Mellow. Musical. Mourning. James came into the world on a spring day in 1981. One bright, cheerful, bubbling and giggling Bone Gnawer baby. Right from the start his parents knew what he was, and so did the resident sept. While his childhood education wasn't the most rigorous, he was aware of the other side of things right from the beginning, and you can bet it influenced his formative years on the streets of Albany. He was born a Hood. And he will always be a Hood. But that doesn't stop one from making the best of what life presents to you, and that's something that James learned early. It's the Gnawer way. He met Frankenwielers which knew their way into the museums of the area, and the Albany University. From this, the streetrat's education was better than most. He learned to read, write, appreciate history and the Classics, and he learned of music... Music was something that struck a chord within him, literally. He learned beat, rhythm, and tone. The young pre-change Gnawer learned how to put it, and his charm, to the best of use. By the time he hit thirteen he was already making money as a street performer. Because he learned that you could make just about anything a passable drum. And when you add the ready availability of an instrument to street wit and performer's charm - James had it made. It doesn't make him any incredible amount of cash, but it's enough to get by. It's enough to buy the occasional amenities, though he mostly spends it on food (hey.... everybody eatz, even if it's just macaroni and cheeze). 
They called him Jukebox. Because he could (and would) play anything. Trashcans, buckets, boxes, paincans, walls, sidewalks, benches. Everything had a rhythm. You just had to learn it. Life on the streets is hard, even for a Gnawer. Even for an Ahroun. Even after one's first Change. James learned, quickly, he had to defend himself, his food, his pad, his beliefs, and his possessions - as they were, and not always in that order. James learned Kali. Already, the boy weilded anything that could be made into a drumstick fairly effectively. But wood tends to break when you use it with excessive force. So he turned to something else. He turned to rebar. He had already found that the bars of steel made some interesting changes to his music, so the natural progression came to making what worked as a baseball bat lighter, faster, and a whole lot deadlier. Picking through a construction site one night, he found two scrap pieces of rebar, perfectly straight, almost three feet long each.... a few choice pieces of scrap fabric to wrap the ends.... and they've been with him ever since. Along the way, James fell in with a group of other young Gnawers. They packed. They began fighting the Wyrm in the Bone Gnawer way. They were making some progress. But then they lost. They lost hard. James earned a new deed name the night everything else was ripped out of his life. A smart-mouthed Theurge Elder saw fit to commemorate those dark hours not only in phrase, but in a twisted Litany stained into his flesh. The ashen scars of Crinos claws littering his back from shoulders to waist serve as haunting reminder that will follow him to the grave. There are many lessons Gaia will teach her Children. Some will be easy to accept, others will be confusing, and then there will be those that are cruel enough to make you believe She has forgotten the sacrifices her Warriors have made. Never allow your heart to accept what darkness grows in such doubt, James, draw upon the strength She blessed you with at birth. Have faith Gaia will deliver understanding when She decides her Chosen are ready.That was somewhere near the close of 2000; it wasn't until sometime during the next spring that he was really seen again. He floated around the local Sept. Withdrawn. Mourning. Refusing to tell the story of what happened to his pack. He told it once. He never wanted to tell it again. Especially not while he still struggled to understand. Two years later the barking chain brought wind of Wyrm troubles in New Jersey. The Sept was quick to act and send what aid they could afford. Most Gnawers go on a walkabout to discover themselves, anway, and now was James' time. The answers to his questions were obviously not going to be found in Albany's ghosts and guilt. Perhaps it was finally time for Gaia to share Her wisdom with the young Gnawer. Revelations waiting on nuetral ground. A few days later he was in Jersey and fell in with a pack of Northside Urrah. For some reason, he let his guard down and packed with them. That's when things really started getting complicated. 
.11.17.02. / .07.20.05. |