Searchers of the Eye

The Taghumúkai (B.S."Searchers") were a specialized class of enforcers within the inner structure of Sauron's dominion, particularly in Khand, and the Lower Haradic and central Rhûnic Marches. They did not operate as generals or Nazgûl-like warlords, but as ritual interrogators, cultic purifiers, and sorcerer-legates charged with rooting out dissent among populations subject to the lidless Eye.

During his time at the court of Ar-Pharazôn in the late Second Age, Sauron assumed the role of High Priest in the newly erected Temple of Darkness in Armenelos. There, he inaugurated a theocratic dictatorship founded on the doctrines of Melkoric supremacy. Within this regime: Melkor ("Mulkhêr", "Arun" or "Alkar") was worshipped as the supreme god, Eru and the Valar were portrayed as either enemies of truth or even non-existant lies invented by the Elves to deceive mankind. Human sacrifice became the central religious rite, Adherents of the old faith were persecuted, exiled, or offered upon the altar. A form of religious purge, in which Sauron deliberately targeted dissenters and orchestrated a systematic spiritual cleansing to entrench the power of the Cult of Melkor.

Later when returning to his domain, Sauron continued the system as part of his own temple of the All-seeing.

His "Taghumúkai" specialized in the identification and neutralization of groups and individuals who were considered rebels, heretics and "unclean", Practitioners of pre-Sauronic nature soulfullness, as the invocation of Spirits of stone, wind, and beast, artifact-veneration, and dream-paths (animist, totemist, fetishist, shamanoid practises). Remnants of Ithryn Luin-derived magical traditions, Tribal seers, wisemen and conjurers accused of having contact with “rebellious spirits”, and Common folk who maintained ancestral rites outside the sanctioned liturgical structure of the Lidless eye

Their methods were designed not only to extract information but to erase legacies: scrolls burned, names banned, and bloodlines broken.

Unlike the military classes, the Taghumúkai operated in pairs or triplets, often under the leadership of a Witch-Priest or Dark Seer. They carried obsidian tools, ritual brands, and bone-etched tablets covered in runes of negation. Their arrival in a settlement was always preceded by ashes scattered at the boundary stones. Interrogations were conducted in circular tents or tomb-chambers, invoking spells of silence and exposure. Victims were marked with signs of “Unclean Flame” before public sentencing or reconditioning.

While the Nazgûl orchestrated war and dominion, the Taghumúkai ensured ideological purity, feeding reports to Mordor’s overseers and sometimes answering directly to high-ranking cult-servants. In rare cases, they delivered “trophied minds” to Minas Morgul for deeper study. They were feared not for their power in battle, but for their ability to “unmake the inner fire”—to sever soul from will, belief from memory.

Main overview: Domain of the Lidless Eye Portal

Notes[]

The Witch-hunter is a character class in Rolemaster, Inquisitor is an additional "training package".

Editorial Note: This entry contains speculative or fan-based material — such as fanon, fanfiction, or theory constructs — that may not be directly supported by canonical texts. Interpretations offered here are part of the NNCA’s speculative corpus and should not be mistaken for primary Tolkien sources.