Is Aon Ati a Coincidental Name?

[Andy92]

I was searching through the Coppermind list of the Aons trying to learn more about how they work, because I've only read Elantris once and I kind of skimmed over the details of the different Aons in the Ars Arcanum section of that book at the time. I noticed that there was an Aonic symbol called Aon Ati, and that Aonic symbol stands for Hope. I thought it was interesting that Ati would be the name of an Aonic symbol since that was also the name of Ruin's Shardholder.

I didn't see many results turn up on this site for Aon Ati, so I went over to Theoryland looking for questions asked about Ati the Shardholder. I noticed this question from a signing this past December.

Quote

QUESTION

Is Ati Ruin’s original Shardholder?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Ohh, good question. I’m gonna go ahead and RAFO that.

Now, this RAFO doesn't mean Ati was or wasn't Ruin's original Shardholder, but it's kind of interesting that Brandon wouldn't outright confirm that he was.

But anyways, I remember the passage in The Letter from Stormlight Archive where it mentions Ati and Rayse, and how Ati's personality was eventually corrupted over time by holding Ruin. It seems interesting that an Aonic symbol that represents Hope would have the same name as Ruin's Shardholder, and we all know Hope in the Mistborn series is tied to Kelsier's final words when facing the Lord Ruler. 

So with all of that being said, is this naming convention a complete coincidence, or is there possibly a hidden meaning to it? 

[The One Who Connects he/him]

I am 98.6% certain that we have WoB stating that it was writer's coincidence, or at the very least, it did not have a secondary meaning involving Ati. I cannot find it however, which is likely the same issue you had before making this topic.

As a sidenote, the phrase "Ati was the original holder of the Shard Ruin" has existed on his coppermind article in some variation since August of 2011.

---

And then there is this from 2012.

Quote

Will you ever go into more detail about the dead original shardholders? I'd love to know what kind of people Tanavast, Ati, and Leras were.

Brandon Sanderson

They will all be characters in the Dragonsteel series.

Edited April 21, 2017 by The One Who Connects
WoB link didn't paste

[Borio Singaldi he/him]

If it is a coincidence (which I think it might), then it's a really big one and you've made a good connection in pointing it out. If there is a hidden meaning to it, then I have no idea what it could possibly be.

[Weltall]

I can't find a WoB right now but I've seen mods and admins both say that Brandon has confirmed that the similarity is just a coincidence and the two aren't even meant to be pronounced the same. One example

[Andy92]

50 minutes ago, The One Who Connects said:

As a sidenote, the phrase "Ati was the original holder of the Shard Ruin" has existed on his coppermind article in some variation since August of 2011.

I wonder what the original source for that was? I know Brandon tends to RAFO some things that might've been answered outright in the past because it's hard to remember every single thing. I just thought it was odd that the WoB from December 2016 has him RAFO'ing the question about Ati being Ruin's original holder. 

I'm leaning towards Aon Ati being coincidental, but I started to become curious when I couldn't find much about it. I had this elaborate theory of Aon Ati -> Hope -> Kelsier -> Ruin forming in my head, but then I figured it was just coincidental naming. It might be something I try to ask about on Reddit or Twitter if I can't dig up a specific WoB about Aon Ati. 

Edit: @Weltall That's probably good enough confirmation even without a source. I guess I just found it hard to believe Brandon would do that without it being an Easter egg lol. 

Edited April 22, 2017 by Andy92

[+Extesian he/him]

Yeah this has been discussed a lot in the past, enough for @WeiryWriter writer to class it as being discussed to death see Here (including the threads Weiry links to)

That said I still haven't seen an actual WoB, just references to unquoted conversations. The main evidence seems to be the different pronunciation and the fact the story was written for one Matisse and Ati is simply derived from that.

If anyone can find a WoB or annotation, or even communication between Sharders and Team Sanderson, it would be nice for my closure at least.