Shardholder

A Shardholder (i.e., a Vessel) is an entity who has "agreed" to embrace a Shard (potentially in effort to "control" it) or otherwise "dispense" its effects. Their personalities have all been changed from those which they originally were due to which Shard each of them took up. However, the original sixteen Shardholders all knew one another.JordanCon 6, Roswell, GA, 4/16/14
When an entity takes up a Shard, they take up its power and its Intent. They keep their mind, but the Shard's Intent bends their mind over long periods of time. For example, Ati - who held Ruin - was originally "a kind and generous man", but over thousands of years the Intent of his Shard twisted his mind, driving him to destroy.
This is why Preservation/Leras needed Vin to destroy Ruin. Leras had held Preservation for so long that he was incapable of any destruction; even that of his enemy. Instead, he trapped Ruin, and gave his power up so that Vin (who only held Preservation for moments) could do the deed for him. She didn't hold Preservation for very long, and was still capable of destruction.
This is another reason that Odium is so frightening. Not only is Odium "the most frightening and terrible of all the Shards" (according to Hoid), but the man who took up the Shard (i.e., Rayse) was already a terrible person. That's a very dangerous combination.
The person (whomever s/he is) that holds Cultivation IS, in fact, Cultivation. Assuming that person has been alive with that power for thousands of years, s/he would be changed by the Intent of Cultivation; to nurture and grow things needed for the future.
==Characteristics==
The original sixteen Shardholders all knew each other.JordanCon 2014, Roswell, GA, 4/11/14
According to Brandon, going other places (i.e., Worldhopping) means multiple things to someone actually holding a Shard. They can exist in the Spiritual Realm, where all things are one. And they can even kind of comprehend it ... .Book signing, Chicago, IL, 12/6/16
When a Shard gets Splintered, its Holder does not automatically get killed because one can give up pieces of Investiture.JordanCon 2018, Atlanta, GA, 4/20/18
==Abilities==
Also according to Brandon, each Shard has the ability to Invest in a place; each just needs to "start making some stuff."Book signing, Chicago, IL, 12/6/16
==Known Shardholders==
Currently, there are twelve Holders - alive or dead - who are known, for whom their Shards are known, and for whom their worlds are known. There are five Shards for which each their Holders are not yet known.
Holder 	Shard 	World 	Book
Almighty/Tanavast (deceased) 	Honor 	Roshar 	The Stormlight Archive
RayseBook signing, Oslo, NO, 5/31/11 (deceased), Taravangian	Odium 	Roshar 	The Stormlight Archive
Unknown 	Cultivation 	Roshar 	The Stormlight Archive
Ati (deceased), Sazed 	Ruin 	Scadrial	Mistborn series
Leras (deceased), Sazed 	Preservation	Scadrial	Mistborn series
EdgliGeneral Signed Books 2015, 1/1/15 	Endowment 	Nalthis 	Warbreaker
Aona (deceased) 	Devotion 	Sel 	Elantris
Skai (deceased) 	Dominion 	Sel 	Elantris
BavadinBook signing, Oslo, NO, 5/31/11 	Autonomy 	Taldain 	White SandWhite Sand
Uli daBook signing, San Francisco, CA, 11/15/17 	Ambition 	Threnody	Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
Unknown 	Invention 	Unknown 	Unknown
Unknown 	Whimsy 	Unknown 	Unknown
Unknown 	Mercy 	Unknown 	Unknown
Unknown 	Valor 	Unknown 	Unknown
Sazed now holds the Shard Harmony, which is Ruin and Preservation joined.Harmony
==Speculation==
Fabrials are Cultivation's power. Technology fits that Intent perfectly.
==Q&A with Brandon==
Q. I am wondering if it is possible for a person to take the power of a Shard and then later decide the whole god thing isn't working out. Can they retire and go back to being a person? Or are they immediately sent to the Beyond?
A. It is possible that they could retire as a person. Wouldn't be the first thing that would happen.YouTube Livestream 20, 10/15/20
==References==
Category:Shardbearers