Ferson Penrod

Lord Ferson Penrod is a noble on Scadrial. After the fall of the Lord Ruler, he becomes a member of the Luthadel Assembly. He becomes the second king of the Central Dominance, succeeding Elend Venture, and later under him in the New Empire.
== Appearance and Personality ==
Penrod has white hair and wears a well-cut suit. He has polished mannerisms and a strong posture. He has stomach ills, though it is unknown whether this is frequent. Penrod is a traditionalist and politically conservative, yet he never spoke negatively against the skaa. However, Elend considers him a product of his society—although he doesn't consider the skaa animals, he could never see them as equals.
Penrod is an honorable man, and after Elend nominates him for chancellor he feels obligated to nominate Elend as a candidate for king. He thinks that though the Final Empire's system wasn't perfect, it kept people safer than Elend's system. He sees himself as the city's patriarch, the nobleman who needed to bring a measure of conservative temperance to the city's problems.
== History ==
In the time before the Collapse Penrod was a lesser noble in a minor house and was said to grovel before the like of Straff Venture at the parties every week, wishing to curry favor.
=== Assemblyman in Luthadel ===
Though many other nobles left Luthadel after the Collapse, Penrod opted to stay and risk the possible danger, hoping to elevate his position. As such he was one of the more powerful noblemen remaining in Luthadel. He later became a member of the Luthadel Assembly. He had much influence among the other Assemblymen, and they listened to him more than to Elend Venture. When Straff Venture's army arrived at Luthadel, Penrod thought him taking the city was inevitable, but that they should try to get as much from Straff in return as possible.
When Elend was deposed, he stated that since there was no king, by law there should be a chancellor to lead the discussions of the Assembly. He nominated Penrod, and the Assemblymen accepted him. Later, when candidates for king were to be nominated, one of the skaa nominated Penrod. Penrod, in turn, nominated Elend, in return for Elend having nominated him for chancellor. Philen Frandeu nominates Ashweather Cett, who was hiding among the crowd.
Before the election, Straff convinced Penrod to give him the city if he won the election, and bribed the skaa merchants to vote on Penrod, offering them titles. In the day of the election, which was the last day of a thirty-day deadline to choose a new king, assassins attacked Elend, Cett and the Assemblymen. Still, not wanting to miss the deadline, the Assemblymen gathered in Penrod's mansion after the attack to vote. In the end, Penrod got fifteen votes, Elend got seven and Cett got two. That didn't make up the minimum of two-thirds of the votes that Penrod would need to win. However, when the two Assemblymen who voted for Cett wanted to changed their votes, Elend was honest and said the law stated they could. They both changed their votes to Penrod, making him win the election.
=== King of the Central Dominance ===
Ruin later took control of Penrod, through a Hemalurgic spike harvested from a copper Misting. Marsh attacked Penrod and drove the spike through his heart. Since Penrod continued to live, the surgeons assumed it had just barely missed his heart and feared removing it would kill him as it began to bleed whenever they tried to go near it with implements, so they leave it in place, giving Ruin a foothold into Penrod's mind.
Ruin, manifesting as the Lord Ruler, drove Penrod to madness, making him drive Luthadel into chaos, including forcing the skaa to fight to death for food while claiming that only the strong may survive. At TenSoon's suggestion, the inhabitants of Luthadel fled the city, taking refuge in the Pits of Hathsin. Later, discovering that Ruin had been influencing him, Penrod wrote a note with charcoal saying that he has prefered to end his own life rather than keep causing destruction to those around him, and revealing the location of the people of Luthadel. Then, the king killed himself with a sword. Ruin tried to mislead Elend by changing Penrod's message to say the people were in the Terris Dominance, but with Vin's help Elend managed to see through the ruse.
== Quotes ==
== Notes ==