Hoid is using Lerasium for its Feruchemical properties

[Two McMillion he/him]

Pretty simple theory here. The letter states the following:

Let me first assure you that the element is quite safe. I have found a good home for it. I protect its safety like I protect my own skin, you might say.

 

Assuming the letter was indeed written by Hoid, and "the element" refers to Lerasium (as I've seen suggested here), it seems reasonable to believe Hoid has made a metalmind from the Lerasium and wears it regularly. This would explain how he "protects it like he protects his own skin".

 

At one point I thought that "protect it like I protect my own skin" meant he had swallowed it and become a Mistborn, but that doesn't really seem like it's "quite safe" and has a "good home" to me. So, I think that Hoid is using the Lerasium as a metalmind. We know from WoB that he can use Feruchemy, so it fits. Perhaps this is how he knows where to go in the Cosmere?

[Shardlet he/him]

Incidentally, WoB confirmed that the element is in fact the bead of lerasium.

 

http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/3626-rithmatist-provo-library-signing/?p=57660'>Source

[PallonianFire he/him]

Yep, we have official confirmation on both Hoid writing the letter and the element as Lerasium. I'd say it's reasonable to expect Hoid would use it for Feruchemy, but the biggest wildcards are....well, everything about Hoid and Lerasium haha. We don't know what Lerasium does in Feruchemy, and we don't know what Hoid stole the bead for. For all we know, he could just be hiding it and trying to preserve pieces of Shards or something. Who knows?

 

Personally, though, I'd really like it if he's using it in some complementary way with other magics from the Cosmere (re: Investiture, maybe? We know nothing about that, too).

[Shardlet he/him]

Perhaps this is how he knows where to go in the Cosmere?

 

Ah, but he had to get to the lerasium in the first place.  He had a window of about two years between the death of TLR and the ripening of the well to get it.  Not very big in the grand scheme of things.  Also, he was on Sel at a crucial time as well.  Seems like he already had his find-the-important-place-and-time ability.

[Two McMillion he/him]

Ah, but he had to get to the lerasium in the first place.  He had a window of about two years between the death of TLR and the ripening of the well to get it.  Not very big in the grand scheme of things.  Also, he was on Sel at a crucial time as well.  Seems like he already had his find-the-important-place-and-time ability.

 

Good point, because he uses Feruchemy to know where to go. I wonder if he's been to Scadrial more than once? Or is there Feruchemy on Yolen?

 

Hm, well, apparently Lightweaving was both on Yolan and Roshar, so...

[Shardlet he/him]

I am inclined to think that he has been on Scadrial more than once.  The similarites between the Worldbringers and the Worldsingers are compelling and in a Q&A (lost somewhere apparently, I could not find it either here or on theoryland) Brandon indicated that the similarities in the name are not a coincidence.  AQlso, they function in a similar way to Hoid's backstory.  So, it is reasonably plausible that he founded both organizations.  This would require multiple trips to Scadrial.

[Sabrina Stormshard she/her]

I agree, metalmind makes way more sense than him having ingested it, given the letter.

[Kadrok she/her]

Yep, I agree.

[Oudeis he/him]

I wonder if we aren't missing something broader here...

 

What if the point of Lerasium isn't its use in the Metallic Arts? What if all that matters is that he possesses the PHYSICAL BODY OF A GOD?

 

Perhaps it's a part of whatever his secret grand scheme is. For all we know, the allomantic, feruchemical and hemallurgic properties of the God Metals are secondary by-products to their main purpose, which might end up being something huge for the whole cosmere...

 

If someone gathered lerasium, atium, a gemheart (my theory is that the gemhearts are Honor's body), and a bouquet of the Tears of Edgli (again, operating under the assumption that this is Endowment's body), as well as bits of the physical bodies of the other Shards... perhaps there's something very, very interesting and unexpected that could come from that...

[aeromancer he/him]

A minor Adolnasium! Excellent theory!

[Kadrok she/her]

If someone gathered lerasium, atium, a gemheart (my theory is that the gemhearts are Honor's body), and a bouquet of the Tears of Edgli (again, operating under the assumption that this is Endowment's body), as well as bits of the physical bodies of the other Shards... perhaps there's something very, very interesting and unexpected that could come from that...

Creating a splinter of Adolnasium would be quite intriguing. I imagine he must have some Atium then.

 

So the ingredients...

 

Preservation - Lerasium

Ruin - Atium

Endowment - Tears of Edgli OR a Divine breath

Honour - Gemheart?

 

What else would we need people?

[Mailliw73 he/him]

IIRC, and I very well could be wrong, aren't Seons and Skaze splinters or part of Devotion and Dominions bodies? Or, now that I think about it, I seem to recall that the Elantrian pool thing was Devotions body. What about those for the mini Adonalsium?

[Kadrok she/her]

Given that we have now moved into discussing more than just whether Hoid is using his Lerasium bead as a metalmind, I've started a new topic to discuss the recipe for making a splinter of Adonalsium.