Difference between revisions of "Gemheart"

Chasmfiends have emerald gemhearts. The ability to Soulcast grain from them, combined with their relatively large size, makes Chasmfiendchasmfiend gemhearts extremely valuable. Because Chasmfiendschasmfiends are aggressive and extremely dangerous Greatshellsgreatshells that cannot be domesticated, humans resort to hunting for their chrysalises on the [[Shattered Plains]] most of the time.

The discovery of Chasmfiendschasmfiends containing such valuable gemhearts completely altered the [[War of Reckoning]]. Attempting to directly attack the [[Parshendi]] base, located far into the [[Shattered Plains]], was risky and expensive. However, when a Chasmfiendchasmfiend climbed onto a plateau to pupate, the [[highprince]]s and Parshendi alike would extend themselves to attempt to retrieve the gemheart of the resulting chrysalis. The [[highprince]]s all agreed that these periodic clashes suitably upheld the [[Vengeance Pact]], and the War of Reckoning effectively devolved into little more than a decade-long competition.

The hunting for chasmfiends to gain gemhearts will harm [[Roshar]]'s ecology in the long run.{{wob ref|1204}} The extinction or near-extinction of a Greatshellgreatshell species due to excessive hunting has happened before, as in the case of the [[lanceryn]]. In the case of the chasmfiends, the sudden drop in the number of juveniles that reach maturity, due to the hunting of chrysalises, have led to fewer chrysalises appearing over time. This is because the chrysalises are being hunted almost at a faster rate than the chasmfiend population could recover from given their slow growth and slow reproduction rate.{{book ref|sa2|49}}