Kingsdaughter613

If I'm remembering correctly, even if not steel the eye spikes grant steel sight. Though I'm pretty sure the other metal I saw used was iron, sooo... But what if Kell's spike is made of Atium? We know there were Inquisitors with Atium spikes and we know Atium can do anything the other spikes can. It also doesn't suffer from hemalurgic decay, which is why I'm leaning towards Atium. You really wouldn't want your only means of being on the physical plane decaying when not in use...

We don't know what his spike is made of though. If it's atium then that eliminates hemalurgic decay. Personally, my theory is that the spike acts as a Scadrians version of Forgery; rewriting the spirit web to think it still has a link to the physical realm. Which doesn't mean I agree with Kell... Kell has diminished empathy, not no empathy. He can just turn his empathy off at will... Which is kind of terrifying when you think about how powerful he is now. Although some psychopaths lead perfectly normal, law abiding lives... But I doubt Kell would be satisfied with that. BTW, which way do you think his shadow falls. If I ever meet Brandon I'm asking him.

What really makes me curious is that the two magic systems seem to be totally different. But there is only one Shard, Autonomy, on Taldain. So the two systems are actually variants of the same one, just as Aon Dor, Dakhor, Forgery, etc. are variants of one system. Maybe something in Sand Magic can be our hint here? We know the sand glows when invested. Maybe that's similar to how Skycolors work? Though that would make some interesting parallels with Roshar. I wish Kenton would explain how Sand Magic actually WORKED! Knowing all the fundamental laws of his system would give us hints to Dark Side! But he clearly doesn't know a lot of how the underlying principles work...

I agree with you about Kelsier being my favorite. Welcome to the Shard! Nice to meet another newbie!

Exactly. If it isn't important then it doesn't need to be mentioned. If the person is in a relationship it will come up. If they aren't, and it doesn't matter on that world, why should it? If the character was straight, would it ever be mentioned? If not, and it isn't a major character element, then it shouldn't be mentioned. The author can let us know outside the story if there is no natural way to tell us inside. I loved the way we found out about Ranette. The way we were told was natural, and showed that it was not an issue in this world. The one issue was Wayne... Sexuality is only a big deal if we make it one. If we simply accept it, then it's as likely to come up as anything else.

The thing is, Rashek had no intention of his bracers being hemalurgic spikes when he made them. But they were. My understanding of that WoB was that Atium, being made of investiture, does do something hemalurgically when not being used to steal or grant another attribute. To put it another way, there is no such thing as an uncharged Atium spike. At least, that was my understanding of the matter. I believe Brandon said the spikes could be used as fuel but the process is excruciating for the one doing it. I know I read that somewhere...

Actually, I grew up with Wally West... LOL! But I think Brandon has nixed that possibility.

You misunderstood. If you take an uncharged piece of Atium and spike yourself with it, what would be the effect? Since atium without charge is still investiture (as it's Ruin's body) I have this crazy feeling that it should do something. What, I don't know. Rashek's metalminds are the only non charged Atium spikes I know of and we can't really see what they do. (Besides allow Ruin's influence in.) Another weird question; if someone has a spike of, say, steel uses it to store Feruchemical speed and then compounds, what would be the result. Again, the only time we've seen all three systems used together was Rashek's Atium metalminds. They were hemalurgic spikes and metalminds and he was compounding.

I meant about the idea that a lerasium savant is ascending. As an aside, considering that Atium has innate investiture, what would happen if someone spikes themself with atium? What would be the effect?

There should be something similar than with atium and hemalurgy. What would be the question...

There is also the problem that if you write an lgbtq character as just another character their sexuality may never come up. Then you can get accused of hiding them, or their sexuality. As an example, Dumbledore may be homosexual, but it never came up in the books. Why? Because as 150 year old, not in an active relationship it was not important. Only Snape's relationship was plot relevant. McGonagal was the only other teacher who we know about and, again, it was not in the books. If JKR had not told us we would never have known. So is that burying or is that just not plot relevant? It should be pointed out that some people just don't think their sexuality is that relevant to their identity. For some it is a defining factor. For most people it's somewhere in between the two. And in most cases you won't know unless that person is in an active relationship, or they mention it.

It's the reverse of what happened originally; those best able to manage the heat survived when Rashek moved the planet. Now it's the opposite. Eventually they should reach something closer to baseline.

If they froze immediately, yes. If they slowly died out over ten years then there is likely more than one cause. And, as an aside, micro evolution can happen pretty fast. Only macro evolution takes a while. Micro evolution happens all the time. This is actually reminding me of something that happened a few years ago. A traveling circus had a bunch of parrots who somehow escaped. The parrots began building nests all over the Boro, mostly over electrical junctions where it was warmer. By the next year the had had children. Those children had fluffier feathers and duller colors. They actually managed here a while, but electrical workers kept destroying the nests. There still are a few, though they're mostly gone now. The last time I saw one it didn't look much like a parrot anymore. More like a pigeon with an oddly shaped beak. Every generation of every species is different from the one before. Evolution can occur very quickly, especially when an event kills out a large group. Not to mention, Kelsier isn't omniscient. Nor is Wax. It's entirely possible that one or the other was over simplifying. Whether the SoScads died of freezing, hunger, or because their immune systems could not cope with the change in weather, or all three doesn't really matter. They died from the cold, however that death occurred.

It still didn't happen immediately, or even in a short period of time. It took ten years. Yes, they are clearly adapted to extreme heat (I'm guessing 100 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.) They clearly had some ability to withstand the cold though, or none would have survived. The ones who survived the longest are those with the strongest ability to maintain heat. If your body has grown used to 150 degree weather then fifty degrees is extraordinarily cold. Malnutrition actually made the freezing more likely. Body fat is one of the best natural protections against the cold. Lack of knowledge comes into play; they were never cold so had no knowledge of how to deal with it. By the time we get to the adventures era the SoScads are clearly able to survive, albeit briefly and with great discomfort, in weather most of us would consider frigid. At a guess they are beginning to adapt to colder temperatures.

I believe there was a WoB about Hoid and Rayse being friends. I'm not sure where though. Edit: here.http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=1105#1

It is really really annoying to have read White Sand and then not be able to comment when people say things here that were shown to be false in the book. It is like that itch you can't scratch... Argh! I wish we could talk about White Sand already.

There does seem to be a 'nurture' aspect to how humans experience temperature. I went to Florida this past winter and noticed the people born and bred there were all wearing long sleeves and jackets. I'm a native New Yorker, and I was hot most of the time. I really doubt the extent of genetic drift between upper and lower US is that great, but being raised in different environments did effect how I felt the temperature. Now take that, add in extreme heat and a thousand years of adaptation. Include the plants that are also adapted for extreme heat. Assuming the South Pole was between 100 and 200 degrees on average, I don't think it's that odd that the SoScads were freezing to death in 50 degree weather. Remember, it didn't happen immediately; it took ten years for them to get to the state Kell found them in, and it wasn't just the cold that was killing them. It's not that strange to me. Not when Floridians find 50 degrees cold and New Yorkers go out without jackets. Alik survived in the North without the brass medallion; he just wasn't comfortable. Reading the book, it just seemed a more extreme version of what we see in real life. If you took a man from the Rainforest, and dropped him into a brisk New York day he'd probably have issues with the cold. Take someone who's idea of cold is our uncomfortably hot, put them in 50 degree weather...

With regard to how Inquisitors see: "The other was all in blue, lines everywhere. The vision of a man spiked through the eye." The quote was from the end of BoM. From the wording it seems that everything looks blue, with glowing lines. At least that's my take. Found another quote:"He saw her normally in one world, and outlined in blue in another."

You may want to suggest reading the annotations to HoA. It has a lot of the more surprising things hinted at.

I see you upvoted me. Thank you!

Your welcome. Sorry if I came across as a bit rude; it's five am... I like the idea, but I don't see how it can be Marsh. Maybe someone else? Harmony! I have eighteen up votes. When did that happen?

Why not just give access to your account? Also, I edited my above post. Oh, and inquisitors are hemalurgic constructs per WoB. So Marsh is literally MADE of Ruin, in a sense. Read HoA annotations. Sorry if I sound a bit rude; its five am and I'm tired but can't sleep..

How do you lend an ebook? Curious. I believe there is a WoB that simply having a spike prevented her from accessing Preservation's power. Ruin was preventing that knowledge from getting to her. It always blocked her, even before Ruin was free.

The spikes still interfere with taking up Preservation. And... that doesn't quite work. Have you read Secret History?

Do not discount Secret History, as it has the most Cosmere knowledge we have been given so far. It is VERY important!!! A more obvious reason; Vin could not take up Preservation with one itty bitty earring spike. Marsh has many more than she did. There is simply no way he could take up Preservation with his spikes in; but if he took them out he'd die.