Bones of the forgotten dead,
will craft your legs, your hands, your head,
And if you fall, we'll not despair,
In Mortis we have bones to spare.

Bone Golem

Splinter - Mortis, the Death Splinter

Set - Untamed

Class - Reanimated Bone Tank

Size - In their widely varied past, Bone Golems have come in all different sizes. The largest in recorded Dark Eternal history was named Bonhemoth. It was assembled on location in Draykh-Nahka’s Field of Glory, where the titanic bones of dragons, giants and titans are littered from a battle long ago, but a whole team of dark sorcerers. The Lord of Darkness had commissioned them to build the largest golem ever to walk the planet. Using a massive crew of Gloridax laborers for which they paid handsomely, the team of sorcerers managed to assemble the pieces and bring Bonhemoth to life. It even took two or three steps before its leg bones buckled under the enormous weight and it crumbled into a pile of destruction. Bone Golems can also be made from tiny bones, like those of vertebrate insects. A dark sorcerer of yesteryear named Clint Krookshof was famous for the tiny Bone Golems that he designed and created. Not only were some of them so small that they could only be viewed through a looking glass, but they were capable of various forms of espionage, like picking locks and stealing small items. Most of the Bone Golems created today stand roughly twice the height of a man because it has been discovered that they are the most enduring.

Lifespan - Creators of Bone Golems know that their creations are impermanent, so no one is disappointed when they finally crumble into a lifeless pile. It’s not that the bones themselves lose structural integrity, but the spell that binds them together becomes weaker and weaker over time. For a Bone Golem to live longer than a few weeks, it requires constant attention either from its creator or some other master of dark sorcery. And dark magic always takes a heavy toll on its caster, for it requires the sacrifice of tiny pieces of their living souls.

Weapon - Bone Golems are usually considered weapons themselves, so it was surprising when a card was crafted to represent them in the sacred game of Splinterlands. Some have tried to make basic swords and clubs for the golems to hold in their hands, but their grip is very clumsy and the golems do not seem to understand the purpose of weaponry. It is far easier for the sorcerers to simply make the arm and the weapon one and the same. In the golem jousts held as a spectator sport, both golems are given swords and helmets, but mainly because it makes the whole event more enjoyable to watch. In tournament battle, Bone Golems have no need for weapons.

Habitat - Because they are only made of bones, Bone Golems have comparatively lighter weight than people and are able to travel aboard ships. However, almost all Bone Golems are assembled in Mortis, and because they have very short “lives” once they have been magically animated, they can be found elsewhere only rarely. There is a very large warehouse in the city of Utopin that contains over a thousand ready-made Bone Golems that have not yet been brought to life. The Dark Lord demands that both the golem stock and the number of sorcerers trained in golem animation to be be kept at maximum ready. These golems in the face of an invasion would create a powerful, surprising, and completely disposable army. Even after the army of golems is destroyed, its pieces can be reassembled again. There are plenty of Dark Eternal workers to get the assembly done.

Diet - There is no need for Bone Golems to eat anything, nor to be built with the mechanisms to do so. The only reason to give them mouths is so that they can make frightening noises in the direction of their enemies, which they do entirely on their own.

Allies - Each Bone Golem has only a single ally: The sorcerer who crafted it and brought it to life. But Bone Golems are more tool than person. Is a hammer friends with the carpenter? If the creator is not paying specific attention to a Bone Golem at every moment, the golem’s movements and actions quickly make no sense. After just an hour of neglect, most Bone Golems forget how to fight, and after three hours, they no longer know how to move. But when controlled directly by the creator, they can accomplish incredible things, and in some cases they even develop characteristics that are not unlike personalities.

Enemies - Bone Golems do not consider anyone their enemies, even those who they are ordered to destroy in combat. They are an audience favorite in the Moxian tournaments, especially among the children. But some Dark Eternals quietly despise the existence of Bone Golems, doing whatever they can to secretly sabotage their crafting. The identity of these rebels has not been discovered, so they are simply referred to in Mortis as the bonebashers. Even though the Bone Golem warehouse is heavily guarded at all times of day, bonebashers manage to sometimes infiltrate its walls and wreck the Bone Golems when no one is looking.

Pastimes - Because Bone Golems are only able to live and move when under a sorcerer’s spell, they have no leisure activities. Their default is to simply stand behind the sorcerer who created them until instructed to do something. In Moxian essence combat, the creator sorcerer for each summoned Bone Golem is not present, so the Summoner is the one giving orders to the golem. Bone Golems are capable of pretty much any activity, but they would never be motivated to perform any of them on their own.