Musicspren

He was just a little bit busy saving the world, remember. I agree with a bit of your post, but this part I question - TLR probably wanted to look like a god, not like an old man. Even if he could keep himself alive with gold compounding, he might have looked ancient, and he preferred to look eternally youthful (my atium theory changes the comparison a little, but the concept still applies as to why he might alter his age rather than his health). If feruchemy is storing something that can be recovered later in time - essentially transporting it forward in time - wouldn't what your body healed to be what it had previously perceived as healthy? And since Miles is essentially recycling health stored early on (by burning previous stores, he never needs to store "new" health; his "old" health just keeps expanding), his healing should always move him toward a young level of health. The only problem will be when his natural state of health is too much for his stored health to overcome (or when he can't get gold). I doubt his body can stop him by deciding to turn off red blood cell production; our bodies aren't made to regrow eyes, but Miles did so in a few seconds.

This theory departs from the typical understanding of how TLR’s (and later Marsh’s) immortality worked. Sazed’s description, that TLR was compounding atium (to use AofL terminology) has a few problems, some of which have been discussed on this thread about compounding twinborns. Reasonable explanations have been given, but some problems remain. These are what my theory is intended to address. But first, the normal understanding: Part I: Sazed’s theory refined (Note that I am drawing a bit of this part from the aforementioned compounding twinborns thread; I have not given specific credits as I have not quoted directly, but I am borrowing ideas from various Sharders for this explanation). Sazed explains in the epilogue of FE that: He then explains the basics of compounding. The current theory I have seen, which may not be exactly what Sazed meant, is that during TLR’s time in his Terris room, he was burning his atiumminds (compounding) and storing the excess age, which he was later tapping. For most of the time (whenever he wasn’t in that room), he was not actively compounding his atium but was tapping large stores of it (which he accumulated by compounding). Thus, when Vin Pushed his bracers off, he lost his access to what he was tapping, and he did not have any in his stomach to burn. Part II: The problems One problem with this approach is that TLR should not have needed his time being older in the Terris room. If he could burn atiumminds for such vast stores of youth, he should have been able to keep some of his youth while putting the rest into his bracers without being older. He might not want to do anything that took his mind off keeping the balance of taking a little age without making himself too young, although he could always burn a zincmind if he needed extra mental speed for a time, so even that’s not really an issue. Being old while compounding would allow him to store slightly more, but as much as he was gaining, I doubt that was really significant. The other, larger problem I see is the supply of atium needed to maintain this. Kelsier says that: Thus TLR is burning atium for about 1 hour every day on average. Atium burns particularly quickly, so even one solid hour of burning it would expend a lot. I don’t know that there are enough Hathsin slaves to retrieve that much for every day (or if the pits supply that much every day). Even if there is adequate supply, there’s still another problem. Marsh has a bag of atium. One bag, and no other supply. Early on, that won’t be much of an issue; he’s not old to begin with. But once he is old enough to require substantial compounding, that bag will not last long. I have doubts he could live until the time of AofL. Part III: The alternative Sazed says that feruchemists can store youth. However, the Ars Arcanum of WoA and HoA say that atium stores age. Not youth, age. Every other feruchemical metal stores something viewed as a positive quantity. Tapping iron gives you more weight; tapping tin gives you more sensitivity, tapping gold gives you more health, etc. Conversely, storing any metal gives you less of that thing. However, the storing is not always a disadvantage; sometimes you are better to have less weight (iron), less acute senses (tin), or a lower temperature (brass). For atium to store youth would be an exception; youth is a negative quantity. Negative does not mean that it is undesirable, but it is against something measured as positive (age, in this case). Storing youth would be like storing lightness or blindness or coldness. My theory is that atium really does store age, not youth. This would mean that TLR was wearing his atiumminds and storing his age in them. No compounding would be necessary; in fact, it would be undesirable. If TLR was filling, rather emptying his atiumminds, it would fit with the fact that, as soon as Vin pushed them off, he had nowhere to send his age away to, and his body quickly changed back to its true age. Why, then, did he spend three hours every three days being older? I believe that, after three days, his atiumminds were nearing the point where he could fill them no more. He could have discarded them and gotten new ones, but that would have left suspicious waste. There would be bracers somewhere that appeared to be made of atium, but had no Allomantic potential. Beyond that, he would frequently require new bracers made out of the most valuable material in the Final Empire, meaning that someone would have to make those bracers. The more exchanges like that occurred, the more people would ask questions about what was happening. For TLR, such questions would be dangerous. But he could avoid those issues by taking care of it himself. Rather than trading out atiumminds, he could empty them. Emptying three days of age in three hours would put him being several thousand years old for that time, but if he were compounding gold (and possibly steel, pewter, and zinc), he could probably survive. He would still look old, and possibly not be fully healthy, but he would live. This method would also allow Marsh, with a bag of atium, to live by filling atiumminds, then emptying them, without having to worry about ever running out of the atium in the bag. Part IV: But Sazed said… Yes, Sazed, with all his copperminds, said it stored youth. How much do Keepers get to use atium? Nobles are not going to give Terrismen (or women) atium to play with. It will be extremely well protected, so no steward will be able to inconspicuously steal some. When Kelsier stole from Keep Venture, there was a large confrontation, which Kelsier wanted. The Terris are bred to be obedient, so such a rebellion as stealing from their masters (and probably a bit of fighting) would be much harder for them. I suspect very few Keepers have ever so much as touched atium. Perhaps they recorded that it stored age and Sazed assumed that it actually stored youth, because storing age would seem too good to be true. Or perhaps a certain Shard with a history of tweaking what was in metalminds changed it so Sazed would believe it stored youth. Sazed doesn’t know everything; later in the epilogue, he and Marsh are discussing TLR: We now know that Allomancy does not “exactly” draw its power from metals. The explanation is not entirely wrong, but it’s a small misunderstanding, just as age/youth could be. After the FE, atium was in such short supply, no one would have given it to Sazed to experiment with it, and after HoA, no more atium existed (except what Marsh had). What are your thoughts? This is my first large theory; should I have worn an aluminum foil hat? Edit: Sanderson just explained compounding here, and said (toward the end): So he said that TLR used compounding, but not specifically that he used atium compounding.

We don't know how much gold is on Scadrial or how accessible it is. Just because it is rare on earth doesn't mean it is nearly so rare on Scadrial (although it could be more rare, for that matter). However, Augers or double-gold twinborns will make some of the supply of gold actually disappear, not merely be used to make other things. That is to say, if there is a bracelet of gold, the gold still exists, just in a different form. If Miles burns the gold, it's gone forever (as far as we know). I don't know that there would be any limit to his lifespan with an unlimited supply of gold; perhaps his body could develop enough natural problems that it became too much to stay ahead of, but if he could survive a bullet through his head, I doubt anything "natural" could stop him.

Miles would have lived until he could not afford to buy enough gold. (I don't know how long he could have lived with an infinite supply of gold; TLR's age is quite reasonable, I think. But I suspect that in reality he would have run out of gold at some point before he died from diseases of aging.)

Has anyone seen Peter lately? I somehow have a feeling part of him might have been stolen by spike. I worry that if it didn't kill him, he might be comatose.

Forgive me if this has been theorized or refuted before, but is it possible that Returned are sterile because they think they are sterile? We know they can change their appearance rather dramatically; perhaps they could also remove their ability to have children? If someone managed to convince them that they were sterile, and then it became part of the religion, they might continue to be sterile whether or not they wanted to be, because they thought they had no choice. Vo, however, would have had no such preconception. God Kings might could be made believe themselves different enough that they could think themselves out of sterility. Back on topic, what if Endowment created people on Nalthis (with Breath, as Deus Ex Biotica mentioned), then went on vacation to another Cosmere planet, possibly one we haven't even heard of (thus no Returned, but Breath continued working as usual), then came back a few centuries ago (as Windrunner described).

If I were trying to fight one, I would bring a pulser or slider with me. We know that hitting the edge of a bubble jostled Wax, and he wouldn't have been going very quickly. A steel compounder hitting the edge of either bubble would either be flattened or would explode. And without added mental speed, the steel compounder probably wouldn't be able to stop running in time to avoid the bubble. Some less battle-oriented twinborns: Brass misting, chromium ferring: When gambling, he could tap luck, while soothing the emotions of those around him so they didn't become suspicious/angered. Dovie'andi se tovya sagain. Zinc misting, duralumin ferring: Actor/actress (for theater and opera, not television). She could riot whatever she wanted the audiences to be feeling while tapping connection with them so they were more empathetic. Thinking of stage works, a well-placed pulser could make set changes much quicker from the audience's perspective (steel ferring would also help, but would not be essential).

Chromium is a spiritual metal, so I assume your fortune is somehow tied to your spiritual presence, although not necessarily your Spiritual DNA, any more that everything you do on the Physical realm is directly tied to your Physical DNA. What does that mean for its potential? I really don't know. It is possible that the spiritual realm is less tied to time than the physical realm, and that it might reverse causality to some small extent (presumably atium is working in the spiritual realm, and it can mess with causality a little bit). I do wonder, however, about "You're welcome." Could Sazed/Harmony have been giving Wax the same effect as tapped fortune? It would only require tiny tweaks to everyone's actions so that, after flying (seemingly randomly) across a room, Wax landed in a convenient place? It's still debatable whether all changes were in things Wax did, or if they subtly affected everyone else, but I wonder if that could give us the closest approximation what effects tapping Chromium could have (apart from my idea that Bloody Tan tapped Chromium).

Trelagism - in its original form - probably did address feruchemists. They were a part of Scadrial before Rashek's ascension, so many religions might have addressed them. The Words of Founding could have included the original Trell beliefs on feruchemists. Allomancy would seem to have just been appearing at that point, so the Trell's followers might not have accounted for that (although perhaps it had been around long enough for them to). Unless Miles says at some point that Trell said Twinborns were important, he could merely be referring to his feruchemical abilities. What does this have to do with Rust and Ruin? It's possible that the "rust" part is not significant and Brandon just likes the sound of "Rust and Ruin" better than merely "Ruin." Could it be that Ruin created the Trelagism to distract people from the more realistic Terris religion? What if it is a corruption of the Terris religion (which could explain why it doesn't seem particularly ruinous on the surface)? Ruin might have attempted in the past to sway people away from the Terris religion because he knew he would stay trapped if knowledge of the nature his imprisonment was widely known. But if he could make fewer people follow the Terris religion, there would be a lower chance of someone like Kwaan noticing the changes.

Remember that their technology will not develop the same way ours has. Obviously some things have to come before others (you wouldn't have airplanes before carriages, presumably), but their technology level doesn't have to (I would even say, shouldn't) fit neatly into one period. Maybe because of people like Wax, mechanical air travel becomes less technologically important, and computers are developed before airplanes. Maybe computers use more aluminum (I don't know if this is technologically possible for the inner workings; if nothing else, they could be encased in it) so they won't be ruined every time a Coinshot decided to use one as an anchor. Having your coin pushed out of your hand and onto the ground is one thing; having the same done to your iPod is more detrimental to its health. Energy may be more plentiful; Coinshots and Lurchers could turn turbines. Kurkistan has proposed a excellent method of gaining energy using an iron ferring. If someone like Miles were willing to be a test subject, doctors could learn about treating patients by watching how gold compounders healed themselves. Gold ferrings (particularly compounders) would also be excellent test subjects; if a treatment turned out to be harmful, they could still heal themselves, rather than suffering any permanent harm. I may be wrong in my particular extrapolations, but the fact remains that the technology on Scadrial will almost certainly not develop as it did on Earth. They won't have "1980s-level technology" overall at any point; there might simultaneously be some areas that were developed well into the 21st century and while others were stuck in the 1950s.

whose High Imperial

An issue with exiting: Wax and Marasi theoretically "should" be pancakes (or, if you prefer, waffles). As Wax and Marasi were falling, let's suppose that they were going downward at 4 m/s. I don't know if that's reasonable, but pretend for the moment that it is. As they hit the edge of the bubble, I assume they continued traveling at 4 m/s. But the time outside the bubble was several times slower; think about how they could watch the explosion happening and have time to discuss it (I suspect in this case even the 8 times speed is not realistic; Wayne was probably flaring his bendalloy, but I'll use the multiplier of 8 for this example). Thus, when Wax's toes hit "normal time," their 4 m/s would be equivalent to 0.5 m/s inside. Viewed from outside, his toes were falling at 4 m/s, and everything else was falling at 32 m/s. His entire body should have exited the bubble while no more than his knees have had time to fall outside. I don't know if this would be possible to survive; it may just be like hitting a very dense liquid at high speed, but I suspect it would do more than "jostle." I'm not saying that this is a mistake, simply that this is "what happens when something leaves a bendalloy bubble" that will not make sense for 10 books. Something very strange is happening that allows Wax and Marasi to exit unharmed.

Wow. Of course it was amazing, and "You're welcome," High Imperial, and aluminum foil hats have already been mentioned many times. Allomantic/Feruchemical gun fights are better than any other gunfights ever, and Wax's double bullet trick was incredible (it makes me wonder if the trace hemalurgic boost he gains is in mental fortitude). Thank you to everyone who has posted extra bits they have gleaned from signings (the melted inquisitor spikes are genius). I was forming a Lord Ruler theory before, and Alloy of Law has not contradicted it, so that will be forthcoming. Thanks also to KChan for posting Alloy of Line pictures; I could vicariously experience some small part of it, even though I live a few states too far away to actually go.

There is a possibility (albeit a slim one) that we have ignored. Wispsy came closest: Lucky. Fortunate. What does Chromium store feruchemically? What would happen if you replaced Bloody Tan with Mat Bloody Cauthon when Wax fired his shot? And what if that one burst used up all his stored fortune, allowing him to be shot easily afterwards? I know we don't have evidence that people know about Chromium, but if Tan had somehow learned of it, that could explain his motion at exactly the right time.

That first and second parts are my guess. The pulling/pushing element/alloy pairing is just a natural part of allomancy; I don't know if that applies to the other systems, I was just using the standard allomantic terminology for a clear ordering.

Personally, I suspect that, being more of Ruin, Hemalurgy is inconsistent by design. It's not necessarily illogical, just not neatly organized. If we order the metals in each quadrant by 1) External pulling 2) External pushing 3) Internal pulling 4) Internal pushing a pattern starts to emerge. Look at which metals steal allomantic powers: metal 2 of the physical quadrant, metal 4 of the mental quadrant, and metal 3 of the enhancement quadrant. Now compare to the feruchemical stealers: metal 4 of the physical quadrant, metal 2 of the mental quadrant, metal 3 of the temporal quadrant. Note how each system (allomancy and feruchemy) has a different number for each quadrant. I suspect that means that metal 1 of the temporal quadrant (cadmium) steals allomantic temporal powers and metal 1 of the enhancement quadrant (chromium) steals feruchemical enhancement (or, more to the point, spiritual) powers (chromium). Hemalurgy is a strange magic and I believe it follows a strange logic for how its metals work.

invaded MorDor, taking

through the door

which coruscated with

I would like to announce that I just played piano in my university's Concert Winds ensemble's performance of Hindemith's Konzertmusik, Op. 49 (for 10 brass, two harps, and piano). is a professional recording, if you want to know what it sounds like. We're students, so we don't sound quite like that, but it went well. (If you don't want to listen to the whole thing [although it's worth doing so], skip to 5:25; that's the best movement.)

Is SOM1else an atium ferring and going to begin storing age (or, more accurately, youth, because if it literally stored age, it should make him younger) very heavily while blinking?

I find the random generators vastly entertaining, particularly the pairing one. I think (after many refreshes) that I managed to get the single best pairing:

Actually, it isn't Brandon Sanderson. If BS had written it, it might have things worth reading and essay topics worth writing about. I will disagree on the PSAT not mattering; it is less important than the SAT, but if you can get a good score, it will look good on college apps (even without reaching scholarship level). However, concerning the essay, I agree completely. It doesn't test anything except perhaps the ability to write quickly. This article might interest you.