#5. Gnash

Lore

The First Real Man

"Archeological and DNA evidence both point to the existence of a single Super Hunter - one extraordinary individual whose dramatic life corresponds exactly with the time and place in human history that Homo-Sapiens avoided extinction and catapulted forward."

– American Journal of Prehistoric Studies


"[points to sky] [walks fingers on palm] [shows two fingers] [shakes fist] [points to self] Do I make myself clear?"

– Gnash

As the story goes...

In the darkness before the dawn of history, Gnash was raised by the harsh jungle itself. The lone hunter was called Long Fang by the saber-tooths, The Beast by the human clans, and Swift Death by the Primordials, an ancient race of savage cannibal apes.

The ruthless Primodrdials drove humankind to the brink of extinction before Gnash emerged to stalk their steps. He devised the very first 'plan' when he drove the last of the Primordials through the Great Crevasse to the Valley of the Never Setting Sun and trapped them there with a giant avalanche.

No one has been in Valhalla longer, and some say he was hunting these heavenly forests before Odin and company arrived. He continues to collect firewood, avoid darkness, store food for winter, and does not seem to understand or care that he is not still on Earth. He talks little about the Tournament, or anything else, but his winning record speaks for itself.

Connections

• He believes Orion is a magic rock monster

Context

Gnash is our resident caveman in Brawlhalla, and luckily we know he was alive when saber-tooths were around. What we know as the saber-toothed tiger goes by the scientific name (genus, if you're wondering) of smilodon. Smilodons lived in the Americas during what we call the Ice Age (specifically, 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 years ago, or Early Pleistocene to Early Holocene). What sort of humans were around during that time? Mostly the genus homo, until about 300,000 years ago. Gnash is likely a homo erectus or homo neanderthalensis. The latter may be more likely, because the common word "neanderthal" comes from that scientific name, and it is commonly used to refer to a "caveman."

Hammer and spear are quite appropriate, since the first tools of the early Stone Age were hammerstones to pound with and chiseled rocks for spears.

Gnash is a good name for a wild, angry caveman. But that wasn't always his name. Alpha versions of Brawlhalla give him the name "Thrulk" for some reason. It could just be a deep-sounding grunt of a name for a caveman character before changing it to Gnash.