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What is Aona's Shard name?


Chaos

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Slight Way of Kings spoiler: there's a Shardholder on Sel (the world of Elantris) named Aona, which we have summarily assumed is related to AonDor. So, what is the name of the Shard that she holds?

Snatched from the Odium on Sel topic:

I'd say relief would be a good guess. Or something similar.

Her being the pool also makes a lot of sense in explaining why the Elantrians can get relief there. When they enter the pool, the portion of Aona's power that they hold can be assimilated back into the whole. In fact, I have to wonder if the theory that's going around that the Elantrians hold splinters isn't correct, and if all of the Elantrians were to enter the pool, the Shard would be whole again.

It sounds reasonable, Andrew, but your logic only applies to the pool. What does Relief have to do with AonDor? That's my only hesitation with endorsing Relief. Remember, Endowment for Warbreaker was the perfect name for that Shard, because it tied into Awakening excellently.

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I think Aona is Harmony.  It fits with the benevolent nature of Seons, the bond between the land and the Elantrians' power, and the fact that shattering the land and breaking the connection between the land and AonDor, creating disharmony, is what caused the Reod.  Also, when Elantrians go to the pool and the voice tells them to relax and let go, I believe they don't actually die, but their physical form and individualism is what dissolves, and they become one with the land, their energy added to the Dor. 

Similarly, I think Skai is Discord, or the disruption or perversion of Harmony.

Plus Harmony and Discord I think seem more in tune with the other Shard names we know...Cultivation, Endowment, Ruin, Preservation, Harmony....it seems to fit in well, IMO.

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I'm actually beginning to wonder if AonDor is caused by the interaction of two shards (like Feruchemy). But I have nothing other than my idle wonderings to support this.

Harmony would be a reasonable name as well, though I don't think it's quite as perfect a fit as most of the other Shard names have been.

I agree, Relief doesn't really fit with AonDor, and I can't really see any way to make it do so. Anything that I can throw out there is really a stretch.

Though if AonDor is not exclusively Aona's, it might work. I still am not advocating Relief, though.

Hmmm....In point of fact, I can't think of anything that really fits both AonDor and the pool at the moment. Everything that really seems to fit the one doesn't actually fit the other very well at all.

Something that I just remembered:

(Oh, and if you caught the reference to the word 'Skaze,' then good for you. The Skaze are a group that will appear in the sequel, when and if I get around to writing it. They're pretty much evil Seons.)

Skaze = Evil Seons. This makes it seem to me that it's entirely possible that AonDor is not actually strictly related to Aona's Shard, but rather the interaction between Aona's and Skai's.

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Well, if you have evil Seons associated with Fjordell, I'd be more inclined to say that they're the equivalent of Seons but with Dakhor symbols rather than Aons.  Remember he says "basically evil Seons" not that they're actual Seons.  An equivalent in a different magic system would make sense.

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Yeah, the equivalent in another magic system is a definite option. And again, I'm not saying that I believe that AonDor is the interaction of the two Shards. Currently, most evidence points toward it being related to Aona. But I'm trying to explore different options here, since I'm having difficulty thinking of a name that works.

And while ROSHtafARian (which is an awesome handle, by the way. I keep waiting for him to end his posts with Ramen, or some Rosharian equivalent. Note that I'm assuming this is related to pastafarianism. If I'm wrong, I will happily stand corrected and ignore the fact that I was corrected.) gives a very good explanation, I still don't feel like Harmony is a strong enough tie-in to be the exact name of the Shard, though I'm fairly convinced that it's along the right lines.

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You know, my old theory (back when HoA was released) could be true.

Aons could be from Aona (free energy)

Dahkor monks could be from Skaze (energy from others)

And then Clayshan- it could be a combo. (energy from self)

Allomancy is from Leras (free energy)

Hemalurgy is from Ati (energy from others)

Feruchemy is from neither (energy from self)

CORRELATION!

Although, indeed, it may be an illusory correlation.

Oh. And what do you guys think as Sacrifice for Skaze's shard? It seems to work well with the Doctrine of Jaddeth, and seems to be a large motivator for Hrathen (in sacrifice of self) and the Dahokor gradget (in sacrifice of others).

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I don't think Jaddeth is a shard, or in fact related to any shard on Sel (basically Skai or Aona, though it may be related to another shard but I don't have any evidence of that). Jaddeth has been around for a very long time, while the monks of Dahkor are fairly knew. The monks are in fact nothing like most of the other Derethi priests. Derethi priests are logical and structured, reflecting the Derethi philosophy of unity of order/structure. The Dahkor monks are ruled by strong emotions, such as hate and passion. The shard that gives the Dahkor monks their power would likely to be very different from Jaddeth, if in fact Jaddeth is even based on a shard.

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I don't think Jaddeth is a shard, or in fact related to any shard on Sel (basically Skai or Aona, though it may be related to another shard but I don't have any evidence of that). Jaddeth has been around for a very long time, while the monks of Dahkor are fairly knew. The monks are in fact nothing like most of the other Derethi priests. Derethi priests are logical and structured, reflecting the Derethi philosophy of unity of order/structure. The Dahkor monks are ruled by strong emotions, such as hate and passion. The shard that gives the Dahkor monks their power would likely to be very different from Jaddeth, if in fact Jaddeth is even based on a shard.

(bold by me)

What if the origin of the Dakhor magic is the result of Odium's visit to Sel?  We've seen that it's a recent thing, and that its users are tied to hate and rage.  It very much seems like the sort of thing that Odium might have a hand in.  Thoughts?

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No Jaddeth does not hate. It is Dahkor that hates. Odium's visit would likely lead to Dahkor arising, but I cannot see any connection between Odium and Jaddeth.

I am interested to know how long Odium's 'visit' was for. If it was only a year or two, Odium could only attribute to Dahkor or the Roed (I think it is the latter). However, if Odium was on Sel for up to 100 years (which could be considered 'brief' by an immortal like Hoid) then he could contribute to both, establishing Dahkor when he first came, and leaving right after the Roed. (I believe Dahkor magic was around for many years before the Reod)

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No Jaddeth does not hate. It is Dahkor that hates. Odium's visit would likely lead to Dahkor arising, but I cannot see any connection between Odium and Jaddeth.

Yeah, I never said it had to do with Jaddeth, just Dakhor.

I am interested to know how long Odium's 'visit' was for. If it was only a year or two, Odium could only attribute to Dahkor or the Roed (I think it is the latter). However, if Odium was on Sel for up to 100 years (which could be considered 'brief' by an immortal like Hoid) then he could contribute to both, establishing Dahkor when he first came, and leaving right after the Roed. (I believe Dahkor magic was around for many years before the Reod)

This would be something good to know.
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What would make you think it was Skai? I can't think of anything to connect the two at the moment, whereas the pool is directly associated with the Elantrians, who seem to be closely tied to Aona.

If you've got anything to connect Skai to the pool, I'd be thrilled to hear it. I agree we take a lot on assumption.

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What would make you think it was Skai? I can't think of anything to connect the two at the moment, whereas the pool is directly associated with the Elantrians, who seem to be closely tied to Aona.

If you've got anything to connect Skai to the pool, I'd be thrilled to hear it. I agree we take a lot on assumption.

Because we have no idea how to connect those names to anything, all we have is the fact that "Aona" and "Aons" sound kinda similar. It's entirely possible that Relief isn't related to Aons or Elantris at all, although it would be a little coincidental.

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It'd be more than coincidental.  Aona is very obviously meant to be related to Aons, and Brandon has referred to the Skaze (which very obviously links to Skai) as evil Seons.  We're talking about an author who created an entire language for Way of Kings that could literally be deciphered and translated into English, as seen with Navani's sketchbook.  Someone who puts that kind of care and effort into the smallest details of his created worlds, including their languages and naming conventions, does not give two Shards names that are only letters away from highly important aspects of their worlds' theology and magic systems by coincidence, only design.  The only way Aona is not linked to Aons and Skai to Skaze is if the similarity in names was put there as a red herring, which although possible, is very much not Brandon's style...especially when you consider that if he did not want us to link the Shards' names to Aons and Skaze, he could have simply...not given us their names, or referred to them by their Aspect like Ruin or Preservation...or simply not said which world they were on, that Odium visited. 

Yes, we take a lot on assumption when speculating about things that haven't been spelled out in the books yet like this, but we have to take SOME things on assumption, or else what's the point of speculating at all?  If we HAD all the facts we would already know the answers, and if we just resigned ourselves to waiting for all the facts, well, again...why bother speculating then?

As for Aona, I was rereading Elantris today (gee, wonder why, lol) and at the point where Raoden repairs the Aon  for the city, he describes the power that bursts forth, the energy of the Dor, as undiluted purity, which makes me think that could also be a fitting name for Aona's shard...Purity, the unstained natural state of the land, souls, etc. 

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Oh, I agree that assuming things is completely necessary for theorizing purposes. It's just that all too often, we take our assumptions to be fact, and leave valuable avenues unexplored because of it.

I like purity, but again I'm having a hard time relating it to the pool. But then again, I guess Preservation's pool doesn't really have all that much to do with preservation, and Ruin's doesn't seem to cause instant destruction of stuff that comes into contact with it, so the pools don't necessarily have to embody the aspect of the Shard. In that respect, I'd say that Purity is actually more likely than Relief or an equivalent.

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