Gnawretch Skrray is the castellan-warlord of the Skaven settlement of Under-Middenheim. He is an ancient and malign ratman, personally appointed by a Lord of Decay named Warlord-General Paskrit the Vast.[1a]
It is Gnawretch Skrray's duty to whip purpose and efficiency into Under-Middenheim. He stalks the burrows dressed in the rusted steel of an elite Skaven warrior, and should any tarry in his path, they suffer a jab from his hook hand or the searing agony of his sting.[1a]
History[]
Gnawretch was once the model of a Skaven warrior: tall, muscular, with a thick, dark pelt. Renowned for his ruthless resilience, on campaign in the Worlds Edge Mountains he suffered pangs of black hunger and consumed his own tail and left hand. A dark perseverance alone let him survive the injuries and earned him the respect of lesser Skaven. Warlord-General Paskrit brought Gnawretch into his service, severing his clan ties and extending his life through Warpstone elixirs. Gnawretch grew a new tail, tipped with a lurid-yellow sting. He hasn’t been so fortunate regarding his hand, for he now wears a cruel prosthetic hook.[1a]
Like all the best tyrants, Gnawretch is a consummate bureaucrat and an enthusiastic enforcer of quotas and schedules. Should a Clan Scruten foraging party arrive back late, or Clan Moulder researchers requisition more Warpstone than their due, he logs the discrepancy and delivers swift punishment. He is uncommonly fond of inflicting blindness. An underling who offends him once loses his left eye, and those who fail him twice are left sightlessly groping around the warrens, doomed to be killed and eaten by former comrades. Gnawretch focuses on winning glory through efficient management of Under-Middenheim.[1a]
Skrray hopes that through strict rationing he can increase the under-city's population. He sends Scruten scouting parties out to the surrounding area to search for shards of Warpstone. Much of this he consumes himself, but he stores the remainder as gifts to Clan Skryre in the hope that they will lend support to the project. He also continually petitions the under-city's council to allow him to dig breeding pits and a temple to the Horned Rat, all in the hope of improving the prospect and reputation of the lair.
But the council demands results first. They want Skrray to discover the sources of Middenheim's water supply and whatever it is that fuels the Eternal Flame. Gnawretch sends scouting parties up into the tunnels above for this purpose, but with no success. Those exploring the areas Skrray suspects will yield results are assailed by a gigantic adversary, the nature of which is not clear to the Skaven. Reports of "a big-big goathead thing" are made by the few who survive such encounters.[1a]