Malatium
Malatium is an alloy of atium and gold.[1][2] The exact use is unclear; it allows an Allomancer to see either who another person was in the past, or who they could have become if they had made different choices. This metal is referred to in legend as the Eleventh Metal. It is described as being silvery white in color and porcelain-colored.[3]
Allomantic Use
Malatium acts as a counterpart to atium, in that it allows an Allomancer to see into another person's past.[4]
Flaring malatium allows an Allomancer to see not just a malatium shadow of a person, but seems to give them a glimpse into the Spiritual Realm, allowing them to see a vision of a past event in another person's life by seeing their Connection and their past.[5][nb 1]
Malatium is different from other Allomantic metals in that when it is burned, it does not draw upon the power of Preservation, since it is of Ruin.[6]
Feruchemical Use
Malatium, when used by a Feruchemist, has unknown properties.
Hemalurgic use
When used as a Hemalurgic spike, malatium steals some unknown trait or quality.
History
After becoming Harmony, Sazed thinks that legends about the "Eleventh Metal" were made up by Ruin in order to help Kelsier's crew kill the Lord Ruler. Sazed made such conclusions because even after becoming god, he didn't find any evidence of the existence of these legends before Kelsier's journey. In the story The Eleventh Metal, Kelsier discovers notes on malatium after he defeats Antillius Shezler. Given Shezler's questionable sanity and Ruin's ability to manipulate text, Ruin could easily have created these rumours himself, as part of his plan to escape his prison. Additionally, Kelsier was led to Keep Shelzer by his Allomancy mentor Gemmel, who show signs of being manipulated by Ruin via a Hemalurgic spike.
Notes
- Footnotes
- ↑ Given the only circumstance in which this effect is seen, it may be a result of flaring malatium at the moment of death and transition to the Cognitive Realm, rather than a result of simply flaring the metal in and of itself.