Shard Holder & World Speculation

[athosdebro86]

Hi all, i'm new here and just wanted to ask more experienced 17th Sharders here their thoughts on the grouping of remaining Shards & major Shardworlds.  Thus far the books have revealed:

        Preservation & Ruin (Harmony) on Scadrial (Mistborn world) - both holders deceased.  New holder holds both

        Devotion & Dominion on Sel (Elantris & Emperor's Soul) - both holders deceased

        Endowment on Nalthis (Warbreaker) - holder alive but unnamed

        Honor & Cultivation on Roshar (Stormlight) - Honor deceased, Cultivation alive but unnamed.

        Odium on Braize but invested in Roshar (Stormlight) - Rayse, alive.

        Unknown disease effecting Shard on Ashyn (Silence Divine info from signings & forums) - holder unnamed, no idea if he/she still lives so close to Odium.

        Bavadin's Shard on Taldain (White Sands info from forums and coppermind.net) - Bavadin still alive if the Letter is any guide.

       

That leaves 6 shards & their holders unaccounted for (though one is called Survival on Coppermind) & 2 unnamed worlds & Yolen (Dragonsteel & Liar info from coppermind.net)

     I read on one of the forums that there's a "Wandering" Shard that is on no planet, leaving 5 Shards spread accross the 3 as yet Shard-less worlds.  UNLESS Bavain's Shard and the Shard on Ashyn have roommates (worldmates?).  So far there's been only 1-3 Shard on any given world.  I'm guessing Odium wouldn't be a pleasant roommate (forget the security deposit or the furniture ever coming back), so we could safely discount a second Shard on Braize.

   Any thoughts?  or have I left anything out?  By the way I LOVE THE COSMERE!

[DoctorWh0m]

The 'Survival' Shard is one that's been confirmed to be actively trying to avoid the conflicts going on in the Cosmere, and is just trying to survive. Someone will probably be able to find the WoB for that. 

[ROSHtaFARian2.0]

The 'Survival' Shard is one that's been confirmed to be actively trying to avoid the conflicts going on in the Cosmere, and is just trying to survive. Someone will probably be able to find the WoB for that. 

 

Yes, which makes it very strange that its on Ashyn, a world so close to the planet with arguably the MOST cosmere activity and the greatest active threat to other Shards, Odium.  My assumption from that has always been that the Ashyn shard was there and invested itself long before the business with the Tranquiline Halls happened, meaning its presence in the Roshar predated Honor, Cultivation and Odium's arrival - and perhaps because of how it had Invested itself in Ashyn, it was unable to pull up stakes and flee when Odium came to the neighborhood, so it just tried to keep its head down instead.

 

Holy crap.  Totally random thought, call it a proto-theory.....what if that has something to do with the nature of Ashyn's disease magic system?  Diseases that grant powers for as long as you have them....but by their very nature, some of those diseases still are likely to be fatal, even if Ashyn's societies have highly advanced medical knowledge to compensate.  Societies built around a magic system that encourages people to tap into the powers it grants, but likely coupled with a high mortality rate as well.....think about it:  

 

Roshar's technological development has been actively hampered over the millennia because of the Desolations.  Civilization has never been able to advance too far without a Desolation coming and knocking humanity back into the Stone Age, meaning technologically they're thousands of years behind where they would be without the Desolations happening.  Without the Desolations, shouldn't Ashyn be thousands of years more advanced than Roshar?  We know from the little that Brandon's read of Silence Divine that Ashyn's a fairly advanced society, about on par with where we are, but still not as far ahead as they should be compared to a world that suffers planetary cataclyms on a regular basis.

 

What if Ashyn's disease based magic system is part of an attempt by its Shard to limit their advancement?  Simultaneously limiting population growth while keeping civilization's focus on biology related fields of study rather than physical sciences.  If Ashyn's Shard just wants to hide and survive, and stay out of the greater cosmere affairs, AND if its unable to leave Ashyn and flee to a safer planet because of its Investment....it REALLY would not want Ashyn's humans developing space travel and journeying to the nearest habitable worlds....Roshar and Braize, either of which would draw Odium's attention to Ashyn.

[DoctorWh0m]

Yes, which makes it very strange that its on Ashyn, a world so close to the planet with arguably the MOST cosmere activity and the greatest active threat to other Shards, Odium.

...the Ashyn Shard and the Survival Shard are different Shards. 

Now I feel bad for ruining your awesome theory.

Edited March 19, 2014 by DoctorWh0m

[ROSHtaFARian2.0]

...the Ashyn Shard and the Survival Shard are different Shards. 

Now I feel bad for ruining your awesome theory.

 

Huh, was that something that was said recently?  Because I could have sworn we had Word of Brandon that the Shard just trying to hide and survive was the Ashyn shard.

[DoctorWh0m]

 I could have sworn we had Word of Brandon that the Shard just trying to hide and survive was the Ashyn shard.

Hmm...  For all I know, it could be. I was just assuming that, since the WoB I had heard about the Survival Shard didn't specifically mention it being a particular Shard, they were separate Shards. Plus the fact that Investing in a planet would make it fairly easy to be found, which seems at odds with its Intent (which I'm assuming is something along the lines of Self-Preservation or Survival).

Also, Silence Divine readings? Any chance of a link/summary?

Edited March 19, 2014 by DoctorWh0m

[PorridgeBrick]

The disease magic sounds very survival-y: I believe Brandon at one point explained that it works through bacteria granting magical powers to the host in order to help the host survive, so that the bacteria can feed off it longer. So it's a magic based off organisms just trying to survive.

[DoctorWh0m]

Yeah, but it seems like Investing enough to create a magic system would be far too noticeable for a Shard trying to stay unnoticed, especially so close to Odium.

[Quiver]

One point- do we know if the survival Shard has the Intent on Survival?

 

I always assumed that it's a shard which wants to survive AS A GOAL, but which has a different Intent. Actually, one of my theories about Bavadin is that he's the survival Shard; Hoid's letter seems to suggest Bavadin and Rayse are working (or at least have worked) together, and extracting a promise that he won't be Splintered by Odium might be a good way to getting a Shardic henchman. 

[WeiryWriter]

One point- do we know if the survival Shard has the Intent on Survival?

 

I always assumed that it's a shard which wants to survive AS A GOAL, but which has a different Intent. Actually, one of my theories about Bavadin is that he's the survival Shard; Hoid's letter seems to suggest Bavadin and Rayse are working (or at least have worked) together, and extracting a promise that he won't be Splintered by Odium might be a good way to getting a Shardic henchman. 

 

The actual Brandon quote was "There is a shard who just wants to hide and survive" I believe.  Also I think we can definitively say it is not held by Bavadin.  That quote was from someone asking for information about a shard we hadn't heard about, and we already knew that Bavadin's Shard was on Taldain.