Metal and Stormlight

[Gancho Libre]

So, based on my Cosmere experience, the investiture always has a container that an investiture user can draw upon.

However, the Scadrial magic system, to me, has never really fit in. stormlight has gems, white sand stuff has the sun and the micro-stuff on the sand, Breaths have people, etc. But what about Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy?

Or, to phrase it differently, is Scadrial's metal more like stormlight, the actual investiture, or more like the gemstones, the carrier of the investiture?

I apologize in advance if this has already been asked.

[RShara]

The metals are like the Aons. Not invested themselves, but capable, when used the right way by the right type of person, of becoming a gateway through which investiture flows. Stormlight is pretty much the investiture itself, while metals act more like a key to allow investiture to flow. Some WoBs for you.

 

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Zmann966

Is the metal on Scadrial specially Invested? Can an Allomancer use metals from other planets?

Brandon Sanderson (Part 1/Part 2)

Metal is a key, not the source of power itself. Most is not specially Invested. It glows because of the power seeking to come through it, not because of the power within it.

source

 

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Josh

When non-god metals are burned Allomantically, what happens to the metals? Are they crushed into tiny specks? Do they disappear?

Brandon Sanderson

The metals become a key conduit through which the power is delivered. So they are actually sort of vaporized, and the atomic code is a key by which the power is drawn in.

source

 

[Calderis]

Neither. It's a consumable catalyst. When the metal is burned the investiture pours in directly from Preservation. There is no investiture in the metal itself though. 

If the metal contained the investiture, all metal would resist pushing and pulling the same as metalminds. Metalminds would also be unable to be filled as the metal would already be "full" 

[Gancho Libre]

ok, thanks!

as a follow-up question, does anyone know why stormlight only resides in gemstones?

[Weltall]

44 minutes ago, Gancho Libre said:

as a follow-up question, does anyone know why stormlight only resides in gemstones?

The way that magic manifests on any world is an interaction between the Shard (or lesser source of Investiture for planets that don't host one, though it would still be of one or more Shards), the planet itself and the sDNA of its inhabitants. Thus, Investiture comes from the highstorm and is 'naturally' held in gemstones, which creatures like the greatshells have as part of the evolutionary process that allow them to bond with spren and thus grow so large. Also, Oathbringer spoiler

Spoiler

Roshar's native humanoid population, the singers/Parsh, also have gemhearts

Given that the entire Rosharan system was created by Adonalsium, all 'why' questions about the ecosystem can ultimately be anwered 'Because Adonalsium Said So'. And he's dead so nobody is able to ask him why he ultimately decided to design things that way.

There's also an out of universe explanation, which is that Brandon wanted something different from what he'd done in Mistborn and he wanted there to be an economic component to the magic. Gemstones worked nicely for this.

Edited June 19, 2018 by Weltall

[Gancho Libre]

gotcha. thats cool

anyway, thanks, everyone!