Breeze

Breeze is a Soother, a man that can Allomantically burn brass, and a member of Kelsier's crew.

Character

A well-dressed, overweight man with fastidious manners, Breeze presents himself as a half-skaa Misting. He is exceptionally well-spoken and carries a dueling cane like a nobleman. His main dogma is that life is about getting other people to do his work for him.

However, Breeze is actually a full nobleman named Ladrian who has thrown in his lot with the skaa underworld. Though members of the crew knew his real name, there is no reason to believe they or Kelsier knew his secret. Kelsier did understand Breeze's true character, though: every man he chose for his crew was selected because of his good character and personal integrity.

Though Breeze has a strong reputation for narcissistic self-interest, he uses it as a screen for his true nature. In reality, he is a compassionate and loyal man. During many difficult periods, he uses his Allomancy to sooth his friends' fatigue, doubt, and despair. During the preperation for the Skaa Rebellion in the final year of the Lord Ruler's Rule, Breeze and his apprentices Soothed the skaa who came to listen to Kelsier's talks, making them willing to listen. Early in the Siege of Luthadel, he spends time among the skaa refugees, Soothing their pain, fear, and despair. He also admits to using his Soothing to make the palace maids to work happier.

Despite Breeze's distaste for nobility, he seems to have founded a noble house after the recreation of Scadrial. This can be seen in the noble house that holds his name, and his descendant Waxillium Ladrian.

Mistborn

"The Final Empire"

Breeze first appears in Camon's thieving crew lair, responding to an invitation sent by Dockson. He arrived shortly before Ham and immediately complains about the lack of breathable air in the lair. After Ham's arrival, Ham engages him in a philosophical debate. Breeze, too tired for such an activity, uses his Allomancy to make Vin more open to suggestion, where he has her fetch him a cup of wine. Vin realizes that she would never normally act like this, and chastises him. Once Kelsier calls together the meeting to discuss the terms of Yeden's payment and conditions of the plan, Breeze initially believes that it was all a big joke, since Kelsier's plan involved overthrowing an invulnerable emperor from his seat of power. Breeze also made it very clear that he believed Kelsier was simply scamming Yeden for his boxings (currency of the Final Empire). However, after Kelsier had appealed to the reputations of each of his compatriots, Breeze accepted the job for the thrill of the challenge; although he claimed that he would allow Yeden to back out at any time as he had already been paid.

At their first official meeting with all crew members the following week, Breeze arrived with Hammond and immediately began Soothing the skaa work force in Clubs's shop to make them feel less fatigued. During the meeting, he constantly Soothed Lestibournes into getting him wine, something that he thinks is a good quality for the boy to have, as the rest of the crew would not do that. Breeze is given the task of recruiting an army of ten-thousand skaa for the rebellion, and is also offered the job of infiltrating the nobility, but declines due to former jobs of noble infiltration. After hearing that Kelsier had found a sympathetic nobleman to their cause, Breeze is the first to realize that Kelsier had replaced him with an impostor.

Months later, Breeze has amassed a recruitment troop of four thousand (though this is below expectations), and Vin begins studying with him about how to effectively influence people's emotions. Breeze teaches her how people would associate an emotion with an event if the emotion is powerful enough. During a recruitment dinner, he issues orders to send out color-coded waitresses in order tell his other Soothers and Rioters which emotions to dampen/enflame. Vin develops a quiet respect for the portly man for his prodding of the beaten down to gain hope.

Breeze helps Kelsier pack for his pewter sprint towards the Holstep province after Yeden rallied his forces to attack, He makes sure Dockson gathers enough metal for him and, at Kelsier's request, sends several skaa messengers to the recruitment hubs and thieving crews that might have been compromised by any rebel prisoners. He barely manages to assemble his own Soothers and Rioters from these hideouts before the Ministy discovered them.

Following the utter destruction of the army, Breeze notes that they no longer have an employer. Since the army was a major factor of the plan to overthrow the empire, and since most of his work in the crew was to build up the ranks of the army, Breeze feels that his role in the rebellion- that he assumes will fail- is over. He doubts that Kelsier will have any further need of him and considers talking Kelsier out of continuing with his plan, but Kelsier drags him and the main crew to a rooftop in the city square to watch executions over a fountain. Breeze is unsettled by the Soothing strength of the Lord Ruler. After witnessing the beheadings of random skaa that were likely not involved with the rebellion at all, Breeze regains his motivation to the rebellion. He is tasked with smaller level recruitment for a one-thousand man force within two months to be trained covertly in the city.

Breeze successfully rallies that number in half of the time he was allotted. After Marsh's presumed death, Breeze becomes truly afraid for himself and the crew, since Marsh was meant to be untouchable. Breeze lauds Kelsier for destroying the Pits of Hathsin, but is concerned about retaliation from the Ministry. He watches the next day's proceedings in the square for another set of executions, and tries to Soothe both the crowd and the Imperial soldiers with Vin's help during Kelsier's fight with the an Inquisitor.

Breeze assumes that the crew will dissolve after Kelsier's death, and bids his farewells to the other members before getting ready to leave with Ham. After Vin's discovery of the arms caches in various warehouses, Breeze chooses to remain in the city to help spark rebellion. In Kelsier's note to the group to be read after his death, Breeze is told to disperse his Soothers across the city to encourage the skaa to fight. Afterwards, Breeze was to become a political bureaucrat of sorts, should he survive and the rebellion succeed.

Breeze attended Elend Venture's speech to the skaa the night of the Lord Ruler's death.

"Well of Ascension"

Breeze chose to take a major role within Elend Venture's new government, acting as a chief advisor and a foreign minister of sorts. Breeze, as first mentioned, was settling diplomatic disputes between warlords that had become expansive in the Central and Inner Dominances. His last active job was in the Western Dominance, where he became a trusted advisor to Lord Ashweather Cett. Breeze learned of Straff Venture's movements toward Luthadel and began rumors that Elend had been hiding the Lord Ruler's atium stash, overwriting his previous work in convincing warlords that Elend did not have it. He had an affair with Cett's Ritoer daughter, Allriane Cett, which, when discovered by Gneordin and Ashweather, ended Breeze's role within Cett's government. Before leaving, Breeze poisoned supplies within Fadrex City to slow Cett down and have him arrive at around the same time as Straff.

Breeze's first official appearance in the novel occurs when Cett's army arrives outside the city of Luthadel behind Straff's army. Vin spots him and rushes to his aid when a squadron of mounted archers chase him down. He arrived safely inside the city and reveals that he had been restarting the rumors of the atium being found in Luthadel for Cett to follow.

Trivia

• It was later revealed in second book, "Well of Ascension," that he was actually of pure noble descent instead of half-skaa, as he liked others to believe.
  • Breeze chose to let others believe he was a half-breed Allomancer out of fear that they would hate him for the circumstances of his birth.
• Breeze frequently talks to himself when Soothing people's emotions in private.
  • He uttered the emotions he wanted people to feel/not feel while recruiting for the army.
  • He spoke to himself briefly when visiting a skaa warehouse for the homeless.
    • He did so again at the warehouse during Sazed's and Tindwyl's conversation while trying to nudge the two to leave for each other.
  • Breeze spoke to himself when Soothing the fear of the soldiers during the attack of Luthadel.
  • Breeze spoke to himself when Soothing the crowd of angered skaa in Urteau.
• Breeze is the only member of Kelsier's crew that Vin specifically believed was not the impostor.