MischiefIsMe He/They Posted November 25, 2024 Posted November 25, 2024 Preface: This is only my second post ever on a forum website and idk what I'm doing. But I've been working on this theory for a while and want to put it out there for discussion finally. I've seen a number of posts on 17th Shard and Reddit where people try to map the 16 Shards of Adonalsium onto the Allomantic table. In some cases, they simply saw that both of them were split up into 16 pieces and went from there. Others used precedent theories such as the Shardic Lens theory as a basis. Many of them used the push/pull and internal/external classifications of the metals to assign spots or attempt to use the Dawnshards. And while I think all of this is great, I have an alternative method for trying to map the Shards onto the Allomancy table that is based on 4 smaller theories I've had. The first smaller theory I have is related to the connection between the Shards and the metals and is a foundation I've not seen a theory mention before. I believe Preservation's nature to preserve the status quo has led it to shape everything associated with it in the likeness of the first thing it witnessed: The Shattering of Adonalsium. Preservation helped create Scadrial which is 1 Cosmere Standard Gravity and 1 Cosmere Standard Planetary Size just like Yolen, the first planet the Shard of Preservation ever saw. Likewise, the magic system associated with Preservation, Allomancy, is likely a direct reference to the first thing Preservation ever experienced: the creation the Shards. Using this idea as a basis for mapping the Shards onto the Allomancy table makes it feel more logical and intentionally connected than just noticing the pattern of 16. The second smaller theory I have is that the Shards do in fact form pairs. Sanderson has said that Ruin and Preservation were unique in their complete opposition, but I still believe the other Shards form pairs that can be adversarial and/or complementary. Think of it as light and shadow where one cannot exist without the other to contrast it or perhaps as two perspectives of a singular action where one acts and the other is acted upon. As such, I propose the following Shards are paired: Ruin and Preservation, Odium and Devotion, Whimsy and Wisdom/Prudence, Endowment and Ambition, Honor and Autonomy. The other six I paired as follows but am less confident in: Virtuosity and Valor, Dominion and Mercy, and Invention and Cultivation. (You can find explanations for most of these after the table below.) The third smaller theory I have is that the 16 allomantic metals (plus silver but that one's not important in this particular discussion) existed and interacted with Investiture before the Shattering of Adonalsium. The main reasons I think this are: 1) half of these metals are base elements on the periodic table and some of them (take iron for example) are required for human biochemistry and we know humans existed before the Shattering, and 2) planets without Shards have access to metals that interact with local Investiture (e.g. sunhearts on Canticle). Therefore, it is reasonable to believe the 16 metals not only existed prior to the Shattering but also interacted with Investiture likely in the same ways they do at present. The fourth and final smaller theory is actually in my first post here which establishes a fundamental nature of each of the 16 allomantic metals. It's a little lengthier than the above paragraphs so I wanted to keep it separate, but it's important to this theory as the fundamental natures of the metals are largely what I used to map the Shards onto the Allomancy table. Now here is where things get a little more involved. Using the foundation set by the four smaller theories above, I concluded that each Shard must be coded to one of the base allomantic metals (e.g. there is a Shard that is pewter-coded as their intent and associated magic reflect the nature of the pre-existing nature of the metal). This flips the approach from "Which metal is most like which Shard?" to "Which Shard's Intent is most highly aligned with the fundamental nature of which metal?" which actually made it much easier to assign several of the Shards to appropriate slots on the table. Having the Shards in pairs also helped build off of that foundation. Ultimately, I came to the following chart (less confident placements are white and I apparently forgot to make Bronze white as well). Mercy and Dominion as Steel and Iron respectively is mostly because that's all that was left. I put Dominion as Iron because its Intent was to amass power as if pulling it to himself. Not my strongest reasoning but oh well. Valor as Pewter was mostly due to their supposed Intent being something akin to "great courage in the face of battle" and pewter's connection to strength. Virtuosity as Tin is due to tin's fundamental nature of perception (listed in the post I linked above) and is consequently why Virtuosity and Valor are paired. That being said, I do like the idea of a contrast between acting and observing/capturing the memory. Odium and Devotion as Zinc and Brass is clear to me as they have been referred to as Hatred and Love respectively along with the fact that Voidlight (Odium's light) enflames emotions and Aon OmI (the Aon for love as well as Domi, another name for Devotion) soothes the hearts of those around it which both reflect the allomantic uses of these metals. Wisdom/Prudence (the Shard we don't actually know the name of) must be either Bronze (for it must be aware of things it wishes to avoid) or Copper (which hides it). Either way Whimsy is likely its complement as Prudence is about foresight/acting sensibly and Whimsy is about impulsivity. Best that we can tell at least. Honor is Duralumin as the Stormfather himself has said that Honor's power was that of Connection itself. And Duralumin's fundamental nature is that of Connection. Simple. Autonomy is Aluminum because their Intent is to remain separate/pure from outside influences (such as the Shards) which mirrors how aluminum is allomantically inert and has a fundamental nature of Identity. Endowment is Nicrosil because nicrosil's fundamental nature is about Investiture and to Invest in something is to give it something which aligns with her Intent of giving gifts. Ambition is Chromium partially because I see Ambition as taking something for oneself (earned or not) which is the other side of the equation from Endowment giving things to others. Chromium is also all about Fortune and destiny which seem like things Ambition would care greatly about. Invention and Cultivation are tricky. I believe they both have temporal metals but which one is Gold and which one is Electrum I am not sure. We don't have much on either of these metals and how they interact with Investiture as their Hemalurgic uses steal types of allomancy/feruchemy and they don't have any known uses in fabrials. Gold is all about spiritual alignment which is what allows for Gold Shadows for allomancy as well as feruchemical healing--we know healing in the Cosmere works by way of mapping the Spiritual aspect of a person (the perfect them) onto their physical form through the lens of the cognitive aspect (how they see themselves). Electrum is about progress as it allows a glimpse into one's own future and stores determination. The pairing of these to me is very "technology vs nature" but really their shared emphasis on change makes it difficult to place them as either Gold or Electrum. Lastly, the most obvious placement in my mind is Ruin and Preservation as Bendalloy and Cadmium respectively. They are completely opposed Shards and keep each other in infuriating balance in era 1. Similarly, Bendalloy and Cadmium bubbles also cancel each other out. Beyond that, Bendalloy creates a bubble of sped-up time inside which everything moves, changes, ages, decays, etc at a faster rate. Cadmium does the opposite, creating a bubble of slowed time within which everything is kept much closer to the state they were in when the bubble went up. And just to address how the Shards could have had different Intents if a different group of 16 people used the Dawnshards to shatter Adonalsium, I think they'd still be coded to this table. Perhaps instead of Odium as the Zinc-coded Shard or Devotion as the Brass-coded Shard we'd have something like Mania for zinc and Peace for brass. If anything, attempts at creating an alternative set of Shards (because that seems like a fun thought experiment) are now more possible with a solid foundation. I'd love to know your thoughts on this as I've been working on this theory for a long time and simply can't get any further without feedback or more information about the Shards we've not met in person yet. All constructive notes and discussion are welcome. 3
JustQuestin2004 he/him Posted November 26, 2024 Posted November 26, 2024 I've always paired Autonomy and Dominon together as opposites in my mind, one is about going your own way and being independent, they other is about controlling things, bringing things into your influence. Dominion is about creating and enforcing a system, while Autonomy is removing yourself from it to forge your own path. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Bavadin, control freak supreme that she is, might hve an affinity for Dominion as well. 1
Through the Living Shadow he/him Posted November 26, 2024 Posted November 26, 2024 8 hours ago, MischiefIsMe said: Preface: This is only my second post ever on a forum website and idk what I'm doing. But I've been working on this theory for a while and want to put it out there for discussion finally. I've seen a number of posts on 17th Shard and Reddit where people try to map the 16 Shards of Adonalsium onto the Allomantic table. In some cases, they simply saw that both of them were split up into 16 pieces and went from there. Others used precedent theories such as the Shardic Lens theory as a basis. Many of them used the push/pull and internal/external classifications of the metals to assign spots or attempt to use the Dawnshards. And while I think all of this is great, I have an alternative method for trying to map the Shards onto the Allomancy table that is based on 4 smaller theories I've had. The first smaller theory I have is related to the connection between the Shards and the metals and is a foundation I've not seen a theory mention before. I believe Preservation's nature to preserve the status quo has led it to shape everything associated with it in the likeness of the first thing it witnessed: The Shattering of Adonalsium. Preservation helped create Scadrial which is 1 Cosmere Standard Gravity and 1 Cosmere Standard Planetary Size just like Yolen, the first planet the Shard of Preservation ever saw. Likewise, the magic system associated with Preservation, Allomancy, is likely a direct reference to the first thing Preservation ever experienced: the creation the Shards. Using this idea as a basis for mapping the Shards onto the Allomancy table makes it feel more logical and intentionally connected than just noticing the pattern of 16. The second smaller theory I have is that the Shards do in fact form pairs. Sanderson has said that Ruin and Preservation were unique in their complete opposition, but I still believe the other Shards form pairs that can be adversarial and/or complementary. Think of it as light and shadow where one cannot exist without the other to contrast it or perhaps as two perspectives of a singular action where one acts and the other is acted upon. As such, I propose the following Shards are paired: Ruin and Preservation, Odium and Devotion, Whimsy and Wisdom/Prudence, Endowment and Ambition, Honor and Autonomy. The other six I paired as follows but am less confident in: Virtuosity and Valor, Dominion and Mercy, and Invention and Cultivation. (You can find explanations for most of these after the table below.) The third smaller theory I have is that the 16 allomantic metals (plus silver but that one's not important in this particular discussion) existed and interacted with Investiture before the Shattering of Adonalsium. The main reasons I think this are: 1) half of these metals are base elements on the periodic table and some of them (take iron for example) are required for human biochemistry and we know humans existed before the Shattering, and 2) planets without Shards have access to metals that interact with local Investiture (e.g. sunhearts on Canticle). Therefore, it is reasonable to believe the 16 metals not only existed prior to the Shattering but also interacted with Investiture likely in the same ways they do at present. The fourth and final smaller theory is actually in my first post here which establishes a fundamental nature of each of the 16 allomantic metals. It's a little lengthier than the above paragraphs so I wanted to keep it separate, but it's important to this theory as the fundamental natures of the metals are largely what I used to map the Shards onto the Allomancy table. Now here is where things get a little more involved. Using the foundation set by the four smaller theories above, I concluded that each Shard must be coded to one of the base allomantic metals (e.g. there is a Shard that is pewter-coded as their intent and associated magic reflect the nature of the pre-existing nature of the metal). This flips the approach from "Which metal is most like which Shard?" to "Which Shard's Intent is most highly aligned with the fundamental nature of which metal?" which actually made it much easier to assign several of the Shards to appropriate slots on the table. Having the Shards in pairs also helped build off of that foundation. Ultimately, I came to the following chart (less confident placements are white and I apparently forgot to make Bronze white as well). Mercy and Dominion as Steel and Iron respectively is mostly because that's all that was left. I put Dominion as Iron because its Intent was to amass power as if pulling it to himself. Not my strongest reasoning but oh well. Valor as Pewter was mostly due to their supposed Intent being something akin to "great courage in the face of battle" and pewter's connection to strength. Virtuosity as Tin is due to tin's fundamental nature of perception (listed in the post I linked above) and is consequently why Virtuosity and Valor are paired. That being said, I do like the idea of a contrast between acting and observing/capturing the memory. Odium and Devotion as Zinc and Brass is clear to me as they have been referred to as Hatred and Love respectively along with the fact that Voidlight (Odium's light) enflames emotions and Aon OmI (the Aon for love as well as Domi, another name for Devotion) soothes the hearts of those around it which both reflect the allomantic uses of these metals. Wisdom/Prudence (the Shard we don't actually know the name of) must be either Bronze (for it must be aware of things it wishes to avoid) or Copper (which hides it). Either way Whimsy is likely its complement as Prudence is about foresight/acting sensibly and Whimsy is about impulsivity. Best that we can tell at least. Honor is Duralumin as the Stormfather himself has said that Honor's power was that of Connection itself. And Duralumin's fundamental nature is that of Connection. Simple. Autonomy is Aluminum because their Intent is to remain separate/pure from outside influences (such as the Shards) which mirrors how aluminum is allomantically inert and has a fundamental nature of Identity. Endowment is Nicrosil because nicrosil's fundamental nature is about Investiture and to Invest in something is to give it something which aligns with her Intent of giving gifts. Ambition is Chromium partially because I see Ambition as taking something for oneself (earned or not) which is the other side of the equation from Endowment giving things to others. Chromium is also all about Fortune and destiny which seem like things Ambition would care greatly about. Invention and Cultivation are tricky. I believe they both have temporal metals but which one is Gold and which one is Electrum I am not sure. We don't have much on either of these metals and how they interact with Investiture as their Hemalurgic uses steal types of allomancy/feruchemy and they don't have any known uses in fabrials. Gold is all about spiritual alignment which is what allows for Gold Shadows for allomancy as well as feruchemical healing--we know healing in the Cosmere works by way of mapping the Spiritual aspect of a person (the perfect them) onto their physical form through the lens of the cognitive aspect (how they see themselves). Electrum is about progress as it allows a glimpse into one's own future and stores determination. The pairing of these to me is very "technology vs nature" but really their shared emphasis on change makes it difficult to place them as either Gold or Electrum. Lastly, the most obvious placement in my mind is Ruin and Preservation as Bendalloy and Cadmium respectively. They are completely opposed Shards and keep each other in infuriating balance in era 1. Similarly, Bendalloy and Cadmium bubbles also cancel each other out. Beyond that, Bendalloy creates a bubble of sped-up time inside which everything moves, changes, ages, decays, etc at a faster rate. Cadmium does the opposite, creating a bubble of slowed time within which everything is kept much closer to the state they were in when the bubble went up. And just to address how the Shards could have had different Intents if a different group of 16 people used the Dawnshards to shatter Adonalsium, I think they'd still be coded to this table. Perhaps instead of Odium as the Zinc-coded Shard or Devotion as the Brass-coded Shard we'd have something like Mania for zinc and Peace for brass. If anything, attempts at creating an alternative set of Shards (because that seems like a fun thought experiment) are now more possible with a solid foundation. I'd love to know your thoughts on this as I've been working on this theory for a long time and simply can't get any further without feedback or more information about the Shards we've not met in person yet. All constructive notes and discussion are welcome. This is really good. Its essentially a focusing of all the vague ideas about metal I ever had, and is very impressive. Altho, shouldn’t Devotion and Dominion be paired instead of Dominion and Mercy? (Although, I dunno if their proximity to each other necessarily merits a pairing.) 1
MischiefIsMe He/They Posted November 26, 2024 Author Posted November 26, 2024 10 hours ago, JustQuestin2004 said: I've always paired Autonomy and Dominon together as opposites in my mind, one is about going your own way and being independent, they other is about controlling things, bringing things into your influence. Dominion is about creating and enforcing a system, while Autonomy is removing yourself from it to forge your own path. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Bavadin, control freak supreme that she is, might hve an affinity for Dominion as well. I could definitely see Autonomy and Dominion being complementary on that angle. However, the Coppermind page for Dominion says the closest we know for certain about Dominion's Intent is that it likely has to do with "amassing and maintaining control over others" and the best guess I have as to Mercy's Intent is something akin to "forgiveness" which could be interpreted as giving up the control you have over someone, particularly someone who has wronged you. Aside from that, I'm confident that Honor is the duralumin-coded Shard and so if Autonomy wasn't the aluminum-coded Shard (aka the Shard most focused on Identity), then I don't know who would be. I don't think Mercy fits the bill there. And yeah Bavadin is... unique lmao 9 hours ago, SpiritOfWrath said: This is really good. Its essentially a focusing of all the vague ideas about metal I ever had, and is very impressive. Altho, shouldn’t Devotion and Dominion be paired instead of Dominion and Mercy? (Although, I dunno if their proximity to each other necessarily merits a pairing.) Thank you so much!! I'm glad all the time I spent thinking about this wasn't totally wasted lmao. And I believe Dominion and Devotion were the example Sanderson used when saying that most Shards aren't opposites like Ruin and Preservation are. They went to the same planet but that doesn't mean they were complementary Shards. And I think Devotion and Odium make a more convincing pair as well as Dominion and Mercy. 1
Dofurion Posted November 28, 2024 Posted November 28, 2024 This is my personal list: Iron『Dominion』 Steel『Whimsy』 Tin『Vigilance』 Pewter『Valor』 Zinc『Odium』 Brass『Devotion』 Copper『Virtuosity』 Bronze『Mercy』 Cadmium『Preservation』 Bendaleum『Ruin』 Gold『Cultivation』 Electro『Ambition』 Chrome『Invention』 Nicrosil『Endowment』 Aluminum『Autonomy』 Duralumin『Honor』 1
MischiefIsMe He/They Posted November 28, 2024 Author Posted November 28, 2024 1 hour ago, Dofurion said: This is my personal list: Iron『Dominion』 Steel『Whimsy』 Tin『Vigilance』 Pewter『Valor』 Zinc『Odium』 Brass『Devotion』 Copper『Virtuosity』 Bronze『Mercy』 Cadmium『Preservation』 Bendaleum『Ruin』 Gold『Cultivation』 Electro『Ambition』 Chrome『Invention』 Nicrosil『Endowment』 Aluminum『Autonomy』 Duralumin『Honor』 Interesting! Why Whimsy paired with Dominion and Virtuosity paired with Mercy? Also why put Invention as chromium and Ambition as electrum?
Dofurion Posted November 28, 2024 Posted November 28, 2024 7 minutes ago, MischiefIsMe said: Why Whimsy paired with Dominion Mainly because of the issue of her intentions, from what we know of Dominion, that Shard seeks control and order. While Whimsy, as her name indicates, seems to be her natural opposite. 11 minutes ago, MischiefIsMe said: Virtuosity paired with Mercy? Mainly because of the effects of the associated metals. Virtuosity in the definition that Brandon is working with is about excellence in a specific field (in this case art) but here it impacts knowledge. And as for Mercy, the theme of storing wakefulness fits very well thematically. 16 minutes ago, MischiefIsMe said: Invention as chromium Basically from what was seen in The Sunlit Man The manifestation of investiture there works in the opposite way to how it works in Naltis (Instead of granting, it steals) and by elimination the only entity that could have created said planet as it is, is Invention 18 minutes ago, MischiefIsMe said: Ambition as electrum? Electrum is related to (Determination and the Future), Ambition seems to me to be a splinter very aligned with that.
MischiefIsMe He/They Posted November 29, 2024 Author Posted November 29, 2024 15 hours ago, Dofurion said: Mainly because of the issue of her intentions, from what we know of Dominion, that Shard seeks control and order. While Whimsy, as her name indicates, seems to be her natural opposite. All we know about Whimsy’s Intent (to my knowledge) is what’s on Coppermind: “Very little is known about Whimsy's Intent, outside it not being congruous with intense planning and ambitions. It is also not calculating nor deliberate.” So I’m not sure I see how they’re the opposite of amassing power, but it is nice to be able to discuss different conclusions on this topic. 15 hours ago, Dofurion said: Mainly because of the effects of the associated metals. Virtuosity in the definition that Brandon is working with is about excellence in a specific field (in this case art) but here it impacts knowledge. And as for Mercy, the theme of storing wakefulness fits very well thematically. The Investiture we’ve seen associated with Virtuosity (Heon, Hijo, and the Nightmares) all have to do with art but also about perception. Think of Wit’s epilogue on “how many people does it take for art to be beautiful” from Stormlight. I don’t personally see how Virtuosity is related to storing knowledge. Nor do I understand the thematic link between Mercy and wakefulness. 15 hours ago, Dofurion said: Basically from what was seen in The Sunlit Man The manifestation of investiture there works in the opposite way to how it works in Naltis (Instead of granting, it steals) and by elimination the only entity that could have created said planet as it is, is Invention Do we have any proof that Canticle’s Investiture is related to Invention? 15 hours ago, Dofurion said: Electrum is related to (Determination and the Future), Ambition seems to me to be a splinter very aligned with that. I actually see this one really well. Of all the alternative perspectives you’ve offered this one seems the clearest to me. Thank you for helping me see things I hadn’t previously considered. This is fun! 1
Dofurion Posted November 30, 2024 Posted November 30, 2024 10 hours ago, MischiefIsMe said: All we know about Whimsy’s Intent (to my knowledge) is what’s on Coppermind: “Very little is known about Whimsy's Intent, outside it not being congruous with intense planning and ambitions. It is also not calculating nor deliberate.” So I’m not sure I see how they’re the opposite of amassing power, but it is nice to be able to discuss different conclusions on this topic. You see, that must be because I have a different vision of the Dominion's intention, not only do I see it as a shard that seeks the concentration of power, but it also seems to me to be a shard that is aligned with the search for... I think I'd better give an example: In terms of the Cosmere, many see Dominion as the perfect shard to represent Fjorden, I personally see that it would be the middle ground between them and JinDo. The latter being a people who, from what can be seen from their Invested Art, seek their own Dominion and mastery in the things they do. What greater opposite to that than the Shard closest to the concept of Chaos that we have? Yes, I see this Shard as OCD 11 hours ago, MischiefIsMe said: The Investiture we’ve seen associated with Virtuosity (Heon, Hijo, and the Nightmares) all have to do with art but also about perception. Think of Wit’s epilogue on “how many people does it take for art to be beautiful” from Stormlight. I don’t personally see how Virtuosity is related to storing knowledge. Nor do I understand the thematic link between Mercy and wakefulness. Nightmares are not something particular to this Shard, it is something more general. Although particularly in this duo I doubt which metal to assign. Either of the two (Bronze and Copper) works for these Shards. 11 hours ago, MischiefIsMe said: Do we have any proof that Canticle’s Investiture is related to Invention? No, but we do have a fair amount of guesswork. We know there is a powerful entity in the Cosmere that is creating mega-structures for multiple purposes. Canticle is one such structure as is one called "The Grand Apparatus." We can also discard entities: It doesn't seem to be the Aether's modus operandi, so we can rule them out. With the shards we already know that their mode of action is restricted by their Intent, and of the 16 the only one that fits is Invention. 11 hours ago, MischiefIsMe said: I actually see this one really well. Of all the alternative perspectives you’ve offered this one seems the clearest to me. Thank you for helping me see things I hadn’t previously considered. This is fun! I'm glad that you like interacting in the forum.
MischiefIsMe He/They Posted November 30, 2024 Author Posted November 30, 2024 2 hours ago, Dofurion said: No, but we do have a fair amount of guesswork. We know there is a powerful entity in the Cosmere that is creating mega-structures for multiple purposes. Canticle is one such structure as is one called "The Grand Apparatus." We can also discard entities: It doesn't seem to be the Aether's modus operandi, so we can rule them out. With the shards we already know that their mode of action is restricted by their Intent, and of the 16 the only one that fits is Invention. I thought the Grand Apparatus was something made by Adonalsium that consisted of multiple planets. Plus the Investiture from the Sunhearts pushing people to fight doesn’t seem very much like what Invention would inspire. I could see that particular piece of Investiture linked to Valor or even Odium post-Shattering though.
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