Difference between revisions of "Singer"

--><br/>They gave their Surges to human heirs,<!--

--><br/>But not to those who know them most dear, before us.<!--

--><br/>’Tis no surprise we turned away<!--

--><br/>Unto the gods we spent our days<!--

--><br/>And to become their molding clay, they changed us.

The '''singers''' are athe most common and widespread sapient species on [[Roshar]],.{{book ref|sa3|54}}{{book ref|sa3|106}} whichThe humansAlethi callrefer theto them as '''parsh'''{{epigraph ref|sa3|77}} or '''parshmen'''.{{book ref|sa1|3}} OneThey suchare groupnative Rosharan lifeforms{{book ref|sa3|111}} characterized by their bipedalism, carapace, high intelligence, tetramorphic sexual paradigm, and the presence of singersa gemheart they can use to create symbiotic bonds with spren, which has a significant impact on both their biology and cognition. They are thehighly [[listener]]ssocial animals capable of forming complex social structures and civilizations, with complex institutions defining their social interactions.

Singers predate the humans as inhabitants of Roshar.{{book ref|sa3|111}} Around the time of the [[Recreance]],{{epigraph ref|sa3|81}} many of the singers had their [[Connection]] and [[Identity]] stolen, pieces of their souls ripped away.{{book ref|sa3|17}} This made those singers docile and subservient, which humans called parshmen and used as slavesenslaved for millennia laterafter.{{book ref|sa1|72}} With the advent of the [[Everstorm]], these singers were healed and restored.{{book ref|sa3|17}}

Singers possess four distinct sexes; male and female, which are capable of reproduction, and their neutered variants, '''malen''' and '''femalen'''.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}} Singers' sex will change from between male and malen, or female and femalen, as they change forms; the vast majority of forms are either malen or femalen. As such, most singers are asexual the vast majority of the time.{{wob ref|3400}}{{wob ref|3388}} Singers usually identify as one of those four genders as well, though some identify with a non-binaryquaternary gender and singer culture recognizes at least one non-binaryquaternary gender.{{wob ref|11152}}

These forms are mentioned in the listener [[Song of Listing]]. After the [[Recreance]] and before the [[True Desolation]], when the only singers who could think clearly were the [[listener]]s, the listeners only discovered five forms: dullform, mateform, warform, workform, and nimbleform. When the [[Everstorm]] arrived and healed the other singers, singers held these forms and other common forms the listeners could not reproduce, such as artform and scholarform, and had a "dozen" options.{{book ref|sa3|I|7}}

Singer children are born in dullform, though for them, it is more vibrant and less cloudy; a property it loses as the singer ages.{{book ref|sa4|68}} The listeners call this subtype of dullform "childform".{{wob ref|14067}} They need to take another form around the age of seven or eight.{{book ref|sa4|68}}

Warform gives listeners an armor-like carapace, and makes them taller and bulkier than other forms.{{book ref|sa3|37}}{{book Itref|sa4|68}} alsoThe carapace armor is designed to trap air and push it up underneath to cool the singer.{{book ref|sa4|81}} It grants them vastly increased strength; a singer in warform can leap over a chasm of the [[Shattered Plains]] with a running start.{{book ref|sa2|i|5}} Stamina is greatly increased, allowing singers to run for hours without strain.{{book ref|sa4|81}} It also deepens their voice.{{book ref|sa4|68}} Out of all the forms known to the listeners, warform requires the most food, but is also the most durable, and a warform singer heals faster than they would in any other form.{{book ref|sa2|i|4}}{{book ref|sa4|81}} Mentally, the warform has less impact than most others; it makes one more pragmatic and slightly more inclined towards violence.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}}{{book ref|sa2|i|11}} It also severely hampers artistic ability, and is not well-equipped to handle abstractions.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}} Singers in warform are bonded with [[Spren#Painspren|painspren]].{{book ref|sa4|68}}

Workform endows increased strength, though it lacks the armor; rather, singers in workform are limber and rugged. It's better suited for labor, and most workers use it; however, it is also sometimes used when fighting.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}}{{book ref|sa3|115}} Singers in workform have carapace in ridges along the backs of their hands, and no carapace on the rest of their body.{{book ref|sa4|62}} They are also fairly resistant to cold weather.{{book ref|sa4|68}} While in workform, singers are more obedient, and have greater difficulty committing violence, forcing one to find peaceful solutions to various problems.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}}{{book ref|sa2|i|11}} It's also considered more flexible than warform.{{book ref|sa3|prologue}} Singers in workform are bonded with [[Spren#Gravitationspren|gravitationspren]].{{book ref|sa4|11}}

This form was rediscovered by the singers during the [[War of Reckoning]], through research led by [[Venli]].{{book ref|sa2|i|1}} SingersIt bondedis topossible that a bond with a windspren is what allows singers to enter nimbleform.{{book ref|sa4|73}} During the [[True Desolation]], most liberated singers wore either it or workform.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}}

Little is known about mediationform; it appears to bestow improved speech capabilities, or better ability to convince or bestow information upon others.{{epigraph ref|sa2|21}} Singers in mediationform have smooth, beautiful carapace, and open faces.{{book ref|sa4|51}} The head researcher of the listeners, [[Venli]], claimed that she was looking for it throughout the [[War of Reckoning]], but in reality, she either quickly pivoted to searching for [[stormform]] or never truly attempted to rediscover mediationform in the first place, instead searching for stormform.{{book ref|sa2|i|4}}

|[[Sah]] to Kaladin on their respective forms of slavery{{book ref|sa3|17}}

Singers are connected to rhythms, the underlying "beats" of the [[cosmere]] that manifest particularly strongly on [[Roshar]].{{wob ref|7414}}{{book ref|sa2|i|1}} There are numerous rhythms, and singers can attune to any one of them. Each rhythm represents a certain state of mind, emotion or feeling; when not paying attention, singers will attune to the rhythm that corresponds to their mood, but can also attune another to fit with their message. This attuning manifests as hearing the beat of the rhythm in one's head.{{book ref|sa2|i|4}} All rhythms connect the singers to each other and [[Roshar]] itself.{{wob ref|13451}} This, and their regular nature, allows the singers to use the rhythms for measuring time, among others.{{book ref|sa2|i|4}}{{book ref|sa4|74}}

[[Soother]]s can affect singer rhythms and may dampen Odium's influence.{{wob ref|8424}} Singers with the Third [[Heightening]] would be able to sing Pure Tones of planets other than Roshar, and could potentially do this before the Third Heightening.{{wob ref|15851}}

After six years of constant warfare, the listeners, manipulated by one of the [[voidspren]], recovered stormform, one of [[Regal]]the forms of power. Spurred on by its mental state, they planned to summon the [[Everstorm]], which they succeeded at during the [[Battle of Narak]].{{book ref|sa2|85}} As it passed over Roshar, the Everstorm restored all parshmen, healing their [[Connection]] and [[Identity]].{{book ref|sa3|17}}

The newly restored singers assumed seemingly random forms.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} Their attitudes were similar to those of the humans they spent their entire lives around -- the [[Alethi]] singers were angry and warlike, the [[Azish]] singers wished to negotiate with the government, and the [[Thaylen]] singers stole ships and sailed away. Most of them, however, were quickly swept up by the [[Fused]], who havehad returned and seeksought to create new armies with which to conquer Roshar.{{book ref|sa3|65}}

To make these new singers more combat-ready, the Fused employed not only their natural anger at their former oppressors, but also hefty amounts of propaganda, most notably using the supposedly last [[listener]], [[Venli]], as their mouthpiece.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} However, many singers arewere still apprehensive about fighting humans, and some outright wishwished that peace was an option.{{book ref|sa3|121}} Some singers used the term ''essai'' to describe a human supporter (though the actual translation means "hairy").{{book ref|sa4|60}}

* Singer gemhearts are related to Tamu Keks, a type of bone from ''[[Dragonsteel Prime]]''.{{wob ref|10319}}