Editing Tai-na

|image=Tan-na by Marie Seeberger.jpg

|sapient=Yes

|type={{cat tag|Greatshells|Greatshell}}

|universe=[[Cosmere]]

{{quote

|The Tai-na is a good place to grow. Good place to live. Except when it's at war.

|[[Gu]] to [[Rysn]]{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}

}}

The '''Tai-na''' are sapient island-sized [[greatshell]]s worshiped as gods. They are inhabited by the [[Reshi]] of [[Roshar]].

The Tai-na are the largest greatshells on Roshar.{{wob ref|1499}} They are the size of islands, and entire communities reside on their backs; [[Rysn]] believes that the Tai-na known as [[Relu-na]] is as large as a town.{{book ref|sa3|i|13}} A single Tai-na eye is described as a "the size of a house" and it is situated more than fifty feet from the top of its head.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} They have huge mouths with massive mandibles; they enjoy fruit as a snack, although their primary sustenance is not known.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} Their legs are over sixty feet long, able to reach the bottom of the [[Reshi Sea]] as they walk along. The main body of the Tai-na is hundreds of feet tall, and hiking to the top of the shell from sea level is a long, arduous trek.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} Tai-na have skin that is covered in plates of carapace. The shell is often carved by the Reshi into stairs in order to more easily climb the Tai-na; this is not thought to harm the animal.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} They are extremely long-lived.{{wob ref|3423}}

=== Spren bond ===

The Tai-na are able to grow to extraordinary size due to a [[spren]] bond{{wob ref|2684}} related to their [[gemheart]]s{{wob ref|756}} that allow their bodies to defy the laws of physics.{{wob ref|6498}}{{book ref|sa3|99}} Tai-na are able to grow larger than terrestrial greatshells due to their aquatic habitat,{{wob ref|1499}} although they technically could survive on land.{{wob ref|2684}} [[Axies the Collector]], who is an expert on spren, believes that the Tai-na spren must be "spectacular" (even in comparison to those of other greatshells) to allow them to grow to such a large size.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} The Tai-na spren seem to be sapient, and are thought to be capable of limited interaction with the physical world, such as slowing the fall of objects.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} The Reshi jealously guard the island's spren, refusing to let outsiders investigate it.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}

A full ecosystem exists on the back of a Tai-na, including grass, trees, and [[shalebark]]. Some plants manage to find root in cracks on the Tai-na's plate. Most of the carapace is covered in forest and jungle, while the top of the head contains an open field of [[rockbud]]s. Some [[larkin]] also lived on at least one Tai-na, despite the belief that they had gone extinct in the scouring of [[Aimia]].{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}

There are dozens to hundreds of Tai-na on the Reshi Sea.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}

== Culture ==

The Reshi that make their homes on the back of the Tai-na worship them as their gods; they state that they live to serve and please their gods. They believe that the Tai-na approve of boldness, and interpret the movements of the Tai-na as divine will.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} They also believe that these movements can be predicted, although sometimes they deviate from the expected course. At times when two Tai-na get close, the two islands may go to war. Each island has soldiers and a king (who may be of either gender) who lead them in these skirmishes.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} Little bloodshed takes place, with the victory going to the bolder warriors. Other times when Tai-na get close to one another, good things happen. Which occurs is somehow determined by the Tai-na.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}

The residents of the Tai-na are generally secretive about the Tai-na and their spren. They will not discuss the spren—which they refer to as the "souls" of the islands—with outsiders, and they are not always forthcoming about simple facts like the Tai-na's diet.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} Their reticence means that even educated people from other parts of Roshar (such as [[Rysn]]) are sometimes completely unaware of the existence of Tai-na.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}

The inhabitants include both native Reshi and expatriates from other Rosharan nations who have sought out the Reshi lifestyle. [[Vstim]] notes that the immigrants from other parts of Roshar are only allowed to stay if they give all of their possessions to the king.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} Many of the inhabitants are somewhat carefree and spend much of their time swimming or high diving, usually in the nude.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} Some residents are combative, but in both battle and trade they are prone to posturing.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} The islanders are not primitive, but they do not have a great deal of contact with the outside world and are unaware of political and economic conditions on the mainland.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} However, they cannot produce all of the goods that they need on the island (such as medicine and textiles), and are forced to trade with outsiders. Therefore, they only trade with those that they respect and trust to be fair.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} Some Reshi travel to other parts of Roshar for education and training.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}

*[[Relu-na]] - Saved [[Rysn]]'s life and somehow gave her a larkin.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}

*[[Na-Alind]] - A family of Tai-na that took the larkin in after their near-extinction.{{book ref|sa3.5|1}}

* The Tai-na were first alluded to in ''[[The Way of Kings]]'', during [[Ashir]]'s interlude.{{book ref|sa1|i|8}}

* The Tai-na are larger than some versions of Godzilla.{{wob ref|1499}}

* In some Slavic languages "taina" means "mystery" or "secret".

{{complete|[[User:Big Smooth|Big Smooth]] ([[User talk:Big Smooth|talk]]) 21:58, 21 April 2020 (UTC)}}