More Shards?

[Belandrius Ohhmar He/Him]

In the Coppermind in the Yolen section it says "Yolen had gods other than Adonalsium, the nature of these gods is unknown, however, at least some of them are known to have died." This could show there could be more Shards and more beings like Adonalsium this shows that there is a possibility to have more Shards beyond the 16 although later in the same page it says "While gods existed and died on Yolen prior to the Shattering, these gods were not Shards. Current information suggests these gods were dragons." but it specifically says 'Shards' that indicates there could be Adonalsium like beings then the dying part it says "these gods were not shards" 'Were' implying there could be shards now or the shards made by the shattering of the other gods could have left and gone to a part of the Cosmere that the 16 have not been. another thing could be Adonalsium was a shard himself but they did not call him a shard and those other gods were also 'Not-Shards' and another being was shattered before and other beings took up those powers.

 

(Moderators if I put this in the wrong place I am sorry please move it if it is)

[Argenti he/him]

4 hours ago, Belandrius Ohhmar said:

In the Coppermind in the Yolen section it says "Yolen had gods other than Adonalsium, the nature of these gods is unknown, however, at least some of them are known to have died." This could show there could be more Shards and more beings like Adonalsium this shows that there is a possibility to have more Shards beyond the 16 although later in the same page it says "While gods existed and died on Yolen prior to the Shattering, these gods were not Shards. Current information suggests these gods were dragons." but it specifically says 'Shards' that indicates there could be Adonalsium like beings then the dying part it says "these gods were not shards" 'Were' implying there could be shards now or the shards made by the shattering of the other gods could have left and gone to a part of the Cosmere that the 16 have not been. another thing could be Adonalsium was a shard himself but they did not call him a shard and those other gods were also 'Not-Shards' and another being was shattered before and other beings took up those powers.

 

(Moderators if I put this in the wrong place I am sorry please move it if it is)

I feel like you're really trying to justify there being more shards. We have been told, straight up, the dead gods of Yolen were not pre-shattering shards. Brandon is sometimes tricky, but I doubt he would just lie. The Cosmere isn't a large place, and another set of 16+ shards would have been found.  

And a word from the wise- do not try to read into the wording of the Coppermind. It's a wiki, not a primary source, and can very easily suggest things that aren't true.

Quote

Strumienpola (paraphrased)

Were Yolen dead gods some kind of pre-Adonalsium shards?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

RAFO on Yolen... but no. Before the Shattering there were no Shards, so these gods are something different.

Warsaw signing (March 18, 2017)

It also probably shouldn't go in the dragonsteel prime channel, because this has no info from that book. Emberdark, probably.

[alder24]

22 hours ago, Belandrius Ohhmar said:

In the Coppermind in the Yolen section it says "Yolen had gods other than Adonalsium, the nature of these gods is unknown, however, at least some of them are known to have died." This could show there could be more Shards and more beings like Adonalsium this shows that there is a possibility to have more Shards beyond the 16 although later in the same page it says "While gods existed and died on Yolen prior to the Shattering, these gods were not Shards. Current information suggests these gods were dragons." but it specifically says 'Shards' that indicates there could be Adonalsium like beings then the dying part it says "these gods were not shards" 'Were' implying there could be shards now or the shards made by the shattering of the other gods could have left and gone to a part of the Cosmere that the 16 have not been. another thing could be Adonalsium was a shard himself but they did not call him a shard and those other gods were also 'Not-Shards' and another being was shattered before and other beings took up those powers.

 

(Moderators if I put this in the wrong place I am sorry please move it if it is)

There were no Shards before the Shattering as the Shattering created them, they are Shards of Adonalsium and there are only 16 of them. Adonalsium is a god who created Cosmere on its own, almost all investiture in Cosmere came from Adonalsium, so for all we know there were no beings like him otherwise it would have been plainly obvious. The quote refers to dragons, who till this day are worshipped as gods. However, there are other entities that could be treated like gods, those are either some kind of god-spren similar to those created on Roshar, Avatars who we know from WoBs Adonalsium created, Aethers who are self-proclaimed co-equals of Adonalsium and some kind of Cognitive Shadows who are often worshipped as gods (just look at Heralds, Fused, Returned or Kelsier).

Spoiler

Overlord Jebus

Is all Investiture in the cosmere associated with a Shard?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, well, okay. So this is a complicated one. *pauses* So, Investiture predates the Shattering of Adonalsium, all Investiture was from Adonalsium, all Investiture got assigned to one of the 16 Shards when Adonalsium was Shattered. Some of the Investiture was not on Yolen but location is irrelevant. So Investiture is related to Shards even on planets where none of the Shards are inhabiting. 

Overlord Jebus

Are they aware of that Investiture?

Brandon Sanderson

That's part of the whole seeing into the infinite, being beyond even the power of a Shard. So, technically you could make the argument that Harmony could feel the sense of Preservation on every world in the cosmere, right? Because the building blocks of all life and creation are these things.

Overlord Jebus

So the Shard of Preservation embodies all preservation in the cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes but he just can't do that, right? Like, he's not infinite. The Vessels are not, even if their minds are enormously expanded by holding a Shard, they are not infinite. The Connection is all there in the Spiritual Realm.

Oathbringer London signing (Nov. 28, 2017)

 

Spoiler

Eric

In Secret History we learn the 16 Shards that Shattered Adonalsium. Was that done [on behalf of the anti-Adonalsium force]?

Brandon Sanderson

You’re focusing too much on this idea of an anti-Adonalsium. It—the original question I believe that was asked me was “is there a force that is opposed to Adonalsium” and it left me a lot of wiggle room. In other words, the people who killed Adonalsium, you could say were a force, any person who opposed Adonalsium... What they were trying to get was a “devil” but to do that you must assume Adonalsium was a more Christian-style God, and I haven’t confirmed any of that.

Calamity Chicago signing (Feb. 22, 2016)

 

Spoiler

Questioner

Did Adonalsium ever create any avatars?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm not gonna RAFO this; I'm gonna give you answer. But there's the thing on this answer: some of these things are canon in stuff I've done so far that I may not canonize going forward. The answer is yes: in original outlines going back to Dragonsteel, the answer is yes, that you would have seen that. Will I do that when I write the actual series? I cannot guarantee. So it's a tentative yes, but it's not canon yet.

Questioner

Are any of them still around?

Brandon Sanderson

I'll RAFO that for you.

C2E2 2024 (April 26, 2024)

 

Spoiler

Bumtown1

Is Adonalsium a unique being or are—were—there others?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO! The aethers would say that there were lots. That there's like a bunch of aethers and Adonalsium. That they were co-equals. The aethers would say there were lots of them.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 5 (Dec. 2, 2022)

 

Spoiler

Questioner

Ostensibly, all of the magic that we’ve seen in the cosmere ultimately originated from Adonalsium. Ostensibly.

Brandon Sanderson

Ostensibly.

Questioner

Does Adonalsium have a counterpart with equal or comparable power? And if so, have we seen that counterpart’s influence in the cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson

This is a matter of personal philosophy. The aethers are said (by themselves) to co-date Adonalsium and to not be derived from Adonalsium’s power. So there is at least one that is theorized to be that way, but it’s going to depend on who you trust and who you talk to.

Dragonsteel 2022 (Nov. 14, 2022)

 

Edited October 17, 2025 by alder24