How many times can you compound a Shard?

[+Invocation]

Could you infinitely compound Shards into one person, since becoming a Vessel for one would probably grant you Connection to all the rest as pieces of the whole? I can see that going wrong if it's possible but the person doing it is inexperienced with the Intent of the Shards.

What would happen then if they took Odium and Ruin both as their first pair? Would they be able to control it enough to gain any more, or would the combined destructive Intents of those two particular Shards render them the worst force in the cosmere?

[Argent he/him]

I am not sure what you mean here. In the Cosmere, Compounding has a very specific meaning, and my tired brain is having a hard time ignoring that. Do you mean Ascending to multiple Shards? Holding them like Szeth does with Ruin and Preservation?

[Weltall]

You can take multiple Shards but that's got nothing to do with the mechanic of Compounding. We have WoB that any Shards can theoretically combine but also that some combinations would place a great deal of pressure on the Vessel.

Brandon has of course RAFO'd exactly what would happen if one person were to Ascend to all sixteen Shards or whether it's even possible to do so.

[PerseusAvenger]

Firstly, compounding is a Scadrial term used when a Twinborn/ Mistborn and Feruchemist burns one of their metal minds, creating a multiplied release of the stored attribute. Secondly, to address your question, I personally feel that it would not be possible to become a vessel for infinite shards as there are only sixteen. Ha taking advantage of your question. But seriously though 

On 6/15/2018 at 2:21 PM, Weltall said:

Brandon has of course RAFO'd exactly what would happen if one person were to Ascend to all sixteen Shards or whether it's even possible to do so.

1

Wouldn't that pretty much just be reviving Adonalsium. In which case, why exactly was he shattered in the first place?

[Wandering Investor]

6 hours ago, PerseusAvenger said:

Wouldn't that pretty much just be reviving Adonalsium. In which case, why exactly was he shattered in the first place?

Depends on whether the shards contain all of Adonalsium. They might have his power, but lack his full cognitive abilities for instance. And as for the reason why, full unknown. 

[Weltall]

@PerseusAvenger@Wandering Investor I like the idea that Ym's story of the One is meant as foreshadowing and that Adonalsium wanted the Shattering to happen as part of some eon-spanning plan, even if the result was the death of its own personality. There's a neat parallel in the story to various strains of theology (notably including parts of Judaism) where God creates the world in order to see and thus understand Himself. There might be something to that in the big picture.

Of course, we also have Khriss' explanation that the Shattering was seen as necessary (if nothing else, as the 'least bad' option they had) by at least some of the Vessels so there was clearly some other iimpetus for the event to happen. But Adonalsium could have planned it that way. Brandon has confirmed that Adonlsium had future-sight but of course RAFO'd whether he had plans that extended past his own death.

Anyhow, Wandering Investor is right that we don't know the root causes of the Shattering, we have only a sketchy idea of some of the Vessels' motivations and this is unlikely to change for a very long time.

[Journey Before Pancakes]

@Weltall I really do like that idea as well.

It also kinda fits with the saying "Sentience is just the universe experiencing itself".  Definitely a neat idea for what the motivations were.