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Regarding Ym's Interlude Reading


Haelbarde

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I don't know if this has been suggested or disproved yet, but I thought I'd put this out there.

 

Ym describes his religion (the Iriali religion) to the boy he's fitting with shoes. He says talks about One, which was once One, but is now Many. The reason for being many was to gain experiences that could only be experienced by the Many being in different circumstances, some better, some worse.

I was wondering if this has any link with Adonalsium.

We know that Adonalsium split into 12 16 shards (Thanks Gamma), each which embodies a particular Intent, which were then went throughout the Cosmere, settling on planets, and investing themselves, sometimes even creating life/consciousness. They then (or as a result of the previous) influenced the world with their Intents, rewarding actions that resulted in particular ways. 

 

I believe it has been wondered what the point of Adonalsium would be before it split. Each shard has an intent, but add them all together and what do you get? Adding two opposing Intents (or their interpretations by their wielders) resulted in Harmony in the case of Sel(?) Scandrial. Is this not likely to also be the result of all intents being One? 

 

If I've missed something, or if this sounds like rubbish, or WOB has already ruled this out, please tell me!

 

Thanks

Edited by Haelbarde
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It's actually 16 Shards. Hence we're the 17th. I guess Sanderson didn't think 12 was cool and complex enough. heh. :D

But I got a Cosmere feeling from Ym's religion too. Reeks heavily of mysterious Adonalsium mythology to me. And there's not too much WoB on it overall. We only know bits of pieces so it's hard to say for sure. But we know Hoid knows a lot about it. We're waiting for that much anticipated Hoid PoV.

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I agree that it may have roots in Adonalsium mythology.  As to specifics, who knows.  But, I also agree that as you combine shards (in the way that Ruin and Preservation were combined) the individual intent of each constituent shard becomes less dominant and demanding.

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I personally believe that any holder of a fully reformed Adonalsium would be able to keep his own personality. He wouldn't at least be destined to be completely overwritten, though the mere situation of being so powerful might do interesting things to the holder's psyche in itself.

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Welcome! Upvote for first posting an interesting theory! 

 

The Iriali religion seems to work at the level of mere people (humans, dragons, maybe parshendi, aimians, Reshi greatshells, ...).  Maybe animals are even included in the Many.  In the cosmere, people have had investiture from various shards.  Do the people and dragons on Yolen have investiture from Adonalsium? If so, then it could apply more generally. 

I do have some trouble picturing it applying to Shards though.  Are you saying that Adonalsium voluntarily shattered?  I imagine the shards without holders as more like forces than consciousnesses.  I could see Honor+Tanavast helping start the Iriali religion. 

I was also intrigued by the talk of various homelands.  If Iri is the fourth land, what were the first three?  Yolen, Tranquilline Halls, Shinovar?  If Yolen was the first, that might bear on what is implied by the One. 

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I must admit, I've not really had a good look into what is known of Yolen, or really thought through the implications there.

We don't really know why Adonalsium shattered. The assumption is that it was not voluntarily, but is that just inferred with the word 'shattered'? Most things don't spontaneously shatter, but if Adonalsium had some form of sentience? I suppose probably something more like 'split' would have been used if it consciously divided itself.

I would ask the question however, why when it shattered did it form 16 shards of equal power, which, through their individual intent, sorta have a purpose? Or even just, why equal power?

Do we know what happened to Yolen after Adonalsium shattered, and the shards left? Do we know if any shards remained?

I'm curious, cos I'd like to know why the shards left to go throughout the cosmere, opposed to remaining on Yolen.

On a side note, all this would put a different slant on what Hoid is doing, why he's opposing Odium, because Odium would be working to prevent Adonalsium reformed.

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Just a quote scabbed from http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/4619-new-york-signing-report/, which adds a bit of context to the theory:

 

 

Q: If Adonalsium were to shatter in a parallel universe, would it divide into the same 16 intents? [That's mine!!]

A: Um...it...Adonalsium could have been shattered in other ways.

Follow up Q: Was there a force determining which way it shattered?

A: Yes! [oooOOOoooOOOo!!! I got super excited and did a little happy dance, so if we already knew this, please don't spoil my fun...lol! So...that is big, right? We now know that Adonalsium was shattered with "intent" (ba dum KSHH!), not randomly! And, that it could have been shattered into different intents! Cool stuff  :D ]

So Adonalsium shattered in a particular way, which could fit in with my idea.

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