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|universe=[[Cosmere]]
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{{update|sa4}}
{{quote
A Shard may also Splinter another Shard, tearing off one or many chunks of its power, typically for the purpose of diminishing it. This is a process that transcends the [[Realmatic Theory|three realms]]{{wob ref|7967}} and if a Shard is completely destroyed in this way it is said to be '''Splintered'''. Most commonly, a Splintering may happen as one titanic event that kills the [[Shard#Vessel|Vessel]] and disperses its power.{{msh ref|3|2}} Less frequently, a Vessel may be killed and then their Shard subsequently Splintered.{{msh ref|6|4}} The Splintering of a Shard may also have serious consequences in the [[Physical Realm]]. The power of a Splintered Shard may ravage a planet uncontrollably if its Investiture is not contained.{{au ref|sel}} There may be other physical effects of a Splintering, such as the formation of an asteroid belt in the system.{{wob ref|13213}} The process of Splintering is somewhat similar to the process by which [[Preservation]] stole a piece of [[Ruin]]'s body to hide from him.{{wob ref|2804}}
A Splintered Shard cannot have a Vessel while it remains in such a state, but its Splinters may be reconstituted into a full Shard via an unknown process,{{wob ref|1070}} although it will not restore the original Vessel.{{wob ref|5993}} This is not known to have occurred yet in the cosmere.{{wob ref|5147}} If a Splinter's parent Shard is itself completely Splintered, there may be some impact on any extant Splinters.{{wob ref|13381}} Whether or not a Shard can Splinter another Shard is dependent upon the amount of raw Investiture that said Shard is able to make use of at the time,{{wob ref|9540}} as well as its ability to leverage said power, and its knowledge of the Splintering process.{{msh ref|3|2}}{{wob ref|9616}} There are more and less efficient ways to Splinter a Shard, and it may grow easier with practice.{{wob ref|9563}}{{wob ref|9616}} Even a successful Splintering is taxing on the Shard performing it and may require some recovery by the Shard afterward.{{wob ref|9881}} In some cases, whether or not a Shard is Splintered may be somewhat vague.{{wob ref|5072}} A Shard left on its own without a Vessel may also Splinter of its own accord, although that is not the only possibility.{{wob ref|1877}}
== Vulnerabilities ==
A bond between a human and a seon, another type of Splinter, can also be a vulnerability for the seon. Following the [[Reod]] in the ten years before the restoration of [[Elantris (city)|Elantris]], seons were in danger if their master was taken by the [[Shaod]]. The incorrect [[Aon]] acting on the human would disrupt their bonded seon as well, causing gaps to appear in their Aon, as well as a loss of any apparent sentience.{{book ref|elantris|16}} These damaged seons were known to stay close to their former masters that still lived, but apart from this they were seemingly totally unaware. Their minds were returned to them when Raoden repaired the [[Aon#Rao|Aon Rao]] in Elantris.{{book ref|thoe}}
Other vulnerabilities of Splinters appear to exist, but are less well understood. It seems apparent that if their [[Spiritweb]] is directly damaged by something like a Shardblade they may be killed,{{book ref|sa3|84}} or if their Investiture is consumed and fully corrupted by something like [[Nightblood]],{{wob ref|2681}} as is the case with the Fused.{{wob ref|10440}} Even if it is not fatal, corruption of any sort by a foreign type of Investiture can cause serious changes to a Splinter, as is the case with [[Glys]], a corrupted [[Spren#True Spren|true spren]].{{book ref|sa3|117}} Another possible vulnerability of Splinters is their ability to be trapped, perhaps most particularly those Splinters that lack a substantial physical aspect.
Due to their connection to their parent Shard, Splinters often struggle to leave the location where they were created or the system that their parent Shard inhabits.{{wob ref|8757}} However, some Splinters can be even further trapped under certain conditions, such as spren inside of [[Polestone|gemstones]].{{book ref|sa3|33}} It is uncertain if all Splinters may be similarly trapped under the correct conditions.
== Abilities ==
The abilities of a Splinter depend heavily on the conditions of their formation and the purpose or lack thereof that they were created with, although Splinters may learn to behave in ways other than was originally intended.{{book ref|sa2|87}} As previously mentioned, many Splinters may become self-aware or were self-aware from the moment of their creation,{{wob ref|6538}} but some do not and it is not a requirement to be a Splinter.{{wob ref|2904}} Splinters may possess an inherent understanding of [[Realmatic Theory]].{{wob ref|9448}} One notable ability associated with Splinters is the ability to get a sense of what the future may hold.{{wob ref|4645}} This is visible across a number of different Splinters, from the visions granted by the divine Breath to the Returned{{wob ref|4483}} to the brief flashes of the future associated with [[Odium]]'s [[Unmade]].{{epigraph ref|sa3|101}} Splinters, in many cases, may form bonds with other sapient beings. Sometimes these bonds are capable of granting access to Invested Arts, such as is the case with the
Ultimately, the full extent of abilities a Splinter may
== Known Splinters ==
{{quote
|Spren are . . . power . . . shattered power. Power given thought by the perceptions of men. Honor, Cultivation, and . . . and another. Fragments broken off.
|
Splinters are perhaps most populous in the [[Rosharan system]], residing in the form of spren and Cognitive Shadows on at least two of the planets there.{{au ref|roshar}} On [[Roshar]], Splinters most commonly take the form of spren, comprised often of some mixture between the Investiture of both [[Honor]] and [[Cultivation]].{{wob ref|13604}} The Shard Honor has actually been Splintered entirely.{{wob ref|9810}} While these two Shards are most common on Roshar, self-aware Splinters left by Adonalsium remain on the planet.{{wob ref|10563}} Spren are more properly known as transformative cognitive entities,{{book ref|sa3|part=ars}} concepts from the Cognitive Realm that have gained power and sentience as people have personified them.{{book ref|sa2|1}} Notably powerful Splinters range in power from the true spren capable of forming [[Nahel bond]]s, such as the [[honorspren]],{{wob ref|3017}} to massive spren of larger importance such as the [[Stormfather]]{{wob ref|5991}} and the [[Nightwatcher]].{{wob ref|9207}} Certain objects created directly by the local Shards, including the [[Honorblade]]s, may also be Splinters.{{wob ref|6539}} While the flashiest bonds may belong to [[Surgebinding|Surgebinders]], the Splinters of this world form symbiotic relationships with many species of creatures,{{au ref|roshar}} including the [[Ryshadium]]{{wob ref|10499}} and the [[Tai-na]].{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} Splinters are also made use of in devices known as [[fabrial]]s, which require trapping a Splinter in order to create some sort of Invested device with a specific power.{{book ref|sa3|33}} The ten Cognitive Shadows known as [[Herald]]s could be considered Splinters as well, most likely created from Honor's Investiture.
The only known Splinters present on [[Nalthis]] are the divine Breaths{{wob ref|4486}} granted to the [[Returned]] by the Shard [[Endowment]].{{wob ref|5995}} These Splinters of Endowment are intentionally granted to the recently deceased by the Shard. Before they move to the Beyond, their souls are given a vision of the future{{book ref|wb|57}} and an opportunity to return as a Cognitive Shadow{{wob ref|4995}} to influence future events.{{wob ref|7357}} If they agree, it seems likely that a person's soul either merges with{{msh ref|1|1}} or imprints on{{au ref|threnody}} the divine Breath that returns them to life. The Splinter grants them a whole host of other abilities as well, including unnaturally long life{{book ref|warbreaker|3}} the ability to see fragments of the future when viewing art,{{wob ref|4483}} and the ability to give away their divine Breath to perform an act of healing.{{book ref|wb|12}}
It is worth noting that while he may appear as such,
=== Selish System ===
|[[Khriss]]'s notes on Sel{{au ref|sel}}
}}
In the distant past, both Shards native to Sel, Devotion and Dominion were Splintered by Odium.{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}}{{au ref|sel}} As a result the beings known as seons and skaze were formed from their Splinters; although their exact origin and manner of creation is something that is currently uncertain. The seons are considered to be Splinters of Devotion,{{wob ref|5991}} and more specifically it may be the [[Aon]]s at the heart of the seons that are the actual Splinters.{{wob ref|4679}}
One uncertainty on Sel is the exact nature of the Dor. While the skaze and seons represent a small portion of the Splinters of Dominion and Devotion,{{wob ref|3184}} the vast majority of their power is contained within Shadesmar as the [[Dor]].{{au ref|sel}} While it is known to be composed of the combined Investiture of Splintered Shards,{{au ref|sel}} it is still uncertain whether the Dor itself is made up of discrete Splinters or just a generalized mix of Investiture.
|Khriss on Ruin killing Preservation
}}
During the time of the [[Final Empire]], both Ruin and Preservation had no Splinters of themselves on [[Scadrial]].{{wob ref|4541}} This signifies that their [[Metallic Arts#The God Metals|
=== Elsewhere in the Cosmere ===
There are other places where Splinters must exist that we know less about, as of yet. The Shard Ambition is known to have been Splintered by Odium,{{au ref|threnody}} so it stands to reason that Splinters of that Shard exist somewhere in the cosmere. A few may exist even in the [[Threnodite system]], as we know that chunks of Ambition's power were torn off there.
== Notes ==
[[category: Shards|*]]
[[category: Splinters| ]]
[[es:Astilla]]
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