RawToast225 he/him Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 In Mistborn, we have two opposing shards that complemented each other and tried to destroy each other. Is it safe to assume that we can extrapolate what the names, or at least temperaments, of the unknown shards are by assuming they each have an opposite? We have Ruin and Preservation as opposites, so there must be more that are opposite of each other. Odium can have some shard that embodies love as an opposite. Honor can have something embodying dishonor or betrayal. Maybe Odium and Honor are opposites already, I don't know. This however, seems likely to me. Thoughts? Problems? Guesses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvoraen Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 The problem is that this assumes the Shards pretty much split into eight pairs of opposites, and that we have no data on. You're not alone in this line of speculation - I've wondered the same myself - but I can't help but think it's not as simple as complete opposites, yet the possibility does exist that there could be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurkistan he/him Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 (edited) Source: CHAOS Are Shards all paired? Does Endowment have a counterpart? BRANDON SANDERSON RAFO. Also, yes and no. Not all Shards have perfect counterparts like Ruin and Preservation. QUESTION Why were Ruin and Preservation linked together? BRANDON SANDERSON Because they're such perfect opposites. Basically it's just an opposites attract thing. Edited January 2, 2015 by Kurkistan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RawToast225 he/him Posted January 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I see. So we still may be able to extrapolate, just not as accurately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unhinged he/him Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I always felt like Ruin and Preservation were best classified as a group of three with Cultivation being the third. think about it Cultivation creates things, Preservation tries to keep things the same and Ruin tries to destroy things. They just seem like they all fit together but since we've only seen around half of the shards there's possibly one out there who's a better match for Cultivation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RawToast225 he/him Posted January 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Cultivation doesn't necessarily create, he grows things. Ruin is a destructive power, a regressive one. Cultivation is a progressive one, but not always a creative one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoidhunter he/him Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I've often times wondered this myself. So much emphasis is put on the various metals always being paired in allomancy...and there are 16...I always suspected that there may be some of the same thing going on with the shards. However...the WoB listed above kind of trounces the idea that all shards have a paired opposite or counterpart. Bummer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RawToast225 he/him Posted January 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 It doesn't completely dismiss the idea, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoidhunter he/him Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 (edited) Right...maybe "trounced" was the wrong word to use. Complicate May have been better.so...not to hijack a thread or anything...but what shards seem to be paired. Ruin and preservation obviously...I can see honor and odium as being opposites...even devotion and dominion could be considered opposites in some ways. Cultivation and...predation? Edited January 2, 2015 by hoidhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaa he/him Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 (edited) I've often times wondered this myself. So much emphasis is put on the various metals always being paired in allomancy...and there are 16...I always suspected that there may be some of the same thing going on with the shards. However...the WoB listed above kind of trounces the idea that all shards have a paired opposite or counterpart. Bummer...Hmmm... Actually I'm starting to suspect that the 8 metallic elements and the 8 alloys aren't all paired in the strict sense. Remember, the Allomantic chart was made by Scadrians, who we know have had wrong assumptions regarding their magic system before.The Allomantic alloys of iron, chromium, and gold contain only one Allomantic element, so I guess those are properly paired. But if you look at the other alloys, you'll notice that their relationship with the Allomantic elements are a bit more complex. Pewter and bronze (and bendalloy, if it's the same thing as real life bendalloy) contain tin. Brass, bronze, and duralumin contain copper. We have at least three alloys containing more than one Allomantic element, four if Allomantic bendalloy has both cadmium and tin (real life bendalloy even has more tin than cadmium!). So if (if!) there is a correlation between the metals and the Shards, then perhaps the Shards show the same sort of complexity in their groupings. Edit: Duralumin is the only Allomantic alloy absolutely confirmed to have two Allomantic elements, I think, but the point still stands. Edited January 2, 2015 by skaa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Tavash Shar Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 I agree that there should be paired opposite and that they will be more complicated than just pairing. I came to the same conclusion after looking at the Almatic chart (The nature of something like relmantics make repeating patterns a thing, I would not be surprised to find out that there are 6 more surges on Roshar that are "Void" surges controlled by odium ) That said the actual intents of the shards become harder to determine. It could be argued that Odium should have an opposite that is Strictly Love and yet there is not one so far. That Pairing would be strong enough that they would have to be in the same system at least.How ever if you were to split the concept of love between several shards and mix with other cognitive functions..... You would end up with things like Preservation, Cultivation, Endowment, Devotion, and Honor.So we can assume that while they are Paired like the Alomantic table a Perfect pairing is impossible. This is actually something I have been thinking on a lot as a MAG villain of mine in AoL is at least Slightly cosmer aware. Some of the Allomatic Pairings such as physical internal pulling vs. physical internal pushing do not make as much sense as I feel they should for their effects if they were tied so well together and yet perfectly opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen Rope he/him Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 The quote might mean that shards might link in pairs, they just are not all opposites. Some pairs might be, Odium, Devotion. Cultivation, Endowment (This is like the tin pewter pair, similar things in different way) Dominion, Freedom/Chaos/Anarchy? Honor, the shard that just wants to survive (cowardly)? And the only known one, Preservation, Ruin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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