Skip to main content

cosmere - Why does Sazed say that there are only 2 metals left to discover? (Mistborn spoilers)


At the end of The Hero of Ages, Sazed said, in his letter to Spook:



There are still two metals that nobody knows about. You might want to poke about and see if you can figure out what they are. I think they’ll interest you.



The number of metals in HoA's Ars Arcanum (excluding atium and its complement, malatium) is 12. In The Alloy of Law, atium and malatium are gone from the Ars Arcanum, and four newly-discovered metals are present (to make Preservation's magic number of 16)—cadmium, bendalloy, chromium, and nicrosil. Is there an explanation for this that I'm forgetting? Surely Sazed wouldn't make a mistake like that.



Update
I did some more searching and found that Sanderson has said that chromium and nicrosil are the two new metals. If this is the case, where do bendalloy and cadmium fit in?



Answer



It's important to note two things. First, that the metal charts that are included in the books, and the appendices detailing them, are considered in-universe research. That is, this is what somebody out there thinks they know. Atium was included in the original metal charts simply because it was known. Many of the original assumptions about Allomancy were shaped around the Lord Ruler's witholding of information, the lack of knowledge about how the world was really created, and the lack of technology to do much more than smelt and mix common ores.


That said, the second thing to note is that all we have is a single letter written by a new God to an old friend. Despite what we know, it's open to interpretation.


Following that, someone asked a question phrased differently, but received an answer that practically fits your question like a glove. From a long Q&A archive posted on Google, dated three days after Hero of Ages was released, I dug this out:



Are there any Allomantic metals we have not seen yet, besides Chromium and Nicrosil?


RAFO. (Sorry.) Let's just say that when Sazed said there are two metals you haven't found, he MIGHT not have been referring to a metal and its alloy, but two base metals. Who knows. Gods can be frustratingly ambiguous in times like that.




The Coppermind wiki entry on Allomancy also acknowledges this, stating in it's section on Development, that once Atium was officially off the charts by being revealed as a piece of divine power, Sanderson replaced it with cadmium and it's relative bendalloy. It unfortunately lacks a citation, and it doesn't make clear whether this was an evolution that Sanderson made to arrange his magic system better or whether it was intended all along, and I've been unable to find the original source on my own.


So unless I can dig up something else, by the Q&A statement, Sanderson intended Sazed's letter to be lightly ambiguous, and he could be referring to two new base metals, or just the two new powers that weren't based on time.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?
Post a Comment
Read more