What Shard is the Investiture from?

[Firesong]

I was rereading the previews for SP4, and it left me wondering, what Shard is the Investiture from?

We know it is able to bring forth growth in plants, it is used for various forms of technology, and it is a bright orange (iirc).

My thoughts at the moment, is that it has to do with Invention, with the heavy focus on advanced technology and using it to power the growth of plants, which I feel fits with the ideas of creation and growth associated with invention. 

All we know for certain is whichever one it is, it isn't there any more. 

Quote

College_advice12

The sun of this system seems to be highly invested, ordinarily this seems to only happen when a Shard is present yet this world appears to be a backwater. Is there something to this or is this system for some reason more invested than other worlds?

Brandon Sanderson

This system is more invested than other worlds. Part of why he's there. Part of why he would end up here.

ElynnaAmell

Is there a Shard on this planet or in this system?

Brandon Sanderson

There is not an active Shard suffusing this planet in the same way that Odium, Cultivation, and Honor suffuse Roshar.

But his wording seems to imply that there once was one, and part of its Investiture is still in the sun. 

But at the same time, I don't see what connection the Ember People would have with Invention. Maybe in that it basically turns them into machines run by Investiture?

I do not think it would be Autonomy, despite both Investing stars, due to the fact that it doesn't seem to act like anything we have seen from them before. \

Leaves me really curious about what it might be. 

[alder24]

10 hours ago, Firesong said:

I was rereading the previews for SP4, and it left me wondering, what Shard is the Investiture from?

We know it is able to bring forth growth in plants, it is used for various forms of technology, and it is a bright orange (iirc).

My thoughts at the moment, is that it has to do with Invention, with the heavy focus on advanced technology and using it to power the growth of plants, which I feel fits with the ideas of creation and growth associated with invention. 

All we know for certain is whichever one it is, it isn't there any more. 

But his wording seems to imply that there once was one, and part of its Investiture is still in the sun. 

But at the same time, I don't see what connection the Ember People would have with Invention. Maybe in that it basically turns them into machines run by Investiture?

I do not think it would be Autonomy, despite both Investing stars, due to the fact that it doesn't seem to act like anything we have seen from them before. \

Leaves me really curious about what it might be. 

There is another option. It's like the First From the Sun, there is (or was) an active Avatar on this planet. And other Shards used to have Avatars too, it's possible this is one of those worlds. 

Spoiler

The Dusty Wheel

Do any other Shards utilize avatars the way Autonomy does?

Brandon Sanderson

Uh... they have in the past, I can't say for sure if they are doing so now or not.

The Dusty Wheel Interview (April 1, 2020)

 

Don't focus too much on Invested Arts connection with a Shard. What does Allomancy has to do with Preservation? Or Sand Mastery with Autonomy?  On the first glance almost nothing. Ember people's connection with this Shard might be similar. 

Also didn't Ember people have embers in their heart? It fits with a valiant heart and thus with Valor. But their use of embers and this world setting fits with Invention very well (they have to keep moving or they will die) and Valor too (they live in a place where sun wants to kill them).

[Config2]

5 hours ago, alder24 said:

Don't focus too much on Invested Arts connection with a Shard. What does Allomancy has to do with Preservation? Or Sand Mastery with Autonomy?  On the first glance almost nothing. Ember people's connection with this Shard might be similar.

Not sure I agree on that. Preservation is on the weaker side in terms of connection between the art and the stated intention, though generally an End-positive art is probably on the preservation side of thing since you'd need one to fight against entropy to maintain a status quo.

On the other hand, Ruin has an art very in line with his intention; the surges also make a lot of sense. All of them fall within the general guidelines of binding (honor/bind dawnshard) or changing (cultivating/change dawnshard). 

Sand Mastery makes a ton of sense as Autonomy! Brandon states in the postscript in Arcanum Unbounded that sand mastery is all about skill and finesse, not power. Those things are the soul of autonomy in my mind. 

We now know from SP3:

Spoiler

Virtuosity's invested art has a ton to do with art. 

I think we can do some eliminating:

Devotion, Dominion, Preservation/Ruin/Harmony, Endowment, Ambition, Whimsy, Honor, Virtuosity and Mercy all seem very unlikely based on either their names or their status prior to SP4. That leaves:

Cultivation, Odium, Autonomy, Invention, Valor, and the Unknown.

From what we've seen of Cultivation, it seems unlikely, but not quite as unlikely as some of the others. Odium could definitely fit, and he has some experience with heart-based investiture; this definitely seems like a cruel harsh world. He lived on Braize for a ton of time so he'd feel at home. All that said, he isn't big on granting any form of investiture so far (though that could change with Todium). Voidbinding is really rare compared to something like Allomancy.

I think the unknown is unlikely unless it has a different intent than we're expecting (wisdom). 

The point about Valor is a good one, I could see that being likely, same with Autonomy. Autonomy is also already an active shard (as opposed to totally unknown like Valor), and is known to have a fondness for places that force humans to be strong or die. Invention could be possible, mostly because Invention seems like a shard who could be in a lot of places.