Differences between the Shards

[adouloumis]

We know that some Shards are better at future sight than others. Cultivation being better than Honor (and Odium probably) and Preservation being better than Ruin. But we also know that the Shards are equal in power, so I think it is reasonable to ask the question: At what are the other Shards better?

We know that future sight is intimately tied with a quantity called Fortune, which is a Spiritual Realm property. And we know of two more similar properties, Connection and Identity. So this theory is thus: While certain Shards can manipulate Fortune more ably, others can manipulate these other properties.

To add to this, Honor was able to "bind" Odium in the Roshar system, so this implies (perhaps) that Honor's ability to use connection is greater than that of Odium. So, that would make Honor a Connection shard.

This is to my knowledge the most concrete evidence that facilitates this theory. One could go on to speculate for the rest of the Shards, but we have few enough direct comparisons between them.

But to add an additional level of theorising: if there are four of these quantities, this could go on to make for a second grouping of 4, to separate along with the 4 Dawnshards, the whole of Adonalsium in 16 parts (so Cultivation is the part of Change that manipulates Fortune). In Spiritual side of the Feruchemy table Fortune, Connection and Identity are gathered together alongside Investiture. Now, that poses a problem since we know that each Shard is an equal infinity in the amount of Investiture and thus no Shard should be able to weild a greater amount of Investiture. So I would also theorize that there is a fourth quantity of the Spiritual Realm to go along these three and that the feruchemic table is missing/incorrect once more.

What do you guys think?

[Treamayne]

20 hours ago, adouloumis said:

But to add an additional level of theorising: if there are four of these quantities, this could go on to make for a second grouping of 4, to separate along with the 4 Dawnshards, the whole of Adonalsium in 16 parts (so Cultivation is the part of Change that manipulates Fortune). In Spiritual side of the Feruchemy table Fortune, Connection and Identity are gathered together alongside Investiture. Now, that poses a problem since we know that each Shard is an equal infinity in the amount of Investiture and thus no Shard should be able to weild a greater amount of Investiture. So I would also theorize that there is a fourth quantity of the Spiritual Realm to go along these three and that the feruchemic table is missing/incorrect once more.

What do you guys think?

Very interesting theory. I'm not sure "quantity" is the defining factor here though. Is Cultivation better with Fortune because she accesses more Fortune; or is it, like Brandon has described Kell's iron and steel, a matter of facility/dexterity with the attribute? In which case, Investiture isn't ruled out because of parity in qty amongst the shards - the defining criteria would be more about how that investiture is shaped and utilized (diversity, complexity, etc.).

Example: Endowment (also probably a "Fortune" shard, due to the nature of Returned and visions) manifests investiture as an end-neutral art (Awakening) and the process of Returning (can be argued as end-positive or neutral) which are fairly straight-forward at least compared to the Surges or Metallic Arts.

Note: there also seems to be a connection between the number of Shards in a system and the complexity of the local investiture, as the "simpler" arts (Sand Mastery, Awakening) appear in mono-shardic systems.

[Duxredux]

@adouloumis

I'm not sure if what each Shard is good at necessarily needs to be tied to specific attributes beyond their Intents. I'd guess that if you take each Intent and tried to extrapolate what it would look like in a person to the level of a Shard, you will get ideas on what they can and cannot do. In order to cultivate something, that in some measure is deliberately shaping something to a desired result as it grows. That implies forward thinking, different from intense hatred that plans the deaths of Shards. Honor to an extent is retrospective, aligning oneself to a previous commitment, in the case of the oaths we see (not sure in all of the ways Honor is viewed in Cosmere terms, that's a different debate). We see visions and history far more than extrapolations for what those oaths will mean for the future. We have so many Cosmere terms to throw around, but it wouldn't surprise me if each Shard's powerset is more dependent on what actually happens if you take that Intent to the extreme. It could be based on other things like you suggest, and maybe there is an undiluted Fortune attribute, or outside of Feruchemy or if Shards have a "Fortune" or "Connection" stat, but as of now I'd be basing it off of what the Shard can actually do based on its Intent, rather than being a subset of other powers. Basically what I'm saying is that different intentions can look to the future with entirely different goals. To me at least, it can make sense that Preservation, something intending to maintain something in a specific state in spite of change, could be more focused on getting a specific future than Ruin, unless that future is the reducing of worlds to basic matter.

I'd be very hesitant to base Shards off of the Feruchemical table, it only has to account for 2 Shards, not 16. It doesn't have to be right on a grand Cosmere level to be accurate for someone learning Feruchemical theory.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Duxredux