Galachán

Galachán is an Angmarim sorcerer active during the conflict between the Free Peoples and the forces occupying Gundabad and its surrounding regions. He is known primarily through the testimony of associates and adversaries, preserved in fragmentary journals and mission records, which depict him as a dangerous practitioner of fell magic involving corrupted crystals and the manipulation of beasts.

Galachán's activities appear to have centered on experimental sorcery, combining spellcraft with naturally occurring crystals harvested from deep within Gundabad. These sarrowstone crystals were noted for their foul stench and unusual properties, and Galachán had access to spells capable of altering their nature.

Galachán is described as erratic and increasingly unstable. He was perceived by one associate as mad, prone to raving about whispers and promises from the Dark, and issuing threats during rare moments of lucidity. Despite this apparent instability, his magical work demonstrated considerable sophistication.

Much of what is known about Galachán derives from the Crystal Journal, written by an Angmarim associate exiled to Elderslade and compelled to assist in Galachán's work. According to this journal, Galachán provided a spell, poorly written and difficult to decipher, that was to be performed upon the harvested crystals.

When enacted, the spell appeared initially inert, though it altered the crystals' smell and later proved to have significant effects. Over time, the enchanted crystals were discovered to seep power into Wargs, driving them into a frenzy while also enhancing their strength. Attempts to replicate this effect on Orcs, Hobgoblins, and other creatures initially failed, suggesting a limited or specific affinity between the crystals and Wargs. The crystals were not inexhaustible: prolonged exposure caused them to lose their color and potency, becoming increasingly transparent as their power faded.

The journal records that Galachán secretly traveled deeper into Gundabad than the known harvesting chambers. By means of a simple illusion cast upon a cavern wall, he concealed a hidden passage leading to a lower chamber suffused with a green glow and an overwhelming stench matching that of the crystals. The journal's author came to believe that Galachán could not have devised his most advanced spellcraft alone, and suspected he was working under, or in concert with, a more powerful and unknown master.

Galachán trained multiple Angmarim sorcerers, several of whom continued or expanded upon his methods:

• Calaminag, an Angmarim sorceress stationed in the tower of Tûr Ágal, was specialized in illusion magic and wielded techniques intended to induce fear, confusion, and madness.
• Brágha Fellwinder, another of Galachán's students, applied similar corrupted crystal magic to the augmentation of Wargs and broader military aims. His work became a significant concern to the defenders of Gundabad.
• Other Angmarim agents, including Fioth, Iuvár, and Mádath, were later identified as operating under Galachán's command or following his teachings, conducting experiments throughout Clovengap involving corrupted sarrowstone crystals and the warping of local creatures.

Galachán himself remained conspicuously absent even as his students were defeated and their plots overthrown.