Trusk'our

Era 2 Mistborn spoilers:

It's possible that you could have a Spren that is capable of suppressing Investiture without extra components. The Sibling is a perfect example of this. However, this seems to require more on the Spren's part, and metals used correctly seem to yield broader results even for lesser Spren. The reason I feel aluminum specifically may be useful is because aluminum Allomancy used with a Harmonium cube does something very similar to the suppression Fabrial, at least as it's currently planned: This is true, but that's more comparable to capturing Stormlight in a gemstone, which as far as I am aware lacks the structure that a Spren provides to create a Fabrial. Perhaps using a Hemalurgic spike bearing the correct power could work in place of a Spren? Or, possibly an Unsealed Metalmind?

If I were to guess, the suppressor Fabrials probably used a captured Radiant Spren combined with an aluminum cage of the right type. As for whether this would work on Metalborn, I would guess so but only if you can get a suitable piece of Investiture from the relevant Shard, which is much harder to do with no naturally occurring Spren. It didn't target the Persuer, after all, so targeting other Investitures seems unlikely without the right kind of Spren.

Most likely, or at least some decently powerful Fortune shenanigans.

Whoops, I meant to say Unkeyed there, but I guess I typed a little too quickly for my brain. Certainly could turn out that way, which would be interesting. I would think that using an Unkeyed Metalmind to charge a spike would either just replenish its Feruchemical Investiture by Hemalurgically stealing it or would more tightly specify what the spike took from the donor, but of course that's purely speculation. Yup, though if you're a Feruchemist who's going to steal Spiritweb pieces anyway, a duralumin spike used to excise your victim's Identity may be doable. Thanks It certainly could be an interesting way to expand the possible uses for Feruchemy, especially since Hemalurgy itself can have broader effects (such as how H-iron seems to take physical speed and heartiness as well as strength, and individual attributes from among those may be targetable with a refined Intent), which in turn would only expand Feruchemical potential. True, and it's all just a guess as to how it works right now, really. It could be that Feruchemy/Hemalurgy hacks may not be as intuitive as Compounding, but more like how Allomantically burning a Hemalurgic spike somehow splices your Spiritweb with that of the spike.

Didn't they do this in TLM? They were able to steal the Innate Investiture of non-Allomancers non-lethally, which would leave them alive though in a worse state than even a Drab: However, if you had sufficient F-gold you could just heal the damage done and continue on your merry way. Though this doesn't seem terribly economical on large scale, so finding an alternative really would be better. Thinking upon it further, I suppose it all depends on how Invested the spikes can be without screwing you over. If you can only get a 1% increase to an attribute, they're probably not valuable except maybe to inject some extra potential to your descendants, perhaps, as a 1-3% increase of an attribute pushed each generation with something like intelligence could eventually lead to a race of Einsteins. Something like a 5% increase might be a lot more usable though, even if it grants only a relatively small edge, it could still be useful. I suppose if the physical and cognitive changes are minor, you might also be able to leverage some benefit from them too rather than just the Investiture portion (as Koloss and Kandra both seem to get a magical boost from their spikes, but Koloss get warped as a side effect), though that kind of goes against the main point of acquiring less Invested spikes in the first place. One other benefit of minimally charged spikes could be that you can afford to experiment with Bindpoints more, as the chances probably wouldn't be so drastic. Use this with some Fortune shenanigans and you might yield some useful results at some point.

As long as the Metalmind in Unkeyed, it probably would work. It does depend on whether a Metalmind always requires some kind of bridge between it and the user though. Normally this is the Feruchemist's actual Feruchemy (or Hemalurgic spike) and with Unsealed Metalminds this seems to be a Spiritual bond, so a Nicrosilmind may still require one of these to function after the spike is removed. But of course, we don't know for certain, and perhaps Unkeyed Nicrosilminds automatically act Unsealed.

Yes; we see TenSoon's Blessing of Presence sharpen his memory, so we have an example of this. Hemalurgy can't directly steal from either the Physical or Cognitive Realms, but it can affect those Aspects as a byproduct of directly affecting the Spiritual Aspect. He may have reduced it, but it seems he wasn't actually totally sane by the end: I mean, it doesn't have a spacial limitation that the Physical Realm does, and it has weird temporal ramifications as well. However, it probably can't do everything, though if we're looking towards memory being held as a totally spiritual concept, there are beings in the Cosmere other than Shards that are 100% spiritual, though they're not common. Rithmatist spoilers:

So, do you mean to take an Unkeyed Metalmind and charge it as a Hemalurgic spike? Actually, that might do something. Compounding is just hacking Feruchemy by using its "key" on your Allomancy, which reprograms it to give Feruchemical effects instead of Allomantic ones. If you had a Metalmind and Hemalurgically charged it while having the correct Intent (as Compounding itself is not the default and will require a level of Intent to activate it), I think you could potentially alter what the spike took. Maybe it could be a plausible method to have a Feruchemist vampirically recharge their Metalminds (though the victim's Identity may muddy it too much to tap). Or, maybe an Unkeyed Hemalurgic spike could allow a Feruchemist to store other attributes, such as a Skimmer storing strength or an Archivist storing different types of intelligence rather than just memory? Some very interesting potential, if this is how it works.

Creating Koloss requires four iron spikes placed in the correct Bindpoints. Seems fairly straightforward. But, what if you wanted to sacrifice fewer people and so took a single Hemalurgically charged iron spike and split it into four separate spikes, then used those smaller spikes to pierce the necessary Bindpoints? Sure, splitting them also weakens the Investiture, but present day Koloss spikes have spent centuries being moved from one being to another, leaving plenty of time to degrade, yet they still work well enough. I suppose the only issue that might come up is whether the specific contents of each mini spike would be sufficient. Essentially, if the spikes act more like Copperminds with specific differing pieces (which the creation of Kandra Blessings seems to support, as their contents differ from a Koloss's, despite sharing at least one metal type), it might make something completely different. And, assuming this works, how many times could you split a Hemalurgic spike and still make a construct? We know that there's a minimal charge a spike must have, but would it be strong enough to cause a noticeable transformation? Heck, going off that thought, could using minimally charged spikes allow you to more gently tweak people's attributes, maybe add a tiny extra bit of strength or intelligence without dehumanizing them even when using mostly unknown Bindpoints? Thoughts?

Possibly, though it's worth noting that your Spiritual Aspect doesn't generally store memories, or Hemalurgy could steal it: However, highly Invested beings have their three Aspects more closely tied together, so they might have something like this going on. It's also worth noting that the more Invested you are, the better you can remember: This is also likely how Shardic Vessel can remember bits of knowledge held by their predecessors, such as with Todium; those memories imprint more and more on the Investiture, which in turn makes it easier to hold onto. In any case, I think it's unlikely that the Spiritweb is a good place to sequester memories, if it's possible at all.

My guess is that it's mostly due to physical adaptations to the changes in their Spiritweb structure; it's not like tapping pewter, but a reprogramming of what you are on a more fundamental level, which can include a broader spectrum of changes. Furthermore, H-iron has demonstrated more abilities like A-pewter in the Blessing of Potency, such as physical speed and endurance (TenSoon comments on this in HoA). I think it's likely that Koloss have a magically enhanced fortitude on top of their anatomical changes. As for reduced mental capacity, pre-Catecandre Koloss had even less mental ability than post-Catacandre Koloss, possibly because Hemalurgy was more virulent and destructive to the Spiritweb at the time (i.e. Inquisitors bearing more spikes due to the Investiture's lack of care for the Spiritweb of the Hemalurgist as well as noticeable pain that never ceases). So trauma from the transformation may have played a part, though I suspect it's also simply another adaptation made to fit their specific Spiritweb model (and it's possible that Rashek and Ruin wanted this as well, as a dulled mind is more susceptible to control).

@hwiles, @Xiahida my current thought on H-destiny is that it is a similar function to Fortune (it probably is Fortune, but keyed to someone else's future and past). What's more, H-chromium is the only metal that might do something. My thinking behind this is that you would be guided to take similar actions as the person who's destiny you stole, which could lead you down certain paths. However, if someone wanted to take Wax's destiny of being Harmony's sword, Harmony doesn't have to continue this choice. He has agency and can choose to deviate from that course, just as a Hemalurgist who stole a future king's destiny to rule their nation wouldn't automatically be able to convince everyone else to let them rule. Similarly, just because the Hemalurgist has an extra destiny doesn't mean they'll necessarily follow it, especially since they probably wouldn't have all the knowledge, skill, or Investiture of the person they took it from. This is my current guess, at least; it doesn't destroy who you are, but might influence you to take actions and go to the right places at the right times to get an outcome someone else would have had.

It's certainly possible, especially since I don't recall evidence of for any other Blessing type, but remember that Kandra can also increase their senses through shape-shifting. TenSoon does this in HoA to overhear some guards' conversation after escaping from the Homeland, and I find it quite likely he taught it to MeLaan as well, as he's something of a parent to her. This doesn't really disprove she has the Blessing of Awareness, just that there is an alternative explanation.

Yes, blanking the Hemalurgic donor's Identity (via a Hemalurgic spike that grants Feruchemical aluminum or perhaps an Unsealed Aluminummind) while excising their power with a spike should lead to a Hemalurgic spike with no Identity contamination. And as you suggest, a non-lethal usage of duralumin Hemalurgy could probably achieve a similar end result, especially if they aren't compliant.

Welcome to the Shard friend! Honestly, we don't have a clear cut answer for this yet, but if I were to guess if it was possible, technically yes, but you'd likely need to modify a few things first. Identity contamination prevnts you from Compounding via Hemalurgy currently, and I would guess that this would similarly prevent you from storing a spike's power in a Nicrosilmind as it's keyed to someone else's Identity. If you could blank the spike's Identity (or your own) via aluminum Feruchemy I think that this could be done however. It's also worth mentioning that even if Identity contamination doesn't automatically prevent you from storing a power in a Nicrosilmind via Hemalurgy, it would cause issues when wanting to Tap it; the Nicrosilmind has the Identities of both the spike and you, which would probably muddy it too much to use without the spike. So, Identity blanking would be useful here too.

Welcome to the Shard, friend! What is your favorite magic system and why?

Highly doubtful. Remembering what you had for breakfast with perfect clarity isn't exactly high on the priority list. I doubt he would have been doing it all the time, personally. If I were in his position, I'd really just Compound the memories I thought I'd need for later, like @hwiles's aforementioned naughty and nice nobles list. I mean, it's not like it would take too much effort. All Allomancers we've seen can burn metals as easily as breathing; you can choose to do it consciously and control it more, but it really doesn't take any personal effort beyond swallowing the metal to burn it Allomantically. Plus, you know, Rashek's got duralumin.

I mean, possibly, but I don't feel that would be necessary. Repetition is a good way to remember something permanently IRL, so I figure the same would apply to Feruchemy.

Yeah, my main reasoning here is that a lot of the hypotheses given for Compounding copper say one thing is possible, such as it duplicates a memory, let's you remember it longer, or maybe let's you relive it (actually, this is kind of what Wax did when tapping Kelsier's Coppermind, and I think this might be a similar example. Tapping multiple duplicates may make the experience more like a vision and less of a recalling of events). I'm proposing that Compounding copper effectively does several of these things, not just one as it's usually been thought. No, a copper Compounder couldn't choose to Compound differently through Intent or anything, but the way they tap duplicates of memories may allow for several theories to be used in practice. Additionally, I reason that duplicating memories is what copper Compounding does because it is by far the most reasonable assumption in my mind; all other known Compounding uses the exact same mechanic, which suggests copper should be the same.

Heck, you shouldn't even need Metalmind tech if you're an ambitious Hemalurgist. You may just be able to take a duralumin spike and target their Identity, forcibly excise it, then take their Identity-free power with another spike. Evil, but the bad guys won't care.

Yup, that's the one. It's worded in such a way that makes it sound like that won't be a thing. It may have other possibilities though, like being a sDNA modifier.

Edit: sorry, I was speed reading originally and only saw what I was already thinking. Okay, so Compounding an Identity blanked spike to effectively duplicate a power which is then stored in a Nicrosilmind is what you're thinking, yes? In this case, no, I don't think that this will work. We know what Hemalurgy's effects on overwriting Allomancy somewhat already; it splices the Allomancer's spiritual DNA to that of the spike, and if I remember correctly it won't actually grant access to the power itself, but will do something different (can't find the WoB for it unfortunately, so this could prove a fabrication of my own fallible memory).

Copper Compounding is a bit weird, as we don't know exactly how it works right now, but I think I have an idea: Since a Feruchemical charge overwrites the Allomantic charge when Compounding, I think that Compounding copper should duplicate any memories in the burned Metalmind. Each memory has its own code that determines what it holds, so logically the code should be evenly duplicated when Compounding just as with any other kind of metal. However, based on my thoughts in this thread about storing stronger memories, I think that doing this would have the side effect of making those memories "stick" to the mind of the Feruchemist better; since you're effectively repeating the memory many times over when you Compound it, it's likely that it will do as real memories would and the neural connection would be strengthened through the "repetition" of that memory.

So, if I understand you correctly, you're hypothesizing that medallions may use Hemalurgic nicrosil to hack what is stored in Unsealed Nicrosilminds (similar to how Compounding uses Feruchemical Investiture to overwrite Allomantic power), thus transforming them from being a temporary ability to a permanent one? Basically, you spike a power with nicrosil, then Feruchemically store a power with the same metal to add to the Hemalurgic charge?