Once Ruin was free from his prison, he was able to influence people more strongly—but impaling someone with a Hemalurgic spike was difficult no matter the circumstances. To achieve such things, he apparently began with people who already had a tenuous grip on reality. Their insanity made them more open to his touch, and he could use them to spike more stable people. In any case, it’s impressive how many important people Ruin managed to spike. King Penrod, ruling Luthadel at the time, is a good example of this.
