Metallic Arts

Metallic Arts
Related to	Allomancy, Feruchemy, Hemalurgy
World of Origin	Scadrial
Universe	Cosmere

The Metallic Arts are the three prime manifestations of Investiture on Scadrial. They consist of Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy. All three utilize certain metal alloys and each manifest specific abilities in the user (namely, metal is not the source of their power, but metal is their focus). There are eight basic metals, each with an alloy, for a total of sixteen metals. In addition, there are God Metals, and alloys of them.

Mechanics

The Metallic Arts can be analyzed in terms of the Scadrian Shards, Ruin and Preservation. Allomancy is of Preservation and is End-Positive. Instead of Allomancy drawing power from the user, metal acts as a catalyst, and draws power from Preservation itself. Hemalurgy is of Ruin, and is End-Negative. By taking abilities from one person and giving them to another, in reduced amounts, power is actually lost. Finally, Feruchemy is the power of balance, and is both of Ruin and Preservation. It is End-Neutral, as there is neither a gain or loss in energy, simply storing the power for later use.

It is possible to use molten metal for the metallic arts, but the Investiture would be affected. The Metallic Arts aren't influenced by how people think about them, unlike most other magic systems.

All people on Scadrial have seeds of the Metallic Arts within them. However, for most of the history of Scadrial, only Feruchemy was known, and that had always been isolated to the Terris people. Allomancy existed but was very uncommon. It only came about through a mechanism constructed by Preservation, which Snapped people who had Allomantic power too deep-seated to come out naturally. Hemalurgy was even more rare, as it required extensive knowledge not easily obtained.

Then, the Lord Ruler reached the Well of Ascension. He rebuilt himself into an extremely powerful Mistborn using its power. He then took nine beads of lerasium from there, giving them to kings he wished to bribe to his side. This brought about the first Mistborn. The concentrated Preservation inside the lerasium was so potent, that Allomantic ability was passed down for over a millennia. Eventually, the power got diluted and Mistings began to form, and Mistborn became more uncommon. During his Ascension, the Lord Ruler also gained an understanding of Hemalurgy, and understood how to create Inquisitors, koloss, and kandra.

Later, after the Final Ascension by Harmony, Mistborn became unheard of as Allomancy's power continued to degrade. The Terris people also interbred with the survivors of the Final Empire, which combined with the slaughter of all living Feruchemists at the time left Feruchemy also diluted, and so Ferrings began to appear.

Metalborn and Twinborn

Metalborn refers to those who have Allomantic or Feruchemical abilities. Such label can be used to refer to those who have access to all sixteen metals, Mistborns and full Feruchemists, as well as Mistings and Ferrings, who can only access a single power. Hemalurgists are not included under this term as Hemalurgy is not an inborn ability. The useage of Metalborn as a label did not seem to appear until after the Catacendre, which may be a result of the Lord Ruler suppressing knowledge of Feruchemy during the time of the Final Empire.

Twinborn refers to someone who is both a Misting and a Ferring. They are extremely rare, and their Allomantic and Feruchemical powers seem to be independently determined, resulting in many interesting combinations of Investiture. Having access to both of these streams of the Metallic Arts also allows Twinborn to Compound their Feruchemical abilities.

For a list of all Allomancers, see :Category:Allomancers.

For a list of all Feruchemists, see :Category:Feruchemists.

For a list of all Twinborn, see :Category:Twinborn.

Metals and their abilities

Unless otherwise noted, the abilities below are confirmed by the Table of Allomantic Metals, the Table of Feruchemical Metals, and the Table of Hemalurgic Metals.

Basic Metals
Metal	Allomantic ability	Feruchemical ability	Hemalurgic ability
Iron	Pulls on Nearby Sources of Metal	Stores Physical Weight	Steals Strength
Steel	Pushes on Nearby Sources of Metal	Stores Physical Speed	Steals Physical Allomancy
Tin	Increases Senses	Stores Senses	Steals Senses
Pewter	Increases Physical Abilities	Stores Physical Strength	Steals Physical Feruchemy
Zinc	Riots (Enflames) Emotions	Stores Mental Speed	Steals Emotional Fortitude
Brass	Soothes (Dampens) Emotions	Stores Warmth	Steals Cognitive Feruchemy
Copper	Hides Allomantic Pulses	Stores Memories	Steals Mental Fortitude, Memory, and Intelligence
Bronze	Allows One to Hear Allomantic Pulses	Stores Wakefulness	Steals Mental Allomancy

Higher Metals
Metal	Allomantic ability	Feruchemical ability	Hemalurgic ability
Cadmium	Slows Down Time	Stores Breath	Steals Temporal Allomancy
Bendalloy	Speeds Up Time	Stores Energy	Steals Spiritual Feruchemy
Gold	Reveals Your Past Self	Stores Health	Steals Hybrid Feruchemy
Electrum	Reveals Your Own Future	Stores Determination	Steals Enhancement Allomancy
Chromium	Wipes Allomantic Reserves of Target	Stores Fortune	Might steal destiny
Nicrosil	Enhances Allomantic Burn of Target	Stores Investiture	Steals Investiture
Aluminum	Wipes Internal Allomantic Reserves	Stores Identity	Removes all powers
Duralumin	Quickly Burns any Burning Metals in Powerful Burst	Stores Connection	Steals Connection and Identity

The God Metals

For information on all Shards God Metals, see God Metal.

The God Metals are metals formed directly from a Shard. Previously only the God Metals of Ruin and Preservation were known, however new God Metals can be made from any Shard. They can be alloyed with the lesser metals to form sixteen different metals each, though few are known. They can also be alloyed with each other. Besides having an Allomantic, a Feruchemical, and a Hemalurgic property, each God Metal can also do something else. The Vessel of the Shard can slightly change the properties of its God Metal over time, but not the main functions of what it does.

'God' Metals
Metal	Allomantic ability	Feruchemical ability	Hemalurgic ability
Atium	See into other people's futures	Stores age	Steals any power or attribute (must be refined); does so better than any other spike
Lerasium	Causes the burner to become a Mistborn/Increases allomantic power	Unknown	Steals all abilities

Atium alloys
Metal	Allomantic ability	Feruchemical ability	Hemalurgic ability
Malatium	See into other people's pasts	Unknown; Sazed tried it offscreen but "didn't get very far"	Unknown

Harmonium

After contact with the Southern Scadrians, a new metal is revealed. Called "Ettmetal" in their native tongue, the Southern Peoples use it to power their technology. Harmonium burns "with a pure whiteness" when used in Southern Scadrian machinery, and explodes when it is exposed to water (similar to the alkali metals) making it dangerous if not impossible to ingest for allomantic purposes. Unlike alkali metal reactions, this reaction does not yield a "Harmonium oxide," but it will yield "something else relevant to the cosmere." Harmonium's atomic structure is that of a single element, rather than a compound or alloy.

Trellium

Trellium is the uncanonical name for the unknown metal seen in Shadows of Self. It is a silvery metal with a red cast to it, and dark red spots similar to rust. Its Allomantic and Feruchemical properties are unknown. It can be used Hemalurgically to steal some, if not all, Allomantic and/or Feruchemical abilities and grant them to Kandra. It can also be used on humans to create hemalurgic constructs. Kandra and Hemalurgic constructs with a single spike of Trellium will be hidden from Harmony.

Notes

Footnotes

References

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