The Comprehensive Hemalurgy Thread

[Peter Ahlstrom]

You have to know Brandon to be an alpha reader. Most he knows in real life, though some he met here in this forum.

But then, with Warbreaker and probably with its eventual sequel, Brandon is giving everyone a chance to be an alpha reader. I would imagine being really involved in that, and giving kinds of comments Brandon can't already get from someone else, would give someone a chance to catch his eye.

That's all on hold now though, until WoT12 is done. It's very unlikely that Brandon's normal alpha readers will even get a peek at that.

[Comatose]

Besides, could they even see the apparitions?

That's an interesting question.  Do you need eyes to see atium aparitions or are htey just in your mind, we know that other people can't see them.  We know the inquisitors can use atium, because Vin sees one burst into different shadows when she is burning atium.  It would be interesting if there was a blind mistborn- they could use atium to restore their sight, sort of, they'd be able to see things before they happened, even if they couldn't see the actual thing.

Another thing, how does tin affect inquisitors.  They obviously don't need it to see, so what does it do to their "eyesight?"

[darxbane]

That's a good question.  Tin improves all senses, so maybe they use it just for hearing, smelling, and feeling things more acutely.

[Comatose]

Hey, I was just thinking, most people here are pretty sure that the inquisitors spike are al ldifferent metals right?  What if they don't have the same powers as allomancy.  Many are saying that they have a spike for each allomatic power, but what if each spike provides a different power than how allomancer use it.  Sure the inquisitors use allomancy, but I still think that they get it from that metal, and that they're pwoers are increased by the hemalurgy (you know my skaa-blood-mist theory), but what if the reason there are different spikes is because they each have different power.  Feruchemy and Allomancy use the same metals for different things, why can't hemalurgy?

[Comatose]

OK, so I'm continueing my argument from the mist threads here, because there is too much hemalurgy stuff there, anyway, what I rally want to talk about now is what was mentioned there (sorry for the crossreferencing) about the way skaa allomancers are executed, I definately think there's something up with that, but remember, it's not just skaa allomancers, it's anyone who uses allomancy.

Also think of it this way, it's metal piercing skin, sounds like a hemalurgical ritual doesn't it, but in reverse, those hooks kill, not give powers, I'm sure there's some significance, besides being a horrible way to die.  Thanks to whoever brought that up!

Edit:
Quote from Brandon's blog

(Note if you haven't seen the Allomancy conversations going on there, you're missing out. Also, you guys in those discussions are crazy. Fun, but crazy.)

You bet we are!

[Comatose]

Sorry, Chaos, you said you had a theory on this thread proving the lord ruler uses hemalurgy, I'm sorry, but I couldn't find it.  Also, do you think the way the inquisitors kill traitors in the fountain square have anything significant, or is it just a gruesome scene painted by brandon to show the cruelty.  There would be a lot of skaa blood.

[darxbane]

I think it is just to show how cold and callous TLR and most of the nobles are toward the Skaa.    I am of the same belief with the hook treatment.  It sends quite the message.  Remember that the hook get shoved down the throat and then hooked from the inside.  It wouldn't surprise me it the victim is still alive when hanged, and slowly chokes to death.  Lovely!  Does anyone remember the condition of the slaves at the Conventical?  I know the guy they found that they thought was Marsh was torn apart, and I believe he was part of Marsh's transformation.

[Comatose]

Not Just torn apart, remember, Marsh says there were actually several bodies, just everything was so ripped and meshed together, they couldn't tell, that's why Vin notices there is so much blood.

[Vintage]

I am truly sorry. I haven't read the whole thing yet but I'm always running out of time. Anyway, I just wanted to know if it was mentionned that the Lord Ruler's extreme power were due to him using the three magics ? I got this reading Brandon's annotation:

Marsh's plan to kill the Lord Ruler is a good one too. Unfortunately, the Lord Ruler's power doesn't come only from Hemalurgy, but from other things as well. If he'd pulled off the bracelets instead. . .

Underlined by myself, of course.

[Comatose]

It's been mentioned but it has never been proven that the lord ruler uses hemalurgy,I myself think not.  All the hemalurgists we have known so far have had the same weakness, remove the spike, you die, or at least lose you're power (or in Vin's case gain another power,) and I don't thin kthe lord ruler would give himself this weakness, he's already paranoid enough about the bracers on his arms that he makes them pierce his skin.  I don't think he would give himself another weakness.

[Vintage]

It's been mentioned but it has never been proven that the lord ruler uses hemalurgy,I myself think not.  All the hemalurgists we have known so far have had the same weakness, remove the spike, you die, or at least lose you're power (or in Vin's case gain another power,) and I don't thin kthe lord ruler would give himself this weakness, he's already paranoid enough about the bracers on his arms that he makes them pierce his skin.  I don't think he would give himself another weakness.

Hum... I would like to remind you that once Vin took care of his bracelets, he kind of lost something too. Could there be a similitude or an interaction between feruchemy and hemalurgy ?

[Comatose]

That's what I'm saying, when Vin took off his bracelets he lost his age resevior, that was his weakness, I don't think he would give himself another.  When Marsh attacks him he says somthing like, " what do you think I am, a common inquisitor."  and says that hemalurgy is a fabricated power, it seeems the lord ruler views hemalurgy as beneath him, thus I don't think he would use it himself.

[Chaos]

Yes Comatose, the mentioning of "endowed fabrications" and that the Inquisitor's endowed powers are a result of Hemalurgy means someone would have to use Hemalurgy to create the Inquisitors. And who is above the Inquisitors? The Lord Ruler. It follows, then, that the Lord Ruler would create such endowed fabrications through the use of Hemalurgy, which means the Lord Ruler uses Hemalurgy.

It's important to remember--at least, this is my understanding of it--that Inquisitors probably don't actually use Hemalurgy on a regular basis. The Inquisitor's powers are actually a result of Hemalurgy on them--that the Lord Ruler used to create them. So, whatever our knowledge of Hemalurgy is, it is all second-hand. It is involved in the "process" of creating the Inquisitors.

Whatever we see of the results of said process (like, knowing the Inquisitors push away the mists) does not really help us determine what the "process" is.

Of course, on the flip-side, it is possible Inquisitors can create more Inquisitors with more Hemalurgy. From a pure narrative standpoint, Brandon has to explain how Hemalurgy works. The Lord Ruler isn't alive to tell it, so therefore, someone else must have knowledge of its workings. In order for Brandon to be able to tell us, a non-Lord Ruler character knows what this Hemalurgy business is all about!

(And also, a non-Lord Ruler would have to explain that the thing Vin released is named "Ruin", since Ookla confirmed that the name Ruin is referenced a lot in the book. Needless to say, this is a very important person )

[darxbane]

Brandon basically gave away that the Lord Ruler uses Hemallurgy-he says so in the annotation Vintage quoted.  If Hemallurgy was the only way to enhance his primary age reservoirs enough to be able to store the large amount of age he receives when burning his other atium reservoirs, then he would have had to do it, even if it was a weakness.  I would say it was an acceptable risk, if you think about it.  A lot of things had to happen in just the right way in order for that weakness to be exploited, one of the most important being Marsh's acceptance by and subsequent betrayal of the other Inquisitors.  Now that I think of it, TLR's ability to maintain his youth indefinitely is a fabricated ability.  TLR referring to the Inquisitor's power as fabricated supports the theory that the Hemallurgy they receive is directly related to their power.

[Chaos]

Plus, most of all, the Lord Ruler is not someone who just learns of a power only to ignore it. He's mad with power, so he would take as much of it as possible.

I may be completely dense on this front, but what did the Lord Ruler "lose" when the bracelets came off--beyond the age thing. Namely, I want to elaborate on this point:

Hum... I would like to remind you that once Vin took care of his bracelets, he kind of lost something too. Could there be a similitude or an interaction between feruchemy and hemalurgy ?

What do you mean, "lost"?

Maybe I should reread that section of MB1...