Editing Shard

{{magic
|image=The Roshards by jurassicpencil.jpg
|related=[[Adonalsium]], [[Investiture]]
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
}}
:''This page contains information for the Shards of Adonalsium. For information regarding the armaments used on Roshar, see [[Shardblade]] or [[Shardplate]].''

{{quote
| The Shards are not God, but they are ''pieces'' of God. Ruin, Preservation, Autonomy, Cultivation, Devotion...There are sixteen of them.
| [[Khriss]]{{msh ref|3|2}}
}}

The '''Shards of [[Adonalsium]]''', or '''Shards''' for short, are sixteen pieces of the power of creation.{{wob ref|6072}} They are each named after specific actions or ideals, which represent the Shard's primary purpose or motivation. A person who has taken up the power of a Shard is the '''Vessel''' of that Shard.{{msh ref|5|2}}

The Shards are the most powerful entities in the [[cosmere]], and for all intents and purposes, serve as cosmere's gods. Most, if not all magic systems are related to them.

== Introduction ==
[[File:Tanavast.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center><small>by {{a|botanicaxu}}</small></center> [[Honor]] ]]
{{quote
| Ruin and Preservation inhabited power and energy in the same way a person inhabits flesh and blood.
| [[Sazed]]{{epigraph ref|mb3|14}}
}}

=== Power ===
Each Shard is a piece of the power of creation with a specific motivation, such as to destroy or to preserve. Those fragments each began their existence with equal level of power; however, over time many have diminished, whether through conflict or by the act of Investing a world -- imbuing it with [[Investiture]]. Each Shard has its own Investiture; while a Shard can co-opt the Investiture of another Shard, that Investiture can become noticeably red.{{wob ref|8340}}

Investing in a world will produce numerous effects, most notably the creation of a magic system tied to the Shard. While a Shard doesn't have complete control over how the magic system functions or what it does, it can manipulate its mechanics to an extent.{{wob ref|6072}}{{wob ref|4242}} Moreover, the presence of a Shard leads to the formation of a [[Perpendicularity]], a well of the Shard's Investiture that pierces all three [[Realmatic Theory|Realm]]s, allowing for the existence of [[worldhopping]].{{book ref|sa3|119}} The Shard 's investiture can also manifest directly in the world in other ways; examples of such manifestations are [[atium]] and [[lerasium]] on [[Scadrial]], the [[Tears of Edgli]] on [[Nalthis]], or the many [[spren]] of [[Roshar]].

=== Vessel ===
To function properly, a Shard requires a '''Vessel''' -- a mind to control it, belonging to a sapient creature from the [[Physical Realm]], such as a human.{{wob ref|310}} One doesn't need to be able to use Investiture in order to become a Vessel, but the ability does help.{{wob ref|4062}} What becoming a Vessel requires above all is [[Connection]] to the Shard in question, whether forged artificially or driven by a natural inclination towards the Shard's intent.{{msh ref|5|2}}

The act of becoming a Vessel is called '''Ascension''', and causes the Vessel's body to vaporize, allowing their mind to expand.{{wob ref|6072}} From then on, the Vessel and the Shard are intertwined; the Vessel gets to set some general course of how the Shard's power is defined, and feeds off the Shard's power to remain alive, but the Shard's power is the driving force between the two. Over centuries, the Vessel's mind begins to change to fit the Shard's intent more perfectly.{{annotation ref|mb3|chapter=58}}{{wob ref|5485}}{{epigraph ref|sa1|18}} If the Vessel were to give up the Shard, the Shard's influence on their mind would fade over time.{{wob ref|3009}}

A Shard can be killed by Splintering it, breaking its power down further into smaller pieces, called [[splinter]]s; the easiest way to achieve that is by killing the mind.{{msh ref|3|2}} The actual death of a Vessel, however, can take up to hundreds of years.{{wob ref|8144}} If the Shard is taken up before the Vessel dies completely, splintering can be prevented;{{msh ref|3|2}} if not, the power will become wild and dangerous.{{au ref|Selish}} When a Vessel dies, the person's original body rematerializes and falls to the ground as a corpse.{{epigraph ref|mb3|56}}

It is possible for a Vessel to be separated from their Shard without dying or Splintering the Shard they held.{{wob ref|120}}{{wob ref|6587}}

== History ==
:''For the histories of individual Shards, see their respective pages.''
{{quote
| 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.
| [[Sazed]]{{epigraph ref|mb3|39}}
}}

It is unknown what precisely [[Adonalsium]] was, though it has been referred to numerous times as the power of creation, suggesting it to be the progenitor god of the [[cosmere]]. At some point in the distant past, on the planet of [[Yolen]], sixteen people conspired to kill it, and succeeded in an event known as the [[Shattering of Adonalsium]].{{msh ref|3|2}} Some of those people were romantically involved; others were related to each other.{{wob ref|1291}}{{wob ref|2786}} All of them were mortal at some point.{{wob ref|13341}}

Following the Shattering, the power that comprised Adonalsium broke into sixteen pieces, each polarized to one particular aspect of it, such as [[Ruin]] or [[Endowment]]. Those pieces, each equal in power, became known as the Shards. The sixteen killers of Adonalsium each took up one of the Shards, Ascending and becoming the first Vessels.{{msh ref|3|2}} Following their Ascension, each of the Vessels departed Yolen. Some settled on various planets, henceforth dubbed [[Shardworld]]s; others set no roots.{{wob ref|4441}}

Originally, the Shards made a pact not to interfere with each other; however, only a few Shards kept to it.{{epigraph ref|sa3|39}} The pact was not, it seems, set in stone, as even the Shard of oathkeeping, [[Honor]], felt no qualms about travelling with [[Cultivation]].{{wob ref|10835}}

Over the millennia, several Shards have passed away, one way or another. The most common cause of death for them were actions of one specific Shard, [[Odium]], who went on a killing spree, splintering [[Ambition]], [[Devotion]], [[Dominion]] and [[Honor]] before eventually being trapped in the [[Rosharan system]] by the remnants of the latter.{{au ref|Rosharan}} [[Preservation]] passed hands several times before being merged with [[Ruin]] into [[Harmony]];{{wob ref|6486}} by contrast, [[Autonomy]] spread, creating avatars to inhabit numerous Shardworlds, including [[Obrodai]] and [[First of the Sun]].{{wob ref|11432}}

At least one of the Vessels regrets taking up a Shard, though which one that would be is unknown.{{wob ref|11900}} There are living descendants of some of them still alive.{{wob ref|13341}}

== Known Shards ==

{| class='infobox sortable' align=center
|- class=title
!Shard       !! Vessel   !! World    !! Books !! class=unsortable| References
|-
| [[Devotion]]
| [[Aona]] <small>(deceased)</small>
| [[Sel]]      
| ''[[Elantris]]''
|{{wob ref|783}}{{wob ref|4679}}{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Dominion]]
| [[Skai]] <small>(deceased)</small>
| [[Sel]]
| ''[[Elantris]]''
|{{wob ref|9990}}{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Preservation]]
| [[Sazed]] <small>(formerly [[Leras]], [[Kelsier]], and [[Vin]])</small>
| [[Scadrial]]
| ''[[Mistborn (series)]]''
|{{wob ref|5599}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Ruin]]
| [[Sazed]] <small>(formerly [[Ati]])</small>    
| [[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]] <small>(deceased)</small>
| [[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]]'', ''[[Sixth of the Dusk]]''
|{{wob ref|5599}}{{wob ref|5984}}
|-
| [[Ambition]]
| [[Uli Da]] <small>(deceased)</small>
| [[Threnody]]
| ''[[Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell]]''
|{{au ref|threnodite}}{{epigraph ref|sa3|40}}{{wob ref|8398}}
|}

While most [[Shardworld]]s have only one Shard, [[Sel]] and [[Scadrial]] are both dishardic, hosting two Shards each.{{au ref|Selish}}{{au ref|Scadrian}} [[Roshar]], on the other hand, is the only known example of a world influenced by three Shards.{{au ref|Rosharan}}

Several of the known Shards are dead in the current time, with [[Ambition]], [[Honor]], [[Devotion]] and [[Dominion]] all being [[splinter]]ed.{{au ref|Rosharan}} [[Ruin]] and [[Preservation]], on the other hand, have blended together into [[Harmony]], albeit they remain somewhat separate within this unified construct.{{wob ref|6486}}

=== Unnamed Shards ===
{{quote
| Some men, as they age, grow wiser. I am not one of those, for wisdom and I have always been at cross-purposes, and I have yet to learn the tongue in which she speaks.
| [[Hoid]] implying the existence of another Shard{{book ref|sa3|68}}
}}

There remain six Shards that have not been named, nor referred to explicitly in text. Very little is known about them.

What is known is that there exists a Shard with intent similar to Wisdom, that once sought to hide and survive, but has over time realized that this isn't the most desirable course of action.{{wob ref|12684}}{{wob ref|13231}} [[Hoid]] and this Shard seem to be antagonistic towards each other, though this appears to be a common thread in his relations with all Vessels.{{book ref|sa3|68}}{{wob ref|13239}}

There exists a Shard that wishes only to hide and survive.{{wob ref|2788}} It's possible that this refers to "wisdom". There's also at least one unknown Shard that doesn't inhabit any planet.{{wob ref|4441}} Moreover, at least one unknown Shard has been mentioned as having been splintered, although this may refer to Ambition, who was unnamed at the time this information appeared.{{wob ref|1357}}

When asked about what Vessel he would become, Brandon suggested Ingenuity, implying that it might be another Shard.{{wob ref|10288}}{{wob ref|3299}} Likewise, Prudence was suggested to be a very Shardic name.{{wob ref|13231}} However, neither Ingenuity nor Prudence have been confirmed as Shards.

== Powers and Abilities ==
{{quote
| The power of ancient Adonalsium permeates him. And controls him. [[Odium]] is a force like pressure, gravitation, or the movement of time. These things cannot break their own rules. Nor can he.
| [[Stormfather]]{{book ref|sa3|16}}
}}

Shards possess incredible power -- a single Shard can easily move entire planets and alter people down to genetic level.{{epigraph ref|mb3|4}} They exist in all three Realms, but unlike other living beings, the vast majority of their power is concentrated in the [[Cognitive Realm|Cognitive]] and [[Spiritual Realm|Spiritual]]. Time matters little to Shards, and they can bend and stretch as they wish it.{{epigraph ref|mb3|17}}

As [[Investiture]] never truly goes away, a Shard has access to a functionally-endless supply of it; however, there is a finite amount that a Vessel can command at any one time. This also means that while all Investiture in the cosmere is assigned to one Shard or another, a Shard cannot truly command all of it at once.{{wob ref|8605}} As such, while powerful, Shards are neither omniscient, nor omnipresent or omnipotent.

A Shard's power can be temporarily diminished, either by assigning it to other living creatures (like people or [[spren]]) or by sending it back to Spiritual Realm, for example, by burning [[atium]]. Moreover, Shards are, as powers, bound to follow higher rules; a deal, once made by a Shard, cannot be broken, and they must absolutely obey the rules that govern them.{{book ref|sa3|16}}

Each Shard appears particularly predisposed towards acting in line with their intent; for example, [[Preservation]] finds it near-impossible to destroy, while it's extremely easy for [[Ruin]].{{msh ref|2|3}} This is partially influenced by the personality change brought about by the Shard.{{wob ref|6685}} However, whether their intents provide Shards with actual unique powers is unknown.

=== Individual Powers ===
[[File:Marsh Ruin.png|thumb|right|250px|<center><small>by {{a|eyeronis}}</small></center> [[Ruin]] commanding a [[Steel Inquisitor]] ]]

==== Movement ====
Shards are capable of appearing in various parts of their own Invested worlds instantaneously.{{book ref|mb3|76}} They can also travel to other planets by willing themselves to do so.{{epigraph ref|sa1|21}}{{wob ref|5526}} However, when a Shard Invests its power in a world, it's bound to it and will have difficulty leaving the system it's in.{{wob ref|9852}} Shards can also trap each other in systems, though the precise mechanics of it are unknown.{{book ref|sa3|57}}

==== Communication ====
Shards have several ways of communicating with people. Some Shards can speak directly into the minds of others, while others can listen.{{book ref|mb3|48}} A Shard can also communicate with a person directly through dreams or visions, and even take on a physical form -- a puppet of sorts, serving as a Physical outlet for communication.{{book ref|sa3|57}}{{book ref|sa3|114}} While the visions and speaking directly into a mind are limited to a single person, a puppet can be seen by many people.{{book ref|sa3|115}}

A Shard can also communicate directly with [[Cognitive Shadow]]s, and is capable of bilocation -- being present in several places at once -- within its sphere of influence.{{msh ref|1|1}}

==== Creating Sapience ====
Shards can use their power to create complex '''constructs''', capable of continuing their function past the Shard's death. Examples of such constructs are the snapping mists of [[Preservation]],{{wob ref|4445}} and the vision journal of [[Honor]].{{book ref|sa1|75}} Shards can also create sapient beings out of their power -- this is most commonly seen on [[Roshar]], with its overabundance of [[spren]]. Many of them, like [[Stormfather]], [[Nightwatcher]] and [[honorspren]], were created by local Shards.{{book ref|sa3|108}}{{book ref|sa3|114}}

Shards can also create '''avatars''', personas that can act independently of them.{{wob ref|13220}} Avatars can be of any gender, race and species, regardless of the original Vessel creating them, and can be formed at a considerable distance from the main body of the Shard, with many different avatars able to exist on a single [[Shardworld]].{{wob ref|3974}}{{wob ref|9385}}{{wob ref|3974}} Though a Shard can create them directly, avatars can also form without a conscious decision on the Shard's part, though the Shard is still aware of what is happening.{{wob ref|13220}} When created directly, however, they can be instilled with specific traits.{{epigraph ref|sa3|50}}

Avatars are, in a way, considered to be Shards in their own right.{{wob ref|8606}} Known ones include [[Patji (being)|Patji]] and the [[Sand Lord]], both of [[Autonomy]].{{wob ref|8902}}{{wob ref|5876}} It is difficult, but possible for someone to become a Vessel of an avatar.{{wob ref|13323}}

Shardic power is also directly related to sentience and sapience. Close presence of a particular Shard, such as [[Cultivation]], can lead to surrounding beings developing higher levels of sapience.{{wob ref|2792}} Shardic power can also grant sentience directly -- [[Scadrian]]s are sapient due to Preservation's power within them, and [[Nightblood]]'s sapience is partially derived from his large quantity of [[Breath]]s. [[Splinter]]s can also become sapient.{{wob ref|1799}} Even the raw power of a Shard, if left alone and without a Vessel, will eventually begin to form a rudimentary mind.{{au ref|Selish}}

==== Magic Generation ====
When a Shard Invests a world, it will begin to fuel the local magic system. Each Shard can do this differently, though much of the system is dictated by the planet itself. Because of this connection to the magic, a Shard is able to directly interact with its users and provide Investiture when necessary, without the need for intermediaries.{{wob ref|6072}}

While not all magic systems in the cosmere are directly tied to a Shard, Shardic presence greatly influences the shape a magic system takes. On a [[Shardworld]], magic forms as a result of the interactions between Shard's power, [[Realmatic]]s, the world's natural inclinations and, in some places, even genetics.{{wob ref|6072}} For this reason, the exact function magic performs will not always be related to the Shard's nature -- for example, [[Surgebinding]], despite being powered by [[Honor]], is capable of manipulating [[Division]], separating things. However, how the magic is ''obtained'' is, in fact, tied to the Shard.{{wob ref|4032}} [[Hemalurgy]] demands that a person be destroyed, in line with the intent of Ruin, while Surgebinding demands forging bonds.

==== Futuresight ====
{{quote
| It's as if the future is a shattering window. The further you look, the more pieces that window breaks into. The near future can be anticipated, but the distant future… I can only guess.
| [[Honor]]{{book ref|sa1|75}}
}}

Shards can perceive the future, although it can be difficult for them. Some are better at it than others, with [[Cultivation]] and [[Preservation]] in particular being noted as particularly excelling.{{book ref|sa1|75}}{{wob ref|5309}} Like all seers, Shards utilize [[Fortune]] to see ahead; and, like all seers, they can be wrong about both what they see and how they interpret it.{{book ref|sa3|122}} Shardic power can also be utilized by others to perceive the future like they do: examples of this are [[atium]], as well as the visions of the [[Returned]].{{wob ref|4645}}

{{theory}}

It has been speculated that the Shard's intent is tied to its proficiency in futuresight. Preservation, as a Shard dedicated to keeping things existing, and Cultivation, a Shard dedicated to growing something in a desired form, would hold a natural interest in predicting what the future will hold. As such, they would be particularly excellent at seeing it. By contrast, a Shard like Ruin, which is interested only in destroying things, and Honor, about holding to one's oaths no matter what, would not have "seeing ahead" as part of their nature.

== Forms and Subdivisions ==
[[File:Cultivation and the Nightwatcher 1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center><small>by {{a|Kyle Pearson}}</small></center> [[Cultivation]] with her daughter-[[spren]], [[Nightwatcher]] ]]
{{quote
| I'm still a [[spren]]. I’m a little piece of God.
| [[Syl]]{{book ref|sa3|91}}
}}

The raw Investiture of a Shard can take distinct forms and states. As a solid, the Investiture is metallic, and is thus sometimes referred to as a '''godmetal'''. Examples of godmetals are [[atium]], [[lerasium]] and the alloy of [[Honor]] and [[Cultivation]] that forms [[Shardblade]]s. Godmetals typically have properties within the [[Metallic Arts]], regardless of what Shard they're aligned with.{{wob ref|6072}}

Shardic power is the most potent as a liquid.{{wob ref|6072}} It typically coalesces in one place on a planet, forming a '''[[perpendicularity]]'''. A perpendicularity represents a tremendous amount of power, enough so to pierce all three Realms, allowing people to slide between them.{{au ref|Drominad}} Examples of such perpendicularities are the [[Well of Ascension]], the [[Pits of Hathsin]], or the [[Devotion's Perpendicularity|Lake]].

As a gas, the Shardic power can take on a number of different functions. Examples of Investiture in gaseous forms include [[Breath]], [[Stormlight]], and Preservation's mists. All can serve as fuel for magic. In both [[Awakening]] and [[Surgebinding]], gaseous Investiture is, in fact, the primary source of magic, but even in systems that use other substances, like [[Allomancy]], gaseous Investiture can serve the same purpose.{{wob ref|6072}}

=== Slivers ===
{{for|Sliver}}

A Sliver is a person who has held the power of a Shard, and then released it.{{wob ref|4540}} This "stretches" a person's [[spiritweb]], noticeably altering them. There is some grey area as to how much power one needs to have to be considered a Sliver; however, a person who directly handled Shardic power is the most straightforward example. The [[Lord Ruler]] and [[Kelsier]] would both be considered Slivers, while [[Elantrian]]s and [[Returned]] would not.{{wob ref|4499}}

=== Splinters ===
{{for|Splinter}}

Splinter is a fragment of a Shard's power, similar to how a Shard is a fragment of Adonalsium's power. Unlike Slivers of [[Cognitive Shadow]]s, Splinters don't generally have a Physical component.{{wob ref|4541}} They often have a mind of their own, separate and distinct from that of their parent Shard.{{wob ref|10089}} They can form in two distinct ways: either by the Shard being splintered (killed), or by the Shard directly splitting off splinters of itself.{{wob ref|4129}}{{book ref|sa3|108}}

Splinters can be comprised of the Investiture of one or more Shards.{{wob ref|6454}} Examples of splinters include the divine [[Breath]] of the [[Returned]],{{wob ref|4486}} [[Aon]]s within [[seon]]s, and [[spren]].{{wob ref|3017}}

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

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