The Gods of Earth

"The Gods of Earth" is a fantasy short story by Gary Myers set in the Cthulhu Mythos. It was published in the 1975 Arkham House anthology Nameless Places.
This story provides an alternative interpretation of the entities that H. P. Lovecraft referred to as the Gods of Earth in his fiction, positing that they are in fact the Elder Gods from Betelgeuse, as featured in the works of August Derleth.
It is also notable for incorporating elements from the woks of Lord Dunsany into the Mythos.
==Synopsis==
Nath-Horthath, Nasht and Kaman-Thah are a trio of deities that currently hold the title of Gods of Earth, having come to Earth from the red star Betelgeuse in their ships of cloud before the advent of humanity. The people of the Dreamlands worship them as the "Elder Gods" and keep incense burning in their Temple so that the smoke may carry their prayers to this holy trio, which live in an onyx castle in unknown Kadath in the Cold Waste and occasionally spend time in other mountainous peaks.
However, these Elder Gods live in fear of the "Other Gods", a.k.a. the Great Old Ones, which are the spawn of Azathoth. When the Elder Gods arrived on Earth, they found the Other Gods asleep and imprisoned them under the Elder Sign to prevent their awakening. As mankind evolved and spread over the Dreamlands, the Other Gods have paradoxically protected the Gods of Earth against man's encroachments into the highest peaks. The reason for this is that the Other Gods want to keep their enemies confined to Kadath, waiting for when the Other Gods are ready to take their revenge. At one point, the Gods of Earth tried to escape to a sunset city dreamed by Randolph Carter, but the Other Gods forced them to return to Kadath to wait for their comeuppance.
On Mt. Hatheg-Kla, the Gods of Earth capture a dream of a city of rose-coloured marble. The dream bears "the trademark of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI", with writings in the Yannish language that reveal it to be the dream of a drunkard named Peabody. Seeing an opportunity to escape their predicament, the Gods of Earth sail to the Waking World in their ships of cloud and find Peabody sleeping on a bench in a municipal park. They announce themselves to him, making flowers sprout from the concrete to prove their godhood, and propose to trade places with him. However, all the beauties of the Dreamlands fail to entice Peabody, who is content as long as he can have whiskey from "a certain tavern in Kingsport", and who is already king of his own dream-kingdom named Ong.
Faced with Peabody's unanticipated reluctance, the Gods try a different approach, visiting Peabody in his own castle in Ong, where he sits upon an ivory throne. They appeal to Peabody's tastes by pointing out that if he moves to Kadath, he will have all the wine in the cellars, as well as the fermented sap of a Moon tree, Gorgondy brewed by gnomes, etc. The purple wine convinces Peabody to seal the deal.
Thus the Gods of Earth become the Gods of Ong and celebrate having evaded the fate the Other Gods had planned for them. They explore Peabody's castle, which is full of riches and liquors, but as the time passes, the courtiers back away, the fire of the lamps glows green, and the Gods hear something scratching from beneath the floor. While Peabody sails in a ship of cloud towards Kadath, the Other Gods stand crouched behind a cellar door waiting for "Their turn to be the gods of Earth".
==Behind the Mythos==
The Gorgondy brewed by gnomes that the Gods of Earth offer Peabody is a reference to "The Secret of the Sea", by Lord Dunsany.
Category:Expanded Mythos Works
Category:Gary Myers works