The 17th shard?

[The truthwatcher he/him]

I have some questions. If there was(or maybe there is) a 17th shard, what would it be? What world would it be on? And who would hold it? So, I am asking you, the 17th sharders(don't know if I like that name) about it. There is probably a discussion on this already, I am just lazy and need a distraction from finals week.

[WeiryWriter he/him]

The 17th Shard is a group of Brandon Sanderson fans.  The Seventeenth Shard is a worldhopping organization whose motives and objectives are unknown, though they appear to contrast with those of Hoid.  Three members of the organization are looking for Hoid in the Ishiik interlude of WoK.

[The truthwatcher he/him]

I guess I didn't make it clear, I meant which intent like odium or honor would go with it if there was a 17th shard.

[Voidus]

As Weiry said it's not an actual Shard like the 16 Shards of Adonalsium, it's just a group of Worldhoppers with unknown goals, I believe that Brandon suggested the name for the site.

[Lightsworn Panda he/him]

As Weiry said it's not an actual Shard like the 16 Shards of Adonalsium, it's just a group of Worldhoppers with unknown goals, I believe that Brandon suggested the name for the site.

 

Yeah, Brandon let Rubix and RainbowRose name this site after the 17th Shard. According to the Coppermind Wiki, 17th Shard used to be called Hoid's Compendium. 

 

truthwatcher, are you asking for what intent the 17th Shard would follow?

[gjustice99 she/her]

If it was originally called Hoid's Compendium then the intent would be to compile information about Hoid.

[firstRainbowRose she/her]

The intent was a place for fans to gather and discuss Brandon's books, among a few other things.

 

The original name of Hoid's Compendium was chosen since Hoid was the only character we knew (publicly) at the time that was all encompassing of the Cosmere. We mentioned the name to Brandon and he said the much better name was already created... thus, 17S

[Kasimir he/him]

I guess I didn't make it clear, I meant which intent like odium or honor would go with it if there was a 17th shard.

Some of the above seem to be somewhat missing the point of the question. I think what The truthwatcher was asking is, well, y'know all these Shards of Adonalsium like Odium, Preservation, Ruin, etc.? Well, let's say there were seventeen of them. What would the intent of Shard #17 be?

Of course, we only have nine known Shards, so trying to extrapolate to #17, much less making any sort of inference from the Sharders to any hypothetical Shard #17 is a bit dodgy, I'd say...

[Moogle]

I'm not sure there could be a 17th Shard, based on the speculation of there being a "conservation of Intent". If you combine Honor and Odium, you might get Vengeance for example, and so on and if you combine all the Shards, you'd get Adonalsium (which would have a very broad Intent). For there to be a 17th Shard would imply all the other Shards we know would have to be different.

 

Uhm, but to consider the question as "what sorts of Intents might the Shards we haven't seen have", the first ones that come to mind are Greed, Fear, and Creation, though they all have their issues. I never would have guessed "Honor" for a Shard, which suggests I don't actually have a very clear mental model of Brandon's Shard-creation processes.

Edited December 16, 2014 by Moogle

[Paragrin she/her]

And if you combine Endowment and Odium, you get Steelheart.

[Curiosity he/him]

Brandon has mentioned that the name for the in-Cosmere organization 17th Shard was chosen very intentionally, indicating that there was a specific intent.* 

[AerionBFII he/him]

I thought their main intent was non-intervention? 

[RawToast225 he/him]

We just don't know. They follow the Shardholder who does not intervene in the rest of the universe. They might just be the tools of the Shardholder to enforce non intervention. They might be professional shard splinterers who are literally hunting down the first letter writer. We don't know.

[Slater he/him]

Is it even confirmed they follow another of the Shardholders? Because Frost is probably a dragon. And the letter was most likely to him.

[RawToast225 he/him]

It's been confirmed that it was to Dragon (Spelling?) from Yolen.

[hoidhunter he/him]

I'm saying...the theoretical intent of the non-existent 17th shard (or of the organization...I'm still slightly unsure of what we are discussing) would have to be hoidhunter...by the way...I hunt Hoid.

[Iredomi]

is frost a shardholder?

[Blaze1616 he/him]

We just don't know. They follow the Shardholder who does not intervene in the rest of the universe. They might just be the tools of the Shardholder to enforce non intervention. They might be professional shard splinterers who are literally hunting down the first letter writer. We don't know.

 

Do you have WoB that the Seventeenth Shard follows a Shardholder? I have never seen that anywhere. The dragon on Yolen is not necessarily holding a Shard. I would almost argue he definitly does not, given the phrasing within the Response. Plus, as Hoid's letter states, the Seventeenth Shard are only the Recipient's "friends," not necessarily cohorts.

[Asperity he/him]

I wonder if the Seventeenth Shard tried to create a man-made 17th Shard and that could be a possible origin of their name.

[RawToast225 he/him]

Like scientists and scholars that are trying to create shardplate on Roshar, but instead, they try to create original shards?

Edit: Tried to create shards? Then when they realized the fruitlessness of their endeavour, they gave up?

Edited January 23, 2015 by Arthur Dent

[Asperity he/him]

Like scientists and scholars that are trying to create shardplate on Roshar, but instead, they try to create original shards?

Edit: Tried to create shards? Then when they realized the fruitlessness of their endeavour, they gave up?

Something like that. I'd find it very cool. A group of scientists who know enough to survive on their own. Would be different from the generic "random group of people (possibly mercs) who are looking for somebody".