PorridgeBrick

Easier to just post the WoB I guess.

DOUGLAS

What benefit does an aluminum savant get? Yes, I know this would normally never happen because aluminum burns itself up. Suppose a mad scientist with a willing Mistborn test subject shoved a feeding tube down the Mistborn's throat to pump in a continuous stream of aluminum, replenishing it steadily so there's always a new unburned supply. Add another tube to pump out excess water if necessary. What would he discover? Alternatively, what would Sazed with his Shard-granted knowledge know?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Ha, that IS a little silly of a method. However, on the extreme end of aluminum, I have in the notes the possibility of cleansing the spirit of unwanted effects of other investitures. You'd get really good at this, and maybe even be able to cleanse the body of other impurities.

Did he? I was always unclear, and thought he was answering that question assuming that the inquisitor had taken their spike out and swallowed it or something.

 

It's a very, very suggestive quote.

 

But that's not the same thing at all. Allomancy works by having the Allomancer draw power from Preservation and then they shove the power through a metal. There is no direct link to Honor for Surgebinders like that. I'm just suggesting they draw power without using it for anything in particular, and this isn't that farfetched, because we know that Inquisitors are kept alive via a link to Preservation (?) from their spikes.

Hmm. I suppose you could read it that way, but I don't think an Inquisitor would be in any fit state to burn anything after taking out their eyespikes. Still, it might be worth asking again in some way for clarification.

That does sound pretty suggestive. Interesting.

I just think we shouldn't say "They can do this, they just think they can't." If it's something anyone can do easily, they're going to find out and use it. And I'm sure they'd notice if they took in Investiture, because the signs tend to be rather flashy. They only feel available reserves, Investiture to use, when they have metal inside them. Besides, being able to just draw power into them without metals any time they feel like it kinda breaks Sanderson's Laws of Magic. There'd be no limit to it– just draw from it whenever you want, and boom, you're all glowy and heal-y and bleh.

I agree with CWS. I've been visualizing the process as a circuit of sorts the whole time. Without metal, you and Preservation have nothing connecting you, no way for power to transfer. Add a metal, and now you're 'plugged in' to Preservation's power.

Liking the battery speculation here. On Sel, symbols (under certain regional systems) seem to be the battery. In Dakhor, for example, you keep your magical effects even far from your homeland, so there must be power stored in those bone twists that is being used there.

I'm not sure if Spikes count as foreign any more. Once you receive one, it becomes a part of your Spiritweb. So whatever mechanism that checks for part of me/not part of me might just breeze past it. Same way Feruchemical gold probably wouldn't just eject your Spikes.

Hmmmm.

 

If aluminum savants can rid themselves of impurity, would chromium savants be able to do the same to other people? Because that would be an awesome doctor.

 

Just had some awesome ideas for jury rigging! If you gave something a breath, could you spike powers onto it?

Hah, great minds think alike. IMO, an Allomantic chromium/Feruchemical tin twinborn is the perfect Scadrian doctor– Feruchemical tin for diagnosis, Allomantic chromium for removing poisons, infections, lodged bits of material in wounds, etc.

Brandon didn't specifically say savant however. He just said that at high power levels, Aluminum cleanses foreign Investiture and other impurities.

(Just not if it's in as a Hemalurgic spike.)

He changed his mind on this one I think. Inquisitors can burn their own eyespikes, but it's an excruciatingly painful process. I can find the quote if you want.

(as far as anyone knows; apparently it's possible to steal two or more by hitting the right nerves in the heart)

Ooh, really? I must have forgotten about this one. Can I see the original wording on this one?

Perhaps they can and they're limited by their perceptions?

This seems pretty unlikely to me. You might as well say "Surgebinders can actually draw Stormlight from Honor and not have to inhale it, but they don't because they don't think they can". They probably didn't think they had magic powers in the first place, so if perception was that limiting no one would ever discover Allomancy at all.

We don't know much about Bavadin, but there are a few options. There are five shshshshsh, and a shshshshsh can have five shshshshsh. The religious texts on shshshshsh are five hundred years old. There are eight shshshshsh, who elect eight shshshshsh, and shshshshsh spent eight years training. The shshshshsh religion sends eight shshshshsh at shshshshsh per day. There are also nine ranks of shshshshsh, nine people in shshshshsh's expedition, a maximum of nine shshsh without over-shshshshsh, and nine shshshshsh if you count the beggars. This paragraph brought to you by the Librarians.

Wow, that's so full of spoilers. We need more 'shshshshsh' in there.

Anyways, I heartily dislike the idea of each shard having a number. It's the planets that all seem to have numbers associated with them. For example, Roshar seems pretty tied to ten, not just Honor. There's thirty magic systems, or three sets of ten. There's the Ten Deaths, the Ten Fools. I very much doubt all those magic systems come from Honor. If each one had their own number, each one should have a different number of powers, but they don't. It's the same in Mistborn, where both Allomancy and Hemalurgy are based on sixteen. For each shard to have a different number, it would mean that only one of the shards gets to have his own number in the magic system. How would that even be decided? Not by power– Preservation is weaker than Ruin due to spending it on the humans, yet Preservation has stronger ties to sixteen that we've seen than Ruin does.

Check your metalminds. The alloy might be a little off. You probably need a better metallurgist.

Of course, aluminum savants can't actually happen due to how aluminum automatically cleanses itself out. So to be powerful enough, you'd need Reverse Compounding in some form or just a spike to boost it up.

We don't know anything yet that can steal Temporal Powers, but I very much doubt it's a God Metal Alloy. All the other allomantic abilities of the main 16 are stolen by one of the metals in their respective block, so the same should apply to temporal ones. We only know 1 of the Hemalurgic powers stolen by metals in the temporal block, so there's still three metals there as candidates for stealing temporal allomancy. Judging by the patterns of the other abilities, I'd guess hElectrum.

The Fandom Monster and the forces of Chaos are joining forces. The end is nigh.

Huh. That's a good question. I wonder if you'd just get the effect of whichever has the larger charge– if there's a larger Feruchemical store in terms of total Investiture, then you get its normal Compounded effect, while a large Hemalurgic charge would have the normal splicing effect.

KR power really depends upon the opponent. An Elsecaller will beat any single opponent in an instant, but stack on enough mooks and they're out of gems and Stormlight. Stonewards are wonderful against anyone who tends to fight physically– large numbers of Thunderclasts, humans, Chasmfiends, they can rip apart with no chance of physical harm to themselves, but add a single energy weapon (laser) or magical equipment (Shards) into the equation and all their abilities are useless. Windrunners, actually, seem a little more flexible, not as specialized for one kind of fight but pretty good against most opponents. In your specific case of a KR civil war, I'd put my money on Windrunners. They don't have the instant win buttons of Elsecallers, but I think their numbers should win out, and there's a good chance Plate will block the death rays.

I don't think you're allowed to dual-wield in duels. I've never seen anyone do so, although it could just be because people only bond one Blade. And I presume any dual-wielding would use Flamestance - it's meant for a one-handed grip after all. However, I'd say all of them can be attuned to the usage of two Blades, much like the lightsaber forms in Star Wars.

 

And yes, you can bond two Honorblades.

Flamestance is pretty bad for dual wielding actually. Yes, you have a one-handed grip, but the way the stance works is that you have your other hand acting as a support underneath the midpoint on the blade, allowing for pretty stable overhead blocking. Here's a pic of the posture.

For dual-wielding, what you want is Smokestance. Smokestance is actually specifically meant for two weapons, with a longsword in one hand and a dagger in another. You could probably adapt for the extra length, especially since weight isn't an issue with Shardblades. Here's a pic for that one.

could you burn a spike?

Here's a WoB.

MARU NUI ()

What happens when you burn a Hemalurgic spike?

BRANDON SANDERSON ()

Burning a Hemalurgic spike would have the effect of splicing your spiritual DNA to that of the person's that is in the spike, which would have some very strange consequences.


There probably is. Shallan also notices that her shadow goes towards the sun when she's in Shadesmar. It may just be that the Aimians, as a race, are closer to the Cognitive than humans. That said, the listeners seem to have minds that are closer to the Cognitive, and I don't recall their shadows being described as abnormal.

Perhaps it's related to which of their aspects is leaning towards the Cognitive– Listeners could have entirely Physical bodies, but their minds are way off in the Cognitive and need a spren to bridge the gap, while Aimians could have entirely Physical minds, but their bodies are very strongly in the Cognitive, like a more extreme Lift.

Loyalty officially bought. You have your first new member! (Until someone else has a better offer.)

Hmm. Kiwifruits and pomegranates. Intriguing...

Any chance of mangoes?

What's the pay like in this guild? Do you pay in kiwifruits?

Why am I asking? No reason.

*takes a bite from a kiwifruit* Aye aye, sir. Anything you command, sir. *takes another bite*

Uh, wasn't Forgery something he thought up fairly late (after he already wrote Warbreaker)? Could be wrong on that front though. Even so, Forgery is most definitely region specific, and would need a ton of jury-rigging to work. Plus, if Brandon's adding worldhoppers, he's not going to make their magical abilities so overtly known. And Forgery isn't actually any good for forging papers, as these forgers are known for doing– you need a giant seal, a plausible history, and you're going to have to restamp it anyway after a while.

SA's colors, I think, will likely be from each of the three moons. The moons are blue, green, and violet, colors that should never occur naturally on a moon. Since we know their orbits are also wonky and artificial, it makes sense that their colors are artificial too.

Edit: Ninja'd by Weiry.

To avoid metal poisoning, have a Chromium savant on hand. Even if it isn't a metal they can burn, it's still an impurity, and since Aluminum savants can remove any of those from themselves, the same should work for Chromium on others.

Witspines?

From the little bit we get in the MAG, Feruchemical nicrosil seems to be untyped. If they store Allomantic iron Investiture, they can use that same Investiture to fuel Feruchemical gold, or Allomantic steel, or anything. But they can't just tap and get Allomantic iron– they have to have some Allomantic iron Investiture there already for their Feruchemical nicrosil to fuel. So in you example, the Soulbearer would just get generic Stormlight, unable to use Lashings without a Nahel Bond.