17?

[Alumínio he/him]

In TLM Wayne keeps hammering the number 17 key repeatedly, Wax says that when two metals form an alloy they are not a mixture but a new metal, this would be a foreshadowing, Brandon showing us that now that two fragments have fused

The most symbolic cosmeric number is now 17? Would that mean a seventeenth Allomantic metal?

Maybe something very important happened behind the scenes and people started unconsciously thinking about 17?

I don't think Brandon would introduce this for free, maybe he started with Wayne so we wouldn't pay too much attention

[alder24]

1 hour ago, Alumínio said:

In TLM Wayne keeps hammering the number 17 key repeatedly, Wax says that when two metals form an alloy they are not a mixture but a new metal, this would be a foreshadowing, Brandon showing us that now that two fragments have fused

The most symbolic cosmeric number is now 17? Would that mean a seventeenth Allomantic metal?

Maybe something very important happened behind the scenes and people started unconsciously thinking about 17?

I don't think Brandon would introduce this for free, maybe he started with Wayne so we wouldn't pay too much attention

There is no new 17th Shard as far as we know - even Harmony is 2 Shards combined. We don't know why there are 16 base metals, but it might have something to do with the Shattering and 16 Shards or maybe ever before it. Metals have some kind of spiritual component and that's what makes them special, that what makes them interact with investiture, and probably that's what makes the 16 base metals works in Metallic arts. But those components came before Scadrial was created (because of the Dragonsteel in WoB), so it's that Metallic Arts uses those base 16 metals because they already had specific spiritual components, not the other way around. I would not expect any new base metal popping into existence because of that - this is locked by the mechanics of the magic system of the whole Cosmere, not just Allomancy.

I think that was simply a foreshadowing for Lerasium - the Lost Metal and the "17th" metal.

Spoiler

Questioner

Quick question on aluminum. Why does it affect other forms of Investiture?

Brandon Sanderson

When I was building the cosmere, I just had to build certain themes into it, and metal was one of those. And the metals have kind of a Spiritual integrity, and Spiritual component, that if I can get into Dragonsteel explaining why, you'll get your kind of origins.

Questioner

And that's why, in Warbreaker, metals are different with Awakening, and stuff.

Brandon Sanderson

And even in Roshar, the cages that you're building for fabrials, once you start to figure out how those metals affect it, you'll be like, "Oh wait, that makes sense!" And these are just across the cosmere.

And if you want an in-world answer, it has to do with stuff in Dragonsteel. But really, the answer is, I was building this and I'm like, "I just want this to be a theme. So I'm just going to give this Spiritual component to metals." So it works in Mistborn, and it works all across everything.

LTUE 2020 (Feb. 15, 2020)

 

Spoiler

[...]

Questioner

So for right now, there are fifteen Shards?

Brandon Sanderson

Right now, there are sixteen Shards, but fifteen Vessels. Well, not even that, 'cause, you know.

Skyward San Diego signing (Nov. 7, 2018)

 

[Treamayne]

1 hour ago, Alumínio said:

In TLM Wayne keeps hammering the number 17 key repeatedly, Wax says that when two metals form an alloy they are not a mixture but a new metal, this would be a foreshadowing, Brandon showing us that now that two fragments have fused

The most symbolic cosmeric number is now 17? Would that mean a seventeenth Allomantic metal?

Maybe something very important happened behind the scenes and people started unconsciously thinking about 17?

I don't think Brandon would introduce this for free, maybe he started with Wayne so we wouldn't pay too much attention

Wayne's "17" references are likely to carry some significance; but what that is is not known yet. Discussed here: Wayne and 17