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{{lifeform
|image=Thunderclast Matthew Johnson Inktober2018.jpg
|type=Animated stone
|sapient=y
|world=Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
}}
'''Thunderclasts''' are beasts on [[Roshar]] from the times of the [[Desolation]]s.{{book ref|sa|part=prelude}}▼
{{quote
|Those aren’t stones. They’re creatures.
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}}
▲'''Thunderclasts''' are
== Appearance and Nature ==
Thunderclasts are enormous stone beasts, easily five or six times larger than a person, with their hands alone being six feet long.{{book ref|sa1|60}}{{book ref|sa|part=prelude}} 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.{{book ref|sa2|4}} Their heads are narrow and arrow-like, with glowing red eyes.{{book ref|sa2|4}}{{book ref|sa3|84}}
The thunderclast proper, however, is a [[singer]] soul. The potential thunderclasts are far more powerful than their [[Fused]] kinsmen, and much more twisted, to the point where they barely resemble their species. When they desire to take on a human form, they sink into the stone and animate it, ripping themselves out in the humanoid form.{{book ref|sa3|115}} As such, they retain some qualities of the material they take on, like the color or a covering of moss or fungus.{{book ref|sa2|4}}
It's possible that there are other types of [[Cognitive Realm|Cognitive]] entities that can create thunderclasts, as a [[spren]] is also seen at one point plunging into the ground right before a thunderclast rips itself out.{{book ref|sa2|4}}
== Abilities and Attributes ==
[[File:Thunderclast.jpg|thumb|right|200px|<center><small>by [[User:Sheep]]</small></center> Fighting a thunderclast]]
Despite their enormous size, thunderclasts have no problems staying upright, and can swing their body around with incredible force, easily toppling regular fortifications.{{book ref|sa3|116}} Though brute force is their greatest strength, they're also capable of precise actions such as throwing boulders,{{book ref|sa3|83}} or carrying regular [[Fused]] in their hands without crushing them.{{book ref|sa3|116}}
Although warped and twisted, thundercasts seem to retain some level of personality, enough so to answer to names and have a concrete sense of their gender. While they can obey commands, however, they do not seem capable of communicating themselves.{{book ref|sa3|117}}
Despite being made of the same material as their targets, they do not crack, and it seems they cannot be destroyed by ordinary means.{{book ref|sa3|116}} There are, however, a few known ways to combat them. One is to cut them up with [[Shardblade]]s to the point where a thunderclast is no longer mobile, although this carries significant danger. A [[Truthwatcher]] can also use [[Illumination]] to banish a thunderclast, although whether this is deadly for the spirit within is unknown.{{book ref|sa3|120}} [[Nightblood]], on the other hand, can kill them for good.{{book ref|sa3|117}}
== History ==
While it's unknown for how long they've been in [[Odium]]'s service, Thunderclasts date back to the [[Desolation]]s of old, even back to [[Nohadon]]'s times.{{book ref|sa1|60}} People back then knew to look out for them, and sent out hunting parties, although only [[Radiant]]s were capable of fighting them.{{book ref|sa2|4}} They were powerful enough to pose dangers even to the [[Herald]]s, with [[Kelek]] in particular dying to them several times.{{book ref|sa|part=prelude}} After the [[Aharietiam]], however, thunderclasts passed on into myths. By the [[Era of Solitude]], there were numerous stories about [[Voidbringer]]s with bodies of stone, likely as a cultural memory of the thunderclasts.{{book ref|sa1|3}}{{book ref|sa2|51}}
Thunderclasts appeared a few times in [[Dalinar's visions]]. When he meets [[Nohadon]], he saw numerous corpses of them littering the battlefield;{{book ref|sa1|60}} when he participated in a hunt for a corrupted spren on the [[Purelake]], he witnessed one rip itself out of the ground.{{book ref|sa2|4}} However, they didn't make their proper debut in the modern era until the [[Siege of Kholinar]]. Then, at least one thunderclast participated in the main attack, easily breaking down the city wall and ruining numerous buildings in the wake of its passing.{{book ref|sa3|83}}{{book ref|sa3|epilogue}}
In the [[Battle of Thaylen Field]], Odium called two singer souls -- [[Kai-garnis]] and [[Yushah]] -- to create thunderclasts. After Yushah broke through the wall, he sent her after the [[Thaylen Gemstone Reserve]], while Kai-garnis went assist the [[Fused]] in taking the [[Thaylen City]] [[Oathgate]]. Both were eventually taken down; Yushah is killed by [[Szeth]] and [[Nightblood]], while Kai-garnis is banished by [[Renarin]], with [[Adolin]]'s and [[Hrdalm]]'s assistance.{{book ref|sa3|117}}{{book ref|sa3|120}}
== Known thunderclasts ==
* [[Kai-garnis]]
* [[Yushah]]
== Notes ==
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