Difference between revisions of "Roshar"

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Adding information on Spren and Singers
(Adding information on Spren and Singers)
 
The one consistent aspect of the Rosharan climate is the [[Weeping]]. The Weeping occurs every 500 days and consists of four weeks of steady crem-free rain. The middle day of those four weeks is known as the Lightday and alternates between being one clear day in the midst of the rain and being a high storm.{{book ref|WoR|46}} There are typically fewer highstorms in the weeks leading up to the Weeping. {{book ref|WoK|25}} The seasons following the weeping typically have weaker storms, making them good for farming.{{book ref|WoK|4}} Beyond this, the seasons are about as random as the highstorms. They can be roughly predicted by stormwardens, but only tend to last a few weeks and don't follow any obvious pattern. The characteristics of winter, spring, summer and autumn line up fairly well with what we expect from those seasons on Earth.{{book ref|WoK| 18}}{{book ref|WoK|4}}{{book ref|WoK|25}}{{book ref|WoK |54}}
 
===Spren===
[[File:Syl_caravan.jpg|right|250px|thumb|<small>By [[User:Sheep|Sheep]]</small> A [[Honorspren]] in the Physical Realm.]]
{{for|Spren|more information about spren}}
 
Among many factors that make Roshar unique among other [[Cosmere]] worlds is the overabundance of [[spren]]. Spren are small pieces of [[Investiture]] that have aquired sentience - and, in some cases, sapience - through the influence of Roshar's living creatures.{{book ref|sa2|3}} They are a mix of different [[Shard]]ic investiture, mainly [[Honor]] and [[Cultivation]], and exist mostly in the [[Cognitive Realm]].{{wob ref|11949}}{{book ref|sa2|1}} However, they can and will often become partially visible in the [[Physical Realm]], and some transition there entirely.
 
Three main groups of spren can be recognized. The nature spren correspond to various natural phenomena, such as [[Spren#Windspren | windspren]] or [[Spren#Flamespren |flamespren]], which appear in the presence of wind and fire respectively. Emotion spren are attracted to emotions, such as [[Spren#Fearspren | fearspren]] appearing when one is afraid or [[Spren#Gloryspren |gloryspren]] for people who feel intense pride.{{book ref|sa2|1}} However, a natural phenomenon or an emotion will not necessarily summon a spren, as they may not be present in the physical place's Cognitive equivalent.
 
The third group of spren are surgebinding spren. Those spren are all sentient, and have an organized society in the Cognitive Realm.{{book ref|sa2|1}} They transition to the Physical Realm only when searching for a prospective [[Knight Radiant]] to bond, as the shift robs them of most of their higher functions, which they reclaim through forming a [[Nahel bond]].{{book ref|sa1|4}} The surgebinding spren seem to represent higher concepts, such as honor for the [[Honorspren]] or truth and lies for [[Cryptic]]s.
 
In addition to those, there is a number of unique spren who are far more powerful than others. Among those is the [[Nightwatcher]], who can grant boons and curses; [[Stormfather]], who controls the [[highstorm]]s; and [[Cusicesh]] and [[Sibling]], whose exact nature is currently unclear.
 
=== Ecology ===
 
The denomination of spheres in eastern Roshar is weaker than in the west, with some people drilling holes in spheres to carry them on strings or using chunks of gemstone instead.{{book ref|sa2.5|6}}
 
===Singer society===
{{for|Singer|more information about the Singers}}
 
Though once the planet's dominant species, in the [[Era of Solitude]], the [[singer]]s have been subdued by humans. Majority of their species are [[Parshmen]], singers whose [[Identity]] and [[Connection]] have been stripped from them by the capture of [[Ba-Ado-Mishram]], rendering them mostly docile and wordlessly obedient.{{book ref|sa1|44}}{{epigraph ref|sa3|80}} The singer culture of old has only been preserved by the [[Last Legion]], or listeners, on the [[Shattered Plains]] - the last enclave of the non-[[Parshmen]] singers on Roshar - and the [[Fused]], spirits of long-dead singers, on [[Braize]].
 
Among the listeners, the Fused are considered gods - however, they are also highly dangerous to interact with, and the listeners have fled to what became the [[Shattered Plains]] to escape their influence. In the present day, they are ruled by the Five, a council composed of representatives of each form the listeners can assume. History and knowledge are passed down among them mostly in form of songs, set to the [[Singer#Rhythms | Rhythms]] that all singers can attune to.{{book ref|sa2|i|4}}
 
Following the [[Everstorm]], the Parshmen's Identity and Connection were restored, returning them to full sentience.{{book ref|sa3|10}} The listeners, on the other hand, were all but decimated, first by the storm and then by becomg possessed by the Fused, with only a small group escaping west.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} The current singer culture, such as it is, is mostly based around following the word of the Fused like gospel; however, the former Parshmen retain some of the qualities of their states of origin - for example, in [[Azir]] they attempted to sue the government for backpay, while in [[Thaylenah]], they took to the sea.{{book ref|sa3|121}}{{book ref|sa3|12}}
 
[[FILE:Sea_of_Lost_Lights.jpg|left|200px|thumb|A map showing some of the spren cities in [[Shadesmar]].]]
 
===Spren society===
 
Within [[Shadesmar]], the sentient spren have their own countries.{{book ref|sa2|1}} Among those is a [[Honorspren]] state, with its capital in the city of [[Lasting Integrity]] and a number of strongholds, as well as a [[Highspren]] country, and a city-state of the [[Cryptic]]s.{{book ref|sa3|102}}{{book ref|sa2|epilogue}}{{book ref|sa2|3}} There are also free cities, such as [[Celebrant]], where various spren intermingle. This includes [[Cultivationspren]], which, though ruled by a council called the [[Ring]], do not have holdings of their own.{{book ref|sa3|102}}{{book ref|sa2.5|2}}{{book ref|sa2.5|1}}
 
As the inversion of the [[Physical Realm]] and its supercontinent, Shadesmar is mostly composed of the sea of beads, with a number of narrow peninsulas and islands corresponding to Physical rivers and lakes.{{map ref|sea of lost lights}} As such, travel is done mostly by boat. Merchant and military ships, pulled by teams of harnessed [[Mandra]]s, traverse the vast spaces between the cities, ferrying goods, news and travellers.{{book ref|sa3|99}} Trade with lands outside of Roshar isn't unusual - in Celebrant, one may buy canned food (presumably from [[Scadrial]] or some worldhopper settlement) and [[Nalthis |Nalthian]] artwork. The price of various items is largely based on their permanence in the Cognitive Realm, with the most persistent objects selling for thousands of broams.{{book ref|sa3|102}}
 
The relationship between various spren kinds appears to have its own share of political turmoil. Several years prior to the [[Everstorm]], the Honorspren tried and failed to conquer the rest of Shadesmar, making the other spren unfriendly towards them. By contrast, Cryptics are generally understood to be unwilling to expand beyond their city; however, they are also widely considered to be uncomfortable company.{{book ref|sa3|47}}
 
After the events of the [[Recreance]], spren have mixed opinions of humans. Honorspren, [[Reachers]] and [[Inkspren]] are generally opposed to any attempt to restore contact, while Cultivationspren and Cryptics are supportive of new [[Nahel bond]]s, albeit cautiously so.
 
== Planetary System ==
Editors, Keepers
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