Shard Categories

[Ripheus23]

Hmm... Here's my partial theory, or a theory of some options at least, based on various things pertaining to concepts of God:

Heaven - The World - Hell [Devotion, Cultivation, and Odium]

Creation - Conservation - Destruction [Ambition, Preservation, Ruin]

Immutable - Impassible [Dominion, Autonomy]

Mercy - Justice [Endowment, Honor]

Simplicity - Infinity [X, X]

Immanence - Transcendence [X, X]

Perfection - Redemption [X, X]

However, there's no reason I can see offhand for there to be 2 sets of 3 and 5 sets of 2...

EDIT: The "theory" of the theory is that each Shard is a different way to describe God, such that a person might try to define God primarily in terms of that Shard (e.g. God is the God of Heaven, or of Hell, or is the only one who can redeem, or the perfect one, or the sum of the world, or unchangeable, or merciful over all, or the upholder of justice, or the Creator, or so on and on...).

EDIT 2: Just to explain the "God of Hell" phrase, in some Christian theology (Eastern Orthodox IIRC), Heaven and Hell are said to be the same "place," i.e. the presence of God, but perceived differently (i.e. the power of God is heavenly in the believers' eyes, but infernal in the sight of sinners). Or: Hell is God's motive in punishing sin (in that He either does this perforce, or graciously chooses forgiveness instead: that is, the doctrine in question says that punishing sin is more essential to the divine nature than forgiveness, since forgiveness is optional over punishment).

EDIT 3: I also thought of "ineffable" and "incomprehensible." The first would be God-as-totally-unknowable, the second God-as-partly-unknowable. & "Salvation" and "Damnation" instead of "Heaven" and "Hell."

EDIT 4: Now that I think of it, don't they call Aona "Merciful Domi" on Sel? Or at least there is a reference to a Domi who seems likely related to Aona. Also, "Endowment" is a special term in Mormonism, one that goes better with "Heaven/Salvation" than with "Mercy." It might be merciful/gracious to Endow sinners, but then again Mormonism tries to represent these matters more positively/constructively than a stereotypical firebrand preacher-style would have it said, so I think the connotations of paradise/reward for Endowment fit better than the connotations of clemency/forgiveness. (Before anyone thinks it would be otherwise unmotivated to have mercy be a focal description for God, I want to bring up how the Quran starts by saying: "In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful." (http://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/finding-peace/remembering-allah/remember-that-allah-is-most-merciful/ actually says that this phrase is at the start of all but one chapter of the Quran.)

Edited August 10, 2018 by Ripheus23

[Unlicensed Hemalurgist he/him]

I mean, while we're posting theories... I've been dividing them in four groups of four like the Allomantic metals. It's probably not valid, since we have a WoB that not all Shards have an opposite, but it is, I think, a good start:

RED= Moral (relationships between others): Honor, Endowment?, Ambition, [UNKNOWN]

BLUE= Spiritual (identity and authority): Dominion, Autonomy, [UNKNOWN], [UNKNOWN]

GREEN= Physical (creation/natural processes): Preservation, Cultivation, Ruin, [UNKNOWN]

PURPLE= Mental (emotions and mental qualities): Devotion, Odium, [UNKNOWN], [UNKNOWN]

The best part is that if you make this into a 4-quadrant grid, you get a political compass meme. 

Edited August 7, 2018 by Unlicensed Hemalurgist

[Fanghur Rahl he/him]

1 hour ago, Calderis said:

 

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Unity and honor would just be a focal shift of the same core concept. Outwardly they would appear fairly different when they actually aren't. That's precisely why I think there's more flexibility than people give it credit for. 

All of the same elements would be present, but the strength of the different elements would vary, creating something that an external observer may not actually recognize as the same thing. 

I have said myself that hate can be channeled and used for things that are positive... But if I were to take up Odium I already know it would be a very negative thing, because in my opinion at least, the vast majority of the time hatred is something toxic, and so, by my belief in what the intents actually are Odium would become something toxic and destructive. 

What Ati would have made of it... I don't know. All I know is I believe he thought Ruin was the greater threat and that he wished to contain it, and in so doing doomed himself. 

Agreed. Hate can certainly have its place, and certain things ought to be hated. But hatred for its own sake stripped of any and all context could never be anything positive.