Difference between revisions of "Splinter"
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At its core, a Splinter is a significant measure of a Shard's power that has been separated from the main body of Investiture. There is a notable difference between a physical manifestation of Investiture--such as [[atium]] and [[lerasium]] or a [[perpendicularity]]--and a Splinter. While a Shard's power is never truly separated from itself, as it is all connected through the [[Spiritual Realm]],{{wob ref|8605}} Splinters represent power that has been released or removed by a Shard.{{wob ref|986}} Splinters tend to not have much in the way of a Physical aspect. As a chunk of Investiture they tend to be more rooted in the [[Cognitive Realm|Cognitive]] and Spiritual Realms.{{wob ref|4066}} While many Splinters are composed of the Investiture of a single Shard, in the case of some Splinters they may actually be composed of the Investiture of two or more Shards.{{wob ref|13604}}
One distinguishing factor of a Splinter is that it may often have an intent of its own, separate from that of its parent Shard,{{wob ref|10089}} although it may be thematically related.{{wob ref|15990}} Splinters are often sentient and have an associated personality,{{ref|group=fn|name=eyes|text=While Brandon has said on one occasion that Splinters must be self-aware,{{wob ref|10563}} elsewhere he has said differently and has explicitly referred to the [[divine Breath]] as a Splinter, despite its lack of self-awareness. That, combined with the fact that [[Khriss]] feels the need to specify that seons and skaze are self-aware Splinters,{{au ref|sel}} makes it clear that a Splinter need not necessarily be self-aware.}} although that personality may be destroyed{{book ref|sa2|87}} or its body tortured.{{book ref|sa3|110}} However, they do not necessarily need a personality to be considered a Splinter. Generally speaking, a Splinter has never been a person.{{wob ref|4541}} Therefore, by the strictest definition, a [[Cognitive Shadow]] may not be considered a Splinter, by some. However, there is an argument to be made that a Cognitive Shadow is just an imprint of a once-living being on Investiture,{{wob ref|8395}} and has therefore never truly been human.{{au ref|threnody}} Generally speaking, most would consider a Cognitive Shadow to be a type of Splinter.{{wob ref|8757}} Nevertheless, Splinters and Cognitive Shadows operate by similar rules and many Cognitive Shadows may be made of an amount of Investiture equivalent or potentially even greater than a typical Splinter. Whether or not an avatar of a Shard should be considered a Splinter is also a subject of some debate.{{wob ref|13323}} While some would disagree, many people in the cosmere would be comfortable terming avatars Splinters.
It is certain that all Splinters do not contain the exact same quantity of Investiture, as a Splinter may be Splintered yet again into smaller fragments.{{book ref|sa3|111}}{{wob ref|11677}} However, it is likely that there exists some threshold below which a quantity of Investiture is not considered to be a Splinter. For instance, a [[BioChromatic Breath#Types of BioChromatic entities|divine Breath]] is considered to be a Splinter,{{wob ref|4486}} but there is no indication that the lesser Breath possessed by normal people is considered to be one. In fact, the small amount of Investiture present in sapient beings, known as Innate Investiture, is also distinct from Splinters.{{wob ref|1072}}
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