Snapping

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

When someone snaped in Era 1, how did they know? Did it happen and then they randomly pickup a metal and eat it, discovering it? Probably not, right? Why would they randomly eat metal? If so, how did kelsier know so soon after snapping? If not, was there some feeling, like, OH I have allomancy now! of something?

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

1 hour ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

When someone snaped in Era 1, how did they know? Did it happen and then they randomly pickup a metal and eat it, discovering it? Probably not, right? Why would they randomly eat metal? If so, how did kelsier know so soon after snapping? If not, was there some feeling, like, OH I have allomancy now! of something?

There are trace metals that they can accidentally consume, Vin unknowingly burned trace amounts of Zinc and Pewter to help herself and called it 'Luck', gained from drinking from a pewter mug and other metal utensils.

Kelsier knew because he was already familiar to how Allomancy worked, he's worked with Mistings before.

New Allomancers need to check what power they have, for example no one knew that Augurs were a thing in Era 1, they never knew they could burn gold, but later on in Era 2 people now to check for that.

[Treamayne]

2 hours ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

When someone snaped in Era 1, how did they know? Did it happen and then they randomly pickup a metal and eat it, discovering it? Probably not, right? Why would they randomly eat metal? If so, how did kelsier know so soon after snapping? If not, was there some feeling, like, OH I have allomancy now! of something?

Most people likely to snap were in Noble Houses, and each house had it's own testing program (beating children, then testing them with metals while or after they heal) and many house's methods were specific to them. TLR had his own testing programs as well (especially for metals he kept secret).

As for Skaa mistings, I doubt there is a common method. Learning through burning trace elements and/or being told by a Skaa seeker (like Marsh/Vin) were probably the most common methods. I doubt there would often be an event like Kelsier's (who heard Preservation when he Snapped).

Spoiler

Quote

Brandon Sanderson

Yomen Is a Seer

That raises the question of how Yomen discovered that he was a Seer. He mentions that atium was too valuable to waste on testing for atium Mistings. That's true, but incomplete. The Lord Ruler did test his obligators for the power, particularly the high-ranking ones. Those he found were told of their power and used as an extra level of security. There weren't many, but there were some—and they tended to rise very quickly in the ranks (like Yomen) and be given important positions. Yomen's power with atium made him a valuable secret weapon, and when in a position of power, he could use his ability to quell rebels or perform feats of wonder to keep the people in line.

The Hero of Ages Annotations (April 15, 2010)

Quote

Sporkify

How did Inquisitors find Atium mistings?

Brandon Sanderson

They spike the drinks at one of the nobility's balls with trace amounts of Atium, then cause a bit disturbance. (Often, the Inquisitors themselves arriving will do it) and burn bronze and watch for brief pulses. The body will burn metals instinctively if it can, which has been shown quite often in the series. This is also how they get a lot of their secret information about who is a Misting and who isn't. It's not a perfect method, since you have to watch for Copperclouds messing things up, but it is effective once in a while.

Any time an obligator who is not a Misting joins the Ministry, he is unknowingly given a larger chunk of atium and then forced into a series of rituals that will drain him physically and get the body to react and burn the metal. This was how Yomen was discovered.

Hero of Ages Q&A - Time Waster's Guide (Oct. 15, 2008)

 

Hope that helps

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

3 hours ago, Treamayne said:

Most people likely to snap were in Noble Houses, and each house had it's own testing program (beating children, then testing them with metals while or after they heal) and many house's methods were specific to them. TLR had his own testing programs as well (especially for metals he kept secret).

As for Skaa mistings, I doubt there is a common method. Learning through burning trace elements and/or being told by a Skaa seeker (like Marsh/Vin) were probably the most common methods. I doubt there would often be an event like Kelsier's (who heard Preservation when he Snapped).

  Hide contents

 

Hope that helps

Thank you so much! That makes a lot more sense!