Lore:Bonewalker

Bonewalkers
A Lesser Bonewalker (Morrowind)
Type		Undead (Reanimated)
Range		Morrowind
Appears in		Morrowind, Legends

Bonewalkers (or bone-walkers) are skeletal zombie-like creatures covered in gaping wounds and sharp protuberances of bone and metal employed in the rituals that bind them to the mortal plane. All Bonewalkers are considered to be malevolent and dangerous. These revenants are used to guard the ancestral tombs throughout Morrowind.

Though not as powerful as other undead, Bonewalkers are feared for the terrible curses they can bestow upon their foes. Bonewalkers are resistant to frost, poison, and shock attacks. They are known to carry the disease Brown Rot. They can also be summoned by magic users.

Creation

They are created by the Dunmer through sacred ritual, considered by most foreigners to be a form of necromancy. However, the practice of necromancy is outlawed in Morrowind. The Dunmer do not consider the creation of Bonewalkers and other such revenants to be necromancy, instead associating it with traditional ancestor worship. The Dunmer themselves consider the summoning of Bonewalkers through profane ritual to be blasphemy and necromancy; they draw a distinction between ancestral spirits who perform their scared duty, and a sorcerer's thrall, bound to service. Those from outside Morrowind refer to these flesh revenants as simply a form of zombie.

Variants

There are several varieties of Bonewalker that can be encountered, such as Greater Bonewalkers and Lesser Bonewalkers. Greater Bonewalkers are larger and more powerful than the more common Lesserr Bonewalkers. Some Bonewalkers have three precious stones set in their lower jaw, in accordance with ancient magical practice.

History and Mythology

According to the teachings of the Tribunal Temple, Vivec encountered a Bonewalker in the ancestor alcove of House Mora when he came to recover the Treasure Wood Sword. The revenant emerged from a wall and declared that the Sword would not be handed over due to bargains that House Mora had made with Mephala, but Vivec banished it and subsequently recovered the Sword. The Chimer Hortator Nerevar was supposedly transformed into a Bonewalker after his death at the Battle of Red Mountain. Even though this information is lost to the annals of most Tribune histories, he is still depicted in his Bonewalker form on his Temple shrines.

Gallery

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  Greater Bonewalker (Morrowind)

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  Bonewalker (Legends)

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  Temple depiction of Nerevar's Bonewalker form on his shrine

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  Concept art of a Greater Bonewalker known as a "Proxy Dog", which uses a modified nix-hound chassis

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Morrowind and Legends articles.
• Bonelords

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.