History Literature / TheAlloyOfLaw

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Everybody lives, but the ManBehindTheMan gets away, and Wax rejects Marasi. Also, the first four hostages (and possibly Wax's sister) are still missing.]]

* TheGunslinger: Nearly all the main characters qualify.

* LivingDollCollector: Bloody Tam, the serial killer at the beginning, makes carefully composed scenes using corpses.

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Wax consistently hits his mark in the middle of fire fights, even while flying through the air, as well as pulling off quite a few remarkable shots including [[spoiler: shooting a bullet in mid air to redirect it into a target's head (with the help of Wayne slowing time), and blasting multiple guns out of Miles' hand]].

* MarriageOfConvenience: House Ladrian needs an influx of money to continue running much longer, so one of Wax's first reluctant goals is to find a suitable partner, but his ambivalence ends up offending many. [[NobilityMarriesMoney Lesser but richer]] House Harms ends up being one of his last hopes, and Steris is so aware of the obvious need for this trope, [[CrazyPrepared she spends their first meeting detailing her written contract]], which outlines their courting period, eventual marriage, her financial planning, and ''allowances for the inevitable affairs''.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Wax was doing a perfectly fine job of staying out of the Vanishers robberies, even with Wayne's prodding, and up to and during the initial attack on the wedding reception he was at. Then they kill a retired constable, try to take Marasi, and do take Steris. Cue the [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp Gun Battle]], and a personal stake in taking Miles down. [[spoiler: Possibly [[InvokedTrope invoked by Suit]], who was calling the kidnapping targets and ended up better off with Miles taken down.]]

* MarriageOfConvenience: House Ladrian needs an influx of money to continue running much longer, so one of Wax's first reluctant goals is to find a suitable partner, but his ambivalence ends up offending many. [[NobilityMarriesMoney Lesser but richer]] House Harms ends up being one of his last hopes, and Steris is so aware of the obvious need for this trope, [[CrazyPrepared she spends their first meeting detailing her written contract]], which outlines their courting period, eventual marriage, her financial planning, and ''[[YourCheatingHeart allowances for the inevitable affairs]]''.

* ConstrastingSequelAntagonist: The Vanishers are this to the Final Empire, besides being a ShadowArchetype to the ska rebellion. Where the Empire had massive amounts of manpower and resources, the Vanishers are a single bandit group, [[spoiler:albeit one backed by a rich conspiracy]]. The difficulty in fighting the Empire was splitting up the armies, but the difficulty in fighting the Vanishers is finding where they are. Perhaps the most apparent contrast is when Wax, Wayne, and Marasi kill or capture around thirty Vanishers during the wedding robbery; the Vanishers are on their last legs and can't just send reinforcements.

%%* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Tillaume]] attempts this after trying two other methods of assassination.

* MetaTwist: A rich minor nobleman brings along a 'cousin' to the city, and pays for her education? [[spoiler:Unlike Vin and Lord Renoux, Lord Harms isn't in league with the thieves that are making the news, and Marasi is not TheMole]].

%%* ChekhovsGun: When Marasi and Wax are trying to looking for a motive, Wax mentions the extensive genealogical resources in his uncle's library.

* AGodAmI: Miles, who due to his gold compounding can survive virtally any damage to his body. So much that [[spoiler: he has to be shot several times by the firing squad - and this with his gold metalminds already taken off, although the observing character assumes he must still have one hidden somewhere]].

-->[[spoiler:I served [the law] too. But now I serve something better. The essence of the law, but mixed with real justice. An alloy, Wax. The best parts of both made into one. I do something better than chase the filth sent to me from the city.]]

* ChekhovsSkill: Marasi is convinced her Allomantic power is useless. [[spoiler:Being able to slow down time by a significant factor for a large area allows Wax and Marasi to stall for time as Wayne goes to fetch the military to apprehend the indestructible Miles.]]

* DeusExMachina: Played with. [[spoiler: It certainly looks like a literal version of this when Harmony actually starts helping Wax out in the finale...then the epilogue confirms that Harmony is Sazed, and definitely more of an active agent than he appears.]]

* XanatosGambit: Turns out that Mr. Suit was running a masterful one throughout the whole book. [[spoiler: Miles' robberies of valuable aluminum were intended to sabotage House Tekiel's security and insurance businesses. Unable to pay the steep penalties for all the robberies, the House crashes, letting Suit buy them out cheaply using House Ladrian's embezzled funds. If Miles succeeds, Suit controls both his gang and the security business. If Miles is captured and a majority of the stolen property returned, the security and insurance companies are returned to full power under Suit's control, putting him in even better position. This doesn't even include the side-project of acquiring many women of magical heritage, which is also successful and only Wax seems to be paying attention to it, presuming his missing sister is included.]]

* BadassNormal: Marasi was trained in law and is an expert shot with a rifle. While Wax and Wayne rely heavily on their Allomancy in battle she manages to contribute through multiple fights without any Allomancy. [[spoiler:: it's later revealed that she is an Allomancer as well, but her ability is not nearly as useful in a fight, thus her relying on BadassNormal approach]].

* BlessedWithSuck: Being born a Chromium Misting means one is technically an Allomancer, but only having the ability to slow down time around oneself, an ability almost entirely useless.

* DifficultButAwesome: The Pulser power (burning Chromium), which slows time for everything in a pretty wide area...including yourself. For the user, everything outside that area just seems to radically speed up. At first blush it seems useless. [[spoiler: In fact, it's an ideal means of keeping people in place and is crucial to capturing Miles.]]

* DragonWithAnAgenda: [[spoiler:Miles works for Mister Suit, but his internal monologues make it clear that he has his own agenda and is hesitating between continuing to work for him or betraying him. However, he never gathers enough ressources to be able to stop depending on his boss]].

* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Both Miles and Wayne take beatings that would have killed most folks. Miles in particular will not even try to avoid taking damage because of how much he trust his healing factor, while Wayne has to store up his healing beforehand, and tries to conserve it as much as he can.

* HealingFactor: Possessed by Wayne and Miles, though Miles is ''much'' stronger.

* MagicAIsMagicA: As in the original Mistborn Trilogy, the magic is very clearly defined. Each Allomantic or Feruchemical effect is very clearly defined and functions the same always. What metals can be burned by individuals is clearly defined. The only unique variation to this [[spoiler: Miles ability to burn gold to heal due to his possessing both gold Allomancy and gold Feruchemy which compound off of each other]] is treated as a simple unique effect of two abilities feeding off of each other, [[NewRulesAsThePlotDemands and was always part of the world, if not mentioned before]] - mostly because apart from the Lord Ruler himself there were no people combining these two types of abilities.

* MarriageOfConvenience: House Ladrian needs an influx of money to continue running much longer, so one of Wax's first reluctant goals is to find a suitable partner, but his ambivalence ends up offending many. [[NobilityMarriesMoney Lesser but richer]] House Harms ends up being one of his last hopes, and Steris is so aware of the obvious need for this trope, [[CrazyPrepared she spends their first meeting detailing her written contract]], which outlines their courting period, eventual marriage, her financial planning, and ''allowances for the inevitable affairs''.

* NoSell: Alumminum bullets are a threat to Allomancers due to their ability to NoSell an Allomancer's attempts to defend against them; flying straight at the target without being redirected somewhere safer by the allomancer.

* AGodAmI: Miles, who due to his gold compounding can survive virtally any damage to his body. So much that [[spoiler: he has to be shot several times by the firing squad - and this with his gold metalminds already taken off, although the observing character assumes he must still have one hidden somewhere]].
* AluminumChristmasTrees: Fittingly, the high value of Aluminum. In the series it's a precious commodity, while in the modern world it's little more then [[WorthlessYellowRocks worthless shiny foil]]. However, Aluminum was actually highly valued in the past, before better smelting techniques were invented [[note]]While aluminum is the most common metal in Earth's crust, it's mostly in form of bauxite. Before [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall-Héroult_process Hall-Héroult process]] the only way to get aluminum is via finding rare deposits of raw aluminum. The development of Hall-Héroult process allows aluminum smelting from bauxite, making it much cheaper.[[/note]]. And due to its AntiMagic properties, in this world it has an ''extremely'' practical use in addition to its rarity.

--->[[spoiler:I served [the law] too. But now I serve something better. The essence of the law, but mixed with real justice. An alloy, Wax. The best parts of both made into one. I do something better than chase the filth sent to me from the city.]]

* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: Played with: Wax has two plans to deal with Miles. We aren't told much of either in advance, but [[spoiler: Plan A fails while plan B works]].
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Miles]] thinks of himself as one, as he believes he's fighting the "real" criminals, aka the aristocrats.

* XanatosGambit: Turns out that Mr. Suit was running a masterful one throughout the whole book. [[spoiler: Miles' robberies of valuable aluminum were intended to sabotage House Tekiel's security and insurance businesses. Unable to pay the steep penalties for all the robberies, the House crashes, letting Suit buy them out cheaply using House Ladrian's embezzled funds. If Miles succeeds, Suit controls both his gang and the security business. If Miles is captured and a majority of the stolen property returned, the security and insurance companies are returned to full power under Suit's control, putting him in even better position. This doesn't even include the side-project of acquiring many woman of magical heritage, which is also successful and only Wax seems to be paying attention to it, presuming his missing sister is included.]]

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Fittingly, the high value of Aluminum. In the series it's a precious commodity, while in the modern world it's little more then [[WorthlessYellowRocks worthless shiny foil]]. However, Aluminum was actually highly valued in the past, before better smelting techniques were invented [[note]]While aluminum is the most common metal in Earth's crust, it's mostly in form of bauxite. Before [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall-Héroult_process Hall-Héroult process]] the only way to get aluminum is via finding rare deposits of them. The development of Hall-Héroult process allows aluminum smelting from bauxite.[[/note]]. And due to its AntiMagic properties, in this world it has an ''extremely'' practical use in addition to its rarity.

* WorthlessYellowRocks: InvertedTrope Aluminum is an expensive and rare commodity worth complex robbery schemes to pull off in the series, in real life it's a worthless shiny foil. Though, see Aluminum Christmas Tree.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Fittingly, the high value of Aluminum. In the series it's a precious commodity, while in the modern world it's little more then [[WorthlessYellowRocks worthless shiny foil]]. However, Aluminum was actually highly valued in the past, before better smelting techniques were invented. And due to its AntiMagic properties, in this world it has an ''extremely'' practical use in addition to its rarity.

* ArtifactTitle: This book contains three Twinborn and one Misting, but no Mistborn.

* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: Done by Wax to [[spoiler:Miles]] repeatedly. The reason he is able to do this multiple times is because [[spoiler:Miles has a HealingFactor that lets him regenerate his hand each time Wax ruins it.]]

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Wax manages quite a few impressive shots in the book including [[spoiler: shooting a bullet in mid air to redirect it into a target's head (with the help of Wayne slowing time), and blasting multiple guns out of Miles' hand]].

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Wax manages quite a few impressive shots in the book, and is generally considered capable of shots that ought to be impossible.

* BlessedWithSuck: Being born a Chromium Misting means one is technically an Allomancer, but only having the ability to slow down time around oneself, an ability almost entirely without usefulness.

* AGodAmI: Miles, who due to his gold compounding can survive virtally any damage to his body. So much that [[spoiler: he has to be shot several times by the firing squad - and this with his gold metalminds already taken off]].

* AlternateSelf: Mile's other ability besides healing is to burn gold, allowing him to see his past self and who he could have become. His KnightTemplar Lawman alternate self [[OtherMeAnnoysMe hates him]], but the process lets him take on some of those mental qualities.

* DoesNotLikeGuns: Wayne
%%* DragonWithAnAgenda: [[spoiler:Miles]].

%%* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Miles]] thinks of himself as one.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Fittingly, the high value of Aluminum. In the series it's a precious commodity, while in the modern world it's little more then [[WorthlessYellowRocks worthless shiny foil]]. However, Aluminum was actually highly valued in the past, before better smelting techniques were invented. And due to it's AntiMagic properties, in this world it has an ''extremely'' practical use in addition to its rarity.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Fittingly, the high value of Aluminum. In the series it's a precious commodity, while in the modern world it's little more then [[WorthlessYellowRocks worthless shiny foil]]. However, Aluminum was actually highly valued in the past, before better smelting techniques were invented. And due to it's AntiMagic properties, in this world it has an ''extremely'' valuable use in addition to its rarity.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Fittingly, the high value of Aluminum. In the series it's a precious commodity, while in the modern world it's little more then [[WorthlessYellowRocks worthless shiny foil]]. However, Aluminum was actually highly valued in the past, before better smelting techniques were invented.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: the Roughs are an equivalent of 19th century TheWildWest: small towns inhabited by people who've had enough of city life (and laws of civilized societies), lawkeepers wearing dusters and hats who hunt bandits for bounties, and savage koloss as a fantasy equivalent of Native American tribes.

* HealingFactor: possessed by Wayne and Miles, though Miles is ''much'' stronger.

* LiquidAssets: feruchemical abilities work on a basis of this. Store a liquid asset you don't want and use it later. This can allow saving up healing by staying constantly sick to use it when badly wounded, or storing weight to make yourself light to expand it later to become extremely heavy.
* MagicAIsMagicA: as with the original Mistborn the magic is very clearly defined. Each Allomantic or Feruchemical effect is very clearly defined and functions the same always. What metals can be burned by individuals is clearly defined. The only unique variation to this [[spoiler: Miles ability to burn gold to heal due to his possessing both gold Allomancy and gold Feruchemy which compound off of each other]] is treated as a simple unique effect of two abilities feeding off of each other, [[NewRulesAsThePlotDemands and was always part of the world, if not mentioned before]] - mostly because apart from the Lord Ruler himself there were no people combining these two types of abilities.

* TinfoilHat: actually an aluminum foil hat, and it turns out they are useful for blocking Allomancy based mind control.