Galanthi

**Galanthi** is an alien creature who flew over London in 1896, causing the phenomenon of the Touched.

## History

### Future

In the future, twenty Galanthi aliens crossed portals into the Earth, which had been destroyed by humans. Many people were affected by the Galanthi's spores, having parts of their minds activated so they could comprehend the Galanthi language and technology. Project stations were created to study the Galanthi and their portals.

Two military organizations were at war with opposite ideas on the Galanthi. While the Planetary Defense Coalition (PDC) expected the Galanthi to save humans, the FreeLife Army wanted the aliens to leave. The FreeLife eventually bombed every station and killed nineteen of the Galanthi.

A FreeLife team found the last Galanthi project station. They killed the scientists and hung their bloody corpses over the Galanthi as a means of torture, as the creature had bonded with them. However, they didn't have the firepower to kill the Galanthi, so they signalized the station's location and left in case FreeLife decided to set nuclear bombs.

A PDC pride was called to the signaled place and fought against FreeLife marauders. Both sides called for a full incursion, meaning full engagement between the two sides would commence soon. Major Greenbone of Freelife suggested that killing the Galanthi and closing the portal would tell the world the war was over, saving many lives, including his PDC captors.

The PDC Knitter noticed her team considering it, so she bribed the Stripe Zephyr Navine and asked for her help. She told her that Command thought the murdered team had been helping the Galanthi to build a stable portal so reinforcements would come through it. She believed the twenty Galanthi had been scouts, and more of them would mean they'd turn the tide. Knitter believed that this would not win the war, but the world, making it livable again with the Galanthi's power to end floods, famine, and terra-storms. Stripe argued that change was too scary even for the people who fought for it, which was why FreeLife always won and owned history. Knitter then revealed that she had been FreeLife, but she hoped for a better world, so she asked the same of Stripe.

A shooting began between the Major with a traitorous Boot and the PDC pride. Major told them that the only way for them to live was to get rid of the Galanthi. Byner of the PDC revealed that the Galanthi was already leaving, not bringing reinforcements; the rift was stable because it went the other way. Knitter begged the Galanthi not to leave them, but Byner said it got enough power to get up to the portal. After Boot shoots Knitter, Zephyr kills herself by drinking hazardous waste. In her final moments, the Galanthi passed through her and flew away.

### 1896

On the Monday of August 3, 1896, the Galanthi flew over London and emitted a bright-colored exhaust. These spots of light touched and affected many people, causing some of them to faint. Some of these spores touched Amalia True just after she killed herself by drowning, placing Zephyr in her body. Those touched by the exhaust acquired different turns, or supernatural abilities, with no cases reported with anyone outside London at the time.

After the Galanthi disappeared in an explosion of light, those who witnessed it didn't remember the incident anymore, except Maladie. She claims to have seen God, who put His wreath on her, whereas they turned their back on Him.

Zephyr, who was sent to an asylum and assumed Amalia's name, told Dr. Horatio Cousens that aliens from the future had come to Earth and given them powers. However, she noted that the spores didn't usually give random powers or affect everyone they hit, though she wasn't sure why this time was different. Amalia and Horatio couldn't find anyone who was empathically enhanced to guide them, so Horatio suspected that this was Amalia's mission.

### 1899

In 1899, Lavinia Bidlow overviews the underground tunnel where there's an excavation around a bright-colored orb, the Galanthi. The workers all walk in line, including Elisabetta Cassini, a Touched woman bearing a large scar on her head after Dr. Edmund Hague experimented on her.

Mary Brighton had the turn of singing a song only the Touched can hear, which Amalia recognizes as the
voice of the Galanthi. Myrtle Haplisch, using her turn of omnilingualism, deciphers a message in Mary's last song: "Amalia, my lonely soldier. I didn't leave you. I went inside the city. I was damaged... incomplete. I had to heal. Soon we will all be ready. But it's dark. There's a darkness. Find me. Let them help, those who will, but come below and find me. Come before the dark, and we can save..." Harriet Kaur realizes these words are someone who talked through Mary.

In the excavation, the Galanthi begins to crack and emit periodic pulses of light. Lavinia suspects that it's hatching, but Dr. Hague explains that it's more so a chrysalis than an egg. Fearful that it might break and do more harm than good, Lavinia orders for it to be killed. However, Hague explains that, after another week of digging, they'll be able to safely transport it. Lavinia admits that her hope for a cure was childish, and she no longer believes this is the answer. Dr. Hague is still hopeful that they can use this creature to their benefit.

Meanwhile, Amalia shares with the residents of St. Romaulda's Orphanage an admittedly vague explanation of the Galanthi. She says it means a first step into learning why the Touched were brought together and what they are meant to do next. Penance shows Amalia an x-ray of London to determine where to drill to find the Galanthi, believing the location is directly under Grand Abbey. In her first searching, Amalia is joined by Horatio, Annie Carbey, and Augustus Bidlow.

Amalia eventually finds the Galanthi trapped within the earth. She is disgruntled with the creature, who has left with for so long without any form of guidance. She asks why it is hiding and what went wrong, questioning if it's her fault. Amalia remarks that the Galanthi should've brought Knitter or anyone else less broken than her. The Galanthi begins to shake, causing the tunnels to rumble as well. Amalia loses her footing and falls back off the platform as she's having a rippling, memories of Amalia's past and future. Among these visions, the Galanthi appears to Amalia as Myrtle, saying: "Oh, Amalia. This is a long time from this little cave. This, I will need you to forget."

## Behind the scenes

* The artist Dom Lavery shared early concept art for the creature's first appearance, then titled "alien craft." He describes that Gemma Jackson invited him to discuss its appearance; while the concept was to be organic and technological in design, the question was how this balance would be.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 *The Nevers* — "True". HBO, May 16, 2021.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 *The Nevers* — "Touched". HBO, April 11, 2021.
3. ↑ *The Nevers* — "Exposure". HBO, April 18, 2021.
4. ↑ *The Nevers* — "Ignition". HBO, April 25, 2021.
5. ↑ *The Nevers* — "Undertaking". HBO, May 2, 2021.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 *The Nevers* — "Hanged". HBO, May 9, 2021.
7. ↑ Dom Lavery, "So I can finally post some new work. 🙂.…". *Instagram*, April 14, 2021.