Silk and Ashes

This song attempts to capture the entirety of Vin's arc from Era 1 of Mistborn. It contains spoilers for all three books: Mistborn: The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages.

composed, recorded and produced by:

stormlyte (made up of Joe and Sharon Byerly, Eric Defend - ‪@infamoti‬ Infamoti Productions: https://bit.ly/infamoti)

artwork: "Heir of the Survivor" by Miranda Meeks (www.mirandameeks.com)

Link to mp3 and wav:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zxnn...

Lyrics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m...

Personally, I am thrilled with how this song turned out, but it was incredibly difficult to compose. Attempting to draw on meaningful moments for the main character from three full-length novels proved to be the greatest song-writing challenge I have faced thus far. I reread the books and took copious notes, learning more about Vin through the process than ever before.

The themes of identity, purpose and community rose to the top in striking ways I hadn't experienced before. I hope, dear listener, that we did Vin's character justice. Please let me know what you think of the song! Tell me what you liked, what you would change, what you wished I would have included (because I obviously left out a TON). All of your thoughts and opinions help me know how to better think through and shape my songs.

Maybe more importantly, tell me how it made you feel. Having a daughter of my own now (almost 2 years old!) makes Mistborn Era 1 both harder and more engaging to read. Maybe it is that I now read it through more experienced and travel-worn lenses, granting a greater understanding of the brighter places and darker corners of the world and their interaction. Despite our desire to divide things neatly into black and white with 100% certainty, it is more often the case that it's more complicated than that. The brighter places overlap the darker corners; they bleed over into each other. The moment of this realization brings a relief that I don't have to have everything figured out, but also a sober understanding that there is a lot more uncertainty in my life than I'd like to admit.

Bonus personal material: Ever since my wife and I had Jane, we have been in a painful but beautiful process of deconstructing our faith, taking away that which does not belong, reconstructing, but leaving the person and work of Jesus at the core of what we believe, actively continuing to remove that which does not belong as we move from season to season, bright place to dark corner, and back again. It may seem counterintuitive, but our faith has never been stronger. Reading through Era 1 during this process actually helped me rebuild as it served to remind me that yes, there are indeed some bright and warm fires of the Absolute, the unchanging, in life.... but the dark woods in which those Absolutes burn are vast and uncertain. And that's reality. For now.

Back to Era 1 observations: What I love most (at least this time around!) about Era 1 is Vin's ever-growing sense of belonging and purpose throughout the books, and how she comes to understand herself and her place both in her immediate circumstances and in the greater world. In large part this happens by being surrounded by a community that loves, supports and believes in her. The presence of good community doesn't mean that she never doubts or fears, but it does mean that she has people to hear those doubts and fears and hold her tightly throughout the darkest moments, offering advice, wisdom, comfort, and even challenging thoughts or opinions as the story unfolds. In the end, I believe one of the reasons she was able to surrender her life for her friends (and the planet in general) was because, much earlier in her story, she was offered a seat near the fire of this Absolute: truly unconditional love. Once one has felt that warmth upon their face and hands, one realizes it is a gift that must be given in the same way it was received: sacrificially.

I'm not saying anything new here, but I thought I'd share my thoughts as I get ready to share this song with you all. As always, thank you for listening, and if you've made it this far, thanks for putting up with my rambling. Enjoy the song. We sure enjoyed creating it.

‪@BrandSanderson‬ #mistborn #cosmere #fanmusic #mistbornmusic #cosmeremusic #epicfantasy #epicfantasymusic #scadrial