Why the “Dawn” Prefix All Over Roshar

[teknopathetic he/him]

We have Dawnshards, Dawnsingers, Dawnchant, and Dawncities.

Are these all related terms revealing a connection or is etymology simply a coincidence?
 

Is Roshar connected to the Dawnshards in a unique way? Did all or most of the Dawnshards make their way to this planet at one point? Maybe the Dawnshards were even from here originally and someone brought them to Yolen?

What’s the timeline on how one got to Ashyn (Ayshen then Roshar or Roshar then Ashyn since we have Dawnsingers on Roshar). 
 

Two things thing to note:

1) Honour said he thought the war might be lost because the humans had lost the Dawnshards (plural). 

2) Melishi used the Dawnshard known to bind (not change) 

EDIT: I thought we had a WOB on this that this refers to Melishi, but I think I might be misremembering. 

So what gives? What was up with the Dawnsingers? How many of these has Roshar seen before and after the shattering? 

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by teknopathetic

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

On your first question, I think that it has something to do with 'dawn' being the first light of day.  So, first Shards, first singers, first chant, first cities.

[+Harrycrapper]

My guess is that "Dawn" precedes something that Adonalsium created or something related to those creations. What exactly the Dawnshards are is being heavily debated, but whatever they are he created them. He also created Roshar and the Singers, hence Dawnsingers. The language of the Dawnsingers is the Dawnchant, he very well might have invented the language and given it to them. The Dawncities very much seem intelligently designed, I figured either Honor or Adonalsium created them, looking likely it was the latter. 

[+Spicker]

3 hours ago, teknopathetic said:

Meleeshi used the Dawnshard known to bind (not change

Where is this from?

[teknopathetic he/him]

2 hours ago, Spicker said:

Where is this from?

Taking the Dawnshard, known to bind any creature voidish or mortal, he crawled up the steps crafted for Heralds, ten strides tall apiece, toward the grand temple above. ”

— From the Poem of Ista. I have found no modern explanation of what these "Dawnshards" are. They seem ignored by scholars, though talk of them was obviously prevalent among those recording the early mythologies^[1]

[+Harrycrapper]

2 hours ago, teknopathetic said:

Taking the Dawnshard, known to bind any creature voidish or mortal, he crawled up the steps crafted for Heralds, ten strides tall apiece, toward the grand temple above. ”

— From the Poem of Ista. I have found no modern explanation of what these "Dawnshards" are. They seem ignored by scholars, though talk of them was obviously prevalent among those recording the early mythologies^[1]

Yea, what I think Spicker is asking is what does Meleeshi have to do with that excerpt from that poem. I was also kinda confused, I've never seen any indication that Meleeshi is connected to the Dawnshard(s). 

[Brgst13]

I've heard a theory that the Poem of Ista was written by a Sleepless and a hordeling was carrying the Dawnshard.  We know that the Heralds are normal sized, so the steps would likely be as well.  However, to a hordeling they would be huge.

[Shuffel]

On 11/6/2020 at 6:26 PM, Brgst13 said:

I've heard a theory that the Poem of Ista was written by a Sleepless and a hordeling was carrying the Dawnshard.  We know that the Heralds are normal sized, so the steps would likely be as well.  However, to a hordeling they would be huge.

 

Here is the theory, I love it by the way.

[Brgst13]

Thanks, I couldn't seem to locate it.  It makes a hell of a lot of sense.

[Honorless he/him]

With all the excitement regarding the revealing of the Dawnshards' nature, I completely forgot the things we were already told about them! Yes, one Dawnshard is different from the rest (Hoid's?), a Dawnshard known to Bind all things mortal or Void-ish (we have the Change Dawnshard, which might be associated with Cultivation, the Binding one or perhaps it is called Unity *wink* could be associated with Honor) and there were definitely mentions of multiple Dawnshards.

Maybe Honor and Cultivation did in fact receive help to face Odium, who'd already taken down Devotion, Dominion and Ambition (assuming they didn't already have the Dawnshards in their possession). The Dawnshards might also be why there are so many outworlder refugees on Roshar: Ashynites (due to Ashyn's destruction possibly caused by Dawnshards), Iriali (who seem to know of Adonalsium), Siah and Dysian Aimians (the latter of whom are Cosmere-wide, with the Rosharan ones, aka Sleepless, defending a Dawnshard on Aimia): maybe the 4 groups possessed the 4 different Dawnshards? 

Edited November 13, 2020 by Honorless

[Singer she/her]

I assumed the "dawn" prefix was applied later by Rosharans to things in the distant past that they no longer had a clear understanding of. They just pre-dated human arrival on the planet, so they were there at the dawn of their establishing culture on Roshar. A mundane reason, but that is pretty much how language happens. 

[Kuram]

On 11/6/2020 at 9:39 AM, teknopathetic said:

Meleeshi used the Dawnshard known to bind (not change) 

Whaaaaat??  Confirmed?

[teknopathetic he/him]

14 hours ago, Kuram said:

Whaaaaat??  Confirmed?

Sorry sorry - I thought we had a WOB on this but I am misremembering (or I cant find it).