Wit- He's One of the Sixteen

[joesleepsalot]

I apologize if this has been said before, I'm very busy with my job and only have SO much time to scroll through lists and make sure I'm genuinely being novel. I'm not revealing any spoilers at this point, just pointing things out. I'm typing this on my phone so I apologize for typos.

Bottom line up front: In my humble opinion Wit is undeniably one of the sixteen men who holds a Shard of Adonalsium. I realize we don't know all sixteen of their names, I believe he's one that's thus-far unrevealed. If I had to guess at potential names I'd say Humor, Sarcasm, Chaos, or Mischief....something of that sort.

Here's my how I came to my conclusion:

1.) Wit is obviously more than an average man; one of his names is Hoid, and he's able to "world hop" in Sanderson's universe called Cosmere...nothing new there. He tells Kaladin in WoK that he has other names as well.

2.) Wit knows more than any ordinary human would. He knew when and where the Herald would show up in WoK as well as Jasnah in WoR. He knows all about Kaladin, he's basically in-the-know regarding anything. Nothing gets by Wit.

3.) He's an allomancer at a minimum, or a full-on mistborn more likely.

4.) Rock's description of the god Lunu'anaki in WoR chapter titled "Patriots" sounds to me a lot like Wit, minus the hair color. The god has a physical description matching Wit as well as a matching attitude; also, the "pool" this god lives in sounds real similar to the well of ascension, or other places where "shardholders" (not shardbearers), aka each of the sixteen people who collected a shard of adonalsium after he shattered, have a focal point of power in the world they inhibit. I'm not a fan fiction expert but I've read that before recently, probably on this site lol.

5.) this god Rock sees is forbidden to do violence. He's the god of TRAVEL and MISCHIEF. If you read Rock's whole story to Kaladin and Sigzil. Oh by the way, Sigzil becomes very uneasy and nervous when Rock starts on this story. We all know Sigzil used to work for Wit. This confirms that a mysterious god of mischief and travel who lives near a mystical pool is in fact Wit. Lol. I realize this point has been posted about before.

Also, Dalinar says Wit has never used his sword; happens when we first meet Wit in WoK

6.) In WoR, every section of the book (Part 1: Chapters A thru B etc) has it's own set of themed italicized words at the start of every chapter. If you read the intro italics for every chapter in Part 4, specifically chapters 59-75, they sound a LOT like one of the 16 writing another of the 16 in regards to interaction with the human world. Check out the italics at the head of chapter 60, "Veil Walks". If that's not written to Wit then I don't know what is. It seems flagrantly obvious to me.

7.) Next we have Wit's very revealing conversation with Dalinar in WoR, chapter 67, "Spit and Bile". In short, Wit admits that if Odium finds him, he will splinter him into pieces...sounds a lot like what happened to Tanavast, the dude who held Honor's shard. He also tells Dalinar that he's not a herald but simply a man...just like a shardholder.

8.) Wit's met Tanavast. Tanavast bought him drinks once; epilogue of WoR. Hmmm...how is that possible?

9.) in chapter 55 of WoR, Wit spills

some beans. He continues to demonstrate knowledge about stuff he shouldn't know. He talks about the people of Natan who used to farm the Shattered Plains as if he knew them. Of special note, he gets hugged by Shallan then threatened about staying away from her by Adolin. His response is that she is FAR too you, and that there is only one woman his age "around these parts and her and I never got along". Interesting. There were three shardholders assigned to Roshar I think, only one was a woman... The Nightmother. Sounds like she fits the bill, and to me, in light of stacking evidence, leads me to conclude that Wit is a shardholder

[Youngy]

Pretty certain there has been WoB that Wit doesn't hold a shard.
All of the above feats he has achieved through manipulating all the different shardic magic systems.
He's immortal, an Allomancer, as you've stated, a Yolish Lightweaver, has some hundreds of Breaths, amongst other magics.
We also have WoB that he was alive when Adonalsium was shattered. (So he probably knew Tanavast, Atium, Leras etc.)
So yes, he knows a lot he shouldn't, and is capable of doing things few can - but I think this is all due to his long lifespan and what he has accomplished at this time.
So, good theory, but I'm pretty certain he does not currently hold a shard.

On a note, you've raised something I find interesting. Can Shareholders manifest in human form?

 

EDIT: I really need to remember what form the spoiler tag takes.

 

 

5. Is Hoid a Herald, or a Shardholder, or something else entirely.

BRANDON SANDERSON (GOODREADS)

5. Hoid is something else entirely.

Edited May 24, 2014 by Youngy

[Vortaan]

Pretty certain there has been WoB that Wit doesn't hold a shard.

All of the above feats he has achieved through manipulating all the different shardic magic systems.

He's immortal, an Allomancer, as you've stated, a Yolish Lightweaver, has some hundreds of Breaths, amongst other magics.

We also have WoB that he was alive when Adonalsium was shattered. (So he probably knew Tanavast, Atium, Leras etc.)

So yes, he knows a lot he shouldn't, and is capable of doing things few can - but I think this is all due to his long lifespan and what he has accomplished at this time.

So, good theory, but I'm pretty certain he does not currently hold a shard.

On a note, you've raised something I find interesting. Can Shareholders manifest in human form?

 

EDIT: I really need to remember what form the spoiler tag takes.

 

There's some debate on that fact. Right now we haven't seen it, but some theorize it's possible and others (like me!) think that the power of a Shard is too great to be contained in a human body. But on topic, yes, we have WoB that Hoid is not a Shardholder, he is manipulating a lot of different systems to do what he does. Off the top of my head, he is at least a Yolish Lightweaver, a Feruchemist, an Allomancer, and an Awakener.

[Khyrindor]

His Feruchemy is the reason he know's what's going to happen right? Probably a combination of Determination, Fortune, and mental speed or something like that.

[joesleepsalot]

Interesting counterpoints, I was not privy to half of that lol. If he's not a shardholder but basically a superhero, then (presuming my theory is correct about the introductions in part 4's chapters) I wonder who penned them and if the author is an equivalent type of person with Hoid and what their relevance is? Perhaps it will tie in with all the theories about the REAL Almighty and the bigger/badder villain over Odium. In either case, Hoid has a reason to fear Odium discovering him personally and will watch Roshar burn to meet his goals at the end if he has to.

[Khyrindor]

You may remember the letter that was found in WoK. That was Hoid to someone on Yolen (the origin of humans in the Cosmere, and his homeworld), who is a Dragon. The hint was "You old reptile" if you remember. The letter in WoR was the reply to that. 

[king of nowhere]

As others have said, brandon himself confirmed that hoid has no shard. every once in a while someone start a thread like this one, by the way.

He talks with familiarity to the other shardholders because he knew them when they were all humans. I figured the "only woman his age" was cultivation.

Still, even if hoid has no shardic power, it ccan be argued that he is more powerful than most shards; while those are limited by their intent, hoid is free to scheme around and pursue his own objectives. he can surely destroy any shard, given enough time to plan.

[Youngy]

There's some debate on that fact. Right now we haven't seen it, but some theorize it's possible and others (like me!) think that the power of a Shard is too great to be contained in a human body. But on topic, yes, we have WoB that Hoid is not a Shardholder, he is manipulating a lot of different systems to do what he does. Off the top of my head, he is at least a Yolish Lightweaver, a Feruchemist, an Allomancer, and an Awakener.

 

Sorry to drag it off topic a bit with this one. But its intriguing.

 

Hero of Ages spoiler

We have a WoB that Ati/Ruin would have had to metabolize the Atium to gain its power at the end of Hero of Ages. Which was either a odd choice of word or implied a shard could have a stomach. (Or its a good metaphor for what they actually do... Damnit)

[RadiantNights]

I kinda always thought the truth was the total opposite from this. Instead of hoid being a shardholder I thought he was what's left over of andonalism after andonalism shattered itself. It sort of makes sense when you think that hoid isn't bound by a shardic intention as 'king of nowhere' says because he got rid of everything of the shards inside of him.

As to what hoid is doing all over the place, well what if he wanted was unpleased at how the shards binding with humans changed them and now he wants to splinter the shards so they can effect the cosmere in ways they were meant to instead of being warped by human intention?

[kaellok]

@RadiantNights:

WOR Spoilers! (Relatively minor, but just realized this isn't in the WoR forum, so hiding them anyway.)

An interesting thought, but the way the "old reptile" addresses and talks to Hoid seems to disprove that theory, I think.  Specifically, the dragon has significant Cosmere knowledge, implying that he is a Shardholder, and speaks familiarly with Hoid about the specific identities of other Shardholders.  I think that he would then also know if Hoid was originally Adonalsium or not. 

 

 

Is not the destruction we have wrought enough? The worlds you now tread bear the touch and design of Adonalsium. Our interference so far has brought nothing but pain.

 

However, it seems to me that all things have been set up for a purpose, and if we—as infants—stumble through the workshop, we risk exacerbating, not preventing, a problem.

 

Those two lines, in particular, suggest to me that Hoid is not a leftover remnant, or spren, or whatever you want to call it of Adonalsium. 

My personal theory is that Hoid was either directly or indirectly responsible for Adonalsium's shattering, and is working to rectify that mistake.

Edited May 25, 2014 by kaellok

[joesleepsalot]

In light of my theory being debunked...lol...these other theories are super interesting. Radiant I like your idea, if it's not spot-on I'm sure it's close to the truth as far as concept. Perhaps Hoid could be an agent of the Almighty or something, similar to an angel. Or he has light to shed on the fall of humanity from the tranquiline halls