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Do you guys think a kandra could Return in Nalthis? Would this restore the kandra to their original human form if they haven't been a kandra for long enough? If they have been a kandra for thousands of years and the Return keeps them that way, what would happen? Would they still need spikes to stay sane? Would they still need bones (Returned have some control over their shape)? I would like to know what kind of resonances would happen, in your opinion, or if it's even possible.

If a Kandra managed to get a large enough skeleton made of nicrosil and then used compounding to fill it enough to create a perpendicularity, what side effects would there be for the Kandra constantly toting around a perpendicularity?

I (very) recently made a post that talked about how I thought Kandra Blessings were made by blanking Identity. But when I was making that post, it got me thinking about Kandra Blessings more and how they function for a Kandra, so here are a few musings and ideas I came to that didn't fit into the original post. If I'm correct, a Kandra's memories are actually stored inside their Blessings, which would explain why a Kandra's memories fade if their spikes are lost for a period of time; the Invesiture that the memories were encoded in is lost, so the memories are too. This would also help explain why Kandra can have memories that span over hundreds of years, as a normal brain just isn't capable of holding more than a few hundred years worth of memories, and mistwraiths aren't naturally immortal, the Coppermind Wiki says that they naturally live up to fifty years, so they probably don't have a specially designed cognitive system that would allow them to hold over a thousand years worth of memories, but if their spikes can magically hold memories, it would help explain how they don't have this issue. I wonder if this means that a Kandra Blessing actually gains an extra charge of Investiture over time as a Kandra gains new memories that are converted into Investiture to be held in the spikes, even if it doesn't enhance the original attribute held by the spike and only works to hold memories, similar to a Coppermind. If a Kandra's memories are held within their spikes, then Hemalurgy might be an even better alternative to Feruchemy or Awakening in terms of memory storage, as a Kandra can (probably) still access their memories as if they were still inside their brain and not stored in a separate place. I also think that even if a Kandra's spikes did have a blanked Identity at some point, it seems that they gain a new Identity, that of the Kandra, which would explain why a Kandra can't take in another Kandra's spikes without pain unless they already have a stable personality; the new Identity of the spikes is incongruent with that of the other Kandra. All in all, it seems like a Kandra has a much deeper connection to their spikes than other Hemalurgic constructs, almost as if they were an extension of the Kandra themselves rather than some foreign piece of power stapled on haphazardly (which to me supports my blank Identity theory). Anyway, this post feels kind of like I'm just rambling, but I wasn't really sure of a better way to share all of my thoughts on this topic.

Since Kandra can physically shape their bodies, could they potentially shape or grow extra brain matter to increase their fluid intelligence?

So... anyone else suddenly get disturbed by realizing that if the First Generation had their original skeletons... that meant that Rashek transformed the living Feruchemists into Mistwraiths while excluding their bones in the transformation process? That more or less means he melted the flesh right off their bones before restoring their sapience, but also indicates the level of control he had over the power at that phase of his Hemalurgic experimentation if he had already planned for Mistwraiths to be able to copy and shapeshift to match a target. I think it took centuries of practice before the kandra pulled off that kind of transformation. Shards just got creepier to me, and that was with Preservation's power (probably with some influence from Ruin since he was doing Hemalurgic design).

This is something that has been eating at me forever. Kandra definitely seem to have gender, and as far as I'm aware we've only seen kandra with binary gender, but that gender seems totally unrelated to sex. After all, when MeLaan used a man's bones, she still used she/her pronouns, which seems to imply to me that kandra definitely see gender as a social construct as opposed to a physical reality. Which is great! Kandra say trans rights! But how do they get that gender? Is is assigned at birth, but via method unrelated to reproductive organs? Do they discover it over time? Are there nonbinary kandra? Has the nature of kandra gender been addressed anywhere but I missed it? Thanks!

In The Bands of Mourning, we saw that a kandra can graft a portion of their own flesh onto a living person, allowing it to function as it normally would. What if a kandra decided to take their impersonation...further, than usual? Could a kandra eat the limb a person while they were knocked out, then replace it as a part that functions normally until the kandra decides to pop off and leave with the information they've gathered by eavesdropping on their host's life? Could they replace one or more internal organs of a living person, allowing the person to live normally until the kandra decides to "self-destruct" their host? Spooky stuff.

Kandra can hide themselves from most things by changing their appearance. However, it may be possible for a Soulcaster to find a Kandra hidden amongst the people of society by peering into the cognitive realm; it works on the Masked Ones, so why not a Kandra disguise? In addition, a Soulcaster could likely kill a Kandra by Soulcasting their body into an inanimate substance. Or, if they're feeling particularly evil, a Soulcaster could change the metal type of the Kandra's spikes, which would likely render them unusable by the Kandra, dooming them to insanity.

Creatures can only get so big due to the natural limitations of the physical world, and even shape-shifters such as Kandra would be restricted by these limitations. However, Feruchemy can do some really interesting things. Could a Kandra that had access to Feruchemical iron, for preventing it's enormous weight from crushing itself, Feruchemical cadmium, for providing enough oxygen to it's body, and Feruchemical bendalloy, for providing sufficient nutrition and water to it, be able to grow to the size of something like, oh, I don't know, a Greatshell? Compounding cadmium and bendalloy might be necessary to get enough of their respective attributes, but it seems plausible to me.

When an allomancer (or Feruchemical compounder) uses their powers enough, they can accidentally suffuse their spiritweb with investiture, which can lead to changes in the physical realm. However, Kandra are able to manipulate their physical aspect, as well as having mutable spiritwebs. If a Kandra were to become a savant, would they be able to easily scrub away the negative changes? Or would the changes made to their spiritweb instead damage their ability to change themselves and assume different forms?

So, we've seen in the Bands of Mourning that a Kandra can donate a part of their own flesh to another person by taking a bite of them and copying them so that the the receiver's body doesn't reject the graft of Kandra flesh. Because of this, I'm willing to bet that a skilled Kandra with some motivation would be able to modify another person's body by removing and grafting on different pieces of their body. Kandra could repair major damage done to vital organs, grow and graft on new limbs, and they may even be able to revitalize an aged individual by slowly removing old, worn out cells and replacing them with new, fresh ones. Sort of like the Ship of Theseus, but with a human body. Even outside medical practice, a Kandra may be able to reshape a person's body shape to something they feel is more desirable or even give people physical augmentations aside from healing them, such as giving them a stronger heart or shaper eyesight. If a Kandra replaces enough of a person over time though, it does make me wonder if that individual would start to take on Kandra-like qualities, but that would depend on whether a Kandra's abilities are a combination physical and magical means, or whether they are purely magical. But hey, if someone could become a Kandra this way, maybe Wayne and Melaan will be able to show up as a couple in a few centuries and bug the protagonists of one of the later Mistborn eras!

So... Fainlife is toxic for humans to eat and plants are bone white. Otherwise it is the same as normal life. a) Can kandra eat fainlife? Can kandra impersonate ShoDel? c) Would its ability to metabolize depend on its form (i.e. stomach type)? d) What about sand creatures from White Sand? Do kandra need water to survive? e) Do you think there is some sort of significance to the fact that kandra have two part names a little reminiscent of Sho Del and some younger generations were trying to use 4 arms in an era 1 book, I believe (don't hold me to that)? f) i) Could a feruchemist store fain nutrients to prevent being poisoned? ii) Would the feruchemist need a separate metalmind like he would for food and water? g) Could metalminds be used to turn toxic food into useable energy?

Hi all, I listened to the Medallions of South Scadrial podcast recently and had a few observations about the book that I haven't been able to find addressed, though it's possible it's in the forums and I just haven't found it from searching. In no particular order, here goes: First, kandra generally don't know how to access the metallic arts other than what they get from their blessings, with the exception of Paalm, right? Except, apparently MeLaan can use the weight medallions. Apparently this doesn't interfere with her blessings (at least in these numbers), so Southern tech can grant Feruchemy and presumably Allomancy to kandra without having to resort to a Trellium spike. That's pretty neat, and it's just glossed over in the concept that everyone can get these powers now, but I think that's a non-trivial point considering how effective Bleeder was at doing things. Second, the ettmetal Allomantic grenade was odd to me, also in what I consider a significant way. When Wax charged the grenade and threw it, this little cube would throw presumably much heavier guns and equipment aside in its path, not following the usual Newtonian physics we see in Pushes and Pulls in which I would have expected the cube to get deflected from the much heavier weapons sometimes held in soldier's hands. No one in the books comments on this being odd, but it confused me for quite some time. We've seen Steel pushes and Iron pulls work on most metals, even Atium quite readily, while having problems "sensing" heavily invested metals such as metalminds and the Bands of Mourning. I seem to recall Brandon saying that he wishes he had done Atium differently if he had known how the Cosmere was going to develop, and I wonder if Atium would have also been resistant to Pushing and Pulling. Moving on, my theory is that this wasn't an error on the part of the physics of the Allomantic grenade, but that Pushes and Pulls are not using only physical mass in their calculation but more an "Invested mass". A godmetal with a presumably higher Investiture density Pushing against the ordinary metal weapons could push with more strength perhaps. Third, an aspect of the medallions that I don't get. Why can multiple people store weight in the medallions? Does their Identity not matter in process of storing in the metal, or is this a weird aspect of the construction of the medallions? Alternately, is this just an aspect of Feruchemy that has never come up, that multiple people can store attributes in a metalmind, but they could only withdraw their own storage? It seems odd to me, where I can see withdrawing from an unkeyed mind would work just fine, but I'm not sure on storing in an unkeyed mind. Fourth, at the end, presumably Kelsier stores a memory in a copper medallion. So... whatever mechanism that they are doing with the medallions allows copper memory storage that other people can access (which revolutionizes information storage), or it means that Kelsier has gained at least a Copper Ferring's abilities right? Fifth, another thing that seems highly relevant: Wax and Marasi were able to use the Bands of Mourning. Either from the mechanics of creating them, some aspect of Identity and time that I don't know about, or whatever, for some reason the Bands of Mourning were not Keyed to Kelsier. If Kelsier wanted to make a weapon for himself to reclaim that happened to be a metalmind that he could use, why not make it keyed through Identity to himself? Unless it always a test and he actually meant for someone to find something that powerful on the doorstep to his temple.

Hi all, I listened to the Medallions of South Scadrial podcast recently and had a few observations about the book that I haven't been able to find addressed, though it's possible it's in the forums and I just haven't found it from searching. In no particular order, here goes: First, kandra generally don't know how to access the metallic arts other than what they get from their blessings, with the exception of Paalm, right? Except, apparently MeLaan can use the weight medallions. Apparently this doesn't interfere with her blessings (at least in these numbers), so Southern tech can grant Feruchemy and presumably Allomancy to kandra without having to resort to a Trellium spike. That's pretty neat, and it's just glossed over in the concept that everyone can get these powers now, but I think that's a non-trivial point considering how effective Bleeder was at doing things. Second, the ettmetal Allomantic grenade was odd to me, also in what I consider a significant way. When Wax charged the grenade and threw it, this little cube would throw presumably much heavier guns and equipment aside in its path, not following the usual Newtonian physics we see in Pushes and Pulls in which I would have expected the cube to get deflected from the much heavier weapons sometimes held in soldier's hands. No one in the books comments on this being odd, but it confused me for quite some time. We've seen Steel pushes and Iron pulls work on most metals, even Atium quite readily, while having problems "sensing" heavily invested metals such as metalminds and the Bands of Mourning. I seem to recall Brandon saying that he wishes he had done Atium differently if he had known how the Cosmere was going to develop, and I wonder if Atium would have also been resistant to Pushing and Pulling. Moving on, my theory is that this wasn't an error on the part of the physics of the Allomantic grenade, but that Pushes and Pulls are not using only physical mass in their calculation but more an "Invested mass". A godmetal with a presumably higher Investiture density Pushing against the ordinary metal weapons could push with more strength perhaps. Third, an aspect of the medallions that I don't get. Why can multiple people store weight in the medallions? Does their Identity not matter in process of storing in the metal, or is this a weird aspect of the construction of the medallions? Alternately, is this just an aspect of Feruchemy that has never come up, that multiple people can store attributes in a metalmind, but they could only withdraw their own storage? It seems odd to me, where I can see withdrawing from an unkeyed mind would work just fine, but I'm not sure on storing in an unkeyed mind. Fourth, at the end, presumably Kelsier stores a memory in a copper medallion. So... whatever mechanism that they are doing with the medallions allows copper memory storage that other people can access (which revolutionizes information storage), or it means that Kelsier has gained at least a Copper Ferring's abilities right? Fifth, another thing that seems highly relevant: Wax and Marasi were able to use the Bands of Mourning. Either from the mechanics of creating them, some aspect of Identity and time that I don't know about, or whatever, for some reason the Bands of Mourning were not Keyed to Kelsier. If Kelsier wanted to make a weapon for himself to reclaim that happened to be a metalmind that he could use, why not make it keyed through Identity to himself? Unless it always a test and he actually meant for someone to find something that powerful on the doorstep to his temple.

When hemalurgy is used to grant an something to a creature, it warps them in some way. Spikes that grant powers only seem to change the individual enough to not kill them by ramming a chunk of metal into their body, but attributes granted via hemalurgy seem to change people and creatures enough to create hemalurgic constructs. Kandra, however, don't seem to be changed much by hemalurgic attributes being given to them, so that got me wondering; would a siah aimian or other shapeshifter be able to receive a kandra blessing without being twisted into a hemalurgic construct? Could a siah aimian's shapeshifting ability be stolen via hemalurgy, then allow a human to gain kandra blessings with less consequence?

So, if you were to awaken a kandra's body, would it still be able to shape shift, or would it be locked into it's current form?

Hello, 17th Shard! I'm looking to get a full idea of what a Kandra is fully capable of doing with their bodies and what have you. I haven't seen a compilation of what specifically they are able to achieve, believably are able to achieve, and that is impossible for them to achieve in terms of their shapeshifting. If someone has done so before, please link me! Some of the obvious ones they are known to achieve: Copy the appearance of a creature they have digested Adjustments to the shape of those previously consumed* This seems to be on a skill basis where the more skilled the Kandra, the more they are able to freeform Manipulate their form to lockpick Heal from wounds Mixing and matching parts from creatures consumed Some that could be believably achieved: Take on a completely chimeric form from scratch(using true bodies that are not shaped like regular ol humans), using different parts from different creatures and applying them together. This is a more extreme form of the mixing and matching parts from creatures. Enhancing and refining their bodies through more selective digestion Since they can completely control their bodies, they could feasibly increase muscle density(which they are already shown to be able to do) and apply it tenfold to create muscles that are almost indestructible by conventional means Expanding by consuming lots of matter and squeezing it into a smaller form becoming denser, and or vice versa Growing to larger, gigantic sizes and vice-versa Impossible to achieve: ??? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Hi everyone. I tried searching here on the Shard if this has been discussed before and I didn't find anything... Anyway, there's a WoB that states that compounded duralumin can "break into" a kandra (and presumably a koloss or even an inquisitor), similar to how a powerful enough soother or rioter could. Are there any theories on how that works? I guess the compounder would tap enough connection that they and the kandra "become one" (maybe in a similar way some theorize swearing the Fifth Ideal would make Radiant and their spren one?). But maybe there's some better explanation for it, which is why I'd like to here your thoughts. Another question I have, thanks to a post in the F-Duralumin Club, is whether a connector would be able to hear the rhythms on Roshar if they tapped connection. Do you think this would be possible? The WoB about a duralumin compounder "breaking into" a kandra is this one: The post in the F-Duralumin Club is this: https://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/94492-feruchemical-duralumin-club/?do=findComment&comment=1214321

A kandra needs two spikes to be sentient and they can replace their blessing with another kandra and still remain the same mind. So if a kandra loses their blessing, they more memories the longer the the blessing is out because of the decay of the of the hemalurgic spikes, what would happen if you were to remove a blessing from a kandra for a extended period of time, then replace a fresh blessing instead?

My brother, who just finished reading Mistborn/Wax & Wayne, has just started reading The Way of Kings. He just asked the question of what happens if a kandra is cut by a Shardblade. For example, if one cuts off a kandra's arm, can't they grow a new one? If their head is cut off, does it actually kill them? Forgive me if this has already been answered.

This post contains spoilers for Mistborn Era 2. You have been warned. Big brain idea: Szeth is no longer Shin, he has been replaced by a Kandra. Specifically, Paalm. The art for the chapters with Szeth's POV have him making a facepalm, or "the face of Paalm," so to speak. It's just crazy enough to be true. We don't really get to know any Shin other than Szeth, so there's no way to tell if this is acting, but Paalm is a commensurate actor. Szeth is also moderately unstable, as was Paalm. Furthermore, the fact that Szeth has a Nahel Bond does not disprove this theory, as per this WoB: Lastly, there was some time between the death of Lessie (AKA Paalm) and Paalm's reappearance in Shadows of Self, I believe Paalm spent this time on Roshar disguised as Szeth. This lines up with the Cosmere timeline, as Mistborn Era 2 occurs ~9-10 years after the first Roshar quintology as per this spreadsheet made by the excellent BeskarKomrk. This probably means that Trell is somehow connected to Roshar, possibly an agent or manifestation of Odium, but I digress. What do you think? Is Szeth sus? Am I crazy? Can we trust the POV of a character who has suffered severe mental trauma?

I wasn't sure whether I should post this on the warbreaker or mistborn forum, so here it is: If you gave a mistwraith enough breath for it to become sapient, would the result effectively be a kandra made without hemalurgy? If so, then Harmony would have no influence over it, but would Endowment?

We know that the spikes placed into a mistwraith fixes their cognitive blockage. Could a spren bond be used to fix this blockage as well?

Like completely one hundred percent gone. And let’s say they were currently wearing a human form, would they forget they are a Kandra? Would they think they’re just a normal person? Perhaps it’s like filling an unkeyed metal mind, like they don’t know how to can change forms until they know they can.