spoiler Aluminum Use By Odium

[Lorenzo]

Hello!

I'm currently reading book 5 of The Stormlight Archive, Wind and Truth (I'm about a third of the way through).

Spoiler

I was wondering why Odium didn't use more aluminum (since it can be soulcasted).
In Book 4, we see Jasnah fighting as a Shardbearer against the armies of Singers, and I don't remember them having any aluminum weapons or armor.
Would it be too expensive for not much gain? The Fused are equipped with it, of course, so does Odium think that simple soldiers, even armed with aluminum, would have no chance of further weakening a Radiant with it?

 

Edited July 28, 2025 by Lorenzo

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

If you have even one Soulcaster, you can basically mass print aluminum, it's not that he can't, it seems like he just won't.

I think that a reason might be that he doesn't want just anyone who isn't fully loyal in his army using it, especially if they learn of its ability to block mind influences when worn around the head, like perhaps some Regals wearing aluminum foil hats suddenly get their sense of self back and realize "Hey, this Odium guy is messing with our heads just like the humans did!" and decide to rebel en masse, then Odium could have a rebellion of Singers, who have the ability to use Forms of Power without their heads getting messed with.

It's just not something he wants to risk dealing with.

[Lorenzo]

Ohh, I would never have thought of that ! Clever, indeed. I would obviously be easily manipulated by Odium...

[alder24]

Aluminum armor would also interfere with their Surgebinding, potentially preventing them from using it (because aluminum has an area effect). Fused and Regals especially can't wear too much aluminum at all as they depend on it too much. Surebinding is way more beneficial than aluminum armor.

[Teravangian]

There are answers to this, soulcasting fabrials being more restricted in material for example, or the unnecessary gemstone toll required for a minor output increase, but in the end it's because that's the way Brandon's world needed to be.