Waxillium Ladrian

Waxillium Ladrian, or Wax for short, is a Twinborn and Sixteenth High Lord of House Ladrian on Scadrial. Among the Terris, Wax is known as Asinthew. He eventually became Harmony’s Sword and Champion. Wax grew up in Elendel, but left the city to escape its politics, eventually living as a lawman in the Roughs for twenty years. He returned to Elendel in , after receiving word of his uncle's death, to become High Lord of his House, though he continued to investigate notable criminals, particularly those connected to the Set. In the next few years, Wax would bring his house back from financial ruin and become a politician, aiming to improve the lives of everyone in and outside the Basin. He would also save Elendel from destruction and finish off the Set. Wax played an instrumental role in uniting the Basin. Wax is a Crasher, a Twinborn combination of a steel Misting (aka a Coinshot) and an iron Ferring (aka a Skimmer).
== Appearance and Personality ==
=== Appearance ===
Wax is a fairly tall man, with tan skin, which is a sign of his Terris blood. He is also described by many as having an intense face, and eyes that are sometimes considered to be as cold as icicles. Wax has dark hair, and by , it was streaked with grey. His time in the Roughs has left his hands calloused. In his youth, likely during his time in the Roughs, Wax was lean and muscular, and after he returned to Elendel, he maintained this body. Wax has prominent sideburns, and he is accustomed to regularly sitting for a shave. He also has a lot of scars, having been involved in more than seventeen explosions and having been shot a dozen times. Due to his dangerous life, Wax has suffered at least some permanent hearing damage. By Wax, well into his forties, began feeling his age, and he had trouble with some challenging physical feats. This wasn’t to serious though, as by Wax was still relatively strong of body. Wax also believes that he could use a nice scar on his face, in good Roughs fashion. Wax, like most men, often wears a hat. It depends which type of hat he wears, but he often wears bowler hats or Roughs style hats. Due to his nature as a Coinshot, some, and likely most, of his hats are attached to his neck by strings, so that Wax doesn’t lose them while flying. Wax also almost always has a pocketwatch with him. When he anticipates a fight, he puts his pocket watch into his gunbelt, so he can easily discard it when facing another Coinshot or lurcher.
Wax has always worn fine clothing. As House Lord, he can afford expensive suits and vests, but even as a lawman in the Roughs, Wax wore well tailored, albeit dusty, suits. Wax often wears an aluminum-lined Roughs-style hat, which also serves to protect him from emotional Allomancy. Wax often wears a long duster, which has at times made it difficult to swim. When Wax is hunting someone, he often wears a mistcoat. He finds them comfy, and feels good when wearing it. Due to his time spent in the Roughs, Wax is able to dress himself impeccably, which is rare in high society. On his suits, he often has one steel button amongst the wood ones. Wax has metalminds in the form of a pair of iron bracers that he wears on his upper arms, typically hidden by the cuffs of his sleeves, He eventually embedded his ironminds deep into his skin to protect them from Allomancers. Wax also got into the habit of keeping steel shavings inside his sleeve. Wax also keeps some marked bills on his person, in case he gets robbed. When on patrol, Wax carries a shotgun, he also straps on a gunbelt fully stocked with spent bullet casings and whiskey-filled metal vials, to compliment the dual pistols holstered on his hips.
=== Personality ===
Wax has a very strong personality. He has a temperament and is considered rough around the edges. He is often solemn, but when he is at his best there is a smirk underneath. Wax loves flying on Steelpushes, even leading Steris to remark that when flying is amongst the only times that she sees him truly happy. He is also compared to a predator, being only partially present most days, but when the prey appears he wakes completely, truly alive. He can’t resist a sincere request for help. Wax also gets a nauseous feeling, getting sweaty and sick, when he’s forced to leave innocents in a dangerous situation. He is confident that if he had committed horrible crimes, he would demand to be taken in. Additionally, Wax would rather be dead then crazy. Wax enjoys witty conversation. Wax also enjoys playing with people’s perception of himself. Wax is distrustful of modern noble society, disliking the "games" of the big city. He admires the simplicity of the Roughs, where trouble is solved quickly and one man with a gun can make a difference, contrasting the politics of Elendel, where the great houses hide their true intentions behind fake smiles and outright lies. Wax is also a little ignorant of politics, although he improved over time. During his time in the Roughs, Wax learned to accept that sometimes you just have to weather things on your own, and that God won’t help you. When Wax was young, he sometimes felt like he had no place in Elendel, it was hard for him to make friends. 
Wax finds the law incredibly important, he believes that the law is there to keep people from ruining everyone else's ability to explore. He believes that without the law, there's no freedom, this is also a large part of why he is a lawkeeper. As a lawman, he became famous both in the Roughs and in the Basin. After returning to Elendel however, and taking up his place as House Lord, his fame skyrocketed, and his accomplishments became of interest to the general public. Wax feels more at ease when the mists are out, and he fights better within them. Wax considers Wayne to be the only real family he has left. In his first year back in the city, Wax was a little straightforward and not good at parties. Wax also has a habitual routine of warily checking for possible attacks or any form of danger. This is seen through his constant tendency to take the safest seat in a room, or scan an area for the most defensible location. Despite this, he doesn’t actually think that he is paranoid.
When Waxillium first went to the Roughs, his head was full of stories about the Roughs, such as duels of honor. Wax absolutely hates the Southern Scadrian custom of calling Metalborn by a different title every time. Wax is accustomed to people always wanting to try things beyond their capacity. At first, after returning to Elendel, Waxillium hated motorcars, instead preffering carriages. This likely changed though, as by he rode in a car almost exclusively. A misfire, leading to the death of his first wife, Lessie, has haunted Wax for years. He experienced much trauma after this event.
== Attributes and Abilities ==
=== Metallic Arts ===
For most of his life, Waxillium was a Crasher; a Coinshot and Skimmer Twinborn. The combination of these abilities made Waxillium a particularly dangerous individual since the strength of a Steelpush is largely dependent on the mass of the Allomancer. He later became a Mistborn however, and also received a Hemalurgic spike.
==== Allomancy ====
Waxillium is an extremely skilled Coinshot. Perhaps the biggest mark of his mastery is his ability to regulate the strength of his Steelpushes. Generally, Allomancers find it too hard to maintain a fine control over their Steelpushes, so instead most opt to regulate the length of the time of them. Levitating without bobbing up and down, for example, requires extreme discipline that few Allomancers can achieve; most use short bursts of Steelpushes, fall down, then Push again. Waxillium is able to apply enough pressure on a small metal rod to make it stick to the side of a table without moving the table or himself with ease.
Wax also uses his ability to form a defensive bubble around himself that doesn't affect his own metal items but Pushes bullets coming at him off course slightly; to enhance the velocity of his bullets, Pushing them after being shot to force them through an opponents cover; and to travel in the air, in combination with his Skimmer ability to regulate his mass. Wax appears to sometimes forget to use the most obvious ability of a Coinshot, as he had to once be reminded that he could launch a bullet without a gun, although he is also skilled at fighting with coins, after ancient techniques. Wax trained himself to put out electronic lights by distorting the, often in walls, hidden wires. Wax also figured out that crouching down before he pushes, gives the push a little more lift. 
While experimenting on trellium, Wax inhaled and burned a small amount of lerasium, making him a Mistborn, therefore allowing him to burn all Allomantically viable metals. Wax prefers Stagin's whiskey in his Allomantic vials, believing that Allomancers who do not do so are missing a golden opportunity. Steris prefers to use cod-liver oil in the vials that she prepares for Wax.
==== Feruchemy ====
As a Skimmer, using iron metalminds, Wax can store his weight at the cost of being lighter than normal, and tap the storage to become heavier. Wax constantly stores his weight to make him about three-quarters of his normal weight, making him lighter on his feet. He also uses this ability to navigate vertically in combination with steelpushing and a shotgun. Wax doesn't tap into his weight very often, preferring to store it to be lighter, as a result, the sheer amount of weight he can tap in to allows him to quite easily fall straight through a floor with no effort. He uses this power to his advantage many times. However, tapping weight before steelpushing allows him to perform crazy feats of power, like throwing around entire trucks. During a fight, he uses this ability extensively.
Having become a Mistborn, Wax also possesses the ability to Compound Feruchemical iron by ingesting an ironmind and burning it with Allomantic iron to amplify the stored weight.
==== Hemalurgy ====
Waxillium has an earring with a slight Hemalurgic charge. It is unknown what type of charge it is. The earring is a feature of Pathism, adherents to the religion often wear metal earrings while praying. This enables Harmony to communicate directly with him. It was given to him by the kandra MeLaan.
While trying to stop the Set in Bilming, Wax gave himself an electrum spike in his lower chest, granting him Allomantic duralumin. He also extensively studied Spook's notes about Hemalurgy, and created charts of all of the points on the body where spikes could be placed, and a detailed list of the ways the spikes worked.
=== Law Enforcement ===
Wax spent twenty years as a lawman in the Roughs. His exploits are a matter of public record, kept at the university in Elendel where they are studied by students of law and criminology.
; Notable Cases
* Peret the Black, a rapist and Pewterarm. The first man Wax ever brought in.
* Pars the Deadman, a butcher turned murderer. Wax needed Miles Hundredlives to bring him in.
* Bloody Tan, an unhinged mortician who created grisly scenes with his victims bodies.
* Miles Dagouter, a lawman gone criminal. Leader of the Vanishers.
* Paalm, an insane kandra.
* Edwarn Ladrian, Wax's uncle and high ranking member of the Set.
* Telsin Ladrian, Wax's sister, avatar of Autonomy and leader of the Set.
=== Other Skills ===
==== Fighting ====
Wax is a talented marksman, preferring to use two guns at once. Miles Hundredlives stated that Wax was the finest marksman he had ever seen, and had seen him make shots that he would have thought impossible. He has been shown to shoot a bullet that was put off course by the speed bubble of a Slider, scoring a lethal shot as a result, and shot a bullet straight through a gun scope, killing a man. However, due to a traumatic misfire that resulted in the death of a loved one, Lessie, Wax tends to act nervously when faced with hostage situations. Throughout his life, Wax has used many guns. Most of them were made by Ranette, such as his Sterrions and Ambersair and Vindication I and II. Occasionally however, Wax has a gun with him not made by Ranette, such as an Immerling. He also used a gun called the Big Gun, which is a gun with huge explosive projectiles designed for maximum shrapnel, specifically made for a Coinshot to use, as it’s shrapnel can wreak havoc when combined with Allomancy. Wax is also a capable knife fighter, although he is nowhere as good as Miles. He isn’t terribly practiced at throwing knives however.
==== Investigation ====
Wax is also an extremely skilled investigator. He often knows exactly what a criminal can and will do, although his instincts are thrown off when his prey also turns out to be a lawkeeper. Due to having lived in the Roughs, where he was forced to learn to do things himself, Wax is skilled at metallurgy. Wax’s time with Wayne has given him a little proficiency with accents.
== History ==
=== Early Life ===
Waxillium is a descendant of Edgard Ladrian and Allrianne Cett. He is of mixed heritage, with Terris on his mother's side and Noble blood on his father's side, and he is said to have more Terris blood than most. He was raised under a noble house and lived a life of luxury--something he detested. He and his sister, Telsin, were mostly raised by their uncle in Elendel, with their parents dying in what was reported as an accident. Telsin claims this death was due to Harmony's agents trying to get to her, but the veracity of this claim is not known. 
At the age of 12, his uncle began grooming him to run the family-operated First Central Bank. Wax, wishing to make the world a better place, was interested at first, seeing that men in offices could change the world for the better. He quickly became disgusted by the unethical practices of the bank however, and distanced himself from the role. In his youth, Wax, as a member of Elendel high society, spent a lot of time at parties and social events. They were a chore to him however, and he wasn’t good at being social, he’d often find his way to a quiet balcony and look out over the city. Because of this, more then a few people thought he was slow.
=== The Village ===
At the age of 15, Wax spent a year living in the Village, with the option to stay if he wished. During his last months in the Village, he encountered Forch, a Twinborn Terris boy who committed arson. Wax investigated the crime and brought his evidence to the attention of the constables, but this was ultimately disregarded by his grandmother who insisted that the Terris people manage themselves and their criminals. Wax unintentionally spotted Forch later that night and believed he was going to commit arson again. Investigating further, Wax unknowingly stumbled upon Forch attempting to dissect a living boy he had kidnapped. Despite being heavily outmatched by another Twinborn, Wax ultimately killed Forch in self defense during a Steelpushing battle, rescuing the child from him. Due to the Terris hating that he had brought violence to their Village, and Wax having always felt like an outsider among them, Wax decided to leave. The following year he moved back in with his parents, although his uncle took over his education. During this time, his life became less and less about his immediate family, he barely saw his parents during this time, despite living with them. After some time, he decided to head out to the Roughs to escape his life. Later, Wax would admit that he also went to the Roughs in part because he wanted to become a Hero.
=== The Roughs ===
In his early years in the Roughs, Wax developed an image of himself as a "Gentleman Bounty Hunter"; although initially incompetent and unfamiliar with his Twinborn abilities, he would eventually hone them. Wax was mentored by Jon Deadfinger. At one point, he had a deputy named Paclo, and at a later point one named Blinker. He pro-actively worked with other law enforcers in the area, and while working with Jon Deadfinger he would find a 17 year old Wayne, who he would ultimately spare from execution and turn his life around to become a lawman. Early in their partnership, Wax decided to teach Wayne the value of hard work by making him muck out a stable by himself. Wayne paid someone else three clips to do it for him though. During his stay in the Roughs, he visited Elendel only once and saw his sister only a couple of times. Additionally, during the train ride to the Roughs, Wax converted to the Path and was given a Pathian earring by MeLaan.
During a bounty claim on Granite Joe, he encountered Lessie--a woman he would fall in love with and eventually marry. In , Wax and Wayne were in West's Haven, and Wayne burned down a school. After they caught Icy Ben Oldson, Wax and Wayne had a drink together, but before Wax removed the caps off the bottles, Wayne had smacked them on the table, so when Wax opened them, the beer squirted out all over his head. The first time Wax saw someone sell water, he was surprised. A pastry shop once blew up while Wax and Wayne were in it.
After the reported death of his uncle, Wax was implored to return to Elendel to begin managing the ledgers of his house. Initially ignoring this request, Wax chose instead to hunt the murderous Bloody Tan as his final bounty. In a horrifying turn of events, Waxillium mistakenly shot Lessie in the forehead when he attempted to free her from Bloody Tan's clutches. With nothing left for him in the Roughs, Wax returned to his family mansion in Elendel.
=== Return to Elendel ===
In his early months in Elendel, Wax earned a reputation for frequently disappearing early from social functions, preferring to steel-push through the mists, in patrol of the city. On one such night, Waxillium paused his patrol and intervened in a shootout. Believing he heard a woman's whimper, which reminded him of Lessie, Wax froze during the gunfight. Coming to the conclusion that he was no longer capable of being a lawman, and with the effectiveness of the city constabulary forcing him to face the irrelevance of vigilante justice in general, Wax hung up his guns for the time being. Waxillium visited the Village four times in and .
Throwing himself into the much more mundane effort of saving his house's financial future, Waxillium spent half a year working to reverse his late uncle's squandering of the family funds. At some point, he courted lady Valette Entrone, albeit without success During a visit to a Cett party, Lord Westweather Cett demanded to duel Wax, but instead of accepting Wax headbutted him, breaking his nose. Believing that he had little choice, he entered into a marriage agreement with Lord Harms' daughter, Steris, hopeful that her father's money would help bring House Ladrian back from the brink of destitution. That same day, Wayne, an old partner from his time in the Roughs, re-entered Wax's life--carrying with him an aluminum bullet and a tantalizing mystery surrounding a gang of train robbers known as the Vanishers, which threatened to draw Wax away from his house responsibilities and right back into the life of a lawman.
==== The Vanishers ====
Against his better judgement, and under the disapproving eye of his butler, Tillaume, Wax began to piece together the history of the Vanishers, hoping to discover the reason for their unorthodox targets as well as the secret behind the way they commit their crimes. Realizing the distraction this had created for his house duties, Waxillium endeavored to put away this new obsession and attended the Yomen-Ostlin wedding dinner with Steris, marking their public debut as a couple.
After the wedding was interrupted by the arrival of bandits from the Vanishers gang, who proceeded to rob the lords and ladies in attendance at gunpoint, Wax initially refused Wayne's insistence that he take up a pistol--having convinced himself that the Elendel constabulary would be able to handle the disturbance with far less bloodshed. When the gang went too far, killing a man and taking Steris as a hostage, Wax admitted that he could not stand idly by, and attacked the gang with his backup pistols and the full fury of his Steelpushing. In the ensuing gunfight, Wax, Wayne, and Steris' cousin Marasi worked together to subdue the majority of the attackers, while successfully minimizing civilian casualties. When Marasi was suddenly held at gunpoint by one of the gang, in the same fashion as Lessie a year ago, Wax nearly froze up again. Marasi struggled, successfully stunning the Vanisher holding her, momentarily opening up the shot for Wax--forcing him to make a choice to overcome his fear to pull the trigger and save her. As the robbers retreated, Waxillium was surprised to discover the identity of the Vanishers' leader, Miles "Hundredlives" Dagouter--another former lawman from the Roughs.
With Steris kidnapped, Wax re-doubled his efforts into his previous investigation. Having obtained one of the Vanishers' aluminum guns, Wax poured himself into researching its makeup and possible origin as well as uncovering the mystery of the Vanishers' ultimate goal. 
In the middle of his investigation, Wax, Wayne, and Marasi were caught up in an explosion in his study, set off by his butler in a botched attempt to assassinate him.
Eventually discovering the location of the Vanishers' hideout and confirming Hundredlives' involvement, Wax began forming a plan to take down the unbeatable, former lawman. Focusing his attention on puzzling out the Vanishers' peculiar robbery methods, Wax was taken by surprise when the Vanishers attacked his train en route back to Elendel. Wounded in the attack and shaken by Hundredlives' claim that the real evil in the world is the corruption of Elendel itself, Waxillium escaped to Ranette's house, where he obtained Hazekiller bullets and a new prototype revolver, Vindication.
Correctly deducing the Vanishers' next target, Wax set Wayne and Marasi to work, zeroing in on the protection of Lord Tekiel's next shipment train, which included the new, Breaknaught cargo car. Infiltrating the car just before the predicted robbery took place, Wax allowed himself to be taken to the Vanishers' lair. Making use of a large amount of dynamite smuggled alongside him in the Breaknaught, Waxillium fought his way through the Vanishers' hideout, unfortunately losing Vindication in the fray. Successfully springing a trap made specially to capture Hundredlives, Wax was then forced to flee when the outlaw opted to blow himself up with a personal explosive, rather than be captured. Escaping into the mists, Waxillium briefly experienced a conversation with Harmony, which culminated in the realization that Harmony had worked behind the scenes to orchestrate the delivery of Wax's old, lost weapons to the Vanishers' hideout, just in time to help. 
Newly re-armed, Wax located and rescued Steris, killed numerous members of the Vanishers gang, and destroyed their hideout with a tremendous feat of Metalborn power. As the building collapsed, several surviving Vanishers, led by the now fully-healed, Miles Hundredlives, held Marasi at gunpoint. Refusing to freeze up and lose another woman's life to the same type of standoff, Wax called for Wayne to create a speed bubble. Firing at the Vanisher through the speed bubble, Wax compensated for the unavoidable veering of the time-slowed bullet by firing a second time, in an incredibly aimed shot which struck his first bullet and caused it to ricochet directly into the thug's head. Miles and an already injured Wax squared off, with Hundredlives beating Wax mercilessly. Waxillium held on, taking the punishment of Miles' blows as Marasi secretly held them in a time bubble. Wax successfully distracted the outlaw, laying all of his hopes on the absent Wayne, who finally returned, having surrounded the three of them with Elendel's constables.
==== Meeting Mister Suit ====
After the surviving Vanishers were taken into custody and interrogated, Waxillium recognized the description of a man working with Miles whom they called "Mister Suit," which led him to believe they were talking about his supposed late uncle, Edwarn Ladrian. Following up on a lead to Suit's current whereabouts, Wax boarded a train at Dryport and confirmed his suspicions. Confronting his uncle face to face, Waxillium demanded that Edwarn give up the location of the other women the Vanishers had kidnapped. Unthreatened, Edwarn welcomed Wax to attempt to expose his operation, as there was no real proof pointing to the old man's involvement. Wax listened as his uncle chastised him for his purported self-righteousness, just as he did when Wax was a child. When Wax moved to take matters into his own hands, Edwarn called in his men, who threw Wax off the back of the train--but not before Wax swiped his uncle's appointment book. Waxillium also got a reward for his involvement in the Vanishers case, the reward was mostly given in the form of aluminum captured from the Vanishers. Sometime after Wax’s return to Elendel, likely after the Vanisher case, he donated a dozen aluminum lined helmets to the constabulary of the fourth octant.
=== Bleeder ===
Newly rescued, Steris suggested to Wax that their shared ordeal afforded the two of them an opportunity to speed up their marriage contract and announce their engagement much sooner then previously planned. Initially hesitant, Wax agreed that the couple should move forward with Steris' suggestion, endeavoring to push away any potentially romantic thoughts of Marasi and bury his painful memories of Lessie. Wax also had a subscription for an evening edition of an unknown broadsheet.
Due to his invaluable contributions toward the resolution of the Vanishers case, Wax was granted a citywide deputized forbearance by the Elendel Senate as well as certain allowances to practice his Roughs-style justice in the city. This was expedited by Harmony using TenSoon, who imitated a high ranking member of the constabulary to push the documents through.
==== Tormented by the Past ====
Months later, while Steelpushing through the crowded city streets in hot pursuit of a bank robber known as the Marksman (an Allomancer connected with the Set who featured in Edwarn's appointment book) Wax was stunned and deeply disturbed to recognize the face of an onlooker on the sidewalk below--Bloody Tan, Lessie's murderer. Shaken and unable to locate Tan among the crowds, Wax enlisted the help of Wayne and Marasi to continue the chase into the Breakouts. Eventually catching Marks, Wax was prevented from bringing the man in for questioning when Marks was suddenly killed by an assassin's crossbow.
Approached by a number of constables who arrived late on the scene, Wax learned that Constable-General Claude Aradel would like to quietly enlist his assistance in investigating the recent murder of Elendel Governer Replar Innate's brother, Winsting, who had been killed among thirty of Elendel's most notorious criminals. Examining the scene, Wax determined that Winsting was stabbed by someone familiar to the man, citing the location of the killings, the position of the bodies, and the sheer number of victims--details which also dictated that Feruchemically enhanced speed would have been required to perform the grisly feat. Wax steeled himself, knowing he was now on the trail of a Steelrunner.
Starting his search in the best place to find word of a rogue Feruchemist, Wax visited the Terris Village to obtain the counsel of his grandmother, Vwafendal. Recognizing the name Idashwy, a Steelrunner from his past who had recently left the Village, Wax continued his investigation elsewhere, enlisting Wayne's help to discover the woman's address in the city. Blindsided by another momentary glimpse of Bloody Tan on the crowded streets, Wax began to doubt his own senses. Shaking off the distraction, Wax joined Wayne in discovering Idashwy's corpse, laying in her kitchen with a large hole bored through her chest. Having spent great amounts of time studying a book gifted to him by Ironeyes himself, Wax recognized the likelihood of Idashwy having been the victim of the creation of a Hemalurgic spike. Guessing that the killer used the spike to steal her Feruchemical speed, Wax was surprised to find a note written to himself hidden in the victim's pocket. On the note were some of the last words Bloody Tan said to him, back in the Roughs.
Needing time to think, Wax rode alone in his carriage, driven by Hoid. Casually musing upon whether his Pathian earring may have once been a Hermalurgic spike, Wax placed it into his ear. Immediately, Harmony spoke to Wax directly--careful to reassure him that he had not gone insane. Harmony admitted that the earring was a spike, which was the reason they were able to converse. Additionally, Harmony explained that Wax's earlier sightings of Bloody Tan were real and not imagined, though the murderer Wax had been chasing all this time was not a man, but actually a Faceless Immortal using Tan's bones, named Bleeder.
==== Pursuit of a Mad Woman ====
While attending Lady ZoBell's party with Steris, Wax met MeLaan, a Faceless Immortal sent to help in the hunt for Bleeder by Harmony himself. In between chats with various nobility of the city, Wax began to hear a new voice in his head--mocking him and the people of Elendel. Wax soon realized he was hearing the voice of Bleeder, who had somehow learned to use the same Hermalurgic connection to him that Harmony had. Using their connection to discover Bleeder's location at the party, Wax attempted to apprehend her, giving chase out a window and through the Mists of the city outside.
His pursuit of Bleeder waylaid by a dozen armed men, Wax was convinced that she must be aligned with the Set. Wax listened closely as Bleeder spoke in his mind of her plans to kill the governor and free the city from Harmony's influence, but first she claimed she would need to murder Wax's father. Guessing that she must have been threatening Lord Harms' life, Wax raced across the city, spiriting the old man and Steris to separate, secret locations. Finally believing he had moved one step ahead of Bleeder, Wax reported to Governor Innate to warn him of the dire threat to his life, only to discover that during his absence Bleeder had brutally killed Father Bin, the Survivorist priest who was to perform his marriage ceremony to Steris.
Tracking Bleeder's path, Wax located the carriage she had used to escape the scene of the killing. Inside, Wax found traces of Perchwither, a substance only found in the Homeland of the Faceless Immortals. Puzzled, Wax followed her trail back to the Governor's mansion. Once close enough to her location, Bleeder's voice immediately returned to his mind, keen to convince Wax that Harmony did not care and was only using him. Sowing doubt, Bleeder asked Wax to attempt to explain why Harmony had failed to step in and save Lessie's life. Distracted, Wax was unable to prevent Bleeder from using her stolen Steelrunner abilities to attack Innate's chambers. By the time Wax arrived, Bleeder had already disappeared, though thankfully leaving the governor alive. Looking closer, Wax found another message from Bleeder, this time written in the blood of her latest kill.
Seeking more information on Bleeder, Wax entered the museum in the Field of Rebirth. Locating the secret path through the historical atium mines, Wax entered the cavern leading to the Homeland, and encountered TenSoon, legendary wolfhound of the Ascendant Warrior. TenSoon told Wax much of Bleeder's history and showed him a torn up and desecrated copy of the Words of Founding--the product of one of her last acts before leaving the Homeland and evidence of her descent into madness. Wax and TenSoon found themselves chased from the Homeland by the sudden appearance of Hemalurgic chimeras--deformed humans under Bleeder's control--but not before Wax came to realize the full scope of her plan. She didn't want to simply kill the governor; she wanted to incite a city-wide riot. Wax immediately returned to Innate's mansion, intent on saving his life once and for all. After entering the governor's study, Wax noticed a carefully placed gumball, which he recognized to be a sign of trouble, left for him by Wayne. Immediately realizing the truth--that Bleeder had been secretly impersonating the governor the entire time--Wax pulled out his gun. Bleeder opened fire first, killing Innate's guards as she escaped out the window.
====Confronting a Memory====
Steelpushing through the night after Bleeder, Wax easily found her, changing bodies again just before she moved to escape. Finally confronting her on the Eastbridge, Wax saw that Bleeder had pointed her gun at him, but she did not fire. With tears in her eyes, she pleaded with Wax to forsake Harmony and be free. Wax ignored the pain he felt, seeing that Bleeder was now wearing the face of his dead wife, Lessie. He did his best not to listen to how well Bleeder could mimic Lessie's voice and mannerisms. Wax levelled Vindication and shot her in the head with the bullet from the gun's special chamber. The bullet had been made to his request by Ranette, molded from his Pathian earring. It was designed to give Bleeder a second spike, allowing Harmony to reassert Hemalurgic control over the mad kandra.
Bleeder screamed that she would not be controlled again. As she died in Wax's arms, having terminated her own life to prevent Harmony from returning her to his service, Bleeder begged Wax to ask Harmony why he originally sent her to protect him, back in the Roughs. Telling Wax that she loved him, she demanded to know why, if Harmony was such a wonderful, all-knowing god, he would use Wax to kill her. Too late, Wax realized that the woman he had shot was not just Bleeder, an insane murderer and Faceless Immortal who looked like Lessie; she was Lessie.
In the weeks that followed, Wax bitterly grieved his wife's final death, greatly distancing himself from Harmony for keeping Bleeder's identity secret from him. Forsaking even the mists he used to cherish, Wax largely shied away from his public responsibilities, showing little interest in following up on the city intrigues Wayne, MeLaan, and Marasi had uncovered while Bleeder's plan unraveled. Offering little in the manner of resistance, Wax even agreed to postpone the wedding with Steris as he flirted with surrendering to his depression.
=== The Bands of Mourning ===
Six months later, spurred on by a slowly growing bond with Steris and determined not to remain in the same well of despair that had tried to claim him when he lost Lessie the first time, Wax had returned to the pursuit of his constabulary duties with Wayne. When the day of his wedding with Steris arrived, Wax found himself pursued once again by a member of Harmony's kandra; this one claiming to have a matter of great importance to discuss. Rebuffing him, Wax continued on to the Survivorist church where he walked down the aisle with Steris, whose genuine tears moved him in a way he did not expect. Realizing he was still not ready to let go of Lessie's memory, Wax was blessedly spared the need for any further heartbreak when a water tower outside suddenly tipped onto the roof of the church, bathing all those in attendance and postponing the ceremony once again, much to Wax's relief.
==== To New Seran ====
Wax unholstered Vindication and downed a new vial of metals as he returned to Ladrian mansion later that day; the telltale clues of intrusion in his own home had quickly brought him to high alert. Discovering that this newest threat turned out to be nothing more than the same kandra as before, now seated in Wax's own study, had done little to encourage him to lower his pistol. The kandra, VenDell, of the sixth generation, had successfully ensnared Marasi and Wayne in his appeal for assistance, but Wax believed that VenDell had done so simply as another way to entangle him into the affair, while ignoring his earlier refusal. Pouncing on Wax's curiosity, VenDell produced an evanoscope, which he used to engage him in a presentation on the nature of Investiture and Identity, as well as the myth of the Bands of Mourning. Wax's patience wearing thin, VenDell explained that these evanotype images had been taken by another kandra, ReLuur, who was obsessed with the Bands and convinced they were Identity-less metalminds which held the potential to grant anyone Metalborn powers to rival those of the Lord Ruler. Dismissing the idea outright, Wax was shocked to see another evanotype impressed with an image of his sister, Telsin, who was being dragged somewhere against her will. VenDell informed him that ReLuur had been accosted by the same thugs in New Seran, where one of his spikes had been stolen. Convinced of the danger and worried for his sister, Wax agreed to help.
With real proof that his sister was alive for the first time in years, Wax knew he was being manipulated into doing Harmony's bidding again; though this time, he endeavored to step in with his eyes wide open. Wax categorically rejected VenDell's extended gifting of another Pathian earring. He would do this on his own, without Harmony's voice in his ear. 
Joined on the train to New Seran by Steris, who was becoming increasingly familiar and useful company, Wax soon found it difficult to interrupt her intense reading of a book. He needed to mine her keen knowledge of local politics and slake his curiosity after he noticed increased protests of Elendel's tariffs, visible out the windows as they passed through the outer cities. Distracting her further, Wax was delighted to finally catch a glimpse of what had earlier held Steris' attention so doggedly--she had been reading a book on basic human reproduction. Mortified, Steris attempted to change the subject, but the discovery only added to Wax's growing affection for the woman.
Feeling the train car suddenly slowing, Wax sprang into action. Guessing rightly that robbers had disconnected their car, he leaped to the tracks below and then tapped his metalmind to greatly increase his weight, which allowed him to Steelpush the train car back down the tracks fast enough to reconnect. Wax pushed himself back onto the train, which was already being boarded by a large group of gunmen on horseback. Leaving Steris in Marasi's care, Wax fought his way through the train, eventually squaring off against a huge Metalborn brute, whose large bulk turned out to be a great target for Ranette's latest gift to Wax's arsenal--an Allomantically-triggered hook device which proved particularly well suited to throwing people from a train.
After securing the train and allowing a doctor to tend to his wounds at Ironstand station, Wax began to worry that the still missing Wayne might have been seriously hurt or incapacitated in the battle. Wax's concern soon melted to annoyance when his long search of the train turned up both Wayne and MeLaan who were holed up together in a private compartment, groggy from a tussle of their own.
Eventually arriving in New Seran, Wax and Steris agreed that the best way to begin their investigation was to attend a ball at the home of Lady Kelesina Shores, where they would be sure to scrape as much information as possible from the city's upper crust. As they approached the mansion, Wax gave a bank note to a well spoken beggar, who insisted he take in exchange a strange coin, made of two different metals, branded with the face of a man spiked through one eye, and covered in symbols that Wax could not read. Separating, the two mingled among the elite and gathered what rumors they could, including some regarding a hushed building project that may have involved Allomancers, north east of the city. Gruff around the edges as ever, and surrounded by as practiced liars and thieves as he had ever faced before, Wax knew he still had a lot to learn about politics. Still, he gained more information than he expected, even detecting that there was more going on with Lady Kelesina than she let on. Interrupted just as he was about to extend an invitation to Lady Felise Demoux, Wax instead shared a dance with Khriss, who was excited to question Wax extensively about his particular pairing of Feruchemical and Allomantic abilities. Pushing for more information than seemed proper, and displaying an uncomfortably high level of knowledge of his powers, Khriss increased Wax's already heavy suspicions, as he returned to asking other guests of the party questions of his own.
Sensing that Lady Kelesina was making a quick escape from the party, Wax scrambled to find a way to exit in pursuit, without alerting anyone that he was following. Ever prepared, Steris armed Wax with a pistol she had snuck into the dance and then produced the requisite distraction, from the bottom of a vial of ipecac. Following as carefully as possible, Wax caught up to Kelesina deep in her mansion, where he overheard the unmistakable voice of his uncle through the door to her bedroom. Wax listened as Edwarn detailed his involvement in both the train robbery from the day before as well as further plans to stymie Wax and keep him off his trail. Bursting through the door without any hesitation, Wax was immediately disarmed by Kelesina's pewter-burning steward. Beckoned by Edwarn, whose words were actually emitted from an odd voice projector sitting in the room, the steward turned and murdered Kelesina with Wax's gun, tidily implicating him, a visiting noble from Elendel, in the assassination of one of New Seran's political elite.
With the timely arrival of MeLaan, Wax fought his way out of the mansion and escaped with Steris, who he found waiting for him behind a shrub outside. Taking her close, Wax Steelpushed their way straight up into the sky and through the evening mists, which gave way to the breathtaking view of The Ascendant's Field, where they shared a quiet moment of mutual respect and kissed above the clouds.
==== Uncovering the Weapon ====
Staying ahead of the local authorities and following up on their only lead from the party, Wax rode a stagecoach toward the construction site to the northeast. Along the way, he helped Marasi field test the cube device she had taken from the train robbers, which they took to calling an Allomantic grenade as it seemed to somehow extend the area of effect of its user's Allomancy. Wax, Wayne, MeLaan, and Marasi successfully infiltrated the construction site, discovering that a large, nondescript building was actually a facade covering up Edwarn's real effort in New Seran--the apparent construction of a huge, wooden warship.
Splitting from Marasi and MeLaan, who went in search of ReLuur's stolen spike, Wax and Wayne entered the warship, determined to locate Edwarn himself. Using a spyglass borrowed from MeLaan, Wax immediately changed their plan when he located the chamber where Telsin was being held. Easily bypassing the workmen and engineers blocking his path, Wax quietly entered the room dead set on saving his sister. Finally reunited, Wax was surprised when Telsin immediately took brutal retribution on one of her captors. The years had really changed her just as, he supposed, they had changed him. Fighting their way out, accompanied by a generous helping of speed bubble assistance from Wayne, Wax joined in a grand escape after Allik, a masked man that Marasi had rescued, revealed the existence of a second, smaller ship which could detach from the main vessel and lift into the sky.
Briefly stopping their ship to pick up Steris, Wax and Marasi pored over a notebook that she stole from Edwarn, which seemed to show the location of a second work site, south of their position. This corroborated Telsin's claims that Edwarn had been obsessively working to find a great weapon in the south that promised to give the Set the ability to dominate the whole of the Basin. Telsin warned Wax that their uncle had set off to retrieve the weapon not long ago; it was clear that there wasn't much time. Marasi's notebook also included a map showing a temple marked for excavation in the peaks of the southern mountains, which reignited the palpable fear that the Set could be dangerously close to obtaining the fabled Bands of Mourning, just as VenDell had warned back in Elendel.
Taking advantage of their more efficient form of travel, Wax's group arrived on the mountain peaks soundly before Edwarn and his men could complete their slow climb through the snow. Locating the temple from Marasi's notebook, Wax ventured inside, proceeding with caution after he encountered the scattered remains of treasure hunters who had been there before him. Making grand use of MeLaan's nigh-invincibility, Wax and Allik worked slowly through the temple's ancient security system, safely triggering traps that would have spelled certain death for any other group of trespassers.
Halted by a door which was inscribed with writing that none of them could decipher, Wax returned to the entrance of the temple, where Steris, Marasi, and Wayne held Edwarn at gunpoint; his expedition had arrived at the temple just before Wax's return. Edwarn claimed to know the secret to opening the temple's final door and threatened Wax that he had an overwhelming force of Allomancers and goons surrounding the temple who would not hesitate to kill every member of Wax's pitiful group, unless he was allowed to join them in collecting the Bands. When the temple's last chamber proved to be missing the Bands, Wax suddenly found himself in an armed standoff with Telsin, who he had rightly suspected to be a mole for the Set. Both siblings fired at once; Wax's bullet went wild and missed, but Telsin's shot hit Wax just below the neck. A number of bullets later, Wax fell into a pit below the Bands' supposed resting chamber. Trailing blood and weakening by the moment, Wax was soon tracked down by Edwarn, now fully revealed as an Allomancer, by way Hemalurgic spikes. Edwarn cruelly triggered another of the temple's traps, which collapsed the roof and crushed Wax's already wounded body under a punishing avalanche of rubble. In a daze, Wax was forced to watch helplessly as his uncle approached, unholstering his pistol and intent on finishing him off. When Wayne arrived to attempt his rescue and broke down at the sight of him, Wax used his remaining breath to tell his friend to go on living and keep fighting. No longer able to hold on, Waxillium Ladrian died.
==== Return ====
Immediately, Wax found himself in the presence of Harmony. Face to face with the god he had shunned for so long, Wax did not shirk away; instead, Wax laid into Harmony for his inaction that had led to so many people suffering. He chastised him for using Wax all these years with what appeared to be so little regard. He demanded an explanation for what happened to Lessie. Together, Wax and Harmony philosophized on the nature of cause and effect. Harmony patiently explained that his workings were larger in scope than Wax could currently understand. He expanded Wax's worldview-- showing him a representation of the planet and allowing him a small glimpse of the greater conflict in which he was currently embroiled. Allowing Wax to choose, Harmony offered him a chance at "another adventure," which Wax accepted. Wax opened his eyes and screamed, throwing the rubble from his body with the pure strength of steel itself. His body instantaneously healed, Wax focused his view on Marasi who had placed something like an oversized spearhead in his hand: the real Bands of Mourning, an unkeyed metalmind of nearly limitless power. 
Tapping the enormously potent metalmind inside the spearhead, Wax burst through the confines of the temple and out into the open air, trailing mist in his wake. Able to sense and call upon what seemed to be endless trace metals in the surrounding area, Wax knew that he could crush Edwarn and Telsin's fleeing ship with little effort. Bringing himself under control, Wax confronted his uncle for the final time, choosing to subdue him without the use of the spearhead's dangerous power. 
Wax finally returned to Elendel, where he gave over the spearhead into the hands of the kandra. No longer willing to put it off, and ready to move on with his life, Wax convinced Steris to marry him in a quiet ceremony, highlighted by their newly blossomed love for each other. On their honeymoon, Wax was suddenly awakened by the sound of an explosion in the distance. Wandering their suite, Wax found himself absently handling the dual metal coin that the beggar had given him, before the party in New Seran. Looking closely at the coin for what seemed like the first time, Wax hesitantly tested tapping it like a metalmind, which sprang to life a copper-stored memory, seemingly belonging to the mysterious Sovereign.
=== Lawman Senator of the Roughs ===
Shortly after the events in the south, Waxillium retired as a lawman and became a senator in order to try to bring about positive change. He also settled down with Steris, and had two children, Maxillium and Tindwyl Ladrian. Upon hearing about the Elendel Supremacy Bill, he began to go across the Outer cities and the Roughs in an attempt to gather support, from both the people, governors, and other senators. He also looked for the corruption and sold votes in the senate, so that he could attempt to reveal it to stall the vote. He ultimately failed, with the Bill passing.
After the outcome of the vote Wax, bitter that the bill passed, took his son Maxillium flying. During their flight, Wax boarded a Malwish airship and met the new Admiral Daal, being the first Elendel Senator to do so. After he returned to Ahlstrom Tower, Wax got a note from Marasi, stating that he should come to his ancestral home of Ladrian Mansion. Once here, Marasi revealed that she had finally acquired a Trellium spike, and Wax, Marasi, Steris, Allik and VenDell experimented on the spike. During their experiments, they discovered Trellium’s explosive potential. This filled him with panic over the idea of the Set having already discovered it before him. While Wax and Steris set to searching broadsheets for evidence that the Set had discovered Trellium explosions, Marasi planned a sting on the Set in the city of Bilming. Wax and Steris found evidence for the fact that the Set had already discovered Trellium explosions, and Wax set off to Bilming, Steelpushing quickly along the highway.
=== The Set in Bilming ===
==== Sting gone wrong ====
Wax arrived in Bilming soon after, although he had to wait for gunfire to lead him to Marasi. He found not a precise and well executed sting, but a chaotic battlefield. Just in time to stop the Set from gunning the constables down with a machine gun, Wax turned the tide of the battle, shooting multiple members of the Set. But once Dumad, the enemy Coinshot, took to the air, Wax followed him and a daring chase took place, where Dumad managed to lose Wax. After this, Wax met back up with Marasi and Wayne, and they were taken into custody by the Bilming Police. A short while later, Bilming Mayor Entrone arrived, insulting them and telling them to either call their governer or fight their way out, which would cause a scandal either way. Death arrived however, and he freed them from the constabulary, and gave them a place to start, a mister Copper. Constable Blantach also told them that it would be easier to contain the governer if the three of them would take a Bilming constable with them, and the three accepted. Furthermore, all three, now with the constable Kim, headed to the Bilming records offices to get information on Tobal Copper.
==== Figuring out the Set’s plan ====
After discovering Tobal’s address, the four headed to his apartment, trying to find clues about his disappearance. After seeing that the Set had been there before them, Wayne believed that Tobal would have gone to a broadsheet office to publish his findings, and Marasi correlated a few numbers they found to a broadsheet address. The four of them went inside, first wanting to break in, but the proprietor let them in after being convinced that they were not members of the Set. Maraga, the proprietor, showed them what she and Tobal had discovered, and they talked about the Set’s plans. Suddenly, Telsin appeared at the front of the building. After talking together in a speed bubble, Wax, Wayne and Marasi decide to split the group up, with Wax and Wayne going with Telsin.
Wax and Telsin both pushed onto the roof of a building, she tried to discourage Waxillium from trying to stop the Set, stating that he could never hope to win from them. She cited both familial affection and wanting him out of the equation as her reasons for this, but Wax realised that she was actually afraid he’d ruin her plans. Wax also figured out that while Telsin thought she still knew him, he’d changed a lot since their last meeting, which gave him the advantage. As Telsin continued her speech, Wax realised she was stalling, and he silently leapt from the roof to find Wayne. When he found him, the two decided to ransack governer Entrone’s mansion in hopes of finding clues. The plan was set into motion, and while Wayne handled the distraction, Wax entered the mansion through a window. He quickly searched through Entrone’s stuff, taking some pages from his calendar and leaving through a trapdoor in the mansion, which led to a hidden tunnel. Wax returned to the predetermined rally point and found Wayne there, and together they entered the hidden tunnel.
While walking through the tunnel, the two were suddenly set upon by Dumad and Getruda. Wayne quickly stepped in front of Wax, acting like cover and taking a bullet for Wax. Wax reminded Wayne that Dumad can burn chromium and bronze as well as duralumin. They planned to see if they could throw Dumad out of Wayne's speed bubble, and then attack. The fight commences, and each person kept their match busy. Wax was quickly thrown out of the bubble, and Dumad turned towards Wayne. While Dumad pushed a couple of coins through Wayne’s body, Wayne began to talk, keeping them distracted. While he talked, he also dropped his speed bubble, waiting for Wax to take aim and hit each one with an explosive Hemalurgist-killer round. Dumad was still able to move, probably with pewter, while Getruda's head was half blown off. They retreated through a street grate. Afterwards, Wax made sure to ask Wayne about how he's really doing, but Wayne shrugs him off.
Wax and Wayne proceeded down the hidden tunnel, eventually finding the lab. Once above ground again, the pair was shot at by some Set soldiers, although they were mostly unprepared. Wax increased his weight and pushed against the building, blasting a portion of the wall away. After dispatching multiple soldiers, three trucks rode away from the building. Wax left Wayne behind to deal with stragglers and chased those trucks, while dodging aluminum bullets from the soldiers within them. He took one truck down with a steelpush, but found that it was a decoy. He almost went for the other trucks, but seeing that they took obvious and visual routes, he figured out that they were both decoys, and that there was a fourth truck. He spotted it, and chased it down, finally breaking it with a steelpush. As he entered the crumpled truck he found three corpses and a bunch of paper. One of the three people in there was still alive, though dying, and Autonomy used her body to speak to Wax. Wax also found some remaining notes, the Set’s scientists had destroyed most of them, and realised how the Set had tested their bombs. Wax also found a case of Logshine in a nearby half destroyed shop, and travelled back to Wayne. The two of them took a half hour of rest, both to take a breather and read the evidence Wax had found. Wax also had a talk with Wayne about his life, and whether or not Wayne was a good person. Finally, Wax realised where the bomb was.
==== Stopping the bomb ====
Wax, carrying Wayne on his back, pushed his way onto a balcony about halfway up the Shaw. Inside, they found the Set ready for them. With a large contingent of soldiers inside the building, Wayne put on Wax’s mistcoat and pretended to be him, drawing the soldiers’ attention. Meanwhile, Wax flanked the soldiers, using his Allomancy and Feruchemy to wreak havoc among them. Afterwards, Wax put his mistcoat back on and put in his Trellium earring, talking to his sister for a moment. He warned and threatened her, before ripping out his earring and hefting the Big Gun. Wax told Wayne to stay back and not engage, only following once he was done, stating that it was time for Harmony’s Sword to do his work. Using the Steel Survivor and the Big Gun, as well as his Metalborn abilities, Wax slowly carved a way up the tower, through hundreds of soldiers. The top floor was secured by less professional people, and while Wax prepared to take them down as well, Wayne disagreed, and started shouting to them, telling them that they could leave if they wanted to. Everyone in that top floor left, giving Wax and Wayne a way to the roof.
As they entered the roof however, a final challenge awaited them, in the form of Dumad and Getruda. Wax suggested that they switch it up, where he would take Getruda while Wayne got Dumad. In the ensuing fight Wax stayed close to her, causing her to be unable to leverage her speed bubbles. After a while of fighting Wayne appeared near him, and gave him his dueling cane, while Wax gave Wayne his gun. This didn’t work that well though, and he decided to do something old fashioned. Using a metal doorstop and his Allomancy, Wax constantly beat Getruda until he found her metalmind, which was located in her right arm. After this he shot a hazekiller round into her shoulder, which caused it’s secondary explosion to take Getruda’s arm, and metalmind, clean off. He finished her off with a bullet pushed into the skull. Meanwhile, Wayne finished Dumad off. After this, Wax and Wayne headed over to Telsin, and while Wayne corralled a bunch of engineers into a corner, away from the bomb, Telsin drew Waxillium into a conversation. Despite her plans failing, Telsin was still confident, and Wax, being the detective that he is, figured out that the bomb didn’t work. A single steelpush toppled the bomb completely, and Wax realised that the bomb was located on a leaving Pewternaut. He also realised that while he couldn’t get to the ship with his normal Allomancy, Dumad’s corpse, which was still below, had a spike granting duralumin.
He spiked himself with this spike, driving it right through his lower chest, and with Wayne on his back, who was also spiked, he travelled to the ship. Once there, they fought their way to the munitions hold, which held the bomb, only to find a dead man’s switch. Believing that the only way was to steer the ship away from Elendel, the two of them cleared the ship of any crewmates, only to see that the course was locked, and changing it would cause the bomb to blow up. Wayne thought of a plan however, and after determining that Wax wasn’t needed, he pushed Wax off of the ship. After Wayne exploded the ship using his Allomancy, saving Elendel, Bilming and many more cities, Harmony protected Wax from the waves, and Hoid arrived to bring Wax back to the mainland.
=== Progress ===
It took two days after the explosion before Wax, who had broken a leg because of Wayne’s steelpush, was allowed to return home from the hospital. The next two years saw Wax working hard, staving off civil war and managing to create a National Assembly for the entire Basin. In he planned to make a tour through the Roughs, drumming up support for their bid to make the Roughs join the newly united Basin.
== Relationships ==
=== Wayne ===
Wayne is Wax’s best friend and colleague. They have saved each other’s lives countless times during their years together. Wax, working with Jon deadfinger as a Lawman, spared Wayne, who accidentally shot and killed a man. Following this, Wayne became his deputy, and would work alongside Wax for many years after that.{book ref|mb4|10}} During these years, the two became best friends, and they would get each other out of trouble many times. After Lessie’s death, Wayne dragged Wax into the Vanishers case, furthermore, the two spent a long time hunting down the Set together. After the discovery of the Southern Scadrians, Wayne left his old partner and for the next six years he would work with Marasi. However, in Wax and Wayne got together again to hunt the Set. During this hunt, which took place in Bilming, Wax convinced Wayne that he was a good person, which cheered him up. Later, on the A-16 Pewternaut, Wayne would push Wax off the ship, saving his life. 
Because of their long time spent fighting together in the Roughs, Wax and Wayne have a whole list of fighting strategies, with appropriate names such as Banefielder and Spoiled Tomato. The two have an easygoing relationship, and they often engage in banter. Though Wax laughs at most of Wayne’s jokes, he also wishes Wayne would not meddle in his personal life, such as disparaging Steris. Wayne and Wax also have a cheerful competitiveness to them, sometimes counting how many enemies they each defeated in a fight.
=== Lessie ===
During a bounty hunt, Wax met a woman called Lessie. They immediately hit it off, and the two became lawmen working together. Later, they became romantically involved, and even married. However, years later, Waxillium mistakenly shot Lessie in the forehead when he attempted to free her from Bloody Tan's clutches. This left him traumatic for a long period of time after it. In , Wax tried, and succeeded, in saving Elendel from a creature known as Bleeder. In their final encounter, which led to her death, Bleeder revealed that she was actually Lessie. This led Wax to grief her death again.
=== Marasi Colms ===
Marasi met Wax shortly after he became House Lord. She spent much of her life reading stories about his heroics in the Roughs, and Wax was a part of what inspired her to study law. Marasi helped Wax solve the Vanishers case, and during it, she developed romantic feelings for him, although Wax gently refused her. In the following months, a crack formed in their friendship as Wax thought that she still had romantic feelings, while Marasi didn’t anymore. In time however, this healed and the two stayed good friends.
=== Family ===
==== Steris ====
Waxillium first met Steris in . He and Steris discussed marriage, which was advantageous for both. Wax would receive funds from House Harms, while Steris would become better known in the circles of high nobility. However, at their first public appearance together, Steris was taken hostage by the Vanishers. Waxillium managed to rescue her though, after which the pair decided to go through with the marriage. The pair slowly grew to appreciate each other. Steris helped Wax through his grief of the final death of his first wife, Lessie. This also led to them postponing the wedding.
After six months together, and their adventure in New Seran, they grew to love eachother. Their first wedding was sabotaged however, when a water tower crashed into the survivorist church where their ceremony was being held. A while later, Wax and Steris married in the Ahlstrom Tower, in a small ceremony. The two of them would get two children, and Steris would help Wax in his duties as a senator. When they first met, Wax regarded Steris as an inconvenient necessity, and even enjoyed needling her until she loses her temper. As their relationship progresses, however, Wax found himself becoming protective of Steris’s feelings as well as her person.
==== Children ====
Waxillium and Steris have two children, Maxillium Ladrian and Tindwyl Ladrian. Wax enjoys flying with Maxillium, and Maxillium helped Wax transition from lawman to Senator and father.
==== Edwarn ====
Waxillium hates his uncle, Edwarn Ladrian. This feeling is not mutual however, as Edwarn likes Wax, and wishes that Wax would stop his morality of always following the law. Edwarn, as Waxillium’s uncle, had a hand in raising him, and groomed him to become the next house lord. Wax fled to the Roughs in part to escape his uncle. After Edwarn’s fake accident and death, Wax was forced to take over the house, and he spent a long time fixing what his uncle had destroyed. After the Vanishers case however, Waxillium realised that Edwarn was still alive, and managed to find and pay him a visit. Edwarn threatened him then, telling him that he had Wax’s sister. Waxillium hunted Edwarn for a long time after this, before finding and killing him in the Seran Range. Wax strongly dislikes his uncle’s morality and confidence. Edwarn, despite acknowledging that they were rivals and would kill eachother if they had the chance, still loves, or at least likes, him.
==== Telsin ====
Waxillium has an intricate relationship with his sister, Telsin. Telsin is one year older then Waxillium. The two have always had very different personalities, where Wax obeys the rules, his sister often breaks them, his sister is also much better with other people. After Wax left for the Roughs, he visited Elendel only once and saw his sister only a couple of times, because of this, their relationship degraded. By , she was essentially a stranger to him, and when news of her supposed death reached him, Wax didn’t find it terribly hard to process. Wax was a little ashamed that he didn’t know her as well as he should’ve. After figuring out that both Telsin and his uncle were alive, Wax was filled with a desire to find and rescue his sister. 
The next year, while sneaking into the Set’s base in Dulsing, Wax finally found his sister, he immediately came to her rescue, which lead to the mission being compromised as Telsin shot a man. Telsin, actually a high ranking member of the Set, acted like their uncle had taken her captive, like Wax already thought. But once at the temple where the Bands of Mourning resided, she betrayed him, shooting him and sending Edwarn to finish him off. After the situation escalated, Telsin fled the scene quickly, returning to the Set. After six years they met again, and while Telsin had continued on the same path, growing into an extreme form of herself, Wax had changed, something that she didn’t realise. She feared that Wax would ruin her plans, and tried to get him to leave Bilming. Later, as Wax was stopping the Trellium bomb, Autonomy withdrew from Telsin, which lead to her death. By the time of her death, Telsin had disliked Wax for decades, due to Wax always judging her.
=== Shards ===
==== Harmony ====
Wax has had a very interesting relationship with Harmony. Although he was originally a survivorist, Wax converted to the Path shortly after leaving Elendel. He was faithful to it, and tried to follow its teachings as well as he could. During an attempt to save Elendel, Wax discovered that his late wife, Lessie, was actually a Kandra sent by Harmony to protect him. Wax was angered by Harmony’s choice not to tell him this. Furthermore, Wax was forced to shoot Lessie, or Paalm, after which she committed suicide. This led to a major rift between him and Harmony, as Wax blamed Harmony for the final death of Lessie.
A year later, during a mission in the Seran Range to recover the Bands of Mourning and ReLuur’s kandra spike, Waxillium nearly died, and his soul spoke with Harmony. Wax laid into Harmony for his inaction and for using Wax all these years. The two had a conversation however, and Wax came somewhat to terms with what had happened. Harmony also pushed Waxillium to become his sword, his Ruin. As Harmony’s sword, Wax fought the Set and Autonomy in Bilming. Afterwards, Harmony promised never to speak in Wax’s mind again.
==== Autonomy ====
Wax hates Autonomy for the threat that she poses to all of Scadrial, and devotes everything to stopping her and the Set. Bavadin loves Wax, seeing him as a masterpiece that perfectly reflects her ideals, regretting that Harmony got to him first. Due to this, she challenged him that Scadrial deserves to be left alone.
== Trivia ==
* Brandon originally intended Wax's instinctive ability to create a steel bubble to be a result of him being a savant in the combination of his Allomantic and Feruchemical powers. He has since backed up on that, as he realized Wax wasn't showing any savant-like consequences.
* Wax is one of only three Crashers ever born.
* Wax has drawn upon the mists at some point.
* Brandon gave Waxillium his name because of the pun ‘Wax and Wayne’. He at some point tried changing the name, but it didn't work for him. He did want Wax to be short for something, and as he looked at names Waxillium stood out, because it has a metallurgic sound, and metals are important to Scadrial society.
* Wax has had an effect on the Elendel fashion industry.
== Notes ==
category: viewpoint characters
es:Waxillium Ladrian