Do Drabs have less Investiture then normal humans?

[Hmmm lies she/her]

We see that Drabs are more susceptible to disease, however it is possible that the diseases are worse on Nalthis, or humans on Nalthis evolved to have a less good immune system since their Breaths helped protect them. Or humans on Nalthis with 1 Breath are just more resistant to disease then other humans.

Any WoB?

[Quantus he/him]

Yes.  The average Nalthian is born with more than a person elsewhere, but when the Breath leaves it drops them below cosmere-standard. Which is more or less Earth standard, we are not Drabs, 

 

 

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Questioner

In the last panel we talked a lot about people from different planets using magic systems on other planets, one of the things I've been thinking about, we've been thinking about, talking about Breath, and people being born with Breath, is that something specific to Nalthis or do, technically, other people on other planets have a Breath as well?

Brandon Sanderson

Good question and that is a Nalthian thing. Now, everyone in the cosmere to an extent has Investiture, the Nalthian Breath is part what everyone has and then a little extra, plus the ability to share it around. So a person who gives up their Breath on Nalthis is actually going below what a normal person has. But a normal person on Nalthis has more than somebody-- So if you were for instance to pick a world like Sixth of the Dusk, where there's not a Shard in residence, and you compared them to a Nalthian, Nalthian has an Investiture advantage over them. When they've given up their Breath, they have an Investiture disadvantage.

Bystander

So we're not Drabs?

Brandon Sanderson

So we're not Drabs. That's exactly it. We're not Drabs.

JordanCon 2016 (April 23, 2016)

 

 

[Trusk'our he/him]

1 hour ago, Hmmm lies said:

We see that Drabs are more susceptible to disease, however it is possible that the diseases are worse on Nalthis, or humans on Nalthis evolved to have a less good immune system since their Breaths helped protect them. Or humans on Nalthis with 1 Breath are just more resistant to disease then other humans.

Any WoB?

The immune system of someone holding a large amount of Breath is magically enhanced, allowing said system to slack off. Because of this, if the Breath is ever given away they almost certainly get ill soon afterwards. This suggests that this lack of immunity is not something that was evolved, but is a more individual case where such a weakness is developed by those who once carried large amounts of Breath.

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https://wob.coppermind.net/events/250/#e7329

Brandon Sanderson

Chapter Forty-One

Vivenna, Sick and Disoriented, Gets Turned Away by the Restaurant Keeper

One of the ways I decided to make Vivenna's sections here work better was by enhancing the fuzziness of her mind. By giving her this sense of numbness, I hope to indicate that something is not right with her.

It's common for someone who suddenly becomes a Drab to get sick almost immediately. For a time, her immune system was magically enhanced and warded, in a way, to keep her from becoming ill. With that removed suddenly, sickness can strike. She hasn't built up immunities to the sicknesses going around, and by becoming a Drab, her immune system suddenly works far worse than that of other people.

These things combined made her come down with something pretty nasty the very day she put away her Breath. This would have killed her, eventually, if she hadn't done something about it. She would have grown so dizzy and confused that she wouldn't have even been able to walk.

By sending men to find her, Denth saved her life.

Anyway, I feel that these scenes work much better now. We can look at Vivenna's time on the streets in the same surreal sense that she does. They happened in the past, in a strange dream state. In that way, they can seem much longer than just two chapters and a couple of weeks.

(very) Mild Mistborn spoilers;

Spoiler

 

As for Nalthians being more Invested than humans from other planets, yes, on average they seem to be more Invested. At least, they are more Invested on average than humans from Scadrial.

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https://wob.coppermind.net/events/100/#e3458

KingSloth

Doesn't all 'extra' investiture require a cracked soul? How are Nalthians born with extra breath, if so?

Brandon Sanderson

No. The Scadrians have extra investiture too, on a lesser scale.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by Trusk'our