Metals in TotES

[Yumiya]

Metals are important in the Cosmere. In TotES, we see aether responding to metal in very pointed ways.

Quote

She took the tool that resembled a shield and pressed it to the roseite. The crystals responded immediately, pulling toward the metal, which (from the slate grey color) seemed to be simple iron. The other tool, the trowel, made the crystals grow away from it. It was of polished silvery metal. (Steel, for those who compulsively track these things.) 

-Tress of the Emerald Sea Ch 26

In allomancy, iron is the Physical/External/Pulling metal where as steel is the Physical/External/Pushing metal. So, aether seems to react similarly to allomantic metals the way metals react to an allomancer burning the metal.

Additionally, aethers are killed by silver. Silver is not an allomantic metal, at least not on its own. It has to be alloyed into Electrum to be used that way. I wonder what effect Gold or Electrum would have on aether. Same with other metals. Maybe Cadmium would let them grow slower and Bendalloy grow faster. Aluminum protects it from silver. Could Duralimum make it silver effect aether more powerfully? 

But we also see other allomantic metals and they seem to follow a similar theme, in cups.

Pewter is the Physical/Internal/Pushing metal which increases physical abilities. The third cup Charlie sent Tress was a large pewter tankard. It made Tress, the girl from a little island stronger than a desperate pirate sprouter. It made Charlie the rat stronger than Lacy the cat. Not sure that is entirely coincidental..  
 

Quote

"And the one made of pewter. Like us, Charlie. Stronger and more straightforward than we have a right to be.”

-Tress of the Emerald Sea Ch 61

Tin is the Physical/Internal/Pulling metal which increases the senses. The cup that Ulaam uses for Tress's tea is tin. It's description is pointedly related to the senses. (though the cup that Tress shares with Charlie at the start of the book seems rather normal, as does the tin cup the captain uses - though thinking on it the captain is a spore-eater and an uncanny good shot, maybe the tin helps her... passenger help her?).

Quote

It was a nice cup. Tin, but dinged up with the respectable scars of favorite use, and shined along the handle from the caress of fingers. She sighed, taking the seat and the tea, though she put the latter aside to let it cool.

-Tress of the Emerald Sea Ch 57

Bronze is the Mental/Internal/Pulling metal which allows the allomancer the ability to hear allomantic pulses. Ironically, the bronze cup in the story belonged to Fort, who cannot hear. Even more ironically, the conversation when Tress uses it the first time is about hearing and how Fort's board hears Tress's voice and translates it to the board.
 

Quote

He handed her a cup of water (a nice bronze one that lacked ornamentation, but shone when it caught the light). 

-Tress of the Emerald Sea Ch 15

We also see silver rimmed cups, but that just seems a sensible precaution on a planet full of corrupted aethers. 

So, summerize. Aethers act like metals do in allomancy and there seems to be a theme with cups and their metals. Not sure if any of it is actually relevant.

[+Oltux72]

1 hour ago, Yumiya said:

We also see silver rimmed cups, but that just seems a sensible precaution on a planet full of corrupted aethers. 

Yes. And silver is highly relevant

1 hour ago, Yumiya said:

So, summerize. Aethers act like metals do in allomancy and there seems to be a theme with cups and their metals. Not sure if any of it is actually relevant.

Allomancy seems to be a special case, whose metals can be derived from the basic reactions the metals cause with aethers and fabrials.

[Stonerward]

Also we know from RoW that the metals have effects on Fabrials as well, can't remember them all off the top of my head but Steel / Iron definitely had a push / pull effect on the spren causing different reactions from the fabrial 

[Proletariat]

I think it just reinforces the point that the sixteen metals are a key for controlling the expression of investiture, whether it's burnt in allomancy, used to control (non-sentient) pieces of investiture like spren and aethers, or is invested via hemalurgy, feruchemy or breath. I suspect you could also use the metals to control the white sand or 'bone aether' on Taldain in a way that's similar to these mindless aethers.