Bone Wiki
Register
Advertisement


Thorn Harvestar is the deuteragonist of the Bone series by Jeff Smith and a minor character in Quest for the Spark. Fone Bone developed a crush on her from the moment they met and the two became close friends.

She lived with Gran'ma Ben at her farm for twelve years after leaving Atheia and returns to her birthplace in Treasure Hunters. In Eyes of the Storm, she is revealed to be the heir to the Atheian throne, and she takes the throne in the final volume of the series.

Early Life[]

Thorn was born in Atheia as the heir to her parents throne. At her birth, the dragons revealed that she was a Veni-Yan Cari, someone who could hear The Dreaming naturally. When Atheia fell, her family was able to make it to Deren Gard, where they met up with her grandmother, but were betrayed soon after by Briar. Rose ran off with Thorn to deliver her to The Great Red Dragon while her parents fought off the Rat Creatures. Thorn was raised by the dragons for three years while her grandmother, the only family she had left after her parents were killed, found a home nearby the village of Barrelhaven. Thorn lived from then on with her grandmother, raised to believe that dragons were merely fictional.

Out From Boneville[]

Twelve years later, Thorn is mentioned by Ted, who says she would be able to help Fone Bone return home. Fone Bone first meets Thorn in late winter at a hot spring. Fone Bone is instantly in love, and overjoyed when he finds that it is the Thorn he is looking for. However, like the rest of the members of The Valley, Thorn has never even heard of Boneville.

Fone Bone moves in with Thorn. Fone Bone shows her the contents of his knapsack, including the map of The Valley, which instantly brings back memories for Thorn. They continue talking and doing chores, and soon after, Gran'ma Ben arrives at the farm, along with Phoney. Thorn does not get off to a good start with Phoney, and he runs off after two days.

When night comes, the Rat Creatures attack the farm. Thorn runs off with Fone Bone while Gran'ma Ben fends the Rat Creatures off. After running, the Rat Creatures eventually corner them, but the Great Red Dragon manages to chase the army off.

The Great Cow Race[]

Thorn is exploring the Spring Fair with Fone Bone when he gets into a fight with a honey-seller named Tom, causing them to split up. Thorn is later found talking with Tom, much to Fone Bone's dismay.

Thorn has one of the dreams she had as a childhood again, and wakes up in the middle of the night. She wakes up Fone Bone and starts to talk with him about the dreams, revealing that remembers that she drew the map and she is suspicious of Gran'ma Ben for not telling her the truth about the dragons. Thorn asks Fone Bone to keep this a secret, and he agrees.

The following morning, Thorn splits up with Fone Bone after breakfast to find Tom. However, when she finds him, he is with another girl named Jasmine. An embarrassed Thorn goes off to find Fone Bone, and much to her confusion, she is unable to find him at the Great Cow Race. After wishing Gran'ma Ben good luck, Thorn goes to watch the race with Lucius. Much to everyone's shock, the race collides with a swarm of Rat Creatures, causing panic and allowing Gran'ma Ben to win the race again.

After getting Phoney away from the angry villagers, the group heads to the farm. After getting water, they get some rest for what's to come.

Eyes of the Storm[]

Thorn experiences a flashback in her dreams as a young girl practicing her flute in the garden nearby Tanen Gard. Then she hears a voice leading her into a forest, where the Hooded One is waiting. The Hooded One's head takes the appearances of Fone Bone's, and Thorn nearly touches the Hooded One before she is awoken.

Two days later, Thorn discusses ghost circles with Fone Bone while gardening. Suddenly, a storm arrives, and the two retreat inside the barn. Inside, Thorn begins talking with Fone Bone about their dreams. Fone Bone begins questioning what Gran'ma Ben is keeping from Thorn right as Gran'ma Ben enters the barn. As Gran'ma Ben storms out into the woods, Thorn and Fone Bone follow her. The two refuse to return to the farm and attempt to interrogate Gran'ma Ben, but Rat Creatures trap the three together in the forest. After running for their lives, the three are saved by the Great Red Dragon. The storm stops soon before they begin the walk back to the barn.

The next morning, Fone Bone and Thorn confront Gran'ma Ben and demand that she tell them the truth. Gran'ma accepts and reveals that Thorn is the heir to the throne of Atheia. But not only that, long ago, Atheia was being sieged, and as the kingdom was ablaze, Thorn and her parents tried to escape through a mountain pass. There, they would ensure Thorn's safety by giving her to the dragons, but the party traveling was betrayed by a nursemaid. Gran'ma then declares that she was the former Queen of Atheia, and that she will protect her at any cost.

Thorn, frustrated by everything that had happened, storms out and stays at the barn. Later, Ted comes and tells Gran'ma that the situation down South had changed, and she takes Fone Bone and Thorn with her to take a brief leave of absence from the farm.

The Dragonslayer[]

In the beginning of the book, Thorn, Rose, and Fone Bone are walking home when they have a run-in with the two stupid rat creatures. Rose interrogates them, and he tells her that the rat creatures have evacuated the valley. Then, Kingdok appears and is angry at the rat creatures for giving away secrets. He then proceeds to attack Fone Bone, and he is about to kill Rose when she slices off his arm with a sword. This causes Kingdok to have a hallucination about Rose and Thorn being younger than they actually are. He then screams and runs away. After that, Rose tells Thorn about how she is a princess, and how she needs to go to Atheia. Thorn gets angry because Rose lied to her all her life, and runs away after Fone Bone calls her a fairy princess. After that, Fone Bone chases after Thorn and apologizes for his fairy princess remark. They try to make their way into town, but Jonathan stops them, and says they can't get in without Phoney Bone's permission.

When Phoney brings the villagers to the dragon's stair to slay dragons, the red dragon walks in on his trap. When Phoney is about to kill him, Thorn appears and asks him what he is doing. She then explains that the dragons are not evil. When smoke is seen coming from the village, the villagers claim the dragons are attacking the town, but Thorn explains that it's the rat creatures.

Old Man's Cave[]

When Thorn was reported by her grandmother to go to Old Man's Cave, she refuses because she doesn't trust her anymore. After going back to the farm with Smiley and Fone Bone, she decides to go face the Hooden One alone. Smiley and Fone Bone tell her that they're orphans too (including Phoney) and that deep down they know that Phoney doesn't mean what he says. Then, Thorn decides to go to Old Man's cave but is captured by Roque Ja along with Phoney.

Ghost Circles[]

Thorn travels with Fone, Phoney, Smiley, and Gran'ma Ben. At the beginning, they are all attacked by Kingdok. They all escape by going through a secret passage. Thorn then falls over and her companions help her up and keep her warm. They all make it out and discover that the area has been destroyed. Thorn guides them since she can see Ghost Circles.

Later on, Fone comes over to her and she gasps and they were surrounded by trees for a second. Thorn comments on how that felt weird. They set up a fire and sleep. The next day Thorn accidentally scared Fone with her hood making him think she was a stranger. They then journey on. The Hooded One finds Thorn and lures her. Fone Bone attacks the Hooded One, Smiley then swoops in riding on his pet Rat Creature Bartleby hitting the Hooded One. Then, Smiley collapses from hunger and Thorn is asked to go look for food.

Fone Bone comes with her and they find an area with food. They take some food, then give it to Smiley to eat. Then they journey on. They are then chased by Rat Creatures. Thorn rides Bartleby. Thorn then gets sick. Gran'ma Ben carries Thorn to a bridge. They cross a bridge and Fone slips and almost falls off into a bottomless pit. Thorn grabs his hand and tells him she feels better. They cross the bridge safely. Thorn said they were past the Ghost Circles and they continue their journey to Atheia.

Treasure Hunters[]

Thorn is first seen with Fone Bone at the area near the gates of Atheia where they talk about if they stick out or not. They walk along and meet Taneal. Taneal gives Thorn a prayer stone and asks if she's a northerner. She then asks how she got past the ghost circles. Thorn, a little freaked out, decides to leave.

Later, they get smuggled in by Taneal's brother.

Crown of Horns[]

In Crown of Horns Thorn is first seen with the tar beating out of her, she is bloody with a missing tooth throughout the book she is seeking out the crown of horns in order to kill Briar. She eventually finds it and runs into Kingdok, who asks her to put him out of his misery (he is tired of being a puppet). She refuses, even when Kingdok reminds her that he killed her parents. Just when she is about to touch the Crown of Horns, Kingdok bites down on her leg, preventing her from doing so. Without a choice, Thorn drives her sword into Kingdok. She tries again to touch the Crown, but cannot reach because she is stuck. Fone Bone arrives and holds her hand; he then touches the Crown, unleashing its power and destroying the Lord of the Locust once and for all. Thorn then is removed from the dead Kingdok's grip and is crowned Queen of Atheia. 

Quest for the Spark[]

Thorn is briefly seen at the beginning of the book, when she is stuck in the grip of a nightmare, unable to wake up.

In the third book after the defeat of The Nacht, Thorn is seen again after she woke up from her deep sleep, as she embraced Gran'ma Ben while they remarked details about "the boy" who saved them all.

Relationships[]

Fone Bone[]

Fone Bone and Thorn have a strong friendship and deeply care for one another. They both have a great deal of loyalty and care for each other. Thorn also trusts Fone Bone telling him her dreams and worries before anyone else. While Fone Bone has clearly shown he has a crush on her, Thorn has never seen to show romantic feelings toward him. Regardless, she did worry considerably for him, and ignored her grandmother's bid to report to Old Man's Cave so that she could seek out Fone Bone instead.

Phoney Bone[]

Thorn tolerates Phoney well, and despite knowing just as well as the others that he is a troublemaker, believes he is innocent.

Smiley Bone[]

Though they do not interact much, Thorn enjoys Smiley's happy-go-lucky personality, and the two are never seen behaving antagonistically to one another.

Rose Harvestar[]

Thorn deeply cares for her grandmother, as she raised her. However, starting in Eyes of the Storm, their relationship grows complex when Gran'ma Ben reveals the truth about her parents' death, as well as other aspects of her and Thorn's background. Eventually, in The Dragonslayer, Thorn loses trust in Gran'ma Ben and runs away from her, though their relationship is rekindled by Old Man's Cave.

Lucius Down[]

Thorn is good friends with Lucius, who acts as a fatherly figure to her. She shows concern for him in Ghost Circles, wanting to return to Old Man's Cave to check on him instead of heading to Atheia.

In Crown of Horns, she is seen mourning at his burial.

Bartleby[]

At first, Thorn wanted to kill Bartleby, due to him belonging to the same race responsible for the death of her parents, but she eventually saw him as a valued friend after he and Smiley rescued her from the Hooded One.

Appearance[]

Thorn has a tall, slim, athletic build, with long reddish-brown hair that she usually keeps out or ties in a ponytail behind her neck.

Personality[]

Thorn was always kind and generous, which allowed Fone Bone develop feelings for her since they first met. The events of Vernal Equinox depicted her as a gentle, optimistic teenager during a time of peace. She was also hardworking and self-sufficient given that she helps her grandmother with chores around the farm while she was away. After the returning of her nightmares, Thorn starts to develop anxiety over about what they represent and becomes suspicious of Gran'ma Ben's lying as a result. For example, she often told Thorn that dragons were make-believe, which led her to initially dismiss Fone Bone's stories about his encounters with the Great Dragon until she too encountered him. After discovering that she had been lied to for years, Thorn temporarily loses her trust in Gran'ma Ben and becomes increasingly stubborn towards Fone Bone's help. In The Dragonslayer, Thorn's continuous nightmares heightens her anxiety and anger to the point where she threatened Bartleby's life when they first met. She later becomes a leader while the inhabitants of Barrelhaven were attacked at Deren Gard, and helped them to safety during the Rat Creature ambushes.

In later installments of the Bone series, Thorn gradually embraces her lineage and adapts to her abilities as a Veni-Yan-Cari, leading her to become mature, courageous, and at times aggressive to those who intend to hurt her and her loved ones like Fone Bone and Gran'ma Ben.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Thorn is the first known Veni-Yan-Cari in the series.
  • Her height and weight were provided in Bone: Sourcebook.
  • Thorn's exact age is unknown. As indicated by the events causing the fall of Atheia and the Bone handbook, Thorn is either 18 to 20 years old at the beginning of the series. As it's stated to have been 15 years since the fall of the Atheia and Gran'ma Ben remarks that Thorn's map looks like it was drawn by a 5 year-old. To which Thorn confirms it was. To take this as it's presented she would mean she's 20.
  • But to continue off the last point, this could be an estimate on even Thorn's part as she could've been as young as 3 when she was taken to Deren Gard as she can at least walk, stand, and later talk in basic sentences with no issue (as shown in memories).
  • A year passes between Out From Boneville to the End of Crown of Horns. Meaning Thorn could be 19 - 21 by the end. And by Quest for the Spark, 22 - 25 as 3 years have passed since the end of Crown of Horns.
  • Thorn's lack of independence from Rose in the main books is explained given the feudal economic system and Rose wanting to continue to protect her until the time was right. Many young adults in feudal economies and low income places can't afford to live on their own unless marrying into another family or coming from an extremely wealthy background. Thorn was raised a low income farm girl so most likely she would've continued living with Rose until she got married or even then her partner could've have moved onto the farm with both of them.
  • Jeff Smith credited Thorn to be the hardest character to draw.
  • Thorn has appeared in the following non-Bone comics: Savage Dragon #41.
Advertisement