Difference between revisions of "Steel Inquisitor"

|books=[[Mistborn (series)|Mistborn]]

The '''Steel Inquisitors''' were a type of [[Hemalurgic]] construct on [[Scadrial]] created from humans. Steel inquisitorsInquisitors were created and controlled by the [[Lord Ruler]] as the policing force for his ministries. The Steel inquisitorsInquisitors made up the [[Steel Ministry#Canton of Inquisition|Canton of Inquisition]] whose job it was to control the use and spread of [[Allomancy]].

Although created from humans, they wereare physiologically and mentally distinct.{{wob ref|7713}}{{wob ref|2615}} They couldcan, however, still mate with humans.{{qawob ref|6915530}} Children from Steel Inquisitors are more likely to be Allomancers compared to children from two humans, but the strength of Allomancy and Feruchemy would still weaken over time.{{wob ref|204148}}{{wob ref|Can12858}} There are also complications that can happen with the children of an Inquisitor.{{wob ref|4148}} Steel Inquisitors stillhave breedslightly throughlonger humanlifespans reproductivecompared methods?to humans.{{wob ref|date=2010-055532}}

[[File:{{image|Inquisitor.jpg|thumb|250px|Common binding points for creating a Steel Inquisitor, art by Ben McSweeney]]|side=right|width=250px}}

To create an Inquisitor, metal spikes are inserted at various points in the subject's body by hammering the metal spike through the heart of a [[Misting]] or [[Feruchemist]] into the new Inquisitor,; this reduces the loss of power through the hemalurgicHemalurgic process, due to the spike spending a minimal amount of time outside of a body. These spikes, now hemalurgicallyHemalurgically charged, tear into and forcibly splice information from the victim to the subject's [[spiritweb]]. This process moves vital organs, allowing the spikes to be inserted practically anywhere without fatally wounding the subject.{{book ref|mb3|41}} ThisThe process is not painless for either person involved, as both violent changes to the spiritweb and having metal spikes driven into one's body causes pain. The [[steel]] spikes inserted into eye sockets allow the Inquisitor to navigate via the blue allomanticAllomantic lines from the traces of metals in everything. The spikes create a chain in an inquisitorInquisitor's body, and there is a central spike or 'linchpin spike' that acts as a connector to the lower and upper spikes. If this spike is removed, the inquisitorInquisitor dies. A linchpin is needed to avoid deadly side effects if four or more spikes are used on an Inquisitor.{{file ref|Hemalurgy table.jpg|Hemalurgy Table}}

CreatingInquisitors anare Inquisitortypically bestowsgranted many of allomanticAllomantic and some feruchemicalFeruchemical abilities onto(detailed the[[Steel subject,Inquisitor#Powers|below]]). onThese topabilities ofare theirgranted anyon top of theirthe Inquisitor's own natural allomanticAllomantic powers (if any), meaningand any abilities the subject had prior to the transformation are augmented by the spikes. As such, Mistborn and seekersSeekers were the preferred subjects, as their increased Seeking ability would allow them to pierce [[coppercloud|copperclouds]]s.{{book ref|mb3|37}}{{book ref|mb3|45}}

Steel Inquisitors were very powerful and - with feruchemicalFeruchemical healing - nearly invincible. Rumors in the skaa underground held that Inquisitors were immortal, that they could see into people's souls, and that they were warriors with no equal.{{book ref|mb1|3}} However, removing spikes from an Inquisitor could effectively kill itthem, most notably the linchpin spike located between theirthe shoulder blades. This was a weakness built into them by The Lord Ruler. Similarly, Inquisitors could not survive a beheading. Removing one eye spike is not enough to kill most inquisitorsInquisitors. Inquisitors also requiredrequire much more rest and sleep than a normal human would, which may be related to the burden placed upon their souls by the nature of their transformations.{{book ref|mb7|part=ars}}

Another major weakness in Inquisitors came from the Hemalurgic spikes they bore, though this was not a problem before Ruin was released. Any spike in a person allows for influence to be more easily pushed on a personthem via the tears in their spirit webspiritweb. These tears allow forcertain peopleAllomancers to control a hemalurgicHemalurgic construct using allomancy. This weakness is also present in both [[kandra]] and [[koloss]]. This alsoweakness allowed them to be controlled by [[Ruin]] - the more spikes they had, the greater the weakness was. However, the stronger a creature's will is, the more it can resist that influence or even break free from it for a time. Because of their hemalurgicHemalurgic origins, all Steel Inquisitors were able to hear the voice of [[Ruin]].