ChickenBonanza

preface: conjecture.

feruchemical nicrosil is weird. unsealed metalminds have permanently stored powers which are temporarily loaned and returned, unlike the function of other metalminds whose traits die out with use. (The Bands of Mourning do end up drained [funny, that a singular object can be referred to in plurality] but we don’t know how that occurred.)

The only metals which behave similarly are copper and bendalloy. Memories are lost permanently and not regained, calories also. This could be explained by the fact that they are not spiritually-tied traits, able to be restored once done storing, due to the spiritual ideal or some other explanation. (restored is not a good term. return to standard function once Feruchemy stops skimming its work off the top?) Investiture of multiple kinds can interact with memories, like Breath, but whether it’s tied more to Spiritual or Cognitive aspects is unknown. Most likely Cognitive, I’d say.

Bendalloy and calories/water differs from the spiritual-trait norm through the transience of those properties, I’d say. Uncertain how satiation is identified in the spirit, and how it interacts.

for other metals, traits would be taken from the Spiritual aspect/Spiritweb. Hemalurgy functions through the stealing of parts of the Spiritweb, and is able to take traits such as strength, senses, intelligence… memory, so those traits would be spiritually-tied.

It’s uncertain whether memory refers to the ability to remember, or actual memories. If the latter, then memories would be storied in the Spiritweb, in some fashion.

if the latter was the case, why would Feruchemy permanently store memories? It could be that the Spiritual Ideal simply cannot recreate memories, being not permanent and those not tied with the Ideal.

so, nicrosil. If it was to follow the pattern most other metals follow, would diminish the power of an Innate Investiture, which could recover once done storing. When tapping, it would improve the power, temporarily, of that Innate Investiture.

Unsealed Metalminds, however, do not follow this, and are noted to function differently, ‘more restricted,’ than how a natural-born Soulbearer would work.

There’s not answer to be found without guesswork, but the whole point of forums, to be, is to share guesswork. Improve it for later use.

That’d be that Excisors extract an Innate Investiture from a donor, to be placed in an Unsealed Metalmind, wherein it can spiritually connect with others to lend them its power. Would be why creating Medallions with multiple powers is unreliable, due to Identity conflicts. Same with using multiple at once. Nicrosil would facilitate the drawing and returning of that power. (Would the restriction being not lending the abilities of a Soulbearer to the Medallion user, where they can’t create a new metalmind with their own abilities? Uncertain, but I do not believe such a possibility has been mentioned.)

Of course, a Soulbearer Ferring’s power could be to permanently store a trait. (Make Twinborn much weaker, but Compounders stronger.) However, I’d find that option incongruent with the function of the other metals. Why would an Allomantic ability be lost when stored, but strength not?