So how does the life work

[Shaukan-son-Hasweth he/him]

In the book we get very little information about how the ecosystem works on the planet. All that we know is that the Plants grow rapidly in the time between darkness and just before the sunrise and use the light reflected by the rings. Theres everything from Grasses to small trees. And the crops the people plant ahead of the growing wave.
All the fauna we know of are “Gazelle like creatures”. These don’t seem to be livestock since they are hunted.

But I want to know how this works. Where do the organisms come from? Do the plants drop seeds that endure the sunrise? That seems unlikely since the sun also completely annihilates entire mountains. And this doesn’t explain the existence of animals either.

Humans cannot really outrun the sunrise. So I guess the animals can’t either. They also need to stop feed.

(I love how this book is so cosmere there are literally no unpinned threads in the non-spoiler section )

[Treamayne]

3 hours ago, Shaukan-son-Hasweth said:

All the fauna we know of are “Gazelle like creatures”. These don’t seem to be livestock since they are hunted.

But I want to know how this works. Where do the organisms come from? Do the plants drop seeds that endure the sunrise? That seems unlikely since the sun also completely annihilates entire mountains. And this doesn’t explain the existence of animals either.

Humans cannot really outrun the sunrise. So I guess the animals can’t either. They also need to stop feed.

Good catch. Unfortunately there weren't many answers in the book and until we can get some clarification WoBs from Brandon, all we have is speculation. There was one detail in that passage that seemed significant though (TSM Ch 17):

Spoiler

It felt like an entirely different place; landmarks he’d noticed before leaving were now obscured by the foliage and deep greenery.

How did seeds survive the cataclysmic heat of the day? Storms. The plants on this world must be something extraordinary. And the animals? As he zoomed past, he startled a group of gazelle-like creatures, who leaped up from feeding and bounded toward the darkness. Their eyes glowed faintly golden. Invested in some way.

So, I'm guessing that, for the plants, there is something similar to Roshar (and how the Highstorm spreads the seeds on the winds) where a mechanism of the ecology of Canticle causes the plant's seeds to be trapped in "pockets" of soil and rock as the ground liquifies at the early day, and the "great maelstrom" at dusk functions as a tilling mechanism breaking open and revealing those pockets to the coming night.

As for the invested fauna, maybe their nature is what allows them to outrun the sunrise - always staying in the band a few hours before dawn.

[The Sibling she/her]

5 hours ago, Treamayne said:

As for the invested fauna, maybe their nature is what allows them to outrun the sunrise - always staying in the band a few hours before dawn.

The way I read the part about the invested animals was that they can just survive the sunlight somehow, but I guess there's really no evidence for that, and also Sigzil was way invested and even he couldn't so why would the animals be able to. I think it makes more sense if they can just outrun it. It would be cool if there were people who lived on the ground and rode the animals to escape the sun.

[Treamayne]

1 minute ago, The Sibling said:

The way I read the part about the invested animals was that they can just survive the sunlight somehow, but I guess there's really no evidence for that, and also Sigzil was way invested and even he couldn't so why would the animals be able to. I think it makes more sense if they can just outrun it. It would be cool if there were people who lived on the ground and rode the animals to escape the sun.

I also wonder if, since that scene was after cresting he mountain, they are more prevalent in the north (and south) with longer nights and shorter days. Maybe they migrate by season to stay in the "shortest day" bands. . . 

[The Sibling she/her]

Just now, Treamayne said:

I also wonder if, since that scene was after cresting he mountain, they are more prevalent in the north (and south) with longer nights and shorter days. Maybe they migrate by season to stay in the "shortest day" bands. . . 

yeah I guess they would have evolved to survive this crazy planet. Maybe they have hooves like ryshadium so even when the ground is kind of hot they don't burn their feet. They would have to also be really fast and be able to survive off the plants that grow with the sunlight just like the humans do. (Unless they feed off investiture which would also be cool)

[Treamayne]

1 minute ago, The Sibling said:

yeah I guess they would have evolved to survive this crazy planet. Maybe they have hooves like ryshadium so even when the ground is kind of hot they don't burn their feet. They would have to also be really fast and be able to survive off the plants that grow with the sunlight just like the humans do. (Unless they feed off investiture which would also be cool)

Well, we've seen (White Sand Spoilers - prose/omnibus)

Spoiler

How Sandlings on Taldain survive off of invested lichen - so the fact that the plants are also invested can probably make up for some of the nutrition (if it is lacking - like water)

 

[The Sibling she/her]

1 minute ago, Treamayne said:

Well, we've seen (White Sand Spoilers - prose/omnibus)

  Hide contents

How Sandlings on Taldain survive off of invested lichen - so the fact that the plants are also invested can probably make up for some of the nutrition (if it is lacking - like water)

 

Forgot about those (only read white sand once). I am very confused about the water on Canticle. I might have just missed in it the book but I can not remember anything about the water cycle and how it works. If the animals don't drink all that often then they must get lots of nutrients from the invested plants, and the humans must as well because there doesn't seem to be a large variety of food sources on the planet.

[Treamayne]

11 minutes ago, The Sibling said:

Forgot about those (only read white sand once). I am very confused about the water on Canticle. I might have just missed in it the book but I can not remember anything about the water cycle and how it works. If the animals don't drink all that often then they must get lots of nutrients from the invested plants, and the humans must as well because there doesn't seem to be a large variety of food sources on the planet.

It seems the primary water cycle is the rains after sunset and before RingRise (if that's not a word, I'm making it one). From Ch 12:

Spoiler

He turned his mind from that to surveying the landscape. He’d noticed the mud earlier, the leftovers of the passing storm in the darkness. The ground was basically grey slush here, no sign of plants or life at all—but that didn’t mean it was boring or flat.

Improvised rivers had already carved channels in the mud, eroding soil, creating networks. It all had the feel of an estuary, where river met ocean. Except without the ocean. There were lakes, though. Shallow expanses of water that reflected the rings above in striking, colorful mimicry.

The landscape had a strange variety to it.

So, it seems the sun sets and the rains start - heavy enough to form shallow improvised rivers and lakes. The Rings rise and the rains retreat. The sun rises and boils everything away - repeat ad nauseum.

Also, this (Ch 11) seems to imply that (Beacon at least) uses rain catchers as well:

Spoiler

“Great,” Nomad said. “I need something to eat that isn’t mud. Something to drink that isn’t raining on me. Something to wear that isn’t hanging in shreds. Consider that my fee for translating that disc for you.”

Though a quick search did not find any direct references to catching or storing rainfall.

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Treamayne
SPAG

[The Sibling she/her]

In the new shardcast they briefly mentioned the animals on the planet and wondered how they slept. Someone said maybe they just run while they sleep?

I feel like it's more likely that they just run to the dark side of the planet to nap and then come back closer to the sunlight to eat the plants.

[Dunkum he/him]

6 hours ago, The Sibling said:

In the new shardcast they briefly mentioned the animals on the planet and wondered how they slept. Someone said maybe they just run while they sleep?

I feel like it's more likely that they just run to the dark side of the planet to nap and then come back closer to the sunlight to eat the plants.

the Humans certainly didn't get full nights of sleep - its explicitly stated at some point - and they seemed OK, so presumably the animals are adapted to a similarly broken up sleep schedule, in which case I think this is the most likely answer. gorge on new growth plants in the dawn, then dash into the night for a rest.