Magic of the Stormlight Archives

[Morderkaine]

Readers have met four shards other than Ruin and Preservation.

Have we met these four by name, or just by influence? I can't think of a name that would go with the one that the Elantris lake is a manifestation of.

Hoid could be one? I know nothing his purpose other than that he shows up in lots of different books, sometimes begging and sometimes telling stories. Since most of these series happen on different planets (though two of them may happen on the same planet as each other), I'm assuming he has mad planet-hopping skills.

...Nightblood...

Ookla, I'm going to be tight lipped on this, as I don't want to give things away for future books.  But I'll tell you this:

You've interacted with two directly.
One is a tough call.  You've never met the Shard itself, but you've seen its power. 
The other one you have not met directly, but have seen its influence.

That makes six canon shards so far and IIRC there's going to be ten in The Stormlight Archive.
One of the "other four" is Endowment (voice from Warbreaker).
Another likely shard is the Dor; Hoid is also most likely thought to be somehow connected to a shard, however, if he is, it is not one of the previously mentioned six.

<edit> Apparently my head wasn't screwed on right when I originally posted, sorry bout that.

[Peter Ahlstrom]

there's going to be ten in The Stormlight Archive.

What makes you say that?

[little wilson]

Hoid is also most likely somehow connected to shard, however, if he is, it is not one of the previously mentioned six.

Hoid's would still be one of the six. His would be one of those we haven't met directly. Either the one we've seen the power of, or the influence. I'm thinking the power one, because it's probably the power of the shard that gives Hoid the ability to manipulate Shadesmar.

[Fireborn]

Actually, now that you say that... I somewhat recall reading that at one point or another.  Has Brandon said whether Shards "cross" worlds?  I'm guessing no, since there hasn't been any crossing of magic systems in the books, but would it be possible that a Shard created 2 different magic systems?

I'd say so, I think of Feruchemy as the direct result of the powers of Preservation and Ruin mixing together, or at least their influences.

[Chaos]

No Feruchemy doesn't have it's own Shard.  Brandon has basically said it.  At the time we had Warbreaker, Elantris, and Mistborn.  He said we have seen (I can't remember the numbers exactly) 5 shards, 4 of which we've seen direct effects of.  Something like that though I'm pretty sure I'm wrong about the numbers.

Feruchemy is the balance between Ruin and Preservation. The epigraphs in HoA explicitly state it.

Looks like we're treading old ground, so I shall get the exact quote. I was thinking I could recite what he said perfectly, but I was wrong. Close, though! I promise, I'll be able to recite it eventually.

He said:

You've interacted with two directly.
One is a tough call.  You've never met the Shard itself, but you've seen its power.  
The other one you have not met directly, but have seen its influence.

Of course, excluding Ruin and Preservation.

Now, I believe the commonly accepted theories, way back on the Shards topic, were: 1) Endowment, 2) Dor, 3)Something about Jaddeth/Dakhor, 4) Hoid.

I'm not sure if I can reveal a piece of information (Omegas, don't get your pants a twist, it's nothing earth-shattering, just a question I asked), but I will say this: tee hee!

[Inkthinker]

That makes six cannon shards so far

Canon. Like "canonical".

The only thing louder than a cannon is a pedantic canonist. 

[Wolfstar]

I personally don't think Hoid is a Shard.  He does clearly have epic powers, though.

[Morderkaine]

there's going to be ten in The Stormlight Archive.

What makes you say that?

I don't know where that came from. Apparently my mind wasn't all there when I wrote that post. Although something about it feels right so I'm going to make it my prediction for the number of shards in The Stormlight Archive.

[Pink Bunkadoo]

I seem to recall hearing the number ten before, too.

[Inkthinker]

The number of magic systems may also make a difference whether or not you count passive magic like enhanced tools as more than one "system".

For instance, are Shardblades and Shardplate two separate "magic systems", or one, or do they not count because they are tools rather than skills or abilities?

RAFO...

 

[Chaos]

there's going to be ten in The Stormlight Archive.

What makes you say that?

I don't know where that came from. Apparently my mind wasn't all there when I wrote that post. Although something about it feels right so I'm going to make it my prediction for the number of shards in The Stormlight Archive.

Tee hee

Well, there are ten Heralds, as the Prelude says.

[Obsessiforge]

I'm gonna RAFO so hard when this book comes out. That is all.

[Wolfstar]

The bittersweet thing is that no matter how many questions this first book answers, we are going to get so many more questions from it that we will doubtlessly have to wait a long time for answers.

[Fireborn]

I personally don't think Hoid is a Shard.  He does clearly have epic powers, though.

Hi, I'm Fireborn, and I approve this message.

The number of magic systems may also make a difference whether or not you count passive magic like enhanced tools as more than one "system".

For instance, are Shardblades and Shardplate two separate "magic systems", or one, or do they not count because they are tools rather than skills or abilities?

RAFO...

 

That may be what Brandon was referring to as "it depends on how you count it".

[Ari54]

Tee hee

Well, there are ten Heralds, as the Prelude says.

But Heralds of what? They might all be aligned with one shard, or have nothing to do with any of them. There really isn't enough public information to support any theories on the state of play for the shard(s) on Roshar.