Bonechewer clan

The Bonechewer clan (or Bonechewers clan)Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal manual, map of Draenor was an orc clan that dwelled in northern Tanaan Jungle. Named after their willingness to resort to cannibalism in times of hardship, (map) the Bonechewers were known for ornamenting themselves with the broken bones and ruined organs of their enemies. They were well respected by the rest of the Horde and inspired fear and terror in all who beheld them in battle.Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal manual, Clans of Draenor, Bonechewer Clan
The majority of the clan appears to have been turned into fel orcs, including their chieftain, Tagar Spinebreaker. The only remnant of their clan that may have been spared this fate were those who were left behind on Azeroth to defend the Dark Portal under Grommash Hellscream; though it is unknown if any of these warriors survived.
==History==
===Origin===
Roughly 800 years before the First War, some of the orcs who migrated out of Gorgrond settled in the jungles of Tanaan, later known as Hellfire Peninsula. Though there was no shortage of wild game, Tanaan was tremendously perilous, filled with Primals, poisonous plants, and venomous animals. Furthermore, there were dark caves and hollows that seemed to vibrate with sinister, shadowy power. Sometimes the orcs who tapped into this essence found glory, but other times they found madness. Tanaan's orcs adopted a savage, superstitious mindset. Those who kept their sanity called themselves the Bleeding Hollow clan, while those who truly lost themselves to the dark impulses of the wilds were exiled and, over time, formed another, smaller clan known as the Bonechewers. The two clans were never allies, but were also rarely at war. The jungle was a dangerous enough enemy for both.
===Rise of the Horde===
The Bonechewers were present at Oshu'gun when Ner'zhul announced the draenei as the enemies of the orcs.Rise of the Horde, page 103 Shortly after Blackhand was named Warchief of the Horde, he assigned specific roles to the various clans. The Bonechewers were among the clans assigned to act as scouts, raiders and auxiliary forces that could quickly move from one region of Draenor to another. Later, the clan was present during the drinking of the Blood of Mannoroth atop the Throne of Kil'jaeden.Rise of the Horde, pg. 248
After the Horde had conquered much of Draenor, the threat of starvation caused many orcs to grow more agitated and turn on each other, clashing in short-lived battles that left hundreds dead. Several clans, among them the Bonechewers, completely lost themselves to the depths of madness. To protect the rest of the Horde, Blackhand banished the violent clans from Hellfire Citadel to the remote areas of Hellfire Peninsula in order to preserve some of the Horde's dwindling strength.
When the Horde prepared to invade Azeroth, Blackhand ordered the troublesome clans to remain on Draenor, since he believed that they would become liabilities if allowed to participate in the invasion. He knew that the clans would grow restless on Draenor, but a few months of waiting while hearing only stories of the lush new world and seeing only scraps of the war spoils would force them to be on their best behavior. If the clans were still uncontrollable, they could stay on Draenor and rot, for all Blackhand cared. After the fall of Stormwind City, the new Warchief Orgrim Doomhammer sent messengers to Draenor to call up the remaining clans in order to replenish the Horde's numbers, but the messengers later returned to inform the Warchief that the clans on Draenor had descended deeper into bloodlust and had begun fighting with one another, allowing only a few orcs and ogres to bolster the Horde.
Over time, the Bonechewers moved to Nagrand. The region was one of the last of Draenor still being lush and green. Ironically, the Bonechewers preserved Nagrand somewhat, for in their battle-craze they had not bothered much with warlocks, as such not spreading more of the fel taint that had already ruined Tanaan Jungle.Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 4
===Beyond the Dark Portal===
By the time that Ner'zhul was preparing to create the Horde of Draenor, the Bonechewers were led by Hurkan Skullsplinter, who possessed the Skull of Gul'dan as a trophy. One day, Grommash Hellscream of the Warsong clan was sent by Ner'zhul to recruit the clan into the fold. The Bonechewers were known to be frightening warriors; to the point that many clans did not attack them out of fear of reprisal. Preparing his warriors; Grommash managed to counter their bloodthirsty recklessness with strategy; allowing him to cut through their ranks to find their chieftain.
Grommash and Hurkan spoke; even as the latter mockingly waved around the arm of a dead Warsong orc he'd slaughtered. Hurkan was reluctant, but willing, to rejoin the Horde; desiring new conquest and enemies for his warriors to fight. When all seemed well, however, Grommash revealed he had also come for the Skull; Skullsplinter's prized trophy. Explaining that the skull had been retrieved by a warlock, who was in turn slain by a warrior, who was in turn slain by Hurkan (though Skullsplinter speculates there may have been more to that chain); the skull was his most prized possession and would not part with it. Seeing that Hurkan would not be swayed, Grommash attacked and killed Hurkan in order to claim the Skull for the Horde before offering the rest of the clan a choice between joining the Horde or being destroyed. Tagar Spinebreaker stepped up and became the new leader of the clan in service to the Horde.Beyond the Dark Portal, pg. 41-44
Tagar and several of the finest warriors of the Bonechewers were present as a group led by Teron Gorefiend attempted to sway Rend Blackhand and Maim Blackhand to return their forces, such as the Blackrock clan and Dragonmaw clan, to the Horde; as well as the red dragons they commanded. Rend immediately rejected this, claiming that Ner'zhul had abandoned them while Rend and Maim had rallied what remained of the Horde; and that he was now warchief. After being rebuffed, Tagar threatened to slaughter the Blackhand brothers, though was talked down by Gorefiend who pointed out that they had many guards. While departing from Blackrock Spire, the group ran into a human on the road. After charging to slaughter the human, Tagar was left stunned as the human not only was able to hold his warmaul back with one hand, but repel him afterwards. This human was revealed to be no human at all, but the black dragon Deathwing; who sought an alliance with the Horde of Draenor.Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 8
Shortly afterwards, Tagar was sent to the Tomb of Sargeras alongside Fenris Wolfbrother and Ragnok Bloodreaver in order to retrieve the Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras. Several Bonechewers were viciously slaughtered by the Tomb Guardian in the process.Beyond the Dark Portal, pg. 135-145
After successfully retrieving the Scepter, Tagar was told by Gorefiend to divide up some of his warriors to remain behind on Azeroth with Grommash to defend the Dark Portal.Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 12 It is unknown if any of these warriors survived, but if they did, they were likely rounded up by the Alliance of Lordaeron and sent into internment camps or escaped into the wild with Grom and the Warsong clan. Tagar himself is later seen on Outland in The Burning Crusade, meaning that he must have returned to Draenor.
===The Burning Crusade===
A large number of Bonechewers were transformed into fel orcs by the Illidari, and to this day they can be found scavenging used equipment in Hellfire Peninsula, presumably to gather war machine parts for their masters in Hellfire Citadel. Although these scavengers are the lesser of the fel orc clans, their strength is the match of any green-skinned orc.Fel Orc Scavengers Tagar Spinebreaker himself can be found wandering near the Path of Glory, and the Hellfire Ramparts in particular are filled with Bonechewers. Horde adventurers were tasked with killing Bonechewers and collecting their blood for Apothecary Zelana so that she could research the origin of the fel orc taint.Bonechewer Blood (quest)
Despite the efforts of the Alliance and Horde to stop the Fel Horde in Hellfire, a number of Bonechewers escaped to the Bonechewer Ruins in Terokkar Forest.An Unwelcome Presence They wasted no time in constructing fortifications and repairing the buildings, day and night.Unruly Neighbors These Bonechewers were allies of the Firewing blood elves and were tasked with keeping the Alliance and Horde forces occupied while the Firewing completed their mana bomb at Firewing Point.Fel Orc Plans (quest) / An Unseen HandPathaleon the Calculator's conversation with Sharth Voldoun Lisaile Fireweaver was employed as a contact between the fel orcs and the Firewing, and she gave orders to the fel orc leader.The Firewing Liaison
Shadowstalker Kaide and Theloria Shadecloak were dispatched by the Horde and Alliance, respectively, to end the threat. They could both have informed their superiors about the situation and received reinforcements, but Theloria thought that asking the Allerian Stronghold officers to dispatch members of their garrison in an attack on the orcs would leave the stronghold too vulnerable to attack,Thinning the Ranks (Terokkar Forest) while Kaide didn't want the extra attention that would result from informing Thrallmar.What Happens in Terokkar Stays in Terokkar Instead, adventurers were employed with thinning the Bonechewer ranks and hampering the fel orcs' part in the mana bomb project.
In the Black Temple, the Halls of Anguish and the Illidari Training Grounds are home to a large number of Bonechewers, with the former also being the lair of Gurtogg Bloodboil, a powerful dire orc.
==Known members==
Name 	Role 	Status	Location
 	Former chieftain 	 	Unknown
 	Last known chieftain	 	Path of Glory, Hellfire Peninsula
(presumed)	Assassin 	 	South of Mag'har Post, Hellfire Peninsula
===Unnamed===
==In Warcraft II==
===Manual===
Leader: Tagar Spinebreaker
Color: Green
The ravaging, cannibalistic warriors of the Bonechewer clan are well respected by the rest of the Horde. Ornamenting themselves with the broken bones and ruined organs of their enemies, the Bonechewers inspire fear and terror in all who behold them in battle.
===Campaign===
The following events were retconned by the novel Beyond the Dark Portal:
The Bonechewers stayed in Draenor when the orcs first crossed the Dark Portal, and were spared the defeat that ended the Second War. When Ner'zhul was preparing the Horde of Draenor to reopen the Dark Portal, the Bonechewers were attacked by his clan, the Shadowmoon, because one of their captains possessed the Skull of Gul'dan as a trophy. Their camp was obliterated and the skull reclaimed.The Skull of Gul'dan (WC2 Orc) Shortly afterwards, Tagar Spinebreaker decided to attempt a foray into Azeroth alongside Fenris Wolfbrother, rising to the challenge and succeeding where their predecessors failed. Ner'zhul refused their suggestions and their clans were slaughtered. Despite the clan's destruction, orc forces with Bonechewer colors were seen assisting the Horde during the retrieval of the Jeweled Scepter of Sargeras, as well as being part of the Horde of Draenor's forces in the human campaign.
==Notes and trivia==
*The Bonechewer clan has been shown to deploy "giant" orcs in the Black Temple. The Behemoths, Combatants and Brawlers were all at least twice the size of their normal fel orc counterparts.
*Gurtogg Bloodboil is surrounded by Bonechewers in the Black Temple but his alternate counterpart is a member of the . The two clans were later confirmed to be related in Chronicle.
*Twice in Beyond the Dark Portal were the Bonechewers depicted as having "human wave" attack strategies, sending many poorly-upgraded troops at the Alliance Expedition.Siege of Vanguard (WC2 Human) and The Bitter Taste of Victory (WC2 Human)
*A map of Draenor in Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal places the Bonechewers in a swamp roughly corresponding to the location of modern-day Zangarmarsh, while the Bonechewer Ruins and certain items in the alternate universe's Gul'rok hint at a Bonechewer presence in Terokkar Forest. Chronicle Volume 2 instead places the clan in Tanaan Jungle.
*Bonechewer US, one of the realms in World of Warcraft, is named after the Bonechewer clan.
==Gallery==
Bonechewer Raider HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
Bonechewer Vanguard HS.jpg| in Hearthstone.
==See also==
*Realm names and their place in Warcraft lore
==References==
 
Category:Fel Horde
es:Clan Mascahuesos
fr:Clan Mâche-les-os
pl:Bonechewer clan