Roshar

Roshar is the planet on which the events of The Stormlight Archive primarily take place, and the name also refers specifically to the supercontinent that dominates its eastern hemisphere. A world of stone and storm, Roshar is shaped by the regular passage of the highstorms, colossal tempests that sweep from east to west and govern nearly every aspect of life, ecology, and culture upon the planet. It is one of the principal worlds of the Cosmere and the seat of the Shards Honor, Cultivation, and the splintered Odium.

Roshar is a world utterly unlike Earth. Its flora and fauna have evolved to survive the highstorms: plants withdraw into shells or rock when the storms approach, and most animals possess crustacean-like carapaces rather than skeletons of bone. The native Spren -- fragments of cognitive and divine power -- pervade the world and form the basis of Surgebinding and the bonds of the Knights Radiant.

Geography

The Rosharan supercontinent is roughly fan-shaped, with its eastern coast bearing the brunt of the highstorms and its western reaches, particularly the verdant valley of Shinovar, sheltered behind a great mountain range. Because the storms blow eastward, the eastern lands are scoured bare to stone, while soil and gentler weather accumulate in the west.

Major nations and regions include Alethkar, Jah Keved, Azir, Thaylenah and its capital Thaylen City, Kharbranth the city of bells, the island kingdom of Shinovar, the Reshi Isles, the Purelake, and the war-torn Shattered Plains. The ancient tower-city of Urithiru sits at the continent's heart, high in the mountains.

Cosmology

Roshar exists in three realms common to the Cosmere: the Physical Realm, the Cognitive Realm (known on Roshar as Shadesmar), and the Spiritual Realm. The planet has three moons -- Salas, Nomon, and Mishim -- and its people look eastward to The Origin, the mysterious place from which the highstorms are believed to come.

History

Roshar's deep history is marked by the Desolations, cataclysmic invasions by the Voidbringers and the Fused held back by the Heralds and the Oathpact. After the Recreance, when the Knights Radiant abandoned their oaths, the orders fell and their Shardblades and Shardplate became prized weapons of war. The events of the Archive concern the return of the Desolations and the rebirth of the Radiants.

Significance

As the convergence point of three Shards, Roshar is one of the most consequential worlds in the Cosmere, and the conflict between Honor, Cultivation, and Odium there has implications far beyond the planet itself.