Dawnshard Theory

[Cade Strauss]

I know there have been lots of theories over the years on what the Dawnshards are and which Shards fit under each category (As inferred by inspection of the mural in chapter 16 of Dawnshard), and I wanted to toss in the theory I developed post-Wind and Truth with the information gleaned there.

Here's my idea of the Dawnshards and the 4 shards that fit into each category. Devise was based on Hoid's speech in the Epilogue of The Way of Kings. Exist and Change are confimed Dawnshards. Feel was my own idea.

Exist
Preservation
Honor
Dominion
Valor

Change
Cultivation
Ruin
Endowment
Ambition

Devise
Invention
Virtuosity 
Reason
Autonomy

Feel
Odium
Devotion
Whimsy
Mercy

The Dawnshards are supposed to be the 4 great commands used to create life. I tried thinking about the 4 things that we as humans need for our lives as sentient beings, as the 4 commands Adonalsium used to create. These 4 commands also need to fit into general groupings of Shardic Intents, not necessarily directly, but at least fairly related.

The first is self-preservation, or Existing. On a physical level, we need to do the fundamental tasks to keep our bodies alive. We eat, sleep, etc. I felt that Preservation (obviously), Honor, Dominion, and Valor all fit the category of Existing Intent, listed from greatest to least alignment to the command. Preservation...demands existing. Honor calls for an eternal keeping of oaths. Dominion is a total and eternal control. Valor is an upholding of ideals and virtues.

The second is the command to Change. To adapt, to alter, and to modify the world around us. Cultivation, Ruin, Endowment, and Ambition fit this category. Cultivation is about growing and changing. Ruin is the same ideal, but a different method: destruction and decay in the name of change. Endowment is gift-giving, changing the recipient to give them power or blessings. Ambition is your own personal desire to change the world and set yourself higher.

Thirdly, we see the command to Devise. Humanity not only exists and changes the world around us, but we also create wondrous things that might not directly apply to our own survival. We create because it is in our nature. Invention, Virtuosity, Reason, and Autonomy fall into this category. Invention is rather self-explanatory. Virtuosity is creative excellence and falls very effectively into this category. Reason is intelligent thinking, and the core of all creative processes. Autonomy is performing and acting on your own, and it fits admittedly loosely compared to any other grouping. 

Finally, we see the command to Feel. We are more than soulless automations designed to survive and create. We have personalities and we Feel. Odium, Devotion, Whimsy, and Mercy fall into this category. Odium is rage, passion (by his own claim), and destructive power. Devotion is total affection and loyalty towards someone or something. Whimsy is unbridled, thoughtless emotion. Mercy is compassion triumphing over justice, and holding back the deserved punishment from someone.

 

This is my Dawnshard theory. Any comments, questions, or critiques are welcome.

[Aliroz-The-Confused]

Interesting.  So, the Devise and Change shards are evil, and so is Odium, which leaves at most seven good shards.  Drat!  Almost a clean 8/8 split.

 

EDIT:  WAITWAITWAIT Endowment's good, so it's a clean 8/8 split.

Swap Endowment for Odium (say that Odium is a change-one, a future-facing thing, because hatred is an intent to later destroy, and call Endowment a "feel" one) and we've got a nice coherent split.

Edited August 29, 2025 by Aliroz-The-Confused

[Cade Strauss]

I wouldn’t necessarily denote them as evil…Autonomy, Ruin, and Odium yes.

[Jult]

1 hour ago, Aliroz-The-Confused said:

Interesting.  So, the Devise and Change shards are evil, and so is Odium, which leaves at most seven good shards.  Drat!  Almost a clean 8/8 split.

Well, none of the Shards are inherently good or evil. Brandon has stated as much before.

2 hours ago, Cade Strauss said:

Exist
Preservation
Honor
Dominion
Valor

Change
Cultivation
Ruin
Endowment
Ambition

Devise
Invention
Virtuosity 
Reason
Autonomy

Feel
Odium
Devotion
Whimsy
Mercy

I haven't personally heard Devise as an option before. I would maybe suggest putting Whimsy in that category instead of Autonomy. Whimsy in the sense of improvisation or imagination would fit with the other 3 nicely in my opinion.

Of course, then Autonomy would be stuck under Feel, which feels a bit odd. But maybe Autonomy in the sense of freedom could work there? Or you could swap Autonomy again with Honor, Valor, or Ambition. I think any of those 3 could fit under Feel depending on how you define them.

[Cade Strauss]

11 minutes ago, Jult said:

Well, none of the Shards are inherently good or evil. Brandon has stated as much before.

Yeah that’s what I remember. The Vessel plays a large part of it and there are other nuances. I suppose if you’re a nihilist then Ruin is great

[Nitpicking]

Ruin is entropy. Without entropy the universe becomes static--the arrow of time (in physics) derives from entropy. Is a totally static, unchanging universe (Preservation triumphant over Ruin) good? I argue that Preservation "winning" would be exactly as bad as utter Ruin. Note that only Preservation and Ruin, working together, seem to have been able to create an intelligent species since the Shattering. None of the other Shards have done it.

[Jult]

1 hour ago, Nitpicking said:

Note that only Preservation and Ruin, working together, seem to have been able to create an intelligent species since the Shattering. None of the other Shards have done it.

Actually, Endowment may have also accomplished this. WoB:

Spoiler

Quote

Questioner

Is there like a Cosmere-significant reason why, on Scadrial, the Investiture is hereditary, but that that doesn't really seem to be the case on any of the other worlds?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes there is, but it has to do more with the fact that on Scadrial, human beings were directly created by Ruin and Preservation. And most of the Cosmere worlds you've seen don't have that same sort of aspect. It is the case on Nalthis, but it's not the case on Roshar, it's not the case on Taldain, it's not the case on Sel. And so because of that instance, that's how I'm kind of working, that changed the way people interact with magic directly. But there is some wiggle room there for me. But that's your answer, that's the actual... there's.. I'm not hiding anything there, there is wiggle room. What I'm saying is don't extrapolate that that has to happen every time that the Shards were directly involved in the creation...

JordanCon 2021 (July 16, 2021)

 

[Cade Strauss]

If Endowment created her own form of life, then I'd venture to guess that Ambition did as well. Both the Nalthians and the Threnodites are born with innate Investiture beyond that of a normal human.

2 hours ago, Jult said:

Yes there is, but it has to do more with the fact that on Scadrial, human beings were directly created by Ruin and Preservation. And most of the Cosmere worlds you've seen don't have that same sort of aspect. It is the case on Nalthis, but it's not the case on Roshar, it's not the case on Taldain, it's not the case on Sel. And so because of that instance, that's how I'm kind of working, that changed the way people interact with magic directly. But there is some wiggle room there for me. But that's your answer, that's the actual... there's.. I'm not hiding anything there, there is wiggle room. What I'm saying is don't extrapolate that that has to happen every time that the Shards were directly involved in the creation...

 

[PurpleZebra5]

My personal guess as to what the 2 remaining Dawnshards are is that they are Cease and Think - My thought process is that the Dawnshards are the 4 Commands, and since Investiture requires both Intent and a Command, the Dawnshards would be the 4 base "Commands" that would be used for all the fun Cosmere magic - Exist (Confirmed Dawnshard) for creating stuff, Cease (Not confirmed) to unmake or stop things, Change (Confirmed Dawnshard) for transformation and changing various forces/Surges, and Think (Not confirmed) because Investiture can become alive, both on purpose and by accident. Not sure how the Shards would fit into my framework though.

[Armadillo]

To lend credence to your theory, I believe the mural of the Shattering in Dawnshard depicts one being split into four, then the four into sixteen. The one-to-four split could be separating them into Intents based on which Dawnshard they reflect best.

3 hours ago, PurpleZebra5 said:

My personal guess as to what the 2 remaining Dawnshards are is that they are Cease and Think

Also, I like the idea of swapping out "Devise" for "Think" or something else more intellect-y. "Think" is much more general, which means that it applies to more living things (I feel like a godly command of creation should apply to all living things). 

However, I do like the idea of "Feel" being one as well. "Cease" doesn't really make sense to me, because why would a command of life urge you to stop? "Feel," however, makes more sense for the same reasons as "Think."

This being said, this is all based on the idea that they only apply to living things. I'm not sure how much even I lean into that. For example, rocks usually don't think (except on Roshar I guess), yet they were created just like everything else in the Cosmere. So why wouldn't the dawnshards apply to them?

[Aliroz-The-Confused]

 

On 8/29/2025 at 5:53 AM, Nitpicking said:

Ruin is entropy. Without entropy the universe becomes static--the arrow of time (in physics) derives from entropy. Is a totally static, unchanging universe (Preservation triumphant over Ruin) good? I argue that Preservation "winning" would be exactly as bad as utter Ruin.

To me, a totally static, unchanging universe sounds very comforting.

[Nitpicking]

2 hours ago, Aliroz-The-Confused said:

To me, a totally static, unchanging universe sounds very comforting.

Good news! You get one after the universe reaches heat death, according to at least some current models.

[Aliroz-The-Confused]

On 9/13/2025 at 6:19 PM, Nitpicking said:

Good news! You get one after the universe reaches heat death, according to at least some current models.

Lookin' forward to it, buddy!