The Elder Things - Part 1: From Conquest to Invasion Wars

In an incredibly old and diverse universe full with unique life forms, there are some creatures that play a fundamental role. These beings differ from everything we know, not only in form, but also in composition and mentality, they are absolutely alien to our conception. Such entities build civilizations that are not restricted to their native sphere; they spread across the cosmos, colonizing and inhabiting other worlds, sometimes peacefully, but at other times as invaders determined to extend their domains wherever they please.

In the outer limits of the current universe, shortly after the great primordial explosion that formed everything that exists, strange creatures appeared. There are theories that they would have crossed the fabric of dimensions, being native to a different reality from which they escaped or where they were banned. Others believe that they existed even before Azathoth's entropic expansion, and that they would be the only survivors of an earlier universe.

There is no consensus on its origin. In what distant corner they appeared and under what circumstances these beings were formed is an enigma that not even the Yithian sages know, a mystery that perhaps not even the Outer Gods have unraveled. For all intents and purposes, they are precursors to most known life forms, ancient when the oldest beings climbed the early steps of evolution.

It is not by chance that Mythos scholars baptized this species with a name that invokes all its cosmic precedence: they called them the Elder Things.

Atavistic Elder Things came to Earth when our planet was still very young. It is possible that they were the first beings with intelligence to visit our world, descending from the skies when not even the simplest microorganisms existed in our atmosphere. They came from outer space, having made a stopover in Uranus or Neptune where rumoredly intended to build colonies. The reason that led them to abandon these plans and focus on the third planet in the solar system is ignored. It is known that they had previously conquered and sown hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of other worlds. Such was their quest for conquest that nothing was set before them and countless native species in countless worlds were wiped out.

The Elder Things are known for their remarkable achievements in the field of genetics. They are the primary engineers of life forms. With a deep knowledge that allowed them to manipulate the basic elements found in each world, allowing the appearance of innumerable beings.

On Earth they were responsible for the creation of the entity Ubbo-Sathla, a species of living Primordial Soup that became the matrix for the formation of countless creatures, including man. This terrifying notion presented by Abdul Al-Hazred in his cryptic treatise, the Necronomicon, defines these beings as the architects of all earthly life, dethroning any God from his role as Creator. Other esoteric tomes of knowledge, such as the Book of Eibon and the Pnakotic Manuscripts follow this same conception when considering the role of the Ancestral Race.

They built immense cities, first in the depths of the seas, then dedicated themselves to colonizing the surface. Its main city was located on the current South Pole. A magnificent stone metropolis that stretched for kilometers on the then mild plains of Antarctica. Thanks to the Elder Things genetic programs, the first plant life forms emerged and with them the forests that once covered the plains of the Antarctic continent. Over millions of years, animal life has evolved from small organisms sown in the seas to more complex beings that flourished from Ubbo-Sathla bile and placenta.

The Elder Things culture was highly developed. The art featured in bas-relief pieces and carved petroglyphs that told their story in surprising images. Their architectural elegance allowed them to erect stupendous stone buildings in the form of pentagons, trapezoidal monuments and dodecahedral structures that assumed a disconcerting configuration. The plan of the cities was labyrinthine, endowed with levels and sectors radiated from majestic squares accessed by ramps and avenues. A five-point pattern inspired by his anatomy appeared on his constructions. The same pattern could be found in his writing, taking the form of dots distributed in concentric circles. The pattern still appeared on the facades of their buildings, on statues and huge panels.

They saw no reason for religion, since science met all their philosophical questions. The shape of the DNA double helix was the closest to a sacred symbol, representing the source of all life. They knew higher entities, such as Azathoth, Shub-Niggurath and Yog-Sothoth, but they preferred to understand these colossi as the embodiment of cosmic principles. They lived in a society where each being was entitled to their space and benefits based on their production for the good of the community. It was not in the nature of these creatures to have any kind of dispute or disagreement among themselves, crime in any form did not exist. Their society did not appear to have social classes, the sharing of goods and benefits, gave everyone equal opportunities to prosper and progress.

The period in which they inhabited the Earth, sowing life forms, lasted many millions of years. Comparatively, the Earth can be understood much more as theirs, than any other form of life. For a long time, they were not disturbed by any rivals and they got used to seeing the planet as an extension of their civilization. There is no way of knowing the relationship of the colony on Earth and other bases, but it is likely that there was some technology that allowed to establish communication. It is also possible that Elder Things on Earth had the means to travel to other spheres using portals or other efficient space travel methods.

This Golden Age lasted a long time, but the Paradise built by the Elder Things on Earth would be about to be shaken by the arrival of other alien civilizations that put their domain in check. The Elder Things have never tolerated forms of life other than those created by themselves. There is a hypothesis that the scientist philosophers of the Elder Things were deeply offended by the mere existence of creatures that they themselves had not designed in their laboratories. They considered these imperfect and blasphemous in view of their genetic conceptions.

The first star invaders to come into contact with the colony on Earth appeared approximately 750 million years ago. They settled in present-day Australia where they built dark windowless towers. For some time these creatures known as Flying Polyps remained in a small portion of the planet without drawing the attention of Elder Things. However, when they began to spread out looking for more territories, they were severely repelled. The Elder Things pushed Polyps that, although powerful, were outnumbered to the undergrounds of their cities and imprisoned them in these dungeons for millions of years.

After the experience with the Invasion of the Polyps, the Elder Things decided that they needed to prepare to defend the colony against other invaders. They considered that if the Polyps were in greater numbers the victory would be uncertain. To meet the need for an efficient weapon, scientists began to work on living tissue extracted from Ubbo-Sathla in order to build biological weapons: the Shoggoth.

The first specimens of this protoplasmic race were endowed with intelligence and were quickly destroyed when scientists predicted the danger that such beings could pose in the future. The Shoggoths were too powerful and endowing them with conscience could result in serious threats to future generations. Thus, these proto-shoggoths were systematically destroyed, although some survived and escaped extermination. In order to fulfill their role within the established guidelines, new Shoggoth, devoid of conscience, were designed in laboratories. Their unique function was to serve as soldiers in wars to come.

This preemptive arms race proved to be very successful when approximately 350 million years ago Great Cthulhu and its Star Spawns from the distant star of Xoth descended on Earth. Cthulhu and his horde claimed a portion of the South Pacific for themselves, establishing their base on the decrepit island of R'lyeh.

The conflict between the newcomers and the ancestral Race established millions of years ago was inevitable. Cthulhu and his Star Spawns were titanic enemies, extremely powerful even for the Elder Things to face openly. Many of its cities were devastated and thousands of its people perished. In order to face their rivals, increasingly large and bestial Shoggoths were created, capable of facing the colossal cephalopods.

After this long and devastating war, the conflict reached an uncomfortable stalemate. Many cities were in ruins and there was a need to rebuild. For this, the Shoggoth proved to be essential, adapting and slowly learning to fulfill their menial tasks. Controlled through hypnosis and telepathy, the Shoggoth were no better than slaves. However, little by little, a spark of intelligence ignited in the partially stable mind of the Shoggoth and with it a great desire for revolt. First they became indolent, disobeying orders and confronting their masters, but as their intelligence increased, the same was reflected in the rebellion.

At one point the rebellion broke out in the form of a bloody civil war that lasted for millions of years. The Shoggoth proved to be relentless enemies! They knew their former masters and infiltrated the cities leaving a trail of destruction and death. Some of them even joined the Xothians to face their former masters. The situation reached such a point that the Ancestral Race had to resort to increasingly powerful weapons, including molecular devices and nuclear artifacts.

n the end, the Elder Things predominated, but the revolt left deep scars on their society. The remaining Shoggoth were tamed like wild beasts, tortured, their minds were cleared and only then were they returned to the ranks of combat and construction. This was in time to face a new and even more dangerous rival.

A third alien force had turned its attention to the small planet, rich in life and natural resources. The Mi-Go, a fungal race that had settled in the limits of the Solar System, in Yuggoth (corresponding to the planet Pluto) descended on the Northern Hemisphere conquering a considerable portion of the planet. The Mi-Go were already known by the Elder Things, in fact, they were great opponents in galactic conquest and held possessions in countless systems. Their worlds were explored to the limit with excavations and resource extraction that often resulted in severe environmental devastation.

Interestingly, the Mi-Go ignored the Xothians, avoiding any hostility towards them. However, the same cannot be said for Elder Things. If previous fighting had been brutal, the fight against an opponent with a technology as advanced as their own proved dramatic. Furthermore, the fight against Cthulhu had not ended, which forced them to fight on two fronts. Generations of larger and more powerful Shoggoths were needed for the war effort. The Elder Things discovered that they were losing their colonies and gradually began to abandon their territories in the northern hemisphere.

It was then that the most unexpected of incidents took place, a singularity of cosmic proportions that made the stars in the firmament assume a unique configuration. Indeed, the Great Old Ones were directly affected by the phenomenon. Some have found themselves victims of lethargy and sudden weakness. Many had to seek refuge where they could hibernate and restore their strength. There they continue to wait for the moment "when the stars are right" to return to their original state. Being a Great Old One, Cthulhu was directly affected by this change in cosmic tides. The immense city of R'Lyeh, sank under the waters of the South Pacific, swallowed by the waves. In the depths Cthulhu waits, not dead, but dreaming about his triumphant return.

Without one of their most obstinate enemies the Elder Things were able to concentrate only on the Fungi of Yuggoth, which marked a turnaround in the battle that was then hanging on to their enemies. With the war again balanced, the Mi-Go decided to reduce their momentum, limiting their ambitions to North America and Asia. Thus the planet and its valuable resources were divided.