First Contract

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First Contract
Related to Kandra
World Scadrial
Universe Cosmere
Featured In Mistborn Era 1

The First Contract was the legal code of the kandra as well as the metal plate on which it was inscribed. It served as a contract between the kandra people and the Lord Ruler, who they called the Father, and superseded any lesser service Contract. Members of the Second Generation believed the First Contract was nullified with the death of the Lord Ruler however TenSoon, tried to make the argument that it had transferred to Vin.[1] The First Contract was the first thing taught to newly spiked mistwraiths.[2]


Initially the First Generation was reluctant to set up any sort of government independent of the Lord Ruler and his Empire. Therefore they wrote a series of promises, codifying their laws, which they brought to him for approval. He ordered that they be cast into metal, in order to protect them from being changed by Ruin, and scratched his signature into it at the bottom.[2]


Although not all of the contents of the First Contract is known, a few basic articles are understood. One of the most fundamental tenets was ultimate dedication to the Lord Ruler. Some of the more basic tenets were the following:

  • Respect for earlier generations of kandra
  • Legal rights of all kandra
  • Provisions for the creation of new kandra

The Resolution was a stipulation added by the Lord Ruler. It called upon the kandra to essentially commit suicide by removing their spikes if they felt Ruin attempting to seize control of them. [3]

Before a kandra can be executed by pouring acid on them, the First Contract requires that they get a chance to speak and defend him- or herself. They can then demand Judgment before the First Generation.[4]

The ChanGaar was a ritual punishment for those who broke the First Contract. The kandra would first be beaten and then bricked into a hole with only a small opening for food and water. After ten generations the kandra would be released and be subject to death by starvation.[5]

