Number of Shards

[Andrew the Great he/him]

Is it confirmed that there are 16 Shards of Adonalsium, or is this one of those things that we've integrated so thoroughly into our speculation that it's pretty much fact to us?

If it is confirmed, where? (I'm not talking about the 3 of 16 ruled passage, or anything similar. I mean where Brandon said, "There are 16 Shards" or something that led us to be able to confirm it)

I'm currently trimming speculation out of some of the articles, and this was one of the things that I wasn't sure on whether it was actually speculation or not.

[Chaos he/him]

I think it could be more effective for a specific speculation area in pages, to let people know about that. Obviously, we don't want to reduce information.

Though the 3 of 16 is fairly strong evidence for there being sixteen Shards, I do not know of explicit confirmation of this. In this case, I think this is a safe assumption.

[Andrew the Great he/him]

I agree, and that's why it survived my speculation purging earlier today, but I just wasn't sure.

A speculation section could be effective, though a lot of them would only have one or two things that needed to be put there, which kind of seems like a waste.

[Earendil]

Having a group of individuals named the 17th shard is also pretty strong evidence.  Calling a basketball booster club the 5th man wouldn't make sense, since there are five players on the court.  Similarly, 7th man seems kind of random, but adding one gives at least some method to the madness.  Thus, basketball teams have a 6th man club, and the shards of Adonalsium (sp?) have the 17th shard.

[SOM1else he/him]

Sazed also says in HoA that there are 16 allomantic metals and that there are deeper meanings to this number that have to do with the way the universe works. also in a question and answer session that I cant find online he says that he plans on 32 Shardworld books because if fits as a multiple of 16 or something like it.

[Puck he/him]

I agree, and that's why it survived my speculation purging earlier today, but I just wasn't sure.

A speculation section could be effective, though a lot of them would only have one or two things that needed to be put there, which kind of seems like a waste.

I've only done a couple of wiki entries, but I've added a THEORIES section to each entry (that merits one) where I put a theory that is reasonably well-supported but not 100% confirmed. That way we can keep "fact" from "theory" separate while still having all useful information at our fingertips (ex - http://www.17thshard.com/wiki/Honor)

[Andrew the Great he/him]

Sounds good. I like the separation. As long as we actually use it, it should work well.

Sazed also says in HoA that there are 16 allomantic metals and that there are deeper meanings to this number that have to do with the way the universe works. also in a question and answer session that I cant find online he says that he plans on 32 Shardworld books because if fits as a multiple of 16 or something like it.

I've heard lots of different numbers of Shardworld books. The two that I've heard from Brandon himself most often are 34 and 37 (and he's said both on several different occasions). I've also heard 36 and 30 thrown around. This is the first time I've ever heard 32, but it's possible that you are correct. However, I doubt that the number of Shardworld books was specifically planned to be a multiple of 16.

[Silus - Shard of Flame he/him]

I'd say just a small section in each page would definitely work.  If it gets too big we could have full pages if necessary, right?

Here's to hoping that Brandon doesn't die on us before finishing all those books.

[Link Von Kelsier Harvey he/him]

I think it was in the Tor Q&A where he said that it would either be 32 or 36 books.  He mentioned that 32 was a more significant number in the cosmere, but had doubts that he could squeeze the entire story into that few books.  He never mentioned multiples of 16, he just said that 32 was significant.

[Asperity he/him]

I'm currently reading The Way of Kings, and the opening epitaph in Chapter 26 mentions a "Seventeenth" Shard, so there has to be at least 17, as backed up by the name of this website, as well as the Wiki.

[CrazyRioter she/her]

the 17th Shard is a group of people.

[Asperity he/him]

the 17th Shard is a group of people.

Oh. Where does it say that? (I'm assuming somewhere in WoK. Don't spoil it for me, please, but a Yes or No would suffice).

[Chaos he/him]

Oh. Where does it say that? (I'm assuming somewhere in WoK. Don't spoil it for me, please, but a Yes or No would suffice).

Yes. Kind of.

[Asperity he/him]

Yes. Kind of.

Good enough for me. Thanks.

[Zas678 he/him]

Good enough for me. Thanks.

pg. 368, if you want a reference. Also, For the sake of not confusion, should we say that Seventeenth Shard is a group of people in the Cosmere, and that 17th Shard is us? Just use that as the industry standard?

[Chaos he/him]

That's what I've been using.

[ZeldaDad he/him]

This is all very enlightening. I'm glad I read through this post. I am still wrapping my mind around the Shards and the Cosmere and how it all works. I haven't given myself time to just sit down and read until I grasp it (as much as it can be grasped). My plan is to read all of his books and let it all click as I go. That is, unless I find a really good explanation somewhere or gather enough information while lurking around here.

Edited March 18, 2011 by Endra kin'Fox

[EricTheRed]

I'm a recent joiner for editing this wiki, but have been following for quite some time... I added some additional support today to the "Adonalsium" page and was wondering - where did you get the spelling?

The quote I included as additional content for this page was from Sazed in Page 344 in The Hero of Ages, preface to Chapter 39 and it states:

"I sense shards of something from long ago, a fractured presence, something spanning the void. I have delved and searched, and have only been able to come up with a single name: Adonasium. Who, or what, it was, I do not yet know.

Here the spelling is Adonasium. That appears to be the correct spelling to me. Is this word spelled as Adonalsium in some other book? (I'm currently re-reading all of Sanderson's novels, and just made it through the Mistborn trilogy).

[CrazyRioter she/her]

Brandon has said that the spelling in HoA was a typographical error. It's spelled as Adonalsium in WoK.

[Cuaiir he/him]

from the annotations on Brandon's website link

Adonalsium

Wouldn't you like to know what that is? Maybe you will, eventually. Not in this book though. [Editor's note: If you see it spelled "Adonasium" anywhere, that is an unfortunate typographical error.]

[EricTheRed]

from the annotations on Brandon's website link

Thanks - I changed it to the correct spelling on the wiki.

[these books are epic]

ok, on this wiki talking about ruin and preservation, they are given the names Ati and Ledas (i may not have that one right). These names weren't in the mistborn trilogy so where did they come from??

[CrazyRioter she/her]

Brandon said so. And it's spelled Leras.

[these books are epic]

ok

[Ironeyes]

That's also where Atium and Lerasium came from.