Scarfyman Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 So i was thinking about some creative ways to use the metallic arts and i came up with a really cool, if what morbid use for aluminium. Because an allomancer can burn any metal in their bloodstream, its reasonable to say that if an aluminium gnat or a mistborn were stabbed by anything metal they could burn aluminium to destroy the object, as it would count as a metal reserve. To be even more ridiculous, if an aluminium gnat held an open wound to a piece of metal and there's still blood flow through the wound, they would probably be able to destroy the 'metal reserve' that the object represents. Pair this use with say feruchemical gold to make the required injuries less life-threatening and you've got yourself a very interesting, if macabre twinborn. This is all assuming that the functionality of allomantic aluminium to burn away the reserves of all metals present is conserved in an aluminium gnat. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashertliden Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 1.) Um, so even if this did all work, what would the point of this be? 2.) I don't believe that any given metal in itself counts as a metal reserve. The person in question would have to be able to burn said metal. The "metal reserves" allomancers feel come from the power of preservation, and I believe that burning Aluminum simply severs this connection to Preservation, since it is magically inert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarfyman Posted October 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 1) I was thinking it would be a useful ability for a thief or other espionage role, especially in era 2 where there is a lot of metal around. say hold your cut open palm to a bank vault to burn away the door or grab the bars of your cell and burn them away. very niche use but it would be very unexpected to anyone in universe 2) I thought about this for an aluminium gnat, though a mistborn would be able to pull it off cause the can burn any metal, just most kill them/make them sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashertliden Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Scarfyman said: 2) I thought about this for an aluminium gnat, though a mistborn would be able to pull it off cause the can burn any metal, just most kill them/make them sick. Yes, but if the metal the mistborn is attempting to "destroy with aluminum" is able to be allomantically burned anyway, (which it would need to be for the whole aluminum burning thing to work.) then the mistborn could simply place their open wound up to the metal and burn it normally. Furthermore, this wouldn't destroy the rest of said mistborns reserves, which I'm sure would be appreciated. You're going to have to face it. Aluminum is basically useless for allomancers. Edited October 9, 2018 by Kal-Eldin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarfyman Posted October 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 1 minute ago, Kal-Eldin said: Yes, but if the metal the mistborn is attempting to "destroy with aluminum" is able to be allomantically burned anyway, (which it would need to be for the whole aluminum burning thing to work.) then the mistborn could simply place their open wound up to the metal and burn it normally. Furthermore, this wouldn't destroy the rest of said mistborns reserves, which I'm sure would be appreciated. I agree, but using aluminium give two advantages even if you are a mistborn 1) If the metal you're wanting to burn away is an 'off alloy' or a metal that isnt on the table like titanium or lead, burning it as a mistborn would kill you/make you sick, but destroying it with aluminium would just destroy it with no effect. 2) Using aluminium destroys the metal instantly, whereas burning it normally can only be up to a fixed rate. So you could use the normal power (like burning the iron bars of a cell with iron) but it would take longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigmikey357 Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 If this ability actually works, and it would be awesome if it did, then the ability would have to be kept extremely secret, kind of like in a trump card way. Because the counter to such an ability is simple to implement. Silver is the true allomantically inert metal. Neither it or any of its stronger alloys can be burned, thus burning off metal bars becomes useless. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Unfortunately, the metal burned has to be inside the body. A cut, and a touch aren't enough. Quote Sirce Luckwielder (paraphrased) Can aluminum be used to destroy a Feruchemist's metalmind if the person burning aluminum were to cut his hand and place it on the metalmind? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) He said that cutting the hand would probably not be enough, but that I was on the right track. source 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarfyman Posted October 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 1 minute ago, Calderis said: Unfortunately, the metal burned has to be inside the body. A cut, and a touch aren't enough. Figured there would be a WOB on it somewhere.What i am proposing requires 1) quite a large wound, and 2) maintaining contact long enough and well enough that there is blood flowing across the metal that is still in circulation, not just bleeding out over the piece of metal. Having the metal as a 'seal' over the wound might be enough to allow aluminium to be able to destroy it, that WOB does seem to indicate that something along these line would work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Just press down if the wound is that large. Once it's inside your good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarfyman Posted October 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Exactly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yua999 Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 10 hours ago, Calderis said: Unfortunately, the metal burned has to be inside the body. A cut, and a touch aren't enough. Could this mean that an inquisitor would die from burning aluminum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Artemos Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 We know it's possible to burn a spike: Quote Questioner Several of my friends play the [Mistborn] tabletop game, and we have a question, so, if you want to burn a metal Allomantically do you actually have to ingest it, or can it just be in your bloodstream, or-? Brandon Sanderson If it gets in there somehow, you can use it. Questioner So you can inhale something, or inject something ... what about spikes? Could you like burn a spike that was-? Brandon Sanderson Yes, you could, but not if it's Hemalurgically placed or Hemalurgically charged. But otherwise yes. If it gets in you-- I almost wrote a scene where someone got stabbed through the chest and they burned it. The problem is your metal also has to be of the right allomantic alloy. source I'd bet that spikes are too invested to be quickly burned away with the aluminum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yua999 Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 2 minutes ago, Artemos said: I'd bet that spikes are too invested to be quickly burned away with the aluminum. Does burning aluminum count as burning your other metals though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 1 hour ago, Yua999 said: Does burning aluminum count as burning your other metals though? A leecher can burn of metalmind that have been ingested in a compounder. I don't see any reason why spikes and aluminum would function differently. Quote Kaymyth I asked the question about chromium vs a Compounder with both invested and un-Invested metals in both their stomach and piercings. Brandon Sanderson What it boils down to is this: 1) Yes, the piercings will get burned off. 2) The non-Invested metals go before the Invested ones. He said that because invested metals are harder to [affect], it takes a little extra time and effort to get them to burn off. So a Leecher trying to clean out a Compounder would have to get a good grip and hang on for a few seconds. 3) Chromium burns about as quickly as duralumin, so if you're trying to burn off a lot of metals, it is possible to run out of chromium before your target is clean. This would probably only be an issue when dealing with larger pieces (like jewelry) rather than your standard metal-flakes-in-the-stomach deal. source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yata Posted October 11, 2018 Report Share Posted October 11, 2018 I don't see it as automatic, as Vin's earring is not burned also if she use quite often Durallumin (and the very few times she burned aluminium). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarfyman Posted October 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2018 2 minutes ago, Yata said: I don't see it as automatic, as Vin's earring is not burned also if she use quite often Durallumin (and the very few times she burned aluminium). Vins earring isn't actually in contact with her bloodstream though, the wound from piercing would have healed long before she got hold of aluminium or duralumin. Plus it is a spike and would have taken longer to burn away with aluminium and it would have only burner away from duralumin if she was using her bronze at the time, which I can't remember happening in the books (correct me if I'm wrong though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yata Posted October 11, 2018 Report Share Posted October 11, 2018 The earrings to work as spike needs to be part of her and be quite literally inserted into her soul.. it's definitely into her regardless of the blood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis Posted October 11, 2018 Report Share Posted October 11, 2018 27 minutes ago, Yata said: The earrings to work as spike needs to be part of her and be quite literally inserted into her soul.. it's definitely into her regardless of the blood Yeah, it is. The blood thing never made sense considering the spikes work even after the wounds have healed, and we got confirmation of that in a recent WoB. Quote Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Would it be possible to make Hemalurgic dental fillings? If there were a mad-scientist dentist? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] I've thought about this. I think that would be possible, but for Hemalurgy to really work I need it to...it doesn't actually have to be touching the blood, despite what they think. But I think your average dental filling is not going deep enough... Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Root canal! Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] *Continues* But yeah, you could make it work. source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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