Thrall

Thrall
Biographical information
Species:	Hive
Sect:	Hidden Swarm ; Spawn of Crota ; Blood of Oryx ; The Silent Brood ; Savathûn's Brood ; Grasp of Nokris ; Xivu Arath's Horde ; Lucent Brood
Purpose:	Mob and overwhelm enemies
Combat information
Weapon(s):	Claws
Abilities:	Rapid Movement

"The shadows have claws."

— Grimoire Description

Thralls are the most common morph of Hive. Their main purpose is to overwhelm their enemies with sheer numbers, although individually they are easily dispatched. Feral and fearless, Thralls are a plague upon the battlefield.

Overview

"The Thrall will smother your Light! Do not underestimate them as Tarlowe did!"

— Eris Morn

Thrall are the smallest, weakest and fastest Hive enemies. They usually lack visible eyes, and have an almost skeletal appearance^[1] (though they do actually possess skin).^[2]

Thralls are born from pupae laid by fertile Wizards.^[3] Upon hatching, they are fed a larval worm which enters into a symbiotic relationship with the Thrall.^[4] If a Thrall is able to fight and survive well enough, it will become an Acolyte.^[3] Otherwise, the worm will consume it from within.^[5]

Gameplay

While individually Thrall are the weakest Hive enemy, they almost always attack in large swarms, often supported by stronger enemies. Acolytes and Cursed Thralls blend into their ranks, while Wizards and Knights use them to keep enemies distracted. Still, Thralls themselves can do high damage with the sheer amount of claw swipes they can deliver, and shouldn't be ignored. While they are fearless, when their ranks have been thinned enough the survivors try to retreat and hide behind cover to ambush unwary foes.

Known Thralls

Variants

Notable Variants

Cursed Thrall - Thralls charged with Arc energy and turned into bombs
Nightmare Thrall - a Nightmare with the form of a Thrall

Common Variants

Ascendant Thrall - Epic difficulty Thrall
Chosen Thrall - Heroic difficulty Thrall
Hallowed Thrall - Major Thrall (Destiny)
Revenant Thrall - Elite Thrall
Unhallowed Thrall - Elite Grasp of Nokris Thrall

Specific Variants

Trivia

Ogres appear much like Thrall but larger and stronger, suggesting rituals are used to turn Thrall into Ogres.
Thrall usually seem to lack eyes, but in some cases they have three glowing spots on their faces where eyes would be.
- However in Destiny 2, Ghost says that the thrall of Grasp of Nokris don't have eyes when activating the Escalation Protocol and way track their enemies through very sensitive hearing.
Given the Hive's odd biology, it may be that all Thrall are biologically sterile females, as common to most eusocial species.
The name Thrall may originate from the term for a person in slavery or serfdom in Viking Scandinavia. Alternatively, it may come from the name of an undead unit in Bungie's Myth series. Both descriptions are applicable to Destiny's Thrall, as they are zombie-like and in servitude to the Worms.
According to the Drifter, Thrall are vulnerable to having their skulls squeezed.