..Uncouth black things with smooth, oily, whale-like surfaces, unpleasant horns that curved inward toward each other, bat wings whose beating made no sound, ugly prehensile paws, and barbed tails that lashed needlessly and disquietingly. And worst of all, they never spoke or laughed, and never smiled because they had no faces at all to smile with, but only a suggestive blankness where a face ought to be.. – Unknown

Gaunts are the vultures of the Scorned King. They consume the remains of his victories and massacres like maggots to carrion, and often fly miles above his bulk. They have been described as tall and demonic creatures with featureless heads, curved horns, and enormous cosmic wings that utter no sound.

Allegedly, Gaunts are considered the herald of the coming of the Scorned King, as they have been reported to arrive on the scene just mere minutes before the monarch appears himself. Usually, Gaunts are seen as pests to even the Scorned King, and a mere byproduct of his presence only existing to be ignored. When the Scorned King is in combat, the Gaunts will orbit far above the Scorned King and wait for the carnage to subside; at that point, they will feast on the corpses below with an ineffable feeding orifice not visible to the naked eye.

There have been reports of Gaunts assisting the Scorned King in battle, however. The Great Tome of Yith specifically mentions the Gaunts coming to the Scorned King’s aid during the War of the Vigil to help slay the Vigil Ones in their rather one-sided battle.