[HOA spoilers] How was Ruin meant to "pick up" the atium in HOA?

[Shadow of Electrum he/him]

Hello, in my most recent rereading of the Mistborn series, there's something that's been bothering me. The overarching storyline of HOA was ruin trying to find where the atium was being hidden, but one thing I don't know is how he was supposed to access it. He knew where it was once the atium soldiers started burning it up, but apparently knowing where it was wasn't enough. He sent koloss after the atium, but what was supposed to happen after that? Were the koloss supposed to give it to ruin somehow? Was Marsh supposed to do something? I don't know the specifics of how a shard can interact with the physical realm and I think this answer could help me put some other things together too. This feels like something that would probably be answered in a WoB, but I'm not sure how I'd condense this into a search query, so any responses are appreciated.

[Mags she/they]

I was able to find this if it helps:

Spoiler

Chaos (paraphrased)

What would have happened if Ruin did get the atium? Yeah, the world is destroyed, but how does Ruin "absorb" the atium so he can utilize the power?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

He would metabolize it, just like the normal people have to do. However, if he did get it he would then be able to destroy the world.

I have a few more thoughts on this, but I have to go offline for a bit. 

[Treamayne]

46 minutes ago, Shadow of Electrum said:

Hello, in my most recent rereading of the Mistborn series, there's something that's been bothering me. The overarching storyline of HOA was ruin trying to find where the atium was being hidden, but one thing I don't know is how he was supposed to access it. He knew where it was once the atium soldiers started burning it up, but apparently knowing where it was wasn't enough. He sent koloss after the atium, but what was supposed to happen after that? Were the koloss supposed to give it to ruin somehow? Was Marsh supposed to do something? I don't know the specifics of how a shard can interact with the physical realm and I think this answer could help me put some other things together too. This feels like something that would probably be answered in a WoB, but I'm not sure how I'd condense this into a search query, so any responses are appreciated.

31 minutes ago, justice magician said:

I was able to find this if it helps:

  Hide contents

Chaos (paraphrased)

What would have happened if Ruin did get the atium? Yeah, the world is destroyed, but how does Ruin "absorb" the atium so he can utilize the power?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

He would metabolize it, just like the normal people have to do. However, if he did get it he would then be able to destroy the world.

I have a few more thoughts on this, but I have to go offline for a bit. 

More specifically, Preservation had "hidden" it in a separate investiture cycle where expendd Atium returned to the Pits rather than to Ruin's SR (spiritual realm) "body."

By finding it and being able to affect it directly, he would undo that change, allowing the expended investiture to return to him in the SR.

 

[alder24]

58 minutes ago, Shadow of Electrum said:

Hello, in my most recent rereading of the Mistborn series, there's something that's been bothering me. The overarching storyline of HOA was ruin trying to find where the atium was being hidden, but one thing I don't know is how he was supposed to access it. He knew where it was once the atium soldiers started burning it up, but apparently knowing where it was wasn't enough. He sent koloss after the atium, but what was supposed to happen after that? Were the koloss supposed to give it to ruin somehow? Was Marsh supposed to do something? I don't know the specifics of how a shard can interact with the physical realm and I think this answer could help me put some other things together too. This feels like something that would probably be answered in a WoB, but I'm not sure how I'd condense this into a search query, so any responses are appreciated.

43 minutes ago, justice magician said:

I was able to find this if it helps:

  Reveal hidden contents

Chaos (paraphrased)

What would have happened if Ruin did get the atium? Yeah, the world is destroyed, but how does Ruin "absorb" the atium so he can utilize the power?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

He would metabolize it, just like the normal people have to do. However, if he did get it he would then be able to destroy the world.

I have a few more thoughts on this, but I have to go offline for a bit. 

9 minutes ago, Treamayne said:

More specifically, Preservation had "hidden" it in a separate investiture cycle where expendd Atium returned to the Pits rather than to Ruin's SR (spiritual realm) "body."

By finding it and being able to affect it directly, he would undo that change, allowing the expended investiture to return to him in the SR.

Adding to that, if you still don't know how Ruin would have been able to metabolize a piece of metal, Shards can manifest a physical body:

Spoiler

Argent

Can Shards manifest a physical body that can actually interact with the Physical Realm?

Brandon Sanderson

If they wanted to, yes.

[...]

JordanCon 2018 (April 20, 2018)

[Shadow of Electrum he/him]

3 hours ago, alder24 said:

Adding to that, if you still don't know how Ruin would have been able to metabolize a piece of metal, Shards can manifest a physical body:

  Reveal hidden contents

Argent

Can Shards manifest a physical body that can actually interact with the Physical Realm?

Brandon Sanderson

If they wanted to, yes.

[...]

JordanCon 2018 (April 20, 2018)

This is what I was looking for, thank you all for your help. I realize that shards are often bound in ways that cause me to underestimate how much they can actually do, so I had no idea what kinds of things Ruin and other shards could do to interact with the physical realm.