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Difference between revisions of "Endowment"
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{{shard info
|image=Endowment by
|vessel=[[Edgli]]{{wob ref|2106}}
|status=Whole
|books=[[Warbreaker]]
}}
{{quote
|It was agreed that we would not interfere with one another, and it disappoints me that so few of the Shards have kept to this original agreement.
Endowment's [[Shard|Intent]] is not entirely clear; it's likely related to bestowing gifts or talents upon others. The Intent does not seem to influence [[Edgli]] in all matters, as she is still capable of refusing giving aid to [[Hoid]].{{epigraph ref|sa3|41}} The prime examples of the Intent's influence are the creation of the Returned, via resurrection and a Returned Breath, and the magic system of [[Awakening]], as [[Breath]] can only be given, and cannot be forcefully taken.{{book ref|wb|prologue}}
Endowment is the Shard Hoid might have taken, had he wanted to become a Vessel.{{wob ref|9845}}
== Associated Magic ==
{{for|Awakening}}
Nalthis' only known magic system is [[Awakening]] -- the use of [[Breath]], Endowment's [[Investiture]] in its gaseous form, to enact a variety of effects, typically tied to animating inanimate objects. Every Nalthian is born with a single Breath, and can bestow it onto other people or objects. Giving away one's Breath makes one into a
Breaths are bestowed upon others with [[Command]]s. The primary command is "My life to yours. My Breath become yours." However, hundreds of other Commands can be used to bestow Breath onto inanimate objects or dead bodies, Awakening them. Awakened objects perform specific task, dictated by their Commands, which can range from simple, such as "hold when thrown" to complex, such as "fetch keys".{{book ref|wb|46}} The more complex the Command, the more Breath it requires.{{book ref|wb|21}} Additionally, animating objects with Breath requires color; a nearby source of vivid color is required, and will be bleached, in order for the Command to take effect.{{book ref|wb|21}}
}}
Endowment can create [[splinter]]s of herself called Divine Breaths, and bestow them upon the recently deceased.{{wob ref|4486}} This brings them back to life; such people are known as the [[Returned]]. The Returned have little to no memory of their previous life, but they do retain any skills they've had while alive.{{wob ref|5062}}{{book ref|wb|30}} Their appearance also changes, in accordance to how they perceive themselves and the influence of local culture on their image of a "god". With some skill, the Returned can change their appearance to some extent, though it is
The Divine Breath immediately grants the Returned the effects of the Fifth [[Heightening]]. However, the Returned must consume at least one Breath a week; otherwise, after their Divine Breath is consumed and, with nothing to support their existence, they die.{{book ref|wb|3}} Endowment does not discourage this, and is fine with her Breath being used to feed the Returned.{{wob ref|3312}}
Like all [[Shard]]s, Endowment was created at the [[Shattering]] of [[Adonalsium]], and contains one sixteenth of him.{{msh ref|3|2}} The people present at the Shattering agreed to go separate ways after taking their Shards.{{epigraph ref|sa3|39}} And so, when Endowment was picked up by [[Edgli]], she took it from [[Yolen]] and eventually settled on [[Nalthis]].{{wob ref|2106}}{{wob ref|1120}}
Millennia later, the people of [[Chedesh]] landed on the shores of the land that now houses [[Hallandren]]. It was then that Endowment first created a Returned in [[Vo]], who managed to have five Visions and father a child before dying a week later. From then on out, Returned began appearing in other parts of the world.{{book ref|wb|32}} Among others, Endowment Returned the [[Five Scholars]], including [[Vasher]] and [[Shashara]], who together created [[Nightblood]], and [[Lightsong]], who saved the Hallandren from a continent-wide war by restoring the power of [[Susebron]], the god-king.{{book ref|wb|29}}{{book ref|wb|57}}
Around the time of [[True Desolation]] on [[Roshar]], [[Hoid]] began contacting various Shards in an attempt to build a resistance to [[Odium]], which was then held by [[Rayse]]. Endowment, still annoyed at the Vessels who chose to settle down in pairs in violation of the original pact, declined.{{epigraph ref|sa3|39}} Believing Rayse to be of little concern, she chided Hoid for dabbling in matters far outside his scope, and suggested that if Odium were to become an issue, he would be dealt with promptly -- as would Hoid himself.{{epigraph ref|sa3|37}}
}}
{{image|Endowment by Heatherly.png|side=left|width=200px}}Despite being Nalthis' only Shard, the planet's inhabitants seem by and large unaware of her existence, even through religion. Of the known cultures, only the [[Pahn Kahl]] have any knowledge of her; and even then, she is known only as the voice that brings back the Returned.{{wob ref|4498}} While the people of [[Idris]] are monotheistic, their god, [[Austre]], is not based on Endowment.{{wob ref|6590}}
Regardless, she is capable of influencing Nalthis through her Returned. She communicates with select few dead as a disembodied voice, and presents them with chosen visions of the future before asking them to Return and act on this vision. Although the Returned come back amnesiac, their memories do come back when needed.{{book ref|wb|57}} Through this, Endowment can indirectly steer the course of history; most notably, Returning [[Vo]] caused the creation of [[Hallandren]] and Returning [[Shashara]] led to the creation of [[Nightblood]]. Endowment also had some additional level of involvement in Nightblood's creation, above simply her Investiture being used.{{wob ref|10871}}
== Trivia ==
* If Brandon were to become a Vessel, Endowment
* In ''[[The Well of Ascension]]''
* In ''[[wikipedia:Magic: The Gathering|Magic: The Gathering]]'' colors, Endowment would be mono-green.{{wob ref|11057}}
{{Warbreaker}}
{{cosmere}}
[[es:Dotación]]
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