bone shakers have always looked peculiar to me. why does a seemingly unrelated thing like this spawn in only rot regions? how is it related to the rot? why does it look like that? 

well, my theory to answer all that is more about the sentient rot, and its properties. my theory is that sentient rot keeps memories of all it consumes. I HAVE EVIDENCE!!!!! the first is the bone shakers themselves. notice they look like very similar coral stems (second image), which are part of iterators. since we know rot consumes iterators, the sentient rot has probably consumed many iterators. sentient rot might take this to another level and absorb these iterators into itself on another level in terms of taking its mind and adding it to itself. bone shakers, to me, are remnants of these consumed iterators. another peice of evidence is in the music. speakingsystems. this sounds much like sounds from many iterators, and maybe some distorted voices? but also, the prince sounds like an iterator, even though he does not look to much like one. also..... the sounds from the throne "sigil" sounds like distant iterator voices, possibly in the rot itself, but probably just the prince. 

perhaps the "sentient" part of sentient rot points to the sentiences of iterators kept in the sentient rot.

speaking of the prince, we need to talk about him also, and why he looks like an iterator. this goes with my previous theory, where he is the sentient rot, taking a body of a consumed iterator, twisting and wapring the body. might be a little far-fetched, but the feathers on his body might possibly maybe but probably not maybe be mimicing the weaver's feathers. maybe he has been visited the weaver? maybe he is mocking the weaver? idk. but back to the theory. the prince's form is the body of a consumed iterator. he says somewhere that this body is so limted..... more evidence is that he is just a bulb beofre you rot to many regions. once he rot enough regions, he takes on his form. this supports my theory because by you spreading rot to other lands, iterators in these lands are also consumed eventually, added to the rot's consciousness across the cycle. he only takes on this form once you rot other times and areas, and likely other iterators. 

so basically, my theory is that bone shakers are remnants or memories of iterators..... and iterators are saved within the setient rot itself. 

also the prince says this, which probably refers to other iterators. 

    The imperative that was in THEM remains in me.

    But I am not wholly them, and not blind to the folly of their forbearers.

Bone shakers and sentient rot theory