Black Company Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Black Company Wiki

Bonegnasher was a big one, bigger than Shifter, eight feet tall and six hundred pounds of iron mean muscle. He was so strong it was grotesque. He had a mouth like a crocodile, and supposedly had eaten his enemies in the old days... naked to the waist, maskless, looking like an oversized wrestler... His piggy little eyes remained tight as he watched.

Croaker, The Black Company, chapter 6 "Lady"

Bonegnasher was one of the original Ten Who Were Taken. Standing eight feet tall, he was extremely well-muscled with grotesque features... most prominently, a crocodile-like face. He was known for ripping foes a part with his hands and teeth, and reportedly ate his enemies during the Domination.

Bonegnasher made a single appearance during the The Black Company, only to be killed mere hours later by treachery among the Taken.

Before Croaker's Annals[]

The Domination[]

Prior to or during the era known as the Domination, Bonegnasher was initially an independent wizard-king. Then he was enslaved by the infamous sorcerer known only as the Dominator, becoming one of the Ten Who Were Taken. As such, Bonegnasher was forced to become one of the Dominator's enforcers and generals, but presumably was also one of his subordinate lords with control over much territory. He had reportedly eaten his enemies during this time, and also earned the similar moniker "Bonecrusher" as well. After a dark period of rule, they were all defeated (but not killed) by the original White Rose and her armies. Bonegnasher, alongside the Dominator, the Dominator's wife the Lady, the other nine Taken, were all imprisoned in the Barrowland alongside a considerable number of horrendous beasts. The imprisonment was meant to last for eternity.

Liberation and service to the Lady[]

Thirty-seven years before the end of The Black Company (and 370 years after being interred in the Barrowland), Bonegnasher, the other nine Taken, and the Lady were freed from their prison by a group known as the Resurrectionists. To keep power to herself, the Lady orchestrated this event such that the Dominator and his "pet" demons remained imprisoned. Bonegnasher and the other Taken would soon join the Lady in building their headquarters, the Tower at Charm. Then, the Taken served as the Lady's generals in the consolidation wars, helping her establish her own dominion, the Lady's Empire, over a huge span of the north.

The Black Company[]

Bonegnasher by Виталий Стрелец

Fan art by Виталий Стрелец

When a group of powerful wizards known as the Circle of Eighteen raised Rebel armies, Bonegnasher fought against them in the eastern portion of the empire. He defeated a member of the Circle known as Parcel at the huge city called Ade, and Parcel committed suicide specifically to avoid being captured by Bonegnasher.

At the Battle of Charm[]

At the climactic Battle of Charm, Bonegnasher commanded one of the wings (around 3000 soldiers), on the first of three levels in front of the Tower. While the Black Company physician Croaker and his assistant One-Eye were performing surgery on wounded Imperial soldiers, Bonegnasher made a personal appearance, the first time he was seen by Croaker. He was tracking the forvalaka, a monster which would later be revealed to have been sent by Soulcatcher to assassinate Croaker. When the beast struck, Bonegnasher grabbed it and wrestled it into total submission, despite its notorious strength. True to his reputation, Bonegnasher bit the animal, destroying its left shoulder with his teeth. (He did not kill the forvalaka, however, as the animal was later crucified and tortured by One-Eye.) It would become apparent that he had been sent by the Lady to be a bodyguard for Croaker.

Hours after the incident with the forvalaka, Bonegnasher fought the Circle and the Rebels at nighttime. However that same night, Stormbringer, a traitor among the Taken who was loyal to the Dominator, made her move and attacked Bonegnasher. She killed him but reportedly died as well. Bonegnasher is never mentioned again in the Annals and, although Stormbringer actually survived, Bonegnasher is genuinely considered to have been killed. He would be the second of the infamous Ten Who Were Taken to be killed.


Ten Who Were Taken
Soulcatcher • The Howler • The LimperShapeshifterStormbringer
The Hanged ManBonegnasherNightcrawlerMoonbiter • The Faceless Man
Advertisement