9 Harmony

Current Vessel: Sazed

Sazed claimed both of the Shards of Scadrial at the end of The Hero of Ages, becoming the first Vessel in the Cosmere to hold two. Ruin and Preservation's Intents ed together to form Harmony, but this combination creates issues in and of itself. Due to them being such opposites, Sazed has spent centuries struggling to balance them, with Ruin slowly taking control over time. There's significant evidence to that Mistborn era 3 will see him lose control of his two Shards, turning from Harmony to Discord.

Related

Wind And Truth Sets Up One Cosmere Book That’s Now Brandon Sanderson's Perfect Follow-Up

Now that Wind and Truth is out, The Stormlight Archive readers should check out this other Cosmere book, as its context has vastly changed.

Posts

The original Terris prophecy for the "Hero of Ages" suggested that "his name shall be Discord," leading many to speculate on Sazed's descent since his original ascension. Right now, Sazed is one of the Cosmere's greatest hopes, as readers know him to be a benevolent man, unlike Taravangian or Rayse, who have held Odium. The conflict, unfortunately, is that even Ati, the original Vessel of Ruin, took on the responsibility of such a dangerous Shard because he was considered among the best and most noble of the original Vessels, and he couldn't tame its Intent.

8 Retribution

Current Vessel: Taravangian

Retribution, like Harmony, is the combination of the two opposing Shards of Roshar: Honor and Odium. These two made Roshar their proxy war battleground for thousands of years, filling The Stormlight Archive's timeline with devastating wars, though the cycle finally ended in the True Desolation. Honor had gone without a Vessel for millennia before Dalinar Kholin picked up its power for a brief moment, and rather than use it to defeat Odium himself, he gave it up again, sacrificing himself and ing it on to Taravangian, knowing the power-hungry king couldn't say no to more.

Taravangian, already holding Odium, picked up Honor's Shard as well, instantly creating multiple conflicts for himself. Odium was long thought to be one of the Cosmere's most dangerous Shards, but being confined to the Rosharan system, he wasn't a threat to other planets. With the acquisition of Honor, the other Shards of the Cosmere have suddenly turned their focus on him, forcing him to flee and hide. Taravangian also faces a similar issue to Sazed in that the two Shards are actively working against each other within him.

7 Cultivation

Current Vessel: Koravellium Avast

Cultivation is one of the more confusing X-factors in the Cosmere right now, as she played her hand throughout The Stormlight Archive's first five books, then tried to stop Odium at the last minute and failed. Wind and Truth's ending suggests she's fled off-world, and it's hard to say where she'll go and what she's planning. Her vessel is Koravellium Avast, a dragon from Yolen who arrived on Roshar with Honor, with whom she was romantically involved.

Cultivation and Honor fought against Odium for a long time, though she withdrew and stopped helping the humans of Roshar upon Tanavast's death. One of her most notable contributions is that of Lifelight, an immensely important power source on Roshar. Now that Stormlight has gone away, Lift being able to use her Radiant powers through Lifelight makes her extremely valuable to the remaining human forces.

6 The Dor

Combination Of Splintered Devotion & Dominion

The Dor isn't technically a Shard name or a Vessel, but rather a source of power that exists on Sel. Devotion and Dominion were the Shards of Sel, but Odium Splintered them, trapping their powers in the Cognitive Realm to prevent them from finding another Vessel. What remains is a mass of energy uncontrolled by any mind like the other Shards, resulting in Investiture in Elantris being split into various magic systems and items like Seons, which have also been utilized in The Stormlight Archive.

5 Endowment

Current Vessel: Edgli

Endowment, held by its original Vessel, Edgli, is the one and only Shard on the planet Nalthis, where the novel Warbreaker is hosted. Endowment doesn't play a huge role in the Warbreaker book, but there's more about her in other Cosmere novels to suggest what she's up to. Hoid attempted to bring Endowment on board for a pact against Odium, but she refused, angered that Shards had paired up on planets rather than agreeing to their plans of isolation. She also seems to have her own strategy to combat Odium, as suggested in Wind and Truth.

Related

Every Unknown Death Rattle In The Stormlight Archive (& What It Could Mean For Arc 2)

The Stormlight Archive's Death Rattles are a continuing source of mystery to Cosmere fans. Here's an updated list after Wind and Truth.

Posts

4 Autonomy

Current Vessel: Bavadin

Autonomy is another Shard who's shown herself to be rather dangerous, though not to her home planet. Taldain is the world of the White Sand graphic novel, but Autonomy's most notable influence in the Cosmere so far has been in Mistborn era 2, where she used one of her avatars to infringe upon Scadrial's developing technology and plans to return at some point in the future. Autonomy seems to have an alliance with Odium, making her one of the major villains in Brandon Sanderson novels.

3 Ambition

Current Vessel: Unknown

Ambition's original Vessel was Uli Da, but the Shard's powerful Intent made it high on Odium's list to kill, and he went after it. Odium killed the original Vessel in a battle, tearing off chunks of Ambition's power and causing permanent damage to the people and planets of Threnody, which is the setting for Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell. Ambition was killed and Splintered elsewhere after leaving Threnody.

2 Virtuosity

Current Vessel: Unknown

Virtuosity is a mysterious Shard with an unknown Vessel who Splintered herself. This happened in the UTol planet system near Komashi, the planet that serves as the setting for Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. Because of this, Splinters of Virtuosity can be seen throughout the system. In 2022, Brandon Sanderson explained that a future book would explore more of Virtuosity's story, but it's still unclear which this will be.

1 The Remaining Shards

These Shards Have Barely Been Introduced

Invention: Invention is a Shard of the Cosmere who is known to be held by the Vessel Chan Ko Sar. He's been hard to reach throughout the Cosmere's stories so far, as he's spent his time since the Shattering traveling the universe and constructing "great marvels," according to Wiind and Truth. Harmony has tried to reach out about Odium, but even he can't locate the Shard.

Mercy: Mercy is another Shard who hasn't been Splintered, meaning it's still active somewhere in the Cosmere. It was present during the battle between Odium and Ambition. Harmony reached out to Mercy but was reportedly "troubled" by what he heard back. Future novels will surely offer some more about this character's whereabouts and more information about its Vessel.

Related

The Mistborn Movie's Best Replacement Could Still Set Up A Stormlight Archive Adaptation

Now that the Mistborn movie planned is scrapped, this other Cosmere book could be the best launch-off point for a cinematic universe of adaptations.

Posts

Valor: Valor has become a source for theory crafting for Cosmere fans after being originally held by the dragon god Medelantorius. Valor has remained isolated since the Shattering, and her location is unknown, though she's interacted briefly with Harmony, who suggested she might be reasonable. Valor seems to have had an interesting past with Hoid, and many theories point to the possibility that she's secretly been hiding on Roshar this whole time, meaning she could appear in The Stormlight Archive.

Whimsy: Whimsy is another Shard who is confirmed to not be Splintered, though Brandon Sanderson hasn't revealed the name of his Vessel or really anything else. Harmony apparently reached out regarding the Odium issue but determined that Whimsy wouldn't be particularly useful.

Reason: Wind and Truth finally revealed Reason's Shard name, meaning that all sixteen of the Shards are now known. His original vessel was Euridrius, and he's spent most of his time since the Shattering in hiding.

The Stormlight Archive

Created by

Brandon Sanderson

Character(s)

Kaladin Stormblessed, Shallan Davar, Dalinar Kholin, Adolin Kholin, Jasnah Kholin, Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Navani Kholin

Expand Collapse