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Shards can fuel magic, as evidenced by Ruin and Preservation's ability to fuel all the Metallic Arts.{{ref|?|727|45}} Ruin could manipulate the contents of Feruchemical metalminds. Ruin and Preservation can both whisper into the minds of humans.
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."{{ref|b|twok|c|75}}
Shards can develop complex constructs with their power. Preservation made the mists Snap Allomancers long after his mind had withered away.{{ref|?|428|10}} Honor created a visual journal which [[Dalinar]] now sees during [[highstorm]]s.{{ref|b|twok|c|75}}
=== Weaknesses ===
One of the largest weaknesses a Shard has is that its holder 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.{{ref|?|675|12|When Odium slays the Shardbearers, why doesn’t he absorb the enemy Shards?}}
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 end of ''[[The Hero of Ages]]'', Sazed can more easily influence events where the mists are located{{ref|?|727|8|Do the Metallic Arts still exist after Sazed's ascension?}}, 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.{{ref|723|13|How does Harmony hear Wax's thoughts?}} Brandon has also stated, however, that Shardic mind reading in this case has to do with humans having more Preservation than Ruin.{{ref|708|3|How was Sazed/Harmony able to communicate with Waxillium near the end of the book?}} 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{{ref|?|727|80|Is Sazed effected by the metal blindess, or can he see thing written in metal?}}
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