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So I am finally getting around to doing a Cosmere PE proposal. As far as I know, this is the first Cosmere PE proposal on this wiki, though I may be wrong. I was hoping to do a Stormlight Archive character after Wind and Truth came out, but I am not sure if anyone qualifies from that series (though I may change my mind).
What's the Work[]
Mistborn is an epic science fantasy series set in the shared universe known as the Cosmere, written by Brandon Sanderson. Essentially the Cosmere is a galaxy in which powerful godlike beings known as Shards, inhabit different planets, and establish worlds there, with their own unique magic system.
The first era of Mistborn takes place in a dystopian world in which the planet is controlled by a Tyrannical ruler. Vin, an orphan discovers she is a mistborn, meaning she has every power within the magic system known as allomancy (kind of like the avatar, but not exactly). She joins a group of rebels to help overthrow The Lord Ruler.
Who is He? What has he done[]
Straff Venture was born as the lord of House Venture, the most powerful noble house in Luthadel, the capital of The Final Empire. He was a tineye, meaning he could burn tin to increase his senses. He was in charge of managing the Pits of Hathsin. In these pits, Skaa prisoners were forced to work in tortuous conditions to mine the powerful metal known as Atium (which gives mistborn the ability to see the future). The prisoners would slave in a dangerous pit until they died.
Straff had one legitimate child named Elend. Straff hated ELend who he believed to be weak, and also had no allomantic power. When Elend was 13, Straff Forced Elend to rape a Skaa prostitute, whom he killed afterwards (which was manditory according to the laws of the Final Empire).
In secret, Straff had many mistresses, whom he abused regularly. He used them to produce children, hoping to produce powerful allomancers. He had many bastard children, some of whom were allomancers. One of whom, Zane, was born a mistborn. Straff used psychological abuse to keep Zane under control.
Eventually, Kelsier, after believing his brother Marsh was killed by the Steel Inquisitors, destroyed the Pits of Hathsin. Straff was worried that he would be blamed and fled. He left Elend behind, hoping Elend would be killed.
After Vin killed the Lord Ruler, The Final Empire shattered. Straff gathered a large army and planned to conquer Luthadel. He laid seige to the city, preventing food from coming in. He arranged a warcamp meeting with Vin and Elend. He showed them his 15-year-old mistress who looked like Vin, in order to mock them. He was planning on killing them, but Vin used allomancy to create an immense sense of fear in him. After VIna nd ELend left, Straff ordered Zane to kill Vin.
He found out that his mistress, Amarinta was poisoning him. He managed to strangle her to death and save himself.
When the Koloss attacked Luthadel, Straff planned to let them kill the entire population of Luthadel. However, Vin took control of the Koloss and killed Straff.
Heinous Standards[]
So the Cosmere has massive heinous standards. Mass murder and slavery are fairly common in villains. In terms of kill count, Straff doesn't even come close. However, I believe he still qualifies for several reasons.
The most obvious reason is sexual assault, including that of young teenagers. Thi stands out because SA isn't very common in Sandersons books. He mostly stops addressing it after Mistborn era 1. While the SA of Skaa women was common in The Final Empire, no one else was known for doing it at the same regularity and scale of Straff. Also, he forced his 13-year-old son to commit SA, which is likely the worst sexual crime we know of in The Cosmere.
While slavery was common in the Final Empire, no slaves were treated even close to as badly as those in the Pits of Hathsin. In fact, they are even treated worse than Torol Sadeas's Bridge Crews in The Stormlight Archive. While the Bridge Crews were forced to risk their lives in battle, they were mostly left alone in between battles. The prisoners in Hathsin were constantly tortured until they died.
Straff wanted to kill his own son and abused his other children. In the Cosmere, most villains care about their own family members (i.e. Sadeas, Taravangian, Moash, Raboniel etc.).
In terms of resources, while Straff is a powerful lord, he doesn't have nearly as many resources as other Cosmere villains. His army is far less powerful than any in The Stormlight Archive. He is a Tineye, which is nothing compared to the superpowered villains in Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive, Tress and the Emerald Sea etc.
Mitigating Factors[]
Easily none, as I explained above. He wanted to kill Elend and abused his children and mistresses. He has no goal outside of power (which is rare in The Cosmere; most villains believe they are fighting for the greater good. He never felt the slightest bit of remorse, and in fact was hoping to kill every citizen in Luthadel.
Conclusion[]
I believe he easily qualifies. He has no mitigating factors whatsoever. While his kill count isn't high by Cosmere standards, his sexual crimes, cruelty towards his own family, and overall sadism make him stand out in The Cosmere.