Editing Shard

{{magic
|related=[[Adonalsium]], [[Investiture]]
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
}}{{spoilers|book=sa3}}{{update}}
:''This page contains information for the Shards of Adonalsium. For information regarding the armaments used on Roshar, see [[Shardblade]] or [[Shardplate]].''
{{quote
| Sixteen people, together, ''killed'' [[Adonalsium]], ripping it apart and dividing its essence between them, becoming the first who Ascended.
| [[Khriss]] explaining to [[Kelsier]] what the Vessels are.{{msh ref|3|2}}
}}
The '''Shards of [[Adonalsium]]''', or '''Shards''' for short, are pieces of the power of creation itself.{{wob ref|6072}} They are named after a specific action or ideal, often referred to as an "intent," which represents the Shard's primary purpose or motivation. A mind must control a Shard. When a person holds a Shard, they are imbued with its power, but they also become the Shard.{{wob ref|4466}} A person who has taken up the power of a Shard is the '''Vessel''' of that Shard.{{msh ref|5|2}}

There are sixteen Shards{{epigraph ref|TWoK|11}}, and they are the most powerful known entities in the [[cosmere]]. They are related to many, if not all, magic systems, and for practical purposes, they are gods. All Shards started at an equal power level.{{wob ref|1081}}

Ten Shards have thus far been mentioned in the novels, and an additional one by Brandon. They are either referenced by their respective Shards' names or their Vessels' names. Those known by intent are [[Ambition]], [[Autonomy]], [[Cultivation]], [[Devotion]], [[Dominion]], [[Endowment]], [[Honor]], [[Odium]], [[Preservation]], and [[Ruin]]. An eleventh Shard which has been partially revealed just "wants to survive." It is unclear what the intent of this Shard is, as it could be Survival but also could be many other things. [[Trell]] has been confirmed to be an alternate name for a known Shard.{{wob ref|6261}} It is an unknown being of great power worshiped by [[Miles Hundredlives]] and is served by the Set. Ruin and Preservation have been combined to form the new shard of [[Harmony]], so Ruin and Preservation no longer exist as separate entities.

== Introduction ==
{{quote
| Even now, I can barely grasp the scope of all this. The events surrounding the end of the world seem even larger than the Final Empire and the people within it.<br> I have delved and searched, and have only been able to come up with a single name: '''Adonalsium'''. Who, or what, it was, I do not yet know.
| the [[Words of Founding]]{{epigraph ref|mb3|39}}, emphasis added
}}

It is not known what [[Adonalsium]] is, whether it be a person or a great power. Since Shards have been called pieces of the power of creation,{{wob ref|6072}} it is theorized that Adonalsium is in fact the power of creation. Regardless of its nature, Adonalsium was [[Shattering|Shattered]] by the original sixteen Vessels, and thus the Shards of Adonalsium came into being. There's a total of sixteen Shards.

These Shards are named after their respective intent, which represents the driving force of the power{{annotation ref|mb3|chapter=58}}--an aspect of creation. However, after the Shattering, the Shards were left with no mind to control the power. For [[Realmatic]] reasons, a mind--Cognitive power--must be attached to the Spiritual power of the Shard. People, [[Rayse]] and [[Bavadin]] for example, take up these Shards.

When a person takes up a Shard, the extreme power vaporizes the body, allowing the person's mind to expand.{{wob ref|6072}} From then on, the person's consciousness feeds on the power of the Shard to remain alive{{annotation ref|mb3|chapter=58}}, but the Shard's intent is the driving force of the power. Over an immense time--centuries, perhaps millennia--a Vessel’s mind begins to change, slowly molding to the Shard's intent.{{wob ref|5485}}{{epigraph ref|sa1|18}}{{annotation ref|mb3|chapter=57}}{{wob ref|5527}}

{{quote
| Ati was once a kind and generous man, and you saw what became of him.
| [[The Letter]], about Ati, the Vessel of [[Ruin]]{{epigraph ref|sa1|18}}
}}

It is not clear who the original Vessels were, but they all originally were from [[Yolen]]. Together, the sixteen of them killed Adonalsium and divided the power between themselves, becoming the first to Ascend.{{msh ref|3|2}} Over time, the Vessels begin referring to themselves as their Shard's name (though they do remember their original selves).{{wob ref|7264}} They eventually scattered throughout the cosmere, taking residence on several different [[Shardworld|worlds]] and influencing events on their given planet. Ruin and Preservation made a pact to create life on Scadrial,{{epigraph ref|mb3|53}} and constructed humans in the form which they have seen before{{book ref|mb3|76}}--presumably on the planet where Adonalsium and these Vessels came from. Judging from humanity on other Shardworlds, the Shards on those worlds probably created humanity there, too. However, the worlds existed before the Shards arrived there{{wob ref|7262}} so there is a case to be made that humans already have been present before the Shards’ arrival in some cases. It is known that some shards may have helped transplant humanity to other worlds as well.{{book ref|sa3|113}}{{wob ref|8243}}

At least one of the vessels regrets taking up their power, though it is unknown which of them this refers to.{{wob ref|11900}}

Often, a Vessel's original name is mentioned in some form on their world. Atium is named after Ati, lerasium after Leras, and those condensed essences of their Shards' power. AonDor is derived from Aona, a Vessel on Sel. {{epigraph ref|sa1|22}} The [[Tears of Edgli]] is a valuable flower on [[Nalthis]], named after Edgli, vessel of [[Endowment]].

It is possible for a Vessel to be separated from their Shard without dying{{wob ref|120}} or Splintering the Shard they held.{{wob ref|6587}} When a Vessel dies, the person's original body rematerializes and falls to the ground as a corpse.{{epigraph ref|mb3|56}}

Two of the original Vessels were relatives.{{wob ref|1291}}

Ruin and Preservation were drawn together because they were such perfect opposites (though not all Shards have pairs like those ones do).{{wob ref|5518}} Direct confrontation between their two powers was excruciatingly painful, and they eventually destroyed each other and the power of both shards was taken up by Sazed, forming the new shard 'Harmony'. It is not clear whether if any two Shards collided, they would both die, or if this was simply an effect of Ruin and Preservation having such opposite intents.

It is implied that not all Shards are equal (though they started at an equal level).{{wob ref|1081}} Rayse is said to hold the most dangerous of the sixteen, Odium.{{epigraph ref|sa1|19}}{{book ref|TWoK|46}} It is unknown what makes Odium inherently so dangerous, whether it is due to the intent, or because Odium actually has more power than other Shards.

Odium was powerful enough to travel to Sel, kill Aona and Skai, and Splinter their power:

{{quote
| One need only look at the aftermath of his brief visit to Sel to see proof of what I say. In case you have turned a blind eye to that disaster, know that Aona and Skai are both dead, and that which they held has been Splintered. Presumably to prevent anyone from rising up to challenge Rayse.
| [[The Letter]]{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}}
}}

It is unknown if Odium is special in his ability to Splinter a Shard, but regardless, the person who wrote [[the Letter]] is terrified of Odium's power.

Odium is not native on Roshar{{wob ref|6918}} and it's not known yet whether any Shard is native on its Shardworld.{{wob ref|9934}}

If Brandon were to do a novel where different magic systems collide as the focus of the book, he refers to it as a '''conflux''' book.{{wob ref|10125}}

The [[Seventeenth Shard]], however, is not a Shard of Adonalsium, but rather an organization of people who hop between worlds.{{wob ref|4439}}{{wob ref|4013}}

One does not need to be able to use Investiture in order to take up a Shard, but the ability does help.{{wob ref|4062}}

== Known Shards ==
There are ten known Shards, listed here:
{| class='infobox sortable' align=center
|- class=title
!Shard       !! Vessel   !! World    !! Books !! class=unsortable| References
|-
| [[Devotion]]
| [[Aona]]
| [[Sel]]      
| [[Elantris]]
|{{wob ref|783}}{{wob ref|4679}}{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Dominion]]
| [[Skai]]
| [[Sel]]
| [[Elantris]]
|{{wob ref|9990}}{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Preservation]]
| [[Leras]] (later [[Sazed]])  
| [[Scadrial]]
| [[Mistborn (series)]]
|{{wob ref|5599}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Ruin]]
| [[Ati]] (later [[Sazed]])    
| [[Scadrial]]
| [[Mistborn (series)]]
|{{wob ref|5599}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Odium]]
| [[Rayse]]
| [[Braize]]
| [[The Stormlight Archive]]
|{{wob ref|7266}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Cultivation]]
| ''Unknown''     
| [[Roshar]]
| [[The Stormlight Archive]]
|{{wob ref|10113}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Honor]]
| [[Tanavast]]
| [[Roshar]]
| [[The Stormlight Archive]]
|{{wob ref|4229}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Endowment]]
| [[Edgli]]
| [[Nalthis]]
| [[Warbreaker]]
|{{wob ref|5943}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Autonomy]]
| [[Bavadin]]
| [[Taldain]]
| [[White Sand]]
|{{wob ref|5599}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Ambition]]
| [[Uli Da]]
| [[Threnody]]
| [[Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell]]
|{{au ref|threnodite}}{{epigraph ref|sa3|40}}{{wob ref|8398}}
|}

It is likely that this is a complete list of all the Shards for the published [[Shardworld]]s. Some worlds have more Shards than others.{{wob ref|5943}}

According to Brandon, it's possible that there is an Ingenuity Shard.{{wob ref|10288}}{{wob ref|3299}} This is not confirmed, although he did claim it would be the Shard he would take up if he was a Vessel.

Ruin and Preservation are the only Shards on [[Scadrial]] at the moment.{{wob ref|5599}} By the time of the Hero of Ages spoiler thread (before the Way of Kings release), Brandon mentioned that there were four Shards other than Ruin and Preservation that have been seen:

{{quote
| You've interacted with two directly.<br>
One is a tough call.  You've never met the Shard itself, but you've seen its power.<br>  
The other one you have not met directly, but have seen its influence.|multiline=y
| Brandon Sanderson{{wob ref|5786}} 
}}

Endowment was confirmed to be the Voice from [[Warbreaker]],{{wob ref|5943}} which Lightsong interacts with. [[Raoden]] interacts with a second voice when he jumps into the [[Perpendicularity]] in [[Elantris]] (presumably Aona's). Before the release of [[The Way of Kings]] it was not clear what the other two Shards were. However, Hoid was not a Vessel on that list.{{wob ref|5522}}

With the Way of Kings, [[the Letter]] demystifies the other two unaccounted for Shards: we had not directly met Skai's Shard, but his power on the planet of [[Sel]] has been seen (and, presumably, his related magic, with the [[Dakhor]]). And [[Odium]] traveled to Sel, killing Aona and Skai, so by default his influence is pervasive on Sel.{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}} So, all the Shards on Scadrial, Sel, and Nalthis are accounted for. 

There are three Shards on Roshar{{wob ref|5523}} and they are confirmed to be Honor, Odium, and Cultivation.{{wob ref|10113}} Honor and Cultivation arrived at the same time on Roshar,{{wob ref|1169}} prior to Odium's appearance.{{wob ref|9934}}

Therefore, for all Shardworlds that have been seen, all Shards are known.

The intent of one unknown Shard has been described, but not explicitly named:

{{quote
| There is one [Shard] who just wants to hide + survive.
| Brandon Sanderson{{wob ref|2788}}
}}

There is also a shard that doesn't inhabit any planet.{{wob ref|4441}} While Ambition fits that description, Brandon was referring to another Shard.{{wob ref|2550}}

Also, one that had already been splintered, but its intent was still unknown at the time of the questioning.{{wob ref|1357}} This may refer to Ambition.

There is a Shard with an Intent similar to Wisdom, that has "realized that survival might not be the most desirable/important".{{wob ref|12684}}

The last six Shards are unknown.

== Use of Investiture ==
{{quote
| The Shards are not God, but they are ''pieces'' of God. Ruin, Preservation, Autonomy, Cultivation, Devotion...There are sixteen of them
| [[Khriss]] talking about the origin of a shards power.{{msh ref|3|2}}
}}

A Shard is a chunk of [[Investiture]] with intent, while held by a [[Vessel]] that vessel is able to guide that power to do incredible things so long as that corresponds with its intent. Here lists some general abilities of all Shards that we currently know. An individual Shard's abilities may vary depending on their intent, but such distinctions are not fully understood at this time.

Shards are a vast amount of Spiritual energy, and have enormous capabilities, so much power that they have effectively turned the Vessels holding them into gods. Things like moving a planet is easy for them to accomplish.{{epigraph ref|mb3|4}} They exist on a higher level than the Physical Realm, and have expanded Cognitive aspects and perceptions. Time seems to matter little to Shards. Minutes can pass like hours.{{epigraph ref|mb3|17}}
=== Movement ===
Shards are capable of moving themselves to various parts of their world instantaneously (or near instantly).{{book ref|mb3|76}} They can will themselves to other Shardworlds, as noted from Odium's journey to Sel{{epigraph ref|sa1|21}} and Brandon implying that [[Sazed]] could travel to another world, but chooses not to.{{wob ref|5526}} [[Lord Ruler]] was also capable of moving around worlds when he took up the power at the [[Well of Ascension]], but he also didn't. However, when a Shard invest its power to a world, it is bound to it and will have difficulty leaving the planet or  system.{{wob ref|9852}} For example, Ruin and Preservation couldn't leave [[Scadrial]] for they had had a large hand in the creation of the planet and every thing on Scadrial contains a small part of the Shards.{{cite}} In the [[Letters#The Second Letter|Second Letter]], Odium is implied to be trapped at his current system.

=== Magic Generation ===
Shards will begin to fuel magic when they settle on a world. Each Shard can do this differently, though much of the system is restricted by the world itself. Because of this, the Shard is able to directly interact with the users of the magic and provide the needed investiture. Ruin and Preservation's ability to fuel all the Metallic Arts is an example of this.{{wob ref|6072}}

=== Communication ===
Some shards have the ability to touch the minds of people. This ability has many restrictions and much may depend on the intent of each shard.
[[Ruin]] can whisper into the minds of humans, especially spiked humans to whom he could manifest and speak to directly. Preservation can see into the minds of humans and even influence them a small amount, like getting them to leave an earring off. however that influence is very weak and easily be overcome by a persons own will.{{cite}}

=== Future Sight === 
Shards can see into the future, though this is difficult to do. [[Honor]] describes seeing the future like "It's as if the future is a shattering window. The further you look, the more pieces that window breaks into."{{book ref|twok|75}} Some Shards are better at seeing into the future--Honor says Cultivation is better at future sight than Honor.{{book ref|twok|75}} Preservation saw into the future and created the [[Terris Prophecies]].{{wob ref|5309}} Most of the time, temporal abilities are related to the pure essence of a Shard (see [[atium]]) or to a Splinter (like Returned do).{{wob ref|4645}} Since Wyrn can see into the future through some method, it is theorized he may hold a Splinter or be a Sliver, but he may also have this power via [[seon]] or [[skaze]].

=== Cognitive Constructs ===
Shards can develop complex constructs with their power. Preservation made the mists Snap Allomancers long after his mind had withered away.{{wob ref|4445}} Honor created a visual journal which [[Dalinar]] now sees during [[highstorm]]s.{{book ref|twok|75}} That visual journal was propagated by the [[Stormfather]]. Honor also created many [[Spren]] out of investiture and was even able to alter and increase the mind of the [[Stormfather]]. Entities like the Mist spirit and the Stormfather are often called Cognitive Shadows, bits of mind with power doing tasks created for them.

=== Endless investiture ===
Investiture never goes away and always returns; a Vessel wielding a Shard has access to an endless supply of Investiture. However, there is a finite amount that a Vessel can wield at one time. Occasionally a Shard's power is condensed into a different form in the physical realm. Investiture can appear in one of three states: a gas or mist like substance, a liquid, or a solid. [[Stormlight]] and the mists on [[Scadrial]] are examples of investiture manifesting as a gas. The Well of Ascension is [[Preservation]]'s power, condensed as a liquid. Some Aspects of Shards' power regenerate over time. The Well of Ascension reformed every 1024 years{{wob ref|5511}} rather than vanishing forever. Atium also regenerates, though when atium was burned away, Ruin was not able to use it. It isn't known whether all of a Shard's power would regenerate eventually.

=== Weaknesses ===
One of the largest weaknesses a Shard has is that its Vessel is shaped to its intent. Ruin and Preservation could not create by themselves, as it was against their Shards' intent to do so alone. Odium refuses to take additional Shards simply because doing so would change his personality.{{wob ref|6685}}

Shards, though their minds are significantly expanded, are not omniscient, omnipresent nor omnipotent. Even after Ruin was free from his prison, he couldn't influence everything. After the [[catacendre]], Sazed can more easily influence events where the mists are located,{{wob ref|5308}} which implies that there is a limit to his Shards' powers.

Ruin could not read minds, but this is not a limitation to all Shards. Ruin is invasive, it can insert thoughts, but that power can't hear the reaction. Preservation listens and protects, and as such can hear what is inside people's minds, but cannot insert thoughts.{{wob ref|4156}} Brandon has also stated, however, that Shardic mind reading in this case has to do with humans having more Preservation than Ruin.{{wob ref|4139}} It is possible a Shard could only read a mind when the Shard has given its power to make sentience (as Preservation did with humans on Scadrial). If that were true, then if Odium did not give humans sentience on Roshar, Odium would also not be able to read minds, similar to Ruin.

Preservation and Ruin are blind to metal, the [[focus]] of the [[Metallic Arts]]. It is not clear if other Shards are blind to an aspect of their respective focus, but Brandon has stated that Sazed is also blind to metal.{{wob ref|6149}}

Honor states to [[Dalinar]] that a champion may bind [[Odium]], but it is unknown what he meant.{{book ref|sa1|75}}

== Forms and Subdivisions ==
{{quote
| Ruin's consciousness was trapped by the Well of Ascension, kept mostly impotent. That night, when we discovered the Well for the first time, we found something we didn't understand. A black smoke, clogging one of the rooms.<br />
Though we discussed it after the fact, we couldn't decide what that was. How could we possibly have known?<br />
The body of a god—or, rather, the power of a god, since the two are really the same thing. Ruin and Preservation inhabited power and energy in the same way a person inhabits flesh and blood.|multiline=y
| Sazed{{epigraph ref|mb3|14}} 
}}

A Shard's power can take many different forms, related to the three [[Realmatic Theory|realm]]s: the Physical, the Cognitive, and the Spiritual.{{wob ref|4445}} All are extensions of the Shard's power, and in ''[[The Hero of Ages]]'', sometimes referred to as the body of the Shard.{{epigraph ref|mb3|14}}

In its Physical form, it can appear as a solid, and does one specific thing.{{wob ref|6072}} On Scadrial, a Shards' Physical essence was a metal, and these [[god metals]] each performed a specific effect within the Metallic Arts. Yet, as evidenced by the god metal atium, the physical essence of a Shard can be used by magic systems created by other shards. For example, Atium, Ruin's "body", could be burned by a mistborn or atium misting, both of whom use magic created by or based on Preservation.

In its liquid form, it is most potent.{{wob ref|6072}} The [[Well of Ascension]] is one such pool of a Shard's power, and as it was formed from Preservation's own mind, the liquid essence of a Shard is said to be related to the Cognitive aspect. Many Shards have such a [[Perpendicularity]]. Ruin's is located below the [[Pits of Hathsin]].{{wob ref|5525}} [[Raoden]] encounters a Perpendicularity, where [[Hoed]] can go to relieve their pain.{{book ref|Elantris|60}} That Perpendicularity is theorized to be Aona's.{{cite}}

It is not clear what the gaseous form of Shards (the Spiritual power) do in general, but the mists--the power of Preservation--are able to fuel Allomancy as if working as a metal.{{wob ref|6072}} The black smoke that was found in the chamber before the Well of Ascension was Ruin's corresponding "mist".{{epigraph ref|mb3|14}} [[Stormlight]] powers the surges and the fabrials.

There are further subdivisions of Shards: Slivers and Splinters.

=== [[Sliver]] ===
A Sliver is a human intelligence who has held the power and released it.{{wob ref|4540}} There is a certain threshold of power where one would be considered a Sliver of Adonalsium. Every person on [[Scadrial]] has a bit of the power of Preservation, but they are not technically Slivers. Though there is some grey area in what it means to be a Sliver, individuals who have directly held the power of a Shard are usually termed Slivers.{{wob ref|4499}}

The [[Lord Ruler]] held a bit of Preservation at the [[Well of Ascension]] and let it go. This altered him, and that residue of a Shard inside him was what scholars would term a Sliver. After Vin gave up [[Preservation]], she was considered a Sliver, as was Kelsier by the end of the [[Mistborn trilogy]]. Elantrians are not slivers.{{wob ref|4499}}

=== [[Splinter]] ===
It is unknown what the exact definition of a Splinter is, but the term seems to refer to a specific kind of fragment of a Shard's power. Unlike Slivers, a Splinter has never been human.{{wob ref|4541}} Lerasium and atium, despite being condensed essences of their Shards, are not Splinters. One distinguishing factor of a Splinter is that they often have an intent, separate from their Shards'. {{wob ref|10089}}

The divine Breath that [[Returned]] hold (a Splinter of [[Endowment]]){{wob ref|4486}}, the Aon within a seon (a Splinter of [[Devotion]]) and [[Spren]]s on Roshar (Splinters of [[Honor]]){{cite}} are the only confirmed Splinters. Splinters also appear in ''[[The Way of Kings]]'', but not ''[[Mistborn (series)|Mistborn]]''.{{wob ref|4541}} 

It is not clear how Splinters are formed, though it appears a Shard can actively create one. Endowment seems to be able to form them at will for [[Returned]]. [[Odium]] traveled to Sel and Splintered [[Devotion]] and [[Dominion]].{{article ref|The Letter}} Since [[Odium]] killed [[Tanavast]],{{book ref|twok|75}} the Vessel of [[Honor]], Honor is Splintered.{{wob ref|9810}}

=== Shardic Sentience ===
A Shard's power can create sentience if left around people.{{wob ref|9708}} Preservation put a fragment of himself into the people on Scadrial, granting them sentience, and the large quantity of Breaths (presumably fragments of Endowment) in [[Nightblood]] are a factor in his sentience. Splinters can also gain sentience.{{wob ref|1799}}

== Relationship with Magic Systems ==
{{quote
| The powers of Ruin and Preservation are Shards of Adonalsium, pieces of the power of creation itself. Allomancy, Hemalurgy, Feruchemy are manifestations of this power in mortal form, the ability to touch the powers of creation and use them. These metallic powers are how people's physical forms interpret the use of the Shard, though it's not the only possible way they could be interpreted or used. It's what the genetics and Realmatic interactions of Scadrial allow for, and has to do with the Spiritual, the Cognitive, and the Physical Realms.
| [[Brandon]]{{wob ref|6072}}
}}

All magic systems that are currently known are related to Shards. [[Allomancy]] is of Preservation, [[Hemalurgy]] is of Ruin, and [[Feruchemy]] is the balance between the two Shards. [[AonDor]], by name, appears to be related to [[Devotion]]. [[Awakening]] is of [[Endowment]]. [[Surgebinding]] is of [[Honor]] and [[Cultivation]]. The only magic that may not be related to a Shard are [[Hoid]]'s ability to move from planet to planet, but the mechanics of his powers are not clear.

The types of magics that exist on a world depends on which Shards are present. If Endowment were to move to Scadrial, additional combinations of magics may form.{{wob ref|5535}}{{wob ref|3005}} However, Shards did not ''create'' magic systems. Ruin and Preservation did not create the Metallic Arts.{{wob ref|5269}} Rather, magic is a natural function of the world, a Shard's intent, [[Realmatic]] interactions, and sometimes genetics.{{wob ref|6072}}

Though magics are related to a Shard, that does not mean that the effect of a magic is in line with a Shard's intent. For example, Allomancy does things like Pushing and Pulling that don't bring to mind "Preserving" things. Rather, a Shard's intent determines ''how'' the magic is obtained, not its effect.{{wob ref|4032}} In Hemalurgy, the method of gaining magic is spiking and it is inherently destruction, but the ''effect'' of the magic actually enhances something else. (This is the more exact, confirmed statement of [[17s-topic:369|the Principle of Intent]] theory).

Magic systems have a [[focus]]. Metals are the focus for the Metallic Arts, Aons are the focus for AonDor, and the Commands are the focus for Awakening.{{annotation ref|wb|chapter=21}} The focus seems to be related to Shards themselves, as Ruin and Preservation could not perceive metal. It is not known what determines a focus for a given Shard, or if all Shards are blind to their focus in some way.

== Theories and Speculation ==
{{theory}}
=== Shardic Future Sight ===
A remarkably simple theory explains why some Shards are better at seeing into the future than others. Cultivation is better at seeing into the future than Honor, and when compared to Preservation, Ruin was remarkably bad at seeing into the future. (After all, if Ruin figured out the Terris Prophecies, he could have simply killed Vin after the events of [[The Well of Ascension]], thus defeating Preservation's plot for a new Vessel and ultimately gaining victory.)

The idea is simple: a Shard's ability to see into the future is determined by the Shard's intent.{{wob ref|2713}} Ruin is intent that has an immediate effect--Ruin wants to destroy ''now'', not later. Since Ruin is preoccupied with the present, he is particularly bad at seeing into the future. Preservation, on the other hand, is about protection. Protection is a long term thing, so Preservation is more looking into the future, so he is good at seeing into the future. It’s probably for similar reasons why Cultivation is skilled at seeing into the future.

There was significant debate whether Odium could see into the future. People agreed that Odium is more proficient than Ruin at the very least, because having hatred for something would mean that Odium would stop at nothing to exact his goals, even if he had to wait an extremely long period of time. However, Odium is probably not as good as Cultivation or Preservation in this regard, but this still means Odium is much more dangerous than Ruin.

== See Also ==
* [[Adonalsium]]
* [[Shardworld]]
* [[Realmatic Theory]]
* [[Chronology]]

== Notes ==
<references>
</references>
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[[category: Cosmere|*]]
[[category: magic]]
[[category: Shards| ]]
[[category: notable articles]]