Do Steel Inquistors need to burn metals? *Possible Spoilers*

[darxbane]

Zane's spike goes through his chest from front to back.  The back spike on the inquisitors starts at the base of the neck and goes down vertically through the spine.  I don't believe the bottom end sticks out.

[Comatose]

Oh, Ok, I guess I had that backwards.

[Phaz]

I think they do burn metals.

My source for this is atium.

We know that they can use atium.  We also know that they don't use it all the time.

Logic seems to say that if they could use it, but they didn't use it all the time, then they had a very limited source of it, just as normal allomancers did.

I suppose if it was like feruchemy, then they could have a limited amount because they 'store it up' but that seems like a weak link to me, since everything else they can store (speed, strength, site, youth, etc) are attributes that people have.  I don't see a parallel attribute that would grant you the same ability as atium.

Though, assuming this is true, what happens when they run out of steel/iron?  Do they go 'blind'?

[darxbane]

We believe that the power is derived from the person.  The metals act as a focus for their power, not as a source for it.  This is why they need to rest so much.

[Phaz]

We believe that the power is derived from the person.  The metals act as a focus for their power, not as a source for it.  This is why they need to rest so much.

So they have the ability to use the same abilities that they would from burning all the allomantic metals, but rather than using different metals as a source, they simply drain from a 'common' source within themselves that simply drains their body?

I guess I can buy that, but it doesn't seem like that idea that "clicks" so well that you know it's true.

If it just made you tired (and you'd have to rest) then wouldn't the power of pewter basically give you unlimited ability since you can use pewter to make your body keep going even when it's drained?

I know that if what you describe is true, that the power of pewter would drain them, so they wouldn't get that benefit, but would about a Thug (or Mistborn) who was made into an Inquisitor?  It's likely that they could still keep their ability to burn pewter.  Come to think of it, doesn't Marsh say something about them liking him because he was a seeker?  It seems like if they (at least some of the time) use allomancers for Inquisitors, that many of them would have the ability to burn metals to some extent.

Assuming Zane's spike was the same as an Inquisitors (there is all kinds of evidence implying this) then we know from Zane that having a spike doesn't remove your ability to burn metals.

[Chaos]

The thing that the Inquisitors use is something of a third magic system. Brandon has only vaguely referenced it in his annotations: it is called Hemalurgy. We don't exactly know what it does, but we have certainly tried here on the Comprehensive Hemalurgy Thread.

I have theorized that, sort of like how the "body" burns metals in Allomancy, in Hemalurgy, the converse happens: the metals act as a sort of lightning-rod to "burn" the body's energy. That's the idea, distilled to the core. On page 7 of the Hemalurgy thread, I explain it much better (as long as I don't confuse you).

However, this not complete in any form. The creation of Inquisitors requires a lot of blood--we term them "blood sacrifices", generally. My theory doesn't even touch upon the relationship with Hemalurgy and Blood, so that is a major lapse. The truth is, we really don't know anything for certain about Hemalurgy. It's all logic and speculation, and at the time of theory, I had the inspiration to write about metal lightning-rods, essentially.

For all we know, the "thing" Hemalurgy burns is the blood itself (mind you, I say burn because it is a common Allomantic term. There is probably a better term Brandon would've used). Even if you use pewter, a crash will catch up with you. A pewter-dragging crash is probably even more acute for Inquisitors. Besides, pewter wouldn't re-create the blood, it just creates temporary strength. So, Inquisitors would be very powerful when they need to be, but they would also need to sleep a lot. Which is exactly what we see.

The second major lapse is the relationship with Allomancy and Hemalurgy. I can't even speculate to that one yet.

Anyways, I suggest you read up on that theory. I happen to like it, and even though it has flaws, I really like criticism. Small ideas often have a tendency to ferment in my brain into 3000-word theories, like this Hemalurgy one.

[darxbane]

Caffeine highs will do that.   To answer your question, Phaz, I believe Marsh mentions that they prefer Mistings because they already have an understanding of how Allomancy works.  We as a group on this forum have theorized that it also means one less Misting to kill in order to gain that power.  If all you had to do was kill 11 random people to make an Inquisitor, I don't believe the Lord Ruler would have told Kelsier how difficult it was. 

[Chaos]

Caffeine highs will do that.   To answer your question, Phaz, I believe Marsh mentions that they prefer Mistings because they already have an understanding of how Allomancy works.  We as a group on this forum have theorized that it also means one less Misting to kill in order to gain that power.  If all you had to do was kill 11 random people to make an Inquisitor, I don't believe the Lord Ruler would have told Kelsier how difficult it was. 

I've never been too sold on the idea of sacrificing Mistings, for the record. But I can't contradict it, so I'll go with it.

[darxbane]

That's right, fall into the party line! [hands cup of kool-aid to Chaos2651] 

[Chaos]

It's scary when some random guy like me can come up with a perfectly good theory that SOUNDS good, and we hail it as being right only by the virtue of it not being wrong. For all I know, half the stuff I write is totally off. I hope not, though.

[Comatose]

I still the think the inquisitors burn metal, and used the 15th metal (Partum?) to gain allomatic abilities.  I think Hemalugy amplifies normal abilities, for example, Alendi was not an Allomancer, yet most of us believe he used hemalurgy, even though He had no allomatic powers.  So the face that hemalurgists have strong alloamncy is just because they were allomancers to start with.

Maybe hemalurgy ups all your abilities to the highest level they can go, making normal mistings into mistborn, strong men into juggernauts, etc.

And I think it has to be skaa blood for the inquisitors and hemalurgist we have seen so far, I think that because they were forced to make inquisitors without partum (at the conventicle)  They were forced to find a different source of power for their hemalurgy to amplify, so they stole the bodies of the keepers, and plan to use their blood to make Feruchemy Hemalurgist inquisitors.

[Phaz]

Another bit of info that I literally just read from the annotations (Chapter 37 part 3)

A little bit of metal can go a long way, and you don't want to miss any. Now, this isn't as big a deal for the Inquisitors, who can use Allomancy themselves to see sources of metal a person might be hiding on their body.

He specifies they can use Allomancy.  That to me, says that they do so in the same way, with the same rules.  i.e. they burn the metals.

[Comatose]

My thoughts exactly, thank-you annotations!

[Phaz]

My thoughts exactly, thank-you annotations!

Exactly.

There is a ton of really good information hidden in them.  I kind of wonder if Brandon put all that stuff in there on purpose, or let it slip out.  The main one that comes to mind is the Ruin & Preservation thing, and some of them were written quite a while ago it seems.

Come to think of it, I wonder if he reads these threads cackling at all of our crazy ideas and bathing in the joy of knowing he's misled us so well and lured us right to where he wants us, giving us just enough clues to make us search endlessly at every little detail from everything he's ever written or said all the while knowing we'll never uncover the secrets until we buy the book.

[Comatose]

I know, I'm feeling a little like Sazed and twyndil, making all these notes on writings and texts, not knowing that I'll later find all I have believed to be false.

I just know he has some twists and turns planned that I can't even fathom.