It is uncertain when he became a Dawnshard, but his time holding it changed his spiritweb in a similar manner to Savantism. Hoid himself was once a Dawnshard at some point in the distant past, though it is unclear which of the four Dawnshards he held. Following the Shattering something happened so as to make the Dawnshards lose their original form. The Dawnshards pre-dated the Shattering and were used as part of a weapon that split Adonalsium into the sixteen Shards. “ Taking the Dawnshard, known to bind any creature voidish or mortal, he crawled up the steps crafted for Heralds, ten strides tall apiece, toward the grand temple above. It is uncertain whether the specific Commands of Dawnshards have any bearing over the Intents of the Shards that they created, or how they may have been changed by the Shattering. In the same way Savants are changed by power over time, the person that is a Dawnshard is also increasingly changed by its power, although it is not certain if these changes depend on which Dawnshard is possessed.ĭawnshards are able and willing to protect themselves and their users from certain dangers, such as Hemalurgy. These Heightening-like effects can be achieved using any Dawnshard and are granted because they are great concentrations of Investiture, and not from having any specific connection to Endowment. Each Dawnshard grants both distinct abilities and shared Heightening-like attributes, such as an increased depth in color and sound perception. That being said, Dawnshards do confer a certain amount of Investiture on the person that holds them.

In a person with no access to Investiture or an inanimate object, the Dawnshard's most dangerous powers are rendered useless and they are unable to truly present a threat to the lives of anyone. It is unclear what if any influence the specific Command of each Dawnshard has on what may be accomplished using that Command.

The mechanics here are unclear, but as Commands made by someone with the understanding of a deity, Dawnshards allow a person to make use of the most powerful forms of magic.

As all applications of Investiture require a Command and Intent, these Dawnshards cannot be used without a person that has access to Investiture trying to carry out some task. At their core, Dawnshards are nothing more than Commands of enormous power, but on their own they seem to be nearly useless.

Audible dawnshard