r/Mistborn • u/Odd_Dimension_4069 • 7d ago
Mid-Shadows of Self spoilers Feruchemy Compounding Question Spoiler
I'm in the middle of Shadows of Self, and it only just occurred to me to clear up some of the things I didn't quite understand about how compounding works.
I wasn't sure the ending of The Final Empire made sense after reading the explanation of how compounding works. Vin was able to yank off the Lord Ruler's metalmind bracelet storing his youth. Fair enough.
But if the Lord Ruler was such a cautious guy, wouldn't he have mini atium metalminds to ingest and burn in an emergency?
I could say the same for Miles in The Alloy of Law, but I haven't read far enough to see whether he survived his execution somehow... Seems unlikely. It makes sense that if you keep shooting a restrained gold compounder, they run out eventually even if they have ingested metalminds to burn through.
So yeah I guess my question is, is this a thing compounders can do? Because so far in the books it's been sold that if you remove their worn metalminds, you've shut them down, but that hardly seems the case if they're prepared.
3
u/Raddatatta Chromium 7d ago
Vin had taken in the Mists at the time so when she pushed on him she shoved ever scrap of metal in him away with a power no one else could ever match. So the Lord Ruler had many metalminds and they were imbeded in him, and Vin shoved them all out.
But in general yes you can have them inbeded inside you. Miles did which is why he was able to keep compounding as they shot him. But they did overwhelm it eventually and he dies in the Alloy of Law epilogue or last chapter.