Nightblood's Scabbard

[TheManKnownAsHoid]

Whenever Vasher throws Nightblood and someone picks it up, they always end their rampage by stabbing themselves specifically through the chest. Is it possible the aluminum sheath is a Hemalurgic Spike, and thats why Nightblood can't cut it? We also have this WOB

Quote

Herald (paraphrased)

What about Hemalurgy in other worlds other than Mistborn?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yes.

Herald (paraphrased)

I again asked with the exception of kandra, have seen Hemalurgy such as people who may have been spiked.

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

He repeated "You have seen Hemalurgy in other worlds."

source

 

[KalaDANG he/him]

The sheath is aluminum.

[Weltall]

Setting aside that the sheath can block Nightblood or an ordinary Shardblade because it's aluminum*, there's also the impossibility of it being a spike. Creating a hemalurgic spike requires Intent with a capital I, The Intent can be provided by an external source (Ruin was doing this regularly during Hero of Ages) but 'accidental hemalurgy' isn't possible. Nightblood has no reason to know about hemalurgy and is thus incapable of providing the necessary Intent.

I suppose if a hemalurgist were ever to go stab-happy with Nightblood it's possible they could create a spike out of the sheath as they'd have the requisite knowledge but at that point they're being controlled by Nightblood so it's hard to imagine them having the necessary mental control to form the Intent or to stab in the right way to actually steal anything.

* WoBs for reference: (OB spoilers)

Spoiler

Quote

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

The meteorite metal that they talk about that blocks Shards, is that aluminum?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Uh, so-- yes.

Footnote: Referencing OB Ch 100, "There are legends of metal that can block a Shardblade. A metal that falls from the sky. Silver, but somehow lighter." It is a point of contention, however, whether or not aluminum can actually block a Shardblade.
source

Quote

Yata

Hi, the community has a [question], we have two WoBs: Shardblades can cut aluminum and Shardblades can't cut it. Which one is true?

Brandon Sanderson (Part 1/Part 2/Part 3)

Hm. Yes, I wondered last night if I'd ever answered this before. Truth is, the answer is contentious at Team Sanderson.

I've been pushing for one answer, but Peter (whom I trust) is pushing back. We will see what ends up in the books as canon.

Problem with magic like I do is sometimes you have to wait for the scientific consensus... Err on "no" for now.

Peter Ahlstrom (Part 1/Part 2/Part 3)

Oh, I think aluminum would stop Shardblades from magical cutting. But if it's too thin like foil, a sword...

...would cut it anyway. What I'm arguing is that something else that Shardblades don't cut doesn't need...

...to necessarily be made of aluminum, for various reasons.

Yata

For example Invested objects (metalmind,spike,etc) or polestones (from some SA's Quote) ?

Peter Ahlstrom

RAFO

Footnote: The two conflicting WoBs can be found here and here. Also the "something else" that Peter was referring to is likely the Shardblade guards, which have since been confirmed to not be aluminum.
source

 

In other words, aluminum resists the the Spiritual damage a Shardblade causes and can block the Physical damage if it's thick enough.

Edited August 2, 2018 by Weltall

[TheManKnownAsHoid]

1 hour ago, Weltall said:

Setting aside that the sheath can block Nightblood or an ordinary Shardblade because it's aluminum*, there's also the impossibility of it being a spike. Creating a hemalurgic spike requires Intent with a capital I, The Intent can be provided by an external source (Ruin was doing this regularly during Hero of Ages) but 'accidental hemalurgy' isn't possible. Nightblood has no reason to know about hemalurgy and is thus incapable of providing the necessary Intent.

Could the "Rioting" that Nightblood does cause the person who is stabbing themselves to have Intent? We know it can cause them to do specific things, like stab themselves in the chest rather than other places.

[Weltall]

1 hour ago, TheManKnownAsHoid said:

Could the "Rioting" that Nightblood does cause the person who is stabbing themselves to have Intent? We know it can cause them to do specific things, like stab themselves in the chest rather than other places.

No. Just 'I want to stab myself' is not enough, you have to specifically intend to create a hemalurgic spike. Nightblood has absolutely no reason to have the kind of knowledge that requires and so could not transfer it to his wielder.

Now, if for some reason Nightblood was granted sufficient understanding of hemalurgy then I think the kind of control he exerts could transfer the necessary Intent but again, there's no reason for Nightblood to have that knowledge and the sheath's obssrved properties can be explained entirely as a function of the thing being aluminum.

Relatedly Brandon has implied that the sheath was created to contain Nightblood's power before the sword was Awakened. In other words, it's always been like that.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Weltall