Difference between revisions of "Listener"

The '''listeners''', called the '''Parshendi''' by the [[Alethi]], are a [[singer]] ethnic group on [[Roshar]]. By the end of the [[War of Reckoning]] in the Vorin year {{rosharan date|1174}}, they had a population of around 37thirty-seven thousand individuals.{{book ref|sa2|i|11}}

Prior to the [[True Desolation]], they livedlive in eastern Roshar, near the [[Shattered Plains]]. During the [[War of Reckoning]], they inhabitedinhabit the city of [[Narak]], but after the arrival of the [[Everstorm]] and the start of the [[True Desolation]], the remaining listeners leftleave Narak, and begin roaming around on the Shattered plainsPlains.

The listeners used to live in the [[Unclaimed Hills]], very close to the [[Shattered Plains]]. Some listener [[Listener#Families|families]] occupied the circular craters near the western edge of the plains, while others spent their lives living in the wilderness around these craters. Many listeners believe that the wilderniswilderness should remain uncharted, left to [[greatshell]]s and [[spren]], although others strongly disagree with this.{{book ref|Sa4|45}} It is likely because of this attitude that the listeners know very little about the world and the wilderniswilderness beyond their cities.

|Narak by Connor Chamberlain.jpg|side=right|width=350px|[[Narak]], the home of the Listenerslisteners during the [[War of Reckoning]]}}

After the assassination of King [[Gavilar Kholin]], the listeners fled to the Shattered Plains, after this event they beganand inhabitinginhabited the city of [[Stormseat|Narak]].{{book ref|WoR|i|1}} After the end of the [[War of Reckoning|war]] and the [[Battle of Narak]], the remaining listeners roamed around the Shattered Plains for a while.{{book ref|Sa2|i|1}}{{book ref|Sa4|115}}

The listeners cultivate multiple plant species. They grow and eat grain from a certain type of [[rockbud]].{{book ref|sa4|62}} They also use the dried pulp from a species of rockbud to make paper.{{book ref|sa4|45}} The listeners also grow and prune Shalebark[[shalebark]], although they mostly do this for decoration.{{book ref|Sa2|i|4}} They also eat mushrooms, which they gather in the forests near the Shattered Plains.{{book ref|Sa4|45}}

The listeners also use a technique unknown to other Rosharans to make their crops grow faster. This technique involves stormlightStormlight, music (specifically one of the [[Rhythm]]s), and [[lifespren]]. This technique also drains Stormlight from the used gemstones, and can even crack them in a way very similar to a that of a [[fabrial]].{{book ref|sa4|15}}

==== Animal husbandryHusbandry and Hunting ====

They also practice animal husbandry and hunting. They are known to have domesticated [[chull]]s. They also keep hogs, which are herded around by groups of listeners,;{{book ref|sa4|62}} because of this, they have access to hogsmeat and hogshide leather.{{book ref|Sa4|48}}

The listeners also hunt [[chasmfiend]]s, although they only do this during certain seasons.{{book ref|Sa4|48}} The listeners wereare willing to share the chasmfiends with the Alethi, believing that anyone who wentgoes through the trouble of killing the beast wasis entitled to its corpse.{{book ref|sa1|36}} During a [[greatshell]] hunt, multiple families band together and use their [[Shardwielding|Shards]] to kill the animal. The listeners then share the corpse and [[gemheart]] with eachothereach other, and a feast ensues.{{book ref|sa4|68}}

The listeners are ruled by five individuals, collectively known as the Council of Five, or simply the Five. Before the listener families unified, each family had their own Five, but after their unification the listeners accepted the rule of a single Five.{{book ref|Sa4|45}} It is unknown how these five listeners are chosen. The Five seem to have absolute authority over the listeners, although any decision needs at least a majority among the Five before it can be put into action.{{book ref|Sa2|i|4}} The duties of the Five are very diverse, from approving ideas to planning attacks on other families.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}}{{book ref|sa4|45}} At least some professions have leaders whose authorities exist outside of that of the Five. One such listener is [[Denshil]], who serves as the Listenerlistener head of farming.{{book ref|Sa4|86}}

=== Foreign Policy and International relationshipRelationships ===

The listeners have a very rockyhostile relationship with the [[Alethkar|Alethi]], though their relationship was originally more amicable. The Alethi were the first humans to be discovered by the listeners.{{book ref|sa4|45}} After a couple of expeditions, the Alethi wished to formaliseformalize their relationship. The listeners agreed, and a treaty was signed.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} This treaty contained clauses to simplify trade between the peoples and for mutual border crossing. The treaty also prevented the listeners from trading their Shards to other kingdoms without first coming to Alethkar. Besides these clauses, the treaty also allowed for one party to legally attack the other party.{{book ref|sa4|77}}

After the Alethi king [[Gavilar]] revealed to one of the listeners, [[Eshonai]], that he was going to return their gods, the listeners decided to assassinate him.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} The assassination attempt was successful, and the Alethi highprinces [[Vengeance Pact|swore]] to destroy the listeners. This started the [[War of Reckoning]], a war between the Alethi and the listeners. The War of Reckoningwhich went on for six years and eventually ended in the [[Battle of Narak]].{{book ref|sa2|81}}

Listener soldiers use Warformwarform, thiswhich grants them strong carapace armor as well as increased strength.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}} Though not as strong or resilient as someone with Shardplate, warform listeners are a real threat to regular human soldiers. Their strength allows them to use heavy weapons like battleaxes, hammers, spears, and sometimes clubs or swords.{{book ref|sa1|40}}{{book ref|Sa4|45}} They are also capable of jumping far enough to cross the chasms on the [[Shattered Plains]].{{book ref|sa1|27}} Most of the steel weapons owned by the listeners are either of [[Alethkar|Alethi]] origin or have been passed down from parent to child starting at the abandonment of the old gods.{{book ref|Sa4|81}} The listeners are also fond of bows, which are made from horn,{{book ref|sa1|55}} and two-handed slings,{{book ref|sa1|65}} although bows were viewed as to deadly to wield against other listeners.{{book ref|sa4|68}} Some listeners carry large shields called [[stormshield]]s when going out into a highstorm, however it is unknown if this type of shield is also used in combat.{{book ref|Sa4|88}} It is considered the duty of each warrior to care for his ancient weapon and make his own arrows.{{book ref|Sa4|45}}

The listeners’listeners' warfare used to be highly ritualistic, with little to no actual combat and deaths.{{book ref|sa4|68}} They would only fight to capture one of the cities on the western edge of the Shattered Plains,; any family that attacks for a different reason would immediately be shunned by the other families.{{book ref|sa4|45}} There were different times wherewhen traditions were broken and battles turned into horrible massacres.{{book ref|sa4|68}} Their tactics changed significantly during the [[War of Reckoning]], although some aspects of their original tactics remained. These changes were likely made by the listener general, [[Eshonai]].

The listeners would often attack shortly before or after a storm came.{{book ref|Sa4|45}}{{book ref|sa4|68}} They used drums to warn allies and enemies of an upcoming battle. The preparations for a battle would mostly be made up of where to put which warriors and what boasts to yell.{{book ref|sa4|45}} These battles often started with the participants yelling boasts, insults, and challenges at each other. After that, both families would take turns throwing spears at each other,. whenWhen someone was hit, their family might withdraw, but if they didn’tdidn't, both sides would move on to close combat.{{book ref|sa4|68}}

A notable aspect of the listeners' new combat strategy is their use of '''warpairs''',{{book ref|sa1|26}}, pairs of warriors who fight side by side as partners. These listener warpairs move around the battlefield in coordinated maneuvers and attack enemy troops with heavy weapons from multiple directions.{{book ref|sa1|28}} Each warpair also carries different weapons. A warpair is generally made up of a manmalen and a womanfemalen listener.{{book ref|sa1|56}} The listeners also use shortbows to harry and weaken their enemies.{{book ref|sa1|17}} The listeners have at times executed raids during a highstorm.{{book ref|sa2|i|5}}

==== OrganisationOrganization and Hierarchy ====

The listener army is divided into multiple divisions, each aone hundred and twenty-eight in number. These divisions have their own name, and may sometimes be made up of of different forms entirely,. anAn example of this is the Storm divisionDivision, a division made entirely of Stormforms.{{book ref|Sa2|i|11}} Some of these divisions may join into a single army, called a warband.{{book ref|Sa4|86}} During wartime the listeners also have many warpair scouts, usually from a single division, roaming around, searching for any sign of their enemies. Near the end of the War of Reckoning the entire army was around seventeen thousand listeners, or roughly 133one hundred and thirty-three divisions, strong.{{book ref|Sa2|i|11}}

The listener military is commanded by a general, also called a warleader, who is also the warform representative in the [[Council of Five]]. During the [[War of Reckoning]] [[Eshonai]] served as general.{{book ref|sa2|i|4}} Beneath the general are a number of lieutenants,. itIt is likely that these lieutenants control a division each.{{book ref|Sa2|i|11}}

Listeners wear a wide variety of clothing. They are often seen wearing robes,{{book ref|sa4|73}} shirts, skirts, and coats.{{book ref|sa4|68}} When listeners go out into a highstorm to adopt a new form, they often wear loose robes. This is likely so that their clothes don’tdon't get ripped apart during the transformation of their body.{{book ref|Sa4|86}} Their clothes are all made from woven [[narbin]] cloth.{{book ref|sa1|45}} Listener men weave bits of uncut gemstones in their beard, these gemstones come from the [[gemheart]]s of chasmfiends[[chasmfiend]]s in their beard.{{book ref|sa1|36}} Members of each family all wear different gemstones, so a listener can recogniserecognize what family someone belongs to just by looking at the gemstones in their beard.{{book ref|Sa4|73}} They also wear bands on their braids, and members of different families also have differently colored bands.{{book ref|Sa4|73}}

Due to their history, the listeners greatly value their freedom. Because of their fear of the gods, and their ancestors’ancestors' sacrifice, the listeners decideddecide to assassinate kingKing Gavilar of Alethkar. AlthoughHowever, during the resulting war many listeners stoppedstop caring about their origins. It is also important to the listeners that everyone can choose their own form, and the [[Council of Five|Five]] cannot command people to choose a form.{{book ref|Sa2|i|4}}{{book ref|Sa2|i|11}} Some listeners hate trapping spren, insteadand theyinstead prefer to go out into the highstorms themselves and attract the proper spren.{{book ref|Sa2|i|8}}

==== Funerary PractisesPractices ====

The listeners revere their dead, even going so far as to endanger the living to preserve the corpses of the fallen. For example, they would take roundabout paths of attack to avoid their fallen while fighting on a battlefield.{{book ref|sa1|57}} They find it horrible to touch their dead, and will fervently attack anyone who does so.{{book ref|sa1|56}}{{book ref|sa1|62}} Listeners also consider their gemhearts sacred and personal.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}}

In order to remember their history and important skills the listeners rememberedremember them via songs, each to the beat of a different rhythmRhythm of Roshar. The listeners also hadhave songs about human [[Surgebinding|Surgebinders]].{{book ref|Sa4|86}} These songs were practiced and preserved by a Keeper of Songs. The known songs are as follows:

Prior to the [[True Desolation]] the listeners wereare technologically behind the rest of [[Roshar]]. They livedlive in huts made from hardened [[crem]] over frames of shell, which wereare huddled on the leeward side of lumps of stone to protect them from [[highstorm]]s.{{book ref|WoR|i|4}} These buildings wereare fragile and would often be destroyed by highstorms, although the listeners would simply rebuild them.{{book ref|WoK|45}} The listeners also livedlive in hogshide tents.{{book ref|Sa4|45}} The Shattered Plains containedcontain a large number of listener bridges, which wereare flimsy and made of wood and rope.{{book ref|Sa4|48}} These bridges were likely destroyed during the War of Reckoning. They furnish their houses with woven mats and painted banners.{{book ref|sa4|62}}

When a highstorm is close, the people prepare their homes, thisan action which includes stuffing rags under their doors, shoving bracing boards into position, and pounding large wooden blocks into their open windows. Before the start of the War of Reckoning, some of the listener families occupiedoccupy the 10ten circular craters near the western edge of the plains, but; they wereare eventually forced to move to the center of the Shattered Plains.{{book ref|WoR|i|1}}

The listeners have their own unique way of making paper. They make the paper from dried [[rockbud]] pulp following a harvest.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}} These rockbuds are native to the unclaimedUnclaimed hillsHills and shatteredShattered plainsPlains. Their paper is much rougher then human paper and varies in Colorcolor. Their paper is also textured and full instead of neat and sterile.{{book ref|WoR|i|4}} They also have a [[Song of Making Paper|song]] describing the process., Thiswhich ensures that the listeners never forget how to make it.{{book ref|sa4|45}}

The listeners make music using drums. These drums are considered crude thingsby the Alethi, made of hogshide leather and wood. The sides of these drums are stamped with crude hand prints.{{book ref|sa1|45}} The listeners often play their drums in a quick rhythm.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} It is likely that the listeners beat the drums to one of the [[Rhythm]]s.

One day the Last Legion, or at least some members of the Last Legion, four hundred strong,{{book ref|Sa4|73}} fled, leaving the forms of power for dullform. Despite being thus crippled, it would leadled to freedom from their gods. These listeners composed many songs to remember their history and forms, such as the [[Song of Listing]], [[Song of Secrets]], and [[Song of Histories]] because they risked forgetting everything. They had only known how to transform into forms other than dullform and mateform with the help of gods.{{book ref|sa2|i|4}} Modern-day listeners callcalled this period "the long sleep." {{book ref|sa4|48}}{{ref|group=fn|text=Since the listeners recall this story about throwing off the Fused, this event must have occurred prior to or around the time of [[Aharietiam]], the Last Desolation, as the Fused were trapped in [[Damnation]] for four and a half millennia after that point.}}

To modern humans, the listeners were originally discovered by the Alethi [[Gavilar|King [[Gavilar]]'s brother [[Dalinar Kholin]] during a hunting trip in {{rosharan date|1166}}.{{book ref|sa1|28}}{{book ref|sa1|45}}{{book ref|sa4|45}} Dalinar was scouting in a forest that wasn't on any maps, in a valley south of the [[Shattered Plains]] and about two weeks' march from the [[Drying Sea]]. There, he found Eshonai, exploring.{{book ref|sa3|prologue}}{{book ref|sa4|45}} She led the humans to her family's camp. In that same day, [[Venli]] had discovered that [[painspren]] may be the key to discovering warform, but her discovery was overshadowed by her sister's.{{book ref|sa1sa4|2868}}

At first, the Council of Five only let a few listeners come to meet the Alethi, afraid of frightening them. Slowly, some of the listeners, including Eshonai, began to learn the Alethi language. The Alethi were very interested in the listener's ancient weapons and in the chasmfiends. Due to a mistake in translation, the Alethi started believing that the listeners worshipped the chasmfiends.{{book ref|sa4|48}} The listeners were very intrigued by the Alethi's parshmen, believing they had no souls.{{book ref|sa4|52}} The Alethi called the listeners the "Parshendi"," or ''parshmen who can think''.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} They gave many steel weapons to Eshonai's family, wanting them to take one of the cities at the edge of the Plains.{{book ref|sa4|48}}

In the next human visit, Eshonai and Venli's family had already taken one of the cities at the border of the Shattered Plains. Venli had made no more progress in discovering warform. One of the Alethi, [[Axindweth]], gave a gemstone to Venli with [[Ulim]] trapped inside, saying it might help her cure her mother, [[Jaxlim]].{{book ref|sa4|52}} Venli broke the gemstone, and started talking with Ulim.{{book ref|sa4|57}} Ulim helped Venli cut a gemstone so that it glowed more brightly, and trap a painspren in it.{{book ref|sa4|62}} She made about two dozen gemstones with painspren, and gave them forto listeners to adopt warform. One of those was Jaxlim, but since Jaxlim didn't adopt the proper mindset for the form, Eshonai, who was acompanying her, took the form instead.

After the storm in which they adopted warform, another family attacked them. So, theThe warform listeners and the family's Shardbearer went out and told them to unite with their family, in order to show the humans an united nation when they next came to the Shattered Plains.{{book ref|sa4|68}} They went to dozens of families with their proposal of unity, and they all gathered in the First-Rhythm’sRhythm family's city. Venli told Ulim to have his contacts among the humans make Gavilar bring listeners to the human cities, hoping to intimidate the other listeners and convince them to take forms of power.{{book ref|sa4|73}}

However, upon visiting the human cities, the listeners weren't intimidated; they liked the city, and enjoyed themselves there.{{book ref|sa4|77}} They signed a treaty with the humans in {{rosharan date|1167|9}}, and there was a party to celebrate it.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} That day, [[Nale]] approached Venli, saying that Gavilar was going to betray the listeners and that Venli had to assassinate the king to stop him. That gave Ulim the idea of killing the king to drive the humans to attack the listeners, to intimidate them.{{book ref|sa4|77}} At the same time, Gavilar indicated to Eshonai that he wanted to bring back the listener gods. Since the Council of Five feared their gods' return, they voted and decided to kill the king to stop him. Ulim had guided [[Klade]] to buy [[Szeth]], so they sent Szeth and he killed Gavilar.{{book ref|sa3|prologue}} The assassination led to the formation of the Alethi [[Vengeance Pact]] and caused the [[War of Reckoning]], a prolonged war between the listeners and the Alethi on the Shattered Plains.

Eshonai took the form, and when she returned to the Five, she proposed to transform every listener to stormform, to summon a storm against the Alethi. However, [[Zuln]] didn't agree, and she convinced [[Abronai]] to disagree as well. So, Eshonai went to the listeners and proclaimed that the Five could not forbid someone from taking a form if they wished to, and that she would take everyone who wished and transform them into stormform. She gathered the people that refused to transform, and put Thude to guard them. They fled into the chasms, and Eshonai let them, becausebelieving that they would be killed in the next highstorm.{{book ref|sa4|i|11}}

Odium used Venli to tell the story of the listeners to the new singers, to inspire them and show them that the people who summoned the Everstorm arewere singers like them, not beings of legend. Instructed by Odium, she painted the listeners as an heroic group, sacrificing themselves to free the enslaved singers, to be the foundation myth of Odium's growing empire.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} However, Odium also feared the listeners, as the people who had rebelled against him, so he stopped allowing Venli to answer questions and instructed her to tell her story in a specific way.{{book ref|sa3|i|12}}