Where did this information come from?

[Munazir Skaa]

The sixteen people who shattered Adonalsium picked up these Shards and became the first vessels. Shards are named after a specific action or ideal, called an intent. When a person holds a Shard, that person is imbued with its power, but also becomes the Shard, being warped by its intent.

With a consciousness to direct them, many of the Shards began to Invest their magic and influence in certain planets or peoples.

 

This is something I found online on an article. But where did this information come from. Is it from a book or we the creator tell us or did people piece it together. And if I’m reading the cosmere when should this have been told to me

Edited November 20, 2022 by Munazir

[KandraAllomancer Forger]

A lot of these have probably been known from Words of Brandon first, but here's the list of sources in the actual book texts:

2 hours ago, Munazir said:

The sixteen people who shattered Adonalsium picked up these Shards and became the first vessels. Shards are named after a specific action or ideal, called an intent. When a person holds a Shard, that person is imbued with its power, but also becomes the Shard, being warped by its intent.

Mistborn: Secret History, mostly. Being warped by the Intent was already covered by Hero of Ages

2 hours ago, Munazir said:

With a consciousness to direct them, many of the Shards began to Invest their magic and influence in certain planets or peoples.

Hero of Ages epigraphs, Ars Arcana, the essays in Arcanum Unbounded

[Fish613 Awakened Object]

As the previous poster said, a lot of this kind of information is in obscure places and you need to piece things together to get the full picture. The most "Cosmere-aware" bits of writing (by which I mean the bits which fill in the wider picture of the universe, beyond the specific story) are:

• Mistborn: Secret History, especially Part 3, Chapter 3
• The Ars Arcana (explanations of the magic systems at the end of every book)
• The essays for each planet / system in Arcanum Unbounded
• The letters in some of the Stormlight Archive epigraphs which shards & other knowledgeable people are writing to each other
• I gather The Lost Metal is also quite Cosmere-aware, but it's only been out for a few days and I haven't read it myself!

I managed to find the following specific examples from books for you:

On 20/11/2022 at 6:26 PM, Munazir said:

The sixteen people who shattered Adonalsium picked up these Shards and became the first vessels.

See Mistborn: Secret History, Part 3, Chapter 2.

Quote

When a person holds a Shard, that person is imbued with its power, but also becomes the Shard, being warped by its intent.

Not sure if it's specifically stated, but it's implied in the Way of Kings epigraphs for Chapters 18-19, and a certain character (it will be obvious if you've read it) discovers something similar in Rhythm of War Chapter 114.

But as you guessed / realised, a lot of what is known about the "behind the scenes" / broader story comes from things Brandon has revealed at different times. You may already know this, but just in case you don't, there's a brilliant resource compiling & indexing these called the Arcanum, and if you really want to dive into the rabbit hole (and don't mind risking spoilers), look there. Warn your friends that they may not see you for a few weeks  

[Munazir Skaa]

22 hours ago, Fish613 said:

As the previous poster said, a lot of this kind of information is in obscure places and you need to piece things together to get the full picture. The most "Cosmere-aware" bits of writing (by which I mean the bits which fill in the wider picture of the universe, beyond the specific story) are:

• Mistborn: Secret History, especially Part 3, Chapter 3
• The Ars Arcana (explanations of the magic systems at the end of every book)
• The essays for each planet / system in Arcanum Unbounded
• The letters in some of the Stormlight Archive epigraphs which shards & other knowledgeable people are writing to each other
• I gather The Lost Metal is also quite Cosmere-aware, but it's only been out for a few days and I haven't read it myself!

I managed to find the following specific examples from books for you:

See Mistborn: Secret History, Part 3, Chapter 2.

Not sure if it's specifically stated, but it's implied in the Way of Kings epigraphs for Chapters 18-19, and a certain character (it will be obvious if you've read it) discovers something similar in Rhythm of War Chapter 114.

But as you guessed / realised, a lot of what is known about the "behind the scenes" / broader story comes from things Brandon has revealed at different times. You may already know this, but just in case you don't, there's a brilliant resource compiling & indexing these called the Arcanum, and if you really want to dive into the rabbit hole (and don't mind risking spoilers), look there. Warn your friends that they may not see you for a few weeks  

Thanks. I assumed it was information that was just told to us during Q&A and not actually learned from books 

[Ookla the Leafy Noble-Blooded]

The other posters hit it on the head. I would only add that, it would certainly be neat if Brandon created a "Cosmere history till now" book or something along those lines. Maybe something to go in tandem with the Arcanum Unbounded

[Treamayne Spinner]

On 11/21/2022 at 5:57 PM, Fish613 said:

But as you guessed / realised, a lot of what is known about the "behind the scenes" / broader story comes from things Brandon has revealed at different times. You may already know this, but just in case you don't, there's a brilliant resource compiling & indexing these called the Arcanum, and if you really want to dive into the rabbit hole (and don't mind risking spoilers), look there. Warn your friends that they may not see you for a few weeks

On 11/22/2022 at 3:58 PM, Munazir said:

Thanks. I assumed it was information that was just told to us during Q&A and not actually learned from books 

When you are no longer avoiding spoilers, the best resource will probably be The Coppermind, which has the information in prose-ish wiki form and annotated with references (which book chapter, and links to the Arcanum Q&A/AMA Words of Brandon. However, since the wiki pages draw from all available sources, it is best to wait until you have caught up to avoid spoilers (but they have a spoiler free mirror when new books are released for six months so if you haven't read the lasted (in this case Lost Metal) you can continue to use the Coppermind before you do read it.

Example:

 

Quote

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

—Khriss^[1]

 

The Shards of Adonalsium, or Shards for short, are sixteen pieces of the power of creation.^[2] They are each named after a specific characteristic or ideal that represents the Shard's primary purpose or motivation. A person who has taken up the power of a Shard is the Vessel of that Shard.^[3]

1. Mistborn: Secret History part 3 chapter 2
2. Hero of Ages Q&A - Time Waster's Guide— Arcanum - 2008-10-15
3. Mistborn: Secret History part 5 chapter 2

That said, besides what was already referenced above, the number "16" was first dropped in HoA (Mistborn Era 1), as well as the name Adonalsium (in the epilogue). Vessels were hinted at in HoA; since we see Vin Ascend, and see the bodies of both Vin and Ati fall to the ground in the climax.

On 11/21/2022 at 5:57 PM, Fish613 said:

I gather The Lost Metal is also quite Cosmere-aware, but it's only been out for a few days and I haven't read it myself!

Rhythm of War and Lost Metal are the most Cosmere-aware books so far; with the former being slightly in the background and the latter being the first "official" book where that aspect is in the foreground of the book.

[Firesong Obligator]

Hero of Ages, Mistborn: Secret History, Stormlight Epigraphs, Rhythm of War, Dawnshard, Ars Arcanum Planetary Essays, and The Lost Metal are the ones that give the most on the nature of Shards and Vessels, and upon the Shattering of Adonalsium. If you want to know where to look.