That was me! (I was the dude with the white cane if anyone saw me around). That is correct. My original phrasing was something like, "Do the priests extract/transfer the divine breathe and horde by utilizing a sharp pointy object?". Tried to avoid saying Hemalurgy explicitly at first as I thought it gave me a better shot at getting a confirmation if the answer was yes. Thinking back on it now it wouldn't have, and just resulted in Brandon not understanding my question at first.
Brandon said it was a great question however (made my freakin' day) as well as that he was surprised no one had asked it before (blew my mind). I have a hard time believing that however after years of lurking my fellow nerds here/reddit. Has no one really asked that before? Had he just forgotten/was being nice?
Anyways, thought I'd pop in and say hi. First time seeing/meeting Brandon and it was awesome! Can't wait until he's back in T.O.