Difference between revisions of "Allomancy"

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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.{{qawob ref|675|216888}}

Metal is not the source of Allomancy's power.{{annotation ref|mb3|chapter=38}} Rather, metal is what is called a [[focus]]--a necessary component to a manifestation of [[Investiture]] (magic system), but not the source of the power itself. When an Allomancer burns a metal, that metal's specific molecular structure acts as a conduit to Preservation, and then the Allomancer is granted an ability corresponding to the metal, hence the metal "focuses" Preservation's power to the user. Each metal is the only way a mortal can access Preservation and the power of creation's power.{{qawob ref|727|456072}} Afterwards, the metal is vaporized.{{qawob ref|618|6110097}} This is true for the base sixteen Allomantic metals. However, the god metals, lerasium and atium, are the sources of power themselves. Burning atium, being [[Ruin]]'s body, means the Allomancer is not accessing Preservation in any way in that process.{{epigraph ref|mb3|78}}

It may be quite unclear that Allomancy is of Preservation. After all, Pushing and Pulling on metals isn't an effect that "preserves," so to speak. However, it is important to know that saying "Allomancy is of Preservation" has a very specific meaning: the way an Allomancer ''accesses'' the power is of Preservation, but the actual effect of the power is unrelated to Preservation.{{qawob ref|622|1074032}} This is a fundamental difference between Allomancy and Feruchemy. In Feruchemy, its power comes from your own energy, but Allomancy is of Preservation. The act of burning a metal--accessing the power of Preservation--must be in line with the intent of Preservation. So burning a metal needs to "preserve" one's own energy, and so the power must come from the external source of Preservation's body.{{cite}}

Allomancy--as well as Feruchemy--has the property that abilities are inherent to the user, and are hardcoded into their Spiritweb.{{book ref|mb4|part=ars}} While other Investitures can take years of practice, Allomancers can use their power the moment they can acquire the correct metals. This comes with the tradeoff that having the trait of Allomancy is something one is born with; a non-Allomancer cannot become an Allomancer (except in the very particular case of burning [[lerasium]], which overwrites one's Spiritual DNA to have the connection to Preservation required to use Allomancy{{qawob ref|692|2410116}}).

Allomancy was not created by Preservation. None of the Metallic Arts were "created" by Preservation and Ruin. Rather, these powers are the natural result of Preservation, Ruin, and Scadrial itself.{{qawob ref|727|55269}}

The second time Allomancy was changed was after the [[Final Ascension]], when [[Harmony]] was particularly disturbed by the horrors of Snapping, so he altered Snapping to act differently.{{qawob ref|704|264242}} It is not currently known how Snapping works in the present era.{{qawob ref|675|216888}} It is also unclear how a Shard can influence manifestations of Investiture in this way, and how much a Shard is allowed to alter the way they operate.

Advanced Allomancy combined with Feruchemy will be the method by which Scadrians will eventually gain faster-than-light travel.{{qawob ref|632|24697}}

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.{{qawob 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 20114616}}