Harmony, Autonomy, and a Cosmere Theory Going Forward

[Uilos he/him]

Re-read TLM, and something struck me that I don't think has been mentioned. Autonomy, out of all the Shards in the Cosmere, is the perfect foil for Harmony as of Era 2. Sazed's problems stem from the inability to act while also maintaining the diametrically opposed forces of Ruin and Preservation. Autonomy is nothing but that, it is Independence of Action though without any seeming purpose other than to spread what it sees as that independence. It's like if Ayn Rand were suddenly a virus. Out of all the Shards we have encountered, Autonomy more than anything is a perfect foil for this new shardholder.

But also, there is a method to Auto's 'madness'. It's been said before that Odium sees Saze as a massive threat to his plans, what of Autonomy's? Sazed is 2/16ths away from becoming Adonalsium 2.0, closer than anyone we are aware of since the Shattering. What if Autonomy was trying to take out the new competition, while Odium and the others were busy dealing with their own issues, Autonomy had the most access to take care of this one.

And what if, by doing so, Autonomy accidentally revealed a way for Sazed/Harmony to resolve their inaction? By revealing themselves and their influence, Sazed is now intimately aware of Bavadin and Autonomy and Kelsier is (according to him) tired of being inactive. What if, come the third or fourth era of mistborn, we see Harmony (or Discord, as previous posters have pointed out) getting one back on Autonomy and reabsorbing that Shard as well? By taking Autonomy, Harmony would be able to act and move, allowing better balance/counterbalance throughout Scadrial/The Cosmere by creating avatars of preservation and ruin. 

So that's my theory going forward. Harmony balancing out Autonomy's expansionist attitude, Autonomy allowing Harmony an outlet to act. Thoughts?

[Dawnshard]

Great theory! I wonder if Sazed becomes Discord before that, and they need another shard to restore him to a more benevolent state.

[Uilos he/him]

Just now, Dawnshard said:

Great theory! I wonder if Sazed becomes Discord before that, and they need another shard to restore him to a more benevolent state.

If Era 4 of Mistborn is supposed to be the Space Opera one, it might be in direct relation to that. Kelsier gets Scadrians to go after Bavadin directly to merge Autonomy to Discord/Harmony. Gives a great goal, and space fighting a God is within the genre.