The Origins of Allomancy *Spoilers*

[Kelsier]

There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding Elend’s transformation near the end of Mistborn II. Some people think Elend was already a Mistborn—that the stabbing of the mist spirit was the traumatic event which caused him to Snap. These people believe that the metal Vin washed down his throat was simply pewter. Others, however, believe that the metal Vin washed down his throat was what caused him to become a Mistborn in the first place, while the pewter—which Elend burned in order to withstand his wounds—came from the vial of metals Vin used to wash the metal down.

I don’t know if this has already been pointed out, but Vin herself settles this confusion in the Epilogue of Mistborn II. Below is a snippet of her final conversation with Elend on the wall, after he’d become an Allomancer at the Well of Ascension.

“I’m an Allomancer,” Elend said.
[Vin] nodded.
“Mistborn, apparently,” he continued.
“I think . . . we know where they came from, now,” Vin said. “The first Allomancers.”
Vin speaks here of Allomancy’s origins, and I think we can easily draw from this that the metal Elend ingested was what turned him into a Mistborn.

Anyway, I apologize if this has already been discussed. I just wanted to put this out there and hopefully clear up any misconceptions.

[Chaos]

I'm sorry for not posting in this topic sooner! Usually I'm good about these things.

I agree with you now--that the metal creates Mistborn.

In fact, it is rather interesting... Inquisitors are created through Hemalurgy... and Allomancers are also created! It brings a nice dichotomy to them like one which is talked about in the Hemalurgy thread.

Ooooh, you evil genius. You just gave me an awesome idea! Allomancy is a created magic! The Lord Ruler, perhaps, just gives Steel Inquisitors that metal which grants them the power of a Mistborn! That's fantastic, since that little key fact has never been discussed before.

Genius, man, genius.

[darxbane]

Maybe it means Feruchemy is created, as well.  Maybe there is some secret way to gain that power.  I have to disagree with the magic bead being given to Inquisitors.  I have a feeling that he wouldn't even let them know where the Well was, which means they didn't have any additional beads to give to all those new Inquisitors they made at Seran.

[Comatose]

That's one thing I'm still trying to puzzle out, I'm pretty sure the Inquisitors gain their power from the metal, but I don't think the Lord Ruler would bring them down to the well, there were lots of broken discs where that metal used  to be so that means it could have been removed, but many of those probably would have gone to make the original allomancers.  Maybe some was stored at the conventical of seran.  OR maybe, the new Inquisitors have no allomantical abilities, and that's why they were dragging off the bodies of the keepers, for some otehr sacrifice thing, giving the new inquisitors feruchemical powers for their Hemalurgy to augment.  I'm pretty sure Hemalurgy isn't much on it's own, it just augments other abilities, which is why all the old inquisitors are mistborn too.  Since they have no more magic metal, they'd want to make keeper inquisitors instead.  That's my theory anyway.

[Archon]

A couple things. First of all, Marsh wasn't Mistborn, he was just a Misting before the Inquisitors made him one of them. As for the creation of Inquisitors, it is hard to make a guess as to exactly what it entails. However, there are a couple points that haven't been mentioned. First of all, right before the Lord Ruler killed Kelsier in the first book, he pointed out that the Inquisitors are "very hard to replace." Second of all, when Marsh talks about the process of creating Inquisitors, he says that it is "messy." Based on all of the scenes of sacrifice that have been associated with Inquisitors, I think that it is safe to say that Inquisitors can't just be created by using metals, there is something much more sinister involved. And third, something I just noticed, Marsh said that Inquisitors have 11 spikes. So, when I look at that, and at "very hard to replace," it gives me a couple ideas. There are, in total, 16 metals, including the two that we haven't seen yet. The two that are unknown are theorized to be able to give or take away allomantic power. Duralumin and Aluminum both directly alter other allomantic metals. So, in theory, anybody who can use the other allomantic metals can use these. Or, perhaps Inquisitors can't use them. We haven't really seen. However, that leaves 12 remaining metals. Marsh already had skill with one allomantic metal. So, theoretically, each spike grants one allomantic power. If this is the case, then it would make sense that the spikes would be made of each of the allomantic metals. That would explain a lot. For example, since we know that Inquisitors do, in fact, die, it would help to explain where the Lord Ruler's atium cache went. If he had to use a railroad-spike-sized portion of atium to create each individual Inquisitor, that could take up a fair amount of atium. Or, perhaps all of the Inquisitor's spikes are made of atium for some reason, in which case, it explains it even more. It would explain "very hard to replace" certainly, as well as the atium shortage. However, I think that there is a lot about Hemalurgy that we still aren't seeing.

[Comatose]

That's been touched upon before, but nice thoughts!  When I said inquisitors  are mistborn I was referring to the fact that they have all the powers of a mistborn after they become inquisitors, I know that marsh was only a seeker before.

[Chaos]

In my comment I wasn't suggesting that eating the metal was the only things it takes to make an Inquisitor. Of course, creating Inquisitors with Hemalurgy requires blood sacrifice (that's one of the few things we actually know about Hemalurgy, in fact). I was merely saying that perhaps the Hemalurgy has absolutely no influence on why the Inquisitors gained Mistborn abilites--instead, they just could have gotten the powers from the 15th metal.

Independent events is all I'm saying.

Archon, I think you would enjoy taking a look at the Hemalurgy thread.

[darxbane]

Another point on the Hard to replace scenario.  What if, in order for maximum power, each sacrifice had to be a Misting?  Infusing that ability into the associated metal (for example, a smoker is killed and a copper spike is infused witht he power, then inserted into the body).  A regular person could be used, but it would be far less potent, like an allomancer burning an impure metal.  This would mean that the new Inquisitors are far less powerful than before, as they used Skaa slaves who most likely were not Mistings.  The person that was found dead where Kelsier and Vin were supposed to meet Marsh in book 1 was most likely another misting Obligator who was working with Marsh at that post.  If you remember, the Lord Ruler had stations set up throughout the city in order to help control it: a Soother and Rioter to control emotions,  a Seeker to look for Skaa Allomancers, and a Smoker to hide what they were doing.

[Comatose]

I think there was just a soother, they weren't controlling emotions, they couldn't see what the skaa were feeling from inside, they were just sending out a mass soothing, to keep them depressed.  Interesting theory about the making of inquisitors.  I think that's one possible whole in my skaa blood theory, is I don't think the lord ruler wouldn' think anything about killing a skaa, but maybe only some skaa have the amplification ability, and they are hard to find.  I'm sure that there must be more to who are skaa and who are noble than who the lord ruler's supporters were, that excuse always seems a hollow one to me, and the way the lord ruler restricts interbreeding, there has to be something ther, I know it.

[Kelsier]

Maybe that's why Inquisitors hunt Skaa Mistings—they want to use them to make new brethren.

[darxbane]

It would certainly be easier to kill a Skaa than a nobleman, particularly an acolyte to the Ministry.

[Comatose]

Ya, and remember how people who misuse allomancy are executed?  They are hung with a hook through their throat, maybe that's significant.

[Ogge]

I must have missed something again... but what made Vin stuff that metal down Elends mouth in the first place?

 Did she know what would happend? otherwise it's just doesn't make sence...she might as well have feed him some stones...eating metal as a none minsting/mistborn is just dangeroes...

[Chaos]

She did it because the Mist Spirit told her to (basically). But yes, she had no idea what the metal would do.

[darxbane]

Seeing as Elend was going to die anyway, I'm sure she would have fed him stones if she thought it would help.  The funny thing is, had she not given him her vial of metals to wash down the Magic Bead, he wouldn't have had any pewter to burn and still would have died.  Sometimes luck is as important as skill.