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Atium Theory


theTruthshaper

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I haven't seen this theory before, but it seems to make sense.

We know that Preservation 'took' some of Ruin's power, fashioning it into Atium, to prevent Ruin from completely destroying Preservation due to the difference in strength's. This power has to be in the Spiritual Realm (/some other place), because the power returns there when you burn the Atium, only to be coalesced anew. But what is stopping Ruin from simply taking the power from there? Clearly, Preservation has somehow changed the power itself, which forced Ruin to take the Atium itself.

My theory is this: Preservation took away a part of Ruin's Investiture and used it took fuel his own Futuresight. This had the side effect of that Investiture getting 'locked' in that format, perhaps with Preservation's power. Thus, when you burn it, you get futuresight.

This explains why Ruin could not simply absorb the Atium at a distance(Preservation's power repelled him), why Atium would grant futuresight and how Preservation could see so far into the future.

 

Some of the problems with this:

  • Atium is not related to the color red, which it might be if it is co-opted Investiture.
  • I am not sure whether Preservation can even pull this of with his Intent
  • It seems to be needlessly complicated
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The way I see it shards have free and invested power.  Invested power exists in the CR and PR.  Free exists in the SR.  When Preservation stuck part of Ruin in the PR Ruin was no longer able to access that power.

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2 minutes ago, Karger said:

The way I see it shards have free and invested power.  Invested power exists in the CR and PR.  Free exists in the SR.  When Preservation stuck part of Ruin in the PR Ruin was no longer able to access that power.

But why? Cannot Shards take back power they have invested?

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3 hours ago, The_Truthwatcher said:

But what is stopping Ruin from simply taking the power from there

some relevant WoB below

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Karger said:

 

The way I see it shards have free and invested power.  Invested power exists in the CR and PR.  Free exists in the SR.  When Preservation stuck part of Ruin in the PR Ruin was no longer able to access that power.

 

the second and third WoB i quoted kinda support this

when burning metals, the metals act as a key to the power(which lies in the SR)

one of the WoB state that Atium doesnt work like that, the Atium is itself the power source.

which suggests that the power isnt in the SR. Right?

 

 

 

Lance Alvein (paraphrased)

You've said that "The Pits of Hathsin were crafted by Preservation as a place to hide the chunk of Ruin's body that he had stolen away". How does one Shard steal a portion of another Shard and create a Physical outlet for it, like the Pits were for Ruin's power?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

It has to do with clash between the two Shards' power. When pressed, he then said that it was "kind of" like splintering

Hal-Con 2012 (Oct. 30, 2012)


 

 

Brandon Sanderson

Atium's Mechanism

Atium is, indeed, different from the other metals. When you burn most Allomantic metals, it opens a conduit through which you can draw upon Preservation's power and use it in very specific ways.

Atium doesn't do that. Atium is, itself, a fuel. When you burn it, the metal itself provides the power. A subtle distinction, I know, but it has to do with where the power is coming from. Most Allomancy is fueled by Preservation, but atium and malatium are fueled by Ruin.

This metal doesn't quite belong on the table where it has been placed.

The Hero of Ages Annotations (April 1, 2010)

 

 

Kaimipono

Allomancy is fueled by Preservation's body? How exactly does that work? And how does that interact with Atium—it's fueled by both gods' bodies?

Brandon Sanderson

The powers of Ruin and Preservation are Shards of Adonalsium, pieces of the power of creation itself. Allomancy, Hemalurgy, Feruchemy are manifestations of this power in mortal form, the ability to touch the powers of creation and use them. These metallic powers are how people's physical forms interpret the use of the Shard, though it's not the only possible way they could be interpreted or used. It's what the genetics and Realmatic interactions of Scadrial allow for, and has to do with the Spiritual, the Cognitive, and the Physical Realms.

Condensed 'essence' of these godly powers can act as super-fuel for Allomancy, Feruchemy, or really any of the powers. The form of that super fuel is important. In liquid form it's most potent, in gas form it's able to fuel Allomancy as if working as a metal. In physical form it is rigid and does one specific thing. In the case of atium, it allows sight into the future. In the case of concentrated Preservation, it gives one a permanent connection to the mists and the powers of creation. (I.e., it makes them an Allomancer.)

So when a person is burning metals, they aren't using Preservation's body as a fuel so to speak—though they are tapping into the powers of creation just slightly. When Vin burns the mists, however, she'd doing just that—using the essence of Preservation, the Shard of Adonalsium itself—to fuel Allomancy. Doing this, however, rips 'troughs' through her body. It's like forcing far too much pressure through a very small, fragile hose. That much power eventually vaporizes the corporeal host, which is acting as the block and forcing the power into a single type of conduit (Allomancy) and frees it to be more expansive.

Hero of Ages Q&A - Time Waster's Guide (Oct. 15, 2008)
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53 minutes ago, Eternal Khol said:

which suggests that the power isnt in the SR. Right?

Not exactly, once you burn the atium, the bit of Ruin goes away to coalesce in the Pits of Hathsin. The power is stored somewhere in the meantime, someplace that Ruin can't access

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12 hours ago, The_Truthwatcher said:

But why? Cannot Shards take back power they have invested?

From what we understand, Ruin could have recovered his Investiture in the form of Atium but after everything was burnt he would have to wait for the Pits to return to producing Atium to regain their power. But this is probably due to the nature of the Preservation prison.

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9 hours ago, The_Truthwatcher said:

Not exactly, once you burn the atium, the bit of Ruin goes away to coalesce in the Pits of Hathsin. The power is stored somewhere in the meantime, someplace that Ruin can't access

I agree with what you are saying, as far as I know we have no knowledge of Atium forming after Ruin was freed, it is possible that he started talking it back to himself slowly, which is why the stash of Atium was so important, because it was trapped in the PR. This wob below showes that the power, is in the SR before it enters the pits, but I think it is safe to assume that the second you burn it it would not be in the SR (at least not if a form that Ruin could absorb) or he would have won when the burned all the atium. 

Viper (paraphrased)

The gemhearts/stormgems/whatever that are grown inside the beasts in Way of Kings ... is that the same as the way atium is grown inside geodes in the Pits of Hathsin?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

It's similar. The Pits are an area where there's like a leak from the Spiritual Realm into the Physical. That's what happens there.

A Memory of Light Milford Signing (Feb. 16, 2013)
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On 7/22/2020 at 2:44 PM, Windrunner2319 said:

I agree with what you are saying, as far as I know we have no knowledge of Atium forming after Ruin was freed, it is possible that he started talking it back to himself slowly, which is why the stash of Atium was so important, because it was trapped in the PR. This wob below showes that the power, is in the SR before it enters the pits, but I think it is safe to assume that the second you burn it it would not be in the SR (at least not if a form that Ruin could absorb) or he would have won when the burned all the atium. 

that's because Kelsier destroyed the pits.

Edited by Frustration
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