Furamirionind Posted August 16, 2018 Report Share Posted August 16, 2018 (edited) Pretty much everything we know about the powers on Scadrial are under the assumption that Preservation represents a net gain, Harmony - Neutral, and Ruin - Negative. However, Harmony truly represents harmony between Preservation and Ruin, not necessarily net neutral. What we know is based on the perspective of in world characters. They believe that Preservation represents a net positive, however, keeping the same, unchanging..."preserving"... That should all be net neutral. So what if Feruchemy is actually of Preservation. This would make more sense to me as it has a net neutral effect, just like what Preservation should be. This would mean that Allomancy would be of Harmony. (it has been a while since I read era 2, so hopefully I am not forgetting something) We always think of Allomancy being net positive, but it feels net negative to me. Just slightly. What happens to the metal after it is burned? It is used up. Power lost, material destroyed. Preservation is neutral, Ruin is negative, and Harmony is in between. Feruchemy is neutral, Hemalurgy is negative, and Allomancy is in between (slightly negative) Brandon even says that he would consider Feruchemy closer to Preservation than ruin: (and everything else he says is the "in world philosophy") https://wob.coppermind.net/events/60-firefight-san-francisco-signing/#e6761 #70 (sorry, I don't know how to quote from here) Does this idea make any sense? is there any information out there that disproves or supports this? Edited August 16, 2018 by Furamirionind 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted August 16, 2018 Report Share Posted August 16, 2018 We have explicit word of Brandon that Allomancy is of Preservation, Hemalurgy of Ruin: Quote Questioner Allomancy is of Preservation, correct? Brandon Sanderson Yes... Questioner What are Feruchemy and Hemalurgy of? Brandon Sanderson Hemalurgy is definitely of Ruin. Questioner Is it of pure Ruin? Brandon Sanderson Yes. That's a very Ruin thing. And Feruchemy is more of a blend. Though… there is more philosophy to that and human construct—like the Allomantic table—than I think I’ve made clear before. source And a pretty heavy indication: Quote Czanos Preservation can fuel Allomancy, (Minus Atium.) but can Ruin fuel Hemalurgy? (Or Atium?) And could Sazed fuel all three Metallic Arts? Brandon Sanderson Both gods could, if they wanted, fuel all of the metallic arts. Preservation is stronger at fueling Allomancy, Ruin stronger at fueling Allomancy or Feruchemy when it has been given via a spike. Both are balanced when it comes to Feruchemy. But this rarely comes up in the books, as it required expending power in a way that the gods were hesitant to do. source If they're balanced at fueling Feruchemy then that's definitely a very strong suggestion that it's a balance of their powers. Allomancy is of Preservation because it's how you obtain the power that matters, Preserving yourself by using the power from something else*source 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scion of the Mists Posted August 16, 2018 Report Share Posted August 16, 2018 Brandon has explicitly confirmed that Allomancy is of Preservation, Hemalurgy is of Ruin, and Feruchemy is "more of a blend." There's also the fact that Lerasium, Preservation's Godmetal, has the (side)effect of making you an Allomancer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recneps Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 The reason Allomancy doesn't match Preservation is because Shardic Intents are not self directed. I don't have the WoB, but Shard Intents are applied to the Shard's outward actions, not to themselves. Preservation isn't about self-Preservation, and Ruin isn't inherently suicidal. Preservation's magic system preserves all the power of the user - it doesn't expend any of it, as happens in Feruchemy. In Feruchemy, everything comes from the user. Stuff is expended, not preserved. Allomancy has power coming from Preservation, thus preserving all the person's power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceferring Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 I believe Feruchemy to be of Harmony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Kelkamer Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 On 8/16/2018 at 11:07 AM, Furamirionind said: Pretty much everything we know about the powers on Scadrial are under the assumption that Preservation represents a net gain, Harmony - Neutral, and Ruin - Negative. However, Harmony truly represents harmony between Preservation and Ruin, not necessarily net neutral. What we know is based on the perspective of in world characters. They believe that Preservation represents a net positive, however, keeping the same, unchanging..."preserving"... That should all be net neutral. So what if Feruchemy is actually of Preservation. This would make more sense to me as it has a net neutral effect, just like what Preservation should be. This would mean that Allomancy would be of Harmony. (it has been a while since I read era 2, so hopefully I am not forgetting something) We always think of Allomancy being net positive, but it feels net negative to me. Just slightly. What happens to the metal after it is burned? It is used up. Power lost, material destroyed. Preservation is neutral, Ruin is negative, and Harmony is in between. Feruchemy is neutral, Hemalurgy is negative, and Allomancy is in between (slightly negative) Brandon even says that he would consider Feruchemy closer to Preservation than ruin: (and everything else he says is the "in world philosophy") https://wob.coppermind.net/events/60-firefight-san-francisco-signing/#e6761 #70 (sorry, I don't know how to quote from here) Does this idea make any sense? is there any information out there that disproves or supports this? This thought has been driving me nuts for a while, and I came here to ask this exact question haha. Glad you beat me to it so I could just read all the replys! I guess since there's a WoB saying Allomancy is of Preservation, I'll just accept it and move on, but I was thinking exactly along the lines you were 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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