Can an Awakened object become Endowment?

[Mistchemist16]

I was wondering for a bit about methods to purify a Shard of intent, most likely by dividing it into small peices with a magic system and putting them back again. Extremely difficult, but theoretically possible.

Just in case, spoiler here

Spoiler

We know that becoming a lerasium savant causes you to ascend to Preservation. Presumably, this is because the Shard’s entire form has become a God Metal, though the mechanism could be different

The important part is that Endowment can take herself apart via Breaths. Not to the point that it would ever naturally happen via people being born, but it can happen, especially if Endowment is signing on. So my idea is this

Gather up Endowment’s entire power into Breath and put them in tons of people, who would get 10+ Heightenings. Have them dunk those Breaths into an object with some Command. You might need to rely on the Eighth Heighening to keep the train going, but if that doesn’t work, you just give the Breaths to the new object like you might a person (presumably you can)

Now, i have three questions about this setup. 
 

1. Can you turn an Awakened object into a Shard? I assume yes, though it probably has to be sentient like Nightblood is.

2. If yes to 1, can Endowment do this without the middlemen for something like Nightblood? (regular Awakened objects likely won’t do)

3. Would the Command given have any effect on the new Shard’s Intent? I would guess yes and no. I would suggest that the Commands might form a sub-intent or other psychological quirk, but the Intent would still include Endowment. Best case scenario is you get some Endowment-hybrid like Harmony is. However, you might still be able to use other Cosmere magic systems like Forgery to pull the trick instead.

If all of this is possible, I nominate a toilet to become Endowment. It’s Command is “Clean things”.

Edited February 9, 2023 by Mistchemist16

[alder24]

10 hours ago, Mistchemist16 said:

1. Can you turn an Awakened object into a Shard? I assume yes, though it probably has to be sentient like Nightblood is.

Probably? Power of a Shard seeks a vessel, a mind to control it. A sentient object has a mind so maybe it could become a vessel.

Spoiler

Questioner

I was wondering if Sleepless-- the Dysian Aimians-- if they could hold a Shard?

Brandon Sanderson

Could the Sleepless hold a Shard? Could they be a Vessel? Is what you're asking?

*hems and haws* There is nothing innate about the Shards that prevents any one with a-- I have to phrase this very carefully...

Non-humans can be Vessels. Non-humans have been vessels. Certain sapient creatures in the cosmere, could not be. But that's an asterisk, not the rule.

Salt Lake City signing (Dec. 16, 2017)

 

Questioner

Would somebody be able to use enough Investiture or Breath to achieve Shard-- Or to become--

Brandon Sanderson

When they are becoming the Vessel of a Shard, this is kind of what's happening. So it's a theoretically possible thing, but it would be basically indistinguishable from just picking it up.

Skyward San Diego signing (Nov. 7, 2018)

And this one is more important:

Spoiler

Questioner

What happens when a... spren picks up a Shard?

Brandon Sanderson

What do you mean picks up a Shard? Shardblade or Shard of Adonalsium?

Questioner

Picks up a Shard of Adonalsium.

Brandon Sanderson

A spren is a Shard of Adonalsium so it just--

Questioner

Picks up one of the big ones like could a spren do the same thing that Kelsier's spirit did after he--

Brandon Sanderson

*hesitantly* It's like you're asking if electricity can gain a charge of electricity and get electrified. Does that make sense? I mean-- It's a question that doesn't make a lot of sense.

If a Shard were to somehow-- They would just combine into a bigger Shard and get larger-- if that makes sense?

Questioner

The foundation of that question was I thought that maybe the Stormfather spren was basically doing what Kelsier's spirit did.

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, um *sighs* Not really... It's really a not really There's some similarities but it's a not really. It's not quite a RAFO though. more of a--

Questioner

More of a "doesn't quite work that way".

Brandon Sanderson

--doesn't quite work that way but you're thinking along the right lines?

Bands of Mourning release party (Jan. 25, 2016)

Awakened sentient object is like a spren, it's made out of shard's investiture, and it has a mind. So that object would just grow and grow until it becomes the Shard. Question is now, can an object become a vessel, or because it was already made purely out of Shard's investiture, would it just be vesselless Shard? Here is a WoB that answers this question:

Spoiler

Questioner

Would it be possible for an inanimate object that was invested to the point of sentience Ascend to Shardhood?

Brandon Sanderson

To become a Vessel of Adonalsium, or become a Shard through...? This is a tricky question because the power left alone will become sapient. And at that point, the distinction between being a Shard and a Vessel is fine but still extant. And I would say the power could not become a Vessel in the same way because it's defined as something different. But it is possible for the power to be left alone and to gain sapience on its own.

Questioner

The example we were thinking of was Sel. It was stated in Arcanum that the landscape itself was invested to the point of.. Could the planet of Sel be the Vessel of Devotion?

Brandon Sanderson

At this point, it's playing semantics, and I would say no. But there are people in-Cosmere that would argue that the semantic distinction is irrelevant and that it is the same.

Legion Release Party (Sept. 19, 2018)

And more WoB. Awakened object is like robot spren, so a robot splinter, but puting splinters together don't create/restore a Vessel:

Spoiler

Boogalyhu34

Can Nightblood be considered a Splinter and does it function like a spren realmatically, are there distinct differences is what I'm asking.

Brandon Sanderson

Nightblood is kind of his own strange thing. He's an attempt to use one magic to replicate something in another. He's closest to a spren, but kind of like a...robot spren, for lack of better words to use.

Argent

When you say that Nightblood is "an attempt to use one magic to replicate something in another," do you mean life in general, or are you referring to a specific effect in a specific magic system?

Brandon Sanderson

There are those involved who knew that Shardblades existed before they tried the Nightblood experiment.

uchoo786

So does this mean Vasher had knowledge of Shardblades before creating Nightblood?

Brandon Sanderson

It means what I wrote, and nothing more at this point.

wickedmath

Dude. That's the most tantalizing RAFO I've seen in awhile. Have other Shards made Shardblades besides Honor?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO

Phantine

Is that why Vasher uses the word 'Investiture' instead of some personal term for it?

Brandon Sanderson

I could be wrong, but I think Vasher was the first one in any book I allowed to use cosmere-aware terms for speaking of things like the magics. (Investiture is one of these.)

/r/books AMA 2015 (July 25, 2015)

 

Questioner

Can it be restored? The Splinters...

Brandon Sanderson

Um, Splinters, can they be restored to... So it is, that is a yes, but restoring them will not restore Honor, the Vessel of Honor, right. They would restore Honor the Shard if this were to happen, but a new Vessel would have to take it.

Questioner

Ok so, [Adonalsium] can be put back together?

Brandon Sanderson

Adonalsium? It is theoretically possible to put a Shard back into, you know, to meld Shards together. The fact that we have already seen someone meld powers, in Sazed. So yes, but the question is who or what was Adonalsium, and is putting it back together going to do anything? Or...

Arcanum Unbounded Seattle signing (Dec. 1, 2016)

 

 

10 hours ago, Mistchemist16 said:

3. Would the Command given have any effect on the new Shard’s Intent? I would guess yes and no. I would suggest that the Commands might form a sub-intent or other psychological quirk, but the Intent would still include Endowment. Best case scenario is you get some Endowment-hybrid like Harmony is. However, you might still be able to use other Cosmere magic systems like Forgery to pull the trick instead.

I think, because investiture resists investiture, Shard's investiture would overcome the Command of the object. RoW spoiler

Spoiler

the same way that Taravangian ascending was most likely no longer affected by his boone&curse.