So I have some big Meta Questions about Allomancy

[phoenixgod]

So having read the trilogy and Alloy of Law I have a few questions. I don't know if they've ever been answered by Brandon in an interview, the rpg, or even in the novels and I just didn't understand the answer, or if they haven't been answered. I would love to hear the thoughts of the board.

1. first off, it is my understanding that Allomancy is the magic of Preservation. Did Preservation create the magic or is that simply the power that is unlocked by that shard? Because from what I gathered, there were no mistborn before the lord ruler and his guys ate the Lerasium (sp) god metal. If that is true, why are there metals that only work in concert with other metals, and thus are literally useless on their own? Similarly, why are there metals that do seemingly useless things (i.e, Gold). Why would Preservation create a system of magic where there are elements with no use at all? Until we saw what a compounder could do with the metal, Gold was a joke that was literally useful only for navel gazing philosophers. Do you think we are being set up for a revelation where some of the previously useless metals are going turn out to be important?

2. Was the sixteen percent of the population something that was totally mist related, or is hard coded that sixteen percent of the population exactly are going to be allomancers of some type, and its only with the increase in population now that the world is more habitable that there are more allomancers floating around?

3. Will we ever see the god metals again, or are the completely gone from the series? It seems a shame to have them disappear because from what I understand, they could each be alloyed with one of the sixteen metals to create a new effect (Witness Malatium), and I would love to see what the other effects would be. I know it would be a lot of powers for Brandon to come up with, but you can't tell me it wouldn't be cool to know.

Curious minds want to know,

Jon

[spacemonkey he/him]

I'll try to answer your questions in order as best I can.

1. I'm fairly sure that none of the magic systems are actually directly created by the Shards. So Preservation can make people Allomancers, but if I understand Brandon's comments on the matter correctly, Allomancy itself is simply the way that the power of Preservation inherent in all humans on Scadrial is expressed. There weren't any mistborn before Rashek used the Well of Ascension, but there were mistings, although they were rare and most of them probably didn't know they had any powers. Alendi was one. As for the metals, yes, there are some that don't have any effect on their own in Allomancy, although they do still have applications in Feruchemy, and presumably Hemalurgy as well. As to why some of the metals seem useless allomantically, it could be that they have applications that the people on Scadrial have yet to discover. The fact that aluminum cannot be pushed or pulled, and blocks emotional Allomancy lends credence to this. It's also possible that if Allomancy wasn't actually deliberately designed by Preservation, it simply isn't built with fairness in mind.

2. The sixteen percent thing was probably a function of the mists, and not something inherent in Allomancy.

3. Almost definitely. There are still two more whole trilogies to go, after all. Have patience, young grasshopper.

[name_here]

1. From what I can tell, Allomancy wasn't exactly created by Preservation, and the details of how the powers function are not within his control. Gold and Aluminum in particular are kind of useless because they're the paired opposites of Electrum and Duranium, which work in ways that don't have useful opposites. Since electrum is the gold alloy and gold shows you your past, electrum shows you your future. Since aluminum depletes your metals to no effect, duranium depletes them to devastating effect. Pairing like that is pretty fundamental to Allomancy, and you literally could not have the powers the alloys do without the elemental metals having the powers they do. And they do have to affect you, because they're Internal metals.

2. Pretty sure it was specific to the mists. Remember, exactly sixteen percent of non-allomancers exposed to the mist for the first time in every group that entered the mists turned into allomancers. That would imply that there were a whole lot more people who could be made into allomancers than actually were. As for why, presumably Snapping literally everyone who could be Snapped would deplete Preservation's power too badly.

3. Most likely we'll see some of them.

Edited January 15, 2012 by name_here

[fiveAM he/him]

? I thought Allomancy was the magic system influenced by both Preservation and Ruin?

Ruin: Hemalurgy (it steals properties, loses potency the longer spike is outside of body, Ruin uses it to influence people's minds)

Preservation: Feruchemy (all powers are from within, it's basically just storing it for later, no addition or subtraction)

R + P : Allomancy

[name_here]

No, Allomancy is Preservation because it counters entropy by increasing energy while Hemalurgy destroys energy and Feruchemy is energy-neutral.

[CrazyRioter she/her]

specifically, Allomancy draws energy from an outward source (thus Preserving the user's own energy).

[Vortaan he/him]

As to 2: the 16% was Preservation's signal that something was there and was trying to help. Probably more than 16% of the skaa population could be mistings, but doing something other than 16% wouldn't have sent the message Preservation needed.

[Chaos he/him]

1. Everyone is correct here, Ruin and Preservation did not create their magics. Specifically, the Metallic Arts are a function of the natural world and how it interacts with its Shards. The Shards did not "create" them. The applicable quote you're looking for:

Q: On a broader level, is hemalurgy officially dead, then? Or is it still extant in some Ruin-free (but still messy) form? (If it's gone, is there any imbalance since Preservation's magic power is kept and Ruin's isn't?)

Is Hemalurgy dead? No, not at all. It, like the other two powers, was not created by Ruin or Preservation, but by the natural state of the world and its interaction with the gods who created it. It still requires the same method of creation, but very few people are aware of how it works.

So, my translation: the holders of Ruin and Preservation (Ati and Leras, respectively), didn't say to each other "Yo, let's totally make THIS power!" It was the nature of their Shards and their intents, and how they interacted with the Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual Realms which make the powers work in the way they do. (Something like that.) Magic can't just do anything, there are apparently a finite number (but large) amount of abilities the cosmere has.

That said, I'm sure something Allomantic gold will become important somehow later on in the series. It's too bizarre when everyone in the world says "Man, that gold Allomancy, we really don't know what's going on there" for it to be nothing.

2. I'm not certain. I feel everyone else's answer on the subject is pretty reasonable.

3. I know, it'd be a shame to see them gone. I mean, they have to come back somehow, but that's a total mystery. For example, Brandon has said this:

Q: I'm surprised no one else has asked but does this new world have atium? If atium was the body of Ruin then it would seem when Sazed took up Ruins power he would have reabsorbed all of the atium. New atium then would be bits of Sazed's new powers and weaken him with each newly formed bead. It would seem then that if atium exists it would be much rarer, and mean that Sazed would not be able to control this process.

I guess I am trying to understand why he would want to allow any Atium to make its way into the hands of people or rather out of his control?

It's theoretically possible for Atium to appear in the future, but right now Sazed has no plans to release any of it to the people. It is, effectively, now something of myth and legend.

So... I have no idea how'd we get atium, but I really want it to happen.

(Both quotes, by the way, are from the Hero of Ages Spoiler Thread)

? I thought Allomancy was the magic system influenced by both Preservation and Ruin?

Ruin: Hemalurgy (it steals properties, loses potency the longer spike is outside of body, Ruin uses it to influence people's minds)

Preservation: Feruchemy (all powers are from within, it's basically just storing it for later, no addition or subtraction)

R + P : Allomancy

Nope. I'd go all Principle of Intent on you, but the short answer is that the Shard's intent (their name, like Ruin and Preservation) does not influence the powers that you get, but rather, how you gain the power in the first place. Hemalurgy, for example, if you look at the pure powers you get from it (gaining Allomancy or Feruchemy), it doesn't seem Ruinous. It's only when you look at how the power is obtained (killing) that you realize, hey, it's pretty Ruinous.

Feruchemy can't be of Preservation, you see. You are giving up your body's power temporarily when you store it, which isn't Preserving it. Instead, Feruchemy is the balance, because your body's power--while not being preserved--isn't destroyed either.

Allomancy, it turns out, is of Preservation because it preserves your body's energy (you don't become physically weaker, nor does Allomancy reduce the amount of Preservation in you), and instead draws on Preservation directly. It's all about how you gain the power, not what the effect of the magic is. (Pushing and Pulling on metals doesn't have much to do with Preserving anything). Does that make sense? This is actually the canonical description that Brandon gave us.

Sorry for the rant. I'm kind of partial to the Principle of Intent.