arandomperson1234 Posted February 19, 2023 Posted February 19, 2023 In general, it seems like shards have the ability to see and hear most things that go on in their world (perhaps they can't see into an aluminum room or something), with some having extra capabilities (like Ruin being able to read and modify any text not on metal). However, they cannot look everywhere at once, and cannot read thoughts in general. Evidence: https://wob.coppermind.net/events/90-barnes-noble-b-fest-2016/#e4588 Shards apparently aren't always aware of the movements of worldhoppers. Also, Ruin did not always pay 100% attention to Marsh, and he had some independence of thought at times. Does a shard "record" the things they were not actively paying attention to, so that if they want to know what happened at some location a few days ago, they can "rewind" back to that point? Can shards "look" at what is happening on other planets? Some Shards are capable of smiting people. Brandon Sanderson said that Endowment could do this. Can they smite someone on a different planet? Could Ruin look through the eyes of and control a steel inquisitor located on a different planet, while he remains on Scadrial? How do shards fight? Is it always through proxies? Can unbound shards directly fight one another? Can an intact, unsplit shard be held by multiple people simultaneously, somehow (maybe with Bondsmith powers)? Would it be possible to use Bondsmith powers to somehow anchor a shard for yourself, while not assuming the shard at all times (in order to avoid having your personality distorted by the shard's Intent)?
alder24 Posted February 19, 2023 Posted February 19, 2023 Shards are composed of two parts, a power, which is omnipresent everywhere in Cosmere, and a mind, which controls that power. While power (investiture) of the Shard is everywhere, mind is not (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/256/#e8605 and https://wob.coppermind.net/events/373/#e12035). Mind is a Vessel, and they are very limited because they used to be mortal beings, with limited minds. No Vessel would be capable of fully grasping the power of a Shard (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/256/#e8702). The Mind of the Vessels usually can focus on a singular place while also managing other things elsewhere (e.g. Ruin, who was focused mainly on Fadrex and Vin, but also was vaguely present in Urteau and talking to Spook, controlling the army of Koloss, Inquisitors etc). 8 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: perhaps they can't see into an aluminum room or something Yes, I also don't thing they could do it. Aluminum shields from investiture, Shard is investiture, it can't look into aluminum room, and possibly if there was Shard's investiture inside, it would be partially separated from Shard, so Shard can't "see" through it as well. 8 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Does a shard "record" the things they were not actively paying attention to, so that if they want to know what happened at some location a few days ago, they can "rewind" back to that point? They have some awareness, but not full awareness - Ruin proves this, because even when it involved part of his power - Atium, he was not able to find it and knew where it was located. So either it has to involve being seen by the Vessel or, I would say, it has to involve using Shards investiture for Shard to know about it - like burning it allomanticly. 8 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Can shards "look" at what is happening on other planets? Possibly but I doubt it would be to the extent of which you think. They could look at the other planets, mostly look at Shards there, as Odium is aware of Harmony, and Harmony of Odium. Autonomy has Avatars, on some planets, while being highly invested on Taldain. So they can look and even invest in other places, but I don't think it will be as detailed as looking at their own system. 8 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Some Shards are capable of smiting people. Brandon Sanderson said that Endowment could do this. Can they smite someone on a different planet? I don't know but I don't think so. If this other planet is already invested by another Shard, they would be opposed. It highly depends on how much they are invested on different planets, and usually they can invest in only one system, as it binds Shard to it. 8 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Could Ruin look through the eyes of and control a steel inquisitor located on a different planet, while he remains on Scadrial? I would say yes, as Inquisitor is highly connected to Ruin and carries his investiture with him. With this, connection is the most important thing. But again, if Shard, present in that other world, realizes what is happening, he/she can oppose it, most likely successfully. 8 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: How do shards fight? Is it always through proxies? Can unbound shards directly fight one another? Shards do fight directly, HoA proves this as that was what Vin as Preservation did with Ruin. They threw both of their powers against each other. And there is a Shard that fought and splintered the power and killed the Vessels of 4 other Shards - Odium directly splintered Ambition, Devotion, Dominion and Honor. 9 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Can an intact, unsplit shard be held by multiple people simultaneously, somehow (maybe with Bondsmith powers)? I doubt it because the Vessel and the Shard are intertwined. Vin couldn't ascend as long as Leres was holding Preservation. 9 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Would it be possible to use Bondsmith powers to somehow anchor a shard for yourself, while not assuming the shard at all times (in order to avoid having your personality distorted by the shard's Intent)? Without ascending? I don't think so. Bondsmith can use his powers to ascend easier, but they have to ascend otherwise their mind isn't "wide" enough to grasp full power of the Shard (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/479/#e15173 and https://wob.coppermind.net/events/246/#e5485). A Vessel can however give up a Shard (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/132/#e1877 and https://wob.coppermind.net/events/166/#e3009) 1
Trusk'our he/him Posted February 19, 2023 Posted February 19, 2023 15 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Does a shard "record" the things they were not actively paying attention to, so that if they want to know what happened at some location a few days ago, they can "rewind" back to that point? They could probably look back in time though the Spiritual Realm, similar to how Allomantic gold and Malatium is used, though way, way better. 15 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Can shards "look" at what is happening on other planets? Shard's vision seems to relate to their Connection (this makes sense, since they exist almost entirely inside the Spiritual Realm). If you can un-Connect yourself from a Shard, they shouldn't be able to sense you. I doubt that a Shard could "look" at other worlds unless they had some kind of Connection to the planet, or if an entity (or possibly object) with a sufficient Connection to the Shard in question were in the immediate area the Shard wanted to look upon. 15 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Some Shards are capable of smiting people. Brandon Sanderson said that Endowment could do this. Can they smite someone on a different planet? They almost certainly could, so long as they have sufficient Connection to the individual in question, and so long as they aren't "chained" somehow. 15 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Could Ruin look through the eyes of and control a steel inquisitor located on a different planet, while he remains on Scadrial? I think that this is very likely. They are strongly Connected to Ruin. 15 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: How do shards fight? Is it always through proxies? Can unbound shards directly fight one another? Some Shards prefer to fight indirectly, but if they aren't chained by anything, yes, they can directly fight, kill, and even splinter other Shards. What this looks like isn't really understood at this time, though the skill of the Vessel is important, not just the raw power they wield. 15 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Can an intact, unsplit shard be held by multiple people simultaneously, somehow (maybe with Bondsmith powers)? Doubtful. If someone tried to pick up an intact Shard, they would merge with it and become its Vessel. Multiple people can kind of hold a single Shard, but as far as I know, it requires the primary Shard to splinter of portions of its power and turn the other would-be Vessels into Avatars. 16 hours ago, arandomperson1234 said: Would it be possible to use Bondsmith powers to somehow anchor a shard for yourself, while not assuming the shard at all times (in order to avoid having your personality distorted by the shard's Intent)? Maybe. If this is even possible, the person with the Shard tied to them wouldn't be able to use the Shard nearly as well as if they picked it up though, and if they ever tried to use it Well of Ascension style, they would just merge with it and become a Vessel. As @alder24 mentions though, the new Vessel could drop the Shard if they desired, though it would be difficult to do so. 1
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