Shard

Shard
by mushimallo
Related to	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.

“ Sixteen people, together, killed Adonalsium, ripping it apart and dividing its essence between them, becoming the first who Ascended. ”

— Khriss

The Shards of Adonalsium, or Shards for short, are sixteen pieces of the power of creation. 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.

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

by botanicaxu Honor

“ The Shards are not God, but they are pieces of God. Ruin, Preservation, Autonomy, Cultivation, Devotion...There are sixteen of them. ”

— Khriss

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 will become noticeably red.

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. Moreover, the presence of a Shard leads to the formation of a Perpendicularity, a well of the Shard's Investiture that pierces all three Realms, allowing for the existence of worldhopping. The Shard can also influence the world in other ways; examples of such influence 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. One doesn't need to be able to use Investiture in order to become a Vessel, but the ability does help. 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.

The act of becoming a Vessel is called Ascension, and causes the Vessel's body to vaporize, allowing their mind to expand. 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.Template:Annotation ref

A Shard can be killed by Splintering it, breaking its power down further into smaller pieces, called splinters; the easiest way to achieve that is by killing the mind. The actual death of a Vessel, however, can take up to hundreds of years. If the Shard is taken up before the Vessel dies completely, splintering can be prevented; if not, the power will become wild and dangerous. When a Vessel dies, the person's original body rematerializes and falls to the ground as a corpse.

It is possible for a Vessel to be separated from their Shard without dying or Splintering the Shard they held.

History

For the histories of individual Shards, see their respective pages.

“ 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

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. Some of those people were romantically involved; others were related to each other.

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. Following their Ascension, each of the Vessels departed Yolen. Some settled on various planets, henceforth dubbed Shardworlds; others set no roots.

Originally, the Shards made a pact not to interfere with each other; however, only a few Shards kept to it. The pact was not, it seems, set in stone, as even the Shard of oathkeeping, Honor, felt no qualms about travelling with Cultivation.

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. Preservation passed hands several times before being merged with Ruin into Harmony; by contrast, Autonomy spread, creating avatars to inhabit numerous Shardworlds, including Obrodai and First of the Sun.

At least one of the Vessels regrets taking up a Shard, though which one that would be is unknown.

Known Shards

Shard	Vessel	World	Books	References
Devotion	Aona	Sel	Elantris
Dominion	Skai	Sel	Elantris
Preservation	Leras (later Sazed)	Scadrial	Mistborn (series)
Ruin	Ati (later Sazed)	Scadrial	Mistborn (series)
Odium	Rayse	Braize	The Stormlight Archive
Cultivation	Unknown	Roshar	The Stormlight Archive
Honor	Tanavast	Roshar	The Stormlight Archive
Endowment	Edgli	Nalthis	Warbreaker
Autonomy	Bavadin	Taldain	White Sand, Sixth of the Dusk
Ambition	Uli Da	Threnody	Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

While most Shardworlds have only one Shard, Sel and Scadrial are both dishardic, hosting two Shards each. Roshar, on the other hand, is the only known example of a world influenced by three Shards.

Several of the known Shards are dead in the current time, with Ambition, Honor, Devotion and Dominion all being splintered. Ruin and Preservation, on the other hand, have blended together into Harmony, albeit they remain somewhat separate within this unified construct.

Unnamed Shards

“ 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

There remain six Shards that have not been named, nor referred to explicitely 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. 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.

There exists a Shard that wishes only to hide and survive. It's possible that this refers to "wisdom". There's also at least one uknown Shard that doesn't inhabit any planet. 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.

When asked about what Vessel he would become, Brandon suggested Ingenuity, implying that it might be another Shard. However, this has not been confirmed.

Use of Investiture

“ I am convinced from my studies that [Scadrial] itself did not exist before its Shards, Ruin and Preservation, arrived in the system. ”

— Khriss

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. 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.

Movement

Shards are capable of moving themselves to various parts of their world instantaneously (or near instantly). They can will themselves to other Shardworlds, as noted from Odium's journey to Sel and Brandon implying that Harmony could travel to another world, but chooses not to. The 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 invests its power in a world, it is bound to it and will have difficulty leaving the planet or system. 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 some of the Shards' power.^{[citation needed]} In the Second Letter, Odium is trapped in 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.

Communication

by eyeronis Ruin commanding a Steel Inquisitor

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 causing them to leave an earring off. However, that influence is very weak and can easily be overcome by a person's own will.^{[citation needed]}

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." Some Shards are better at seeing into the future--Honor says Cultivation is better at future sight than Honor. Preservation saw into the future and created the Terris Prophecies. Most of the time, temporal abilities are related to the pure essence of a Shard (see atium) or to a Splinter (like Returned do). 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. Honor created a visual journal which Dalinar saw during highstorms. 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.

Avatars

Shards are able to create avatars, personas that can act independently from them. Avatars can have any gender or race and some don't have human appearances. Avatars are considered to be Shards of Adonalsium, in a way. Many different avatars can exist on a Shardworld and they can have varying amounts of origins of Investiture. Shards can create avatars on Shardworlds without physically visiting them. Avatars can also form without a direct and conscious decision on the Shard's part, but they will always be aware of it happening. Avatars can be instilled with certain traits when created. Known avatars include Patji and the Sand Lord.

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 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.

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, Harmony can more easily influence events where the mists are located, 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. Brandon has also stated, however, that Shardic mind reading in this case has to do with humans having more Preservation than Ruin. 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 Harmony is also blind to metal.

Honor states to Dalinar that a champion may bind Odium, but it is unknown what he meant.

Forms and Subdivisions

“ 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.

Though we discussed it after the fact, we couldn't decide what that was. How could we possibly have known?

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.”

— Sazed

A Shard's power can take many different forms, related to the three realms: the Physical, the Cognitive, and the Spiritual. All are extensions of the Shard's power, and in The Hero of Ages, sometimes referred to as the body of the Shard.

In its Physical form, it can appear as a solid, and does one specific thing. 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. 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. Raoden encounters a Perpendicularity, where Hoed can go to relieve their pain. That Perpendicularity is theorized to be Aona's.^{[citation needed]}

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. The black smoke that was found in the chamber before the Well of Ascension was Ruin's corresponding "mist". Stormlight powers the surges and the fabrials.

There are further subdivisions of Shards: Slivers and Splinters.

Sliver

For more information, see Sliver.

A Sliver is a human intelligence who has held the power and released it. 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.

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.

Splinter

by Matthew Johnson Preservation splintering

For more information, see 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. 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'.

The divine Breath that Returned hold (a Splinter of Endowment), the Aon within a seon (a Splinter of Devotion) and Spren on Roshar (Splinters of Honor) are examples of Splinters. Splinters did not appear in Mistborn Era 1.

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. Since Odium killed Tanavast, the Vessel of Honor, Honor is Splintered.

Shardic Sentience

A Shard's power can create sentience if left around people. 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.

Relationship with Magic Systems

by Kyle Pearson Cultivation with her daughter-spren, Nightwatcher

“ 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

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 is of Devotion and Dominion. 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. However, Shards did not create magic systems. Ruin and Preservation did not create the Metallic Arts. Rather, magic is a natural function of the world, a Shard's intent, Realmatic interactions, and sometimes genetics.

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. 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 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.Template:Annotation ref 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

This page or section deals with theories or speculation.

Please read carefully and note that this is not necessarily canonical.

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. 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

This article is still missing information. Please help The Coppermind by expanding it.