The Brilliance of a New Term [Secret History Spoilers]

[WeiryWriter he/him]

And that term is "Vessel".

 

So as far as I can tell this is the canon term for what we have long referred to as "Shardholders" (which is interesting in and of itself because I believe in the past Brandon indicated there was no term for this, as the people just "became the Shard").  Now it's always nice to have canon terms for stuff, and it does eliminate the confusion with "Shardbearer", but what makes it brilliant in my eyes is that it changed the way I think about holding a Shard.

 

In my head when I used the term Shardholder I always thought of the holder part in the context of somebody holding something in their hands.  When I saw the term Vessel, I didn't think too much of it at first (beyond the oh cool a canon term) because it is essentially a kind of holder.  And then I started thinking about it and realized it holds things in a different way, it's more like a pitcher holding water.

 

Now in retrospect this is kind of a "well duh" realization as Brandon has previously referenced how Slivers are like balloons that have been inflated and then deflated, but it's not something that has sunk in until now.

[tobar14 he/him]

Now I will get confused when I re-read Warbreaker

[TheOneKEA]

I really like this term too. Now that we have FINALLY seen the Cognitive Realm on Scadrial and FINALLY seen how the Spiritual power of a Shard is contained by the mind of its wielder, I believe that calling someone the Vessel for a Shard makes much more sense.

[Comatose he/him]

What I like about the term Vessel is that it demotes the holder of a shard to a passive role.  Instead of actively holding or bearing the shard, they are merely allowing the Shard's power to fill them and manifest through them.  While they may direct the use of the power, it is ultimately the Shard, and not the Vessel, that shapes their combined future.  

 

Not to derail the topic, but another term I loved is 'perpendicularity'.  Very excited to see more of these!

[Voidus]

In my head when I used the term Shardholder I always thought of the holder part in the context of somebody holding something in their hands.

Metaphors get confusing when Sazed is referred to grabbing one power in each of his hands. 

[Scriptorian he/him]

Now I will get confused when I re-read Warbreaker

 

I assume you're referring to how Siri is referred to as "Vessel" by the priests, and I'm right there with you   .

Edited January 27, 2016 by Scriptorian

[tobar14 he/him]

I assume you're referring to how Siri is referred to as "Vessel" by the priests, and I'm right there with you   .

Haha yes.  When they are referring to Siri, that is an in-world term for Nalthis (people in the book use it)

 

Does anyone know if the term "Vessel" is an in-world term for Scadrial, or a term that we as readers will be using, or both?

[TheHunter]

Haha yes.  When they are referring to Siri, that is an in-world term for Nalthis (people in the book use it)

 

Does anyone know if the term "Vessel" is an in-world term for Scadrial, or a term that we as readers will be using, or both?

 

The Elantrians use it, but I think that either Ati or Leras uses it, too. Either way, it's not a Scadrial term.

 

Also, how do we know that the whole "Vessel" thing in Warbreaker isn't foreshadowing...

[Ari he/him]

Vessel is how the Ire understand Ati or Leras. Brandon could always be giving us an in-world term that rests on incorrect assumptions, but it does seem to gel very well with what M:SH reveals.