Thunderclast

Thunderclast
by Matthew Johnson
Type	Animated stone
Sapient	y
World of Origin	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere

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“Those aren’t stones. They’re creatures. ”

—Dalinar

Thunderclasts are giant stone monsters from Roshar that serve Odium during the Desolations.

Appearance and Nature

“Even after all these centuries, seeing a thunderclast up close made Kalak shiver. ”

—Kalak

Thunderclasts are enormous stone beasts, easily five or six times taller than a person, with their hands alone being six feet long. They take a skeletal, humanoid form, with long limbs that end with spiky, clawed fingers. On their chests, they have rib-like protrusions, and there are ridges running along their backs. Their heads are narrow and arrow-like, with glowing red eyes.

The thunderclast proper, however, is a kind of Voidspren. When one desires to take on a physical form, it sinks into the stone and animates it, ripping itself out of the stone in its humanoid form. As such, the body retains some qualities of the material, like the color or a covering of moss or fungus.

In one of Dalinar's visions, he sees a red spren plunging into the ground right before a thunderclast rips itself out.

• Images of thunderclasts
• 

  by Michael Whelan On the cover of Oathbringer
• 

  by Sheep Shardbearers fighting a thunderclast
• 

  by Matthew Johnson Rising from the ground
• 

  by Botanicaxu Renarin confronting a thunderclast
• 

  by Connor Chamberlain Attacking Kholinar

Abilities and Attributes

by botanicaxu

Renarin confronting a thunderclast at the Battle of Thaylen Field.

“Thunderclast! Hammers! Ready hammers! ”

—Soldiers hunting thunderclasts on the Purelake

Despite their enormous size, thunderclasts have no problems staying upright, and can swing their body around with incredible force, easily toppling regular fortifications. Though brute force is their greatest strength, they're also capable of precise actions such as throwing boulders, or carrying regular Fused in their hands without crushing them.

Although warped and twisted, thundercasts seem to retain some level of personality, enough so to answer to names. While they can obey commands, they do not seem capable of communicating themselves. However, they can produce earth-shaking roars and trumpeting sounds to express their emotions.

Hammers are given as a viable option for combating thunderclasts. Another option is to cut them up with Shardblades to the point where they're no longer mobile, although this carries significant risk. Nightblood can kill them.

History

Thunderclasts date back to the Desolations of old, including Nohadon's times. Human forces knew to look out for them, and sent out hunting parties, although only Knights Radiant were capable of fighting them. They were powerful enough to pose danger even to the Heralds, with Kelek having been killed by one in a past Desolation. After the Aharietiam, however, thunderclasts passed into myths. By the Era of Solitude, there were numerous stories about Voidbringers with bodies of stone, a cultural memory of the thunderclasts.

Thunderclasts appeared several times in Dalinar's visions. When he met Nohadon, he saw numerous corpses of them littering the battlefield and, in a separate vision in which he participated in a hunt for a corrupted spren on the Purelake, he witnessed one rip itself out of the ground. However, they did not in the modern era until the Siege of Kholinar, when at least one thunderclast participated in the main attack, easily breaking down the city wall and decimating numerous buildings in its wake.

In the Battle of Thaylen Field, Odium called on two thunderclasts, Kai-garnis and Yushah, to manifest. After Yushah broke through the wall, he sent her after the Thaylen Gemstone Reserve while Kai-garnis went to assist the Fused in taking Thaylen City Oathgate. Both were eventually defeated; Yushah was destroyed permanently by Szeth with Nightblood, while Kai-garnis was immobilized by Renarin and fled her stone body.

Known thunderclasts

• Kai-garnis
• Yushah

Notes

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