Template:ACOWAR Spoilers The Bone Carver is a chthonic immortal being of immense power from another dimension that the Prythian Fae refer to as one of their "Old Gods".
He and his siblings are referred to as "death gods", because their powers allow them to eat life itself.
His true name is currently unknown.
History
The Bone Carver's origins are steeped in legend, even among the Fae, but in A Court of Wings and Ruin, he tells some of his tale to Feyre Archeron and Cassian when they visit him in The Prison, where he lives.
In the far distant past, in the time before "the Cauldron and the Mother" and before the Kingdom of Prythian was created, the Bone Carver had crossed dimensions from another world (he states he "fell" into their world from his own, along with his twin sister, Stryga, and his older brother, Koschei.) The three siblings, who were immensely powerful by this world's standards, were set up as 'gods' by the ancient Fae living in the world, and they were then worshiped out of fear by those ancient Fae.
Interestingly enough, the Bone Carver implied that he did not share his siblings' "delight" from such a worship.
The Bone Carver claimed that of the three siblings, he was the weakest in magical strength and as a result, he feared his two siblings. It was that fear which drove him to hide himself away from the world. He allowed himself to be bound to The Prison by the same female Fae warrior (unnamed) who had first tricked his sister into "diminishing her power and being confined to the Middle" and later "confined and bound" his brother, Koschei to "his little lake on the continent".
In an odd twist of fate, the Bone Carver referred to that tricky female Fae with some fondness, stating that no one remembered her name all these eons later, but he did, and that he would not forget it. "She would have been my salvation, had I not made my choice long before she walked the earth", he said of her, implying that he might have been her mate (as "salvation" is a term many mated pairs use when referring to their beloved mates).
By A Court of Thorns and Roses, tens of thousands of years after his incarceration, the Bone Carver was referred to by everyone in Prythian as one of the "Old Gods".
When Feyre and Rhysand visited the Bone Carver in order to get information about Hybern in A Court of Mist and Fury, Feyre answered questions about the death she'd experienced in A Court of Thorns and Roses in exchange for the Bone Carver's knowledge. He was unusually interested in what Death looked like and how it felt.
During that same meeting, he claims Rhysand was not only more clever than the High Lords before him from his Court, but that he was, in fact, the Bone Carver's favourite among his entire family's number. He attempts to make a bargain with Rhysand for Feyre's bones when she dies, but then revokes the offer, stating he knows Rhys would never agree to such a bargain.
Later, in A Court of Wings and Ruin, when Feyre asked the Bone Carver if he would return to his old home world if he could, he stated that he believed the world he'd originated from was now just "dust drifting across a plain" and that there was no home to go back to in his case. Thus, he was totally uninterested in using the Cauldron to return him to his home world. He also had no interest in letting his siblings know of his whereabouts, as he'd claimed that although their powers were diminished over the ages, they were still considerable, and so he chose to stay in The Prison rather than fight for Feyre.
Later in the same book, when Feyre struck a bargain with him to help her save Prythian from Hybern and his army, the Bone Carver asked her to first retrieve an infamous and powerful magical object for him from Keir in the Court of Nightmares before he'd agree to serve as Feyre's soldier: the Ouroboros mirror, which was known to drive mad all who look within its reflection. After Feyre did as he'd wished and became Mistress of the Mirror, she'd brought it to the Bone Carver, as requested. He'd seemed amazed that she'd actually done it, claiming the request was only a test to see if Feyre could actually succeed; his way of determining whether or not Feyre was worthy of commanding his loyalty. From his reaction to possessing the mirror at long last, however, it was implied that the Bone Carver's interest in the mirror was more personal than he'd let on. Perhaps he really did want the mirror, if only so he could look upon his true self just once (as he could not see himself as he really was, due to the nature of his magic).
During the final battle with Hybern, the Bone Carver appeared in front of the combined Fae Court armies in a Fae-bound body of an Illyrian warrior, dressed in Illyrian battle gear and wielding a large bone scimitar as his weapon of choice. When the battle started, he, Bryaxis, and his twin sister, Stryga, were first to march into Hybern's ranks. He cut a swath through the army with his scimitar, like he was "threshing wheat". The bodies of his victims were turned to dust.
At one point during that battle, Feyre had some trouble commanding him not to harm her army, only Hybern's, but her will won out and the Bone Carver obeyed, albeit reluctantly.
It is implied in the text that the Bone Carver had divined his own death sometime prior to the final battle with Hybern, as at the moment the Cauldron's intense heat wave smashed into him upon the battlefield, he turned to Feyre and smiled at her, as if saying 'goodbye'. The Cauldron burned him to ash an instant later, leaving behind his enraged and mourning sister, Stryga, to fight on against Hybern in his stead.
In the end, the Bone Carver—an outsider, a recluse, a being who lived in fear of himself, of his family, of living for tens of thousands of years, who was one of the 'greatest monsters' in Prythian history—died a hero, fighting for others in the name of goodness. And no one living ever knew his true name.
Powers and Abilities
The Bone Carver's primary power is to divine the future, specifically the deaths of others. He often carves those death scenes into bones brought to him by others (gifts in exchange for the knowledge he possesses).
As a result of his divination ability, the Bone Carver also has an innate power to "see" or "hear on the wind" magically what is happening in the world at all times in the present (the exception being he can't "see" the Cauldron, although he can "hear" it). This gives him a vast amount of knowledge, which others seek to possess.
Another power appears to be his ability to glamour himself, so that whoever looks upon him, will see someone else (and he is aware of who it is they see, and the importance of that reflection). His true form is never revealed in the books.
- To Feyre, the Bone Carver appeared as a beautiful, dark haired child with violet-blue eyes - her future son with Rhysand
- To Rhysand, the Bone Carver appeared as Jurian
- Cassian has also seen the Bone Carver, but that vision was not divulged in the novels
In battle, the Bone Carver has two weapons he utilizes:
- A scimitar made of bone that can be magically wielded to turn its victims into dust
- His breath, which magically 'dusts' his enemies
Appearances
- A Court of Mist and Fury (first appearance)
- A Court of Wings and Ruin
| Characters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Main Characters | Feyre Archeron · Rhysand · Nesta Archeron · Cassian · Azriel · Elain Archeron · Tamlin · Lucien Vanserra · Morrigan · Amren · Amarantha · King of Hybern | |
| Supporting Characters | Alis · Andras · Beron · Bogge · Bone Carver · Bron · Cerridwen · Clare Beddor · Cresseida · Drakon · Devlon · Emerie · Eris · Graysen · Gwyneth Berdara · Feyre's Father · Hart · Helion · Ianthe · Isaac Hale · Isaac Hale's Wife · Jurian · Kallias · Keir · Koschei · Mercenary · Miryam · Mortal Queens · Mrs. Laurent · Naga · Nuala · Unnamed Summer Court Faerie · Tarquin · Suriel · Thesan · Tomas Mandray · Varian · Vassa · Weaver | |
| Mentioned Characters | Aunt Ripleigh · Dark Mother · Feyre's Mother · Mother · Rhysand's Father · Rhysand's Mother · Rhysand's Sister · Nostrus · Queen of the Black Land · See more... | |