Using A Chromium and F Nicrosil to steal metallic arts.

[Atlas333]

The idea is crazy and probably doesn't work but I wanted to try it anyway.

A couple of assumptions explaining why this might work.

1. The idea comes from the Mistborn Adventure Game (I know it's not automatically canon but stay with me). The twinborn combo of A Chromium and F Nicrosil (leech metals and store investiture) is called a sapper and is described as "Steals and hoards the power of others."

1. F Nicrosil stores the ability to use an invested art

2. Leeching is described as "pulling on the power and returning it to an external source." (the spiritual realm)

3. There is a WoB suggesting that a chromium savant does more than just remove metal reserves but is actually interacting with a person's spirit web (closing the cracks)

Quote

Wyndlerunner

You've mentioned in the past aluminum savants being able to somewhat heal their spiritweb, healing them of the cracks, sort of healing them of Allomancy. Could a chromium savant do this to other people, kind of like in the Avatar [The Last Airbender] finale where he seals bending?

Brandon Sanderson

I will say RAFO, but I will say you're theorizing along correct directions.

Orem Signing (March 16, 2019)

 

The idea works as follows: A leecher leeches someone using an invested art (let's say burning steel). Then when they pull out that power instead of letting it return to the spiritual realm they store that in their nicrosil mind. They then tap that metalmind at a later date to gain access to that invested art (ie become a coinshot for a short time).

 

Of course, there are some problems with this theory.

1. Identity might make it impossible to tap this stored investiture even if you could store it

2. I don't think this would be a permanent thing by any means (after all people can burn metals shortly after being leeched). I imagine this combo would only grant short bursts of invested arts. For more permanent stealing hemalurgy is probably the way to go. 

3. You might need to be a chromium savant to even have a chance to make this work and as chromium burns in an instant I don't imagine many leechers become savants.

Thoughts?

[Quantus he/him]

Not really a spoiler but technically from Tress instead of a Mistborn novel: 

Spoiler

Based on Hoid's description of a Luhel Bond, which is a Bond that exchanges Physical Matter (but not necessarily water) for Power, I think Allomancy itself could be classified as a Luhel Bond (just with a Shard instead of a Prime Aether).

  If that's true then it could makes sense for a Leecher's Destructive capabilities to extend to Absorbing&destroying the Investiture of any Luhel Bond itself (if they knew enough of Realmics to target it with the right Intent).  

I think a related and telling test case is whether an Aluminum Hemalurgic Spike that remove/prevents All Powers would block an Aether-based Luhel Bond. If they really are the same effect then that sort of measure should treat both of them the same way, and so Leeching should as well.

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

I like this combo, I really do. Though I think it'd take a deep understanding of Investiture and the difference between Kinetic and Innate Investiture to make work. It all hinges of the exact mechanics of F-nicrosil which hasn't been made clear yet and an understanding of A-Chromium and Resonances.

The powers like Allomancy are themselves Innate Investiture, a part of the soul itself, which would make it tricky to steal without Hemalurgy and which Leeching doesn't usually effect, but when an Allomancer burns a metal they are turning it into Kinetic Investiture, power that is being used, which is primarily what Leeching deals with.

We don't know for sure if Nicrosil allows you to store Kinetic Investiture itself instead of just the Innate Investiture of the powers themselves, but we may have an answer due to Book 6 of Mistborn.

The Malwish had Medallions that granted Feruchemical powers, they used F-Nicrosil to function but are described by Brandon as 'a little more restrictive then a Nicrosil Ferring', they act like Copperminds in that something discrete is taken, used and returned like a memory with Copper Ferrings. So this is evidence that what you want might not work.

But the Bands of Mourning themselves indicate it might be possible, as they are chock full of Investiture, such as the type that gives allomantic powers, and that power runs out over time, unlike the Medallions. Since it had to have been created with F-Nicrosil, this indicates there are multiple ways to utilize F-Nicrosil, which gives your idea evidence it can work.

15 hours ago, Atlas333 said:

1. Identity might make it impossible to tap this stored investiture even if you could store it

Maybe, it depends on whether Kinetic Investiture has Identity itself as it's being used, as you're more likely to steal that with Leeching. Though if Identity does become an issue then you'd probably need some Unkeyed Nicroslminds or a spike that grants F-Aluminum.

14 hours ago, Atlas333 said:

2. I don't think this would be a permanent thing by any means (after all people can burn metals shortly after being leeched). I imagine this combo would only grant short bursts of invested arts. For more permanent stealing hemalurgy is probably the way to go. 

Seems like a reasonable limit, if I were Brandon I wouldn't want this combo becoming too overpowered. Maybe if a Sapper had some Metalborn friends they could 'stock up' some powers.

14 hours ago, Atlas333 said:

3. You might need to be a chromium savant to even have a chance to make this work and as chromium burns in an instant I don't imagine many leechers become savants.

Chromium doesn't burn in an instant, duralumin doesn't even if it burns away all other metals instantly. It burns at a steady rate.

Also Savantism could probably be required, but I think it would also take the Resonance between A-Chromium and F-Nicrosil to make it really work, as with Resonances your kind of making the powers mix together a bit, which might let you cross their wires. Like if you store into your Nicrosilminds as you're Leeching someone you might be able to 'Divert' the flow of Kinetic Investiture from the Spiritual Realm (which is where Leeching usually sends it) into your Nicrosilminds instead. 

Overall a potentially very powerful combination, though very reliant on assumptions on powers we haven't had properly examined yet.