Sophrosyne he/him Posted March 30, 2025 Posted March 30, 2025 So at some point I was told or read something to the effect that the name of a shard, say ‘Ruin’, is the same as a given shard’s intent full stop. Now I don’t know why but I was always under the impression that shardic intent had a little more to them. For example: Ruin isn’t JUST “ruin” but something like “Change things so they end.” I even have a google doc musing on these and I’m sure I'm just being semantic, but it has big implications to shard mixing and interruptions. I’d love to know more. Like is Harmony’s intent completely different to Preservation and Ruin’s? derived from it?
Treamayne Posted March 30, 2025 Posted March 30, 2025 1 hour ago, Sophrosyne said: So at some point I was told or read something to the effect that the name of a shard, say ‘Ruin’, is the same as a given shard’s intent full stop. Now I don’t know why but I was always under the impression that shardic intent had a little more to them. For example: Ruin isn’t JUST “ruin” but something like “Change things so they end.” I even have a google doc musing on these and I’m sure I'm just being semantic, but it has big implications to shard mixing and interruptions. I’d love to know more. Like It's a bit more complex than that, but yes. Mostly the name is a simplified synonym of the Shard's intent - and that Intent can be "nudged" by the Vessel just as the Intent will eventually overtake the Vessel's will. WoBs: Spoiler Quote Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Shards and Shard intents: Holding a Shard is a contest of willpower against the Shard that, over time, is very hard to resist. Shards affect you over time, but your mind will not leave a permanent effect on the Shard. A holder's [Vessel's] personality, however, does get to filter the Shard's intent, so to speak. However, if that holder [Vessel] no longer held that Shard, the Shard will not continue to be filtered by that person. Alloy of Law 17th Shard Q&A (Nov. 5, 2011) Quote JamesW You said that Preservation created the Terris Prophecies. Why couldn't Ruin see into the future and counter Preservation's plan? Is it because Ruin's intent has him focusing more on the present than the future, while Preservation (wanting to preserve forever) looks more into the future for that goal. Brandon Sanderson Looking into the future was not something Ruin was good at doing. That ability is confined to certain shards, and not others. 17th Shard Forum Q&A (Sept. 28, 2012) Quote Wetlander Please explain what you will about Shards and Splintering and Slivers. Brandon Sanderson An event happened long ago which destroyed something called Adonalsium into 16 pieces. And 16 people took up that power. Questioner People? Brandon Sanderson I call all intelligent species people. If someone takes up the power and lets go of it, it has the effect much like a balloon that's been stretched and then the air is let out. I call that a Sliver; based off of the Lord Ruler calling himself the "Sliver of Infinity". The Lord Ruler is someone who held the power and then released it. And so, current Slivers are the Lord Ruler, Kelsier, and there may be others around who at one point held the power and let go of it. A Splinter is a term used by certain people in the cosmere for power of Adonalsium which has no person caring for it, no... no person holding it, which has attained self-awareness. Wetlander So is that like the mists and the Well? Are they... Brandon Sanderson They are not, because they have not attained self-awareness. But, the Seons are self-aware. So, any piece, for instance there were some spren on Roshar before Honor and Cultivation got there. Those were already Splinters of Adonalsium where he had left power which attained sentience on its own. So, it can be intentional is what I am saying, does that make sense? You have seen other Splinters. Wetlander Are the highstorms related to the Splintering of Honor? Brandon Sanderson The highstorms are more related to the mist from Mistborn which terminology we have not discussed yet. You have seen Splinters quite a bit on various planets. Steelheart Seattle signing (Oct. 14, 2013) Quote Eric If Adonalsium Shattered with intent, would he always Shatter with the same Shards? Brandon Sanderson It is plausible that it could've gone a different way. Eric So it could've been different Shards? Brandon Sanderson Yes, that's plausible. Words of Radiance Chicago signing (March 22, 2014) Quote Argent Can any two Shards be joined together, like "Preservation and Ruin", or does it depend on their Intents? Brandon Sanderson Any can be joined, theoretically, but boy, some of the pairings would have an odd resulting pressure on the one holding them. And similar intents make for an easier time melding. /r/books AMA 2015 (March 12, 2015) Quote zotsandcrambles You've mentioned that a person's personality eventually erodes and is replaced by the will of the shard they hold. Besides Harmony, are there any Shards holders that are still actively and significantly defying the intent of their shard? Brandon Sanderson Yes. Kellsier Is Harmony ([Sazed], for instance) actively trying to fight against it's shard intent? Brandon Sanderson Its intent(s) match Sazed very well, actually, and he has the philosophy that these natural powers are best minded and not dominated. So while he pushes back against the inaction holding both of them has caused, he appreciates and understands the need for both. I'd say he has less "push back" than some others. /r/books AMA 2015 (July 17, 2015) Quote Alvaro Lopez Why Odium is stronger and worst evil than Ruin? Brandon Sanderson One reason is that Ruin had a person in control of it who, for many years, fought against the impulse to destroy--and in the end, channeled it toward entropy and decay, necessary elements of the universe. Odium represents something else entirely. General Twitter 2018 (June 6, 2018) Quote Questioner Do you believe that Preservation is inherently good and that Ruin is inherently evil? Brandon Sanderson No, good question! I would say no. I don't think any of the Shards are inherently good or inherently evil. I think that Ruin can be (and was for many years) in the cosmere presented as the necessary force of progress, right? Things need to decay in order for life to exist. And I think entropy is just a necessary aspect of life. And Ruin doesn't have to be evil; but Ruin is hard to control. And Odium is even harder to control. And because of that, there is a higher likelihood that Ruin or Odium are going to, if left unchecked, be very dangeorus. Dragonsteel Mini-Con 2021 (Nov. 23, 2021) Quote <edited for length> yulerule So it's the flavor-- Because I actually did have it - they're all translations, why not Hatred [instead of Odium?] Brandon Sanderson Because Odium is cooler. It just sounds cooler. There is no answer other than "I like the word better." yulerule Is there any connection with the thought that it's not Hatred? Because in Oathbringer, he says he's Passion? Brandon Sanderson He would claim that he's Passion and not Odium. But that is part of why I chose it. Hatred felt too on-the-nose, because there is quite arguably that step toward just being all Passion, and that's what he claims that he is. yulerule His own perception of himself, can perception, in the cosmere, can that influence? Brandon Sanderson Yes, it can influence. yulerule So the Shard's Intent can-- Brandon Sanderson Can be influenced by their perception and the holder's, yes. JordanCon 2018 (April 20, 2018) Quote is Harmony’s intent completely different to Preservation and Ruin’s? derived from it? Sazed stated his Intent in HoA (Note that it did not involve merging the two Shards, and deliberately keeping them separate - though they have since mingled together over the years). Spoiler HoA Ch 82: Quote The Hero will have the power to save the world. But he will also have the power to destroy it. We never understood. He wouldn’t simply bear the power of Preservation. He needed the power of Ruin as well. The powers were opposites. As he drew them in, they threatened to annihilate each other. And yet, because he was of one mind on how to use them, he could keep them separate. They could touch without destroying each other, if he willed it. For these two powers had been used to create all things. If they fought, they destroyed. If they were used together, they created. Understanding swelled within him. Two separate powers working in Harmony Hope that helps 4
Sophrosyne he/him Posted March 31, 2025 Author Posted March 31, 2025 12 hours ago, Treamayne said: Hope that helps It's a rare thing if you aren't helpful my friend! 1
Treamayne Posted March 31, 2025 Posted March 31, 2025 2 minutes ago, Sophrosyne said: It's a rare thing if you aren't helpful my friend! If only people at work felt the same way. . .
alder24 Posted April 1, 2025 Posted April 1, 2025 On 3/30/2025 at 1:01 PM, Sophrosyne said: So at some point I was told or read something to the effect that the name of a shard, say ‘Ruin’, is the same as a given shard’s intent full stop. Now I don’t know why but I was always under the impression that shardic intent had a little more to them. For example: Ruin isn’t JUST “ruin” but something like “Change things so they end.” You are correct. The words are just a focus for the intent, which encompasses more than the word itself. The interpretation of the Shardic intent depends on the Vessel that's holding the Shard. Ruin isn't about destruction, Ati was able to focus it around entropy. Spoiler Chaos In Dawnshard we learned that Intent and Command are two different things, whereas in Warbreaker Vasher is clearly conflating these two into just saying it's the Command. What's the difference between Intent and Command? Brandon Sanderson Intent encompasses more understanding. Command is specifically narrow. A lot of times, these things are gonna be conflated, because they basically can be. Like, if Vasher creates an awakened thing and says "go get me those keys." The Intent is: "I need the keys to get outta here. I want to be free." The Command is: "Go fetch keys." Those are two different things, but they are working toward the same goal. It is important in cosmere terms that the Intent is understood, even if sometimes the words that can speak 'em are clunky and smaller in scale by nature than the Intent. Let's say the Intent of a Shard encompasses more than the word that the Shard is described by. It's a similar thing that the Intent of a Command is often vaster than the actual words spoken. And the magic can grasp the Intent, not just the Command, depending on the magic system and how good you are at it, and things like that. The words are there to focus Intent. How about that? Chaos Bringing the old word "focus" back into it. Let's talk about body focuses; what's going on there? (That's a joke.) Brandon Sanderson I'll throw you a kernel on that one in the fifth book if you watch for it. That old Rosharan philosophy will actually be relevant for a small thing happening in the fifth book. Shardcast Interview (Jan. 23, 2021) Spoiler Necarion Do Vessels have any flexibility in expressing the intent of a Shard, particularly if the intent is open to many interpretations? Brandon Sanderson Yes they do. So, the Vessel's mind and how they perceive is going to have a large influence on how things are expressed and I think all of them have some wiggle room. But there are some deterministic things that are also going to push them. You know, holding Ruin, Harmony may not go down the same path that happened to Ati. Necarion So Sadeas would express Honor differently than Tanavast? Brandon Sanderson Yes he would. Arcanum Unbounded San Francisco signing (Nov. 30, 2016) 1
Recommended Posts