The Wizard Calatin is a mabden who first appears as an ally to Corum Jhaelen Irsei, but then becomes his main adversary through the SIlver hand trilogy. He appears in the Bull and the Spear, the Oak and the Ram, and the Sword and the Stallion.
Plot[]
The Bull and the Spear[]
Corum first encounters Calatin in his struggle against the hell hounds and ghoolegh, in which Calatin uses the horn of Kerenos to drive them away. After they become acquainted and Corum tells him of his quest, Calatin agrees to lead Corum to the place where he would find the Sidhi who guards the Spear of Bryionak, but in return Corum is to bring him back some of the Sidhi's spittle. Calatin then gives Corum the horn of Kerenos for protection.
When Corum later returns with the spear and the sample he promised, Calatin is furious to learn that Corum traded the horn for the spear, and to make Corum fulfil his part of the bargain, he makes the Vadhagh prince give him the scarlet robe, to which Corum reluctantly agrees, assuming the name Corum Llaw Ereint from then on.
The Oak and the Ram[]
As Corum and Jhari-A Connel venture to Caer Llud to rescue the High king Amergin of the mabden, they learn that Calatin had not only been apparently conspiring and allied himself with the Fhoi Myore, but he had also enslaved the Sidhi Goffanon Corum encountered in the previous novel. He now sees Corum as a threat to his goals, having no problem ordering Goffanon to slay Corum on sight. Corum and Jhari in the end manage to rescue both Amergin and Goffanon and escape Caer Llud. Goffanon then reveals that Calatin had deceived Corum in the first novel in order to gain control of the Sidhi.
They then have another encounter with Calatin, who brings forth one of the Fhoi Myore to battle Corum in order to obtain the Vadhagh's cadaver. Corum and his company manage to defeat the frost giant, making Calatin flee.
The Sword and the Stallion[]
When Corum learns of a mysterious doppelganger in his image which had been terrorizing the mabden, he travels to an island called Ynis Scaith. When he arrives there, Corum is shocked to see Goffanon serving Calatin once again. Calatin informs Corum of King Mannach's, his lover Medhbh's father, death, and that several of the Fhoi Myore still remain and are battling the mabden as they speak. Calatin then reveals that with the help of the Emperor Sacrtic he created the changeling that Corum heard of at the beginning of the novel, and to fulfil his part of the deal, he relinquishes the control over Goffanon to the Emperor. But when Goffanon breaks the control, Calatin orders the changeling to kill Sacrtic. Corum is then shocked to learn that the changeling is built in his exact image, down to the scarlet robe he gave to Calatin in the first novel. The twins then engage in battle, in which Calatin is mortally wounded by Corum. The changeling then picks up his corpse and walks into the sea with it.
Skills and abilities[]
Calatin is a skilled and resourceful wizard. He was able to maintain control over a sidhi with no apparent struggle (in close proximity). Calatin is also shown to be good at manipulating people. He successfully deceived Corum, Lord Sacrtic and the Fhoi Myore until he saw no further use of them. Calatin had apparently also achieved immortality throughout his life.
Trivia[]
- Calatin had a big family, consisting of at least 2 wives, 27 sons, and one grandson. All were already dead when he first met Corum.
- Three of Calatin's sons died on their quest to obtain Goffanon's spittle.
- The changeling Calatin created in Corum's image was named Karach. Karach could be an anglicized form of the scottish-gaelic word caraid which means "friend", implying that Calatin perhaps longed for companionship or a family, given that he calls the changeling his son.