In the days following the shardstorms, chaos reigned. Eventually, though, people got used to the idea that dangerous rocks would sometimes fall from the sky. More importantly, though, they realized that a few of those that touched the shards became bound to them in strange ways. A small subset of these shardbound embraced this power entirely, though.
Shardborn Exemplars embed weepshards in weapons, shields, clothing, jewelry, and other items. These items are their Ikons and their Spark jumps between their shards as they empower each in turn. Sages agree, this channeled power is divine, but they cannot agree on which god it comes from. Some assume it must be the power of Pharasma, similar to how the Mark seems to work. And some believe the Weep itself is now imbued with divinity. Others still believe it to be the mark of a Great Old One, or perhaps it is a sign of the return of Rovagug.
While a lack of clarity on the source of this power is troublesome to some Shardbound Exemplars, many simply appreciate power for what it does and focus on controlling it. Any way you look at it, though, these newly minted Exemplars certainly do draw a lot of attention with the way they bend the power of the shards.