The goal of the Seventeenth Shard

[Mad_Scientist]

I figured it might be fun to theorize and see if I can figure out what the purpose is of the organization that is this board's namesake. Unfortunately, we don't really know that much about the Seventeenth Shard yet, so this thread will be highly speculative. Still, I enjoy speculation, and I imagine most of the regular posters here do too, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

For the purpose of this thread, I am going to assume the following things are true:

Hoid wrote the letter.

The people in the purelake interlude were Seventeenth Shard members

One of them was Galladon from Elantris

None of the above are 100% confirmed yet, but I think they are all very solid theories, and without at least something to base my speculation on, trying to guess the purpose of the Seventeenth Shard will be pointless. Also, I am going to assume that the Seventeenth Shard were not founded by the Person Being Addressed in the letter, and are indeed separate from him/her.

From the above information, I can assume that the Seventeenth Shard is not an evil organization. Yes, it's possible that Galladon got corrupted between Elantris and Way of Kings, but I doubt it. It's also possible that he's been decieved, that the leaders of the Seventeenth Shard are keeping things from some members, but I find it unlikely they'd be able to keep something as massive as having outright evil intentions secret from Galladon.

Galladon seems like a fairly perceptive person, and he also doesn't give loyalty easily. If this organization has managed to convince him to go around planet hopping, I'd guess that it must have done something to impress him. At the very worse, I'd say the Seventeenth Shard is misguided, perhaps due to lack of information, but I doubt they are outright evil.

Another interesting thing about the Seventeenth Shard is an oddity that arises from looking at the letter in WoK. The Seventeenth Shard are described as friends of the Person Being Addressed in Hoid's letter. That person is described as having an "insistence on nonintervention." The Seventeenth Shard is an organization of planet hoppers. I'm sure you can tell where I'm going here: why is the Person Being Addressed friendly with the Seventeenth Shard? If they are planet hopping, surely they must be doing something that could be considered intervention.

Now, maybe the Person Being Addressed only has a nonintervention stance for him and certain other beings (such as Hoid) he feels are in a unique position of wisdom and/or power, and doesn't object to other people going around and involving themselves in things. I suppose that might be the case. But at the very least, I suspect the goal of the Seventeenth Shard isn't something totally drastic like recombining all the Shards into Adonalsium again or anything like that. The Person Being Addressed couldn't really be a friend/advisor to such a group while holding to a policy of nonintervention.

We also know that the Seventeenth Shard is after Hoid, though we have no idea why. The impression I got was that chasing Hoid was not the primary purpose of the organization, though it's possibly important to their long term goals that they catch him.

The final thing I note about the Seventeenth Shard is their name. As far as we know, there are only 16 Shards of Adonalsium. The Seventeenth Shard is clearly named after those Shards, but what is this (presumably metaphorical) "Seventeenth" Shard they reference?

From these observations, I have come to two main theories, though one of them has three variations.

Theory 1: The Seventeenth Shard is a bunch of researchers working for Sazed.

This theory fits together nicely. Brandon has stated that now that Sazed has become a god, he can essentially just will himself to any of the planets in the cosmere, but that doing so would have consequences. I imagine those consequences could be quite great. Some Shards might view his arrival as an intrusion or invasion into their territory, and doing so would leave Scadrial unprotected for a bit. Given that their are nasty Shards like Odium going around, and that the power of a Shard is such that unresisted it can annihilate a world in an instant, Sazed would be understandably reluctant to leave.

But of course Sazed would want to learn about the cosmere, and the other worlds and Shards. So the solution would be to create an orginization to go to the other worlds for him. The Shards there aren't as likely to be bothered by mere mortals showing up (and may not even notice them). And Sazed would not be leaving Scadrial unprotected. Also, since the purpose of the Seventeenth Shard would primarily be to gather information (and maybe recruit new members), it probably wouldn't piss off the Person Being Addressed.

As for why they'd be chasing Hoid, that could simply be because Sazed is concerned about Hoid and whatever he is planning, and is also interested in the info that Hoid presumably has inside his head.

And the name? Well, it would be a reference to Sazed, aka Harmony. Before Chaos comes in and points out how Harmony is not actually a Shard intent, etc, I'm not saying that Sazed is literally a new Shard. Just that his Shard-esque name and nature as holder of both Preservation and Ruin makes him very much like one.

This theory is nice and neat, and plausible. Which is perhaps why, despite posting it here, I ultiimately reject it for the much more crazy theory below.

Theory 2: The Seventeenth Shard are trying to create a new Shard, one with balanced intent.

Yes, this idea is based on some pretty out there concepts. If you like theories with carefully grounded facts and tons of book citations, turn back now.

Part of his idea originally from the speculation on whether or not it would be possible to repair the Aona/Skai Shards by gathering together the power/splinters. Another part came from my theory that Splinters have their own intent.

I wondered, what if both things were true? What if it was possible to remake a Shard by gathering together Splinters, and what if every Splinter had its own intent? If that was the case, what would happen if you gathered a bunch of Splinters: not from a single Shard, but from all 16? Would it be possible to forge them together into a new Shard, one that had the balanced intent of the original Adonalsium?

The idea seemed insane. Afterall, even if you got together a dozen or so splinters of all 16 Shards and combined them together, would you really end up with something that had anywhere near the power of a normal Shard? Probably not. But perhaps the Seveneenth Shard doesn't care, they know what they create won't be as powerful as a normal Shard but think it is worth doing anyways to produce something at least akin to a Shard that has balanced intent.

Or perhaps they have a way to give the new Shard a bit of a power boost. Consider for a moment what exactly happened to Aona and Skai's Shards after they were splintered. Some of their power obviously remains, but does that power, now without consciousness, without even the normal form of a Shard, still have an overpowering intent that drives it? Or is the intent that power once had now mostly concentrated in the splinters formed when the Shard died?

Could someone take a bunch of splinters from other Shards, and merge it was the scattered power of Aona, and thus end up with something with balanced intent? Perhaps driven towards love and devotion a bit more strongly than otherwise, but would that really be a bad thing?

Of course, if it was possible to recreate Shards from Splinters, or even create entirely new Shards, why would Odium have done what he did? Maybe he didn't know this was possible(perhaps is only possible because of something related to Skai's leftover power, since Skai might be a Unity synonym) Or maybe he figured that since a Shard's power seemingly can't be destroyed entirely, it was best to at least make as hard as possible for anyone to reclaim the power.

Now, if this is the goal of the Seventeenth Shard, the reason for their name becomes obvious. One would perhaps wonder why they would get along with the Person Being Addressed. Well, the primary purpose of the Seventeenth Shard wouldn't be to interfere with the worlds they went to, just gather a few Splinters and be on their way.

Of course, if this is their goal, the question arises: who do they intend to give the new Shard to when they finally create it?

Theory 2, Variation A: The leader of the Seventeenth Shard intends to claim it.

This is my least favorite answer. I simply have a hard time imagining Galladon hopping around planets in order to make some other person a god. But maybe if he was really, truly impressed by the person, and the person already had some godlike powers/responsibilites...

If this is the case, the Seventeenth Shard would probably be chasing after Hoid because of the potential information he has, or because they don't know who he is and think he might be a threat.

Theory 2, Variation B: They intend for Adonalsium's mind to claim it

Somewhere, I read a suggestion that the "element" Hoid mentions in the letter is actually the cognitive aspect of Adonalsium. We know what happened to Adonalsium's power, it shattered into 16 pieces, but what happened to its mind, assuming it had one? Hoid possessing it is an answer I really liked. In fact, that suggestion is another big part of what spawned this theory.

I could imagine a difference in philopshy between the Seventeenth Shard and Hoid. Perhaps both want to bring back Adonalsium, but Hoid wants to completely merge together all 16 Shards and bring him back properly, to once again be the nigh-ominpotent god he was. This is viewed as impossible by some (which is why the Person Being Addressed accuses Hoid of arrogance in his quest).

The Seventeenth Shard also want to bring back Adonalsium, but they are content to simply create a new Shard for his mind to possess, allowing Adonalsium to come back into the world as simply one of the many Shard-gods, ableit one with balanced intent.

Theory 2, Varation C: They intend Aona to claim it

This is my favorite varation. I mentioned in another thread that I think Aona's mind is still sticking around, like Kelsier.

If this idea is correct, then perhaps the Seventeenth Shard doesn't just contain Elantrians. Perhaps it was founded by them.

Now, one could ask, if they were trying to bring back Aona, why would they go to all the trouble of planet hopping and gathering other Splinters? Why not just bring back Aona? Well, maybe they can't. Perhaps when Odium splintered her Shard, he scattered her power in such a way that the remaning Splinters aren't enough to serve as a focus for a reborn Shard. Perhaps he took crucial pieces of her Shard that they'd need.

Or perhaps Aona and the Seventeenth know that even love, taken to insane extremes, can be dangerous, and that creating a more balanced intent for Aona will be better in the end.

Well, that's it. As I said, this theory is highly speculative, and I suspect most of you are going to be all "uh... maaaaayyybbeee that's the case." But I thought I'd share it anyways. Also, if you have any idea on the Seventeenth Shard yourself, please post it here or in your own threads. I'd love to hear them.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

It's good to see someone trying to make out the murky future of the Cosmere. And I think that this theory is as valid as any out there right now. It's just that we have so very, very little to go on. So little that it's difficult to even discuss.

I'm still not convinced that that Dula at the Purelake is Galladon, but I'll roll with it for this theory.

I think 2b and 2c have some good things to them, 1 not as much, but still pretty good. I don't see 2a being it at all, it just feels a little too cliche for Brandon.

[Zas678]

I think that this has some good things going for it.

I could possibly see the first one, simply because Sazed probably would be interested. Except that the Seventeenth Shard in the Purelake seem to be actively looking for Hoid, rather than for informaion. And Hoid would probably join them if that was all there is too it. He was training the guy in Bridge 4, teaching him about cultures and stories.

The second seems a little implausible, maybe because I'm not sold on Chaos's Intent, and plus getting a Returned, a Seon, a Spren, and... whatever else and mixing them up seems a little hard. Especially since neither Ruin or Preservation had Splinters.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Not that we know of, anyway. And it would be even harder since it would probably take at least a few of each.

[pmj812]

Could Sazed be the Seventeenth Shard?

This post may contain some confusing semantics. Please bear with me.

In the letter, Hoid uses the following wording:

"Your friends of the Seventeenth Shard"

not

"Your friends in the Seventeenth Shard"

or

"Your friends, the Seventeenth Shard"

This may not mean anything, but it's at least possible that "of the Seventeenth Shard" means that they are acolytes who serve or follow an entity called the Seventeenth Shard rather than members of an organization which is called the Seventeenth Shard.

Moving on, here's why "Seventeenth Shard" might be a title that Sazed deserves:

Adonalsium shattered into 16 shards. If we were inclined to number them, they would naturally be the first through sixteenth shards, in whatever order you like.

Suppose it isn't strictly true that Sazed currently holds both Preservation and Ruin. Suppose that by taking both shards he caused them to fuse into one shard, and this new shard is called Harmony. Harmony is neither Preservation nor Ruin, it is something new.

I'm going to fall back on basic chemistry to illustrate this. Table salt is sodium chloride. In terms of its physical properties it is not sodium (which is a soft metal) and it is not chlorine (which is a gas), it's something new.

If Harmony is a new shard, that makes it seventeenth out of sixteen. That's where this gets semantically confusing. In this model there are only fifteen extant shards but if you numbered them, they would be numbered one through seventeen and two would be missing (Preservation and Ruin, because technically they don't exist as separate shards anymore).

I think there's some support for this idea, that there is now one shard called Harmony where there once were two called Preservation and Ruin. But if I haven't already lost everyone's interest with the tiresome semantics, here's an interesting consequence if I'm wrong:

If Sazed held Preservation and Ruin as separate shards, then the shards' tendency to direct their holder's will toward their intent would be in conflict. If the two shards have remained separate in him, it may be that Sazed now has two wills reflecting two intents. This takes us down the road of some fascinating real-world theology. (google "two wills of Christ" to see what I mean, but if you do you may end up waist-deep in the Summa Theologica, and I can't be held responsible for that.)

Edited August 29, 2011 by pmj812

[mycoltbug]

I think that is an intersting point. While there are a lot of questions regarding why would a Galladon be a friend of the 17th shard (Harmony.) But not entirely unplausible. It's been a concept that I've been playing with for a while now while I tried to sort the facts out. The biggest part that makes me lean towards that this is good theory and one that I would follow is the concept presented by Stephen Covey, that 1+1≠2 but =3+ Basically it means that in some cases when you add 2 things together you don't get the literal result of the 2 but rather something much better.

[SOM1else]

IIRC the Seventeenth Shard is an organisation within the cosmere, that much has been confirmed by Brandon when he suggested a title for the site. Sazed, though I believe that he may be involved with them is not THE Seventeenth Shard. When the Letter said "your friends of the Seventeenth Shard" I assumed it to mean, "Your friends who are in the Seventeenth Shard"

[Aashyma]

Ruin and Preservation were dead, and their powers had been joined together. In fact, they belonged together. How had they been split? Someday, perhaps, he would discover the answer to that question.

Doesn't that sound as though Ruin and Preservation were one Shard? I am not quite sure how to explain myself but has BS ever explicitly stated that the they are two different Shards?

I mean, Sazed doesn't say that they had been separated but that they had been split.

Or am I reading too much into this?

Also:

Josh: Is Galladon the Dula in Way of Kings?

Yes, he is.

Full interview: here

Edited August 29, 2011 by Aashyma

[SOM1else]

Doesn't that sound as though Ruin and Preservation were one Shard? I am not quite sure how to explain myself but has BS ever explicitly stated that the they are two different Shards?

I mean, Sazed doesn't say that they had been separated but that they had been split.

Or am I reading too much into this?

Ruin and Preservation ARE/WERE 2 different SHARDS they belonged together because at one time they were part of a single something called Adonalsium (we're not really sure WHAT it was) but Odium, Honor, Cultivation, Endowment, Devotion, and whatever Skai's shard is are all pieces or Shards of it to. The reason that they belonged together is because they are essentially two pieces of a much larger Something (what word best describes Adonalsium?)

Edit- Sazed does say that they are separate. it's in the epigraph where he says that they belonged together and he can't understand how they ever became separate.

Edited August 29, 2011 by SOM1else

[Aashyma]

Ruin and Preservation ARE/WERE 2 different SHARDS they belonged together because at one time they were part of a single something called Adonalsium (we're not really sure WHAT it was) but Odium, Honor, Cultivation, Endowment, Devotion, and whatever Skai's shard is are all pieces or Shards of it to. The reason that they belonged together is because they are essentially two pieces of a much larger Something (what word best describes Adonalsium?)

Edit- Sazed does say that they are separate. it's in the epigraph where he says that they belonged together and he can't understand how they ever became separate.

Oh yeah, that must be it. *facepalm*

Sazed says they split, like I quoted above but yes, he must have sensed that they were joined in Adnolsium.

[Chaos]

The other thing is that those two Shard intents are very opposite, which was what brought them together in the first place.

So... um, I'm willing to bet money that Sazed is not the Seventeenth Shard. I know we've had discussions about this on the forum somewhere, but I can't find the topic.

Thing is, it's made pretty clear that Ruin and Preservation would destroy each other when Sazed ascended. It's only with that one conscious mind of his that he could will them to not destroying each other. The only way Sazed could be a "Seventeenth" Shard is if the two Shards' intent actually became Harmony, and that's a very big leap for me, especially when they are so destructive to one another.

Aside from that, there are plenty of theoretical reasons why Ruin and Preservation did not merge. It primarily deals with what it means for there to be a Shard, and a Shard's intent. The "intent" of the Shard is something like Preservation, Ruin, Cultivation, etc. That's where the Shards get their name.

1. There are two kinds of mist now.

Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy all work as they once did. However, now they are more directly affected by the presence or absence of the mists, which will slowly return to the world but not be of the extent they once were. (The mists are now an extent of Sazed's power, and where they roam, he is better able to influence things. There will also be two kinds of mists.)

Really, I should just stop right here, but there are other good cosmere reasons for it that may not be immediately apparent.

2. There is the matter that certain fragments of Ruin and Preservation are not immediately available to Sazed. There's a bit of Preservation inside everyone which makes you sentient. How would Sazed ever be able to influence that? Had Ruin gotten the atium, he would have won, because Preservation lost some of his power because he granted humans sentience. This suggests that Preservation cannot in any way utilize that power, which means Sazed cannot either. If the Shards were merging into "Harmony," there would still be fragments of Preservation leftover. Same with that atium that was burned at the end of Hero of Ages--it takes time to regenerate.

So, I suppose you could argue that Sazed's direct power is now the Shard of Harmony, and then those remaining fragments are Ruin and Preservation. Thus, Harmony is the seventeenth Shard. However, there are still two types of mists, and those mists are direct extensions of Sazed's will.

And now I will talk more about theory, but follow me for a moment.

3. Shard intents influence a Shardholder's mind. There is no evidence to suggest that a Shardholder's mind influences a Shard's intent. Hero of Ages annotations, chapter 58 part 2:

Ruin knows how to play off the lusts of mankind. Lust makes sense to Ruin, as he has lusts himself. He needs to destroy. It's part of who he is and what makes him function. It's the driving force of the power upon which his consciousness feeds to remain alive.

So we see that a Shard's intent is what actually sustains that mind attached to it. Over time, because that mind is feeding off the intent, the mind begins to mold to that intent.

These are the fragments of the power of creation. Ruin is Ruin, Preservation is Preservation. How could one mind ever influence something like that? I'm sure Ati would have loved to not turn out like he did, but the Shard's intent influenced him regardless. Why would Sazed be any different?

In fact...

4. Sazed would be influenced eventually.

17. Will Sazed eventually go mad trying to hold two Shard's power at the same time (being pushed to two different Purposes simultaneously for millennia)? Why hasn't anyone else tried this trick before in the Cosmere?

ANSWER: No. Since they're so opposite they work together to create a whole. However, after a LONG time it would change him as a person.

Now we don't know how Sazed will be influenced by two Shards of opposite intent (it's been suggested that Sazed will sort of steer towards Ruin, because there is slightly more of Ruin than Preservation), so that is an open question.

"But Eric, why wouldn't the Shard of Harmony influence Sazed over time? That quote would technically apply in that case."

Yes it would. But there are other theoretical concerns.

5. The Three Metallic Arts still exist.

This is sort of a sticking point for me, having Sazed's Shards actually change intent.

We know that Allomancy is of Preservation, Hemalurgy is of Ruin, and Feruchemy is the balance between them. I wrote this theory called the Principle of Intent which generalizes this. It basically says that a magic system is directly related to a Shard's (or multiple Shards') intent. Endowment's magic system, Awakening, endows power to people and objects. I suggested that Honor's magic system, Surgebinding, works because of oaths and bonds--honorable things like that. (Note that the Principle of Intent topic desperately needs a rewrite, but I've boiled it down here well enough. Sorry. I'll get to rewriting it sometime)

So here's the thing. Brandon said that the three Metallic Arts existed as a natural function of the world, with Realmatic interactions

The powers of Ruin and Preservation are Shards of Adonalsium, pieces of the power of creation itself. Allomancy, Hemalurgy, Feruchemy are manifestations of this power in mortal form, the ability to touch the powers of creation and use them. These metallic powers are how people's physical forms interpret the use of the Shard, though it's not the only possible way they could be interpreted or used. It's what the genetics and Realmatic interactions of Scadrial allow for, and has to do with the Spiritual, the Cognitive, and the Physical Realms.

Here I am inserting that the specialness of Scadrial is due to its two Shards. And what separates Ruin from Endowment? Well, intent, primarily. So intent is what differentiates Shards. Indeed, each of the three Metallic Arts is directly related to the intents of Ruin and Preservation.

To say that Sazed has, in effect, created a new Shard with a new intent, means a few things. The first is that Ruin and Preservation no longer exist. It would also mean, in accordance with the Principle of Intent, a magic that is associated with Harmony is in line with the intent of Harmony. Harmony is kind of like balance, so one would logically say that Feruchemy is Harmony's magic.

But Allomancy and Hemalurgy still exist. In this model, Sazed literally holds a new Shard with a new intent. To say that Harmony is a new intent means a lot of baggage. Allomancy is not in line with Harmony's intent, and neither is Hemalurgy. If Ruin and Preservation no longer exist, those two magic systems do not exist either, by the Principle of Intent.

You don't have to believe that, and that's okay. But I really like the Principle of Intent and the theoretical power it grants.

Okay, I kind of wanted to list sixteen or seventeen reasons why Sazed isn't the Seventeenth Shard, but this will have to do

I honestly don't see a compelling cosmere reason for why Sazed is actually a new Shard. The chemistry argument is kind of cute, but this isn't chemistry. I don't think this is going to be so easy to "fix" Adonalsium, by having one person grab all the Shards together. I have to think that when Adonalsium Shattered, someone would want all the godhood to himself, not just one sixteenth of it. That didn't happen.

The way I see it, the argument that Sazed is the Seventeenth Shard boils down to this:

-Sazed calls himself Harmony, which sounds like a new Shard.

-There is something called the Seventeenth Shard.

Throw in some keen intuition and bam! Sazed is the Seventeenth Shard. Except that is purely guessing, rather than a logical analysis. The conclusion does not follow from the hypothesis, using the rules we know of the cosmere so far. And there are a ton of reasons why he isn't a new Shard at all.

Harmony is just a logical name for Sazed to call himself. That does not mean he inherently is a new Shard.

Is it possible that the Shards merged? Well, sure, Brandon can do whatever he wants, but hopefully I've stated plenty of satisfactory reasons why that is not the case. In fact, if that was the case, I'd need to kidnap Brandon or something and have him explain to me how that is even possible. If you want, I'd bet money that Sazed is not the Seventeenth Shard.

I find it much more likely that the Seventeenth Shard is something we have not seen before.

[pmj812]

Thing is, it's made pretty clear that Ruin and Preservation would destroy each other when Sazed ascended. It's only with that one conscious mind of his that he could will them to not destroying each other. The only way Sazed could be a "Seventeenth" Shard is if the two Shards' intent actually became Harmony, and that's a very big leap for me, especially when they are so destructive to one another.

...

Aside from that, there are plenty of theoretical reasons why Ruin and Preservation did not merge. It primarily deals with what it means for there to be a Shard, and a Shard's intent. The "intent" of the Shard is something like Preservation, Ruin, Cultivation, etc. That's where the Shards get their name.

...

These are the fragments of the power of creation. Ruin is Ruin, Preservation is Preservation. How could one mind ever influence something like that? I'm sure Ati would have loved to not turn out like he did, but the Shard's intent influenced him regardless. Why would Sazed be any different?

...

The way I see it, the argument that Sazed is the Seventeenth Shard boils down to this:

-Sazed calls himself Harmony, which sounds like a new Shard.

-There is something called the Seventeenth Shard.

Throw in some keen intuition and bam! Sazed is the Seventeenth Shard. Except that is purely guessing, rather than a logical analysis. The conclusion does not follow from the hypothesis, using the rules we know of the cosmere so far. And there are a ton of reasons why he isn't a new Shard at all.

And that's all perfectly valid reasoning: this idea is based on speculation rather than firm evidence.

To clarify: I do not think that Sazed is somehow special enough to bend Shards of Adonalsium to his will. I propose that it's possible that no one person has ever held two shards before, and that the simple act of forcing two Shards with two Intents into one vessel with one will should have very interesting consequences. Honestly I would be disappointed to learn that it's no problem for Sazed to handle two opposed shards without some kind of really neat consequence. I'm speculating about possible consequences:

1) the opposed Intents are strong enough to destroy one another, but Adonalsium is the power of creation itself, right? So rather than annihilate each other, the shards may have reacted to one another by merging as a kind of defense mechanism.

2) if the shards didn't merge, then the effects of their opposing Intents should have a huge effect on Sazed: he may now have two wills: he may be a binity (is binity the two-person version of trinity? seems like it might be) which is theologically fascinating. This may also be the most likely outcome.

2.5) By the way, I'm sure this has been said elsewhere. Is Adonalsium the entity, or is Adonal the entity and Adonalsium the Adonal-substance that the shards are made of? (cf. Ati, Atium)

3) If the shards represent not only roughly 1/16 of the power of Adonalsium but also contain the essence, soul, or will of Adonalsium in equal measure, Sazed now holds a full 1/8 of that - which is, as far as we know, unprecedented. Could it be the case that the will of Adonal(sium) is now reasserting itself in some way, if only to keep the two shards from harming one another?

[KChan]

And that's all perfectly valid reasoning: this idea is based on speculation rather than firm evidence.

To clarify: I do not think that Sazed is somehow special enough to bend Shards of Adonalsium to his will. I propose that it's possible that no one person has ever held two shards before, and that the simple act of forcing two Shards with two Intents into one vessel with one will should have very interesting consequences. Honestly I would be disappointed to learn that it's no problem for Sazed to handle two opposed shards without some kind of really neat consequence.

As for bending the shards of Adonalsium to his will, that's exactly what he did at the end of Hero of Ages. You can't deliberately remake an entire planet without harnessing the power of creation, and it's blatantly obvious from Sazed's narration that everything he did was carefully thought out and executed.

1) the opposed Intents are strong enough to destroy one another, but Adonalsium is the power of creation itself, right? So rather than annihilate each other, the shards may have reacted to one another by merging as a kind of defense mechanism.

If this were the case, then Ati and Vin would have merged at the end of Hero of Ages. They didn't; the conflicting power of the two Shards killed them both. That is the nature of Ruin and Preservation: without someone or something to preserve the balance - the Harmony - between them, they will work against one another.

From Hero of Ages, bolded emphasis mine:

She didn't shy back, though the conflict of opposites ripped her apart. Ruin screamed in terror as the force of her power completely melded with Ruin's.
Her consciousness - now formed and saturated with Preservation - moved to touch that of Ruin. Neither would yield. And, with a surge of power, Vin bid farewell to the world, then pulled Ruin into the abyss with her.
Their two minds puffed away, like mist under a hot sun.

And later:

The powers were opposites. As he drew them in, they threatened to annihilate each other. And yet, because he was of one mind on how to use them, he could keep them separate. They could touch without distroying each other, if he willed it. For these two powers had been used to create all things. If they fought, they destroyed. If they were used together, they created.

This makes it pretty blatantly obvious that the Shards can and will destroy each other unless an outside force guides them to work in unison. That force is Sazed, as you put it, "bending the Shards of Adonalsium to his will."

As for the consequences, there are always consequences to holding a Shard. I believe Brandon mentioned that in a Q&A recently, but I can't find the exact quote at the moment, and the Brandonothology is refusing to load. I'll edit that in if I find it, or if anyone else can manage to let me know where it is, that'd be great.

2) if the shards didn't merge, then the effects of their opposing Intents should have a huge effect on Sazed: he may now have two wills: he may be a binity (is binity the two-person version of trinity? seems like it might be) which is theologically fascinating. This may also be the most likely outcome.

And again I quote:

As he drew them in, they threatened to annihilate each other. And yet, because he was of one mind on how to use them, he could keep them separate. . . If they were used together, they created.

He does not have two wills, he has one. Think of it as Sazed holding one Shard in each hand: Preservation in one, Ruin in the other. They're separate, but Sazed, one mind independent of both, can influence them and lead them to work together.

2.5) By the way, I'm sure this has been said elsewhere. Is Adonalsium the entity, or is Adonal the entity and Adonalsium the Adonal-substance that the shards are made of? (cf. Ati, Atium)

I'm pretty sure the -ium suffix has to do with the fact that the God Metals are just that - metals. I haven't seen any evidence to indicate that this naming scheme is repeated anywhere else in the Cosmere.

3) If the shards represent not only roughly 1/16 of the power of Adonalsium but also contain the essence, soul, or will of Adonalsium in equal measure, Sazed now holds a full 1/8 of that - which is, as far as we know, unprecedented. Could it be the case that the will of Adonal(sium) is now reasserting itself in some way, if only to keep the two shards from harming one another?

Sazed is doing that, not Adonalsium:

As he drew them in, they threatened to annihilate each other. And yet, because he was of one mind on how to use them, he could keep them separate. . . If they were used together, they created.

Just from the evidence in those few snippets right there, it's pretty clear that Sazed did not create a new Shard; he is the keeper of balance between the two of them. Also, just to point out a few more things:

• The letter-writer in The Way of Kings mentions "your friends of the Seventeenth Shard." Sazed is one person. If he were the Seventeenth Shard, it would have been written, "your friend, the Seventeenth Shard."
  
• I've said this before, but it bears repeating here. If Sazed took two Shards and combined them to be one new Shard, he would not be the Seventeenth.
  16-2=14
  14+1=15
  15=/=17

[pmj812]

As for bending the shards of Adonalsium to his will, that's exactly what he did at the end of Hero of Ages. You can't deliberately remake an entire planet without harnessing the power of creation, and it's blatantly obvious from Sazed's narration that everything he did was carefully thought out and executed.

No, he exerted his will through them, using them in ways we already knew they could be used.

To "bend them to his will" would be to fundamentally change what they are. Which is exactly what you're arguing he can't do.

Edited August 31, 2011 by pmj812

[KChan]

I think we're disagreeing on the definition of the phrase "bend to one's will." Typically, this phrase means to control, which is exactly what Sazed was doing with the two Shards. It's entirely possible to do that without fundamentally changing the Shards involved.

[pmj812]

We're not exactly disagreeing: I used the phrase in an unusual way. I was unclear. I have clarified.

[KChan]

As of Brandon's Reddit Q&A session, Word of God is that Sazed is not the Seventeenth Shard:

Those who are speaking about it below are leading you the right way. Sazed is not the Seventeeth Shard. Whether he's IN the Seventeenth Shard is another question. It is an organization.

Permalink here, if you want to see it for yourself.

Going back to the original post, Mad_Scientist's speculation that the Seventeenth Shard work for Sazed suddenly seems much more plausible. Wouldn't you all agree?

[Aashyma]

Going back to the original post, Mad_Scientist's speculation that the Seventeenth Shard work for Sazed suddenly seems much more plausible. Wouldn't you all agree?

He does hold two of the Shards.

Did you catch the bit where he says that Hoid timehops?

[KChan]

Unfortunately not yet; I was following the session on my phone while waiting for class to start, so once the Professor came in, it was no more Q&A for me. I'll need to go back and read everything once I've got all my classwork done. It doesn't really surprise me, though; seeing as how Hoid appears in all four Mistborn books, he'd have to be either immortal (thoughts, anyone?), a time traveler, or both in order for that to happen.

[Aashyma]

Here's the quote:

Hoid, so far, has only moved forward in time. He has not 'lived' all of those years, but has used some time dilation techniques. That said, he is far older (both in relative and real time) than a normal person can live.

[darniil]

Going back to the original post, Mad_Scientist's speculation that the Seventeenth Shard work for Sazed suddenly seems much more plausible. Wouldn't you all agree?

If Sazed is in charge of the Seventeenth Shard, it makes me wonder what kind of "history" Hoid and Sazed would have had for Hoid to refer to him as "you old reptile"; I've never encountered that term being used in a positive light.

Though he does refer to him at the end as a friend. And I can certainly see how Sazed might adopt a policy of non-intervention after the events of HoA.

[KChan]

Hoid, so far, has only moved forward in time. He has not 'lived' all of those years, but has used some time dilation techniques. That said, he is far older (both in relative and real time) than a normal person can live.

Ooo. This is fascinating. I wonder if it has anything to do with Adonalsium?

[Chaos]

I fully support the idea that Sazed is involved with the Seventeenth Shard, but I'm not certain he is the recipient of the letter.

Well Kerry, of course it has to do with Adonalsium What doesn't?

I think it's interesting that Brandon said "time dilation" techniques, rather than what I had thought, which was Hoid actually jumping through time. This seems more reasonable. I mean, we have cadmium and bendalloy, after all.

[KChan]

You know what I mean, I believe.

Also, let's not forget Shadesmar.

[firstRainbowRose]

Personally, I think the old reptile is more of a teasing thing. It's like calling your mother an old hag if she's being frustrating. At least, that's what I got out of it.