Hemalurgy

Hemalurgy
Related to	Ruin
Type	End-Negative
World of Origin	Scadrial

“Hemalurgy is a power about which I wish I knew far less.”

—The Hero of Ages

Hemalurgy is one of the three prime manifestations of Investiture on Scadrial. The natives of that world consider it one of the three Metallic Arts.

Use and Practice

Hemalurgy is the transfer of attributes, such as Allomancy, Feruchemy, or innate human strength via Spiritweb theft and splicing. In the Physical Realm, a metallic spike is inserted into a bind point, such as the heart, in order to Hemalurgically charge it. The spike, now containing a fragment of stolen Spiritweb, is then ripped out and embedded in the recipient, stapling the ability directly into their sDNA. This causes wear and tear on the Spiritweb, creating "holes" through which Ruin or a sufficiently powerful Rioter or Soother can whisper to or even control a Hemalurgical subject. Hemalurgy is named for a quirk in bind point placement: due to the interaction between the Spiritual and Physical Realms, the spike must come in contact with moving blood in order to remove or add an attribute. Intent is important, but the way Hemalurgy interacts with the Cognitive Realm, if it does so at all, is unknown.

After the spike pierces through the initial person and is Hemalurgically charged, the Law of Hemalurgic Decay states that the spike loses some of its potency. The longer a spike is outside a body, the weaker it becomes. Thus, when the Steel Ministry creates an Inquisitor, the spikes are outside of a person for as little time as possible.

Hemalurgic Constructs

A koloss, one of the three types of Hemalurgic constructs

Any Hemalurgy warps the Spiritweb, but physical change is required for a subject to be classified as a Hemalurgic Construct. Three types of Hemalugic Construct are known on Scadrial

• Steel Inquisitor are former humans with nine to eleven spikes, each charged with an Allomantic or Feruchemical power. Their characteristic eye-spikes give them enough Allomantic Iron/Steel to "see" in lieu of eyes. A linchpin spike, placed in the lower back, is required to hold their fraying spiritwebs together; removal results in death. An Inquisitor's tattoos signify the initial Allomantic ability they had as a human. The Steel Ministry prefers Seekers, bronze mistings, as their natural ability stacks with Allomantic bronze given by the spikes and results in Seekers strong enough to pierce Copperclouds.

• Koloss, brutish monstrous beings, are created with four spikes, each charged with human strength.

• Kandra are former Mistwraiths given sapience by two spikes, both charged with the same human attribute. To the Kandra this is known as a Blessing.

Hemalurgic Properties of Metals

For a table of all magical properties of the metals, see Metallic Arts.

Iron

Steals human strength

Steel

Steals Allomantic Physical Powers

Tin

Steals human senses

Pewter

Steals Feruchemical Physical powers

Zinc

Steals human emotional stability and fortitude

Brass

Steals Feruchemical Mental powers

Copper

Steals intelligence and memory

Bronze

Steals Allomantic Mental powers

Aluminum

Steals Allomantic Enhancement powers

Duralumin

Steals Feruchemical Spiritual powers

Gold

Steals Feruchemical Hybrid powers

Atium

Steals any attribute, whether it be Allomancy, Feruchemy, or human

Bind Points

This page or section deals with theories or speculation.

Please read carefully and note that this is not necessarily canonical.

“For all that it disgusts me, I cannot help but be impressed by Hemalurgy as an art. In Allomancy and Feruchemy, skill and subtlety come through the application of one's powers. The best Allomancer might not be the most powerful, but instead the one who can best manipulate the Pushes and Pulls of metals. The best Feruchemist is the one who is most capable of sorting the information in his copperminds, or best able to manipulate his weight with iron.

The art that is unique to Hemalurgy, however, is the knowledge of where to place the spikes.”

—The Hero of Ages

Another important aspect of Hemalurgy is spike location. The spike must be placed in certain locations on the human body in order to steal a power or attribute, and then placed in another point on the recipient to tap into their Spiritweb. Most commonly attributes are stolen through the heart. If a spike is placed in the wrong location it can have unforeseen effects, such as killing the recipient or possibly not granting any power at all.

Bind Point	Spike Types	Hemalurgic Effect
Heart	Bronze Pewter	Allomantic Copper Feruchemical Steel
Sternum	Steel	Allomantic Steel
Eyesocket	Steel	Unconfirmed, likely Allomantic Steel and Iron
Earlobe	Bronze	Allomantic Bronze
Between Ribs	Steel Bronze	Unconfirmed, likely Allomantic Pewter and Tin Allomantic Brass, Zinc, Copper, and Bronze
Shoulders	Steel Iron, Tin, Zinc, & Copper	Pewter Allomancy Kandra Blessings
Upper Arm	Bronze	Allomantic Bronze
Between Shoulder Blades	Spike type varies, it is also known as linchpin spike.	Unknown binds other spikes together to keep the receiver alive

Side Effects of Hemalurgy

When an Allomancer can sense Allomantic pulses through a coppercloud (known as piercing a coppercloud), it is most usually due to a Hemalurgic spike. It's simply a matter of Allomantic strength to pierce copperclouds, so if a Seeker has a spike charged with Allomantic bronze, that essentially makes them twice as powerful, allowing them to overpower a coppercloud.

Hemalurgy is a destructive art. It twists the body into something almost inhuman. This twisting is how Inquisitors survive with spikes through their eyes and other vital places, and explains the physical deformation of the Koloss. In the case of the Inquisitors, it is known that their heart is in a different place and their brain is shaped around their eyes' spikes. Extracting the spikes of an inquisitor at such important places would invert the transformation, which means the death of him.

Ruin constructed Hemalurgy with a flaw: each spike creates holes in the mind, making them easier to manipulate. Through powerful emotional Allomancy, one can Push on a spiked creature's emotions so hard that they literally come under the Allomancer's control. Indeed, the spikes in the koloss were what allowed the Lord Ruler to control them. Kandra also can be controlled in this way, but as Allomancers decreased in power, this knowledge was forgotten.