Harnessing Investiture

[Stormgate he/him]

There are many ways to get the investiture needed for the various magic systems. There is directly consuming it from an outside source, like Stormlight, there is harnessing the innate investiture of others, like Awakening, there is channeling the investiture, never actually taking it in but instead acting more like a water faucet for the power, like AonDor, and then there is Skadrial's Allomancy.

Where does the Investiture come from? Is it harnessing the innate Investiture? Or is the Investiture simply stored inside the metal like gemstones on Roshar? Or is the investiture burning through the metal, using it as a pipeline like the faucet? Or is the Investiture accessed in a way we haven't seen before, and every Shardworld has a different method to access Investiture?

Edit: Typos

Edited November 19, 2015 by Stormgate

[An evil 545lighteyes he/him]

The investiture is channeled, like in AonDor. However instead of a shape determining effect, the molecular composition is what determines what power you get.

Edited November 5, 2015 by An evil 545lighteyes

[natc]

Allomancy is channeled from Preservation. Except with god metal, where the metal is directly metabolized for power.

We don't know what happens to normal metals after burning, strangely.

[Yata he/him]

Imagine the Allomancy like using the metal like a specific Aon that Preservation Power use as a medium from "Preservation's Investiture" to "Push Metal".

The Allomancy and the AonDor are quite the same things (more than any other Magic System).

[Eagle of the Forest Path he/him]

We don't know what happens to normal metals after burning, strangely.

 

I've read somewhere that they're vaporized.

[Moogle]

For AonDor (10th Anniversary spoilers):

I wonder if they know they are channeling the corpses of those gods in the outpouring of their magics?

 
Our best guess is that with metals/Aons you form a gateway elsewhere - Spiritual in the case of Preservation, and Cognitive in the case of AonDor - and Investiture comes out.
 
Once used, it returns to where it was (presumably for all magics, not just Preservation):

Master_Moridin
Why does Preservation fueling Allomancy not weaken Preservation compared to Ruin?

Brandon Sanderson
Because the power, once used, returns to him--much as water, after passing over a turbine, continues on in its system.
(source)

 

For Breaths, I'd predict that they come from the ambient Investiture infusing a planet. We know that when a child is conceived that they draw Investiture to make a soul. It makes sense that this would come from whatever Shardic stuff is Invested in a planet. I can't find the WoB on children drawing Investiture to make souls, but it's somewhere out there.

[Stormgate he/him]

For AonDor (10th Anniversary spoilers):

I wonder if they know they are channeling the corpses of those gods in the outpouring of their magics?

 

Our best guess is that with metals/Aons you form a gateway elsewhere - Spiritual in the case of Preservation, and Cognitive in the case of AonDor - and Investiture comes out.

 

Once used, it returns to where it was (presumably for all magics, not just Preservation):

 

For Breaths, I'd predict that they come from the ambient Investiture infusing a planet. We know that when a child is conceived that they draw Investiture to make a soul. It makes sense that this would come from whatever Shardic stuff is Invested in a planet. I can't find the WoB on children drawing Investiture to make souls, but it's somewhere out there.

While I appreciate your comments, especially on Allomancy, I am fairly certain that Breaths are innate Investiture, that Investiture all people in the Cosmere are born with. This is supported by a WoB saying Drabs have no innate Investiture. The Returned Breaths are probably pieces of a Shard, though.

[Moogle]

While I appreciate your comments, especially on Allomancy, I am fairly certain that Breaths are innate Investiture, that Investiture all people in the Cosmere are born with. This is supported by a WoB saying Drabs have no innate Investiture. The Returned Breaths are probably pieces of a Shard, though.

 

We're not disagreeing! I am saying innate Investiture comes from the ambient Investiture infusing the planet. When you are born, you draw on this and it becomes your soul/innate Investiture. Thereafter, it's yours unless you give it away.

[Stormgate he/him]

Moogle, your point is fair and valid. I can't say I support it, given the lack of evidence for it, but there seems to be an equal lack of evidence against it. That said, it is something to think about. Kudos for making me wonder about something.

Also, just for kicks, I feel you should know that my autocorrect tried changing your name to Motor and Moonless.

[Moogle]

Moogle, your point is fair and valid. I can't say I support it, given the lack of evidence for it, but there seems to be an equal lack of evidence against it. That said, it is something to think about. Kudos for making me wonder about something.

Also, just for kicks, I feel you should know that my autocorrect tried changing your name to Motor and Moonless.

 

Here's the WoB! I finally found it.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/ct4o7r9?context=3

 

Q: On a vaguely similar note if you cloned someone using real life technology (so not magic) would they have a normal Cognitive and Spiritual make up or be something like a Drab?

A: Cloning would most likely work like creating a twin--the body would pull Investiture for a soul, and you probably wouldn't have a drab. Though it would be possible to do it in such a way that you did create one, if you're simply working from our current cloning technology, you'd get a fully invested human being.

 

And I laughed at the autocorrect thing. Thank you for giving me my Ookla the Mok name!

[KidWayne he/him]

There are many ways to get the investiture needed for the various magic systems. There is ... channeling the investiture, never actually taking it in but instead acting more like a water faucet for the power, like AonDor, and then there is Skadrial's Allomancy.

Where does the Investiture come from? Is it harnessing the innate Investiture? Or is the Investiture simply stored inside the metal like gemstones on Roshar? Or is the investiture burning through the metal, using it as a pipeline lime the faucet? Or is the Investiture accessed in a way we haven't seen before, and every Shardworld has a different method to access Investiture?

This is adapted from another post, but I feel like it's applicable.

It's not a perfect example, but the metal in Allomancy is close to the way we think of gasoline in a car. The gas doesn't make the car go by itself. Instead, it releases the power of combustion when it comes into contact with fire (i.e. the spark from a spark plug). That combustion (i.e. small explosion contained within your engine cylinder) pushes the piston head down which turns a rod (crank shaft), which turns the differential gears in your transmission, which turns your car's axles, which turns the wheels.

So, metal unlocks the power of Preservation in the same way that gas unlocks the power that drives your car. The metal is like the gas, an allomancer is like the engine, and the allomantic magic is like the machine that is attached to the engine (in this case that would be everything in the car except the engine).

The way that both allomancy and combustion engines express their power can vary. I'm going to assume we all know about Allomancy's 16+ expressions of power. You could say that allomancers channel Preservation's power to ... and proceed to list each of the 16 allomantic metals and what allomancers can do with them. You can do something similar with internal combustion engines ("ICEs").

For instance, combustion engines can spin things attached to a rod which can power a machine that is able to...

◘ cut things

◘ turn wheels, screws, and blades

◘ push things by combining gears with wheels or screws

◘ pump fluids

◘ fly

◘ clean

◘ transport people and other physical goods

◘ construct a building

◘ create electricity by spinning a magnet, and ...

◘ power anything that runs on electricity

Basically, ICEs can be used replicate or approximate all of the physical allomantic powers (tin is hard, but we can make electric powered machines that enhance most senses and electricity can be created with an ICE). The mental metals are a little iffy. ICEs provide physical power; however, electricity - derived from chemical sources - is what powers our brains. Since we haven't figured out how to consistently manipulate the brains of others by electrically stimulating their brains, I guess I can't make the argument that we can approximate Zinc & Brass. Also, Copper & Bronze are a little meta in the sense that they hide and detect allomancy. I'm not sure whether or not we have tech that hides or detects an object's use of electricity, unless you consider a voltmeter to be an electricity detector and insulation to be "tech" that hides electricity.

I've made an attempt to illustrate my 'Allomancy Engine' below. I even included a shutter valve to allow for the various ways allomancy usually consumes metal (regular, flare, and duralumin).

 

Also, there's this WoB:

"One thing I did get a question on today, ... is understanding the tie between Aondor [the magic system from Elantris] and allomancy [Mistborn’s magic system].

People ask about getting the power from metals and things, but that’s not actually how it works. The power’s not coming from metal. I talked a little about this before, but you are drawing power from some source, and the metal is actually just a gateway. It’s actually the molecular structure of the metal… what’s going on there, the pattern, the resonance of that metal works in the same way as an Aon does in Elantris. It filters the power. So it is just a sign of 'this is what power this energy is going to be shaped into and give you.'"

Edited November 9, 2015 by KidWayne