Weeping

Weeping
Related to	Highstorms
Type	Weather pattern
World of Origin	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere

“ Never furious, never passionate like a highstorm. Slow, steady. Like the blood of a dying year that was taking its last few shambling steps toward the cairn. ”

— Kaladin's thoughts on the Weeping

The Weeping is a four-weeks-long period of time on Roshar marking the end of their five-hundred-day year. The singers call it the lull.

Description

by Sheep

In the weeks preceding the Weeping, highstorms grow more and more infrequent, before eventually stopping altogether. A few days after the last highstorm, the skies cloud over and it begins to rain. The rain continued ceaselessly for two weeks, until Lightday, the Rosharan New Year. On Lightday, one of two things happen. If the Lightday marks the start of an even-numbered year, the day will be calm - such years are called Light Years. At the start of odd-numbered years, the Weeping is instead interrupted by a hightorm. Following Lightday are two more weeks of constant rain. At the end of the Weeping, the highstorms return, albeit they are initially weaker than usual.

The Weepings are characterized by a slow, steady, unstopping rainfall that doesn't deposit crem. It doesn't feature any heavy winds or other extreme conditions generally found during a highstorm. The sky is perpetually overcast, bathing the land in twilight. Rainspren are commonplace.

Halfway between two Weepings in the year is Midpeace, a prolonged period of time with no highstorms.

Culture

The people of Roshar are used to the Weepings. While they do wear protective clothing, such as long coats and wide-brimmed hats, it's generally understood that everyone and everything will be utterly soaked throughout. Most Rosharans approach this stoically, weathering the rain while enjoying the break from the highstorms. Sometimes, they measure their age in Weepings, saying "sixteen Weepings old" or "hadn't reached her twentieth Weeping".

In the Vorin religion, the Weepings is supposed to be the time for self-reflection and contemplating the Almighty. In Yeddaw, the Weeping is celebrated by eating the city's ten famous pancakes. Urithiru, in turn, isn't affected by the Weepings, as the tower stands far above the clouds.

The prolonged period of no highstorms leads to a lack of Stormlight. Rosharans try to preserve it throughout by using large, oversized gems capable of storing vast amounts of it, with a particular, multi-faceted cut. Despite that, few gemstones make it to the next highstorm still infused. A perfect gemstone could keep Stormlight for that long, but those are extremely rare.

Military

The peace of the Weeping is utilized by the various Rosharan generals. The lack of highstorms allows for greater mobility, as the army does not require stormshelters during that time, allowing them to resupply and quickly cross large distances. Among others, Alethi armies sometimes set out on shot military excursions during thr weeping to take advantage of this. Fighting itself, however, is made more difficult during the Weeping -- among others, the rain makes it difficult to employ archers.

Industry

Farmers generally don't work during the Weeping, as any seeds or seed-paste planted during that time would be washed away by constant rain, and some plants might even die from excess water. The period of calm highstorms directly following, however, is a prime time for planting. In contrast, fishermen work especially hard during the Weepings, as their ships are constantly filling up with water.

In some places, the Weeping is harnessed for cleaning and washing areas that would normally be too difficult or time-consuming to tidy up.

Notes

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