Waxillium Ladrian

Also known as Dawnshot

Major
First seen · Book 4 · Ch. 1

Waxillium Ladrian is a major character in Mistborn (Book 4).

Gender: male
First appears: Book 4 · Ch. 1
Books: 3

Waxillium "Wax" Ladrian is a former Roughs lawman turned Elendel noble, Twinborn senator, and reluctant 'sword' of the god Harmony. Haunted by the death of his beloved Lessie, he discovers in Shadows of Self that she was secretly the kandra Paalm, the murderer known as Bleeder, a revelation that shakes his faith in Harmony and forces him to confront his grief. By The Lost Metal he has grown into a devoted husband to Steris and father to Max and Tindwyl, balancing Senate politics with a desperate struggle against the Set, his treacherous sister Telsin, and the god Autonomy. Over the series his love for Steris and his bond with Wayne become the anchors that let him choose life and duty again, even after Harmony returns him from death.

Description

A tall man around fifty years old with prominent sideburns, dressed in a long mistcoat duster whose tassels flare in the wind over a fine vest and cravat. Multiple revolvers rest at his belt and inside the coat, including a large weapon carried for aerial use. He carries himself with the confident posture of a seasoned lawman and Allomancer. A tall, lean man with a spring in his step. He wears a fine city suit, vest, and cravat, commonly under a Roughs-style mistcoat duster with tassels; he also wears a broad-brimmed Roughs hat on some occasions. He carries sidearms at his hips and has a small spike earring. His chin is sometimes covered with stubble. A tall, middle-aged human lawman with prominent sideburns, wearing a vest and neatly tied cravat beneath a thick, long duster-style mistcoat. Its distinctive tassels flare and stream around him as he moves. A gunbelt with holstered pistols completes his practical, imposing appearance; his expression is often grim and focused. His hair, eyes, complexion, and exact build are not visually specified in the available passages.

Connections

Family & partnersFriends & mentorsRivals

Steris Ladrianconflicting source relationships
Begins as a careful, planning-minded fiancée who affirms his work; becomes his devoted wife, mother of his children, scientific collaborator, and strategic partner, and the love that brings him back from death.
ML
Max Ladrianson
His admiring son, with whom Wax shares flights and games; a key reason Elendel feels like home.
L/
Lessie / PaalmPartner
His beloved Roughs partner whose death he blamed on himself; revealed as the kandra Paalm who returns as Bleeder to torment him, yet her memory remains precious.
Harmonyconflicting source relationships
Communicates via Wax's earring and makes him his sword; Wax respects yet challenges the god, shaken by Paalm's revelation and frustrated by Harmony's blindness, yet still acts on his mission.
Marasi Colmsconflicting source relationships
Former infatuated admirer turned colleague and sister-in-law; she insists on equal standing and steadily establishes her own authority while remaining a trusted ally.
Marshconflicting source relationships
Shifts from a distant figure to a source of Hemalurgic knowledge and crucial intelligence on Trell.
MeLaanconflicting source relationships
Kandra ally who once brought Wax his earring and helps him hunt Paalm.
TenSoonconflicting source relationships
Former bodyguard who guides Wax through the Homeland and reveals Paalm's truth, angering him, but remains a steadfast ally defending Elendel.
Wayneconflicting source relationships
Longtime partner Wax rescued as a traumatized teen; their instinctive teamwork and mutual support deepen, with Wayne once pulling Wax from grief and Wax affirming Wayne's goodness.
R
Ranetteconflicting source relationships
Gunsmith friend who supplies experimental gear, aluminum pistols, and hazekiller rounds.
V
VenDellconflicting source relationships
Kandra conduit for Harmony who becomes a sometimes contentious scientific collaborator on trellium and Hemalurgy.
Telsin Ladrianconflicting source relationships
Sister whose repeated betrayals escalate into leading the Set's plan to destroy Elendel, making their shared history a weapon on both sides.
EL
Edwarn Ladrianconflicting source relationships
Uncle and ruthless business mentor whose values drove Wax away; later his open rival as a leader of the Set.

Story so far

BOOK 4The Lost Metal (The Mistborn Saga)
- Serves as Harmony's sword, acting on divine instructions to protect Scadrial
- Works with kandra allies TenSoon and VenDell on plans involving the Bands of Mourning
- Clashes with his sister Telsin, who repeatedly betrays him
- Shares flights and adventures with his son Max while supported by Steris
BOOK 5Shadows of Self
- Hunts Granite Joe alongside Lessie in a Roughs prologue seventeen years earlier
- Investigates the murders of Winsting Innate and Idashwy, tied to the kandra Bleeder
- Protects corrupt Governor Innate, intending he face the courts rather than a mob
- Journeys through the kandra Homeland with TenSoon and learns that Lessie was Paalm
- Confronts his uncle Edwarn and the Set while wrestling with doubts about Harmony
BOOK 7The Lost Metal
- As a senator, opposes the Elendel Supremacy Bill and spars with Malwish diplomats
- Investigates the Set's trellium and Hemalurgic experiments with VenDell, Marsh, and Steris
- Defeats Set operatives Getruda and Dumad alongside Wayne
- Dies and is returned by Harmony, choosing to live again out of love for Steris
- Works to stop Telsin and Autonomy's bomb plot against Elendel