Different Shardic Forms of Divine Communication

[Mystfall He/Him]

Unironically this came to me while making a joke in a SE game.

Don’t ask.

Preservation hears people’s thoughts

Ruin speaks in people’s minds

Odium/Honor appear in visions

Autonomy/Cultivation appear in a physical body/avatar of some sort 

Why is this? To me it seems like there’s a pattern here, and I originally thought it was due to planets(Ruin and Preservation each holding half of what it takes to communicate, and Odium and Honor using visions) but in that case, why does Cultivation use a similar approach to Autonomy

I want to say that it’s another division into 4(potentially alongside the dawnshard divisions or whatever other grouping you prefer—I’ve heard some interesting one) but if so, are Ruin and Preservation in the same group? Most attempts to split the shards into 4s ends up with Preservation and Ruin in opposite categories.

Thoughts I guess?

Do we have any WoBs about this? I’m 90% sure I’ve seen something at least similar to this.

Another thing I thought was interesting about this though was the idea of divine communication. You have the option of a god hearing your thoughts and prayers, the option for a god to cause words and impressions to come into your mind. You have the option of visions and revelations where you are mentally and spiritually taken to another place but not physically, and you have the option of God appearing to you in a physical body.

(btw, this is very  similar to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Theology, most other Christian religions have problems with God appearing with a body/some others believe that the time of revelations and visions are over or something to that effect(my understanding is limited). But that’s also interesting, and to me suggests that it’s at least somewhat purposeful, given the other ways Brandon’s incorporated aspects of our faith into his books)

Oh, and how do you think the other shards will fit into the 4 categories?

Visions/Hearing/Talking/(unsure of a good term for the shard having a physical body/avatar-Manifestation maybe?)

I had another thought about how maybe each form of communication has something to do with the three realms, but the 4 different types kind of refutes that. Manifestation is most definitely physical, Visions Spiritual, but both Hearing and Talking seem Cognitive to me. So maybe Ruin and Preservation are in the same group and there’s a 4th one I don’t know of that combines all 3 realms or something?

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

There are a few more examples of Shard-to-Mortal communication.

-Endowment gives Visions to the Returned when she brings them back to life.

-Patji has spoken to Dusk, which is technically Autonomy.

-Devotion, or rather what remains of Devotion has spoken to Elantrians who take a dip in her Perpendicularity.