Blue?

[A Budgie]

So, the other day, one of my friends reading Mistborn asked me why the lines that appear when you burn steel or iron are blue, and I realised I didn't have an answer.
Then, I remembered that not only are these metal lines blue, but I'm pretty sure so is all metal and souls in the cognitive realm. To add to that, Stormlight is blue.
So is there a connection? Is it possible that investiture will often appear as blue? Or is this just a coincidence?

[Yata]

9 hours ago, Samaldin said:

Maybe Investiture (or the visual representation of Investiture) get a different color depending on the source of it. So Preservation would be blue (the Steellines), Odium red (the Stormspren and Voidbringer eyes), white could be either Honor or Adonalsium i´m not sure if Stormlight is older than Honor (i believe Highstorms are), Ruins color is described in Mistborn Secret History as (probably not necessery to use spoilertags but save is save)

  Reveal hidden contents

not black, but like blackness ripped apart (that´s not really a color but i find it close enough to count).

 

Not exactly, of course Shard's Investiture manifests itself with a specific (but not unique) Color. For example, Preservation's One is White (not blue) while Ruin's One is Black.

This doesn't mean there are not other Shard with white Investiture or that every Black Investiture is Ruin's Investiture (as we know for example that mixing Investiture would result in a Black effect).

Probably many Planets with two opposite Shards Will end with a Black and White theme for theme (by WoB) but this isn't something intrinsec to the Shard itself.

For example we know the Red has a Cosmere Wide meaning regardless of Odium

Edited May 30, 2017 by Yata

[+hwiles]

On 5/29/2017 at 3:12 AM, A Budgie said:

 the lines that appear when you burn steel or iron are blue

Just to clarify, steel/iron lines aren't technically "blue," but rather, the "sensation of seeing blue lines," is the closest approximation of the phenomenon that a non-allomancer can easily understand.  A WoB from back in the day explored the topic of what a mistborn who was born completely blind, or color-blind would "see" when burning steel and it ultimately concluded that their ability to use the steel lines to sense and push on metals would be functionally identical to anyone else's.  The ability to visually see the things you're pushing on would, in most cases, almost certainly confer an advantage, but even someone with no concept of sight or the color blue would be able to "see" the "blue lines."

At some point in AoL Wax mentions looking down at his chest and seeing the blue lines radiating from him to pieces of metal; pieces of metal don't need to be in his line of sight for him to have awareness of them, however, when they are, he feels like there are bright blue lines streaking through his vision pointing them out.

[king of nowhere]

is seems blue is a common colof for investiture. a better question may be why blue and not red, or maybe something more exotic like a radar signature? Well, a wizard writer did it

[The One Who Connects]

6 hours ago, A Budgie said:

To add to that, Stormlight is blue

I always thought it was white? Edit: it is

Quote

When Stormlight is not encased within a gemstone, such as when held by a Surgebinder or leaking from damaged Shardplate, it appears as a luminescent white vapor.

I don't have SH with me, so I can't check that, but maybe this has something to do with Investiture on Scadrial specifically? We know that all metal glows in the Cognitive there, even if it isn't invested..

[WhiteLeeopard]

8 hours ago, A Budgie said:

 Stormlight is blue.
 

Kaladin is often seen using blue gemstones, and his eyes turn blue, but that is a completely Kaladin/Windrunner issue, like was said above stormlight is blue, as other orders appear we will likely see all sort of colors preferences for gemstones in SA. Thats probably where the "blue stormlight" confusion comes from. 

[Samaldin]

Maybe Investiture (or the visual representation of Investiture) get a different color depending on the source of it. So Preservation would be blue (the Steellines), Odium red (the Stormspren and Voidbringer eyes), white could be either Honor or Adonalsium i´m not sure if Stormlight is older than Honor (i believe Highstorms are), Ruins color is described in Mistborn Secret History as (probably not necessery to use spoilertags but save is save)

Spoiler

not black, but like blackness ripped apart (that´s not really a color but i find it close enough to count).

 

Edited May 29, 2017 by Samaldin

[A Budgie]

Huh. Thanks guys.

[Weltall]

Blue is also pretty commonly used (though I think it's just a preference thing, not a standard) to provide a visual depiction of magnetic fields and blue is commonly used on magnets to represent one pole with red for the other. And since steel/iron 'sight' functions on a somewhat similar principle (just with the addition of 'Allomantic innertness' on top of things) it seems a reasonable enough color to use.

As for why not red? Well, we know that color has some significance across the cosmere even if we don't know what it is yet so presumably Brandon steered away from that color on purpose.

[Chinsukolo]

On 5/29/2017 at 1:17 PM, WhiteLeeopard said:

Kaladin is often seen using blue gemstones, and his eyes turn blue, but that is a completely Kaladin/Windrunner issue, like was said above stormlight is blue, as other orders appear we will likely see all sort of colors preferences for gemstones in SA. Thats probably where the "blue stormlight" confusion comes from. 

Pretty sure Kaladin's blue theme is because Blue is the Color associated with Windrunners and Jez as Sapphire is their Gemstone.

We'll know if we see other Radients pick up their Gemstone colors (Dalinar-yellow, Shallan-blood red, Lift-white diamond, Renarin-Green Emerald).

Not trying to contradict your explanation of why the confusion, I agree, just offering more info/reason as to why he is in particular is blue.

[Steven]

Not completely related to this question, but more of a correction to other answers, I am pretty sure stormlight is not blue. Though on the cover of "Words of Radiance" there is a blue outline of what is presumably stormlight on a person, presumably Kaladin, in the books I believe it is described as white, both in diamond spheres (the only spheress that won't affect the stormlight's color) and when used by Radiants, so this may disprove some theories listed.

Hope I could help clear the air.

Edited June 13, 2017 by Steven

[S4S]

Steven is correct on this. Multiple times when Shallan starts breathing out Stormlight to practice Lightweaving, it first just comes out as a puff of white Stormlight. And in the argument that Kaladin's Stormlight might be blue because of his Order and gemstone being sapphire, Shallan's Order has garnet as their gemstone, yet she does not breathe red Stormlight.

Hope that helps clarify a few things.

Your humble servant...

Shadows4Silence