KChan Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 I was trying to say how we don't know enough to make a textbook of it. And remember, Vasher was one of the Five Scholars. Also, breath is not someones soul, that was the argument of anti-awakeners. Personally, I believe that Breath is a part of Endowment and only happens to appear within Humans. Don't forget, the Shards influence Spiritual DNA. That's how the magic works. So while Breath is related to Endowment, because of the magic's very nature, it's also related to the Soul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zas678 Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Ooh! I just had an idea. It would be interesting to have someone who, although they had a breath, were incapable of giving it away. You know, you have mutations in physical DNA, so why not in Spiritual DNA (although it's not really supposed to be interpreted that way)? Especially if he could receive Breaths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KChan Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Now there's an interesting question for Brandon: if Spiritual DNA can be corrupted and/or mutate, and if so, how that would affect the person involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralis00 Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 going even more extreme, could you get a person with mutated DNA not capable of using BioChroma, but one of the other systems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zas678 Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 My guess on the last one would be "Possible, but pretty much improbable." It would be like someone here on earth being able to grow wings and fly. It seems like genetically, it's a lot easier to get things wrong than it is to get things right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silus - Shard of Flame Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 Don't forget, the Shards influence Spiritual DNA. That's how the magic works. So while Breath is related to Endowment, because of the magic's very nature, it's also related to the Soul. The implication seems to be that the part of a Shard either is your soul, or at least related to it. Remember that the people on Scadrial were only sentient because they had more of Preservation in them than Ruin. The idea of mutating Spirtual DNA, or SDNA if you will, is intriguing, especially if it changes how you use magic. Like making a Feruchemist receive attributes from others rather than himself. A scary proposition indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zas678 Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I can see the protest signs now: *Stop Spiritual Engineering. Stop Hemalurgy* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyman Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 I can see the protest signs now: *Stop Spiritual Engineering. Stop Hemalurgy* I'd want anybody practicing Hemalurgy to immediately stop. They would be a mass murderer, remember? At least useful genetic engineering on Earth generally doesn't require killing humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silus - Shard of Flame Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 But there's the whole, "donate yourself to hemalurgy on your deathbed" option, which is also an option for giving breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyman Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 But there's the whole, "donate yourself to hemalurgy on your deathbed" option, which is also an option for giving breath. I'm not sure about what would happen with those techniques. It's occasionally been asked why people don't pass their breath on to their descendants when it's obvious they are on their last legs. Given what Brandon has said about the strength of Breaths (it apparently does depend on the health of the donor), I suspect that giving away your single, normal breath while dying of natural causes would result in extraordinarily weak Breaths, far less useful for Awakening than most, and would hardly be worth the risk of just keeling over on the spot from the shock of having given it away. It's possible that Hemalurgy would have the same problem. In my mind, though, the real cost of Hemalurgy in any form would be to leave yourself much more open to manipulation by Soothers and Rioters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puck Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 Heh. There could be a national magic donor registry. Depending on what country you live in, it would either be opt-in or opt-out. Then an evil person could get a hold of that list (a la Heroes) and... *goes off into his own tangential fanfic universe* 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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