Lait

Lait
by Ben McSweeney
World	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere

Laits are areas of Roshar that are protected from highstorms by rock cliffs or outcroppings.

Characteristics

True laits are not susceptible to rapid erosion and last for many years. Although laits vary widely in size, the rock formations at the top must be at a certain angle to provide effective shelter. Crem buildup may actually increase the effectiveness of a lait. Laits have good drainage that prevent flooding from storms. Flora and fauna tend to be abundant in laits, due to the protection that they provide. Laits all face in the same direction due to the consistent path of highstorms; Kaladin realizes that this strength is actually a weakness in the face of the Everstorm.

Use

Many settlements are built in the protection of massive laits, including Kharbranth and Bornwater. Laits are desirable places to live, and sometimes attract wealthy residents. Laits have been used as natural shelter for many millenia; the town where Heb and his family lived during the Heraldic Epochs was situated in a lait.

Legend holds that Kharbranth's bells were first erected to alert people to the arrival of a highstorm because the city's lait provides such effective shelter. Szeth remarks that people from eastern Roshar engineer their houses to deflect highstorms out of habit, even within a lait.

The Fourth Bridge took shelter in large laits during breaks in its endurance testing over the Steamwater Ocean.

Trivia

• The term "lait" is a transliteration, rather than translation, of the Rosharan name for a place where the storms are blocked. Lait is also presumably used as a transliteration from the Listener language, as Eshonai uses the same term.

Notes

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