Galrauch (2024)

Galrauch, remembered as the "Great Drake" and once known as the "Gold Drake",^[5b] is an ancient Dragon who was possessed by the will of the Lord of Change Fateclaw, and became the first of the two-headed abominations known as Chaos Dragons through the mutating power of Tzeentch, the Chaos God of change and intrigue.

History

At the time when the Elves fought their great wars against the tides of Chaos during the Great Catastrophe under the leadership of the mighty Phoenix King Aenarion, Dragons were at their side. These great wyrms were the nemeses of the armies of the Dark Gods, diving from the skies upon the evil Chaos Warriors, crushing and incinerating them in their thousands.^[2a]

The strength of the Dragons could only be matched by the greatest of the Daemons, living incarnations of their patron Chaos God's power. The epic clashes between these mighty creatures were events of such magnitude that the mortal warriors could only witness them in awe, to later turn them into the songs and legends which have survived from that distant time. The most renowned of these duels was the one that decided the Battleof the Isle of the Dead, where Aenarion and his Dragon Indraugnirfought against four Greater Daemons, one sent by each of the major Dark Gods.^[2a]

During that same battle, the valiant Dragon PrinceLearfin and his mount, Galrauch, the Gold Drake, were leading the left flank of the Elven host against a vast force of Daemons of Tzeentch. Galrauch's glimmering scales clearly marked him as a sibling to the great Indraugnir, the most powerful of all the Dragons, and indeed Galrauch's strength was second only to Aenarion's legendary mount.^[2a]

Great was the slaughter on both sides that day, and eventually, Galrauch and Learfin came upon the Lord of Change that was at the head of the Daemons. The creature wielded Chaos Magic with such mastery that soon his spells blasted through Learfin's defences, slaying the noble Elf. Mad with grief, Galrauch fell upon the Daemon, determined to exact revenge at the cost of his own life. Surprisingly, the great form of the Lord of Change offered no resistance and the huge jaws of the Dragon snapped shut around his bird-like head, ripping it clean off. The broken body of the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch instantly dissolved into a multi-coloured mist that enveloped the raging Dragon and then disappeared.^[2a]

Galrauch, resplendent in victory, flew high into the air, and the Elf warriors below him raised cries of triumph. But their cheers died away when the Dragon's body became suddenly wracked by violent convulsions. The mighty drake froze in mid-air, and an evil, iridescent light appeared in its eyes. His scales flowed like water, forming into evil, leering faces that cackled maniacally in praise of Tzeentch.^[1a]

Foul tentacles and wicked spikes emerged from the Dragon's flesh, and finally the once-noble head of Galrauch split into two all the way down to the base of his neck. Where there was once one head, there were now two, and to the horror of the Elves below, both turned towards their ranks.^[1a]

One head belched dark fire, burning scores of Elves alive, but the other breathed a sorcerous mist that brought horrible mutations and madness to all it touched. The heads were governed by the same will at first, but soon they started to tear at each other with hatred, a sure sign that the spirit of the great Dragon had not been completely destroyed. The mind of the Lord of Change that had possessed Galrauch managed to wrest control of the powerful DRagon body once again, but not before the Elves and Dragons had broken the back of the Daemon armies.^[1a]

Galrauch withdrew from the lands of mortals and slept for centuries at a time, emerging now and then throughout history to wreak havoc on the lands of Elves, Dwarfs and Men. Legend has it that he was the first of the Chaos Dragons, and that many were the dark creatures born of his blood and of his evil sorcery.^[1a]

Destruction of Karak Vlag

For many centuries, Galrauch had lain dormant, sleeping in a deep cavern within the Worlds Edge Mountains. To short-lived Men, Galrauch only existed in tales told to frighten children, but the other mortal races had far better memories of this terrible creature.^[5b]

The Dwarfs of Karak Vlag had long been mining deeper and deeper towards the heart of the world. It was Dwarfs from the clan of King Thurgrim Rockarm who stumbled upon Galrauch's treasure-filled lair. The king was summoned and instantly recognised the great Dragon from tales that had been passed down through his ancestors. Alas, such is the Dwarfs' fondness for gold that greed overcame all reason and the Dwarfs stole away with as much treasure as they could carry.^[5b]

Before he had lapsed into his deep slumber, Galrauch had placed a curse on his precious hoard, and no sooner did the first Dwarf leave the cavern than the gold flared into a bright hue of rainbow colours. Galrauch immediately awoke. At first his mind was confused as the two consciousnesses that existed within him battled against each other. Then anger overcame reason as he saw the Dwarfs stealing his treasure.^[5b]

Seeing the Dragon wake, the Dwarfs fled for their lives, but Galrauch was upon the small party in an instant, devouring them whole. The king and a small bodyguard managed to escape the carnage, saved only by the brave sacrifice of his fellow clansmen. He quickly made his way back to his great hall, where he instructed the guards to sound the great horn that alerted the clans in the hold of approaching danger.^[5b]

The Dwarfs made ready to fight the Dragon. Dwarf holds are built to keep attackers out but Galrauch was already inside the mountain stronghold and was able to snake his way through the tunnels and finely-carved passageways into the heart of the karak.^[5b]

Now that he had been awoken, Galrauch's twisted, Daemon mind was eager to wreak carnage upon the mortal world once more. With hunger from centuries of slumber gnawing at his stomach and a strong desire for vengeance against the plunderers who had disturbed his rest, Galrauch attacked the Dwarfs of the hold.^[5b]

The Dwarf warriors were brave and many of their elders still clung to distant memories of fighting Dragons in days long since past, but they were not prepared for the devastation the ancient Chaos Dragon was about to unleash. Galrauch was well-versed in the art of magic. He had not practiced his dark art for centuries and relished unleashing his ancient powers.^[5c]

Sorcerous blasts flew at the gathered Dwarfs and even the magical runes of protection that had been carved unto the walls of the hold were unable to protect them from the barrage of attacks. For many days the Dwarfs battled the Chaos Dragon but even their most ancient Runesmiths were unable to prevent the fall of Karak Vlag to Galrauch's magic.^[5c]

The few Dwarfs who survived the fall of the hold speak of it being so saturated in magical energy that it now no longer truly exists in the material realm. Instead, the hold now phases between the Known World and the Realm of Chaos and hordes of Daemons fill the great halls where once Dwarfen kings ruled.^[5c]

Devastation of Languerre du Lac

Having fed upon both the bodies and the souls of the Dwarfs he had destroyed, Galrauch was full of vigour. He took to the skies and sought to discover how the world had changed whilst he had slept. He saw how the kingdoms of Men had spread and where once there had been forests, now their towns and cities had sprung up like pox.^[5c]

Whilst flying over the lands of Bretonnia, the Chaos Dragon caught the scent of one of his children far below. Eager to test the strengths and powers of his kindred he swooped down to discover that not only had his twisted offspring been killed but that its Bretonnian slayer had proudly mounted the Chaos Dragon's skulls over the gates that led into a well-fortified Bretonnian city.^[5c]

Enraged, the ancient Chaos Dragon landed in the castle courtyard, an ear-piercing howl reverberating around the thick stone walls, as both heads sounded their fury. Duke de Lac, who had slain Galrauch's offspring, rode out on his bright white charger to meet the Dragon, his enchanted plate armour gleaming in the sun. He lowered his lance and prepared to despatch this foe as he had done the other Dragon. Spying the duke, Galrauch belched forth a thick noxious cloud of gas from one of his mouths. Black mist billowed into the courtyard, blotting out the sun. ^[5c]

Horrifying, inhuman screams filled the courtyard, and when the mist slowly vanished, all that remained of the courageous duke and his steed was a fallen pile of twisted armour and barding, a black oily substance oozing around it. The Chaos Dragon tore down the city's tall towers, sending tons of rubble crashing down on those who sought to hide within its walls. Those knights who summoned the courage to fight against Galrauch were torn apart by his fearsome talons, the Chaos Dragon's deadly claws ripping apart their fine plate armour as though it were paper.^[5c]

All that remains of the once proud city of Languerre du Lac are the ruins of the gate on which are still hung the huge skulls of Galrauch's kin, a fitting testimony to the fate of those who would slay a Chaos Dragon.^[5c]

Re-Emergence

Many tales are now spreading across the lands of the return of Galrauch. His menacing silhouette has been spied in every corner of the Old World. Tribes of Orcs in the Badlands run in fear from the sight of the dread creature. Even as far as Naggaroth his form has been sighted and all those who see it are filled with dread.^[5c]

Perhaps even more worrying is the waking of other creatures of Chaos at Galrauch's passing. Other Chaos Dragons and all manner of dark monstrous beasts are rumoured to be emerging from desolate mountain caverns and dark forest glades.^[5c]

There is a wide debate amongst the scholars and philosophers of the Empire, as many believe that Galrauch is the herald of a new age of terror. They say that the prophecies point to a time when once again the beasts of Chaos will rise and claim back the land. Others think that these monsters have been all but slain and pushed back to the brink of extinction by the superior technologies of Men.^[5c]

One thing they all agree upon is that Galrauch is indeed a real threat to the Empire, and as yet none have any ideas as how best to deal with this deadly behemoth.^[5c] Hundreds of noble heroes have tried to slay him, but they have all failed, and their remains hang high in Galrauch's lair as a testament to the Chaos Dragon's sorcerous might.^[1a]

Canon Conflict

In the 2nd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Old World Bestiary, the scholar of Chaos, Dr. Athren Abolas, Facilitator of Change, claimed that Galrauch is the father of all 2-headed Chaos Dragons, though not all Dragons who have turned to Chaos are of his line.^[3a]

However, in the novel Van Horstmann by Ben Counter, the two-headed Chaos Dragon Baudros was portrayed as originally a normal drake, transformed by Tzeentch while it lay mortally wounded under Morrslieb's light.^[4a]

Sources

• 1: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)
  • 1a: pg. 56
• 2: Warhammer Armies: Hordes of Chaos (6th Edition)
  • 2a: pg. 100
• 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Old World Bestiary (RPG)
  • 3a: pg. 53
• 4: Van Horstmann (Novel) by Ben Counter
  • 4a: Prologue
• 5: White Dwarf 274 (UK Edition)
  • 5a: pg. 56
  • 5b: pg. 58
  • 5c: pg. 59