The 16th metal's power--Potential spoilers.

[Chaos]

It would be some kind of aww hell moment if it turns out that the bead Elend ate has nothing to do with the Allomancy circle, and there are two other metals out there.

We would be so screwed in this theory topic.

The idea that Dispartum grants Hemalurgy is interesting... but there is one fundamental problem. These are Allomantic metals, so they should, um, do something with the magic of Allomancy. Hemalurgy is separate from Allomancy (or at least, I think it should be), and thus, I think it would be completely paradoxical if you used Allomancy to get something that... wasn't related to Allomancy.

[Peter Ahlstrom]

Partum and Dispartum sound like good names for metals that grand allomancy and take it away, but since no one knows whether that's what the 15th and 16th metals do—and especially while speculating that they might do something else—wouldn't it make more sense to use more generic names like 15ium and 16ium? (Or unpentium and unhexium, using systematic element names...)

[AvalonDreamer]

What if the ability to burn metals isn't so much a limitation of genetics as it is a limitation of the mind? I don't know if this road has been jaunted down yet, but what if everyone has the innate power to burn every metal, but not the natural instinct/reflex/drivers to do it? It would explain why if you can burn more than one, you can burn them all (because by having a second or third sample to check against, your brain could decipher the others). Then the thing that Elend ate could have just been something that imparted the necessary knowledge to his subconscious.

Alright, It's late, I'm off to bed.

[CopperEye]

Personally, I want to hear what everyone thinks about the 16th metal somehow giving hemalurgy. It was a crazy idea that came spur of the moment, but I kind of like it. Of course, there is no evidence here, but I do SO love to speculate!!!

When I was first reading this thread, that's what first came into my head that dispartum grants the power of hemalurgy.  I can think of two explanations that support this.

1) Before the Ascension, we only have record of Feruchemy (assuming piercing of heroes has nothing to do with hemalurgy).  The mists and allomancy were created after the ascension.  So maybe hemalurgy was also created after the ascension with dispartum.

2) When allomancers burn metals, it Pulls the mists.  Likewise, when hemalurgists do their stuff, they Push the mists away.  So maybe the "magic" comes from what you do to the mists in combination with the metals instead of just burning/hemalurging metals.  This also fits well if you assume partum is the pure metal since pure metals Pull and alloys Push.

[Reaves]

it seems strange for an Allomantic metal to grant Hemalurgical powers...it would imply the systems are closely intertwined. One other thing:
Alendi had the 'piercings of the hero.' If we take this to mean he was a hemalurgist it would mean that hemalurgy came before Allomancy, as Allomancy was created at the Time of Ascension.

[Qarlin]

Allomancy could have come before the Ascension. Remember, we can't trust historical records, because Ruin could have changed them.

[TyranAmiros]

Wacky theory time--what if it's all genetics?

One thing about Elend is that he may not have *shown* Allomancy, but we know he comes from a family where members have it.  What if what distinguished the Skaa and the nobility at the beginning of the Lord Ruler's reign was this genetic alternation.  Those who could burn the 15th metal became the new ruling class and those for whom it did nothing were relegated to drudgery.  Remember the comment that Allomancers used to be stronger back in the day.  Perhaps this is simple genetic drift over time combined with some amount of breeding between the nobility and the Skaa--also creating mistings.  This might also explain TLR's prohibitions on relations between nobility and Skaa.

The 16th metal would be Take Away Allomantic Ability, but it would only work on those with the right genes.

[Reaves]

i would say there are some genetics involved, as allomancers tend to have allomancer children and skaa have no allomancer blood whatsoever, but i don't think you need to already be able to burn a metal to give you allomantic powers to...burn more metals.

[Comatose]

The 15 and 16 metals are linked with duralumin and aluminium, right?  SO this is my theroy for them.  The one gives you allomancy hey, forever, your mistborn, and that's that.  Aluminum takes away your metals, they are gone forefver, until you replenish them with enw ones, but the old one's never come back.  Duralumin burns your metals away in a singel powerful burst.  What if the 16th metal does something similar, burning a bunch of power away in an instant , instead of gaining power that last for life, sounds like the power of creation, eh?  What if the stuff in the well is liquid metal: the 16th metal! 

Thoughts

[Chaos]

The 15 and 16 metals are linked with duralumin and aluminium, right?  SO this is my theroy for them.  The one gives you allomancy hey, forever, your mistborn, and that's that.  Aluminum takes away your metals, they are gone forefver, until you replenish them with enw ones, but the old one's never come back.  Duralumin burns your metals away in a singel powerful burst.  What if the 16th metal does something similar, burning a bunch of power away in an instant , instead of gaining power that last for life, sounds like the power of creation, eh?  What if the stuff in the well is liquid metal: the 16th metal! 

Thoughts

That was my thought as well--check the first post in this topic to see what I mean.

[TyranAmiros]

I've been thinking that the metal Elend ingested should be paired with Duraluminum.  It's like a lightswitch: Elend's metal "turns on" your latent Allomancy in the same way Duraluminum "turns up your dial".  Aluminum "shuts down" your metals in the same way the last metal would "turn off" your ability to use Allomancy.   

The bigger question for me is, can anyone burn Elend's metal?  If a random Skaa was picked out and given  a drop of the metal, would they develop allomancy? Every statement about why Allomancy is limited to the nobility originates in the propaganda machine of TLR. 

I'm not sure if the power at the Well is necessarily allomantic--Allomancy doesn't seem to do much in the way of creation or distruction, even in large amounts.

[Reaves]

i actually really, really like that idea comatose! And Tyran i believe that if a skaa were given Elend's metal it would work exactly the same, the only difference between skaa and nobles is that the nobles supported TLR in his bid for power iirc. He then blessed the nobles with some of the same metal Elend ingested, and they passed it on to their descendants. Over the years their blood has become diluted and Allomancers are not as common or as powerful, but as skaa had no metal to begin with they cannot conceive Allomancers.

[Comatose]

Duralumin and Aluminum are definately paired, because they are Duralumin is an alloy of aluminum, it would be a cool switch, but we already know for sure that they are paired.

Maybe there's a deeper reasoning for who is skaa and who is noble, the way the lord ruler didn't let them breed sounds a lot like what he did to the terris to stop them from breeding with noblemen.  What if there's some secret to why the skaa are skaa?

[Miyabi]

Well it is described that the Lord Ruler was a Terrisman and that somehow he gained Allomantic abilities after going to the well of ascension, therefore I believe that at very minimum we've nailed the fifteenth metal.  Through the patterns of all of the other metals, when you compare opposites, would very much support the idea that it would get rid of someone's ability to burn metals. 

I believe that this theory is well thought out and very plausible.  Even if it turns out to be wrong, it was a valiant effort.

[Comatose]

Not all pairs are exact opposites though.  Tin and Pewter both enhance characteristics, if they were opposites, one would weaken charcteristics wouldn't it?  But the both enhance: one physical cahractersitics the othere the senses, they're not exactly opposites though, just close.  Like Duralumin and ALumunim one takes away metals, the other takes away metals in a single flared burst.  ESsentially they both do the same thing in different ways.  So you see, the pushing and pulling pairs of metals don't always have to have opposite effects.