So many faces - Five lesser known Masks of Nyarlathotep

Nyarlathotep.

The Crawling Chaos.

The Messenger of Azathoth.

The Soul and Spirit of the Outer Gods.

The Great Trickster

Nyarlathotep is perhaps one of the most fascinating creations of H.P. Lovecraft's work. Ask the hardcore fans of Cthulhu's Mythos and players of Call of Cthulhu and you'll find that Nyarlathotep is on the list of favorites, perhaps on the top of it. All right, the name of "Cthulhu" is in the RPG´s title and may occupy the highest position in the podium of the great cosmic horrors, but Nyarlathotep is in a noble place.

It is not by chance that some of the most important campaigns involve the evil plans of good old Crawling Chaos. He is so influential in lovecraftian mythology that its manifestations (or avatars) appear in numerous stories. Perhaps this is what makes Nyarlathotep so special: the fact that it has innumerable forms.

Called Masks by fanatic cultists, these multiple faces of Nyarlathotep vary greatly and at times they blend into the folklore of different peoples and places. The avatars of Nyarlathotep, unlike the more conventional horrors of Myths, are almost always close to humanity: tempting, coveting, provoking ... they interact with men, unlike Those great Old Ones or Outer Gods who do not even perceive the presence of humans - treated as mere ants or termites.

But Nyarlathotep does not ... he cares to corrupt, to spread villainy, and to sow chaos wherever he goes. These great cheater is undeniably a humanist.

He was with humanity the moment she arose and will probably be with her the moment she ceases to exist (possibly when He tires of playing with it).

We are accustomed to fearing and respecting some Nyarlathotep avatars that have become extremely popular over the years: The Black Man, The Bloated Woman, The Dweller in Darkness, the God of the Bloody Tongue, The Haunter in the Dark, The Black Pharaoh, The Wailing Writher ... just to name a few which were detailed in the article regarding the five most popular masks of Nyarlathotep.

[Read here about Nyarlathotep's Five Most Terrible Masks.]

In this article, we go the other way and try to relate the five lesser known and more unusual masks of Nyarlathotep.

Without further ado, let's find them:

5 - The Bringer of Plagues

This mask of Nyarlathotep is not exactly unknown, after all, it is quoted directly in one of the most important and influential books of all time. The Bringer of Plagues appears in the Book of Exodus in the Bible. He is a devastating force liberated by the fury of the God of Israel, impinged upon the lands and people of Egypt. It is the very essence of the legendary ten plagues that devastated the once proud Nile Nation.

According to the Old Testament book, the plagues were cast upon Egypt as a way of validating the power of the one true God over the false Gods of Ancient Egypt. And as a way of persuading Pharaoh to free the people of Israel who were kept in slavery. (Remember? "Let my people go"!)

The big question is: if the Bringer of Plagues is actually an avatar of Nyarlathotep, what would have motivated the Crawling Chaos to unleash on Egypt such revenge? Is not Egypt itself the nation most in line with the precepts of Nyarlathotep? For Cthulhu's sake, look at his name ... do you want anything more Egyptian than Ny-Ar-lat-Ho-Tep?

Well, by all accounts, the people of Egypt during the Twelfth Dynasty seemed to annoy old Nyarly. Perhaps he was tired of being associated with Land of the Pharaohs and chose to sweep the nation off the map by subjecting everyone to a real festival of calamities (Calamity Palooza). Who knows, he was trying to sediment the emergence of a new faith that would spread throughout the world and in the following centuries would serve as the backbone of the Western religion. However, it is most likely that Nyarlathotep was bored... and thus, taking the form of a living plague, he started one of the bloodiest chapters of the Bible.

Maybe he is just... #upset.

According to the Cthulhian Encyclopedia, this particular mask does not have a cult in the present day (Fiu!). It is not exactly popular, since it grants no benefit or favor to cultists, in addition to cavalry doses of misery and suffering. It is no wonder that Nyarlathotep does not use it often, for when it does, the milk turns sour... to give you an idea, the last time this thing went free through the land, a whole book was written about, and it is still popular millennia later.

Described as a monumental cloud of locust (one of the most devastating species of insects), the Bringer of Plagues makes his name unappealing. Big enough to swallow a city, the grasshoppers seem endless, they cover the skies and darken the sun itself, turning the day into a noisy night with the clatter of millions of hungry chelicerae and wings. Capable of unparalleled devastation, in the wake of the Plague there is nothing left but deserted fields, torn trees, half-devoured animals, and human bones cleansed of all flesh.

Alternatively, the Bringer of Plagues is able to take on a giant humanoid form by using the mass of millions of gathered locusts. The form resembles a giant marching through the chosen place devastating everything in its path. He speaks with the sound produced by the singing of the locusts and his voice is like thunder roaring in the distance. If the devastation of the locusts is not enough it is supposed that the entity can deflagrate the other biblical plagues, which for the friends who lacked or do not remember Sunday School are the following: water turns to blood, pest of frogs, pest of lice, pest of flies, the death of the flocks, boils, lightning storm, (the already mentioned) locusts, darkness, and the death of the first bornes.

4 - The Green Man

But calm down ... Nyarlathotep is not always in such a bad mood.

Sometimes He can take the form of an entity belonging to the Celtic Folklore, a figure revered by the heathen peoples and which even today inspires some Wiccan girls to whirl around crackling fires.

We're talking, of course about the Green Man. No, this is not an extra of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or an Enchantment of Dungeons and Dragons. The legend of the Green Man is very old and closely associated with the Celtic peoples, being also common among the Saxon tribes.

The myth of "Jack in the Green" was probably born in the British Isles, being assimilated by several people who came to occupy the place. This was an entity that symbolized the power of nature, the energy of the forest, the healing and renewing capacity of the soil ...

With all these seemingly benign attributes, it is difficult to imagine Nyarlathotep using this avatar. But apparently, this Mask is not especially evil or destructive. To be absolutely honest, Green Man is perhaps the most harmless avatar of Nyarlathotep. He does not seek the annihilation of humanity, his suffering or his agony, everything that, as a rule, awakens his joy. On the contrary, the Green Man is a force invoked in ancient rituals for the purpose of renewing the bonds between man and nature. Yeah, right! He is ecologically correct!

Perhaps this is the great trick of this avatar: to move mankind into a new era of peace and love, and intimate relationship with nature ... to make man abandon the ingenious spark that generates industry, modernity and progress. If this is true, the Green Man has not yet been able to reach his goal and perhaps for this reason, the cult has been forgotten for so long. Rediscovered in the last century by individuals willing to return to pagan precepts, who can say they will not succeed in his endeavor.

The Green Man is described as a huge humanoid creature composed of leaves, vines and plants that give it shape. The creature is only seen in "sacred groves" where it appears in Great Oaks, millennial stones and arches of plants. With their emergence, the devotees sing and dance, trying to please him and thus obtain his favor. If satisfied with the homage, the Green Man offers the renewal of the soil, a good harvest or perhaps a communion with nature. The Green Man can accept sacrifices, but they do not carry the negative charge associated with the word "sacrifice." The "victims" are voluntary and according to the rites, submit themselves in exchange for the well-being of every community. Death is not produced with suffering, but as quickly and less traumatically possible. In ancient times it was an honor to become the Green Man's sacrifice.

It is known that Nyarlathotep in assuming this mask can take other forms, but none of them is especially frightening. Animals made of plants, huge trees with human faces and large fruits with human features are some of the options available.

3 - Many-Legged Goat

Next mask. The goat with many legs!

What a hell, dude ...

When we talk about goats, we generally think of Shub-Niggurath and his children, but it seems that Nyarlathotep was interested in invading the black goat neighborhood.

This obscure entity also has no known cult, although there may have been a cult in its honor at some point in human history. Some scholars try to relate the Goat with Many Legs to the myth of the Golden Sheep, believing there has been some corruption or translation error. But such assumptions can not be examined, unless such documents are found.

While this is not happen, we get the question: what the hell is this avatar? Why does it exist? What does it symbolize?

Obviously pertinent questions, but the answers are not so easy.

The Goat with Many Legs is only known through passages contained in some esoteric books and even so its existence is much contested. One of the sources cites that this being is a rural divinity, which manifests very rarely, being born of a goat that generates a calf with multiplicity of limbs. A text suggests that the animal in question has a bleating that resembles the cry of a child, a young woman or a widow (varying according to the source consulted), able to induce people to suffer hallucinations and to experience apocalyptic visions . Once born in this way, the Goat does not live for long, it ends up dying, but rather utters a long and terrifying bleat that causes outbreaks of paranoia, terror and melancholy. A document in the Dusseldorf Library in Germany mentions a supposed case in the fifteenth century in which the birth of a Goat with Many Legs triggered a madness epidemic in a small village in the Rhine Valley.

Another legend concerning the Goat mentions that such a creature would be born of a woman and would have the features of a goat with a more or less humanoid body, in the mold of the Faun entities of Ancient Greece. This creature would be an avatar of Nyarlathotep, albeit mortal and not specifically evil. The avatar's role in this form would be to accumulate knowledge and share spells and mystical knowledge among those who choose to become their followers. No such incident is known to have been recorded, and for some this version of the legend does not pass a fantasy without any foundation.

But who can say for sure ...

2 - TICK TOC MAN 

This is another bizarre avatar of Nyarlathotep, the extreme opposite of the Green Man.

For many, this manifestation has only begun to appear in the last two centuries. So little is known about Tick Toc Men. It is possible that it is one of the most contemporary masks of Nyarlathotep, arising from the advent of industry, eletrical and mechanical development. Some theorists, however, argue that the Tick Tock Man is much older, being known in fifteenth-century Arabia and seventeenth-century Europe when he appeared before clockmakers who operated by spring devices and intricate gears or steam machinists.

An existing document at the University of Bern in Switzerland alludes to the story of a seventeenth-century watchmaker responsible for building extremely fine mechanical marvels in his workshop. He would have built a human-sized automaton that dazzled everyone who witnessed its operation. Denounced publicly for witchcraft practices, the watchmaker was arrested and the automaton destroyed. Rumors mentioning that the automaton had been seen walking alone have spread through the Swiss cantons. Some supposed that the automaton would have acquired life and conscience so great was its perfection. Others, however, argue that Nyarlathotep would have simply dominated the automaton and transformed it into one of its masks - the obscure Tick Tock Man.

Do not be fooled by the name ... the Tick Tock Man is rather bizarre and dangerous.

To begin with, he is not a living creature, in the literal sense. The Avatar takes the form of an artificial being, composed of springs, pulleys, gears and wiring, transistors and servo motors. Its body is a perfect synthesis of man and machine. Metal rods serve as bones, metal plates are flesh, wires serve as veins and capillaries, while oily fluids are the equivalent of blood. His metallic shell is inhabited by an extremely advanced artificial intelligence. The Tick Tock Man in his first appearances seemed to work only mechanically, but there are indications that more recently he could run on charcoal, steam or more commonly electricity. In some descriptions, the entity may use a molded rubber polymer that mimics human skin, disguising itself in this way to walk among men without drawing so much attention.

The Tick Tock Men, like most forms of Nyarlathotep exist for the sole purpose of spread Chaos and Madness. He usually approaches scientists and gives them, through dreams, the inspiration necessary for building a mechanical body to where he transfers his essence. This form can vary widely according to the time and resources available: a Victorian scientist can invent a steam-powered automaton, while an engineer in present day Tokyo can build an extremely advanced robot. Once you take that form, Tick Tock Man gives your "creator" ideas and helps in performing complex calculations that eventually lead to remarkable logic jumps.

One of his primary goals is to provide scientists with plans of devastating weapons and other dangerous technologies. It is believed to have been a manifestation of the Tick Tock Men who provided the inspiration for the creation of weapons throughout the ages, from siege weapons to crossbows, through fighters jet to the intercontinental balistic missile. Mythos theorists wonder what the next technological innovation sponsored by this Nyarlathotep avatar will be. Some bet on the creation of intelligent machines that will eventually overcome the human race itself.

1 - Kruschtya Equation

And we got to the top of Nyarlathotep's list of really weird avatars.

Nor did I have to go far to choose the most strange and unusual Mask used by the Crawling Chaos. No one takes the post of the Kruschtya Equation.

The Equation is not only a complex quantum mathematical theorem that when solved serves to invoke Nyarlathotep. He is much more than that. The equation itself is an avatar of Nyarlathotep. The incredibly sophisticated theorem is far beyond the comprehension of most mortal minds even though it is known by alien races like Sham, Mi-Go, and Yithians. Even those gifted with extreme genius and mathematical brilliance take days or even decades of hard work to decipher the formulas and come to a conclusion. Those who immerse themselves in this complex task often end up acquiring a compulsive obession and are consumed by their own work, gradually losing their reason. Brilliant mathematicians allowed themselves to be contaminated by the Kruschtya Equation and they went completely mad in their attempts to find a solution.

Known only by a few small closed circles, the Equation is a kind of urban legend, discussed by academics and students of pure mathematics in pursuit of a monumental challenge. In the 1960s, the Moscow Academy of Mathematics had a team specialized in trying to unravel the mysteries of the Kruschtya Equation. There are rumors that Dmitri Russalkin, a brilliant Soviet mathematician, has managed to reach the end of the Equation. However, it is not known for sure since Russalkin disappeared after the Academy was destroyed in a bizarre earthquake that strangely affected only the foundations of that building. At the height of the Cold War, American spies seized a microfilm containing part of the solution to the Equation, supposedly the result of the work of a Hungarian scientist at the service of the Nazis in World War II. A group of mathematicians was assembled for the task of unraveling the equation, but the results were not as expected. Three scientists disappeared from the complex, located in Los Alamos, and the research records were destroyed.

People who get involved with the Kruschtya Equation end up attracting the attention of Nyarlathotep, something never pleasant. The Crawling Chaos fills the minds of researchers with bizarre notions and alien knowledge that do not belong to it. The individual begins to speak in strange and unknown languages, has strange inspirations and mentions events or events that have not happened (or are yet to happen). His language becomes less and less coherent as the brain processes information faster and faster. The individual can not stop working, his mind turns entirely into a data processer, while his body slowly deteriorates through lack of rest, exercise and even nutrients.

Finally, the Kruschtya Equation charges the high price for its resolution. The instant the solution is contemplated, the researcher's mind becomes one with Nyarlathotep and he comes to understand the deeper secrets of the Universe. Size accumulation of information is devastating and the individual eventually becomes, himself, an avatar of Crawling Chaos.

Little can be done to save someone who deciphers the Kruschtya Equation. Such individuals remain alive, but their mind is lost, coopted by an absolute knowledge of cosmic secrets, something that no human being is able to absorb and at the same time preserve sanity. Someone with such knowledge becomes a potential danger because their revelations are devastating. Killing the individual frees Nyarlathotep who sets off dramatically, taking on some monstrous form in the process. There is no known way of erasing this knowledge or restoring the mind of whoever solves the Kruschtya Equation. Tetsuo Susiato, a brilliant Japanese mathematician, who according to some was the last researcher to solve Equation (in mid-2005), currently lives in a sanatorium for the mentally ill in Nagoya.

It is rumored that physicist Stephen Hawkins came very close to solving Equation, which triggered his physical condition confused with an unusual case of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Hawkins is believed to be involved in a program that seeks to compartmentalize the study of Equation in order not to destroy the researchers' minds in the process. By the program, each group studies only a part of the theorem. So far, the program has been unsuccessful, but work has been going on since the mid-1980s.

Well, that's it...

Five Masks that make us think about the nature of Nyarlathotep.