Marrow-Gnawer

Marrow-Gnawer
Details
Race	Nezumi
Birthplace	Takenuma, Kamigawa
Lifetime	~3250 AR
Sources
Outlaw: Champions of Kamigawa, Heretic: Betrayers of Kamigawa, Guardian: Saviors of Kamigawa

Marrow-Gnawer (Japanese: 骨 (ほね) 齧 (かじ) り; rōmaji: Honekajiri) was a leader of a large gang of nezumi in the city of Numai on Kamigawa. He was strong, cunning, and overall exceptional for a nezumi.

History

Marrow-Gnawer had been a mediocre warrior of the okiba gang, the nezumi warrior caste. For an unknown reason - some claimed he was possessed by a kami of ambition Marrow-Gnawer left his den one night and assassinated three nezumi makiba, members of the leader caste, including his brother. From that day forward, Marrow-Gnawer was a makiba himself and commanded the largest group of nezumi warriors in the Takenuma Swamp. He became a more proficient leader than he was a warrior.

During the Kami War, Marrow-Gnawer began a purge of the Okiba-Gang and their shinobi. He was contacted by soratami, who wanted to infiltrate the Numai's underground society. The parley was, however, disrupted by Toshiro Umezawa, and the nezumi fled wounded.

After Toshi's return, Marrow-Gnawer was captured and brought before the Takenuma crime overlord Uramon, who had him beaten and tortured to extract testimony about his dealings with the soratami. When Toshi escaped with the help of the Myojin of Night's Reach, Uramon sent Marrow-Gnawer and Kiku to bring him back. However, Toshi tricked Kiku and Marrow-Gnawer into joining the Hyozan Reckoners gang by exposing them to a lethal danger in the form of the yuki-onna. Bound by the hyozan oath, neither Marrow-Gnawer nor Kiku could hurt Toshi and be compelled to help him. They did so when they helped Toshi to neutralize Uramon and steal her Shadow Gate by faking his capture and then turning against Uramon when unexpected.

Toshi then left to pursue his own goals, and when he returned once more he demanded the hyozan help for the last time. He collected Marrow-Gnawer and Kiku and brought them to Minamo. Mistakenly assuming the hyozan oath was broken, he launched himself at the attacking Hidetsugu and stabbed one of his eyes. By doing that, he saved Kiku and Toshi but invoked the hyozan curse upon himself. Grieved, Toshi granted Marrow-Gnawer the last mercy of ending his suffering with Kiku's ax.

Legacy

Throughout his leadership, Marrow-Gnawer fathered over 600 children.

In-game references

Represented in:

• Marrow-Gnawer

Quoted or referred to:

• Nezumi Shadow-Watcher