Tai-na
[[Category: Spoilers for Book shorthand incorrect]]
The Tai-na were giant greatshells worshiped as gods by the Reshi on Roshar.
Appearance
The Tai-na were the largest known greatshells on Roshar. They were the size of islands, which the Reshi lived upon. Their legs were well over sixty feet long, able to reach the bottom of the Reshi Sea as they walked along. The Tai-na had a large head as well as enormous eyes the size of buildings, and several legs. The main body of the Tai-na was hundreds of feet tall.
Tai-na had skin that was covered in plates of shell. The shell was often carved by the Reshi into stairs in order to more easily climb the Tai-na.
A full ecosystem existed on the back of the Tai-na, containing grass, trees, and shalebark. Some plants managed 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 had a sentient spren for a soul. It was capable of limited interaction with the physical world, such as slowing the fall of objects. These spren were even more fantastic than spren typically associated with other greatshells.
There were dozens to hundreds of Tai-na on the Reshi Sea.
Culture
The Reshi made their homes on the back of the Tai-na, worshiping them as their gods. The Reshi jealously guarded the island's spren, refusing to let outsiders see it. They believed that the Tai-na approved of boldness, and interpreted the movements of the Tai-na as divine will.
The Reshi believed that where the Tai-na moved could be predicted, but sometimes they deviated from where they were supposed to go. When two Tai-na got too close, the two islands often went to war. Little actual bloodshed would take place, the victory going to the bolder warriors. On the other hand, sometimes when Tai-na got too close to one another, good things would happen. Which occurred was somehow determined by the Tai-na.
Bold acts occasionally managed to impress the Tai-na.
Notable Tai-Na
Trivia
- Tai-na were first alluded to in The Way of Kings, during Ashir's interlude.