DreamEternal Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Sentient just means self aware in this context. Dolphins are sentient for instance. They're not sapient though. Presumably santhids aren't either. Sorry, but... Presumably they can be both, most likely at least sentient, and have a small chance of being neither. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VoltCruelerz Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Sorry, but... Presumably they can be both, most likely at least sentient, and have a small chance of being neither. Perhaps I was unclear.. Humans: sentient and sapient Dolphins: sentient only Santhids: (probably) sentient only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vander Posted December 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Honestly i thought Santhids used their tentacles passively rather than actively, since they're just hanging in the water below they could catch a lot of plankton. Also if they're poisonous Santhids could catch some fish with them, while also functioniong as a defensive measure to predators. With the hard shell and (presumably) good vision and sentience, the santhids wouldn't be anythings prey as they can defend themselves so well with a hard shell, and the only soft part being coated in poison, just like some species of jellyfish. Also, I've wondered if Chasmfiends evolved from Santhids, presuming Rosharan life, as ours, began in the ocean. Santhids moving to shallow waters, or the waters becoming shallower, would lead to them developing shorter tentacles as the extra length would be worthless. As the Santhids moved (or got moved) closer to shore, their tentacles would be used for pushing along the bottom in shallower places, and their main food source would turn from plankton, to fish as the volume of water they could sweep got smaller, which caused them to develop a mouth to better ingest fish and the like. Some of the tentacles would then evolve into claws to catch and manipulate prey. As the tentacles got stronger to push along the bottom faster, and even shorter, they eventually got covered in shell to make them more rigid for easier movement. This would lead to santhids developing into amphibians as they have now essentially developed legs. As they are now on land they developed smaller eyes which are easier to shield against highstorms. On land they they developed to what we now call Chasmfiends. I don't know if Santhids have gemhearts but I don't think it's too far fetched to believe they do. What a Santhid does with stormlight I don't know. They could potentially be using it to gain knowledge through the cognitive realm and visiting Shadesmar, which would partly explain their sentience. A good theory, though personally feel that Santhids are just too different from Chasmfiends to be an evolutionary ancestor. Plus, IIRC, I think I remember Shallan and... Adolin? speculating about Chasmfiends and what they become after pupation is complete. I remember they spoke of a water-bound species which may have been relatives of Chasmfiends, or pupated ones. In either case, remember that the Chasmfiend is, basically, the "Caterpillar." We still don't know what they're like once matured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormgate Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Santhids are giant underwater Rosharian butterflies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vander Posted December 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Santhids are giant underwater Rosharian butterflies. ... Of course! This solves everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archibaldie Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 I completely forgot that chasmfiends are still just caterpillars. Sorry about that. Still, I do believe they are quite closely related. On another note, I do wonder what makes a Chasmfiend develop the four voiced screech they make. I presume it's like having 4 sets of vocal chords, which doesn't make any sense, unless their communication is extremely complex and requires those 4 different voices. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natc Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Maybe they have really fancy mating songs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle of the Forest Path Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Maybe they have really fancy mating songs? Like a one-person barbershop quartet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormgate Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Perhaps it has to do with Roshar's focus. The Listeners primarily gain power from their songs, even being noted in their ability to keep perfect time with each other, even when they are out of earshot from each other. Not only that, but many cities in Roshar, as well as the Shattered Plains themselves, are based on cymatics, which basically involves shapes being formed by certain sounds. Then there are the mysterious Dawnsingers, as well as the Dawnchant. With all that, a creature that can sing a four-part harmony (should it so choose) doesn't seem as strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ninja Yodeler Posted December 17, 2015 Report Share Posted December 17, 2015 And it's also what I was saying. Yeah thts my mistake then. Just felt like it was trying to be shut down rather than explored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vander Posted December 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 Yeah thts my mistake then. Just felt like it was trying to be shut down rather than explored. I was on the same line of thought, actually. Meanwhile, nobody seems interested in the Santhid/Chasmfiend/Quartet thread. Well, no-one has posted, in any case. So, any proposals on a new topic? Or shall we go into speculation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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