This is for general chat about whatever you feel like talking about. It can be about the site or Mistborn, or have nothing to do with anything. As always, be sure to follow the rules.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Sub-boards: Debate, Entertainment, Scribes, Everything Else

Are you new to Steel Ministry? Post an introduction here so we can get to know you! Perhaps you need to stay off the site for a while; if so, let us know when you’ll be back. If, Lord Ruler forbid, you’re leaving forever, please tell us so that we can say goodbye!

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Sub-boards: Introduction, Leaving

Here, the gods Ruin and Preservation will determine the future of the site. Be afraid... be very afraid.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Sub-boards: Current Topics, Old Topics

In these boards you can get to know Preservation (Wolf Tears) and Ruin (Emere), as well as post questions, suggestions, requests, and anything else. We welcome suggestions and comments about our site since we are always striving to make it better.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Sub-boards: Preservation, Ruin

All incidents, however prolonged, must eventually run their course. Just as surely as the characters seen within must someday die, all threads will come to ruin in their time. Luckily, the memory of these events can be found here, preserved so that all may look back on the past, whether to learn from it or simply reminisce.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Sub-boards: Dead 'OOC', Dead 'Character', Dead ‘Central Dominance’, Dead ‘Luthadel’, Dead ‘Tathingdwen’, Dead ‘Kandra Homeland’

This board is for any character-related information other than biographies. All official lists can be found here, including a character directory and face claim. This is also where you can post character info threads, plot requests, and anything else revolving around your characters.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Useful for transportation of not just people but also supplies, reports, and commercial goods, the canals are a pivotal piece of the Final Empire’s infrastructure. Without them, trade and administration would not be impossible, but they would be severely slowed. Evidently, this makes the canal system popular among quite a number of groups, from atium shippers to skaa who pull boats- and even some rebels, who brave sometimes-heavy guard in attempts to disrupt the Empire’s business.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

With the exception of Kredik Shaw itself, the dwelling places of the Final Empire’s nobles are the best in the land, and no keeps are more impressive than those in the capital city. Nestled in the center of the urban regions, the manors of the ten highest-ranking noble families are the best of the best, architectural masterpieces that make up for their general lack of color with impressive swoops, spires, and other feats of stone. The others can be found scattered throughout the city, never too far from the center but not directly beside the major keeps. Though not nearly so grand, these smaller mansions still make striking figures against the backdrop of dull homes and businesses.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Just as the Lord Ruler is seen as the god of the Final Empire, his government bureaucracy- the Steel Ministry- is seen as his church. However, rather than acting as clergy, officials from the Ministry handle business, legal affairs, policing, and other administrative matters. Considered direct representatives of the Lord Ruler, the officials (known as obligators) are chosen from the nobles and must witness any legal transaction between noble houses for it to be considered legitimate.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Sub-boards: Canton of Orthodoxy Headquarters, Canton of Inquisition Headquarters, Canton of Resource Headquarters, Canton of Finance Headquarters

A city such as Luthadel would be a prime target for attack, if anyone was stupid enough to take on the Lord Ruler himself. Almost no one is, of course, and those who are tend to learn their place quickly, but even so, a huge wall surrounds the city’s perimeter. Perhaps it’s just for show, or a vestige of less stable times, but it still has its uses- primarily controlling trade and travel. Only eight entry points exist: the Gates of Luthadel, which represent the eight basic metals. Anyone who wants to enter or exit the city had best have a good reason, not to mention all their paperwork in order. The wall is defended by the Luthadel Garrison, a well-equipped and better-trained force of twenty thousand soldiers, and they don’t take well to trespassers....

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Seeing as Luthadel is the hub of all the Final Empire’s economic and legal activity, it only makes sense that the most major canal in the land, the River Channerel, should cut through it. Lined with docks, this important channel enters Luthadel between the Steel and Tin Gates in the north, then meanders down to exit between the southeastern Copper and Brass gates. Each day, boats sail through, bringing with them a flurry of activity: skaa loading and unloading goods, nobles arguing about prices, obligators checking suspicious-looking crates, and so forth.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Four large and beautiful fountains grace the center of this forbidding place. Under normal circumstances this could be a relaxing place (insofar as anywhere in this broken world can be relaxing), almost akin to a park, but its usual use belies that. Whatever the deed or rank of the offender may happen to be, all official executions take place here, and everyone in Luthadel- noble and skaa alike- is required to attend.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Most of the bodies within Luthadel at any given time are permanent residents; travel through the Final Empire is slow and costly, even with canals. Business does not pause for convenience, however, and as such there are always a fair number of visitors in town to deliver reports or sell their goods. This area of town houses almost all the places where these people can stay, ranging from classy hotels to passable inns to less-than-reputable but (usually!) survivable hostels.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

While not a high-tech nation by the standards of the twenty-first century, the Final Empire does manage a decent amount of manufacturing. Such industrialization is concentrated in this area of the city, where forges and refineries make the air difficult to breath but produce many needed weapons, tools, and other goods. Even factories can be found here, although they are quite uncommon- not to mention very simple, no more complex than textile factories. Some food is also sent here to be refined in mills, which are all located near the edges of the region. Everything done here is supervised by representatives of the Noble Houses, which fund and control enterprises that fall under their jurisdiction in a similar manner to House Venture’s control of the Pits of Hathsin.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

From shovels to dresses to meat, anything you could possibly want or need can be found in Luthadel’s shops. Less visually impressive than most of the rest of the city, this district nonetheless boasts the most astonishing array of goods in the entire empire. Whether made within the city or imported from the edges of the known world, almost any object imaginable can be located in one shop or another. Presuming you have the money for it, shopping here is a real treat.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Poverty is a harsh and unyielding reality for non-nobles in Luthadel, and as such, not all skaa can afford to open legitimate shops in the Commercial District- or even purchase from them, for that matter. For this reason, a secondary “market” is set up daily along the wall, between the gates of Copper and Bronze. Most of the wares are food, but people will sell whatever they can, and there’s always a demand for supplies. The origin and quality of the goods found here can’t always be verified, but when the options are trading for a loaf of bread or risking execution to steal it, most people tend to stop caring.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Life underground is tough anywhere, but in Luthadel, making a living in the slums is a veritable nightmare. As if living on the edge of death wasn’t hard enough, soothing stations are scattered throughout the slums to keep the skaa under control. Along with the ever-present threat of noble wrath, the skaa who live in Luthadel’s poorest sectors are in constant danger from cutthroat thieves and gangs. Starvation and illness threaten those who manage to avoid the prevalent violence, for many who call the slums home are too poor to avoid food, let alone medicine for the diseases that breed in the filth and pests that cover the streets. Every coin is a treasure here- and, as often as not, a trap. Watch your back if you want to survive.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Strictly overseen by Obligators, this set of connected buildings serves one purpose: providing the Empire with new Stewards while controlling the spread of Feruchemy. Young, healthy women are forced to live in one section for breeding- essentially prostitution, but intended for pregnancy rather than money. Once pregnant, they move to a separate section of the complex, where they are exempt from all but the most basic of duties until birth. Newborns stay with their mothers, but older children are housed in a connected wing, where they stay until ready to live on their own or begin steward training. Elderly women, as well as the infertile or otherwise unbreedable, are housed separately and tend to take care of domestic tasks around the complex.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Very few of Terris' citizens are allowed to live outside of the Breeding Centers. Those who do- typically Stewards waiting for assignments and infertile women who wish to take up some career other than domestic labor- are housed throughout the city. Simple though they are, the buildings are well-made and the streets easy to navigate, which makes them a vast improvement over the living conditions of most skaa. The more upscale houses are reserved for Obligators and other officials, and are concentrated in a single section of the city that is slightly offset from the Terrispeople's dwellings.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

The greatest repository of knowledge in the Final Empire, the Library of Terris is housed in one of the region’s largest and most ornate buildings. Visitors will find books on almost any subject they care to research, and most likely will tire of their studies- or die- long before they exhaust their resources. Few from outside of Terris are allowed to peruse the shelves, though- and even fewer see the back rooms, where Keepers store knowledge forbidden to citizens of the Final Empire. So go the rumors, at least...

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Not all kandra are patient enough, or skilled enough, to craft their own bones. Those who are sometimes market their abilities, either for fun or simply to keep themselves busy while in the Homeland. Pre-made skeletons are on display in this small market, but many are also willing to fashion custom bones according to requests. Payment varies, with some asking for human currency (to use when they go out on contract) and others preferring atium or even objects.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Having been around since the inception of the Final Empire, the kandra have had a long, long time to collect bodies. There are only so many kandra, of course, so a maximum number of bodies are in use at any given time. However, sometimes having spare bones around can be useful, especially at the start of a contract, so quite a few are stored in the Homeland in case a need for them arises. Numerous and diverse, the bodies in this room can be used to fit almost any situation.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin

Rare is the kandra who is actually willing to defy the laws of the First and Second Generations. Still, it does happen, and offenders are held in these cells until a time can be scheduled for their hearing and punishment. Before being imprisoned, criminals are stripped of both true and borrowed bodies. Practiced kandra can craft their own organs with or without bones, but even this does them little good, as the cells are designed with such abilities in mind and are all but impossible to escape without outside help.

Moderators: Preservation, Ruin