Satsuoni

No! Vin! But only because Han wasn't an Allomancer. I am of the opinion that you *might* be able to Compound Aluminum, but that it is very fiddly, such as requiring a completely full metalmind to evade Allomantic contamination (note that in the quote above the metalmind was mostly empty). Otherwise, poof. But I am by no means certain about it.

A quote from the book: So, Vin burned first @Vortaan : I was hmmed upon when I asked something similar (whether you can get enough of the allomantic charge by repeatedly stabbing non-allomancers). Brandon mentioned that the systems becomes much like Nalthian

Now, this is an interesting idea. Of course, we don't know much about how compounding feels and controls - we only know the Vin felt a new, inaccessible reserve while she was burning (so possibly she wouldn't have felt it without burning first). In particular, we don't really know if an Allomancer has to tap the reserve while burning, and whether a non-Feruchemist can, in fact, tap something. But let us presume thatan Allomancer can benefit as described above, just as we presume that ":)" doesn't mean "Mwahahaha, I won't tell you, keep guessing :)", but instead means "yes". Then, as described, there is a problem of dearth of full Feruchemists/ Hema donors. But never fear! As Hemalurgic technology advances, it would become possible to not only add, but to subtract with it without killing donor! Then, given a Ferring, one would be able to spike his/her Identity out, and fashion the spike into a removable piercing for safekeeping, then spiking donor's Identity back into him/her! Thus, with little to minor side effects[*] a Ferring can become universal donor just by removing piercing, only to put it back later, after metalmind is filled. [*] Possible side effects include violent insanity, body mutation and disfiguration, early death and, rarely, male pregnancy.

Yes, I remember that. He never elaborated what that affinity is or feels like, though. Also, Gnats still have the ability to perform basic allomantic function - burning their respective metals, and Aluminium ones even have the corresponding effect - their metal stores disappear. Sure, it is useless, but what use is Aluminium to a mistborn? Hence, Soulbearers should be able to store/ tap, and all humans on Scadrial have native Investiture (which can be named Soul) - why shouldn't they be able to store it? Would Nicroburst even work on a non-Allomancer? We don't know the exact nature of the Duralumin/Nicro effect, after all. By your logic, Duralumin/fNicro would be able to fill his own reserves (better than normal Alloburn) - which is, admittedly, possible.

emitting dark shine

Not really infinite - you drain power form the Shard when compounding, the same as when you burn metals - except the power returns to the shard when it is used up, while, presumably, the stored Investiture does not (until it is used). Still, you would probably need a chunk of Nicrosil the size of the planet to store the whole shard (if not bigger), and the Shard could probably drain your metalminds anyway... Regardless, while tapping, you are the one who gain Investiture - not a random object. Maybe if you somehow boost your Nicrosil burn by Investiture tap? Or tap enough so that it leaks? @Kadrok - MAG is, well, unreliable in this respect due to game balance. I mean, the ferrings Soulbearers have to discover that they are ferrings, and that means that they can store *something* while not having access to any other metal art (presumably, their own souls), and then tap it to some effect (at least erasing other metalminds?). That is not, IIRC, reflected in game mechanics. With the added errors about the Duralumin (and, presumably, Nicrosil) burn (instant duration thereof) I would not trust their effect description overmuch.

ripping open the

Ok, watched it. Not much of interest (IMO), two things that caught my attention: 1. Apparently, Steelheart books are going to have goodies and codes in them unlocking stuff on Brandon's site. Those codes can be spread through PM. 2. Brandon tries to regurgitate on his listeners. 3. I need to work on my listening comprehension.

Still not ready to restart. But! Today is my birthday! I will be selfish and post the short story i did finish: She walked along the roof of the building, looking for her quarry. As usual, the night air was full of sensations, her flared tin augmenting every one of them. She walked with the gait and the grace of somebody for whom simply stepping down was an almost painful experience. Painful and irregular – she habitually stored Touch at the very moment her feet came into contact with the ground, reducing sensation, but then tapped it again soon after. She could fly, of course – the city was full of metals, girders in the newer buildings, lampposts, sometimes even pipes running underground. But she always felt conspicuous in the air, especially tonight, when she was on the track. No need to tap speed, increasing the sensations that already filled her mind, or rather, the part of her mind in the extra intelligence spike to near bursting – but there was need to hurry. Carefully. The target was near, but the sky to the east already started to blaze with a rainbow of thousand colors, signaling the coming of the dawn. She paused, allowing herself a moment of reflection. So beautiful, this dawn sky. It will be unbearably bright soon, but for now, so beautiful. She was dimly aware that she couldn’t see as many colors before the change, but this was not important now. She landed, and listened, filtering out the hum of her blood and the twin drums of her hearts accompanied by clapping of multiple valves. There. A woman, and several men. Walking, in silence, as far as they were concerned. She could hear them, and, with the wind blowing towards her, she could smell them. She could smell allomancers, their breath stinking of metal they burned. She tapped Smell, to get the clearer picture. In the background of her mind, the spike filtered and sorted new information, and she knew. There was a Seeker in the group. She should be far enough. She was far enough so that she won’t be able to hear him burn., but then she would have to tap a lot of Hearing to hear the almost imperceptible soft susurration of the disappearing metal in somebody else. Still, she lamented her lack of copper. Better keep her distance, but she wanted to see as well as hear. She quickly looked around. There – that spot on the roof, with the decoration covering her body would do nicely. Storing Touch and tapping speed, she moved to the selected spot, too rapidly even for a tineye to spot, especially in the darkness. She looked. She saw them, and she smelled them, and she listened. “Here we are, mistress Felendwyl. ” One of the men – a Thug – addresses the target, pointing to an inconspicuous locked door. The Seeker glances around warily. Can he sense her? She dampens the tin as low as she could while still burning it, tapping senses to compensate. She feels one of her eyes change. No, just natural caution on the Seeker’s part. “Very well, let’s get this over with.” The target also looks around. A tineye, yet tineye senses are nothing compared to hers, even if the target were to flare her metals. She sees nothing. The street is small, and deserted. Woman takes out a set of picks, and moves to open the door. On the roof, she taps Hearing and aligns her ears, concentrating. It would probably not be useful, but she would hear, and know. Several clicks, just so, and then the lock is opened. The target is good. The seeker, not so good. He doesn’t notice as she moves near, her tin still burning, ready to tap speed and get away if they were to notice her. Most likely, he thinks the tin comes from the target. Still… With regret, she extinguishes her tin. Even with Feruchemy, it her body becomes numb and unwieldy, and she taps heavily to compensate. Not enough, but she will bear. One part of her mission, the subtler one. She looks at the people, judging their mood. They are focused, yet calm. They did this before – something their master wanted done in secret, arrangements with local law enforcement notwithstanding, but nothing too seedy. She judges the time, her lack of tin weighing her down, and taps speed. At least it doesn’t hurt as much. She moves to the chosen point, just on the verge of target’s vision, and moves slightly. The tineye should be able to notice her… barely. “What the…?” – the target did notice. “Hey, there is a cat…” She tapped speed, lots and lots of speed, retreating too fast even for a tineye to track. She had to choose the place beforehand, of course – she couldn’t navigate well on the run – but she got away before the men turned, leaving tineye gaping. The men turned, saw nothing, and exchanged glances. She was far enough now. She flared tin, and observed the target’s face lighting up with heat. Part of her mission was done. She observed then, trying to see if another opportunity would present itself. None did, for now. The target shook her head and calmed down, proceeding into the open door cautiously, with the three men following. Spikes seemed to grind her bones as she moved, a consequence of re-heightened sensitivity after a brief lapse of tin burn. She had to hear, and better yet, see. This spot should be good enough. She couldn’t see much, but she could hear everything and feel the vibration as people moved around. Enough. The Seeker didn’t seem to notice. She sat there patiently, and filed the patterns of their movement for the later half. The light was starting to become painful as they emerged, closed the door behind them and left. She had to endure without tin again, as the group passed her hiding spot, the target looking around with the heat variation on her face showing some suppressed trepidation. This was not the first time she was berated for “seeing cats”. Nor would it be the last. And did she really see it this time? Doubt. Instability. Small things, but adding up. The group was gone. Far enough, now, she knew. The Seeker would not feel her, the Tineye would not hear, even flaring. She approached the door. It was locked again, of course. Was there a way in? No… But her fingers were deft enough. Unfortunately, she still needed the tools, and the time was pressing. She sighed inwardly, and ran, tapping speed, to her closest tool stash with custom-made lockpicks. She had to start storing sight to reduce the glare, though it didn’t help overmuch. The mission was simple, really. Erode the trust, and if possible, the sanity of the target. Make her the target of rumors, of jokes. And also… She came back to the door. Still nobody around. Good. She had to climb on the stonework to reach the keyhole, but at least she didn’t need to maintain torsion, her lockpick being more of a customizable key. This lockmaker always used the same keyhole shape, and she knew the approximate position of tumblers from the lockpicking she heard earlier. There. Some slight resistance, some help from Steel,but the door to one of Yomen’s offices – which just happened to be an aggregation point for the House’s spy network – opened. Not the best spy network, and not the important node – but still, messing up with it might annoy the house with which the Terrisman was affiliated. She slunk in. Ahh… shadow, so pleasant for her eyes. She looked around, her spike mapping the sounds she heard earlier to the places in the room. Circumspect, discreet, the target was good at what she did. Or was she? Jumping on the table where the target stood, she realigned the papers there – just slightly, a small error. Another spot, another error. Small things, that could be done if someone was distracted – but that may get picked up by those who worked here. She was done. This may work, or this may not – there would be other jobs like this one, preferably in the dark. She will be rewarded regardless. Already, the trust Sindred had in the target was eroding. She knew. She heard them talk. Closing the door behind her, she soared above the rooftops, her eyes shut against the rising star, racing to her lair high, high above the city sprawl in the dark, abandoned attic. There, she lay down, satisfied, and slept, dreaming of the brilliant sun.

Regarding the topic name, I highly doubt that Nightwatcher is a shardpool. The basis is, essentially, the name only XD. All pools that we have seen so far were, in essence, oozing holes in the ground , aka pools, thought the ones in the pits were small. Presumably, people that went and got their boons granted interacted with something, that they called later Nightwatcher. The name presupposes agency -something that watches - and I have somewhat hard time imagining someone calling a pool, no matter how shiny, a Nightwatcher. That doesn't preclude the possibility that Nightwatcher is a spren of Cultivation, cultivation incarnate, or somebody who drank from the said pool, but probably not the pool itself. Though I also find the cultivation connection somewhat tenuous - why, then, sit in a valley? Why invert sight, remove sensitivity in arms, etc, etc? Why grant the boon to Tarvangian who apparently is going to lead people straight into Last Desolation with his tactics? (OK, not sure about the last one, but I highly doubt his tactics would prove effective in aiding Honor, and they seem to have generated a fair share of loathing already...)

About the pits: so far (in AoL) they don't work -as in, the wells were destroyed: Of course, how long is "for now" (and even where the pits are now - do people still live on the north pole? That is where the pits were) is up to debate. Sazed can easily make a new pool, of course, for either metal (probably).

As Windrunner said. Here is the quote: This is possibly not dissimilar to the way Nahel bond gives sentience to the Spren - Syl regains at least some of her memories from the bindings before, and her personality seems largely independent from Kaladin's.

Hmm, Hemalurgy is one of my favorite topics, so here is some insight (sorry about lack of links, bad Satsu and all that. The facts below were confirmed by Brandon, as far as I can tell.) 1. You don't have to kill to charge the spike. However, driving spike through heart is the only known way to charge it so far, and it does kill. In either case, part of the soul is ripped off, so even if the person survives, he is never the same. 2. We were told that people from Southern Continent (south pole of Scadrial in Mistborn trilogy) use Metallic Arts in "more mechanic" way, whatever that means, so golems may be a possibility. 3. A person is viable Hemalurgic donor from conception. Spiking embryos is thus a valid way of getting powers... except that you can't really tell if an embryo has Metallic art or not (identical twins may not have the same power) 4. Animals (specifically cats. Feles Regirent!) can receive powers from spikes, and even gain sentience in that way. 5. You can steal a Shardblade with a spike. 6. In fact, everything encoded in soul can be stolen by a spike. 7. It is, however, unknown whether or not Scadrian sDNA is necessary to be either donor or acceptor. Anybody can perform the spiking itself. It remains a possibility that you may, for example, need to use Atium spike for non-Scadrian powers, but that is just speculation. 8. Spike-given powers affect sDNA of your potential children. For example, Inquisitor's child would have slightly higher probability of having Metallic Arts, but there may be... complications. So far, directed spirit manipulations include spiking and stamps, and stamps are non-permanent, so, while you may be able to spike an embryo, there is no known method to add powers without leaving spikes in, which would probably not be healthy. As for Lifeless, I don't know. They may be able to serve as acceptor, and may even gain full sentience like Kandra (Brandon has mentioned that Lifeless are relatively close to sentience, IIRC). But that is speculation.

@Gloom: I am relatively sure the Shards grow from radiants like carapace from Parshendi Well, not quite, but similarly. Only one per Radiant, though, and it is not supposed to be worn by anybody else, so only as many new Shards as Radiants, that is, not too many. (It is even possible that the new shards would be repurposed old corresponding to the same Spren, with the old carapace crumbling to dust. That sure would be fun ) And I could swear I saw a quote from Brandon stating that we'll see the creation of plate in the WoR, but I can't find it, so take it with a salt crystal the size of your head.

One should also remember that not all Surgebinders are Radiants... Even when sourced from Spren. For basic surgebinding, it is possible that a primary trait (honesty? Learning? etc) is sufficient. Not to mention that we don't know requirements for the non-honor orders to begin with... And that Kaladin probably killed way more people than Jasnah ever did (sure, battle is not assassination, but still).

Yet ninth heightening - necessary for Awakening metal, IIRC - is 20000 Breath, and you only need a 1000 of those to actually Awaken metal (Nightblood), so there is something else going on here, too. Giving Breath to object is like awakening in many respects (again, IIRC) - you still command your Breath to leave, you just don't Command it to do anything. There is also a question of "stickiness" - Breaths stick differently to different objects, and so are easier to recover from some, and actually impossible to recover from others (lifeless). That may suggest that normally, Breaths going into stones simply unstick and come back instead of staying in the material, and you need to warp them somehow to get them to stick to begin with. (aka "paint them black")

Curious. I have a hotmail address, and never had many problems receiving follow notifications emails, with a few exceptions (like when board migration reset my notification settings without me noticing). Granted, I never tried to change my password either.

Though "nothing happens" is different from "A distorted bubble appears nearby/around us." Still, ambiguous statement. And yes, Kurk, I a aware of the fact that if the energy doesn't simply go the way of the light, it would balance out somewhere in the middle. Also, propelling... yes, probably not Shadesmar, unless by "propelling" he meant something like Tau (I think) in Warhammer 40K, who "skip" off the interface between normal and hyperspace. Or maybe that is as simple as increasing the speed of light locally (which is theoretically possible.. somehow... in some theories)

One more thing : I may have misread you, but I think you missed the feedback effect: if the power is fed into bubble, and the bubble gets stronger, it overcomes the bendalloy and less power gets fed into bubble. That of course assuming that Marasi was incorrect and two people close to each other do not, in fact, cancel the effects (all effects). Note that my interpretation of limbo state meshes with Peter's(?) note about "where the energy goes". Maybe you can combine bubbles in some way to open a way into hyperspace where time goes.. differently. Or straight into Shadesmar

@Kurk: You seem to forget that bubbles, to begin with, do bad things with energy. For example, if your "energy concentration" hypothesis is correct, then the Pulser in sunlight would get 10x the amount of energy and roast. Even if we exclude light, the same thing occurs with air pressure: molecules go in, they don't go out as fast : there is a pressure differential. About 63x for 8x bubble, actually. It should suck in the air from outside and crush everything inside. Reverse that for bendalloy. Obviously, this doesn't happen, so the excess energy gets sucked somewhere. Some of it never gets recovered, either (releasing the bubble releases some energy, but not all). So the excess burn energy might just go the same way. I have played with some possible models for that, but so far the only thing that could make sense would be for a bubble to stop existing for a while (while being subjective, since no time passes inside pulser bubble during that period), and everything (microscopic) during that period that crosses the boundary getting sucked... somewhere. Which is insane. Crossing back would then require something to be sucked back out of that limbo. Well, missing pieces of something. Edit: For clarity, consider a solar panel charging a battery inside and outside the bubble.Same amount of sunlight goes into system, but the battery in pulser bubble is charged less.

Hm, that would mean that you cannot use iridescent surfaces... Also, it should then drain ability to absorb light and give ability to reflect light, otherwise you'd get transparent objects. Also, what happens to the chemical structure of the drained objects? Apparently, they still work the same as before, so the change is is due to the spiritual wrap? Or, well, unwrap? Would a human survive if all his color is drained to white? (Nightblood can drain color off the living tissues apparently). Edit: ah, here is the quote that confused me:

You know, when I read Warbreaker, I had the strangest impression that tenth awakening looped colors somehow- drained things to white, then the Breaths caused white to split into rainbow, which the Awakener of tenth heightening could use as fuel, never running out of color. It was a long time ago, and I am probably mistaken. Color is weird, in any case. Could you, for example, drain water, and what would it become then? What counts as color? Reflective? Absorptive? Diffraction, like an in case of rainbow- colored gasoline spill?

So you are a devil, Kurk? I always thought of you more like a talking cat Yes, I think that large pieces cannot be pushed out by gold alone, and they won't get pushed out if the exit wound is closed over first (probably). Also, I am relatively sure earrings, for example, do not get pushed out. So it is a matter of how much you tap, how deep the piercing goes and whether it can be pushed out by closing the wound. So stuff in your abdominal cavity would probably stay there, for example.

Potentially, but since Identity (as far as we know) can reverse you to a previous state, doing that while fixing the Spiritual changes with Feruchemical gold would probably change you into that person permanently and completely. As in, you might gain their abilities, but you'd also gain their body, and probably mess up your mind to the point you won't be able to identify as yourself anymore. Or even end up merging your two souls... Better to learn partial Hemalurgy, and rip out all the person's abilities, I'd say (before mercy killing). You have slightly less chance of going insane that way, as long as you keep away from Human attributes... As you say, we don't know enough about Identity.

I think that in case of Sazed, he didn't have enough healing in those rings to push them out at first, and they became either internalized or, once the skin closed, the healing won't open it up to push external objects out (since that would require to damage tissue for a while). Which brings us to Miles: assuming his metalminds were rings going part of the way under his skin, healing wouldn't be able to push them out without ripping that skin first, and after a while they would count as part of the body, or close enough. The Hema spikes, on the other hand, are vital organs in and of themselves, so healing them out seems counter-intuitive. (Well, the larger ones are). They are part of the body and soul, unless removed. (Though I wonder what would happen to a Hema Koloss that happens to be a Bloodmaker if his spikes are removed while he is tapping. Will he become human again?) Shardblade does indeed do damage to the soul, it is in the same reddit quote. So apparently Feruchemical gold heals the soul as well, at least to an extent.