Iriali and the 16th Shard

[in Truth,watcher of tv he/him]

This theory has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and it was reinforced by what we hear of the Iriali in Tress. Looking back through old topics, I found one that had a similar idea but it was before the new information in Tress.

The Iriali religion says of their god that "the One knew everything but had experienced nothing and so became Many to experience everything" (the Many here being the Iriali). They were also set on the Long Trail through seven worlds where the One will recombine (I wonder if this is when they get to the Seventh Land or when the finish their stay there). In Tress we learnt that this Long Trail isn't simply a worldhopping pilgrimage but a magical event, which is either involuntary or can be activated by a minority, based on how its talked about happening overnight.

I think the Iriali's One is a Shard, when the Vessel Ascended they would have the understanding of reality that a Shard has but have experienced almost nothing (relatively) of life and the Cosmere. The Iriali would have something like Splinters attached to their souls (comparable to the Returned) that record their lives and pass on to new Iriali after they die. I definitely don't think they themselves are Splinters because firstly that would probably make detecting them too easy, and secondly that would mean the recombination of the One would involve the entire people being absorbed into a single entity (horrifying stuff).

Some people seem to think the Iriali religion is based on Adonalsium and the Shattering, but this WOB supports the idea that it is a based on a Shard, since it is related to the Shattering but later events are more important (ie. the actions of a Shard):

Quote

Questioner

Is the Iri religion based on knowledge of the [Shattering], anything like that?

Brandon Sanderson

Kind of, yes.

Questioner

But they don't know it?

Brandon Sanderson

They don't know it, yeah. I would say yes, there are echoes of it. There are more recent events that they don't even quite remember that are more influential.

Also, this WOB fits with the One being a Shard; if they were created by a Shard with a human Vessel, it would be somewhat human but not really:

Quote

Podman36

Did the Iriali have inhuman ancestry at some point in the past?

Brandon Sanderson

Depends on your definition of human. Most would say yes.

 

I think it's specifically the unnamed Shard thought to be related to 'wisdom', because the religion says they desire experience in contrast to knowledge, which is a large part of what wisdom is. I wonder if the Vessel Splintered their own consciousness as the religion suggests, or if they just Splintered the power of the Shard and are quietly waiting in the Seventh Land for their people and power to return to them. It would make sense for them to want to have experience as a Shard as well as as mortals.

Anyway, please tell me what you think. Thanks 

[alder24]

4 hours ago, in Truth,watcher of tv said:

This theory has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and it was reinforced by what we hear of the Iriali in Tress. Looking back through old topics, I found one that had a similar idea but it was before the new information in Tress.

The Iriali religion says of their god that "the One knew everything but had experienced nothing and so became Many to experience everything" (the Many here being the Iriali). They were also set on the Long Trail through seven worlds where the One will recombine (I wonder if this is when they get to the Seventh Land or when the finish their stay there). In Tress we learnt that this Long Trail isn't simply a worldhopping pilgrimage but a magical event, which is either involuntary or can be activated by a minority, based on how its talked about happening overnight.

I think the Iriali's One is a Shard, when the Vessel Ascended they would have the understanding of reality that a Shard has but have experienced almost nothing (relatively) of life and the Cosmere. The Iriali would have something like Splinters attached to their souls (comparable to the Returned) that record their lives and pass on to new Iriali after they die. I definitely don't think they themselves are Splinters because firstly that would probably make detecting them too easy, and secondly that would mean the recombination of the One would involve the entire people being absorbed into a single entity (horrifying stuff).

Some people seem to think the Iriali religion is based on Adonalsium and the Shattering, but this WOB supports the idea that it is a based on a Shard, since it is related to the Shattering but later events are more important (ie. the actions of a Shard):

Also, this WOB fits with the One being a Shard; if they were created by a Shard with a human Vessel, it would be somewhat human but not really:

 

I think it's specifically the unnamed Shard thought to be related to 'wisdom', because the religion says they desire experience in contrast to knowledge, which is a large part of what wisdom is. I wonder if the Vessel Splintered their own consciousness as the religion suggests, or if they just Splintered the power of the Shard and are quietly waiting in the Seventh Land for their people and power to return to them. It would make sense for them to want to have experience as a Shard as well as as mortals.

Anyway, please tell me what you think. Thanks 

You articulated it well, and you address the issue with Adonalsium being the one. I don't think this is true -  for a Shard, who has near infinite power, it's almost impossible to split himself into so many Splinters and stop existing as a one.

Spoiler

emailanimal

From a very recent signing, we have this new Word of Brandon...

chasmfriend's son: Is there a finite amount of Investiture?

Brandon: Yes.

chasmfriend's son: So is Nightblood consuming it?

Brandon: Yes. Very, very slowly.

This worries me somewhat because of the following observation.

Nightblood consumes Breath (and other Investiture, but let's limit ourselves to Breath for a second).

Every person on Nalthis is born with one Breath.

Populations tend to grow. Which means that under normal rules of demographics, population of Nalthis should keep increasing.

This in turn means that under normal circumstances the number of people with Breath on Nalthis should be growing.

I can see the following possible explanations to this:

1. Endowment can give Breath to many more people than are currently living on Nalthis. So, the exponential population growth has not yet reached the level at which Endowment's ability to award a Breath to each Nalthis-born human is seriously challenged. When it happens though, things will not go well.

2. There is some built-in mechanism controlling population growth on Nalthis, making certain that the population stays within the limits. Nightblood's consumption of Breath makes these limits smaller, and overall may lead to Endowment's inability to grant Breath to Nalthis-born, but not for a while (essentially, Endowment controls population trends at she sees fit).

Thoughts?

Brandon Sanderson

Just as a point you should understand, the amount of MATTER in the cosmere is finite too. As is the amount of energy.

Worrying that Endowment will run out of Breaths to give is a little like worrying that the amount of carbon on Earth will run out because people keep being born.

uchoo786

So just for clarification, once Nightblood consumes investiture, that investiture gets recycled? That's what I've always assumed. That it enters the cognitive/spiritual realm?

Brandon Sanderson

The investiture he consumes is not gone forever--it's not leaving the system, so to speak.

General Reddit 2015 (Dec. 14, 2015)

 

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

1 hour ago, alder24 said:

You articulated it well, and you address the issue with Adonalsium being the one. I don't think this is true -  for a Shard, who has near infinite power, it's almost impossible to split himself into so many Splinters and stop existing as a one.

  Reveal hidden contents

emailanimal

From a very recent signing, we have this new Word of Brandon...

chasmfriend's son: Is there a finite amount of Investiture?

Brandon: Yes.

chasmfriend's son: So is Nightblood consuming it?

Brandon: Yes. Very, very slowly.

This worries me somewhat because of the following observation.

Nightblood consumes Breath (and other Investiture, but let's limit ourselves to Breath for a second).

Every person on Nalthis is born with one Breath.

Populations tend to grow. Which means that under normal rules of demographics, population of Nalthis should keep increasing.

This in turn means that under normal circumstances the number of people with Breath on Nalthis should be growing.

I can see the following possible explanations to this:

1. Endowment can give Breath to many more people than are currently living on Nalthis. So, the exponential population growth has not yet reached the level at which Endowment's ability to award a Breath to each Nalthis-born human is seriously challenged. When it happens though, things will not go well.

2. There is some built-in mechanism controlling population growth on Nalthis, making certain that the population stays within the limits. Nightblood's consumption of Breath makes these limits smaller, and overall may lead to Endowment's inability to grant Breath to Nalthis-born, but not for a while (essentially, Endowment controls population trends at she sees fit).

Thoughts?

Brandon Sanderson

Just as a point you should understand, the amount of MATTER in the cosmere is finite too. As is the amount of energy.

Worrying that Endowment will run out of Breaths to give is a little like worrying that the amount of carbon on Earth will run out because people keep being born.

uchoo786

So just for clarification, once Nightblood consumes investiture, that investiture gets recycled? That's what I've always assumed. That it enters the cognitive/spiritual realm?

Brandon Sanderson

The investiture he consumes is not gone forever--it's not leaving the system, so to speak.

General Reddit 2015 (Dec. 14, 2015)

 

Unless they were really big Splinters, but since the Iriali aren't ultra-Invested Immortals this probably isn't the right answer.

Maybe there's multiple groups of Iriali throughout the Cosmere? Or maybe the whole One religion is an exaggeration of what's really going on perpetuated by the 16th Shard to keep the Iriali from asking too many questions. Bit of a stretch but it wouldn't be the first time a Shard has manipulated an entire culture through religion.

[Quantus he/him]

3 hours ago, alder24 said:

You articulated it well, and you address the issue with Adonalsium being the one. I don't think this is true -  for a Shard, who has near infinite power, it's almost impossible to split himself into so many Splinters and stop existing as a one.

  Hide contents

emailanimal

From a very recent signing, we have this new Word of Brandon...

chasmfriend's son: Is there a finite amount of Investiture?

Brandon: Yes.

chasmfriend's son: So is Nightblood consuming it?

Brandon: Yes. Very, very slowly.

This worries me somewhat because of the following observation.

Nightblood consumes Breath (and other Investiture, but let's limit ourselves to Breath for a second).

Every person on Nalthis is born with one Breath.

Populations tend to grow. Which means that under normal rules of demographics, population of Nalthis should keep increasing.

This in turn means that under normal circumstances the number of people with Breath on Nalthis should be growing.

I can see the following possible explanations to this:

1. Endowment can give Breath to many more people than are currently living on Nalthis. So, the exponential population growth has not yet reached the level at which Endowment's ability to award a Breath to each Nalthis-born human is seriously challenged. When it happens though, things will not go well.

2. There is some built-in mechanism controlling population growth on Nalthis, making certain that the population stays within the limits. Nightblood's consumption of Breath makes these limits smaller, and overall may lead to Endowment's inability to grant Breath to Nalthis-born, but not for a while (essentially, Endowment controls population trends at she sees fit).

Thoughts?

Brandon Sanderson

Just as a point you should understand, the amount of MATTER in the cosmere is finite too. As is the amount of energy.

Worrying that Endowment will run out of Breaths to give is a little like worrying that the amount of carbon on Earth will run out because people keep being born.

uchoo786

So just for clarification, once Nightblood consumes investiture, that investiture gets recycled? That's what I've always assumed. That it enters the cognitive/spiritual realm?

Brandon Sanderson

The investiture he consumes is not gone forever--it's not leaving the system, so to speak.

General Reddit 2015 (Dec. 14, 2015)

 

I dont think that would be an issue, or at least not THE issue.  This wouldnt be a Splintering of the Power of the Shard, making spren or whatever, it would be Shattering the Mind of the Shard, so it could go on a ride-along with the population. As Preservation showed us, these are different things to the Shard experience, one can be protecting a world while the other does something else entirely. The Power could still be waiting and Invested in the 7th world or where-ever, while the Mind could be Splintered into the population.  

Spoiler

Quote

 

Brandon Sanderson

Chapter Fifty-Five

Elend Sees the Mist Spirit

Elend really does have a lot of faith in Vin, even if he doesn't worship her. He ascribes an almost supernatural power to her. And, I can kind of see why he would. In these books, Vin's almost less of a character and more a force. Like Ruin and Preservation, in a way.

Regardless, this chapter is about Elend giving up—then finding his hope again. I bring the mist spirit back here for a final appearance, but I wanted to be careful not to have it give too much information to Elend. Not because I don't want the information itself to get out, but because the mist spirit hasn't been a presence in this book, and so I haven't foreshadowed it enough. Therefore, if it simply showed up and gave a bunch of answers, I think that would feel cheap to the reader.

The mist spirit is, as the next epigraph explains, the remnants of Preservation's mind. I don't delve into it too much in this book, even the epigraphs, but Preservation's consciousness is indeed separate from his power. However, his consciousness itself has a limited power. And that is what he used to bind Ruin.

That did not weaken his power, which still protects the world. Instead, it cost him his mind, leaving behind only a faint shadow—like the mists' memory of Preservation, far removed from what he had once been.

That consciousness attached to Preservation—like the one attached to Ruin—is a part of Adonalsium, which will eventually be explained. Suffice it to say that in a pinch, Preservation could draw upon the power of his own mind and use it to imprison Ruin. This was why he was able to pull of the trick, as Ruin wasn't expecting it. He might have anticipated an attack using Preservation's power, but not his mind—not knowing what burning his own mind would do.

That is why Preservation's cage captured Ruin's own mind, but not his power.

The Hero of Ages Annotations (Jan. 19, 2010)

 

 

 

 

[Firesong she/her]

That actually makes sense, it could explain why nobody ever mentions the 16th Shard. It also does explain what the One is, and it would fit with them wanting to hide and survive. We have seen that they fled Roshar to go to Scadrial during or after SA5 (according to my understanding, as a very Iriali-like people are explained to have appeared suddenly on Scadrial in TLM, which takes place after SA5), and we also know they fled Lumar after Xisis appeared on the planet. The changes in planet we know of or can assume were just cases of running away from what could be a threat. 

So, yeah, the "hide and survive" idea fits... kind of. I would be remiss to not mention how dumb it would be for such a shard to lead its people to a planet as dangerous as Roshar, literal millennia of constantly being attacked by a homicidal Shard and its army. Then moved to Scadrial before it was attacked by Autonomy. It doesn't seem that compatible or eurythmic with a desire to hide and survive. 

It does fit with Lumar, with Lumar being pretty hidden and backwater. Not the best for survival, due to the spores reacting to any water. But it is rather hidden, so they could survive from whatever they are hiding from. 

(Also, I used compatible or eurythmic as I couldn't think of the words I meant, but just thought of them. Conducive and implicative. Thank you brain for remembering.)

Edited July 19, 2023 by Firesong

[Ravenclawjedi42]

10 hours ago, in Truth,watcher of tv said:

This theory has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and it was reinforced by what we hear of the Iriali in Tress. Looking back through old topics, I found one that had a similar idea but it was before the new information in Tress.

The Iriali religion says of their god that "the One knew everything but had experienced nothing and so became Many to experience everything" (the Many here being the Iriali). They were also set on the Long Trail through seven worlds where the One will recombine (I wonder if this is when they get to the Seventh Land or when the finish their stay there). In Tress we learnt that this Long Trail isn't simply a worldhopping pilgrimage but a magical event, which is either involuntary or can be activated by a minority, based on how its talked about happening overnight.

I think the Iriali's One is a Shard, when the Vessel Ascended they would have the understanding of reality that a Shard has but have experienced almost nothing (relatively) of life and the Cosmere. The Iriali would have something like Splinters attached to their souls (comparable to the Returned) that record their lives and pass on to new Iriali after they die. I definitely don't think they themselves are Splinters because firstly that would probably make detecting them too easy, and secondly that would mean the recombination of the One would involve the entire people being absorbed into a single entity (horrifying stuff).

Some people seem to think the Iriali religion is based on Adonalsium and the Shattering, but this WOB supports the idea that it is a based on a Shard, since it is related to the Shattering but later events are more important (ie. the actions of a Shard):

Also, this WOB fits with the One being a Shard; if they were created by a Shard with a human Vessel, it would be somewhat human but not really:

 

I think it's specifically the unnamed Shard thought to be related to 'wisdom', because the religion says they desire experience in contrast to knowledge, which is a large part of what wisdom is. I wonder if the Vessel Splintered their own consciousness as the religion suggests, or if they just Splintered the power of the Shard and are quietly waiting in the Seventh Land for their people and power to return to them. It would make sense for them to want to have experience as a Shard as well as as mortals.

Anyway, please tell me what you think. Thanks 

I think this is a good theory, and is better than any I’ve had about the final shard. Also, this might be the fourth Rosharan shard I have seen theories about, as Roshar is the fourth land of the Iriali. Maybe.

 

31 minutes ago, Firesong said:

So, yeah, the "hide and survive" idea fits... kind of. I would be remiss to not mention how dumb it would be for such a shard to lead its people to a planet as dangerous as Roshar, literal millennia of constantly being attacked by a homicidal Shard and its army. Then moved to Scadrial before it was attacked by Autonomy. It doesn't seem that compatible or eurythmic with a desire to hide and survive. 

The shard might not tell it’s people where to go, the people might decide on their own. Or maybe, since the Iriali allied with the Singers in the True Desolation, the One is allied with Rayse/Odium and wanted to help him on Roshar.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Ravenclawjedi42
Added a comma.

[Firesong she/her]

27 minutes ago, Ravenclawjedi42 said:

I think this is a good theory, and is better than any I’ve had about the final shard. Also, this might be the fourth Rosharan shard I have seen theories about, as Roshar is the fourth land of the Iriali. Maybe.

 

The shard might not tell it’s people where to go, the people might decide on their own. Or maybe, since the Iriali allied with the Singers in the True Desolation, the One is allied with Rayse/Odium and wanted to help him on Roshar.

True, that is possible. I just would assume that the Lands are to some degree divinely ordained, as they don't talk about Lands as if they were something they chose themselves. The way they talked about it and their faith makes it sound like it is either preordained, or placed into their mind via the One (or just directly told to them).  

[Quantus he/him]

2 hours ago, Ravenclawjedi42 said:

The shard might not tell it’s people where to go, the people might decide on their own. Or maybe, since the Iriali allied with the Singers in the True Desolation, the One is allied with Rayse/Odium and wanted to help him on Roshar.

When did that happen?  I dont recall any coordinated movement by the Irali in present day, let alone an alliance with any group of modern Singers.  

[Ravenclawjedi42]

11 minutes ago, Quantus said:

When did that happen?  I dont recall any coordinated movement by the Irali in present day, let alone an alliance with any group of modern Singers.  

By the Iriali I meant the nation of Iri in Roshar, which is inhabited mainly by the Iriali. The Coppermind says:

Quote

During the True Desolation, Dalinar Kholin approached the monarchs of Iri in an attempt to persuade them to join the coalition of monarchs. Iri claimed both that Dalinar had stolen their Shardplate and that Alethkar was no longer relevant as a world power. They gave these as reasons not to side with the coalition, instead joining forces with the Fused, who offered them more power than they felt they could gain by siding with the humans.

 

[Quantus he/him]

2 minutes ago, Ravenclawjedi42 said:

By the Iriali I meant the nation of Iri in Roshar, which is inhabited mainly by the Iriali. The Coppermind says:

 

Ah, that's right, thanks. I had forgotten they capitulated by choice, I thought they were just another conquered nation.  

[alder24]

5 hours ago, Quantus said:

I dont think that would be an issue, or at least not THE issue.  This wouldnt be a Splintering of the Power of the Shard, making spren or whatever, it would be Shattering the Mind of the Shard, so it could go on a ride-along with the population. As Preservation showed us, these are different things to the Shard experience, one can be protecting a world while the other does something else entirely. The Power could still be waiting and Invested in the 7th world or where-ever, while the Mind could be Splintered into the population.  

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Ok that's more likely, but a Vessel is the mind of a Shard, and if they split themself into numerous people, who aren't Shard and Vessel anymore, they would drop behind power of their Shard, raw Vesselless power, which won't just politely stick around and wait for its Vessel to return - it would do some dangerous things.

Spoiler

sufficientlyadvanced

It says that it's dangerous to travel to Shadesmar on Sel. Why?

Brandon Sanderson

It has to do with the Dor and the lack of an entity controlling much of the power Odium left in his wake on Sel.

Phantine

Woah, that's interesting. I had no idea Odium left little bits of his power on Sel... I guess it kinda makes sense for evil monks to be powered by pure hate, though.

Brandon Sanderson

Odium did not leave his power behind, one should note. He left several other powers which are now, to a large extent, mindless...

Windrunner

If you wouldn't mind answering, does Roshar have a similar problem, with Honor being Splintered?

Brandon Sanderson

No, Roshar does not have the same problem. There are some differences going on. (One reason being that the spren are far more extensive on Roshar, and provide something of a "release valve." The seons and the skaze on Sel are not numerous enough to fulfill a similar function. Though, of course, that's only one part of the puzzle. Raw power is dangerous.

It's one reason everyone should be thankful Kelsier was around on Scadrial.

General Reddit 2013 (March 11, 2013)

 

Spoiler

Questioner

Can holders of Shards give them up voluntarily? If so, what would happen?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, a Vessel for a Shard of Adonalsium can give up their power if they wish.

As for what would happen...well, there are some variables in there. Kind of like the variables in what happens to a bucket of water if you dump it out. Depends on where it falls, how strong the wind is, what the air is like.

Power dropped like this, if left alone, could end up Splintering and turning into something like spren/seons. It could become something more like the Stormfather--a large, self-aware entity. It could become something like the Dor or many of the Unmade--something proto-aware, but not truly an individual. There are other possibilities as well, depending on lots of factors. (Are sapient beings involved? what is being done with the power--is it concentrated in the Spiritual Realm as normal, or is it being pushed somewhere else?)

FAQFriday 2017 (June 9, 2017)

 

3 hours ago, Firesong said:

That actually makes sense, it could explain why nobody ever mentions the 16th Shard.

Ambition wasn't mentioned until UB, but we knew for a long time that a Shard was Shattered near Threnody, and 4 new names were just dropped in RoW. 15th Shard also wasn't mentioned anywhere until recently. I don't think this is a valid argument. Cosmere is vast, there are hundreds of planets for Shards to settle. 

3 hours ago, Firesong said:

The changes in planet we know of or can assume were just cases of running away from what could be a threat. 

They arrived on Roshar in ancient times, were one of the Silver Kingdoms and were fighting in numerous Desolations, including the True Desolation. If they were simply running away, they would disappear as soon as new Desolation had started. But I now see you address those problems yourself.

 

30 minutes ago, Quantus said:

Ah, that's right, thanks. I had forgotten they capitulated by choice, I thought they were just another conquered nation.  

Yes, they've conquered several nations ever as far as around Pure Lake. 

 

 

To add a bit, there is/was a Shard that didn't inhabit any planet - Iriali might fit this as that Shard might not be invested on any world, and people traveling around shouldn't count.

Spoiler

Dawnshard

So I asked Brandon at the LA signing if he could tell us about a shard that we don't know anything about (including the survival shard) and he said that there was a shard that isn't on a planet. Now I think this means that the shard is either on an asteroid, or a star. It could also be floating in space or on a moon and influencing from a distance. I will repeat it is not any shard we already know about.

Words of Radiance Los Angeles signing (March 5, 2014)

 

[Firesong she/her]

43 minutes ago, alder24 said:

Ambition wasn't mentioned until UB, but we knew for a long time that a Shard was Shattered near Threnody, and 4 new names were just dropped in RoW. 15th Shard also wasn't mentioned anywhere until recently. I don't think this is a valid argument. Cosmere is vast, there are hundreds of planets for Shards to settle. 

 

True, true. It could be nothing. But I just personally feel there is something special to it and it isn't just a normal Shard. Due to how Brandon has been talking about this Shard for years but always only gave small hints. 

But as you said, it most definitely could just be a case of him not finding a chance to bring it up. That is also likely. 

 

[alder24]

27 minutes ago, Firesong said:

True, true. It could be nothing. But I just personally feel there is something special to it and it isn't just a normal Shard. Due to how Brandon has been talking about this Shard for years but always only gave small hints. 

The Shard that wants to survive could be one of those from RoW. Invention is tricky as Harmony wasn't able to reestablish contact with them.

[Firesong she/her]

18 minutes ago, alder24 said:

The Shard that wants to survive could be one of those from RoW. Invention is tricky as Harmony wasn't able to reestablish contact with them.

SP3 Spoilers

Spoiler

Wait a second, we had  Virtuosity and Invention mentioned in WoK

"I once asked this question of some very wise scholars. What do men consider the most valuable of talents? One mentioned artistic ability, as you so keenly guessed. another chose great intellect. The final chose the talent to invent, the ability to design and create marvelous devices."

"'Aesthetic genius,' Wit said, "invention, acumen, creativity..."

This is 100% about the Vessels of Virtuosity, Invention, and the Wisdom Shard. I am surprised I didn't think of this earlier. As usually, when Hoid gives anecdotes of his past, it has to do with the Vessels or the Shattering. 

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Firesong

[alder24]

1 minute ago, Firesong said:

Wait a second, we had blank and Invention mentioned in WoK

Yes but the name is still SP 3 spoiler  

[Firesong she/her]

Just now, alder24 said:

Yes but the name is still SP 3 spoiler  

My bad, forgot this wasn't the SP3 section for a second, I got really excited when I connected the dots just now. Have edited it. 

[Quantus he/him]

19 hours ago, alder24 said:

Ok that's more likely, but a Vessel is the mind of a Shard, and if they split themself into numerous people, who aren't Shard and Vessel anymore, they would drop behind power of their Shard, raw Vesselless power, which won't just politely stick around and wait for its Vessel to return - it would do some dangerous things.

I dont think that's necessarily the case, based on the example of Leras (which admittedly is one datapoint and he was crazy).  He had his "mind" (whatever portion of his consciousness/experience that may be) dedicated to the prison but his Power was still being held (enough that the Ire couldnt try to steal it until he actually passed) and doing its job for the planet per that WOB.  That still left enough of a coherent mind for a basic mist-ghost manifestation and mortal-level communication, etc.

In the hypothetical Iriali shard's case, I'd assume they have some portion of the mind that has to maintain the whole thing (or outsource that to a custom godspren equivalent), then the main is left Vessel otherwise mostly comatose on some lightly invested world while their attention is spread out over all the Iriali ride-alongs.  It should be less taxing than what Leras had to do because it's (presumably) unopposed by any other shards, so they might not go crazy (or might have predicted it would take 8+ worlds to go crazy and set the limit at 7).  And it's more or less what the Dysians do/experience, so it should not be beyond the reach of an expanded shard mind.  

Edited July 20, 2023 by Quantus