Difference between revisions of "Roshar"

The rainwater in highstorms is laced with a sort of slurry called [[crem]]. When crem dries, it hardens into rock. Since the highstorms always sweep from east to west, crem builds up on the eastern side of anything that stays still and isn't regularly cleaned. Over time, the continent is very slowly shifting across the planet as the highstorms cause erosion of the eastern part and a build up on the western part.{{wob ref|4422}}

 

=== Climate ===

With the exception of [[Shinovar]] and the occasional well-sheltered [[lait]], all of Roshar is frequently ravaged by powerful [[highstorm]]s, massive hurricanes travelling from east to west. These storms come frequently and, though they do not appear to follow a simple pattern, [[stormwarden]]s are able to accurately predict their schedule through complex mathematics.{{book ref|WoR|31}} As a result, Shinovar is the only place on Roshar that has soil.{{book ref|WoK|i|4}}

 

===Spren===

{{for|Spren|more information about spren}}

 

 

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.

==== Flora ====

Rosharan flora had to adapt to several conditions not found on Earth or Earth-like worlds, such as the severe weather and scarcity of soil.

 

The largest family of plants on Roshar are the [[rockbud]]s. They are characterized by having a thick outer shell from which they take their name, and tendrils, which retract into the shell upon detecting danger. The Rosharan grass, which acts in this way, is likely another subspecies of rockbud, albeit close enough in appearance to Shin grass to retain the name. Similar mechanism has been developed by [[vinebud]]s, which grow from a sturdy, yet elastic stem and, rather than spreading their tendrils along the ground, waft them in the air, akin to anemones.{{file ref|Rockbuds.jpg|Shallan's sketchbook: Rockbuds}}

By contrast, several species of plant are noted to have detrimental effect on humans. Firemoss is known to be highly addictive, and [[blackbane]]'s leaves, once dried, are extremely poisonous. Eating shells of rockbuds is similarly known to be unhealthy, although the [[Unkalaki]] are capable of eating them without problems, likely thanks to their [[singer]] ancestry.{{wob ref|930}} While not all plants are edible, some, like [[breachtree]] and [[narbin]], are grown to make fabrics.{{book ref|sa1|25}}{{book ref|sa1|45}}

 

 

==== Fauna ====

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 colours, 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.

 

Other than the cremlings, Roshar also features a number of larger crustaceans that are nonetheless smaller than humans. This group includes predatory species, such as the [[axehound]], herbivores like [[axehind]], and near-cremling sized creatures like [[legger]]s and [[larkin]]s, as well as species that can be found on Earth, like crabs.{{book ref|sa3|63}} The larkins in particular are unusual for their flight, as well as the ability to pull Stormlight out of other creatures and absorb it.{{book ref|sa2|i|9}}

 

Humans fled to Roshar from [[Ashyn]], another planet in the [[Rosharan system]].{{wob ref|9464}} They had destroyed the planet using what Honor implied to be the [[dawnshard]]s.{{book ref|sa3|113}} Honor and Cultivation commanded the singers to take the humans in despite the forbidden powers they had relating to [[spren]] and [[Surge]]s{{epigraph ref|sa3|115}}{{epigraph ref|sa3|116}}, and they were given [[Shinovar]] to live in since Shinovar could support the plants and animals they brought.{{book ref|sa3|113}} With the humans came [[Odium]].{{epigraph ref|sa3|117}} The humans, possibly with Odium's influence, grew dissatisfied with what they were given. The conflict between the invading humans and the singers living on Roshar became the [[First Desolation]].{{book ref|sa3|111}}

 

 

=== The Heraldic Epochs ===

 

====Wines====

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 colour, with different colours denoting different alcohol content. Additionally, the stronger "wines" are actually distilled spirits{{wob ref|12920}}.

 

 

====Other Beverages====

Apart from wines, Roshar has a number of other alcoholic drinks. Among those is beer, of which the most popular variety appears to be [[mudbeer]], often drank to warm up.{{book ref|sa1|25}} Another drink is a liquor called [[honu]], which comes in several varieties that differ in strength.{{book ref|sa2|81}} Both beer and honu are made from [[lavis]] grain.{{book ref|sa3|121}}

 

Following the Everstorm, the previously lost Identity and Connection were restored to the parshmen, 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 becoming 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 culture 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}}

 

 

===Spren Society===

 

 

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}}

 

 

== Planetary System ==

{{for|Rosharan system}}

Roshar is the second planet from its sun{{au ref|Roshar}}. It has several notable heavenly bodies, including three moons. The first and smallest moon is violet '''Salas'''. The middle moon is '''Nomon''', which is a bright, pale blue. The final moon is '''Mishim''', which is smaller than Nomon and green. The Shin refer to the moons as the Three Sisters, and call each moon by its order, with Salas being the First Sister, Nomon the Second Sister and Mishim the Third Sister, while in [[Natanatan]], Nomon is considered to be male.{{book ref|sa3|67}} All three moons rise and fall in the same order every night and have highly unstable orbits, suggesting they were placed artificially.