Nicrosil Compounded Breath vs Collected Others' Breaths

[Halyo_Alex he/him]

I was thinking about Awakening in the shower today and I wondered if a Nalthian compounding their own breath (using either Hemaspikes or Medallions) would have a difference at high heightenings compared to a normal person who has gathered many breaths from many people.

 

The primary realmatic differences I can see right off the bat are: 1. The Breath will have only the Compounder's Identity, and Intent (unless using Preservation's Investiture to Compound it causes some weird overwriting/blending). 2. The breaths may resonate (not Resonance-resonate, but like, harmonize, but not Harmony-harmonize) with their matching Intent and Identity and constructively interfere.

The effects of this are obviously unknown for now, but let's speculate. I feel like it would be easier to Awaken using compounded Breath because all of them share the Awakener's natural Intent (even if slightly muddied with Preservation's Investiture due to the nature of Compounding) so focusing their Intent into a Command would take less effort. The harmonization of the Breaths may also mean it takes fewer to reach certain Heightenings, or that those milestones have new or different properties. What do you all think?

[Calderis he/him]

Couple issues I have off the bat. 

First, you'd have to somehow store the breath in the Nicrosil feruchemically, which isn't the same as just storing the breath via the "my life to yours" command. Doing that we know doesn't work. 

Quote

Questioner (paraphrased)

What would happen if Allomancer was also an Awakener and Awakened metal he'd burn?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

If he did that, he’d get Allomantic power and also get back the Breaths used in Awakening the metal.

Footnote: Supposedly it was around half an hour into the signing line; has not been found on the record although we may have started it after it was asked already; follow-up to this
Warsaw signing (March 18, 2017)

Depending on the way Nicrosil works, it may require multiple hacks to make compounding breath possible. It's not going to be as simple as traditional compounding even if you are able to store it, because you're going to be trying to ue Preservation's Investment to create Endowments. 

Secondly, assuming you succeed there shouldn't be any difference in the Breath. Breath naturally rekeys it's Identity to the person who it's given to, which is why only the person who awakened an object can retrieve the Breath. 

[+Ark1002]

2 hours ago, Calderis said:

Secondly, assuming you succeed there shouldn't be any difference in the Breath. Breath naturally rekeys it's Identity to the person who it's given to, which is why only the person who awakened an object can retrieve the Breath. 

This isn't completely accurate.

Brandon has stated (I don't have the WoB but I'm 90% sure it's out there) that breath, when it was all gathered from a like minded group, will start to shape the users mind. That happened to what'shisname, the failed rebellion guy. He was given extra resolve because his breath was gathered by anti-Hallanderan people. It does something similar to holding a shard, but usually they're all giving you different identity pieces, which cancel eachother out. And it is largely rekeyed. But not entirely.

[Calderis he/him]

51 minutes ago, RayOfSunshine said:

This isn't completely accurate.

Brandon has stated (I don't have the WoB but I'm 90% sure it's out there) that breath, when it was all gathered from a like minded group, will start to shape the users mind. That happened to what'shisname, the failed rebellion guy. He was given extra resolve because his breath was gathered by anti-Hallanderan people. It does something similar to holding a shard, but usually they're all giving you different identity pieces, which cancel eachother out. And it is largely rekeyed. But not entirely.

Identity, and what you speaking of as identity pieces, are not the same thing. 

Identity as the Spiritual trait is not the same thing as identity in the way that we use that word in real life. It doesn't influence the mind. It's just a marker on the Investiture that says "this is a part of me." 

It rekeys. 

As to Vahr, you're speaking of this WoB. 

Quote

Ghero6

In Vahr's case, did collecting Breath from other rebel-minded people strengthen his determination and resolve?

Brandon Sanderson

It would have had an influence on him, but you would need the numbers of Breaths that he had for any effect to manifest. It's basically a non-issue in the current book, but it could be an issue in some of the things that will happen in the next book.

Tor.com Q&A with Brandon Sanderson (Jan. 10, 2011)

So the Breath can carry some residual Cognitive information, which is interesting, but in most ins ances I think people are going to be varied enough for it to be a non-issue. 

[Halyo_Alex he/him]

1 hour ago, Calderis said:

Identity, and what you speaking of as identity pieces, are not the same thing. 

Identity as the Spiritual trait is not the same thing as identity in the way that we use that word in real life. It doesn't influence the mind. It's just a marker on the Investiture that says "this is a part of me." 

It rekeys. 

As to Vahr, you're speaking of this WoB. 

So the Breath can carry some residual Cognitive information, which is interesting, but in most ins ances I think people are going to be varied enough for it to be a non-issue. 

Ok yes, that WoB is what I was thinking of. But then, if all of the Compounded breaths (if it's even possible to do that) have the same Cognitive-ness as your original breath with your own beliefs and stuff, would it have an effect like tapping Aluminum Feruchemy (or maybe Electrum for Determination)?