The Sixteen Shards (but not really)

[zeppomarks]

Ok, so this is 100% speculation. There is absolutely zero evidence for this, but I'm posting it anyway because I had a lot of fun creating it.

I took the general idea of the Allomantic table of elements, tweaked it to fit more in line with my interpretation of Shards (since internal, external, pushing, and pulling didn't really work) and started plugging in Shards. Enjoy.

||============||=============|=============||=============|============||=============||
||     Physical     ||     Mercurial      |         Static        ||         Static        |     Mercurial    ||     Cognitive     ||
||============||=============|=============||=============|============||=============||
||       Active       || Metamorphosis |        Torpor        ||        Honor       |     Autonomy    ||        Active         ||
||-------------------||---------------------|---------------------||--------------------|--------------------||---------------------||
||     Inactive      ||         Decay        |     Dominion      ||       Justice       |       Odium       ||       Inactive       ||
||============||=============|=============||=============|============||=============||
||     Inactive      ||      Potential       |      Devotion      ||      Patience      |     Progress     ||       Inactive       ||
||-------------------||---------------------|---------------------||--------------------|--------------------||---------------------||
||       Active       ||     Cultivation     |    Endowment   ||   Preservation   |        Ruin         ||        Active        ||
||============||=============|=============||=============|============||=============||
||     Spiritual     ||     Mercurial      |         Static        ||         Static        |     Mercurial     ||     Temporal     ||
||============||=============|=============||=============|============||=============||

I can explain my reasoning for all of this later, but right now I need to head out. Let me know what you think!

And remember, I'd be astonished if a single bit of this is real. It's just for kicks.

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

Fun, my only real problem is that Odium seems very "active" to me!

[Eki]

Isn't Decay the name Brandon first used for the shard that became Ruin?

[WeiryWriter he/him]

Just now, Eki said:

Isn't Decay the name Brandon first used for the shard that became Ruin?

It is.

[Oversleep]

Also, Progress = Cultivation.

[zeppomarks]

4 hours ago, Green Hoodie Mistborn said:

Fun, my only real problem is that Odium seems very "active" to me!

The logic I had differentiating between "active" and "inactive" (perhaps "passive" would be a better term) wasn't actually based on the activity of the Shard or holder themselves, but rather whether or not the Shard's Intent requires active manipulation in order to be fulfilled. So in regards to the Cognitive four, in my mind we're dealing with emotion and rationality. Autonomy requires one to be able to both change and make an active decision. Honor requires active implementation of it's intent, but due to it's focus on obligations and adherence to codes, it's more resistant to change. Justice is just as rigorous as Honor, however Justice simply exists. Justice doesn't need to actively apply itself, in order to fulfil it's intent. As for Odium, I figured that Odium is definitely all about change. Hatred cannot exist without the desire for something to be different than it is. However, Odium also doesn't need active implementation to fulfill it's Intent. Odium could easily sit in a hole for millennia pouting and it's intent would still be fulfilled.

[zeppomarks]

4 hours ago, Eki said:

Isn't Decay the name Brandon first used for the shard that became Ruin?

Yeah, Decay is really redundant, and doesn't really work for me either. Decay and Torpor were the last two I did and caused me the most headache. I didn't really decide on those two as much as I settled on them. Decay is too Temporal, and Torpor is too Cognitive. All suggestions are welcome.

[zeppomarks]

1 hour ago, Oversleep said:

Also, Progress = Cultivation.

Similar, but not synonymous. In my mind, Cultivation requires a force to apply it and has to do with the growth of personality, abilities, and life. More Spiritual aspects. Progress simply occurs as time moves forward. Not so much, technological progress, but simply the progression of the universe through time. Honestly, I'm not sure which Shard, if any, might hold sway over technological advancement. Arguments could be made for a few of them, but the world experiencing the most technological advancement... Well, neither Preservation nor Ruin seem predisposed to feature technology as a part of their Intents. Perhaps scientific discovery is inherent in humans and not motivated by any shard. That could explain why every planet experiences this to varying degrees. Hm...

[Sam Script he/him]

This is really awesome, but it's unlikely to be the final truth. Good job and maybe adjust some predicted Intents..?

[zeppomarks]

20 hours ago, Sam Script said:

This is really awesome, but it's unlikely to be the final truth. Good job and maybe adjust some predicted Intents..?

Thanks! And I agree. I don't see why the formula for investiture on a single planet should dictate the formula of the shards. Really, the only connection between the two right now is the number 16. I hope to be able to get around to refining the Intents soon. Some of them are incredibly difficult to figure out. Another reason why I doubt my table is correct.

For example: What can alter the physical realm without needing a source actively pursuing those changes, but also doesn't use time as a medium? Cause I don't know. lol

[Ari he/him]

Yeah see this is why I don't guess Shard names, it's too easy to get stuck into "is this a synonym or is it not?" For instance, I'm not sure there'd be much room for a Justice given that Honour kind of fulfills a lot of the same roles. It'd be like having both Odium and Revenge. Likewise Cultivation is basically a combination of Metamorphosis and Progress, and Decay is definitely not a thing as it was an earlier attempt at Ruin's name.

I'm not sure active/inactive is a relevant distinction, although it could be depending on how you defined it. So far I would class every single shard we've seen unshattered as Active, and I certainly wouldn't agree that Odium is "inactive." I had been considering opposites as related to each other in the same quarter of a table but diagonal to each other, which you haven't done for some notable pairings such as Preservation/Ruin, Odium/Devotion, and Autonomy/Dominion, so I'd be curious to hear why that is. Really, I think we probably need a few more Shard names to start coming up with reasonable approximations of a taxonomy, as it's so easy to juggle things around based on the gaps/speculation. (and especially with a lot of people misinterpreting the WoB about the hidden shard as its Intent being survival- or hiding-related)

I'm also pretty sure the four quarters aren't going to be related to the metallic arts in classification, and that including Temporal is straight up wrong.

My speculation to date is that Odium and Devotion are off in their own Emotion-related quarter, that Autonomy and Dominion are opposites with Honour sitting between them in a society-related quarter, and that Preservation and Ruin are opposites, with Cultivation and Endowment also being in opposite positions despite not being neat opposites, in a change-related quarter. But I still have no idea what the relevant taxonomy would be beyond that.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Ari

[The One Who Connects he/him]

So this is a spreadsheet that the now dead "Shard combinations" thread used to stay organized. I feel like the terms that they came up with as combinations are not likely to be a singular Shard.

It has a second page for 3 Shard combo's too, so you don't miss that

[Oversleep]

8 hours ago, The One Who Connects said:

So this is a spreadsheet that the now dead "Shard combinations" thread used to stay organized. I feel like the terms that they came up with as combinations are not likely to be a singular Shard.

It has a second page for 3 Shard combo's too, so you don't miss that

Oh, I remember that. I started it all. Here is the topic, if somebody is interested.

[zeppomarks]

On 8/25/2016 at 9:25 PM, Ari said:

Yeah see this is why I don't guess Shard names, it's too easy to get stuck into "is this a synonym or is it not?" For instance, I'm not sure there'd be much room for a Justice given that Honour kind of fulfills a lot of the same roles.  I disagree. Justice and Honor are very different. And I consider the separation that Sanderson makes between the Windrunners and Skybreakers to be evidence that he thinks so too.  It'd be like having both Odium and Revenge. Likewise Cultivation is basically a combination of Metamorphosis and Progress  I also disagree here. Taken in certain semantic contexts, sure, but the wider denotations of the three words leaves a lot of gaps between them. , and Decay is definitely not a thing as it was an earlier attempt at Ruin's name.  I agree that Decay is incorrect. I mentioned that in an earlier post. 

I'm not sure active/inactive is a relevant distinction, although it could be depending on how you defined it. So far I would class every single shard we've seen unshattered as Active, and I certainly wouldn't agree that Odium is "inactive."  I talked about this a little earlier in the thread. "Inactive" was an incorrectly applied term on my part. It should be "passive". Also, active and passive have nothing to do with the activity of the Shardholder in the Cosmere. It has to do with how much effort it takes to apply the Shards intent. It takes no active effort for most people to be hateful. They actually find it far more difficult to deny hate. Therefore, the classification of Odium as passive.  I had been considering opposites as related to each other in the same quarter of a table but diagonal to each other, which you haven't done for some notable pairings such as Preservation/Ruin, Odium/Devotion, and Autonomy/Dominion, so I'd be curious to hear why that is.  This one's easy, I tried to do just that and it didn't fit. So instead of reevaluating my projection and finding a formula that fits better, I just crammed everything in to where it fit best. lol I scienced gud.  Really, I think we probably need a few more Shard names to start coming up with reasonable approximations of a taxonomy, as it's so easy to juggle things around based on the gaps/speculation. (and especially with a lot of people misinterpreting the WoB about the hidden shard as its Intent being survival- or hiding-related)  I 100% agree. In fact, I kind of doubt that there will end up being any clear taxonomy for Shards. There might be given Sanderson's penchant for tidy, logical systems, but I wouldn't be surprised if the 16 Shards just ended up being a list of concepts with no discernible groupings. 

I'm also pretty sure the four quarters aren't going to be related to the metallic arts in classification, and that including Temporal is straight up wrong.  My thought process on this was pretty simple. I had three realms (Physical, Cognitive, Spiritual) but 16 doesn't divide by three. So I needed another one that kinda fit but didn't overlap with the others too much. Time was the only thing I could think of. lol My whole process was filled with shenanigans like this. 

My speculation to date is that Odium and Devotion are off in their own Emotion-related quarter, that Autonomy and Dominion are opposites with Honour sitting between them in a society-related quarter, and that Preservation and Ruin are opposites, with Cultivation and Endowment also being in opposite positions despite not being neat opposites, in a change-related quarter. But I still have no idea what the relevant taxonomy would be beyond that.  Hm. I get where you're coming from here. Though I'm not sure why emotion, society, and change would be classifications unto themselves. They don't seem to fit each other. Though I might not be thinking about it correctly.