Observer Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 (edited) Aright, so I had a completely wacky theory. Hope this doesn't sound too badly thought out. From what we've seen, shards seem to have a mind of sorts on their own, or at the very least an intent present in their cognitive aspect that acts as one. We know each shard has a weak, but present cognitive piece. What if, when all 16 pieces were together, those little cognitive pieces formed a mind? Specifically, the mind of Adonalsium. This would mean that rather than it being a shardholder, Adonalsium was the shard, its mind totally melded with it, to the point that when it shattered, its mind fragmented with the intents, possibly manipulating the current shards behind the scenes. Thoughts? Edited September 5, 2012 by Observer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortaan Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Hm. Not bad. Why would Shards seek wielders then? It seems like if, for example Sazed unites all the Shards, then there would be two cognitive presences vying for control of the entire power of creation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted September 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Hm. Not bad. Why would Shards seek wielders then? It seems like if, for example Sazed unites all the Shards, then there would be two cognitive presences vying for control of the entire power of creation. Because, from what I can see, the mindless pieces are either incapable of traveling to meet up, or require a physical aspect to bind them together. Once all the shards reunited, they would combine their cognitives and aspects, probably shattering the mind of the holder, or maybe just sidelining them. I imagine Adonalsium was a powerful being, quite capable of orchestrating a return like that. Or perhaps the pieces are simply reacting to something else. Perhaps the human form, considering Adonalsium created something resembling humans? I just like this theory since it means Adonalsium was never human, removing the need for an endless godchain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straff Venture Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 While Ruin and Preservation are exact opposites, not all of the other shards have counterparts to each other. That means that Adonalsium (if they could think like a person) would not be a completely neutral force - it would have a personality that tilts in very obvious directions. When all sixteen shards are revealed, it'll be interesting to add them all together (obviously ones like Ruin and Preservation cancel themselves out) and see God's resulting personality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aminar Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 While Ruin and Preservation are exact opposites, not all of the other shards have counterparts to each other. That means that Adonalsium (if they could think like a person) would not be a completely neutral force - it would have a personality that tilts in very obvious directions. When all sixteen shards are revealed, it'll be interesting to add them all together (obviously ones like Ruin and Preservation cancel themselves out) and see God's resulting personality. Not necessarily. There might be nuetral trios, or a complex collection of +s and -s. So he could be nuetral but doesn't have to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straff Venture Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Not necessarily. There might be nuetral trios, or a complex collection of +s and -s. So he could be nuetral but doesn't have to be. It would be an interesting twist if Adonalsium was actually evil and broken into the sixteen on purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted September 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 It would be an interesting twist if Adonalsium was actually evil and broken into the sixteen on purpose. Crap, my theory in progress has been stolen! Three of sixteen once ruled, but now the Broken one reigns! Is Adonalsium playing the shards against each other? Maybe Odium isn't Roshar's biggest problem... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightflame Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 There does need to be something to fight after Odium is defeated. That is, unless we end up with an amalgamation of evil Shards like Ruin, Odium, and other unrevealed evil Shards (provided they exist). Alternately, Adonalsium is a planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted September 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 Shardic powers are all tied to their world in some way, so I'd say that isn't too big of a stretch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zas678 Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Adonalsium as a planet. That's a new one. If Adonalsium was a planet, does that mean that people lived on it? Possibly, considering that we know that people took up the leftover pieces of Adonalsium, which implies that they were there, and since we haven't seen any evidence of space-faring yet, that means they had to be on the planet. Unless they were just on the Shadesmar of Adonalsium. That's a possibility. So Adonalsium shatters, whether from a physical event or a spiritual one, and breaks into sixteen pieces. As the planet breaks, the cognitive/spiritual aspect of the planet breaks too. Humans take up the Shards, then go off to various planets. So does that mean that those chunks of planet are still there? Possibly. Maybe. But where else would they go? Scadrial doesn't have a moon. Maybe the shards take it with them? And crash into the planet? Which has been proposed (to some extent) to explain Odium and the Shattered Plains. But a 16thish of a planet is MASSIVE. It seems it would be likely to obliderate a planet, or at least make it uninhabitable for millions of years. So probably not take it with them. But then again, Roshar has moons. It has 3 moons if I remember correctly. And 3 (ish) shards. So maybe that is it. Huh. That's interesting, for sure. I'm still more likely to say that Adonalsium was a entity similar to a Shard, but with much more power. But definitely interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted September 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 -snip- A little matter turns into a LOT of energy, so imagine those planetary pieces turned into energy. Also, on the subject of Adonalsium, we've seen that Shards have a moderate physical, tiny cognitive, and massive spiritual aspect. We can assume the physical simply comes from the body of whoever holds the shard, but the conginitve is present on its own. So would all 16 cognitives put together from Adonalsium's mind? That would remove Adonalsium's need to be a human, and it would also mean that those idividual pieces could be messing with the current holders minds beyond simple intents. Alternatively, Adonalsium had a physical "element" (Reference, the Letter) but lost it upon shattering. To reform it would probably need a physical aspect unlike anything ever seen before, possibly made of something totally foreign to the world, making it virtually impossible to reform. Probably for a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenith Posted September 18, 2012 Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Another question that is brought up, is that if Adonalsium was so powerful, what shattered it...and how powerful would that be? Just saying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted September 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2012 Somebody proposed the theory that the various shard developed individual personalities, and their bickering caused it to shatter. Alternatively, it's possible that Adonalsium was unable to fight back, being bound by certain rules, and his intent stopped him from attacking back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenith Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 That makes sense, I suppose. I'd lean more towards the being bound side of things, though. Honor mentions that Odium is bound by certain rules, though I've also heard that it might be the oathpact or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted September 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 If there's the oathpact, it shows he's bound by rules. It stands to reason the other shards have their rules as well. The question is: Is there a way to guage weaknesses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenith Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 That's the real question: if there was, we could probably figure out the approximate power hierarchy of shards in the Cosmere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straff Venture Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 Maybe Adonalsium simply created the universe and then shattered. The creation of the shards may have been essential for allowing variety of life in the universe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenith Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 Maybe Adonalsium simply created the universe and then shattered. The creation of the shards may have been essential for allowing variety of life in the universe. On this line of thinking, it could have been the act of creating (this?) the universe that shattered Adonalsium. The only way this would work was if Adonalsium came from a different universe/dimension, considering Hoid was there when it happened... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted September 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 Hoid was alive and on an Adonalsium-made world, so that theory doesn't really hold up. The fact that everybody talks about dead gods and the fact that Brandon said Adonalsium hasn't broken at that time leads me to suspicion. The two things don't really match up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straff Venture Posted September 20, 2012 Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 Hoid was alive and on an Adonalsium-made world, so that theory doesn't really hold up. The fact that everybody talks about dead gods and the fact that Brandon said Adonalsium hasn't broken at that time leads me to suspicion. The two things don't really match up. Oh, I didn't know about that. Yeah, it doesn't really add up then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted September 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 Honestly we know nothing about Partinel until the real thing comes out. The whole thing could be reworked by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts