Trell is an intent-corrupted, rogue part of Autonomy

[Ixthos Luke/Luke]

I accept this could be wrong, but I think that Trell is a part of Autonomy that has split off from the others - I think Autonomy is a council of personas that Bavadin had prior to taking up the shard, and has since added to, shaped and led by a core council of personalities. Autonomy doesn't want to take up other investiture, but Trell is stealing powers from other shards, forming a metal which works with at least one of the metallic arts, and copied or stolen Fused to form its own faceless immortals. I think it is a personality that wanted to be free from the other personalities, and so willingly warped itself by absorbing investiture from other worlds.

[Ixthos Luke/Luke]

Also, tangentially related, something I realised is that, if like Hoid Bavadin was a light weaver, then taking up Autonomy would have been something that makes sense for a person with multiple personalities who could only express them as illusions - much like Shallan and her own personality problems, with Veil and Radiant. Indeed, if Shallan is a forerunner example of Bavadin - as in first being shown, someone who is used as an example of what can happen to a light weaver, no-matter the method - then Hoid's closeness and mentor relationship could be Hoid reacting to his own relationship with Bavadin, and his grudge. If Bavadin's personailities had wanted freedom, and taking up a shard let each gain its own body, then them all still being connected together and some being able to influence the behaviour of others ... a personality not being satisfied with this would be willing to go beyond the limits the others set in order to be free of them - it could even be that Trell is the personality that Hoid has a problem with - he clearly has a good relationship with some of the other personalities, or at least one, as the letter showed. And Trell being a personality that once worked with the others could be shown in the use of trell and names with trell in them - such as Mastrell - in White Sand.

Now, admittedly, Autonomy would not necessarily mean autonomy of one own self. But the shards name's are not their intent, just the most accurate description of the intent that shard has - after all, how would you describe an intent which applies not to others but to oneself?

[harel55]

Reading this, I finally connected the red mist attacking Scadrial that Harmony shows Wax, and the "red = corrupted" WoB that came out a while ago. I'm still not sure exactly what's up and whether it's that Trell's coopting Harmony's investiture, or that they've augmented themselves in some way, but I'm now fairly certain that Trell doesn't have the full force of the shard of Autonomy behind it. 

[Calderis he/him]

3 hours ago, harel55 said:

Reading this, I finally connected the red mist attacking Scadrial that Harmony shows Wax, and the "red = corrupted" WoB that came out a while ago. I'm still not sure exactly what's up and whether it's that Trell's coopting Harmony's investiture, or that they've augmented themselves in some way, but I'm now fairly certain that Trell doesn't have the full force of the shard of Autonomy behind it. 

Unfortunately, that image was a fabrication created by Harmony. If the red means anything significant Cosmerically, it's something that Harmony did subconsciously. 

Quote

“What is it?” Wax asked, trying to take in that vast redness. It beat inward, but he could see something, a thin strip of light—like a bubble around the world—stopping it.
“A representation,” Harmony said. “A crude one, perhaps.” He looked to Wax and smiled, like a father at a wide-eyed child.

 

[Subvisual Haze]

I wonder if Trell might be a part of Autonomy that has been corrupted by Ambition.  Hoid did have a grudge against Bavadin mentioned in The Letter.  Perhaps that grudge stems from her Bavadin finishing off Ambition (who Odium had previously significantly wounded).

Edited October 11, 2018 by Subvisual Haze