Shattering = Splintering?

[Lord Bookwyrm]

By now, everyone probably know that in the beginning (or at least the beginning of time relevant to us in the Cosmere), there was Adonalsium. He was Shattered by 16 people, who split his power into 16 equal parts, and then separated and went their different ways, some together, some not. Then, after everyone settled down, Odium (formerly known as Rayse) travelled around the Cosmere, splintering Shards as he went. The Splintering split the Shards into Splinters with different Intents to the Shard they were once part of. Now here's the thing; Shattering sounds very much like Splintering: a new Intent? Check; a splitting of the power? Check. This means that the things we know about Splintering can be applied to Shattering, and vice versa. As proven by Sazed, more than one Shard can be held by the same person/entity. This means someone can take a Splinter's power and merge it with another to creat a new Intent, with a greater power than before. This means that Splintering may not be irreversible as once thought, merely difficult to gain enough Splinters to gain power equal to the power held by the Shards. This is no doubt what Odium wanted when he started his killing spree. He may not have been able to destroy the power completely, but could do enough that it made things really hard to gain a power level equal to that of Odium's. Of course, he might have trouble trying to combat Harmony, what with him having the power of two Shards, but that will come later. This means that, eventually, someone may be able to gather the power of all 16 Shards (and their Splinters), and become Adonalsium. Of course, this doesn't make one invincible...

Feel free to add anything if you like, since this theory is probably incomplete and needs refining.

[Fezzik]

3 minutes ago, Lord Bookworm said:

Odium (formerly known as Rayse) travelled around the Cosmere, splintering Shards as he went. The Splintering split the Shards into Splinters with different Intents to the Shard they were once part of.

What source did this come from? I've never seen it before.

[Lord Bookwyrm]

The Coppermind.

Search Odium.

Then search Splinters.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Lord Bookworm

[The Sovereign]

We know via WoB that the Splintering of a Shard is indeed the the same process as the shattering of Adonalsium on a smaller scale and it is reversible. The relevant WoB:
 

Quote

 

INTERVIEW: Feb 12th, 2013

AMOL Signing Report - Mason Wheeler (Paraphrased)

MASON WHEELER

You've said that Splintering a shard is essentially the same thing as the shattering of Adonalsium, repeated on a smaller scale.

BRANDON SANDERSON

Yeah.

MASON WHEELER

And a while ago, someone asked you if Splintering was permanent or reversible, and you said that it can be reversed.

BRANDON SANDERSON

Yeah.

MASON WHEELER

And shard holders tend to take the name of the shard they hold. So you've got Sazed, who goes by "Harmony" now, after taking up Ruin and Preservation. That makes me wonder, does he hold two shards... or one?

BRANDON SANDERSON

You could really answer that either way. The distinction is a really subjective one, and you could say that he's holding both shards, or that he holds one single Harmony.

TAGS

sazed, shards, ruin, preservation, harmony, adonalsium, splinters, cosmere, mistborn, first mistborn trilogy,

 

 

Edited May 15, 2017 by The Sovereign
formatting...

[Zmaray]

I am sure that in future Cosmere series, the shards of Adonalsium may be pieced back together.

Of course, the more a shard is splintered, the harder it is to be pieced back together. This is probably Odium's intent in that he would never want Adonalsium or any other being more powerful than him to reform.