Hello everyone, I have read the forum for a long time now, but this is my first time posting.
I know that a number of people have suggested that the powder that Hoid pours into his drink was bronze in order to sense Shallan. I tend to agree with this theory, but have been considering the possibility that it was actually copper. Since it has been said that a coppercloud could block one from sensing magic non-native to Scaladrial I was thinking that perhaps Hoid was burning copper in order to prevent being sensed by anyone. Later in the book Hoid tells Dalinar that he has to be careful not to be found by Odium: "I cannot risk too much, because if he finds me, then I become nothing--a soul shredded and broken into pieces that cannot be reassembled. What I do here is more dangerous than you could ever know." I am not sure if a coppercloud would be enough to prevent being sensed by something as powerful as Shardholder, but I thought that this may be a possibility.
Alternatively, we also know that Hoid is being pursued by members of the Seventeenth Shard whom he easily manages to elude. I was thinking that it is possible that at least one of the members trying to track him has abilities similar to that of seeker in which case burning copper would be useful.
While I still agree with others that the powder was most likely bronze I thought that this was a reasonable alternative worth consideration.
