Stormgate he/him Posted November 14, 2015 Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 In a WoB that I read but can't be bothered to find, Sanderson said that aluminum does strange things in every magic system. I may be jumping at phantoms (or however that saying goes), but I decided to make a list of everything aluminum does, and I noticed a surprising pattern: Allomancy: Wipes out all metals in the Allomancer's stomach. It is also immune to being Pushed or Pulled, Emotional Allomancy can't penetrate it, doesn't produce an atium shadow, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if it served as a shield like a Coppercloud, and prevented Pushing and Pulling on metal beyond it as well. Feruchemistry: Stores identity, which has been heavily hinted and theorized to allow access to another Feruchemist's metalminds, possibly even if the Aluminum Ferring can't store that attribute. Hemalurgy: Takes Allomantic enhancement power. Surgebinding: We don't know much about it yet, but we know that Aluminum is apparently only able to be made by Soulcasting. AonDor: I honestly don't know. I'm not very familiar with AonDor in general, and I don't know of any mention of aluminum or the like in AonDor. Forging: Although it isn't mentioned by name, it is extremely likely that the Unforgable Metal that makes up Shai's wall is aluminum. I'm also not ignorant of the possibility that aluminum does the same thing in AonDor as in Forging. That is, nothing. Dakhor, ChayShan: We don't know enough about these magic systems to make any sort of speculation, unless I'm mistaken. Awakening: This one is tricky, since generally metal cannot be Awakened. However, there is one notable exception: Nightblood. Nightblood is heavy, but that is potentially solved by the fact that it is (pun) heavily Invested. Nightblood drains large amounts of Investiture, releasing it as corrupted black smoke. He also is devoted to destroying evil, but he was Awakened with that command. With all the magic systems we know of, (unless I forgot any), aluminum tends to act as a black hole for Investiture, draining it if not simply leaving the magic ineffective. Such consistency in a pattern indicates some sort of larger picture. Perhaps aluminum somehow was responsible for the shattering of Adonalsium, or aluminum is the God Metal for Adonalsium, trying to get its former power back, or aluminum is somehow related to Odium and his ability to Shatter Shards. If anyone has any information on this topic that I missed, or a magic system I forgot, or any other possible theories about why aluminum drains Investiture, I'm open to suggestions. I realize that this is a topic that we know very little about, and so the speculation is likely quite off, but I like speculation on big topics like this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenegadeShroom Posted November 14, 2015 Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 Ah, just so you know, there's a bunch of information -- which, as far as I'm aware, is everything we know about aluminium right now -- in its Coppermind article! I've nothing to contribute to your theory, but here's everything we know so far: Ralkalest is aluminium. It's unForgeable. It doesn't generate atium shadows. It interferes with Feruchemical healing when it is inside the wound. It has a similar effect on Allomantic pewter. An Allomancer could burn aluminium to heal the withering damage caused by Shades. It can't be Awakened, and could be used to prevent someone from Returning -- not just just stabbing them with some aluminium, however. Lastly, it is an Investiture sink and magically inert. There is actually one thing missing from the article which I just found now, though: However, on the extreme end of aluminum, I have in the notes the possibility of cleansing the spirit of unwanted effects of other investitures. You'd get really good at this, and maybe even be able to cleanse the body of other impurities. I hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardbearer he/him Posted November 14, 2015 Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 Hmm, we've known aluminum is weird for a long time now, but I never gave any thought to WHY it's weird. Interesting theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teknopathetic he/him Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 (edited) Wait, aluminum can cure a shade touch when burned? Is it possible that the people on Threnody have mixed up the names of aluminum and silver? just like how Sel calls aluminum by the name ralcolist? Edited November 15, 2015 by teknopathetic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardbearer he/him Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 I guess it's possible, but don't think so. Brandon made a fake work for people to call aluminum on Sel. Maybe Silver is also weird throughout the Cosmere, or maybe just on Threnody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landis963 he/him Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 I guess it's possible, but don't think so. Brandon made a fake word for people to call aluminum on Sel. Maybe Silver is also weird throughout the Cosmere, or maybe just on Threnody. I suspect just on Threnody - Vin didn't see silver's Allomantic inertia as odd, just annoyingly useless. Likewise, Lord Yomen was perplexed by Vin's silver earring until he noticed it was bronze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent he/him Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 Aluminum is magically inert, for whatever reasons. It doesn't drain Investiture as much as it just doesn't interact with it. You can look at the last questions in the transcript of the Shadows of Self Chicago signing from earlier this year for details and exact quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwelfthOfSnackTime he/him Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 Its obvious that the shattering of Adonalisium was a group effort between Stick and Aluminum. The Big Bad(the enemy after Odium) will be when they combine as a Aluminum covered Stick. There will be an epic final battle between AlumiStick and Nightblood that will determine the fate of the Cosmere. Hoid has been busy taking bets on the result with the other Worldhoppers after secretly stacking the deck for Millennia. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegatorgirl00 she/her Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 Aluminum doesn't interact with investiture. Nightblood has a metal sheath that prevents it from drawing investiture from its holder. Nightblood's sheath is aluminum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormgate he/him Posted November 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 Aluminum doesn't interact with investiture. Nightblood has a metal sheath that prevents it from drawing investiture from its holder. Nightblood's sheath is aluminum. That makes sense. It's also possibly (hunch) the material placed on Shardblades to help with training. I know Aluminum is magically inert, my main theory is on why that is, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent he/him Posted November 26, 2015 Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 That makes sense. It's also possibly (hunch) the material placed on Shardblades to help with training. I think Brandon confirmed that the sheaths are not made of aluminum. Not 100% sure though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegatorgirl00 she/her Posted November 26, 2015 Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 I actually went on to Theorylnad and found a WoB about it. mail-miIs Nightblood's sheath made out of aluminum? Brandon SandersonThat is an excellent question that nobody has asked me yet! Um...I will RAFO that. Tags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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