Difference between revisions of "Allomancy"

{{magic

|image=Metal wheel.jpg

|system=Allomancy

|world=Scadrial

|books=[[Mistborn (series)|Mistborn]]

}}{{update|book=mb5}}

 

'''Allomancy''' is one of the three prime manifestations of [[Investiture]] on [[Scadrial]].{{book ref|mb4|part=ars}} Scadrians call it one of the three [[Metallic Arts]]. It is the most widespread of the Metallic Arts in the present day. People who have one or more Allomantic abilities are called '''Allomancers'''. Allomancy has many widespread effects, such as enhancing and dampening emotions, Pushing and Pulling on metals, and even temporal effects. Each Allomantic power has its own metal, which must be ingested and "burned" to activate.

Though Allomancy is hereditary, once Allomantic powers are awakened in a person, it is instinctual. All an Allomancer requires to use their power is enough of the correct metal. Nobles, as the descendants of the nine original allomancers, had more of preservation's power lingering in their bloodlines. As such, during The Final Empire's timeframe, allomancers could all trace their bloodline to nobility.

 

When a person is born with the hereditary Allomantic ability, they cannot burn metals until the Allomantic ability is awakened in them. The process of Allomancy being activated within a person is called [[Snapping]]. In the [[Final Empire]] era of Scadrial, Snapping required immense trauma. This was usually inflicted by an intense beating at a young age. It was possible for Allomancers to Snap from other intense emotions, like joy, but this was much more uncommon.{{annotation ref|mb3|chapter=70}} It was said that the more powerful the Allomancer, the more intense the trauma had to be to Snap.

 

However, after the [[Final Ascension]], [[Harmony]] changed the way Snapping operated, but it is unknown how it was altered.{{qa ref|675|21}}

 

[[File: Pewter chunks.jpg|200px|thumb|left|When burned, pewter grants physical strength.]]

 

Once an Allomancer has Snapped, they will feel a reserve of power in their stomach when they have ingested a metal they can burn. The metals are usually ingested by drinking specifically prepared metal vials, which contain metal flakes in an alcohol solution. It is completely instinctual for an Allomancer to activate and burn their metal and gain its ability; it does not require training to do it (however, there is much training in using their metals properly). It is so instinctual that in some circumstances, an Allomancer can even burn metals while unconscious. An Allomancer can also burn their metals at an accelerated rate, which is called "flaring" metals. Flaring grants more power, but the reserve of metals depletes much faster, too.

 

An Allomancer will either be able to burn a single metal--who are called '''Mistings'''--or they will be able to burn every metal--the '''Mistborn'''. There is no natural way for a person to have, say, exactly two powers. It is either one or all of them. Each type of Misting was given a particular name depending on their ability, such as Lurcher, Coinshot, or Soother.

 

Through their ability to burn all known Allomantic metals, the Mistborn are regarded as mythical and are regarded highly by both skaa and noble. During the reign of the [[Lord Ruler]] the noble houses' power was determined largely by the number of Mistings and Mistborn at their disposal. During this time, Mistborn wore a tasseled [[Mistcloak]] that was more silent than regular clothing, with the tassels loosely attached so they could not be grabbed during combat.

 

The god metal [[Atium]], when burned, provides a Mistborn with insight into the near future. They are able to flawlessly predict when and where to block and strike. Beside giving the Mistborn a feeling of being 'god like,' because they feel untouchable, it takes far less energy, concentration, and metals to accomplish a task, as they are always executed perfectly when under the influence of atium. Unless negated by another burning atium or [[electrum]], a Mistborn burning atium is nigh unbeatable.

 

As mistings are only able to burn a single metal, they are very specialized in its use. Utilizing coordinated tactics, as well as customized tools and clothing, most mistings operate in groups to rely on and complement each other's abilities.

 

Also the combination of Coinshot and Lurcher can be used to disarm the target of any metals they are using.

 

Allomancers who flare their metal intensely for extended periods of time may be physiologically altered by the constant influx of Allomantic power. These people are known as Allomantic '''savants'''. These people experience heightened ability with, and heightened dependence upon, whatever metal they are burning in such a manner. Under most circumstances, this was considered irreversibly damaging.

 

After the [[Final Empire]], Terris and nobles began to interbreed, so it became possible for their descendants to have one Allomantic ability and one [[Feruchemy|Feruchemical]] ability. People with such powers were called '''[[Twinborn]]'''. Like Mistings, Twinborn were each given a name depending on their specific combination of abilities.

 

If an Allomancer attempts to burn a [[Hemalurgic]] spike, the Allomancer's spiritual DNA will be spliced to that of the person's contained in the spike. The consequences of this are as of yet unknown.{{qa ref|590|26|Burning a Hemalurgic spike would have the effect of splicing your spiritual DNA to that of the person's that is in the spike|date=10 January 2011}}

 

{{quote|There are two metals for every power. One Pushes, one Pulls--the second is usually an alloy of the first. For emotions--the external mental powers--you Pull with [[zinc]] and Push with [[brass]]. You just used pewter to Push your body. That's one of the internal physical powers.|[[Kelsier]] to [[Vin]].{{book ref|mb1|7}}}}

 

There are also two "God Metals", [[lerasium]] and [[atium]], which do not fit in the modern Table of Allomantic Metals. Atium was famously classified as a temporal metal during the [[Final Empire]] era by the [[Steel Ministry]], but this was shown to be flawed. The God Metals are essences of the two [[Shard]]s on Scadrial, [[Preservation]] and [[Ruin]], and can be used to craft sixteen more alloys per God Metal{{book ref|mb4|part=ars}}. They are effectively a thing of legend during the time after the Final Empire.

 

The following is the modern Table of Allomantic Metals, from some point after the [[Final Ascension]].

 

During most of the [[Final Empire]], the Table looked very different, as it was commonly assumed that there were ten total metals (the four physical and four mental metals, with [[gold]] and [[atium]] known as the "high metals"), as the [[Lord Ruler]] and [[Steel Ministry]] obfuscated how many metals there actually were. The Ministry had known of more metals, but even they made mistakes classifying metals: originally they classified atium and one of its alloys, [[malatium]] (the so-called "Eleventh Metal"), as external temporal metals. It was only after the Final Ascension that advances in technology made [[cadmium]], [[bendalloy]], [[chromium]], and [[nicrosil]] more available.

 

{{theory}}

 

Allomancy is a End-Positive{{book ref|mb4|part=ars}} magic system--meaning energy is gained in the process of its use. It is of the [[Shard]] [[Preservation]].{{epigraph ref|mb3|32}} Energy does not come from one's own body, as happens in [[Feruchemy]], but from Preservation himself.

 

== Development ==

Allomancy was in the original book of Mistborn (now known as Mistborn Prime). In that version, Allomancy only had Mistborn and no Mistings.{{annotation ref|mb1|chapter=4-1}} Mistborn Prime was never published, and Brandon later repurposed its good ideas into [[Mistborn: The Final Empire]]. To give this new Mistborn book a heist novel feel, Brandon added Mistings, so that he could have a team of specialists with their own unique strengths.

 

After the original trilogy and Brandon’s reveal that atium and malatium did not belong on the true Table of Allomantic Metals, Brandon chose the true external temporal metal to be cadmium, as it was particularly dangerous and hard to acquire, so it made sense that only Scadrians with the technology after the Final Ascension could discover it.{{cite}} Brandon originally had cadmium's alloy named cerrobend, but that name happened to be copyrighted, so Brandon was forced to change it to the generic word, bendalloy. The error was present on an early version of the Table of Allomantic Metals.

 

*[http://www.crafty-games.com/node/719/anno.php?book=Mistborn_RPG ''Mistborn Roleplaying Game (Crafty Games)'']

 

== Notes ==

<references>

{{qa ref|618|61|When non-god metals are burned Allomantically, what happens to the metals?|date=2011-07-04}}

{{qa ref|622|107|How is Allomancy of Preservation?|date=2011-08-31}}

{{qa ref|727|5|Is Hemalurgy dead?|date=2008-09-15}}

{{qa ref|727|45|Allomancy is fueled by Preservation's body?|date=2008-09-16}}

</references>

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