Tai-na
| Tai-na | |
|---|---|
| Type | Animal |
| Native to | Reshi Sea |
| World of Origin | Roshar |
The Tai-na are island sized greatshells worshiped as gods and lived on by the Reshi of Roshar.
Appearance and Anatomy
The Tai-na are the largest known greatshells on Roshar. They are the size of islands, which the Reshi live upon. Their legs are over sixty feet long, able to reach the bottom of the Reshi Sea as they walk along. They have a large heads as well as enormous eyes the size of buildings, and several legs. The main body of the Tai-na is hundreds of feet tall.
Tai-na have skin that is covered in plates of shell. The shell is often carved by the Reshi into stairs in order to more easily climb the Tai-na.[1]
Ecology
A full ecosystem exist on the back of the Tai-na, containing grass, trees, and shalebark. Some plants manage to find root in cracks on the Tai-na's plate. Some larkin also lived on at least one Tai-na, despite the belief that they had gone extinct in the scouring of Aimia.
The Tai-na also have a spren that is at least somewhat-sentient for a soul. It is capable of limited interaction with the physical world, such as slowing the fall of objects. These spren are even more fantastic than spren typically associated with other greatshells.
There are dozens to hundreds of Tai-na on the Reshi Sea.[1]
Lore
The Reshi make their homes on the back of the Tai-na, worshiping them as their gods. The Reshi jealously guard the island's spren, refusing to let outsiders see it. They believe that the Tai-na approve of boldness, and interpret the movements of the Tai-na as divine will.
The Reshi believe that the Tai-na movements could be predicted, but sometimes they deviate from the expected course. At times when two Tai-na get close, the two islands go to war. Little bloodshed takes place, 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.[1]
Notable Tai-na
Trivia
- The Tai-na were first alluded to in The Way of Kings, during Ashir's interlude.[2]