Coppermind:Welcome/Featured Article/Purelake
Featured Article: Purelake[edit]
“The Purelake seemed to extend forever, wide as an ocean... Rock outcrops broke the lake near the coast, but inward the Purelake grew placid, more empty. ”
—Szeth's description of the Purelake
The Purelake is a shallow inland lake located in north central Roshar. The people of the region are known as Purelakers and are ethnically Selay.
The Purelake is influenced, in some way, by Cultivation, although it predates her. It is unknown if she has a secondary perpendicularity in the Purelake.
Geography[edit]
The Purelake is a large, shallow lake that is hundreds of miles wide. It is separated from the Reshi Sea by the nation of Marabethia. The Purelake borders the nations of Tu Bayla to the east, Yulay to the south, and Babatharnam to the west. In Shadesmar, the Purelake is a mountain range. The depth of the lake in the Physical Realm is not related to how it appears in the Cognitive.
The waters of the Purelake are warm and crystal-clear, and the surface typically calm and smooth despite the tides. The lake has an average depth of about midcalf, though at some spots it reaches depths of around six feet. These deepest spots likely coincide with the sinkholes in the lake. The lake bottom has small ridges and sharp ledges of rock, which can make walking through the Purelake precarious. Purelakers are skilled at navigating such terrain, knowing to test their footing before putting their weight down.
It is unknown what type of, if any, mineral deposits can be found around the lake.
Locations[edit]
Villages that can be found on the Purelake include:
It can be observed that the Selay word Fu is in some way related to settlements, as it appears in the names of all known Purelake settlements. The exact meaning of the word, however, is unknown.
Large structures have previously existed on the Purelake, though their continued existence is questioned by scholars. A large obsidian fortress once existed somewhere on the lake, prior to the Recreance, but it is believed to have been destroyed. Modern-day Purelakers still speak of large structures existing on the lake, although this is dismissed by those outside the region as mythology. This fortress is not related to the geography of the Purelake in the Cognitive Realm.
A Skybreaker compound sits along the northern edge of the Purelake, in Marabethia.