Difference between revisions of "Roshar"

'''Roshar''' is the native name for the planet on which ''[[The Stormlight Archive]]'' is set. It is also the name of the supercontinent on which the main events of the series take place.{{wob ref|1128}}. People from Roshar are called Rosharans.{{wob ref|1075}}

Mammals dwell mostly in Shinovar, though a few species have been successfully exported east. Those include horses, which are widely used as far east as Alethkar, and hogs, which are the primary source of non-Soulcast meat. While most mammals are domesticated, hogs, as well as minks and rats,{{book ref|sa1|3}} can be found in the wild. Several species of birds are known to exist, although they are all known as "chickens" among Rosharans. This includes actual chickens as well as more colourfulcolorful birds, such as parrots. In contrast to mammals, they do not seem to do well in the wild, as all examples observed so far are domesticated. Amphibians, such as the [[lurg]] can also be found, as well as wide variety of fish, including both salt- and seawater ones. Cephalopods also exist, albeit with unusual properties - [[zatalef]], for example, is described as bat-like, implying the ability to fly.{{file ref|Alethi_Glyphs_Page_1.jpg}} A category without a clear Earth analogue are [[sarpenthyn]], which appear to be similar to both mollusks and cephalopods, albeit without shells and with smaller number of arms.{{book ref|sa2|55}}

One of the largest crustacean family are [[cremling]]s, a group of tiny, multi-legged scavengers preying mostly on deceased animals, although they will also feed on uncovered plants after highstorms. Cremlings come in variety of colourscolors, with different features, numbers of legs, and behaviours. While most are individuals, some are part of the [[Sleepless]] swarms, and as such share a sentient hivemind. The [[Sleepless]] cremlings are bred for particular purposes, such as imitating human body parts.

Due to the presence of the Shard [[Cultivation]], the creatures on Roshar have higher chance of developing sapience.{{wob ref|2792}} So far, behaviour indicating sapience has been observed with three species, [[Ryshadium]] horses, [[Tai-na]] and [[Santhidsanthid]]syn, all of which appear to have above average understanding of humans.

Unlike Earth wines, on Roshar the term refers to a number of alcoholic drinks, only a small subset of which are made of fermented fruit. The use of the term "wine" is the result of linguistic shift, much in the same way that all birds became [[chicken]]s and all small crustaceans became [[cremling]]s.{{wob ref|3978}} The alcohols that fall under the term "wine" are categorized by strength and colourcolor, with different colourscolors denoting different alcohol content. Additionally, the stronger "wines" are actually distilled spirits{{wob ref|12920}}.

Within those colourscolors, a number of different wines exist - for example, among the sapphire varieties are {{anchor|kimik}}'''kimik''', {{anchor|vari}}'''vari''' and {{anchor|Veden saph}}'''Veden saph'''.{{book ref|sa3|18}} While generally the wine colors are standardized, they gain their color by intentional colored infusions, and are occasionally made without them.

[[Vorinism|Vorin]] parties typically involve wine of the weakest colourscolors, watered down to prevent the participants from getting drunk too quickly.{{book ref|sa3|18}} Sapphire appears to be the strongest colourcolor imbibed casually, and the phrase "to be in (someone)'s violets" refers to a person being heavily, perhaps dangerously drunk.

Like most processes on Roshar, the act of drinking has its own dedicated [[spren]]. Winespren, or [[Spren#Alespren|alespren]], appear near people who are heavily intoxicated, taking form of small bubbles clinging to nearby objects. They are considered quite rare or even nonexistent, as they require a person to be deeply drunk before they appear, which can also lead to the assumption that an alespren sighting was simply a drunken hallucination; however, both [[Axies]] and [[Nazh]] attest to their existence.{{book ref|sa1|i|5}}{{file ref|Rosharan Wines.jpg|Rosharan Wines}}

{{image|Sea_of_Lost_Lights.jpg|side=leftright|width=200px|A map showing some of the spren cities in [[Shadesmar]].}}

After the events of the [[Recreance]], spren have mixed opinions of humans. honorsprenHonorspren, [[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.