The Comprehensive Kandra Thread

[VegasDev]

My guess is no.  Or at least, they do not gain access to ALL the memories of the victim.  For one thing, the victim is already dead, so presumably the memories die with the brain.  For another thing, there are a few mistakes that TenSoon makes that could possibly have clued Vin in - for example, he "forgets" that he already warned her that replicating the wolfhound would take a long time because of the hair placement.

Correct, however even if he did consume OreSuer, kandra do not have brains so there would be nothing to absorb.

I'd rather my flesh be lusted after sexually than gastrically.

I know what you mean. This one time I was stripping at a Jenny Craig convention and I thought I was pouring baby oil all over myself but it turns out that it was barbeque sauce. I barely made it out alive.

[SarahG]

I hate it when I get baby oil and BBQ sauce confused.

[GreenMonsta]

 ;DDon't stop

[VegasDev]

I hate it when I get baby oil and BBQ sauce confused.

Yeah, the ribs slide right off the grill.

More questions:

1) What was more beneficial in consuming the dogs body? The bone structure resulting in more leverage with shorter appendages? The muscle structure wrapping around the bones? Learning new ways to modify ear and nasal canals? etc.

2) Could a kandra that has memorized human bodies use just about anything as a skeleton or does it have to be human bone? That is, could they create a skeleton out of sticks or metal pipes?

3) Could a kandra store extra bones inside their new body so they could instantly change their size? Like, could they keep an extra couple vertebra, leg bones and arm bones, etc. stored where the lungs should be and then quickly go from being a kid to an adult?

4) What sort of size restrictions do they have for consuming bodies? Could they do a horse or is that too far to stretch their muscles? Could two kandra team up to do a horse, one being the horses....you get the picture.

[Reaves]

 If I had to choose, I'd rather my flesh be lusted after sexually than gastrically.

lol i should sig that.

[VegasDev]

 If I had to choose, I'd rather my flesh be lusted after sexually than gastrically.

lol i should sig that.

Please let the records note that this quote is attributed to the wrong person. I did not state this, but merely voiced my agreement of SarahG's statement. I would also like it noted that I will not use that statement as a sig like Reaves but as a pickup line.

[Agate]

The Kandra and (Koloss) were of Preservation /created by TLR. 
There are a few things that lead me to believe that the Koloss and the Kandra existed before TLR and were perhaps some life form that was not created new, but altered.  The comment by TenSoon that the Kandra have a Religion from pre- Final Kingdom, is a main point. Is it that they and the Koloss were human and in the changing of the world TLR made changes to people too, preservation,  to survive the changed world? (The Koloss want to live in the city because they are human /want to be human. Why do they think this? Is it that they have a belief, or history that says they at one time did live in cities, were in fact human?)

[GreenMonsta]

I like it agate

[Qarlin]

I like the idea that they were changed from something else.

But I can't say they're "of Preservation" just because they say so. You could say the Humans are of Ruin, but a lot of them serve Preservation instead. I think you definitely could say Inquisitors are of Ruin, though. Whether they want to be is another question. The biggest keys to humans being of Ruin are Hemalurgy and Allomancy, because both are destructive (though Allomancy isn't, necessarily) but Feruchemy, which is a human power, is definitely more preservation like than Ruin. Even if Ruin can mess with it some.

[SarahG]

1) What was more beneficial in consuming the dogs body? The bone structure resulting in more leverage with shorter appendages? The muscle structure wrapping around the bones? Learning new ways to modify ear and nasal canals? etc.

TenSoon mentions the bones as being full of unexpected advantages, such as running faster, but I think the new ways to form ears and noses are probably something he can transfer to human bodies, so in that way they would be more versatile.

2) Could a kandra that has memorized human bodies use just about anything as a skeleton or does it have to be human bone? That is, could they create a skeleton out of sticks or metal pipes?

I think other materials would work, if they were the right shape and size and strength, and if they didn't disintegrate in the body's juices.  I don't think kandra can carve bones into different shapes, they have to use what they're given.

3) Could a kandra store extra bones inside their new body so they could instantly change their size? Like, could they keep an extra couple vertebra, leg bones and arm bones, etc. stored where the lungs should be and then quickly go from being a kid to an adult?

Yes, I bet they could, though I'm not sure about storing them in the lung cavity.  I think that in order to function as a human, a kandra needs to have the organs of a human.  Remember when TenSoon had to quickly form a lung and larynx as well as a tongue, before he could speak?  Maybe kandra could store a few bones somewhere else, though, like in the abdomen amongst the other organs.  There would be a pretty strict limit on storage space, though, before the body would start having strange bulges and lumps.

4) What sort of size restrictions do they have for consuming bodies? Could they do a horse or is that too far to stretch their muscles? Could two kandra team up to do a horse, one being the horses....you get the picture.

I get the impression that OreSeur/TenSoon is the first kandra ever to try to imitate something non-human, at least as part of the Contract.  On the other hand, mistwraiths use all sorts of bones, so maybe kandra do as well, when they're not working.  I would think there must be a size limit, though it might be possible for a kandra to gradually increase its size or its capacity to digest.  I don't think kandra could team up; it seems to me that each kandra needs to remain its own creature.

[Qarlin]

I wonder how closely mistwraiths and Kandra are related. Mistwraiths could just be baby Kandra.

In Final Empire, Chapter 35 (page 488 in hardback)

"A kandra," the creature said, its skin losing its transparency. "A mistwraith that has . . . grown up, you might say."

Sort of, anyway. Maybe there's a process by which they become more intelligent.

[Miyabi]

I wonder how closely mistwraiths and Kandra are related. Mistwraiths could just be baby Kandra.

In Final Empire, Chapter 35 (page 488 in hardback)

"A kandra," the creature said, its skin losing its transparency. "A mistwraith that has . . . grown up, you might say."

Sort of, anyway. Maybe there's a process by which they become more intelligent.

Well if you think about it TenSoon talks about how quickly he can make a body and how long it takes most Kandra.  Maybe Mistwraith are simply the larvae form.  They can't put bodies together, but the can make body parts, so they end up looking all awkward and stuff.  Then as they consume the flesh and whatnot they gain brain power and as their cognition improves they begin to be able to make bodies correctly and be intelligent.

[darxbane]

I agree with Miyabi.  Maybe that's what the "Gift of Presence" means.  The Mistwraiths become aware of their existence at some point, and become Kandra.

[SarahG]

The Gift of Presence must be more than that; after all, it enables TenSoon to stay aware and sane much longer than he could have done otherwise.

[VegasDev]

I imagined the gift of presence to be hearing Preservation. Like hearing Ruin would drive you crazy, but hearing Preservation would keep you sane, calm your fears etc.