Aradel he/him Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 Actally, "storing" is a misconception. According to the AoL ars arcanum (spoilers) metalminds act as a link bridging two points in time. The attribute doesn't actually spend any time in storage, it jumps directly from the past to the present.
Windrunner he/him Posted January 4, 2012 Author Posted January 4, 2012 (edited) Well if that quote is being interpreted correctly, how come Sazed and Vin can feel the reserves inside the metalminds even when they aren't being tapped? Brandon said that the metal is actually being given a charge of some sort, which is how compounding works, which suggests that their is some change to the metal at least. I always kind of thought that rather then the energy being moved around in time it was kind of outside of time. Hmm, I woonder what would happen if a Feruchemist brought his metalminds back in time? Would the power still be there? Edited January 4, 2012 by Windrunner
Eric Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 That line is kind of misleading if you take it without the next one, I think. "The art also requires metal as a focus, but instead of being consumed, the metal acts as a medium by which abilities within the practitioner are shuttled through time. Invest that metal on one day, withdraw the power on another day." In context, it sounds more like a savings account than time travel, which fully supports the notion of storing the attribute. Moreover, I can't help but think that Ruin and Preservation are being defined too narrowly. We know explicitly that Ruin could build things up, he just wouldn't unless it was going to help him break something later. Preservation could likewise hinder or injure someone or something in order to preserve something greater (like when he stabbed Elend, a very non-Preservation act if taken out of context). I think the whole "balanced art" designation comes from that: it can serve the purpose of either one equally, whereas Hemalurgy (end negative, breaking down more than building up) always favors Ruin and Allomancy (end positive, building up more than breaking down) favors Preservation. Of course, I'm probably thinking too little into it. I feel like I'm missing something, which is a pretty good indication that I am, in fact, missing something.
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