Millennium
Is it necessary to touch a Shard--not necessarily to become its Holder, but to at least touch it briefly--to Splinter it?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#1
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#1
#2
Questioner
So if a person's holding a Shard, someone like the original sixteen people. Some of the Shards got [Splintered], does that automatically kill the people? Or can some of those people still be walking around?
Brandon Sanderson
It does not automatically, because you can give up pieces of investiture and things like this. It did kill them, that was part of the point. But there are ways to conceive of this happening that it wouldn't. Technically what Endowment is doing is giving up pieces, intentionally Splintering to form these other pieces and things, so yeah.
#3
mathota123
Is the creation of skaze end-negative?
Brandon Sanderson
So, you're not quite using the term right.
The terms "end-negative" and "end-positive" refer to a specific system--in most cases, we're talking about the individual(s) using the magic. Do you draw more magic out, or is it powered by your own native Investiture?
Awakening is what we call end-neutral, despite the fact that (obviously) the Breaths came from someone else in the first place. That's not the point in contention here--do the same number of Breaths (the same amount of Investiture) continue to exist in the system as you're manipulating the magic.
In something like AonDor, you are drawing out much more power than you put in--end-positive. That power is put to work doing something, such as healing a body, or creating a blast of power.
The skaze, like the seons, were created when a Shard was Splintered. The terminology doesn't quite work there, at least not in the way that scholars in the cosmere would use it.
The question from the physicist in this thread about where Investiture goes, and what it means for a Shard to have access to certain amounts of power, is related to all of this. I'm hoping to be able to find some time to craft a response there, as there are some fundamental understandings of the magic that are relevant to the discussion that I should point out.
#4
R'Shara
Did Honor and Cultivation binding Odium to the Roshar system directly cause the death stroke to Honor?
Brandon Sanderson
*sighs indecisively for a good ten seconds* RAFO. It's fiddly.
#5
Questioner
Hypothetically could Nightblood Splinter a Shard?
Brandon Sanderson
Uh, Splintering a Shard takes more power than Nightblood has.
#6
Questioner
So I wanted to know if the asteroid belts around some planets are because of Splintering of a Shard there?
Brandon Sanderson
Okay, one more time. If the what?
Questioner
Asteroids belts around some planets.
Brandon Sanderson
Are caused by the Splintering of Shards? So the Splintering of Shards has had cosmological effects; you should not assume that most asteroid belts are caused by the Splintering of a Shard.
Questioner
Yeah, you know most of the planets, I think all of the planets where the Shards were Splintered have asteroid belts. So is it like the physical manifestation of the Splintering?
Brandon Sanderson
You should not assume that all planets that have that are the result of a Splintering of a Shard but the Splintering of a Shard can have such an effect.
#7
#8
Little Wilson
And so are there any Shards that we don't know of that are Shattered?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Zas678's sister
Four, right? Ish?
Brandon Sanderson
Eh... eh... Honor is gone.
Little Wilson
And Devotion and Dominion.
Brandon Sanderson
Devotion and Dominion are gone. There are others. The question is, [is] Cultivation gone or not? I'm not-- I haven't answered that for you. There are others. So this is what I can't-- I'm not gonna <just> share the answer. This is why I'm not gonna give you answers on these things.
#9
Questioner
If it's possible for a Shard that's been shattered to be recombined, has it happened yet?
Brandon Sanderson
You have seen things be added back together. I'm not going to say whether you've seen a splintered shard fully be recombined, alright. Ah, you haven't seen it happen, I'm not going to say whether it's happened in the Cosmere or not.
#10
Questioner
I was reading the first book-- The Way of Kings, there is a scene-- no a Letter. Is that scene-- the person who is sending the Letter says that the Shards in Elantris are broken-- sorry they're, like, [Splintered], and they can’t be used again. How is that so, because if there was Adonalsium which Shattered and people took the Shards.
Brandon Sanderson
There are those who believe you could put the pieces back together and their are those who believe you can't, and shouldn't.
Questioner
You shouldn't put them back--
Brandon Sanderson
There are some who believe that.
Questioner
So will they be able to put it back together?
Brandon Sanderson
Well there are some who believe it is possible. *laughter*
Congratulations, you win a RAFO card! RAFO is something Robert Jordan would say, that means Read And Find Out and I print out little cards so at least you get something. That means "I'm sorry I can't answer your question but I'm really not that sorry otherwise I would answer it"
#11
Iceblade44
if you were to chuck Nightblood into a Shard that had the intent of Evil would Nightblood splinter it?
Brandon Sanderson
Splintering is a completely different process from what Nightblood does. :)
#12
Questioner
So if a Shard is Splintered can it be put back together, and if so; if all the Shards are put back together will Adonalsium come back? Or will someone else have to become Adonalsium?
Brandon Sanderson
That is a big ol' RAFO!
#13
sufficientlyadvanced
It says that it's dangerous to travel to Shadesmar on Sel. Why?
Brandon Sanderson
It has to do with the Dor and the lack of an entity controlling much of the power Odium left in his wake on Sel.
Phantine
Woah, that's interesting. I had no idea Odium left little bits of his power on Sel... I guess it kinda makes sense for evil monks to be powered by pure hate, though.
Brandon Sanderson
Odium did not leave his power behind, one should note. He left several other powers which are now, to a large extent, mindless...
Windrunner
If you wouldn't mind answering, does Roshar have a similar problem, with Honor being Splintered?
Brandon Sanderson
No, Roshar does not have the same problem. There are some differences going on. One reason being that the spren are far more extensive on Roshar, and provide something of a "release valve." The seons and the skaze on Sel are not numerous enough to fulfill a similar function. Though, of course, that's only one part of the puzzle. Raw power is dangerous.
It's one reason everyone should be thankful Kelsier was around on Scadrial.
#14
Argent
I thought, like, at one of the signings you told me that when Odium was on Sel and Splintered the Shards there, the reason he did the Cognitive Realm hack was because he was not yet experienced in Splintering stuff.
Brandon Sanderson
Right. He did not want what happened to happen, but he didn't know that he didn't want what happened to happen.
Argent
What I was getting at is, I could never find a recording of you saying "He was not experienced. He didn't want the power to be taken by anyone, and that's the only solution he could figure out." Does that sound like something you would say?
Brandon Sanderson
That is something I would say, yes... There are better ways to do what he wanted to do, which he later did a better job with. But there's not a lot of experimenting he could do.
Argent
Limited number of subjects, right?
Brandon Sanderson
Mmhmm.
#15
Isaac Betzold
Could a Shard be split into smaller Intents, like if Honor were alive and then was split into maybe Integrity and Bravery?
Brandon Sanderson
This is possible. Very plausible. You ask some weird things sometimes, this one is not that weird, this is very plausible.
#16
Questioner
Do the scholars in Silverlight understand the Realmatic difference between a Shattering of a Shard and the unique hypercompression of Devotion and Dominion's Investiture in the Selish Cognitive Realm?
Brandon Sanderson
They do. Do they fully understand? No. But do they understand better than anyone else in the Cosmere who is not a Shard? Yes.
#17
Lance Alvein (paraphrased)
You've said that "The Pits of Hathsin were crafted by Preservation as a place to hide the chunk of Ruin's body that he had stolen away". How does one Shard steal a portion of another Shard and create a Physical outlet for it, like the Pits were for Ruin's power?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
It has to do with clash between the two Shards' power. When pressed, he then said that it was "kind of" like splintering
#18
Little Wilson
You mentioned that half(-ish) Shards are whole at-- during Shadows of Self. Is that counting Splinters?
Brandon Sanderson
Okay, one more time.
Little Wilson
You mentioned that half-- like I think it was at the Bands of Mourning release party-- you said that "half-ish Shards are whole" during Shadows of Self.
Brandon Sanderson
"Half-ish Shards are whole?"
Little Wilson
Yeah, you didn't want to do the math, because it was-- *interrupted*
Brandon Sanderson
Oh, I get it. You're saying-- Okay, so I'm sorry. I'm trying to think of Shards that are half-powered. That's not what you're saying. Half of the existing Shards.
Little Wilson
Yes, yes.
Brandon Sanderson
Okay, got it. Yeah.
Little Wilson
And does that-- is that counting Splinters? Splintered Shards?
Brandon Sanderson
Um, no. I mean, a-- Splintered is one of the ways that they are not considered whole.
Zas678
Like completely Splintered as in Dominion and Devotion.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah. That's what-- That's the opposite of whole.
Zas678
But having a Splinter, like Endowment...
Little Wilson
Because I-- I was kind of going with "Shattered" <and> "Splintered". So Shattered would be kind of what I was going with Devotion and Dominion.
Brandon Sanderson
Okay.
Little Wilson
And then Splintered would be more like... You mentioned that Honor kind of Splintered himself off to create the spren before--
Isaac Stewart
Oh, and that's mentioned isn't it?
Brandon Sanderson
Right, but you've got to keep in mind that-- um... So in Scadrial, Ruin and Preservation did the same thing. Their bodies are part of the world. They-- if their exist-- like, the things on the Spiritual Realm don't matter where they are in relation to each other and things like this. All those <piece> spren are still Honor, when he was alive. Does that make sense? Like, yes those are little Splinters of Honor, but they are still Honor. It's not like he's diminished, because his whole essence is the world, right? There is no diminishing that. And so that thing is we're talking about the fracturing of the mind and the killing of the Shard. That's the distinction between whole and not whole as I was making it for you there.
#19
m4ge
If a Splintered Shard is somehow reformed, is it possible to change the word that expresses its Intent?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but that's a very implausible thing depending on how... so, you're getting into some weird Cosmere stuff here. Most of the ways that these different Shards could manifest could be described differently. Odium is trying very hard to describe his Shard as something different, and there's an argument there. But it depends on if you're like actually changing it or if you just want to call it something different. You could just call Odium Hatred and it's not going to change anything, but if you wanted to change Odium to mean Passion like Odium thinks that it means, then that's more difficult.
#20
Questioner
Can holders of Shards give them up voluntarily? If so, what would happen?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, a Vessel for a Shard of Adonalsium can give up their power if they wish.
As for what would happen...well, there are some variables in there. Kind of like the variables in what happens to a bucket of water if you dump it out. Depends on where it falls, how strong the wind is, what the air is like.
Power dropped like this, if left alone, could end up Splintering and turning into something like spren/seons. It could become something more like the Stormfather--a large, self-aware entity. It could become something like the Dor or many of the Unmade--something proto-aware, but not truly an individual. There are other possibilities as well, depending on lots of factors. (Are sapient beings involved? what is being done with the power--is it concentrated in the Spiritual Realm as normal, or is it being pushed somewhere else?)
#21
Questioner
Can Shards be separated from their current holder--
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Questioner
Without [Splintering] the Shard or killing the person involved?
Brandon Sanderson
It is possible.
Questioner
It’s possible?
Brandon Sanderson
It is possible.
Questioner
Without either one of those <intents?>?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
#22
Questioner
What would happen to the listeners if Odium were to be Splintered?
Brandon Sanderson
Odium being Splintered would not terribly affect the listeners. Now, various other members of that faction like the singers and the Fused might see effects. The listeners could deal with that very easily. Wouldn't even affect them.
#23
Questioner
Did the shattering [Splintering] of Honor happen in the Cognitive Realm, and Ruin in the Physical? *Brandon laughs* The reason I'm wondering is, are spren the expression of the shattering in the Cognitive Realm while Ruin's physical being is an expression of the shattering in the Physical?
Brandon Sanderson
This is an interesting theory that I don't want to completely shoot down, but it is not heading in absolutely correct directions. The [Spintering] of a Shard is an event that transcends all three Realms.
#24
LazerWulf (paraphrased)
You've said that Seons and Skaze contain splinters of Devotion and Dominion. Were these splinters created when Odium killed the shardholders and Splintered their shards? Or are they more similar to how Endowment splinters himself (herself?) to make divine breaths? What is the difference between the two?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
First, he said that it was a very good question. Then he said that those splinters weren't supposed to be there, and they were indeed created when Odium splintered the shards. He said that the difference lies in how each magical system works. Endowment's splinters are more similar to how Preservation invested a little bit of her shard into each human on Scadrial.
#25
Furamirionind
Is it possible to splinter a spren?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. That is theoretically possible.
#26
Questioner
So, kind of along the lines of Bondsmiths: Would one be capable of reuniting a Shard that had been [Splintered], like maybe Honor?
Brandon Sanderson
So once again, there's some order of magnitudes difficulty to this, but that is the Surge that would be involved in that. So the answer is yes. But be aware it's not an easy prospect.
#27
Argent
Khriss believes that the reason Preservation is experiencing a slow death is because Ruin is not strong enough to Splinter Preservation.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, that is a theory.
Argent
Yeah, that's what she thinks. Does she think that this is because of Ruin's trapped power, or because of an inherent difference in the strength levels of Shards?
Brandon Sanderson
She thinks it is more along the lines of a matter of leveraging power as the power is-- The things that happen made it harder for him to leverage his power.
Trapped is a good enough term.
#28
Questioner
How many Shards have been Splintered, besides the four we know?
Brandon Sanderson
You're gonna make me canonize this? I can't canonize this. There's a couple that I'm just kind of...
Questioner
Odium, Endowment, Devotion...
Brandon Sanderson
Okay, Odium has not been Splintered. Endowment and Devotion have been Splintered... Endowment hasn't been Splintered, sorry. Dominion and Devotion have been Splintered. I've confirmed that one other has been Splintered. And then Honor has been Splintered. Those are your four that I've canonized. The other one is, I don't know if I've mentioned who exactly it is, but it's not one that you've seen on one of the planets...
Yeah, I'm not gonna canonize it, exactly how many there are. Because there are things going on in the cosmere that I wanna settle down and decide on once I get to it, exactly what. And Splintering can be a vague term sometimes, too... So that's a RAFO.
#29
Questioner
So, the first [question] is whether or not a Shard can be healed after it has been [Splintered]?
Brandon Sanderson
That is actually a RAFO. That's been asked before.
#30
RabidHumanitarian
We have seen that two Shards can merge into one. Is the opposite possible?
Brandon Sanderson
The opposite is theoretically possible.
RabidHumanitarian
If yes, have we heard of Shards created this way?
Brandon Sanderson
It has not happened yet. Unless you count Splintering into a bunch of pieces, but that's not what they're asking.