First post, some Cosmere thoughts!

[Chiinged]

Hello! This is my first time posting, but I was ruminating on some information and just had to write this down. Sorry if I mixed up anything down there.

 

I was thinking about the different shards we have been introduced to, and the worlds they have created for themselves to watch over. I realized that the civilizations and cultures which grew out of these efforts are largely constructed around the key aspects of the shard’s influence and the histories of these influences.

 

To start, three major points to take into account. Hopefully I’m not mistaken in a few assumptions.

 

• The inclination of each shard influences the shardholder’s actions and alters their motivations and personality.

 

• They create the civilizations on their respective planets, but can only influence them in ways which align to their shard’s intent.

 

• We view each civilization at a certain point in time, and by comparing this glimpse with what we know of the greater cosmere history of the world they inhabit, can explain civilization’s state of affairs as a whole.

 

 

For instance, Roshar:

 

When both shards lived, the cultures that grew through honor’s influence ascended, creating a more idealized society and entering a time of prosperity. There was war with Odium’s influence, but it was primarily fought by the Radiants, agents of Honor.

 

Odium’s end of the deal eventually broke these agents and Honor was splintered during the Recreance. (Correct?)

 

After this, subject only to Odium’s influence, the civilizations on Roshar fell into disrepair. With only a vestige of Honor’s influence carried through prophecies and broken histories as civilizations reforged, this idea of honor was warped to represent an honor of conquest instead of bonding.

 

This leads to societies on Roshar where station and power are fought for violently, whether in academia or on the battlefield. Even within societies you can see this, such as separating women’s and men’s arts to force power onto only one side. Feudal systems, slavery, etc. are all aspects from this idea of honor. Capitalism anyone?

 

On Scadrial we can see something similar!

 

In the beginning, Preservation’s influence created civilizations founded on agriculture and trust. Ruin could manipulate this trust to create conflict, thus forming a workable society (balance, always).

 

After the Lord Ruler ascended, he created a subjugated people that would not require his attention so he could fight Ruin away. This limited technological advancement, and stopped the growth of civilization for the duration of his rule. After Harmony ascended and Ruin was defeated, the civilization entered the Industrial Revolution and things are quickly picking up.

 

An exception to this is the Southern Scadrians we meet in BoM, they have lived (mostly) without the Lord Ruler or Ruin’s direct attention, and have advanced civilization far past the other areas of the shardworld.

 

That’s the gist of it, and it's probably nothing new, but I thought it was interesting and had to write it down somewhere! Let me know if I was incorrect in anything, I’d love to hear input about shardworlds I’m not too keen on the histories of.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

[Bowiespoon he/him]

While I will argue with you about capitalism being the alleged source of all evil, other than that you are pretty spot on.

[Landis963 he/him]

Mostly spot on.  It's pretty clear that the hardships that the Southern Scadrians underwent since the Catacendre are credited for their massive technological advantage compared to the people of Elendel, and not due to any influence or lack thereof by Ruin or the Lord Ruler, for example.   Also the Shards create humanity but in the grand scheme of things do not (or cannot) micromanage the civilizations as you describe.  (That doesn't stop them from giving it the old college try, as seen by the numerous mentions of gods in the Cosmere which are thinly-veiled references to the Shards, e.g. Roshar's "Elithanathile" being Honor)

[Stormgate he/him]

We call the inclination of Shards their Intent.

[CaptainRyan he/him]

While I will argue with you about capitalism being the alleged source of all evil, other than that you are pretty spot on.

 

Ditto. I like the idea that the Intent of the Shards is reflected in the cultures of the world the Shard is Invested in and I dislike the random libel against capitalism.

Edited March 28, 2016 by CaptainRyan

[happyman he/him]

I agree with the general idea that the various Shards' Mandates have a strong effect on the worlds they create and dominate.  The powers which invest the worlds cannot help but generally push people in the directions they naturally flow.

 

Devotion and dominion dominate Sel, and its peoples, with either service or society dividing the world into natural pieces.

 

Ruin and Preservation, when reasonably balanced, result in a world with relatively stable changes, but still changes.  However, when Preservation ends up on top, like with TLR in charge, things stagnate, and nothing ever gets fixed, no matter how broken.  When Ruin escapes and gets more powerful, things go downhill very quickly.  It's only when the balance is restored that something like a sane society can emerge again.

 

Roshar is hard to say.  We just don't know enough about its history.  It's pretty clear, though, that the recent history of Roshar has been dominated by Odium, and you can see that from the way that people are constantly fighting petty wars across the entire world.  The effects of Honor are still there, but fading.  And Cultivation has apparently withdrawn after Honor's death.  But we really don't know enough about their history to say what happened.