his family when the Final Empire collapses, but returns one year later. Commanding an army of Koloss, he joins the siege against Luthadel with the intention of attaining the Lord Ruler's atium cache.]]
----
* [[spoiler:TheAtoner]]: [[spoiler:Tries to become this when he loses control of the Koloss, but Elend doesn't buy it and chops his head off.]]
* [[spoiler:BigBadEnsemble]]: [[spoiler:Is on of the main villains of ''The Well of Ascension'', alongside Straff Venture and Ashweather Cett.]]
* [[spoiler:DrunkOnTheDarkSide]]: [[spoiler:When controlling the Koloss.]]
* [[spoiler:FaceHeelTurn]]: [[spoiler:Goes from an idealistic youth in ''The Final Empire'' to one of the main villains in ''The Well of Ascension''.]]
* [[spoiler:FallenHero]]
* [[spoiler:HeelFaceDoorSlam]]: [[spoiler:Starts to become TheAtoner, but Elend beheads him because of what he did to his kingdom.]]
* [[spoiler:OffWithHisHead]]: [[spoiler:Elend kills him by beheading him.]]
* ProperlyParanoid: He is convinced that Valette Renoux, the girl Elend has fallen for, is more than she seems. He's right to presume so, as she's a half-Skaa trying to overthrow the Final Empire, but his paranoia extended way too far.
* WalkingSpoiler: Notice all the white text? It's there for a reason.
* WideEyedIdealist: [[spoiler:He starts this way, but turns to the dark side when the Final Empire collapses.]]

!!Lord Themos Tresting
->"One would think that a thousand years working in the fields would have bred them to be a little more effective at it."

One of the nobles of the Final Empire.
----
* AristocratsAreEvil
* AssholeVictim
* DroppedABridgeOnHim
* IntroOnlyPointOfView
* OhCrap: Has a moment of this when he notices one of his Skaa (actually Kelsier looking over the fields) smile at him.
* SmugSnake
* StarterVillain: He's the earliest bad guy in the series, as he is the villain of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''[='=]s prologue.
* VillainOpeningScene

!!Lord Teven Renoux

One of the nobles of the Final Empire. Kelsier offs him before the story begins. For the Kandra impersonating him, see "[=OreSeur=]".
----
* DeadAllAlong: A few characters are surprised to hear that Lord Renoux had been killed and replaced.

!!Lord Melend Liese

A young noble who asks Vin to dance with him at an early ball she attends.
----
* CasanovaWannabe
* ShrinkingViolet: A male variant. Vin notes that he won't stop blushing.

!!Lord Charrs Entrone
->Lord Entrone, in particular, would not be missed. He was infamous for his twisted sense of pleasure.
-->--Kelsier, thinking about Lord Charrs Entrone

A cruel man, who relished Skaa Bloodfights. After a bloodfight in which he gambled against Crews Geffenry, he got drunk and was killed by Kelsier on his way home.
----
* AristocratsAreEvil
* AssholeVictim
* {{Tuckerization}}: Named after the author's friend Charlie.

!!Crews Geffenry
->Crews was a known Mistborn, and a very competent knife fighter.
-->--Kelsier, thinking about Crews Geffenry

A Mistborn of the Geffenry house, and an excellent knife fighter. The Geffenry house had been petitioning for a stronger alliance with House Tekiel around the time of Lord Charrs Entrone's death. Because Crews was gambling against Charrs on the night of his death, Kelsier believes that Crews will become a suspect in the murder of Lord Charrs.
----
* AristocratsAreEvil: Anyone who takes pleasure in Skaa bloodfights has to be pretty evil.
* {{Badass}}: It comes with being a Mistborn.
* TheGhost: He never actually appears in the story, unless he was [[spoiler:the Mistborn aiding Lady Shan Elariel when she tried to assassinate Lord Elend Venture]] near the end of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.
* GuiltByCoincidence: Kelsier believes that he will become a suspect in the Entrone murder purely by happenstance.
* KnifeNut: As Kelsier notes, he is very good with a knife.
[[/folder]]

----

[[folder:Final Empire Administration]]
!!The Lord Ruler
->"How dare you? After what I gave you? I made you superior to regular men! I made you dominant!"
-->-- The Lord Ruler to [[spoiler:Marsh]]

The immortal tyrant who rules the Final Empire. All-powerful and invincible, he is revered as God. He apparently defeated The Deepness in the past. After doing so, he somehow gained god-like powers, and used them to conquer the world. He calls himself "The Sliver of Infinity" because he is apparently only a small part of God. He is the main villain of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.

[[spoiler:He is Rashek, packman of the so-called Hero of Ages, Alendi. He killed Alendi and took the power of the Well of Ascension for himself.]]

[[spoiler:His deeds were at the instruction of his uncle Kwaan, who was trying to stop Alendi from unleashing Ruin, the incarnation of destruction.]]
----
* [[spoiler:AchillesHeel]]: [[spoiler:He is one of the deadliest magic users in the series, but without his Atiumminds he's toast.]]
* AGodAmI
* [[spoiler:AntiVillain]]
* BigBad: As the evil tyrant ruling the Final Empire, he serves this role. [[spoiler:But he's not the real villain. Not by a long shot.]]
* BladeOnAStick: Uses one to [[spoiler:kill Kelsier.]]
* [[spoiler:CrazyPrepared[=/=]SurvivalistStash]]: [[spoiler:The supply caches and shelters he built across the Final Empire in case of his death.]]
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: [[spoiler:Straight up kills Kelsier, remembers to remove all Vin's metal supplies when he captures her, executes any underlings who could potentially turn on him, hides the source of his power, and has strict laws that he uses to prevent his defeat.]] There's a reason this guy has been successfully ruling for over a thousand years.
* [[spoiler:DeadPersonImpersonation]]: [[spoiler:Everyone thinks he's Alendi.]]
* [[spoiler:DiscOneFinalBoss]]
* TheDreaded
* EvilOverlord
* [[spoiler:FromNobodyToNightmare]]: [[spoiler:He went from a packman to a legendary tyrant.]]
* GodEmperor
* GodIsEvil: What the skaa certainly think, and with good reason. [[spoiler:The truth's a bit more complicated. He really does mean well and his harshness is arguably necessary, but Ruin's been attacking his mind for the last thousand years. And it's getting to him.]]
* HealingFactor: He has unlimited regeneration powers [[spoiler:thanks to the Feruchemic applications of gold.]]
* [[spoiler:HeroWithAnFInGood]]: [[spoiler:Behold, the BigGood of the series!]]
* [[spoiler:ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice]]: In the climax of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', [[spoiler:Vin kills him by ramming Sazed's spear into his chest.]]
* ImplacableMan
* [[spoiler:MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning]]
* [[spoiler:NiceJobFixingItVillain]]
* [[spoiler:NoImmortalInertia]]: [[spoiler:After Vin removes his Atiumminds, he rapidly ages until he is as old as he should be. It makes sense considering the magic system.]]
* PhotographicMemory: In an early chapter of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', he is said to have one. [[spoiler:He actually just uses his copperminds to hold memories until he needs them.]]
* PhysicalGod
* ShroudedInMyth: A large part of the series deals with finding out what kind of man the Lord Ruler really was, and where the man ends and the myth begins.
* [[spoiler:SpikesOfVillainy]]: [[spoiler:Utilizes Hemalurgy.]]
* [[spoiler:StoryBreakerPower]]: [[spoiler:He's a Lerasium-made Mistborn, so he has complete and undiluted Allomantic power. He's also a Feruchemist, and he knows how to use Allomancy and Feruchemistry together to create an infinite loop of Feruchemic power. This grants him immortality, regeneration, and numerous abilities that he can use in a pinch. If that wasn't enough, he has Hemalurgy as well, making him a master of all the magic systems on Scadrial.]]
* [[spoiler:SympatheticMurderer]]: [[spoiler:He killed Alendi, but he had to do it to protect the world.]]
* [[spoiler:WellIntentionedExtremist]]
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Unusually, both inverted and played straight. WordOfGod is that [[spoiler:Rashek actually grew as a person as a result of acquiring and being forced to responsibly use godlike power; pity that the hemalurgy he used brought him into telepathic contact with Ruin, who wormed his way inside his head and drove him to increasingly brutal, irrational, and tyrannical actions in the name of the greater good]].
* WorldsStrongestMan: Easily takes to the cake for the series.

!!Lord Prelan Tevidian [[spoiler:Tekiel]]
->"What does a Skaa girl have to do with the government of the Ministry?"

The leader of the Obligators, and a dutiful member of the Final Empire. He usually sticks to the laws, except for the one time when he inadvertently fathered a child. He is Vin's father.
----
* ArchnemesisDad: To Vin, his daughter, [[spoiler: but, only from her perspective. He doesn't even learn he ''has'' a daughter until the Inquisitors reveal her as their trump card]].
* [[spoiler:AlliterativeName]]: [[spoiler:Tevidian Tekiel certainly is one.]]
* AristocratsAreEvil: He had to give up his noble status to become an Obligator. Not that it made him less evil.
* [[spoiler:AssholeVictim]]
* BaldOfEvil
* [[spoiler:CurbStompBattle]]: [[spoiler:He gets attacked by six Steel Inquisitors. You can tell how it turns out.]]
* TheDragon: To The Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:That is, until the Lord Ruler kills him.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]
* TheLeader: He leads the Obligators.
* MinorMajorCharacter: He has very little screen time, but holds a very high position.
* NonActionGuy: As a member of the government, he doesn't care much for fighting.
* [[spoiler:OhCrap]]: [[spoiler:When Vin tells the Lord Ruler that he is her father.]]
* SinisterMinister
* SmugSnake
* [[spoiler: TheUnfought]]: He's ''exactly'' the kind of character you'd expect a dramatic confrontation against, but [[spoiler:the Steel Inquisitors get to him before Vin does...]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]: [[spoiler:When Kar is trying to have him executed for having a Skaa daughter.]]
* [[spoiler:WeHardlyKnewYe]]: [[spoiler:After lingering in the background for most of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', he finally comes into the spotlight after Vin's capture. Kar's plan for his execution immediately comes to fruitation.]]

!!Kar
->"By allowing common men to rule your Ministry, you have unwittingly allowed corruption and vice to enter the very heart of your holy place."

The leader of the Steel Inquisitors. For many years, he has been plotting to gain control of the Steel Ministry. He also [[spoiler:tortured Reen until he died.]]
----
* [[spoiler:AchillesHeel]]: [[spoiler:He dies when his spikes are removed by Marsh.]]
* AnAxeToGrind
* BaldOfEvil
* [[spoiler:BloodMagic]]: [[spoiler:Hemalurgy, the magic art used to make him into a Steel Inquisitor.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: Introduced as a nameless Inquisitor during [[spoiler:Vin and Kelsier's raid on Kredik Shaw.]] Becomes much more important in the conclusion of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Spent years manipulating The Lord Ruler into granting the Canton of Inquisition power over the Steel Ministry. It backfires horribly for everyone involved.]]
* [[spoiler:TheDragon]]: [[spoiler:Becomes this to The Lord Ruler after Tevidian is deposed.]]
* EyeScream: To become a Steel Inquisitor, he had to have spikes stuck into his eyes.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has some scars after being shot full of arrows.
* HealingFactor: He gets shot full of arrows, but is able to heal from them. [[spoiler:It's because of his Hemalurgy.]]
* {{Immortality}}: He has been alive for two hundred years. [[spoiler:As Marsh proves, immortality and invincibility are not the same thing.]]
* ImplacableMan
* [[spoiler:ItsPersonal]]: [[spoiler:This guy killed Vin's brother. Like hell it's personal.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Marsh kills him by pulling out his spikes.]]
* TheRival: He has a serious [[spoiler:political]] rivalry with [[spoiler:Tevidian]]. In the climax of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', [[spoiler:he ends up the winner when Kar is executed.]]
* SlasherSmile: Has one when he [[spoiler:leads Vin to the Lord Ruler as part of his plan to take control of the Steel Ministry.]]
* [[spoiler:SmallRoleBigImpact]]:
** [[spoiler:His plotting with Bendal and the other Steel Inquisitors caused a great deal of the bad events in Vin's life. They even have a background subplot in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.]]
** [[spoiler:Gets the Canton of Inquisition power over the Steel Ministry, paving the way for Marsh's rise.]]
* SmugSnake
* SpikesOfVillainy: [[spoiler:They serve a purpose, that being giving him the power of Hemalurgy.]]
* [[spoiler:UnknownRival]]: [[spoiler:Tevidian had no clue that they were rivals.]]

!!Bendal

One of the Steel Inquisitors. He was sent by High Priest Arriev to kill Camon's crew, but Kelsier led him off their trail.
----
* AnAxeToGrind
* AxCrazy
* ChekhovsGunman: He seems to drop out of the plot after Kelsier prevents him from killing Camon's crew, but then he [[spoiler:kidnaps Spook, [=OreSeur=], and a bunch of Skaa.]]
* [[spoiler:DefeatingTheUndefeatable]]: [[spoiler:Everyone thought that being a Steel Inquisitor made him unstoppable. Kelsier proves them wrong.]]
* TheDreaded
* EyeScream: Has two spikes shoved through his eyes.
* [[spoiler:HoistByHisOwnPetard]]: [[spoiler:Kelsier chops his head off with his own axe.]]
* ImplacableMan: [[spoiler:But he's still vulnerable to decapitation, as Kelsier proves.]]
* [[spoiler:KarmicDeath]]
* [[spoiler:OffWithHisHead]]: [[spoiler:Kelsier kills him by decapitating him.]]
* TheRival: He has a rivalry with Kelsier, and they battle several times throughout the first book. [[spoiler:His true rival is actually Tevidian.]]
* [[spoiler:SmallRoleBigImpact]]: [[spoiler:His plotting with Kar and the other Steel Inquisitors caused a great deal of the bad events in Vin's life. They even have a background subplot in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.]]
* SpikesOfVillainy
* [[spoiler:SuicidalOverconfidence]]: [[spoiler:His taunting of Kelsier leads to his death.]]

!!Straff Venture's Obligator
->"If there has been any ''real'' worries about your actions, a Steel Inquisitor would have been sent here in my place."

An Obligator employed by Straff Venture. He is visiting Lord Tresting in the prologue of book one, but Kelsier kills him in his assault on Lord Tresting's manor.
----
* AssholeVictim
* TheDragon: To Straff Venture, but then Kelsier offs him.
* KilledOffForReal
* NoNameGiven: He dies before we learn his name.
* SinisterMinister

!!Lord Aradan Yomen

An Obligator from Urteau who was Cett's political rival. When Cett left Fadrex to [[spoiler:besiege Luthadel]], he takes over.
----
* AntiVillain
* BadassBookworm
* TheChessmaster: Barring the Lord Ruler and [[spoiler:Ruin]] themselves, he's probably the smartest "bad guy" in the series.
* CombatClairvoyance: [[spoiler: Well, he is an atium Misting]].
* GreyAndGreyMorality: He and Elend both make good points, and considering the circumstances are both pretty justified in their actions- Yomen just has incomplete information.
* HesJustHiding: [[invoked]]His opinion regarding the Lord Ruler- since obviously a god can't be killed, he must have ''let'' the skaa overthrow him as part of some {{plan}}. Yomen spends a lot of ''Hero of Ages'' trying to figure out just what that plan is.
* [[spoiler: HeelFaceTurn]]
* NotSoDifferent: He's basically Elend, if Elend had been an Obligator.
* WorthyOpponent: Again, he's Elend's intellectual equal, and the two of them actually enjoy their philosophical sparring, though their larger conflict is very serious.

!!Prelan Laird

An Obligator who met with Camon to discuss a transport deal. In reality, the transport deal was a scheme made by Camon and Theodar.
----
* NoSell: He is able to shrug off Vin's emotional Allomancy thanks to his training.
* SinisterMinister: Subverted. Unlike the other Obligators, he seems quite pleasant.

!!High Prelan Arriev

An Obligator who met with Camon to discuss a "transport deal" (in reality a scam by Camon). He was actually meeting with Camon to investigate Laird's report of emotional Allomancy. He sends Bendal to kill Camon and his crew.
----
* SinisterMinister

!!Kurdon
->"My lord?"

A taskmaster working for Lord Tresting. His role on the plantation is to make sure the Skaa are doing their duties well. He beats them if they don't meet his expectations. Kelsier blows him up at the end of the prologue of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.
----
* AssholeVictim
* TheDragon: To Lord Tresting.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Dies when Kelsier assaults Lord Tresting's manor.

!!The Hazekillers

Soldiers of The Lord Ruler who are equipped to counter Allomancy.
----
* ConservationOfNinjutsu: A horde of them attack Kelsier when he assaults Keep Venture in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''. Although at a disadvantage in terms of size, he beats them handily.
* EliteMooks
* NoSell: What happens when you try to use Allomancy on them.
[[/folder]]

----

[[folder:Other Modern Day Characters]]
!!Mare

Kelsier's wife, who died in the Pits of Hathsin. Together they were part of a thieving crew, which was one of the most successful crews in the Final Empire. However, during a daring heist on Kredik Shaw, Mare betrayed Kelsier to the Steel Inquisitors. The Lord Ruler thanked her, then sent her to the Pits of Hathsin anyway. She died giving Kelsier an atium geode, claiming that she had already found one.
----
* ActionGirl
* BattleCouple: With Kelsier until her untimely death.
* HappilyMarried: With Kelsier, but then she died.
* HeroicSacrifice: Gave Kelsier an atium geode so that he could survive, even though she knew that she would be beaten to death.
* LoveTriangle: Involved in one with Kelsier and [[spoiler:Marsh]].
* TheMole: Although she claimed that she died betray Kelsier, nobody else could have. [[spoiler:It turns out that she didn't betray Kelsier, but her use of tin gave away the crew to the Steel Inquisitors, who can pierce Copperclouds.]]
* PosthumousCharacter
* SuperSenses: She is a Tineye, so she can enhance her senses by burning tin.
* [[spoiler:TogetherInDeath]]: [[spoiler:With Kelsier.]]

!!Tindwyl

A Terriswoman who arrives in Luthadel during ''The Well of Ascension''. She believes in things being "proper".
----
* CoolOldLady
* CynicalMentor: To Elend.
* DeadpanSnarker: She can even give Vin a run for her money in this regard.
* DrillSergeantNasty: Elend finds out the hard way. It's explicitly stated she's like this to him because as an idealistic nobleman's son, she feels he needs to be hit over the head with reality before he can become a good leader. She's much nicer to Vin, based on the fact that Vin's been the target of physical and emotional abuse for good chunks of her life and what ''she'' needs is confidence and self-worth.
* GoodIsNotNice
* [[spoiler:MentorOccupationalHazard]]
* SternTeacher

!!The Watcher/Zane [[spoiler:Venture]]
-> "You were supposed to save me!"

A mysterious Mistborn in ''The Well of Ascension''. He haunts the nights, having Allomantic duels with Vin. [[spoiler:He's House Venture's hidden assassin.]]
----
* AxCrazy: But not quite for the reasons he thinks. [[spoiler: He thinks he is crazy because he hears voices in his head- until the voice in his head tells him he isn't crazy, because the voice in his head is very, very real. On the other hand, he's still an emotionally unstable, sociopathic StalkerWithACrush, so he still qualifies, just not for the reason he thinks.]]
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Straff puts up with Zane's constant attempts to kill him and his madness because otherwise he won't have a Mistborn. [[spoiler: Turns out Zane hardly ever actually tried to kill him; not only were his few attempts half-hearted, they were actually withdrawl symptoms, the result of Straff being an ignorant drug addict- ignorant in that the drug was the "antidote" his WomanScorned servant had been giving him over the years to cure what he thought were Zane's poisoning attempts, which were usually either somebody ''else's'' poisoning attempts, or all in Straff's head to begin with.]]
* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:He's Cain, Elend is Abel]].
* TheCorrupter: Tries to convince Vin to abandon Elend because Mistborn like them don't need to serve others; they should stand apart from them, and be above them.
* CrazyPrepared
* TheDragon: To Straff.
** DragonWithAnAgenda
** CoDragons: With Janarle.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler: He doesn't kill his father because "a man shouldn't kill his own father", even though Straff has been a horrible parent and had just tried to kill ''him''.]]
* HearingVoices: ''Kill him''. "Him" being everyone he meets.[[spoiler: Except Vin, which is why he thinks [[StalkerWithACrush she is the only one who can save him.]] But its really because the voice in his head is real, and has plans for her.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: Much, much more subtle about it than Straff is, though that isn't really difficult since Straff has all the subtly of a sledgehammer in nearly everything he does.
* MightMakesRight: Believes that Mistborn are just plain better than everyone else, though he doesn't really desire to lord over others even if he thinks they should treat him like a god.
* NotSoDifferent: See ShadowArchetype.
* PoisonousFriend: To Vin.
* PsychoForHire: Deconstructed. Zane's a violently insane CareerKiller, but he regards his insanity as a major flaw and tries to overcome it. [[spoiler: He fails]].
* SanityHasAdvantages: He certainly thinks so, and feels he has to compensate for his self-admitted insanity.
* ShadowArchetype: To Vin.
* TheSociopath
* [[spoiler:SpikesOfVillainy]]: ''The Well of Ascension'' mentions his [[spoiler:spike]] several times. [[spoiler:It's a Hemalurgic spike connecting him to Ruin.]]
* StalkerWithACrush
* TheStarscream: Subverted. He continually pretends to try and kill Straff, because that's what Straff expects, but he has no real desire to do it- he muses to himself that if he did, Straff would already be ''dead''.
* [[spoiler:UnwittingPawn: The voice in his head isn't just in his head.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity
* WorthyOpponent

!![=TenSoon=]/[[spoiler:False [=OreSeur=]]]

A Kandra employed by the Venture family.
----
* [[spoiler:ApologeticAttacker]]: [[spoiler:He apologizes to Vin when he reveals his true allegiances.]]
* [[spoiler:AscendedExtra]]: [[spoiler:Goes from a ridiculously minor character in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'' to a major character in ''The Well of Ascension'', and a main character in ''The Hero of Ages''.]]
* TheBlob: In his true form.
* TheCameo: Has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', where Elend notes that he is standing next to Straff Venture.
* [[spoiler:CanineCompanion]]: [[spoiler:Forced to be one for Vin when impersonating [=OreSeur=].]]
* ChekhovsGunman: Thought he was a really minor character? Nope, he starts driving a major subplot in ''The Well of Ascension''.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: His race's ability to assume the form of living creatures after absorbing their bones makes him very good at this, [[spoiler:and his Dead Kandra Impersonation isn't too shabby either.]]
* [[spoiler:DemonicPossession]]: [[spoiler:His Hemalurgic spikes allow Ruin to control his mind.]]
* [[spoiler:TheDogWasTheMastermind]]: [[spoiler:Both literally and as the trope definition states, given that he was impersonating [=OreSeur=].]]
* [[spoiler:FantasticRacism]]: [[spoiler:He feels this as a result of the way humans treat him. Vin helps him change.]]
* [[spoiler:HeelFaceTurn]]: [[spoiler:He comes to like and respect Vin after spending time with her. This leads to him going over to her side during her final battle with Zane.]]
* [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice]]: [[spoiler:Pulls his spikes out to stop Ruin from controlling him.]]
* TheMentor: To [=MeLann=].
* MentorShip: Teased with [=MeLann=].
* TheMole: In ''The Well of Ascension'', he kills and impersonates someone in Luthadel. [[spoiler:It turns out to be [=OreSeur=].]]
* [[spoiler:NotSoDifferent]]: [[spoiler:When Vin tells him of her experiences as a member of a thieving crew, he realizes the experience isn't that different from having to follow the Kandra Contract. Leads to an OddFriendship of sorts.]]
* [[spoiler:OddFriendship]]: [[spoiler:With Vin after he warms up to her.]]
* SpikesOfVillainy: All Kandra have spikes in them. Since he's a bad guy Kandra, his spikes are evil. [[spoiler:Later the trope doesn't apply, as he has a HeelFaceTurn.]]
* {{Squick}}: [[invoked]] [[spoiler:His need to eat someone before he can imitate them ''really'' bothers Vin.]]
* [[spoiler:TalkingAnimal]]: [[spoiler:When using a wolfhound body.]]
* [[spoiler:TurnedAgainstTheirMasters]]: [[spoiler:Turns on Zane so that he can save Vin.]]
* VoluntaryShapeshifting
* WalkingSpoiler: It's pretty much impossible to talk about him without revealing who he was impersonating. [[spoiler:It was [=OreSeur=] if you were wondering.]] Then there's the matter of his [[spoiler:turn to the side of the good guys.]]

!![=KanPaar=]

The leader of the second generation of Kandra.
----
* [[spoiler:AssholeVictim]]
* DeadPersonImpersonation: It's his job, as a Kandra.
* [[spoiler:DemonicPossession]]: [[spoiler:Ruin takes control of him because of his Hemalurgic spike.]]
* [[spoiler:DirtyCoward]]: [[spoiler:Steals some Atium and flees the Kandra homeland when Ruin's army attacks.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe
* {{Jerkass}}
* TheLeader: Of the second generation of Kandra.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat
* SmugSnake
* SpikesOfVillainy
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: It comes with being a Kandra.

!![=MeLann=]

A Kandra of the sixth generation. She was trained by [=TenSoon=].
----
* TheApprentice: To [=TenSoon=].
* MentorShip: Teased with [=TenSoon=].
* ShipTease: With [=TenSoon=].
* WideEyedIdealist
[[/folder]]

----

[[folder:Pre-Ascension Characters]]
!!Alendi
->"Sometimes I worry that I'm not the hero everyone thinks I am."

The so-called "Hero of Ages", declared as such by Kwaan. Although he started off as an idealistic youth, but became cynical during his quest to defeat The Deepness. Although the prophecies said that he needed to give up the power at the Well of Ascension, he used it for himself instead, becoming the Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:Except he didn't. He was killed by his packman Rashek, who went on to take the power and become the Lord Ruler.]] Author of the epigraphs in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.
----
* AngstDissonance: In-universe- Vin thinks he's far too angsty to have become an EvilOverlord. [[spoiler:She's right. He was killed by his packman Rashek.]]
* BigBad: As the Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:Or not, as Rashek became the Lord Ruler.]]
* TheChainsOfCommanding: Experiences them as he takes over the world.
* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:Subverted in that he was killed by Rashek before he did what he was Chosen to do. Then deconstructed when it was revealed he was only chosen in the first place because of Ruin screwing with the prophecies]].
* [[spoiler:DeadAllAlong]]: [[spoiler:Rashek killed him before he could reach the Well of Ascension. He was never the Lord Ruler.]]
* {{Expy}}: Of any number of generic ChosenOne types, but in particular he resembles [[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Rand al'Thor]]- which became HilariousInHindsight when Sanderson was contracted to finish WheelOfTime.
* FaceHeelTurn: He went from a very good man to '''''The Lord Ruler'''''. [[spoiler:Actually he didn't. Everyone thinks that the Lord Ruler is him, but it's actually Rashek.]]
* FallenHero: He was once a good man, but he became the Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:Actually, while he came dangerously close, he never fell to darkness. Rashek killed him because he was still such a good man that he would play right into Ruin's intangible hands.]]
* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: He continually reminds us of this in his logbook.
* NoNameGiven: We don't find out until ''The Well of Ascension'' that his name is Alendi.
* [[spoiler:PosthumousCharacter]]: [[spoiler:He's actually been dead the whole time.]]
* StartOfDarkness: His logbook tells how he went from the man he was to the Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:Subverted, because he was never the Lord Ruler, and though he was heading towards dark territory he never fully jumped off the slippery slope before he was killed]].
* [[spoiler:UnwittingPawn]]: [[spoiler:He was being manipulated by Ruin, who sought to free himself from the Well of Ascension. Fortunately, Rashek killed him before he could make things worse.]]
* {{Wangst}}: [[invoked]] His journal is full of it, in Vin's opinion.
* WarriorPoet
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Though he apparently became quite ruthless, he always remained dedicated to helping the world and ''not'' taking up the power of the Well of Ascension for himself. [[spoiler:Which is why Ruin chose him in the first place]].
* WideEyedIdealist: In the beginning. As time progressed, he eventually became more broken.

!!Kwaan
->"My name is Kwaan. Philosopher, scholar, traitor. I am the one who started this all."

The Terrisman prophet who originally declared Alendi to be the Hero of Ages. Later, he turned against Alendi, being the only Terrisman prophet to dispute Alendi's claim to be the Hero of Ages. (Major ''The Well of Ascension'' ending spoilers.) [[spoiler:He ordered his nephew Rashek to kill Alendi and prevent him from accidentally releasing Ruin at the Well of Ascension.]] Author of the epigraphs in ''The Well of Ascension''.
----
* AscendedExtra: Was mentioned several times in the epigraphs of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''. In ''The Well of Ascension'', he is the author of the Epigraphs, allowing us his point of view on things.
* [[spoiler:CassandraTruth]]: [[spoiler:Nobody believed him when he claimed that Alendi was in fact, not the Hero.]]
* {{Determinator}}: [[spoiler:Deconstructed. His burning desire to prove that Alendi was the Hero of Ages allowed Ruin to manipulate the Terris prophecies for his own purposes. Had Kwaan not set up countermeasures, Alendi would have released Ruin.]]
* [[spoiler:ItsAllMyFault]]: [[spoiler:Gains this attitude when he sets to the world on the fast track to destruction. It really is.]]
* [[spoiler:MyGodWhatHaveIDone]]: [[spoiler:His reaction when he put the pieces together and realized that Ruin was manipulating the prophecies.]]
* [[spoiler:NiceJobBreakingItHero]]:
** [[spoiler:By declaring Alendi to be the Hero of Ages, he paved the way for Ruin's release.]]
** [[spoiler:Sending his nephew Rashek to stop Alendi worked, but it led to Rashek becoming a tyrannical maniac.]]
* PhotographicMemory: He can remember things perfectly without even needing to use a Coppermind. [[spoiler:That's good, because Ruin is able to edit Copperminds.]]
* [[spoiler:PrideBeforeAFall]]: [[spoiler:He was already starting to have his doubts about Alendi being the Hero of Ages when the other Terris decided to agree with his views. He notes that it was his pride that kept him from doing the right thing.]]
* [[spoiler:TheManBehindTheMan]]: [[spoiler:He was the one who gave Rashek his mission.]]
* [[spoiler:UnwittingPawn]]: [[spoiler:To Ruin. But then he wises up.]]

!!Rashek
->"It amazes me that anyone would give heed to a man who speaks such hatred."
-->-Alendi on Rashek

Alendi's packman. A Terrisman who hates the fact that the Hero of Ages was not from Terris. [[spoiler:He kills Alendi and becomes the Lord Ruler. See the "Final Empire" section for more information on him.]] As revealed in ''The Well of Ascension'', [[spoiler:Kwaan is his uncle.]]
----
* [[spoiler:BigBad: As the Lord Ruler.]] [[spoiler:But then it turns out that he was actually a good guy.]]
* [[spoiler:BigGood: As the Lord Ruler. Yes, really.]]
* CassandraTruth:
** His hatred of Alendi becomes more tragic and sympathetic when you finish part two of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'' and learn that Alendi became '''''The Lord Ruler'''''. [[spoiler:Then it becomes less so when you learn that Rashek actually killed Alendi. He was the Lord Ruler all along.]]
** [[spoiler:He was right to not want Alendi to reach the Well of Ascension. If Alendi had gotten the power, he would have doomed the world.]]
** [[spoiler:You know how he always said that the Hero of Ages should be a Terrisman? No one would listen to him, but his claims were completely correct. The true Hero was from Terris.]]
* [[spoiler:ChekhovsGunman]]: [[spoiler:The real Lord Ruler.]]
* FantasticRacism: Believes that the Terris people are superior to everyone else on Scadrial.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Rashek is mentioned to be very handsome and interested in suits. The Lord Ruler also has those characteristics.]]
* GreenEyedMonster: He is jealous of Alendi, due to his belief that the Hero of Ages should have been a Terrisman. [[spoiler:Vin thinks this is why he killed him, but she was wrong.]]
* {{Jerkass}}
* [[spoiler:NotSoSmallRole]]: [[spoiler:Thought he was some random jerk from the past? Nope. He's the ''real'' Lord Ruler.]]
* [[spoiler:PhysicalGod]]: [[spoiler:He was one during the five minute period in which he held the power of Preservation.]]
* [[spoiler:SympatheticMurderer]]: [[spoiler:Kills Alendi to prevent him from releasing Ruin and causing the end of the world.]]

!!Fedik

One of Alendi's Terris packmen. In his logbook, Alendi mentions that Fedik noticed a lake in the mountains. [[spoiler:After Rashek gained his powers at the Well of Ascension, he turned Fedik into a Kandra, allowing him to live forever.]]
----
* [[spoiler:BalefulPolymorph]]: [[spoiler:Was turned into a Kandra by Rashek. However, he wanted to become a Kandra so that he could be immortal.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Immortality}}]]: [[spoiler:As a Kandra, he will never die.]]
[[/folder]]

----

[[folder:Cosmeric Forces (Major Spoilers!)]]
!!Hoid
->"I am one of the best, my lord."

A mystery yet to be solved.
----
* BaldOfAwesome
* TheCameo: Essentially it's his entire role. He's been in every Cosmere book, but only briefly.
* CoolOldGuy
* TheInformant: Gives Kelsier some information in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.
* ObfuscatingDisability: He pretends to be half-blind so that Kelsier will let his guard down.

!!The Mist Spirit[=/=][[spoiler:Preservation]]
->"..."

A mysterious creature made out of mist, mentioned in the logbook Kelsier and Vin find. He seems to be reappearing, and has a strange connection to the mists. Whether he is friend or foe is unclear, but he does have strange habits.

[[spoiler:He is actually the living incarnation of Preservation, one of the two forces of creation who created the world long ago.]]

WordOfGod reveals that [[spoiler:he is actually a man called Leras who took the Preservation Shard, one of the 16 Shards of Adonalsium, each representing an aspect found in humans. Over time, the Shard's power overcame him, and he became completely driven to protect things.]]
----
* [[spoiler:AllPowerfulBystander]]: [[spoiler:Justified because initially all his power is tied up in keeping Ruin imprisoned and after Ruin gets out, one of his first acts is to kill the weakened Preservation's mind]].
* [[spoiler:AnthropomorphicPersonification]]: [[spoiler:Of preservation.]]
* [[spoiler:BigGood]]
* [[spoiler:TheChessmaster]]: [[spoiler:Preservation is the best Chessmaster in the whole GambitPileup. Culminates with Vin absorbing his power and using that to destroy Ruin, because while Preservation himself ''can't'' destroy, humans ''can'' because they are of both Preservation and Ruin.]]
* [[spoiler:GodIsDead]]: [[spoiler:But [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning His death is just the beginning]]]].
* [[spoiler:GodOfGood]]
* [[spoiler:TheManBehindTheMan]]: [[spoiler:A rare heroic example.]]
* [[spoiler:PhysicalGod]]
* [[spoiler:RedHerring]]: [[spoiler:Presented as a possible BigBad in ''The Well of Ascension''. In reality he's the BigGood, but circumstances made him look like a villain.]]
* [[spoiler:ThanatosGambit]]: [[spoiler:He knows that he's going to die, so he sets up Vin as the heir to his power.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: Just look at all the white text!

!![[spoiler:Ruin]]
->[[spoiler:"How do you like that? I killed him! I Ruined everything you love. I took it from you!"]]

[[spoiler:One of the two forces of creation that created Scadrial long ago. Ruin agreed to help Preservation create the human race, under the condition that he would eventually be granted the right to destroy all things. To prevent Ruin from accomplishing his goal, Preservation sealed him in the Well of Ascension, but he was released by Vin. He can manifest in the minds of people with Hemalurgic spikes. He is Zane's "God" and the voice of Reen in Vin's head.]]

WordOfGod confirms that [[spoiler:he was once a man named Ati, who took the Shard of Ruin into himself. Over time, he became completely controlled by the Shard and the desire to destroy.]]
----
* [[spoiler:AboveGoodAndEvil]]
* [[spoiler:AnthropomorphicPersonification]]: [[spoiler:[[CaptainObvious Of Ruin]]; that is to say, of entropy and destruction.]]
* [[spoiler:BadassBoast]]: [[spoiler:"I am mountains that crush. I am waves that crash. I am storms that scatter. I am ''the end.'' ...I am Ruin."]]
* [[spoiler:BigBad]]: [[spoiler:The true villain behind all the events of the ''Mistborn'' trilogy.]]
* [[spoiler:BreakThemByTalking]]
* [[spoiler:TheChessmaster]]
* [[spoiler:TheCorrupter]]: [[spoiler:To people who have hemalurgic spikes, with subtlety ranging from making them hold onto an item to convincing them to do morally dubious experimentation to simply urging them to kill everyone they meet. He's so good at this last one that he sometimes has to force his victims to ''not'' kill everyone they meet, as it is slowing them down.]]
* [[spoiler:[[EvilCannotComprehendGood Destruction Cannot Comprehend Life]]]]
* [[spoiler:DeadPersonImpersonation]]: [[spoiler:Pulls one of several people, notably Kelsier (to Spook and Quellion), the Lord Ruler (to Penrod), and Reen. Vin sees through the last pretty quickly, at least when it's more than just the voice.]]
* [[spoiler:EvilRedhead]]: [[spoiler:As a human, he had red hair. This is played with, because he was only evil as a Shardholder, and he didn't have a body then.]]
* [[spoiler:ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin]]
* [[spoiler:FaceHeelTurn]]: [[spoiler:He was once a kind and generous man, but due to his Shard's Intent he was corrupted and became nothing more than an instrument of destruction.]]
* [[spoiler:FakeMemories]]: [[spoiler:He is able to edit the contents of Copperminds, allowing him to create them.]]
* [[spoiler:HoistByHisOwnPetard]]: [[spoiler: When Ruin and Preservation worked together to create the world, they both put part of themselves into humanity, thus allowing humans to both preserve and destroy. Thus, when Vin absorbed Preservation's power (just as planned) she could use that same power to attack and destroy Ruin, unlike Preservation.]]
* [[spoiler:MadeOfEvil]]
* [[spoiler:TheManBehindTheMan]]
* [[spoiler:ManipulativeBastard]]
* [[spoiler:NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast]]
* [[spoiler:NiceJobFixingItVillain]]: [[spoiler:He could have prevented his eventual defeat simply by not forcing Marsh to read the message he intercepted from Spook.]]
* [[spoiler:OmnicidalManiac]]: [[spoiler:His very nature is the end of all things, and part of the bargain that allowed the two gods to create life at all stipulated that Ruin would eventually get to destroy it all.]]
* [[spoiler:OurGodsAreGreater]]
* [[spoiler:SealedEvilInACan]]: [[spoiler:''Two'' cans. His power is sealed in the Well of Ascension, and his body is atium... also known as ''the single most valuable substance in the Empire.'']]
* WalkingSpoiler: There's probably a [[spoiler:Shard]] of White Text.
* [[spoiler:WasOnceAMan]]: [[spoiler:Before he took the Shard of Ruin, he was a man named "Ati".]]
* [[spoiler:WeaksauceWeakness]]: [[spoiler:He can't see or directly affect words written in metal- a rather potent weakness, as his greatest success came from altering written records, especially prophecies. He also can't read minds, though he can influence them if the person has a Hemalurgic spike.]]

!![[spoiler:Harmony]]

[[spoiler:See "Sazed" under "Main Characters".]]
[[/folder]]
----

* {{Foil}}: In the annotations of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', Brandon [[WordOfGod states that me made Ham]] because he wanted a character to contrast Breeze.

* PowerNullifier: To an extent; as a Smoker, he's immune to emotional allomancy himself and can shield others from being detected by Seekers, but he can't interfere with other allomantic powers.

!!Tindwyl

A Terriswoman who arrives in Luthadel during ''The Well of Ascension''. She believes in things being "proper".

* [[spoiler:ThanatosGambit]]

* EmbarassingFirstName: [[spoiler:Claims that his name "Ladrian" is one, but it's actually a lie. In reality, he doesn't want anyone to connect him to a certain Lord Ladrian who mysteriously disappeared several years ago.]]

* BrokenBird: She gets better.

!!Lord Elend Venture

A young and idealistic noble who is the heir to the powerful Venture house. He meets Vin by chance, and grows quite close to her. [[spoiler:After the Lord Ruler is killed by Vin, he becomes King.]] Also, [[spoiler:as a result of consuming Lerasium, he becomes a Mistborn.]]

* [[spoiler:BadassBookworm]]
* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:He's Abel; Zane is Cain]].

* [[spoiler:TheGoodKing]]
* [[spoiler:GoOutWithASmile]]
* HeroicBSOD: In ''Hero of Ages'' he has a brief one before [[spoiler:Preservation]] manages to snap him out of it.
* NonActionGuy: [[spoiler: at least until the third book]]
* NotSoDifferent: In ''Hero of Ages'' he starts to realize his actions as emperor are very similar to what the Lord Ruler did to keep the empire intact.
* [[spoiler:OffWithHisHead]]: [[spoiler:Marsh lops his head off with an ax.]]
* {{Protectorate}}: To Vin.
* [[RebelliousPrincess Rebellious Prince]]
* ReplacementScrappy: Becomes one in-universe for [[spoiler:Kelsier]] after [[spoiler:he becomes king in Kelsier's place after the latter's death]].
* ShallowLoveInterest: He doesn't get much development in the first book, though when he becomes a POV character in books two and three, this changes.
* [[spoiler:TookALevelInBadass: Twice. First under Tindwyl's tutelage in ''Well of Ascension'', and then another after becoming Mistborn himself at the end of that book.]]
* [[spoiler:UnskilledButStrong: As a Mistborn, he's got more raw Allomantic power than anyone in the series short of the Lord Ruler himself- but he's also the first to admit that Vin has a far more subtle affinity for her powers]]. It turns out that his is because [[spoiler: he acquired his Mistborn powers directly from the same metal that was used to grant the ''original'', near-godlike Mistborn their powers by the Lord Ruler.]]
* WideEyedIdealist: Politically, at least.
* TheWisePrince

!!Dockson ("Dox")

A friend of Kelsier, and a member of his rebellion. He hates nobles, but not with the same fiery passion as Kelsier.
----
* BadassNormal
* DeadpanSnarker

!!Lord Straff Venture/[[spoiler:"King" Straff Venture]]
->"I set the fashion now, boy."

Elend's abusive father, who is also a Tineye.

In ''The Well of Ascension'', [[spoiler:he leads a massive army in an attempt to take over Luthadel.]]

[[/folder]]

* [[spoiler:NiceJobBreakingItHero]]: The ending of ''The Well Of Ascension''. Full stop.

* [[spoiler: RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Empress Vin is every bit as {{Badass}} as Vin the Mistborn insurgent was]]

* [[spoiler: TakingYouWithMe]]

* [[spoiler: MessianicArchetype]]

* [[spoiler: YinYangBomb]]

* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler: He's Abel; Zane is Cain]].

* ReplacementScrappy: Becomes one in-universe for [[spoiler: Kelsier]] after [[spoiler: he becomes king in Kelsier's place after the latter's death]].

* [[spoiler:UnskilledButStrong: As a Mistborn, he's got more raw allomantic power than anyone in the series short of the Lord Ruler himself- but he's also the first to admit that Vin has a far more subtle affinity for her powers]]. It turns out that his is because [[spoiler: he acquired his Mistborn powers directly from the same metal that was used to grant the ''original'', near-godlike Mistborn their powers by the Lord Ruler.]]

!!Breeze/[[spoiler:Ladrian]]

!!Quellion

(Also known as "The Citizen".) A man who wants to follow Kelsier's ways, which he does by executing nobles and Allomancers. He rules in Urteau.

* ArchnemesisDad: To Vin, his daughter [[spoiler: well, from her perspective. He doesn't even learn he ''has'' a daughter until the Inquisitors reveal her as their trump card]].

* [[spoiler: TheUnfought]]: He's ''exactly'' the kind of character you'd expect a dramatic confrontation against, but [[spoiler: the Inquisitors get to him before Vin does...]]

* [[spoiler:SmallRoleBigImpact]]: [[spoiler:Gets the Canton of Inquisition power over the Steel Ministry, paving the way for Marsh's rise.]]

* TheRival: He has a rivalry with Kelsier, and they battle several times throughout the first book.

!!Captain Goradel

A soldier from Luthadel who joins Vin at the climax of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.

* [[spoiler:BigDamnHeroes]]: [[spoiler:Shows up with Elend in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'' when they go to save Vin from the Lord Ruler.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Marsh offs him in ''The Hero of Ages''.]]
* MookFaceTurn
* [[spoiler:SmallRoleBigImpact]]: [[spoiler:He's a very minor character, but he is pivotal to saving the world on two separate occasions.]]

!!Kurdon
->"My lord?"

A taskmaster working for Lord Tresting. His role on the plantation is to make sure the Skaa are doing their duties well. He beats them if they don't meet his expectations. Kelsier blows him up at the end of the prologue of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.
----

* ArchnemesisDad: To Vin, his daughter.

* [[spoiler: {{Immortality}}: The same way as the Lord Ruler; in fact, he's still alive three hundred years later in the sequel]].

The main character of the series. Vin is a Mistborn, a special type of Allomancer who can use the powers of all the metals. This is because she is the bastard child of a Skaa woman and Lord Prelan Tevidian [[spoiler:Tekial]], the leader of the Steel Ministry. At first, she is the member of a thieving crew, but Kelsier recruits her to his rebellion. For some strange reason, she has powers unlike any Mistborn ever before.

* HeroicBastard: She's the child of a Skaa prostitute and Tevidian [[spoiler:Tekial]], the leader of the Obligators.

* [[spoiler:PhysicalGod]]

* [[spoiler: ChosenOne: "I am, unfortunately, the Hero of Ages."]]

!!Straff Venture

!!Shan Elariel

!!Ashweather Cett

The king of Fadrex, Cett left his city after [[spoiler:hearing about Straff Venture's siege of Luthadel. Fearing that Straff would take the atium within the city, Cett besieged Luthadel himself, wanting to take the atium and increase his wealth.]]

!!Jastes Lekal

!!Melend Liese

A Mistborn of the Geffenry house, and an excellent knife fighter. The Geffenry house had been petitioning for a stronger alliance with House Tekial around the time of Lord Charrs Entrone's death. Because Crews was gambling against Charrs on the night of his death, Kelsier believes that Crews will become a suspect in the murder of Lord Charrs.

!!Lord Prelan Tevidian [[spoiler:Tekial]]

* [[spoiler:AlliterativeName]]: [[spoiler:Tevidian Tekial certainly is one.]]

* ShadowArchetype: To Kelsier [[spoiler: and Spook, too]].

->Lord Entrone, in particular, would not be missed. He was infamous for his twisted sense of please.

!![=TenSoon=]

!!Vin/Lady Valette Renoux

* [[spoiler: AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence]]: [[spoiler: Near the end of ''Hero of Ages,'' Sazed claims Ruin and Preservation and ascends to godhood. By ''Alloy of Law,'' he is known as Harmony.]]

!!Elend Venture

!!Lord Renoux (Impostor)/[[spoiler:[=OreSeur=]]]

[[/folder]]

The main character of the series. Vin is a Mistborn, a special type of Allomancer who can use the powers of all the metals. This is because she is the bastard child of a Skaa woman and Lord Prelan Tevidian Tekial, the leader of the Steel Ministry. At first, she is the member of a thieving crew, but Kelsier recruits her to his rebellion. For some strange reason, she has powers unlike any Mistborn ever before.

* HeroicBastard: She's the child of a Skaa prostitute and Tevidian Tekial, the leader of the Obligators.

!!Lord Renoux

!!Lord Prelan Tevidian Tekial

!!Vin

One of the most legendary man known to the Skaa. Before the trilogy began, Kelsier was the greatest Crewleader any Skaa had known. Together with his wife Mare, he led daring heists and gained great renown. However, during an attempt to rob the Lord Ruler, he and his wife were captured and sent to work in the Pits of Hathsin, the Lord Ruler's Atium mine. After being a slave to the Final Empire for many years, Kelsier was Allomantically Snapped by the death of Mare. Awakening as a Mistborn, he used his powers to escape the Pits of Hathsin, which was said to be impossible. This feat earned him the title "The Survivor of Hathsin".

!![=OreSeur=] (False Lord Renoux)

A Kandra (a creature who can impersonate anyone by eating their bones) hired by Kelsier as part of his rebellion. [[spoiler:His true purpose is to impersonate Kelsier and make people believe that he's not dead.]]

* TheBlob: In his true form, just like every other Kandra.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: His race's ability to assume the form of living creatures after absorbing their bones makes him very good at this. [[spoiler:Gets reversed when he is killed and impersonated.]]

* {{Squick}}: [[invoked]] His need to eat someone before he can imitate them ''really'' bothers Vin. [[spoiler:Especially how he ate Kelsier.]]

* VoluntaryShapeshifting

!!Camon

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Though he apparently became quite ruthless, he always remained dedicated to helping the world and ''not'' taking up the power of the Well of Ascension for himself. [[spoiler: Which is why Ruin chose him in the first place]].

* [[spoiler:BigBad]]

[[folder:The Final Empire]]
!!The Lord Ruler
->"How dare you? After what I gave you? I made you superior to regular men! I made you dominant!"
-->-- The Lord Ruler to [[spoiler:Marsh]]

The immortal tyrant who rules the Final Empire. All-powerful and invincible, he is revered as God. He apparently defeated The Deepness in the past. After doing so, he somehow gained god-like powers, and used them to conquer the world. He calls himself "The Sliver of Infinity" because he is apparently only a small part of God. He is the main villain of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.

[[spoiler:He is Rashek, packman of the so-called Hero of Ages, Alendi. He killed Alendi and took the power of the Well of Ascension for himself.]]

[[spoiler:His deeds were at the instruction of his uncle Kwaan, who was trying to stop Alendi from unleashing Ruin, the incarnation of destruction.]]

* [[spoiler:AchillesHeel]]: [[spoiler:He is one of the deadliest magic users in the series, but without his Atiumminds he's toast.]]
* AGodAmI
* [[spoiler:AntiVillain]]
* BigBad: As the evil tyrant ruling the Final Empire, he serves this role. [[spoiler:But he's not the real villain. Not by a long shot.]]
* BladeOnAStick: Uses one to [[spoiler:kill Kelsier.]]
* [[spoiler:CrazyPrepared[=/=]SurvivalistStash]]: [[spoiler:The supply caches and shelters he built across the Final Empire in case of his death.]]
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: [[spoiler:Straight up kills Kelsier, remembers to remove all Vin's metal supplies when he captures her, executes any underlings who could potentially turn on him, hides the source of his power, and has strict laws that he uses to prevent his defeat.]] There's a reason this guy has been successfully ruling for over a thousand years.
* [[spoiler:DeadPersonImpersonation]]: [[spoiler:Everyone thinks he's Alendi.]]
* [[spoiler:DiscOneFinalBoss]]
* TheDreaded
* EvilOverlord
* [[spoiler:FromNobodyToNightmare]]: [[spoiler:He went from a packman to a legendary tyrant.]]
* GodEmperor
* GodIsEvil: What the skaa certainly think, and with good reason. [[spoiler:The truth's a bit more complicated. He really does mean well and his harshness is arguably necessary, but Ruin's been attacking his mind for the last thousand years. And it's getting to him.]]
* HealingFactor: He has unlimited regeneration powers [[spoiler:thanks to the Feruchemic applications of gold.]]
* [[spoiler:HeroWithAnFInGood]]: [[spoiler:Behold, the BigGood of the series!]]
* ImplacableMan
* [[spoiler:MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning]]
* [[spoiler:NiceJobFixingItVillain]]
* [[spoiler:NoImmortalInertia]]: [[spoiler:After Vin removes his Atiumminds, he rapidly ages until he is as old as he should be. It makes sense considering the magic system.]]
* PhotographicMemory: In an early chapter of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'', he is said to have one. [[spoiler:He actually just uses his copperminds to hold memories until he needs them.]]
* PhysicalGod
* ShroudedInMyth: A large part of the series deals with finding out what kind of man the Lord Ruler really was, and where the man ends and the myth begins.
* [[spoiler:SpikesOfVillainy]]: [[spoiler:Utilizes Hemalurgy.]]
* [[spoiler:StoryBreakerPower]]: [[spoiler:He's a Lerasium-made Mistborn, so he has complete and undiluted Allomantic power. He's also a Feruchemist, and he knows how to use Allomancy and Feruchemistry together to create an infinite loop of Feruchemic power. This grants him immortality, regeneration, and numerous abilities that he can use in a pinch. If that wasn't enough, he has Hemalurgy as well, making him a master of all the magic systems on Scadrial.]]
* [[spoiler:SympatheticMurderer]]: [[spoiler:He killed Alendi, but he had to do it to protect the world.]]
* [[spoiler:WellIntentionedExtremist]]
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Unusually, both inverted and played straight. WordOfGod is that [[spoiler:Rashek actually grew as a person as a result of acquiring and being forced to responsibly use godlike power; pity that the hemalurgy he used brought him into telepathic contact with Ruin, who wormed his way inside his head and drove him to increasingly brutal, irrational, and tyrannical actions in the name of the greater good]].
* WorldsStrongestMan: Easily takes to the cake for the series.

!!Shan Elariel

Elend's fiance. She's a soother, and is arrogant and manipulative. [[spoiler:Actually she's a Mistborn with a hidden agenda.]]

* AlphaBitch: She's in a court, rather than school, setting, but otherwise fits the trope to a "t" [[spoiler:though she's rather more dangerous than most]].
* [[spoiler:DarkActionGirl]]
* [[spoiler:KnifeNut]]
* MurderTheHypotenuse: Not Vin's intention, but Shan ''was'' Elend's fiancee, and [[spoiler: Elend does make a dark joke along these lines in ''Hero of Ages'', mentioning that Vin married him after killing his fiancee, his [[AbusiveParents father]], his [[CainAndAbel brother]] and [[GodEmperor his god]], to boot]].
* [[spoiler: NotSoHarmless]]
* TheReveal: For most of her appearances, she's built up as practically a female [[HarryPotter Draco Malfoy]]- arrogant, obnoxious, and annoying, but ultimately harmless. [[spoiler: Then it turns out she's a Mistborn nearly as powerful as Vin]].
* RichBitch

!!Straff Venture
->"I set the fashion now, boy."

Elend's abusive father, who is also a Tineye.

In ''The Well of Ascension'', [[spoiler:he leads a massive army in an attempt to take over Luthadel.]]
----

!!Zane [[spoiler:Venture]]
-> "You were supposed to save me!"

A mysterious Mistborn in ''The Well of Ascension''. He haunts the nights, having Allomantic duels with Vin. [[spoiler:He's House Venture's hidden assassin.]]

* AxCrazy: But not quite for the reasons he thinks. [[spoiler: He thinks he is crazy because he hears voices in his head- until the voice in his head tells him he isn't crazy, because the voice in his head is very, very real. On the other hand, he's still an emotionally unstable, sociopathic StalkerWithACrush, so he still qualifies, just not for the reason he thinks.]]
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Straff puts up with Zane's constant attempts to kill him and his madness because otherwise he won't have a Mistborn. [[spoiler: Turns out Zane hardly ever actually tried to kill him; not only were his few attempts half-hearted, they were actually withdrawl symptoms, the result of Straff being an ignorant drug addict- ignorant in that the drug was the "antidote" his WomanScorned servant had been giving him over the years to cure what he thought were Zane's poisoning attempts, which were usually either somebody ''else's'' poisoning attempts, or all in Straff's head to begin with.]]
* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:He's Cain, Elend is Abel]].
* TheCorrupter: Tries to convince Vin to abandon Elend because Mistborn like them don't need to serve others; they should stand apart from them, and be above them.
* CrazyPrepared
* TheDragon: To Straff.
** DragonWithAnAgenda
** CoDragons: With Janarle.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler: He doesn't kill his father because "a man shouldn't kill his own father", even though Straff has been a horrible parent and had just tried to kill ''him''.]]
* HearingVoices: ''Kill him''. "Him" being everyone he meets.[[spoiler: Except Vin, which is why he thinks [[StalkerWithACrush she is the only one who can save him.]] But its really because the voice in his head is real, and has plans for her.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: Much, much more subtle about it than Straff is, though that isn't really difficult since Straff has all the subtly of a sledgehammer in nearly everything he does.
* MightMakesRight: Believes that Mistborn are just plain better than everyone else, though he doesn't really desire to lord over others even if he thinks they should treat him like a god.
* NotSoDifferent: See ShadowArchetype.
* PoisonousFriend: To Vin.
* PsychoForHire: Deconstructed. Zane's a violently insane CareerKiller, but he regards his insanity as a major flaw and tries to overcome it. [[spoiler: He fails]].
* SanityHasAdvantages: He certainly thinks so, and feels he has to compensate for his self-admitted insanity.
* ShadowArchetype: To Vin.
* TheSociopath
* StalkerWithACrush
* TheStarscream: Subverted. He continually pretends to try and kill Straff, because that's what Straff expects, but he has no real desire to do it- he muses to himself that if he did, Straff would already be ''dead''.
* [[spoiler:UnwittingPawn: The voice in his head isn't just in his head.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity
* WorthyOpponent

!!Janarle

Straff Venture's second in command. [[spoiler:He becomes one of the three kings under Elend Venture.]]
----

!!Straff's Obligator
->"If there has been any ''real'' worries about your actions, a Steel Inquisitor would have been sent here in my place."

An Obligator employed by Straff Venture. He is visiting Lord Tresting in the prologue of book one, but Kelsier kills him in his assault on Lord Tresting's manor.

* AssholeVictim
* TheDragon: To Straff Venture, but then Kelsier offs him.
* KilledOffForReal
* NoNameGiven: He dies before we learn his name.
* SinisterMinister

!!Lord Aradan Yomen

An Obligator from Urteau who was Cett's political rival. When Cett left Fadrex to [[spoiler:besiege Luthadel]], he takes over.

* AntiVillain
* BadassBookworm
* TheChessmaster: Barring the Lord Ruler and [[spoiler:Ruin]] themselves, he's probably the smartest "bad guy" in the series.
* CombatClairvoyance: [[spoiler: Well, he is an atium Misting]].
* GreyAndGreyMorality: He and Elend both make good points, and considering the circumstances are both pretty justified in their actions- Yomen just has incomplete information.
* HesJustHiding: [[invoked]]His opinion regarding the Lord Ruler- since obviously a god can't be killed, he must have ''let'' the skaa overthrow him as part of some {{plan}}. Yomen spends a lot of ''Hero of Ages'' trying to figure out just what that plan is.
* [[spoiler: HeelFaceTurn]]
* NotSoDifferent: He's basically Elend, if Elend had been an Obligator.
* WorthyOpponent: Again, he's Elend's intellectual equal, and the two of them actually enjoy their philosophical sparring, though their larger conflict is very serious.

!!Captain Goradel

A soldier from Luthadel who joins Vin at the climax of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.
----
* [[spoiler:BigDamnHeroes]]: [[spoiler:Shows up with Elend in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'' when they go to save Vin from the Lord Ruler.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Marsh offs him in ''The Hero of Ages''.]]
* MookFaceTurn
* [[spoiler:SmallRoleBigImpact]]: [[spoiler:He's a very minor character, but he is pivotal to saving the world on two separate occasions.]]

!!Lord Themos Tresting
->"One would think that a thousand years working in the fields would have bred them to be a little more effective at it."

One of the nobles of the Final Empire.
----

!!Kurdon
->"My lord?"

A taskmaster working for Lord Tresting.

* AssholeVictim
* TheDragon: To Lord Tresting.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Dies when Kelsier assaults Lord Tresting's manor.

!!Lord Renoux

One of the nobles of the Final Empire. Kelsier offs him before the story begins. For the Kandra impersonating him, see "[=OreSeur=]".
----

!!Lord Prelan Tevidian Tekial
->"What does a Skaa girl have to do with the government of the Ministry?"

The leader of the Obligators, and a dutiful member of the Final Empire. He usually sticks to the laws, except for the one time when he inadvertently fathered a child. He is Vin's father.

* ArchnemesisDad: To Vin, his daughter.
* AristocratsAreEvil: He had to give up his noble status to become an Obligator. Not that it made him less evil.
* [[spoiler:AssholeVictim]]
* BaldOfEvil
* [[spoiler:CurbStompBattle]]: [[spoiler:He gets attacked by six Steel Inquisitors. You can tell how it turns out.]]
* TheDragon: To The Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:That is, until the Lord Ruler kills him.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]
* TheLeader: He leads the Obligators.
* MinorMajorCharacter: He has very little screen time, but holds a very high position.
* NonActionGuy: As a member of the government, he doesn't care much for fighting.
* [[spoiler:OhCrap]]: [[spoiler:When Vin tells the Lord Ruler that he is her father.]]
* SinisterMinister
* SmugSnake
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown]]: [[spoiler:When Kar is trying to have him executed for having a Skaa daughter.]]

!!Kar
->"By allowing common men to rule your Ministry, you have unwittingly allowed corruption and vice to enter the very heart of your holy place."

The leader of the Steel Inquisitors. For many years, he has been plotting to gain control of the Steel Ministry. He also [[spoiler:tortured Reen until he died.]]

* [[spoiler:AchillesHeel]]: [[spoiler:He dies when his spikes are removed by Marsh.]]
* AnAxeToGrind
* BaldOfEvil
* [[spoiler:BloodMagic]]: [[spoiler:Hemalurgy, the magic art used to make him into a Steel Inquisitor.]]
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Spent years manipulating The Lord Ruler into granting the Canton of Inquisition power over the Steel Ministry. It backfires horribly for everyone involved.]]
* [[spoiler:TheDragon]]: [[spoiler:Becomes this to The Lord Ruler after Tevidian is deposed.]]
* EyeScream: To become a Steel Inquisitor, he had to have spikes stuck into his eyes.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has some scars after being shot full of arrows.
* HealingFactor: He gets shot full of arrows, but is able to heal from them. [[spoiler:It's because of his Hemalurgy.]]
* {{Immortality}}: He has been alive for two hundred years. [[spoiler:As Marsh proves, immortality and invincibility are not the same thing.]]
* ImplacableMan
* [[spoiler:ItsPersonal]]: [[spoiler:This guy killed Vin's brother. Like hell it's personal.]]
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Marsh kills him by pulling out his spikes.]]
* SlasherSmile: Has one when he [[spoiler:leads Vin to the Lord Ruler as part of his plan to take control of the Steel Ministry.]]
* [[spoiler:SmallRoleBigImpact]]: [[spoiler:Gets the Canton of Inquisition power over the Steel Ministry, paving the way for Marsh's rise.]]
* SmugSnake
* SpikesOfVillainy: [[spoiler:They serve a purpose, that being giving him the power of Hemalurgy.]]

!!Bendal

One of the Steel Inquisitors. He was sent by High Priest Arriev to kill Camon's crew, but Kelsier led him off their trail.

* AnAxeToGrind
* AxCrazy
* ChekhovsGunman: He seems to drop out of the plot after Kelsier prevents him from killing Camon's crew, but then he [[spoiler:kidnaps Spook, [=OreSeur=], and a bunch of Skaa.]]
* [[spoiler:DefeatingTheUndefeatable]]: [[spoiler:Everyone thought that being a Steel Inquisitor made him unstoppable. Kelsier proves them wrong.]]

* EyeScream: Has two spikes shoved through his eyes.
* [[spoiler:HoistByHisOwnPetard]]: [[spoiler:Kelsier chops his head off with his own axe.]]
* ImplacableMan: [[spoiler:But he's still vulnerable to decapitation, as Kelsier proves.]]
* [[spoiler:KarmicDeath]]
* [[spoiler:OffWithHisHead]]: [[spoiler:Kelsier kills him by decapitating him.]]
* TheRival: He has a rivalry with Kelsier, and they battle several times throughout the first book.
* SpikesOfVillainy
* [[spoiler:SuicidalOverconfidence]]: [[spoiler:His taunting of Kelsier leads to his death.]]

!!Prelan Laird

An Obligator who met with Camon to discuss a transport deal. In reality, the transport deal was a scheme made by Camon and Theodar.

* NoSell: He is able to shrug off Vin's emotional Allomancy thanks to his training.
* SinisterMinister: Subverted. Unlike the other Obligators, he seems quite pleasant.

!!High Prelan Arriev

An Obligator who met with Camon to discuss a "transport deal" (in reality a scam by Camon). He was actually meeting with Camon to investigate Laird's report of emotional Allomancy. He sends Bendal to kill Camon and his crew.
----

!!Melend Liese

A young noble.

* CasanovaWannabe

!!The Hazekillers

Soldiers of The Lord Ruler who are equipped to counter Allomancy.

* EliteMooks
* NoSell: What happens when you use Allomancy on them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other Modern Day Characters]]
!!Tindwyl

A Terriswoman who arrives in Luthadel during ''The Well of Ascension''. She believes in things being "proper".

* CoolOldLady
* CynicalMentor: To Elend.
* DeadpanSnarker: She can even give Vin a run for her money in this regard.
* DrillSergeantNasty: Elend finds out the hard way. It's explicitly stated she's like this to him because as an idealistic nobleman's son, she feels he needs to be hit over the head with reality before he can become a good leader. She's much nicer to Vin, based on the fact that Vin's been the target of physical and emotional abuse for good chunks of her life and what ''she'' needs is confidence and self-worth.
* GoodIsNotNice
* [[spoiler:MentorOccupationalHazard]]
* SternTeacher

!![=TenSoon=]

A Kandra employed by the Venture family.

* [[spoiler:ApologeticAttacker]]: [[spoiler:He apologizes to Vin when he reveals his true allegiances.]]
* TheBlob: In his true form.
* [[spoiler:CanineCompanion]]: [[spoiler:Forced to be one for Vin when impersonating [=OreSeur=].]]
* DeadPersonImpersonation: His race's ability to assume the form of living creatures after absorbing their bones makes him very good at this, [[spoiler:and his Dead Kandra Impersonation isn't too shabby either.]]
* [[spoiler:TheDogWasTheMastermind]]: [[spoiler:Both literally and as the trope definition states, given that he was impersonating [=OreSeur=].]]
* [[spoiler:FantasticRacism]]: [[spoiler:He feels this as a result of the way humans treat him. Vin helps him change.]]
* [[spoiler:HeelFaceTurn]]: [[spoiler:He comes to like and respect Vin after spending time with her. This leads to him going over to her side during her final battle with Zane.]]
* [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice]]: [[spoiler:Pulls his spikes out to stop Ruin from controlling him.]]
* TheMole: In ''The Well of Ascension'', he kills and impersonates someone in Luthadel. [[spoiler:It turns out to be [=OreSeur=].]]
* [[spoiler:NotSoDifferent]]: [[spoiler:When Vin tells him of her experiences as a member of a thieving crew, he realizes the experience isn't that different from having to follow the Kandra Contract. Leads to an OddFriendship of sorts.]]
* [[spoiler:OddFriendship]]: [[spoiler:With Vin after he warms up to her.]]
* SpikesOfVillainy: All Kandra have spikes in them. Since he's a bad guy Kandra, his spikes are evil. [[spoiler:Later the trope doesn't apply, as he has a HeelFaceTurn.]]
* {{Squick}}: [[invoked]] [[spoiler:His need to eat someone before he can imitate them ''really'' bothers Vin.]]
* [[spoiler:TalkingAnimal]]: [[spoiler:When using a wolfhound body.]]
* [[spoiler:TurnedAgainstTheirMasters]]: [[spoiler:Turns on Zane so that he can save Vin.]]
* VoluntaryShapeshifting
* WalkingSpoiler: It's pretty much impossible to talk about him without revealing who he was impersonating. [[spoiler:It was [=OreSeur=] if you were wondering.]] Then there's the matter of his [[spoiler:turn to the side of the good guys.]]

!![=KanPaar=]

The leader of the second generation of Kandra.

* [[spoiler:AssholeVictim]]
* DeadPersonImpersonation: It's his job, as a Kandra.
* [[spoiler:DemonicPossession]]: [[spoiler:Ruin takes control of him because of his Hemalurgic spike.]]
* [[spoiler:DirtyCoward]]: [[spoiler:Steals some Atium and flees the Kandra homeland when Ruin's army attacks.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe
* {{Jerkass}}
* TheLeader: Of the second generation of Kandra.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat
* SmugSnake
* SpikesOfVillainy
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: It comes with being a Kandra.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pre-Ascension Characters]]
!!Alendi
->"Sometimes I worry that I'm not the hero everyone thinks I am."

The so-called "Hero of Ages", declared as such by Kwaan. Although he started off as an idealistic youth, but became cynical during his quest to defeat The Deepness. Although the prophecies said that he needed to give up the power at the Well of Ascension, he used it for himself instead, becoming the Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:Except he didn't. He was killed by his packman Rashek, who went on to take the power and become the Lord Ruler.]] Author of the epigraphs in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.

* AngstDissonance: In-universe- Vin thinks he's far too angsty to have become an EvilOverlord. [[spoiler:She's right. He was killed by his packman Rashek.]]
* BigBad: As the Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:Or not, as Rashek became the Lord Ruler.]]
* TheChainsOfCommanding: Experiences them as he takes over the world.
* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:Subverted in that he was killed by Rashek before he did what he was Chosen to do. Then deconstructed when it was revealed he was only chosen in the first place because of Ruin screwing with the prophecies]].
* [[spoiler:DeadAllAlong]]: [[spoiler:Rashek killed him before he could reach the Well of Ascension. He was never the Lord Ruler.]]
* {{Expy}}: Of any number of generic ChosenOne types, but in particular he resembles [[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Rand al'Thor]]- which became HilariousInHindsight when Sanderson was contracted to finish WheelOfTime.
* FaceHeelTurn: He went from a very good man to '''''The Lord Ruler'''''. [[spoiler:Actually he didn't. Everyone thinks that the Lord Ruler is him, but it's actually Rashek.]]
* FallenHero: He was once a good man, but he became the Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:Actually, while he came dangerously close, he never fell to darkness. Rashek killed him because he was still such a good man that he would play right into Ruin's intangible hands.]]
* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: He continually reminds us of this in his logbook.
* [[spoiler:PosthumousCharacter]]: [[spoiler:He's actually been dead the whole time.]]
* StartOfDarkness: His logbook tells how he went from the man he was to the Lord Ruler. [[spoiler:Subverted, because he was never the Lord Ruler, and though he was heading towards dark territory he never fully jumped off the slippery slope before he was killed]].
* [[spoiler:UnwittingPawn]]: [[spoiler:He was being manipulated by Ruin, who sought to free himself from the Well of Ascension. Fortunately, Rashek killed him before he could make things worse.]]
* {{Wangst}}: [[invoked]] His journal is full of it, in Vin's opinion.
* WarriorPoet
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Though he apparently became quite ruthless, he always remained dedicated to helping the world and ''not'' taking up the power of the Well of Ascension for himself. [[spoiler: Which is why Ruin chose him in the first place]].

!!Kwaan
->"My name is Kwaan. Philosopher, scholar, traitor. I am the one who started this all."

The Terrisman prophet who originally declared Alendi to be the Hero of Ages. Later, he turned against Alendi, being the only Terrisman prophet to dispute Alendi's claim to be the Hero of Ages. (Major ''The Well of Ascension'' ending spoilers.) [[spoiler:He ordered his nephew Rashek to kill Alendi and prevent him from accidentally releasing Ruin at the Well of Ascension.]] Author of the epigraphs in ''The Well of Ascension''.

* AscendedExtra: Was mentioned several times in the epigraphs of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''. In ''The Well of Ascension'', he is the author of the Epigraphs, allowing us his point of view on things.
* [[spoiler:CassandraTruth]]: [[spoiler:Nobody believed him when he claimed that Alendi was in fact, not the Hero.]]
* {{Determinator}}: [[spoiler:Deconstructed. His burning desire to prove that Alendi was the Hero of Ages allowed Ruin to manipulate the Terris prophecies for his own purposes. Had Kwaan not set up countermeasures, Alendi would have released Ruin.]]
* [[spoiler:ItsAllMyFault]]: [[spoiler:Gains this attitude when he sets to the world on the fast track to destruction. It really is.]]
* [[spoiler:MyGodWhatHaveIDone]]: [[spoiler:His reaction when he put the pieces together and realized that Ruin was manipulating the prophecies.]]
* [[spoiler:NiceJobBreakingItHero]]:
** [[spoiler:By declaring Alendi to be the Hero of Ages, he paved the way for Ruin's release.]]
** [[spoiler:Sending his nephew Rashek to stop Alendi worked, but it led to Rashek becoming a tyrannical maniac.]]
* PhotographicMemory: He can remember things perfectly without even needing to use a Coppermind. [[spoiler:That's good, because Ruin is able to edit Copperminds.]]
* [[spoiler:PrideBeforeAFall]]: [[spoiler:He was already starting to have his doubts about Alendi being the Hero of Ages when the other Terris decided to agree with his views. He notes that it was his pride that kept him from doing the right thing.]]
* [[spoiler:TheManBehindTheMan]]: [[spoiler:He was the one who gave Rashek his mission.]]
* [[spoiler:UnwittingPawn]]: [[spoiler:To Ruin. But then he wises up.]]

!!Rashek
->"It amazes me that anyone would give heed to a man who speaks such hatred."
-->-Alendi on Rashek

Alendi's packman. A Terrisman who hates the fact that the Hero of Ages was not from Terris. [[spoiler:He kills Alendi and becomes the Lord Ruler. See the "Final Empire" section for more information on him.]] As revealed in ''The Well of Ascension'', [[spoiler:Kwaan is his uncle.]]

* [[spoiler:BigBad: As the Lord Ruler.]] [[spoiler:But then it turns out that he was actually a good guy.]]
* [[spoiler:BigGood: As the Lord Ruler. Yes, really.]]
* CassandraTruth:
** His hatred of Alendi becomes more tragic and sympathetic when you finish part two of ''Mistborn: The Final Empire'' and learn that Alendi became '''''The Lord Ruler'''''. [[spoiler:Then it becomes less so when you learn that Rashek actually killed Alendi. He was the Lord Ruler all along.]]
** [[spoiler:He was right to not want Alendi to reach the Well of Ascension. If Alendi had gotten the power, he would have doomed the world.]]
** [[spoiler:You know how he always said that the Hero of Ages should be a Terrisman? No one would listen to him, but his claims were completely correct. The true Hero was from Terris.]]
* [[spoiler:ChekhovsGunman]]: [[spoiler:The real Lord Ruler.]]
* FantasticRacism: Believes that the Terris people are superior to everyone else on Scadrial.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler:Rashek is mentioned to be very handsome and interested in suits. The Lord Ruler also has those characteristics.]]
* GreenEyedMonster: He is jealous of Alendi, due to his belief that the Hero of Ages should have been a Terrisman. [[spoiler:Vin thinks this is why he killed him, but she was wrong.]]
* {{Jerkass}}
* [[spoiler:NotSoSmallRole]]: [[spoiler:Thought he was some random jerk from the past? Nope. He's the ''real'' Lord Ruler.]]
* [[spoiler:PhysicalGod]]: [[spoiler:He was one during the five minute period in which he held the power of Preservation.]]
* [[spoiler:SympatheticMurderer]]: [[spoiler:Kills Alendi to prevent him from releasing Ruin and causing the end of the world.]]

!!Fedik

One of Alendi's Terris packmen. In his logbook, Alendi mentions that Fedik noticed a lake in the mountains. [[spoiler:After Rashek gained his powers at the Well of Ascension, he turned Fedik into a Kandra, allowing him to live forever.]]

* [[spoiler:BalefulPolymorph]]: [[spoiler:Was turned into a Kandra by Rashek. However, he wanted to become a Kandra so that he could be immortal.]]
* [[spoiler:{{Immortality}}]]: [[spoiler:As a Kandra, he will never die.]]

[[folder:Cosmeric Forces (Major Spoilers!)]]
!!Hoid

A mystery yet to be solved.

* TheCameo: Essentially it's his entire role. He's been in every Cosmere book, but only briefly.
* TheInformant: Gives Kelsier some information in ''Mistborn: The Final Empire''.

!!The Mist Spirit[=/=][[spoiler:Preservation]]
->"..."

A mysterious creature made out of mist, mentioned in the logbook Kelsier and Vin find. He seems to be reappearing, and has a strange connection to the mists. Whether he is friend or foe is unclear, but he does have strange habits.

[[spoiler:He is actually the living incarnation of Preservation, one of the two forces of creation who created the world long ago.]]

WordOfGod reveals that [[spoiler:he is actually a man called Leras who took the Preservation Shard, one of the 16 Shards of Adonalsium, each representing an aspect found in humans. Over time, the Shard's power overcame him, and he became completely driven to protect things.]]

* [[spoiler:AllPowerfulBystander]]: [[spoiler:Justified because initially all his power is tied up in keeping Ruin imprisoned and after Ruin gets out, one of his first acts is to kill the weakened Preservation's mind]].
* [[spoiler:AnthropomorphicPersonification]]: [[spoiler:Of preservation.]]
* [[spoiler:BigGood]]
* [[spoiler:TheChessmaster]]: [[spoiler:Preservation is the best Chessmaster in the whole GambitPileup. Culminates with Vin absorbing his power and using that to destroy Ruin, because while Preservation himself ''can't'' destroy, humans ''can'' because they are of both Preservation and Ruin.]]
* [[spoiler:GodIsDead]]: [[spoiler:But [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning His death is just the beginning]]]].
* [[spoiler:GodOfGood]]
* [[spoiler:TheManBehindTheMan]]: [[spoiler:A rare heroic example.]]
* [[spoiler:PhysicalGod]]
* [[spoiler:ThanatosGambit]]
* WalkingSpoiler: Just look at all the white text!

!![[spoiler:Ruin]]
->[[spoiler:"How do you like that? I killed him! I Ruined everything you love. I took it from you!"]]

[[spoiler:One of the two forces of creation that created Scadrial long ago. Ruin agreed to help Preservation create the human race, under the condition that he would eventually be granted the right to destroy all things. To prevent Ruin from accomplishing his goal, Preservation sealed him in the Well of Ascension, but he was released by Vin. He can manifest in the minds of people with Hemalurgic spikes. He is Zane's "God" and the voice of Reen in Vin's head.]]

WordOfGod confirms that [[spoiler:he was once a man named Ati, who took the Shard of Ruin into himself. Over time, he became completely controlled by the Shard and the desire to destroy.]]

* [[spoiler:AboveGoodAndEvil]]
* [[spoiler:AnthropomorphicPersonification]]: [[spoiler:[[CaptainObvious Of Ruin]]; that is to say, of entropy and destruction.]]
* [[spoiler:BadassBoast]]: [[spoiler:"I am mountains that crush. I am waves that crash. I am storms that scatter. I am ''the end.'' ...I am Ruin."]]
* [[spoiler:BigBad]]
* [[spoiler:BreakThemByTalking]]
* [[spoiler:TheChessmaster]]
* [[spoiler:TheCorrupter]]: [[spoiler:To people who have hemalurgic spikes, with subtlety ranging from making them hold onto an item to convincing them to do morally dubious experimentation to simply urging them to kill everyone they meet. He's so good at this last one that he sometimes has to force his victims to ''not'' kill everyone they meet, as it is slowing them down.]]
* [[spoiler:[[EvilCannotComprehendGood Destruction Cannot Comprehend Life]]]]
* [[spoiler:DeadPersonImpersonation]]: [[spoiler:Pulls one of several people, notably Kelsier (to Spook and Quellion), the Lord Ruler (to Penrod), and Reen. Vin sees through the last pretty quickly, at least when it's more than just the voice.]]
* [[spoiler:EvilRedhead]]: [[spoiler:As a human, he had red hair. This is played with, because he was only evil as a Shardholder, and he didn't have a body then.]]
* [[spoiler:ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin]]
* [[spoiler:FaceHeelTurn]]: [[spoiler:He was once a kind and generous man, but due to his Shard's Intent he was corrupted and became nothing more than an instrument of destruction.]]
* [[spoiler:FakeMemories]]: [[spoiler:He is able to edit the contents of Copperminds, allowing him to create them.]]
* [[spoiler:HoistByHisOwnPetard]]: [[spoiler: When Ruin and Preservation worked together to create the world, they both put part of themselves into humanity, thus allowing humans to both preserve and destroy. Thus, when Vin absorbed Preservation's power (just as planned) she could use that same power to attack and destroy Ruin, unlike Preservation.]]
* [[spoiler:TheManBehindTheMan]]
* [[spoiler:ManipulativeBastard]]
* [[spoiler:NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast]]
* [[spoiler:NiceJobFixingItVillain]]: [[spoiler:He could have prevented his eventual defeat simply by not forcing Marsh to read the message he intercepted from Spook.]]
* [[spoiler:OmnicidalManiac]]: [[spoiler:His very nature is the end of all things, and part of the bargain that allowed the two gods to create life at all stipulated that Ruin would eventually get to destroy it all.]]
* [[spoiler:OurGodsAreGreater]]
* [[spoiler:SealedEvilInACan]]: [[spoiler:''Two'' cans. His power is sealed in the Well of Ascension, and his body is atium... also known as ''the single most valuable substance in the Empire.'']]
* WalkingSpoiler: There's probably a [[spoiler:Shard]] of White Text.
* [[spoiler:WasOnceAMan]]: [[spoiler:Before he took the Shard of Ruin, he was a man named "Ati".]]
* [[spoiler:WeaksauceWeakness]]: [[spoiler:He can't see or directly affect words written in metal- a rather potent weakness, as his greatest success came from altering written records, especially prophecies. He also can't read minds, though he can influence them if the person has a Hemalurgic spike.]]

!![[spoiler:Harmony]]

[[spoiler:See "Sazed" under "Main Characters".]]