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  1. I was re-reading Elantris for the sixty-bajillianth time when I noticed that the god of Shu-Korath, Domi, is part of the name of the Shard Dominion. I've always thought that Jaddeth was a representation of Dominion, and that Domi was Devotion. But after seeing that Domi was part of Dominion, I think that maybe the Elantrians were made by Dominion, as they are powerful enough to rule over an entire world, and were able to gain dominion over Arelon and were going to try to invade other countries, until Fjordell stopped them, but was destroyed in the process.
  2. I'd like to propose a theory: Odium and Autonomy worked together to destroy Devotion and Dominion, because those are their respective opposite Shards (in the same way that Ruin and Preservation are diametrically opposed to each other), so it was convenient for Odium and Autonomy to have them out the way. We know that Ambition was "number one on [Odium]'s hit list" (Arcanum Unbounded Chicago signing, December 6, 2016) because Ambition was, as the name suggests, the most likely to become a significant power in the Cosmere that could and would oppose Odium. Odium came across Devotion and Dominion first and took the opportunity to Splinter them. There is a WoB stating that there are two reasons Odium targets another Shard: "he can argue they're breaking the rules they set out", or he thinks they're "a good match for him, or a challenge, or a danger" (Oathbringer Houston signing, November 18, 2017). This was Brandon's answer to a question regarding why Odium went for Devotion and Dominion, so he could have just said "he found them first" but he didn't, which implies to me that if Odium had stumbled across Whimsy or someone that he would have ignored them and continued searching for Ambition. But would Odium kill Devotion and Dominion just because he could justify it? I don't think he would. Why would he care about justifying it to the other Shards when he'd immediately go on to kill Ambition, who was apparently alone? Maybe Ambition had paired off with Mercy, but Harmony seems to find Mercy ominous somehow, so I kind of doubt that Mercy was fighting on Ambition's side - even if Mercy and Ambition had paired off, Odium didn't know that so he'd still have had no reason to kill Devotion and Dominion just because he could make an excuse for it. I think this excuse was just an opportunity Odium grasped, and that the real reason he bothered with them was because Devotion is diametrically opposed to Odium - in a Tweet from February 1, 2016, BrandoSando cagily says "one could make that argument" when asked if Devotion and Odium were opposites. We know that Autonomy helped Splinter, in some way, Devotion and Dominion (Lisbon signing, November 7, 2016), and that she had either an alliance or a truce with Odium, as Odium targeting her would be considered a double-cross (Dragonsteel Mini-Con, November 22, 2021). We also know that Autonomy doesn't want other Shards to interfere with whatever her plans are (JordanCon, April 20, 2018), and she seems to be one of the most active Shards in the Cosmere, expanding to other planets whenever possible. This is why I think that Autonomy would be interested in the possibility of Splintering a Shard that was diametrically opposed to her, and I think Dominion happens to be that Shard. There isn't much evidence for this theory beyond "it seems to fit", but it seems to fit. I don't know what significance it has to the overall Cosmere either. Maybe Sel, already difficult to get to, will be shielded against both Odium and Autonomy due to the Dor's Investiture, and will become crucial in the Cosmere as Odium and Autonomy's plans are set in motion. Interested to see if The Lost Metal does anything to support or weaken this theory.
  3. I don't think think we put enough focus on Elantrian investiture. Intriguing facts Sel is a system with many magic systems, which instead of getting power from the spiritual realm, they siphon the power directly from the Dor (the two splintered shard's power) Elantrian magic seems is the only investiture (we know of) where the magic's power is linked directly to the practitioner's proximity to Elantris (which is curiously located next to a perpendicularity) Sel magic seems unusually versatile even among Sel magics, allowing teleportation, illusions, transmutation, healing, energy summoning, strength/speed increase, emotion manipulation (likely via connection), among presumably many others Brandon said that Elantris was an “oddball among the cosmere magic systems” Keshu taught that “God would come to earth once all mankind was unified” unified, being a vague term Wryn's letter to Hrathen stated that “the time for [Jaddeth’s] ascension is near” likely referring Jaddeth coming up from underground The Fjordells seemed suspiciously interested in Destroying Elantris even when the inhabitant were, comparatively defenseless theories All the Elantrians are technically all ascended at once calling upon the directly Dor’s power using Aons as “codes” so theoretically anything a shard can do, an elantrian can do as well provided the know the correct Aons. That would mean an Elantrian the is the Shard so any Seons connected the an Elantrian are not longer to the person’s identity but instead to the shard itself. So when the Reod happened all the seons could only pull their connection to the physical realm from the blocked off Dor. Wryn was not talking about “ascension” in the literal sense but in the Shard sense. He needed all the elantrians killed so the power wouldn’t be connected to anyone alive anymore, that way the shard’s intent would let someone else bear the power totally. Maybe there are many other perpendicularities on Sel and if someone were to control, or “unify” all of them they would be able to put the shards back together and “Fully” ascend.
  4. Theory: After Ambition was wounded in the Threnodite System by Odium and Mercy, she fled to another point in space. This point either was, or became, the Rosharan system. Here, Ambition was killed. Her death created the Barrier Storm in the Cognitive Realm around the planet Braize. This storm was later Invested by Odium to create the proto-Everstorm that was pulled through into the Physical on Roshar at the Battle of Narak. Ambition's death also created a wound in the Spiritual Realm in the Rosharan System similar to that which exists on Threnody. This is the reason there are spren on Roshar. Datapoints: I group this into two categories, Spren and Storms. SPREN: From Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell, we know that the wounding of Ambition in the Threnodite System created Shades: cognitive beings which manifest in the Physical Realm. We do not see similar manifestations in the Mistborn novels or the White Sand graphic novels. We know there are no Splintered Shards in the Scadrian or Taldain systems at the time these stories are set. We see similar manifestations in Elantris and Emperor's Soul (Seons and Skaze). We know there are Splintered Shards in the Selish system at this time. We see similar manifestations in The Stormlight Archive (spren on Roshar) (and voidspren on Braize). STORMS: From Khriss's statements in Arcanum Unbounded, we know that the Dor around Sel is a whorl of free Investiture created when Odium Splintered Dominion and Devotion there. From statements from Nazh and Hoid, we know that travel to/from Sel through the Cognitive Realm is very difficult and dangerous due to the presence there of the Dor. From statements by Nazh, we know that that travel to/from Braize through the Cognitive Realm was difficult due to the presence of this Barrier Storm. A possible chronology: 1) The Shattering of Adonalsium. 2) Odium and Mercy clash with Ambition in the Threnodite System. Ambition is wounded. 3) Odium (and possibly others) clash with Ambition in the Rosharan system. Ambition is killed, creating the Barrier Storm, and spren. 4) Odium goes to the Selish system. He clashes with Dominion and Devotion. They are both killed, creating the Dor. 5) Odium returns to the Rosharan system, and begins whispering in the ears of the Ashynites. 6) The Ashynites devastate their planet using Dawnshards. They are taken in as refugees by Honor and Cultivation on Roshar. Their God, Odium, comes with them. 7) Honor, Cultivation, and Odium make a deal that they think will allow them to live in harmony on Roshar. This is the Oathpact. 8) Odium intentionally goes against the Oathpact, triggering its punishment prohibitions. He is exiled to Braize, on the far side of the Barrier Storm. The cycle of Desolations begins. 9) Honor is Splintered. 10) Honor's Cognitive Shadow is bound to the spren of the Highstorm. 11) Several millennia pass. 12) Odium invests a not-insignificant amount of Investiture into the Barrier Storm, creating the proto-Everstorm in the Cognitive Realm. This process takes several centuries. 13) Finally, the Everstorm is pulled through into the Physical Realm on Roshar, creating a direct passage between Braize and Roshar. Questions: A] Why is this wrong? B] Were other Shards involved in the death of Ambition? Did Mercy join Odium for the final clash? Did Ambition? Did Endowment (who we know is relatively new to the Nalthian system)? Indeed... were Honor and/or Cultivation in on the kill? C] Did the death of Aona and Skai occur before the initial conflict with Uli Da in the Threnodite system; after this initial conflict but before the final conflict in the Rosharan system; or after the Rosharan conflict? D] When on this timeline did Honor and/or Cultivation arrive on Roshar? E] When was Odium's first contact with the humans on Ashyn?
  5. SPOILERS for SA, Mistborn, and Elantris. Not sure if this should be a post on the Sel Topic. So, I was doing some reading on the Coppermind, and noticed something on the Page for Dakhor. (source: https://coppermind.net/wiki/Dakhor) The Dor now, I'm pretty sure I saw a WoB once that I can't find right now, I'd be happy if someone found it, that said that every magic on Sel was powered by the Dor aka by BOTH Dominion and Devotion, not just one. Most people who've read Mistborn assumed Dakhor was a counterpart to Hemalurgy and AonDor to Allomancy, with one being powered by Ruin/Dominion and the other by Preservation/Devotion. Good vs Evil, yes. But that's not how the Dor is or works. WoB told us that every magic has the mix of both shards as a power source, so AonDor uses Dominions Investiture just as much as Dakhor uses Devotions. But now that we know what we know from RoW, what if that's just initially true. what if it should be "every challening (for lack of a better word) accesses the Dor initially, not just one shard.", and what the Dakhor Monks do by chanting is messing with that. Rythms Honor, Cultivation and Odium all have a Rythm. There are Rythms for the mix of them (The Rythm of War, for example). This is a Cosmere-wide phenomenon, as far as we know. Ruin's pulses from the Well of Ascension are similar to the Rythms, we know that. If my meh-tier understanding of all the magiphysics in RoW is correct, Navani and Raboniel could use the Rythms of Odium and Honor respectively to influence the shards investiture, their flow, and their combination. The Rythm of Dominion The simple conclusion here would be: The Dakhor monks chant the Rythm of Dominion to use specifically Dominions Investiture/Investiture aligned to Dominion for their magic. But even if we say the WoB "It's always Dor" still holds true, Selish magic is all about Keys. I think the Bones of Dakhor monks are more like the Aons on Plates that you can reactivate than the Aons you draw into the air. The making of a hyper-specific Key is the chanting itself, where different chants/rythms influence what kind of mix of Devotion and Dominion is channeled into a bone, thus deciding what kind of twisting the bone will do. Okay, aluminum foil hats on. The next points are all based on my initial theory (Dakhor chanting uses the Rythm of Dominion and maybe that of Devotion), and are wilder. 1. Anti-Investiture (source: https://coppermind.net/wiki/Dakhor) The Anti-Tones, from my understanding, sound the same as the Tones, but technically they are inverted, and it's the Intent that matters. I doubt that Dakhor chanters know "what we're doing is channeling the Anti-Tone of Devotion", but I assume an Intent like "we want this to block AonDor" could be enough to create Anti-Dor properties. Is Anti-Investiture how Dakhor monks can be resistant to or negate AonDor magic? Counterpoint: We've seen some pretty violent reactions when the lights meet. So either the violent reaction here happens in the cognitive realm, Dakhor blocking the Aons from even channeling much Investiture, or there's no Anti-Investiture involved. Then again, Anti-Light is described very similar to how Skaze are described, so maybe Dominions Investiture inherently has features similar to Anti-Investiture. 2. Svrakiss Next crackpot thesis: Svrakiss are Dakhor monks or Dakhor sacrifices. It is those that have a sufficient attunement to Investiture aside from their connection to their home country to come back as Cognitive Shadows. Now, we don't even know that Svrakiss even exist. But lets assume they do, and take what knowledge we have: Let's go in order. 1. half-ghost and half-demon. Sure sounds like Cognitive Shadows. 2. souls of men barred from entrance into heaven. -> don't enter the beyond because they're so invested that they don't pass on initially - or maybe at all. 3. Taking over bodies of living men and control their actions. If that doesn't scream Dominion, i don't know what does. 4. older concept than Shu-Dereths presence in Svorden. That's actually very neat for us. We know a) Elantris already existed when Shu-Keseg split and b ) Elantris the city is older than the splintering of Dominion and Devotion. We don't have a timeline, but it could be that the mythology of Svrakiss comes from a time before the Dor came to be. Another thing I want to highlight is the wording from this WoB: (Emphasis mine, source: https://wob.coppermind.net/events/3-firefight-chicago-signing/#e48) "Twisting" is exactly the vocabulary used for the bones of Dakhor monks, which from what we know are the key to Dakhor magic, and, as I've theorized, are influenced by Rythms. Now, this wording might be a coincidence, but I think it's possible that it isn't. Which leads me to my theory: Svrakiss today (when Elantris takes place) are either former Dakhor monks or specifically monks that have been sacrificed in Dakhor ritual. To further explain: Svrakiss in general are Cognitive Shadows based on Dominions Investiture, and some kind of mistwraith-spike-construct and/or Nahel-Bond parallel stuff happens for them to take over living bodies. Since D&D were shattered, Svrakiss don't really come to be anymore, since Cognitive Shadows don't happen in the Plasma that is the Dor, and since Dor users aren't aligned to Investiture in the same way that someone burning a metal or holding a lot of Stormlight might be. (I admit, this point is a bit iffy, we just know very little about the mechanics here and about the Dor). However, a Dakhor user or sacrifice would be so aligned to and filled with Dominions investiture due to the chanting that when they died or were sacrificed, they don't pass on into the Beyond directly ("barred from entrance into heaven") but rather become Svrakiss, still connected to the physical realm, half-ghosts and half-demons. What I'm saying is if Svrakiss are real, the very rare nature of sole-Dominion-aligned people dying might explain why they're so rare that no on-screen-character so far has seen one (aside from maybe Suit...). Counterpoint: The Cognitive Shadows we know aren't super affected by whose investiture they're using as shadows, from what we've seen. Second, maybe Svrakiss could also just be Dor-Cognitive-Shadows. Or something closer to the Threnody Shades than the Heralds and Returned. But, importantly, we only know the Shades as being from post-Ambitions-death, while Svrakiss mythology might be older than the splitering of D&D. Aluminum foil hats off. Again, the last two points are very out there. The first one, I think, might not be. I'm pretty sure that whenever the Elantris sequels come out and we learn more about Dakhor, the chanting will tie into the cosmere-wide phenomenon that are rythms.
  6. I should begin by informing you that this theory discusses info which is available in the 10th Anniversary Edition of Elantris, as well as the Arcanum Unbounded. If you've only read Elantris and not the new version then you might spoil yourself. AonDor existed before Elantris was built. We know this because how else would the builders have known the shape of the Aon in which it was supposed to be built? The Dor itself needs to have existed for AonDor, yet I have a theory that AonDor existed before the Splintering of Devotion & Dominion. And even weirder, I also have a theory that the city of Elantris might've been built while she was still alive Don't worry though, I also have a far more sane theory attempting to answer this question right below the crazy one that I've marked under a line of tildes (~) The biggest reason why I think that Devotion might've been there when Elantris was created is the Pool. It had apparent religious significance to the Elantrians. The Pool was depicted in the wall relief in the secret meeting room. It was situated quite close to the city itself, which was visible from the peaks where the pool was located. When entering it, people feel an extreme sense of comfort and calm. The Hoed regained a bit of consciousness in it. The Pool speaks to people when they enter it, offering peace and contentment, wishing to take away their sorrows and pains. Those who do not accept the relief do not dissolve. And it makes sense that way, the Elantrians getting old enough to want release going there to die but finding a new world. Devotion's Perpendicularity just gave the feel from both where it was physically located, to how it was described, it seemed as though it was placed there specifically for this purpose. There's another thing though, in Mistborn: Secret History, we meet... It is very possible that some form of AonDor existed before the Splintering, since the Selish magics seem to be focused on forms & coding. The proto Aons might not have been in the shape they are now (i.e. the shape of Arelon). The Selish magics' focus probably were symbols even before D&D's death, it's just the region-specificity (in form & function) that might have been introduced to them afterwards. The Surges were very much a part of the Rosharan system before the Shards' arrival, weren't they? The magic should change with an event as drastic as its Shards getting killed and shoved into the Cognitive Realm but why would it need to change the part where the magic is utilized via symbols? The change caused by shoving Devotion & Dominion into the Cognitive Realm is that the magics got region-locked due to the Cognitive Realm distinguishing between such. Even so, Selish magics being unavailable outside of Sel seems much more a direct result of that than region-focused magic, which was probably based on the Cognitive Realm itself being affected by people's perception of being different from other groups than anything purely fundamental about having a Shard hanging around in the Cognitive. I'm hypothesizing the possibility that the problem got exacerbated with their Splintering rather than being created due to it. There's also the fact that 'Aon' is derived from Aona, Devotion. And that Seons were born when Aona was Splintered. The Seons have Aons at their centre which are Splinters of Aona. Which means Aons existed during that time. The religions of Shu-Korath (Domi, united through love) and Shu-Dereth (Jaddeth, united through obedience by the rule of a theocratic government) seem divided between Devotion and Dominion and the magics seem to reflect these divisions too, observing AonDor vs Dakhor, though it might be correlation rather than causation, after all, they are splinter religions arising from an older religion, Shu-Keseg. We know that Sel's Shards, Devotion & Dominion were killed by Odium and that their power was stuffed into the Cognitive Realm to form the Dor. We also know that this is the reason why the Selish magics are locked. We see evidence of the conflict between Shards on all of these other Shardworlds except on Sel ⚠ Stormlight Archive minor spoilers (info on the cover blurbs) ⚠ Spoiler  ⚠ Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell spoilers ⚠  Sel also houses dead Shards but the only effect seems rather... mild, is it related to how Odium locked them in the Cognitive? Or is the region-locked magic its version all that remains as evidence of conflict between three Shards? Why is Sel still doing so well despite having two Splinterings? Neither Threnody nor Roshar are doing so well ⚠ Mistborn: Secret History spoilers ⚠  The lack of any direct effect from the Splintering I can accept, maybe Odium finished the deed in the Cognitive or immediately locked the remnants in the Cognitive after killing Aona (Devotion) and Skai (Dominion) but why isn't there any evidence of a planet scale war? There must have been some evidence of the conflict for Khriss to deduce what happened. Who would the conflict be staged between on Sel? On Roshar This is assuming Odium even needs to subvert people to create hatred between groups to somehow damage how another Shard is perceived, or that he tried to pit Devotion and Dominion against one another, these are just theories and are in no way confirmed. But if such a conflict did occur, was it waged between the continents on Sel? On each continent? Opelon doesn't have indications of such a conflict. Except maybe the city of Elantris and the land of Arelon, which was found uninhabited by its would-be settlers, the Aonic people, led by King Rhashm who would go on to rename himself King Raoshem. Did Devotion and Dominion just die to Odium? Ambition fought, Honor fought, Devotion and Dominion must've fought as well, Elantris and the land of Arelon could have been a staging ground for the conflict between the Shards, which might've been why it was empty when it was found, having been on the side that lost I should note that so far as we know, both the Splinterings occurred within a few thousand years of the Shattering. And Odium could've very well ignored the inhabitants of Sel and only concerned himself with the Shards he was there to kill. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The less crazy theory is ~Mistborn: Secret History spoilers~ I know, I know, the first one was a crazy idea, right? There have been counter-arguments to a lot of the points I've raised, including the possibility of a Cognitive Shadow of Aona being the voice that one hears when submerged in the Pool or that the feelings invoked are a direct effect of the Shard's Intent, both very much possible with what we've of other Shards like Ruin, Preservation, Cultivation, Odium... It could be that the location of the city was based on proximity to the pool instead of the other way around, it could also be sheer coincidence or something made the liquid Investiture of Devotion coalesce there ~Mistborn & Stormlight spoilers~ So how crazy did you find the first theory? And What did you think of the second theory? Do you have any other theories on the origin of Elantris?
  7. So the Dawnshard novella just recently came out and it had some seriously juicy lore tidbits for all of us to chew on. I'm going to be putting my interpretation of it here along with what I think is a probable timeline of events involving the Dawnshards. Nature of the Dawnshards So Adonalsium gave four primal Commands that spawned the Dawnshards and created the Cosmere. We know that one of them is Change and that together all four were used to Shatter God himself. I'm thinking these Commands are similar to the Christian notion of "Let there be light" while the resulting Dawnshards are a sort of imprint on the world left by the Commands. If God turning on the lights was a boot, the Dawnshard is a boot print. I believe these four Commands were Change, Survive, Unite and Distinguish. I don't know if these are the actual names of the Dawnshards (I would be surprised if Distinguish was 100% correct) but the gist of it remains the same. These four are two sets of two that, while not exactly opposite, are in some respects opposed. None are negative or positive, they simply are. Change and Survive are opposed as survival requires a certain amount of stasis. Unite and Distinguish are opposed as Distinguish implies individuality and unity implies a certain common ground. The Shattering of Adonalsium I believe that at one point they were all combined into a single weapon that was used to Shatter Adonalsium and that Hoid was the one who actually holding the thing when it all went down, as is referenced by Hoid being both "Topaz" as well as the "Bearer of the First Gem" as well as the WoB's that we have stating that the weapon used to kill Adonalsium is drained and inoperable and that Hoid's immortality is derived from it. It's drained because the Dawnshards were removed from it and Hoid's immortality comes from Survive. From Nikli's line in the novella we know that wielding a Dawnshard makes "Demands on a level that no person could ever manage alone..." Thus I believe that while Hoid was the one actually pulling the trigger, there was another group bracing and bolstering him, probably a group of 16, aka the Shardic Vessels. Think the ending scene from Guardians of the Galaxy. Starlord got his hands on the Infinity Stone but he couldn't use it until they all united their strength by using the secret move "Power of Friendship" :). I think that's what happened here only more premeditated God-murder and less dance off. Scattering of the Dawnshards My next bit of wild speculation is that I believe that when Adonalsium was Shattered, the Dawnshards contained in the weapon were scattered to four of the Vessels. Which Vessels got chosen probably had to deal with the specific theme of each Shard of Adonalsium. Cultivation and Ruin, for instance, both fit squarely in the Change quadrant. Here's how I think the Shards fall into the quadrants. Change - Ruin, Cultivation, Endowment Survive - Preservation Unite - Honor, Devotion, Dominion Distinguish - Odium, Autonomy, Ambition Ruin is Change through destruction. Cultivation is Change through improvement. Endowment is Change through transfer. Preservation is Survival through stasis. Honor is Unity through shared ethics. Devotion is Unity through love. Dominion is Unity through law and government. Distinguish is all about individuality (which is why I was having trouble with the word Distinguish. Individuality is not a verb!!!). This would mean the Odium is individuality through emotion, Autonomy is individuality through isolation and Ambition is individuality through accomplishment. I believe that Hoid either got the Survive Dawnshard or had it before the Shattering and the it somehow ended up with Preservation after everything was said and done. It is currently hidden on Scadrial somewhere. Honor got the Unity Dawnshard and took it with him to Roshar. I'm not sure who ended up with the Change Dawnshard but they must have given it up or had it taken from them somehow, probably the former, and it was then carried to Roshar and hidden in the cavern in Akinah. This leaves Distinguish, which I believe fell into Autonomy's hands. It's use might explain her weird avatar situation, granting herself an excess of individuality. She gave it to Odium to use in killing Devotion, Dominion and Ambition. This is how he wiped the floor with them without breaking a sweat, even in a two on one fight. This is also probably why Brandon was cagey about whether Bavadin helped Odium splinter D&D. She didn't really help commit the murder, she just handed the murderer a gun at some point. Dawnshard Battle on Roshar After Odium got done taking out D&D and Ambition, he set his sights on Honor and Cultivation. Big problem here though. Honor had a Dawnshard. I don't think he was actively using it though. It's my guess that there was some sort of agreement among the Vessels to not wield both a Shard and a Dawnshard at once. It would upset the balance of power too much. This is why Survive is being stored away on Scadrial, why Change was sort of floating around until it ended up in Aimia and why Honor was letting Ishar hang on to Unite, which he used to bind the surgebinders with oaths and create the Oathpact. But Odium broke the rules and so Honor took his Unite Dawnshard back to kick some butt. The problem for Honor was that Odium is just insanely more practiced and skilled in Shard on Shard combat at this point and was just more skilled with using a Dawnshard in general. Sure they both had guns but one has a seasoned fighter and the other was an amateur. Regardless Honor was enough of a threat with his Dawnshard that Odium had to take things slow and be cautious. This is also probably why Cultivation stayed out of this for the most part. She wasn't armed. Eventually Odium gets the upper hand and slips in a killing blow but Honor leaves his cognitive shadow, along with the Dawnshard that it's carrying, behind and has it fuse with the Stormfather. This now means that any Bondsmith that bonds to the Stormfather now has access to a Dawnshard as well as the Shard of Honor relative to how closely bonded they are with the Stormfather. The more oaths they say, the closer they get to becoming the Vessel of Honor and attaining the full power of the Dawnshard of Unity. This is probably how Melishi was able to bind the Singers into slaveform. This is probably also how Dalinar is able to Unite the realms. It also occurs to me that this might be a good explanation for why the Recreance happened. Honor was dying and as he was dying he gave his Dawnshard to the Bondsmiths. Since the Dawnshard was presumably what destroyed Ashyn people might have been worried about misusing that power. It would be like the President showing up to your house one day at random, mortally wounded, screamed something about the end of the world and gave you the nuclear launch codes before dying on your couch. Anybody would be freaked out, let alone the descendants of the people who once blew up a planet. They then immediately have their fears validated when Melishi, the new Dawnshard of Unity, uses his newfound power to lobotomize an entire sapient species. Yeah, I can see why they were concerned. Future of the Dawnshards It is my current opinion that at some point in a future book, Dalinar will say his fifth oath and bond fully to the Stormfather. This will cause him to ascend to become the Vessel of Honor and also grant him full access to the Unity Dawnshard. This time however the fight against Odium will go differently because Odium won't be facing kind old Tanavast. He'll be facing the Blackthorn. At that point Dalinar either keeps the Dawnshard or gives it up, either one seems plausible. The Change Dawnshard stays with Rysn for now but that could change in the future depending on how things play out. The Survive Dawnshard is probably being held by Kelsier currently, both because Kelsier is probably the most realmatically aware Scadrian, and thus probably knows all about Dawnshards and realizes that one is on Scadrial, but also because it fits thematically. Kelsier The Survivor, who fought gods and won, gets a god slaying weapon called Survive? It's freaking perfect. I honestly don't know what happens to the Distinguish Dawnshard. It honestly comes down to how the fight with Odium actually plays out. I doubt it can ever be truly destroyed but it might get lost somehow or simply gifted to someone responsible. Some Extra Reasoning Tidbits - I used Survive as one of the Dawnshards because Kelsier mentions hearing a voice tell him to Survive within the Pits and because it fits as a nice clean opposing force to Change. We also know a powerful weapon is hidden on Scadrial. - I used Unite because Dalinar's "I am Unity" moment as well as several mentions of Unity in Elantris in regards to Devotion and Dominions religions. There's also mentions of a Dawnshard that binds things, which I believe is Unite. - Distinguish (still feel like that's not a perfect word) is in there because I needed something to oppose Unity that fit for the remaining three Shards. Individuality seems to fit in my opinion. - As for why Honor mentioned that they won't have access to the Dawnshards, I have no idea. There's already one confirmed to be on the planet and if my theory is right there's another two. Maybe he's saying they can't use them because of the oaths? That seems to be the original purpose of Radiant oaths, to keep the people who could potentially misuse a Dawnshard in check. - I believe the one Dawnshard that is different from the other, as mentioned in a WoB, is the Survive Dawnshard as it's on Scadrial and the other three are on Roshar. - The Shard of Adonalsium that is loosely associated with wisdom and "just want's to survive" is probably in the Survive quadrant. - It seems to me from the line in the novella about Rysn not being able to use the power and the restriction in their contract about becoming a surgebinder suggests that the Dawnshard requires some sort of magic already present in the wielder in order to make it work. This suggests to me that the Dawnshard is less of a powerful spell and more of an amplifier of other magics, making them far more powerful and versatile. This is probably due to the problem that Nikli mentions about needing the breadth of understanding equivalent to a deity. A Dawnshard in a Soother's hands might let them manipulate the minds of everyone on a whole planet because the Soother's powers are being used as a framework in place of that required understanding. A Soother with Dawnshard could probably not manipulate the laws of physics to the same extent as he could manipulate emotions. Maybe a little, but not to the same apocalyptic degree that a Shardic Vessel could. - We know that Hoid derives his immortality from the weapon that killed Adonalsium and we know that he's been cursed to never harm another living thing. I believe that both of those come from the Survive Dawnshard. He survives through anything, including death, because of the residual influence of the Dawnshard. He also can't kill or maim because that's antithetical to the concept of survival. What are your guy's thoughts on all of this? Let's discuss.
  8. So Ruin&Preservation was just some weird opposites attract thing where one can't just be alone without the other interfering so that makes sense. Honor&Cultivation settled together because they're romantically involved so that one is quite obvious. However how did Aona and Skai end up together settling on the same planet when the shards they held don't seem to gel well by concept ? Do you guys think it is personal like they personally know each other enough that they trust each other to settle together ? Are they previously romantically involved as well ( tho Sanderson did say they were just business partners of sort but I think I read some wob there was something more) ? Or after picking up the shards did with their warped personality both made a conscious agreed decision together as they foresaw they would work out well for their personal shard intents ? It feels like their settling on the same planet together like how two friends/strangers who have different personalities just decide to become roommates or something. Their case is a curious as if I think about it Dominion and Devotion sounds almost as disastrous as R&P. Any relevant wobs ? Speculations ? Thoughts
  9. While we were all taken in by the mystery of Ralkalest, the unForgeable metal and whether or not it was the same as aluminium, there was another substance that passed under our radars: Soulstones "Broken gods" could be referring to Splintered Shards Soulstones are weird. They are perfect for Forgery. A soft and easy to carve chalk like substance that hardens into a quartz like substance. Appearance-wise too it doesn't sound normal: ...but I'm no geologist, so if it is a real Earth substance like Ralkalest, just with a different name, tell me so!
  10. In Elantris it is mentioned that all the religions focus on unity. Shu-Dereth achieves Unity by Obedience(Dominion). Shu-Korath is Unity by Love (Devotion). Shu-Keseg is Unity (Dominion and Devotion) Did anyone else follow this train of thought?
  11. At at least one point in Stormlight it has been heavily implied that Odium has been wounded in the past, and he’s referred to as the ‘Broken One’, but what exactly do we think that means? I know that there’s a WOB in which Brandon hints that in his battle with Dominion, Skai manages to put up a really good fight (or at least that’s how I interpreted it), so is it possible that he managed to do some kind of irreparable harm to Odium? Maim him, so to speak, whatever that term would even mean when applied to a post-physical being like a Shard? Maybe the Shardic-equivalent of lopping off a limb? Or am I probably reading more into this than there is?
  12. If a normal human on Scadrial were to drink from the Well of Ascension, would they become an Allomancer? Would a human on Sel drinking from the Pool become an Reod Elantrian, as they don't have the Dominion part of the Dor in their body? What would happen if someone drank world-specific Investiture?
  13. Ok, this theory might seem a little crazy, but if it turns out to actually be true, it would have a huge impact on the Cosmere! so, starting off: Devotion and Dominion were splintered, and their power was moved into the Cognitive Realm. in the Arcanim Unbounded essay about Sel, it says: Now, we have seen evidence that a self-aware Splinter could pick up a Shard, like [SH spoilers] Since Dominion and Devotion are already somewhat Reunited, they could potentially be picked up by a person, or a Seon, or a Skaze, or whatever. EXCEPT! this United Shard could already have been picked up, by the PLANET ITSELF(!), because it has ties to all three realms, enabling it to use the full power of the Shard, Connection to both of the shards, enabling it to pick it up easily, and a self-awareness, which could allow the Planet of Sel to choose for itself. This could be that something that might be happening on Sel that Khriss speculates about. What do you guys think? Could it be true, or has the taint on Saidin affected me more than I think?
  14. I'm going to just say right off the bat that I am by no means convinced that this is even likely to be true much less that it actually is, and it only just finished coming together in my head a few minutes ago in another one of my posts in which Autonomy was brought up. So for all I know, this is demonstrably false, but I thought I'd just put it out there. So for a while now, I've been trying (and failing) to wrap my brain around just what the heck is going on with Autonomy and why she seems to be acting so contrary to at least reasonable conceptions of what her intent would seem to indicate. What we seem to know about her is that 1) she's 'spreading' from planet to planet and installing avatars of her Investiture on them, whatever exactly that means, 2) she tends to discourage if not outright forbid in the case of Taldain any access to or from the planets under her dominion (pun definitely intended), and 3) that she tends to inspire or deliberately set herself or her avatars up as objects of worship among those on her planets. This has always struck me as extremely bizarre behaviour for the Shard of Autonomy, for which really only (2) could be argued as unsurprising. But then I remembered that there was a WOB in which someone had asked Brandon whether Autonomy was involved in the splintering of Devotion and Dominion, and Brandon answered in the affirmative, albeit only after they rephrased the question to be extremely broad to prevent him from RAFOing it on the spot ("was Autonomy involved in any way), which is so vague as to be compatible with practically anything, but oh well, just consider that one of the unproven assumptions of this theory. What occurred to me is that it almost seems like Autonomy is displaying behaviour consistent with and expected by Dominion and Devotion (albeit interpreted in the sense of 'subservience' and 'sycophantism' rather than 'love and compassion' as Aona seems to). That is to say, I don't think any of us would have been at all surprised to have learned that Dominion liked to spread from planet to planet and claim them for itself, or that a less benevolently-interpreted Devotion would like to set themself up as an object of worship and reverence, but that Autonomy would do those things is, at the very least, somewhat more surprising simply by virtue of it not being as expected given that Shardic intent. So my question is this: IF we assume for the sake of argument that Autonomy was in some way involved with the deaths of Devotion and Dominion, or of disposing of their 'remains' afterward so to speak, is there any chance that the uncontained Investiture of Dominion and Devotion could have in some sense 'contaminated' Autonomy's own Investiture (and maybe even Odium too for all we know, since he's really no different, just even worse) to some extent and instilled into her these tendencies that would be more expected for those two Shards? I mean she clearly doesn't hold their full Shards, that's not what I'm suggesting, but it doesn't seem entirely outside the realm of possibility that when the Investiture of two Shards comes into contact, for lack of a better term, some limited degree of melding occurs (it certainly did in Harmony's case, admittedly through completely different means). Looked at in this way, Autonomy's behaviour would no longer seem quite so counter-intuitive. She'd effectively be a single Shard in terms of power, but possess in addition to her primary attribute, a limited extent of two other Shards as well. Though admittedly, an obvious inconsistency with this theory is that Ruin and Preservation's Investiture had clearly been 'in contact' before and yet neither of them displayed any sort of 'intent blending', so clearly if this has any merit at all it would require the additional assumption that something different and possibly unique occurred on Sel that simply hasn't occurred since. Exactly what this is, I don't know. Does anyone have any thoughts?
  15. After the shattering, Odium splintered and killed the holders of (at least) three shards before arriving on Roshar. In the various timelines for the Cosmere I have seen constructed, Odium is always said to have splintered Devotion and Dominion on Sel first, and then mortally wounded Ambition in the Threnodite system before Ambition was fully splintered, almost certainly by Odium, elsewhere (see, e.g. here, for example). Is there any WOB or anything that substantiates this order, because, based on the system overviews in AU, I presumed Odium went after and splintered Ambition before he went to Sel. Concerning Ambition, the Thredodite System overview says: Concerning Devotion and Dominion, the Selish System overview says: The Selish System article, also suggests that there was a fairly substantial period of time that Devotion and Dominion were on Sel before being destroyed, at least in human terms. There is no such suggestion in in the Threnodite Sytem article, though the coppermind article on Ambition makes it sound as though this was the case, or at least that there had been significant enough investiture once on Threnody to suggest it, all albeit without citations backing it up. It sounds to me, all told, that Odium went after Ambition first, soon after the shattering, and then went to Sel after Devotion and Dominion had been there for a fairly significant amount of time, at least from a human perspective. I think this is reinforced by the fact that Odium didn't defeat and Splinter Ambition outright, and that she was able to run away first after being mortally wounded. This suggests to me that Odium was still just figuring out how to splinter and not just kill the holders of other shards. I think Mistborn Secret history also suggested that splintering other shards was something shards had to learn, and that Ruin hadn't learned it, which was what allowed Kelsier, then Vin, then Sazed to take up preservation. Is there a reason to believe Odium went to Sel before going after Ambition, rather than after? If so, can you please share it? Thanks
  16. I posted this on General Brandon discussion, but then I realized it probably belongs here. So I recently restarted Elantris, and-I'm sure I'm not the first to see this- I noticed that "Domi" (as in merciful domi) sounded an awful lot like Dominion (DOMInion). I also noticed Hrathen say something along the lines of "ambition is one of the only emotions Jaddeth encourages, besides devotion. I think it may be possible that Shu-Dereth and Shu-Korath are worshiping devotion and dominion, respectively? It does say in the coppermind that Domi comes from Aon Omi, meaning love, but I thought the coincidence was a little too strong. Also, the Derethi beliefs that Jaddeth lives in the ground hits a little too close to home for it to not be one of the shards. What do you guys think?
  17. One thing I'm curious about (and unsure where else to wonder about it) is what made Dominion and Devotion settle on Sel together in the first place? We know now that there was a kind of pact or agreement that Shards would stay away from each other, thanks to the Part 2 Epigraphs, and we know Ruin and Preservation paired off in part because they thought they could counterbalance each other and mitigate Ati's eventual corruption by his Intent, while Honor and Cultivation's vessels had a romantic connection. Autonomy seems to just like to meddle, and Odium seeks out other Shards to kill them. But why did Aona and Skai break the pact? Dominion and Devotion in some ways oppose each other but in other ways almost complement each other (ie the sense of nationalistic identity that fuels many of the magics on Sel can be seen as Devotion to one's Dominion or empire). So they're not an obvious counter to each other in such a way that they could balance or cancel each other out the way that Ruin and Preservation sought to, but neither are they an easy or obvious complement of Intents. Additionally, we have inklings that Skai was not such a great guy, so it would seem unlikely that he and Aona had anything like Honor and Cultivation's personal connection....unless Skai was corrupted by his Intent of Dominion similar to Ati's devolution into Ruin. So honestly, I'm at a loss as to what drew them together if its being near each other and violating this pact that put them on Odium's hit list in the first place. It's likely we simply just don't have enough information yet to draw any kind of actual conclusions, but Sel and its history and its Shards remains one of the most mysterious aspects of the cosmere to me, so this pact (albeit one that seems rather informal and more of 'guidelines' for Shards to follow rather than a hard and fast rule) and the fact that they broke it feels significant to me. Anyone else have any theories why?
  18. Devotion and Dominion are actually a "Spintered Shard" This post is a theory about the current situation of the Sel’s Shards. Maybe the title is a bit confusing but follow my thoughs. Let’s begin to some Cosmere’s “facts” wide accepted by everyone: Sel had two Shards: Devotion held by Aona and Dominion held by Skai Odium came to Sel, killed the Holders and Splintered the Shards. A little part of the Spinters gained sentience and became Seon and Skaze. The remain (massive) splinters of the two Shards merged together and became the Dor. The Dor is the core part of the Jesker religion, who see the Dor like an “overspirit” Another religion Shu-keseg workship the “unity of mind” From Shu-keseg came two branches: Shu-Dereth and Shu-Korath Shu-Dereth involves about “unity through control” Shu-Korag involves about “unity through love” the religion derivated from Shu-keseg have as mantra quite the intent of the two Sel’s shards. Now after this (maybe too long) introduction, I will explain my theory: Now on Sel there aren't two different shards but only one. Devotion or Dominiom are gone, now we have only a new Shard, I like to call it “Unity” but we could call with the neutral name of DorShard. The problem is that DorShard is actually Splintered. This is my explanation: When Odium came to Sel, he killed both of Shardholders and then spintered twe two Shards. A little of the Shards’s Splinters gained sentience and now they are know as Seon and Skaze. The unsentient part of the Spinters from both Shards then began to merge together. Why Did they merge ? Becouse the Devotion and Dominion's intents (or mandates if you prefer) are quite similar, they both were focused about bring Unity but using different methods. If you find this interpretation already heard, it is because it’s quite the same story of Shu-Keseg (but from the ending to the beginning) and I think that Keshu was inspired by this truth and his disciples’s shism was about the previous Shards’ situation. Now the DorShard is actually an unique Shard (like Harmony) but without host and probably Splintered (if the merging doesn’t put the Shard together). If now somebody “pick up the Dor” (and I don't know how it could be made), he will ascend to became a “Double Class” Shard like Harmony. EDIT: For the lazy sharder the main point in few words is: The Dor is a corpse of a new shard, not the patchwork of two corpse of shards
  19. When Raoden falls into the pool in elantris he hears a voice. If the two shards on Sel are shattered than who is the voice he's hearing?
  20. Really wacky theory, and probably wrong, but hear me out. First off, "Benevolence" is the name I am giving to the Shard that would come of a combination of Dominion and Devotion. Came up with the name when hearing Raoden describe himself as a dictator. He is a dictator and a tyrant, embodying Dominion in his control of New Elantris, at the same time, his people love him, and not only does he devote himself to them, he teaches them to devote themselves to their work to escape the pain, thus also embodying Devotion. Best way to describe this to me would be a Benevolent Dictator. Let me know if you have a better name for a combination of Dominion and Devotion (Kinda like how Harmony is the name of Ruin+Preservation). Part two of the theory. Haven't looked this up too much, so it might already be accepted knowledge, but here you go. Odium shattered both Dominion and Devotion. This destroyed their consciousnesses, as well as locking their power in the cognitive realm, in a shattered form. I am assuming that this is what is making travel in Sel's area of Shadesmar dangerous; the shattered power of a shard is searching for purpose and is quite volatile. The Dor is in fact the collection of Devotion and Dominion's power, stuck in the cognitive realm and trying to escape. Something in the shattering also stops it from reforming a consciousness, though I'm not sure if that is by keeping it apart (shattered) or it is through some other means. However, I think it is safe to assume that Dominion and Devotion are united as a single power now, almost like a shattered Harmony might be. Part three has to do with Raoden's Dor attacks. For reference, he is the relevant part of Chapter 37: Here, he feels the Dor, as this vast power, making worlds seem insignificant. However, there are a couple lines I'd like to call attention to. First "without crack". To me this seems to say that the shattered pieces aren't separated physically. No, to me it seems to say that something is keeping the sentience of the shards shattered and unformed (thus the "It was not evil, or even sentient." line), while the power is somewhat whole and unite in the Cognitive realm, even if it is volatile and dangerous. A shard's power tends to try and find a host, preferably one that can actually hold the shard (ie has a similar character to it's ideal). To me it seems like Raoden is the first person who is both an Elantrian (read, connection to the Dor) and the odd mix of both Devotion and Dominion's intents. This annotation from Elantris' 31st chapter would seem to confirm this: With a bit of twisting, those two traits could be seen as Dominion and Devotion. Seems suspicious that Brandon would use the term "two defining traits" if intent plays such a big part in Shard lore and mechanics. So, what I think is happening is that the Dor is trying to find a host, but something that Odium did when shattering it is stopping it. And any attempt to absorb the shard is extremely painful to the host, due to a lingering shattering effect from Odium to stop a new host or due to the volatility of the current state of the Dor. Also, for some reason, being a fallen elantrian allows the Dor to try and take you as a host, assuming you have the connection required. If there ever was another Elantrian who, like Raoden, had the character to hold the Dor, then they have perished and been forgotten by the time Raoden becomes an elantrian. All that to say, I think that Raoden, after becoming settled as an Elantrian wouldn't have given up his passion with understanding the Dor. And that it would keep trying to take him. Maybe as a full elantrian, the effects would be different than pain, but I don't know. Regardless, Raoden would figure it out, and would eventually take on the power of both Dominion and Devotion, becoming the shard Benevolence. Other points: Somehow the Cognitive realm becomes safe enough for travel some time after Elantris, as Galladon finds his way to Roshar. It would make sense if someone has taken in all of that volatile power. The Dor attacks was one of the unresolved mysteries of Elantris. Why was it important to the plot? Just so there was urgency to Raoden after the bands joined? (as per the annotations.) I don't think so. The Dor attacks seem too well thought out. To me it smells like a strand of a Cosmere level plot. Something to lead into a sequel. The "glowing" during the Dor attacks would seem similar to the description of Vin right before her body melted away. In fact, here is another passage from Elantris which almost says this. It's when Raoden gets attacked by the Dor during a conversation with Sarene: So, there you go. My theory is that some time after Elantris (maybe in a sequel) Raoden takes up the mantle of the shattered power of both Dominion and Devotion, becoming a shard who's intent is very similar to that of a benevolent dictator. Thus the name Benevolence. Edit: Thanks to @The One Who Connects for catching that I wrote Domination instead of Dominion a couple times.
  21. So, about a week ago, I posted a theory about Raoden holding the Dual-Shard of Devotion and Dominion, which I'm fairly sure has been shut down, though I think it could possibly still happen. Here I want to discuss the process of rebuilding a splintered shard. It includes a minor theory as to how the splintering of those two shards happened. As a side note, up till now I've been referring to a Dominion/Devotion blend as Benevolence. I'm not longer sure. Maybe Mastery? I'd chosen Benevolence, because that was the Devotion/Dominion blend I saw in AonDor and Raoden, but after looking at all of the Selish magic systems, I think Mastery applies more. Devotion to developing the system so as to get greater Dominion. At the same time, it might depend on how this shard was created. Ruin and Preservation became Harmony under Sazed, but could have become something else under different circumstances. At least, I think I remember a WoB saying that Ruin+Preservation could have become Contention, or some other equivalent. To begin, here is what I believe to Dominion and Devotion (I think it is mostly head-cannon, though there is some WoB support): Odium killed the two vessels, separated the investiture from the shards and shoved it into the CR (forming the Dor, then splintered what was left of the shard into as many pieces as he could, which were then scattered. These pieces slowly gained consciousness, and became the Seons and Skaze that we see on Sel. This is based on a couple WoBs. One that says that shards without vessels will try to get a vessel, or will slowly reform a consciousness. And another one confirming that the Seons/Skaze are splinters of Devotion/Dominion respectively. So, I see a few processes that would work to recombine these shards. 1. Compressing Seons and Skaze to kill them and picking up the remaining power. If pressing Preservation and Ruin up against each other kills the two different vessels (see Vin and Ati's deaths) because they are opposite, then I think that compressing a Seon and a Skaze together would kill them both, leaving behind the shard pieces from each. Left alone, they would reform into a Seon and a Skaze. However, someone who was attuned to both Dominion and Devotion (like how Sazed was attuned to both Preservation and Ruin) was nerby, that person might be able to draw in the splinters. Do this enough times and you'd ascend. There would still be splinters, but once you ascended, it would be easier to regain the other pieces. Once you have the Shards reunited, but with the Investiture still in the CR, then I think the new dual-shard (Mastery/Benevolence) would be able to go to the CR and scoop it back up. It hasn't happened because since the Dor was made, there hasn't ever been enough shard splinters together with a consciousness for it to do so. 2. Merging Seons and Skaze pair by pair, then merging the different pairs into one. However, if compressing a Seon and a Skaze doesn't kill them, but instead merges them, then you could create a ton of splinters of Mastery/Benevolence, in the which each splinter has equal parts Dominion and Devotion. Once most of the splinters have been turned from Seons/Skaze into the new dual-splinter, then you could take the new splinters and merge them together, thus forming a Shard. Unlike the last one, it doesn't involve a human becoming a vessel, but instead relies on the consciousness that a shard makes if left alone. However, the process of reclaiming the Dor would be very similar to that of step 1. 3. Merging each shard individually. However, if you can't merge Seons and Skaze at all, then you might need to use a more roundabout method. I'd attempt to find a way to combine two Seons into one, and two Skaze into one. Over time, you'd end up with the two shard back, without the portion of their investiture that is locked in the Dor. Here it is more complex. The investiture in the Dor is equal parts Dominion and Devotion. However, that power is merged. I suspect that you'd need a temporary alliance between Devotion and Dominion where they work together to separate the Dor into their respective pieces. Then, if you wanted to merge them, you'd have the Vin suicide assault and a new vessel taking both (HoA plot all over again). Or if you want things simpler, use the suicide assault first, then reclaim the Dor as a single piece. Mastery or Benevolence. If you use method 1, then which one came out would depend on who the new vessel was. Take someone like Raoden, and I think you'd get Benevolence. Take someone like Wan ShaiLu, and you'd get something closer to Mastery. Method 2 would probably yield Mastery. And Method 3 Would yeild the seperate shards, which if killed and merged a la Sazed, would have the same result as method 1.
  22. This WoB suggests Rayse had multiple motives for killing Shards. (Source.) Argent: So, did Rayse choose those Shards [to splinter] because - Brandon Sanderson: He went after Ambition first, but didn’t find Ambition until after going after Devotion and Dominion. But Ambition was number one on his hit list. Argent: Was it because of the Shard or because of the Vessel, or the person? Brandon Sanderson: In this case it was the Shard primarily. He was afraid that this was a Shard that would rival him. But he then got trapped in the Rosharan system. “In this case”? Did Odium have other motives than Shard “rivalry” in other cases? I speculate that Rayse detoured from Ambition to kill his parents Aona and Skai. I characterize Devotion and Dominion’s Mandates (Intents) as “Love” and “Control.” That strikes me as a typical “parenting” combo – one parent keeps the kids under control while the other nurtures and loves them unconditionally. I believe Brandon intended this parenting combination. Devotion and Dominion had a pre-Shattering relationship and came to Sel together. Devotion’s love wanted to grant mortals the gift of magic. Dominion agreed, but only under tight controls. Hence, Sel’s “programmatic” form-based magic. It’s understandable why Odium sought Ambition first. It’s understandable why he later sought Honor, his magical antithesis. (Honor binds; Odium severs.) But why Devotion? Dominion maybe, but both of them? And so early in his killing spree? What kind of threat could they pose to chase them down first? Compared to his other killings, Odium murdered Skai and Aona in a particularly vicious way. It was personal. Odium wasn’t content to just kill them. He stomped on their souls and stuffed them into the Cognitive Realm. It’s the Shardic equivalent of cutting up your victim and hiding the pieces in the basement. Hoid in the First Letter describes Rayse as “among the most loathsome, crafty and dangerous individuals I had ever met.” That makes you wonder what the criteria were for participating in the Shattering.
  23. Do other types of investiture suffer/benefit (depending on how you want to view it) from overuse of their powers similar to misting savants?
  24. In The Emperor's Soul, Shai mentions that any material can be used to make a soulstamp, but crystal is the best material for making stamps that take. However, few people use it because it is difficult to carve, and Soulstone is almost as good, as well as easy to carve. In Khriss's essay about Sel in Arcanum Unbounded, she says that So my theory is: THINGS THAT ARE PHYSICALLY ORDERLY ARE THE MOST SELF AWARE. Crystals are orderly. That is the definition of a crystal. Shai mentions wood as something that is very difficult to carve. That makes sense, as wood is not orderly. Soulstone is different because it is a part of Devotion and Dominion. It came from those rocks that fell from the sky that the MaiPon used to worship. So the only advantage that crystal could possibly have over it is its order. Ideas?
  25. We recently had a WoB that part of the reason Odium splintered Devotion and Dominion was to prevent them from finding new Vessels, or worse, combining into a hybrid Shard like Harmony, gaining some form of sentience and seeking out a Host. This got me to thinking, who could possibly have embodied the opposing forces generated by Devotion and Dominion well enough to absorb both Shards? Who has a strong desire to dominate those around her, while remaining devoted to them? Is a human the only option for a Vessel? This is the point where my musings become far less serious: The only answer I could come up with was my dog. She has an Alpha personality, and feels the need to dominate and subjugate others around her, thoroughly. Yet she remains completely devoted to her family and the members of her pack, willing to put herself in harms way to defend them. So my proposed candidate for a bearer of the fused Shards of Dominion and Devotion after they un-splinter, is a dog, who will proceed to gain greater intellect from absorbance of Investiture.
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