11thorderknight

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the thread, and thanks to Peter for providing clear answers on some questions. To recap: 1 broam = 4 marks = 20 chips 1 emerald (?-mark) = 2 sapphire (skymark) = 5 ruby (firemark) = 10 garnet (bloodmark) = 50 diamond (clearmark) From what we've seen in WoK, these 5 gems form the bulk of the currency. However, we know the remaining 5 gems are found in spheres as well. From Peter's comment, we know that there are 5 total gem "ranks"; i.e. these other gems have some value equal to those of the more common 5, and not some in-between values. Any guesses/comments on where these others fit in?

The Essences don't necessarily need to be an actual physical thing - that's why there are separate body focuses and soulcasting properties. Lucentia, therefore, is the essence of light, clarity, crystal, sight, etc. Another essence, Foil (related to metal and the nails) might be the property of being strong yet malleable, able to cut when sharpened, etc. Talus is the English word for ankle bone, yes, but it is also an older English word for a buttressing hill (a structural part of a castle). Both words derive from Latin, meaning support. Fits right in with Resolute/Builder, doesn't it?

The continent could also be at Roshar's equator, which would mean no seasonal variation once you remove the influence of highstorms. On a more interesting note - what does the 500+ day year imply for human age? We're told at one point that Shallan is 18 and Jasnah is 34, and their physical descriptions match those ages in Earth-years....but on Roshar, that would make Shallan 25 in earth years, and Jasnah 46. The latter is completely at odds with how she's described. Do Rosharans live longer to match their longer year? Are their days shorter? Are the given ages an out-of-world convention used in description but not accurate in-world?

Theory: modern-day shardplate are fabrials designed to mimic the shardplate of the radiants, but people don't know it. Facts: modern shardplate is powered by Stormlight-infused gems. Szeth can't use it while Surgebinding, presumably because he would drain the gems while inhaling Stormlight. This is supported by the fact that the gems in Elhokar's plate dimmed unexpectedly quickly during the first battle scene, and we know he is starting to manifest signs of Radiant potential by seeing spren. In Dalinar's visions of the past, Radiant's shardplate was decorated with "glowing glyphs" that leaked stormlight, which is different that modern shardplate. The radiants also were able to make the plate appear and disappear, just like shardblades - in the scene where a Knight heals Dalinar, he wonders where her helmet disappeared to. Modern shardplate has to be put on and off, which is hugely different from shardblades. Navani talks about how some artifabrians have managed to make "half-shards" which are shields that will block a shardblade. What is that except a very crude version of shardplate? Syl hates Dalinar's Blade, but says nothing about his Plate.

We don't know....yet. But... One of the great things that an epic-scale series like SA or WoT allows is the in-depth development of multiple characters, many of whom can be in conflict with each other. BS has said, and shown, that he doesn't generally go for the stereotypically evil villain characters, instead preferring characters who think they are doing the right thing, but might be using evil means to do so (e.g. the Lord Ruler in Mistborn). We know Amaram has a reputation for being a "good" lord, even among the commoners who don't hold lighteyes in high esteem. Indeed, it is Amaram's betrayal that leads Kaladin, who used to admire him, to start hating all lighteyes. Could it be that the reputation for honesty is not entirely undeserved? On the battlefield, when Kaladin kills the Shardbearer, Amaram does not jump at the opportunity to take the Shards. Instead, he explains to Kaladin what they are, and that they belong to him. It's only after talking to Restares that he is convinced to steal them. Even then, he lets Kaladin live. Now, he obviously doesn't get the Medal of Honor for this....but if you look at it from his perspective, he is taking a needless risk in leaving Kaladin alive, because he feels guilty about what he did. Doesn't make it right, but it does show that he has a moral compass that points in the right direction. So...the real question is: what is he involved in? Why do the Ghostbloods try to hard to kill him? Why did Gavilar think they also wanted him dead, and was therefore surprised by Szeth's admission that it was the Parshendi? What role does Sadeas (Amaram's highprince) have to do with this? Remember, Sadeas may easily have thought he was doing a necessary evil by betraying Dalinar (in order to rid the country of an unstable influence on the young king). I see this plotline as having huge potential for a series-long conflict regarding "ends vs. means"....which, coincidentally, is the theme of the Knight's Radiant vows (journey before destination, etc). Just sayin'.

I may have to revise my initial assumption that sapphires are relatively cheap. As has been pointed out, 2. A Garnet mark is worth 5 diamond marks. 3. A Sapphire mark is worth 25 diamond marks (page 386). 4. An Emerald Broam is worth 200 diamond marks Therefore, doing the math, an emerald broam is worth 8 (200 / 25) sapphire marks. We really need to find out how many marks there are to a broam, but we know that there are 5 chips to a mark, so if we assume that, likewise, there are 5 marks to a broam, that means that an emerald broam is worth 1.6 sapphires. This contradicts my previous statement that a sapphire has to be worth less than half an emerald....so i guess i was wrong about that. Also: note the frequency of the number 5 as a multiple: 5 chips to a mark, 5 diamonds to a garnet, 25 diamonds to a sapphire (and by extension, 5 garnets to a sapphire). I think 5 marks to a broam is a fairly safe assumption until we are explicitly told otherwise. Another important point. We know that there are 1,000 diamond chips to an emerald broam. If we assume 5 marks to a broam, that means 25 chips to a broam, and therefore 1,000 diamond chips equals 25 emerald chips, and therefore, one emerald is worth 40 diamonds. This is very important, because it establishes that the most valuable gem is worth 40 times the least valuable one. The other eight have to fall somewhere between this range.

We know that gemstones encased in glass spheres form the currency on Roshar, and we get a few bits of info regarding their relative worth. I thought it might be interesting to put that together and try to figure out as much of the currency system as we can. What we know for certain: 1. There are three denominations of each gem: chips, marks and broams. 2. Diamonds are the least valuable. 3. Emeralds are the most valuable. 4. 5 chips make a mark. 5. The relative value of gems, at least theoretically, is related to their use in Soulcasting, since we're told in the first Shallan PoV that emeralds are most valuable because they can be used to make food. 6. A clearchip (diamond chip) is the price of one loaf of bread; this is the smallest denomination of money. 7. An emerald broam, the largest denomination, is worth 1,000 diamond chips. 8. A bridgeman is paid 2 diamond marks a day. The slaves, like Kaladin, get half of that. 9. A sailor earns one firemark (ruby) a week, i.e. every 5 days. 10. There are 5 diamonds to a garnet 11. A garnet is worth less than a sapphire What we can guess: 1. Sapphires are relatively cheap, since we see them a lot in the bridgemen scenes, and also because, when Shallan buys her books, the final price is "three emerald broams and two sapphire". This implies that two sapphires are still worth less than one emerald. 2. If bridgemen (non-slaves) get 2 diamond marks a day, then they get 10 per week. Sailors get one ruby mark per week. This means that rubies are at least 10 times more valuable than diamonds, and probably more, since I can't imagine sailors being paid less than bridgemen. This implies that rubies are among the more valuable gems. 3. We hear a lot about Soulcast stone barracks as a means of defending against highstorms. This seems to be a core function of the ardents with the army, and therefore implies that topaz would be pretty valuable. What we have questions about: 1. If the value of gems were only affected by Soulcasting use, why is diamond the least valuable? Crystal/glass seems more useful than air, or smoke, or oil. Why are rubies valuable? Incinerating thieves is certainly badass, but is that really what the ardents use them for? 2. In a flashback, Dalinar sees a Radiant heal a woman using a topaz and a heliodor, corresponding to flesh and bone. If the ardents have healing fabrials, why wouldn't heliodor be among the most valuable gems? One would think the wealthy would pay out the wazoo for miraculous healing. 3. How much more valuable are infused gems than dun ones? At one point, Shallan says they're just as valuable, and the apothecary Kaladin goes to accepts them (after verifying they're real), but at another point we hear about moneychangers charging fees to infuse spheres. 4. On a related note, how long do spheres keep their charge? Do larger ones hold their charge longer? Do they hold more stormlight? Please post what you can to this, I'd love to see an accurate "exchange rate" chart!