The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)

by Brandon Sanderson

The prison Preservation created for Ruin was not created out of Preservation’s power, though it was of Preservation. Rather, Preservation sacrificed his consciousness—one could say his mind—to fabricate that prison. He left a shadow of himself, but Ruin, once escaped, began to suffocate and isolate this small vestige of his rival. I wonder if Ruin ever thought it strange that Preservation had cut himself off from his own power, relinquishing it and leaving it in the world, to be gathered and used by humankind. In Preservation’s gambit, I see nobility, cleverness, and desperation. He knew that he could not defeat Ruin. He had given too much of himself, and beyond that he was the embodiment of stasis and stability. He could not destroy, not even to protect. It was against his nature. Hence the prison. Humankind, however, had been created by both Ruin and Preservation—with a hint of Preservation’s own soul to give them sapience and honor. In order for the world to survive, Preservation knew he had to depend upon his creations. To give them his trust.