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The '''singers''' are the most common and widespread sapient species on [[Roshar]].{{book ref|sa3|54}}{{book ref|sa3|106}} Which the Alethi call the '''parsh'''{{epigraph ref|sa3|77}} or '''parshmen'''.{{book ref|sa1|3}} They are native Rosharan lifeforms{{book ref|sa3|111}} characterized by their bipedalism, carapace, high intelligence, tetramorphic sexual paradigm; and the presence of a gemheart they can use to create symbiotic bonds with spren, which has a significant impact on both their biology and cognition. They are highly social animals capable of forming complex social structures and civilizations, with complex institutions defining their social interactions.
They are descended from the ancient [[Dawnsingers]] who first inhabited ancient Roshar before the [[Shattering of Adonalsium]], first emerging upon their creation around ten-thousand years prior to the [[True Desolation]].{{wob ref|1723}}{{book ref|sa3|111}} The level of biological similarity they have with their ancestors is unclear.
Singers predate the humans as inhabitants of Roshar.{{book ref|sa3|111}} Around the time of the [[Recreance]],{{epigraph ref|sa3|81}} many of the singers had their [[Connection]] and [[Identity]] stolen, pieces of their souls ripped away.{{book ref|sa3|17}} This made those singers docile and subservient, which humans called parshmen and used as slaves for millennia later.{{book ref|sa1|72}} With the advent of the [[Everstorm]], these singers were healed and restored.{{book ref|sa3|17}}
== Etymology and definition ==
''Singer'' and ''listener'' are the translations of what the singers call themselves in their own respective languages, [[Dawnchant]] and ''Listener'', both in the Dawnate language family.{{wob ref|3977}} ''Singer'' technically does not refer to the entire species, with the species name being currently unknown.{{wob ref|11846}}{{wob ref|15134}} ''Listener'' refers specifically to the singers which, at some point prior to the [[Recreance]], turned away from Odium and abandoned their [[Regal]] forms and chose to settle on the [[Shattered Plains]].{{book ref|sa2|i|4}}
Etymologically, ''Singer'' refers to their singing of the Rhythms of Roshar,{{cite}} and is likely derived from ''Dawnsinger''.
== Evolution ==
{{image|Call to Adventure - Willshaper.png|side=right|width=250px|A femalen singer}}
Singers are humanoid, but not entirely similar to ''Homo sapiens'', differing in various notable aspects.
They are bipedal, and posses a foramen magnum at the base of the skull; they also have a large intracranial space, comparable to ''Homo sapiens''. This, alongside a presumably well-developed cerebrum, gives them a high cognitive capacity. It is unclear how prominent of a supraorbital ridge they possess, if any. They have a protruding nasus very similar to that of humans
They have greater resistance to cold temperatures than humans.{{book ref|sa4|102}}
Apart from their polychromatic skin, singers have other features that differentiate them from humans. They grow at a faster rate than humans and have slightly shorter average lifespans.{{wob ref|13401}}{{book ref|sa4|83}} In the [[listener]]s' culture, [[Venli]] started to learn about singing as a keeper of songs at age three and is considered adult at age ten.{{book ref|sa4|83}}
Their epidermal marbling whitening at the edges is a sign of age and senescence.{{book ref|sa4|62}} Furthermore, elderly singers can experience cognitive decline, memory loss, and difficulty developing new memories.{{cite}} Dullform experiences rapid degradation in mental faculties as one ages, Singer children are born in dullform, and do not experience the normal cognitive impairments of dullform in adult singers.
=== Carapace ===
Their bodies have red-orange carapace growing over
The amount of carapace and where it forms is dependent on the form the singer is in, for example, in warform it manifests as
=== Circulatory System ===
Singers have orange blood.{{book ref|sa3|38}}
=== Endoskeleton ===
=== Gemhearts ===
Like many local species in the Rosharan biosphere, singers possess [[gemheart]]s, though theirs have a cloudy white coloration, and are fused to and grown into their sternum.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}}{{wob ref|9353}} Those gemhearts allow them to bond with [[spren]], letting them change their '''forms''', leading to a change in both appearance and some mental faculty.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}} Due to their gemhearts, singers do not leak [[Lights]] like humans do.{{book ref|sa4|31}}
The gemheart forms due to the internal chemical workings of the body, which uses the nutrients and chemicals present in crem in order to form the gemheart.{{wob ref|756}}{{wob ref|13335}}
=== Height ===
Due to Roshar's relatively low gravity, they are relatively tall compared to humans from other planets, averaging at over six feet (1.83 metres).{{cite}} Their height varies between forms, with forms such as Warform being taller and bulkier than other forms,{{book ref|sa3|37}}{{book ref|sa4|68}} and with envoyform being even taller than warform and Alethi humans.{{book ref|sa3|37}}{{book ref|sa4|68}}{{book ref|sa4|31}}{{book ref|sa3|109}}{{book ref|sa4|11}}{{book ref|sa3|i|7}}
=== Mandible and Molar
Their teeth are built differently than human teeth; their back molars allow them to chew through shells, their dental formula is unknown, but is likely divergent from the dental formula of ''homo sapiens''.{{wob ref|2778}}{{wob ref|5782}} Their ability to crush shells is further assisted by a divergent mandible structure, with several bones not present in human mandibles, situated near the back of the structure.{{wob ref|3922}}
=== Metabolism and Diet ===
Their metabolism is geared towards metabolizing shells, which their jaw structure helps them to crush, allowing them to make better use of the local fauna.{{wob ref|2778}}
Singers can drink crem without getting sick.{{wob ref|11570}}
=== Ocular Structure ===
They have two eyes set in orbital cavities.{{cite}}<!--- Add the figure art for Kaladin with the skeletal armor once uploaded---> They are divergent from the eyes of ''homo sapiens'' -
=== Sexes and reproduction ===
Singers possess four distinct sexes; male and female, which are capable of reproduction, and their neutered variants, '''malen''' and '''femalen'''.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}} Singers' sex will change from between male and malen, or female and femalen, as they change forms; the vast majority of forms are either malen or femalen. As such, most singers are asexual the vast majority of the time.{{wob ref|3400}}{{wob ref|3388}} Singers usually identify as one of those four genders as well, though some identify with a non-quaternary gender and singer culture recognizes at least one non-quaternary gender.{{wob ref|11152}}
Singers cannot switch between male and female or malen and femalen by biological means, though it is possible to do so through Invested means.{{cite}} Their sex-determination system is unknown, and following from the inability to switch between male and female, ultimately decides between two sexes, despite their tetramorphism.{{wob ref|3922}}{{wob ref|5782}}
==== Interspecies Breeding and Introgression ====
The listeners lived on in the [[Shattered Plains]] for the next few millennia, forming a number of tribes settled in the craters around the western edge of the Plains. Eventually, they made contact with the Alethi and, through diplomatic efforts, forged a treaty. However, on the night the treaty was to be signed, the listener [[Eshonai]] learned about King [[Gavilar]]'s plans to return the "listener gods" -- the [[Fused]] -- to Roshar. Fearing the consequences, the listeners arranged for Gavilar to be assassinated.{{book ref|sa3|prologue}} As a result, they were forced to flee, abandoning their homes for the more distant plateau of [[Narak]] right as humans arrived to exact vengeance. Thus began the [[War of Reckoning]].{{book ref|sa2|i|4}}
After six years of constant warfare, the listeners, manipulated by one of the [[voidspren]], recovered stormform, one of
=== The new singers ===
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