Elder Legends

### **Overview**

The Elder Legends are a collection of lost information which came to explain and underlie the oldest ancient religions of the world, particularly Aegliosnism. All the following notes are collected in the writings of mysticists throughout Greater Aeglion, and none of them should be treated as more than rumors.

### **Cosmology**

There exists a Darkness between the stars of the Universe, otherwise known as the Unknowable Cosmos, where it is believed two forms of the Gods exist: the Elder Beings and the Old Gods.The Elder Beings are equivalent to true ultimate Gods, immortal, all-knowing creators of all existence. The Old Gods were less powerful: created by the Elder Beings themselves to oversee the many worlds in existence, but ultimately deemed flawed creations and discarded by their creators. For mortals, the differences between gods of either category is practically meaningless.

### **The Elder Beings**

Sometimes known as the 'Outer Gods', the Elder Beings are the most powerful entities in existence, and represent the same thing to the Old Gods, Deities and all creatures: immortal, all-knowing ones that were there before all existence. Needless to say this makes the Elder Beings so utterly alien and vast that no creature could even dream of beginning to understand them: though many have tried, at the cost of their sanities. The total number of Elder Beings is unknown, but individual Gods are known to include Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath, and Nyarlathotep

#### Azathoth

The First Elder Being is Azathoth, the Creator of all existence. He is found at the center of infinity. Called the "Blind Idiot God", Azathoth is absolutely mindless and unconscious, but is omnipotent and the most powerful being of all. He created all of existence as part of his dream and is not even aware of it. Should he awaken, all of existence would be no more and all would once again be Azathoth. He cannot be destroyed as the concept of destruction is merely his dream, and he exists beyond the concept of speed, strength, mortals and the rest of the Elder Beings themselves, for all creation is merely part of his dream.

As the prophet Goth of Myrr put it, "*When you dream, you experience places and people and ideas that go away as soon as you wake up. But in the moment, they're as real to you as the waking world. As such, All of existence, your entire life, all of history, and everything that will come to pass, is the vivid dreaming of a blind idiot god, Azathoth. Eventually it will awaken, and this whole dream, our existence, will end. As mere dreams in Azathoth's mind there is nothing we can do to prevent this, or preserve our existence. Ultimately none of it matters*."

Azathoth is said to be stuck in an endless slumber. His form is indescribable, and he swirls in the center of the Universe, with countless lesser deities dancing rhythmically around him like planets orbiting a sun, singing mad songs while listening to Azathoth's gibberish. They play a maddening tune on innumerable drums and flutes to keep him from awakening, for the end of his slumber will signal the ultimate destruction of existence as we know it.

#### The Other Elder Beings

Yog-Sothoth, the "All-in-One", co-rules with Azathoth and exists as the incarnation of time in the cosmos, yet is somehow locked outside the mundane universe. Shub-Niggurath, the "Black Goat of the Woods", is the representation of fertility in the cosmos. Within the primordial chaos generated by Azathoth, Shub-Niggurath provided the fertility and Yog-Sothoth provided time and space, and so it came to pass that new worlds were created. This was not a compassionate act, but rather a demonstration of what they are. They were, at best, unconcerned by the existence of the organic beings. Others Elder Beings manifested, but it is not clear whether by spontaneous generation or if they were somehow conceived by the existing entities.

Nyarlathotep, the "Crawling Chaos", is the most omnipresent Elder Being, and functions as an avatar of Azathoth, existing as the incarnation of space. Nyarlathotep functions as an intermediary between the Elder Beings and the Deities, both Old and New. The only Elder Being to have a true personality, Nyarlathotep is said to possess a mocking contempt for his masters.

#### Role

The Elder Beings are neutral, and serve a cosmic function that the Old and New Gods do not, and are dedicated to their tasks without question. They rule over the universe and do so in a manner mortals would consider chaotic at best. They are totally uncaring of the plight of others. Those who seek aid from the Elder Beings are considered blessed if the entities ignore them. If by slim chance the Elder Beings do decide to entertain a foolish mortal, they are doomed to an eternity of unimaginable torture and sanity-shattering events: not due to any malice on the Elder Beings' part but because mortals simply are not capable of grasping the nature of these cosmic entities.

### **The Old Gods**

The Elder Beings established their dominion over the Universe. When the first inhabitants of a new world thrived, the Elder Beings initially took it upon themselves to watch over it themselves. Over time, more worlds were created, with more life and more duties. The Elder Beings decided to appoint heralds and overseers to watch over each world would allow for better, more prosperous management. They created servant races to oversee these duties, including the Old Gods, sometimes referred to as the 'Great Old Ones'.

The Old Gods were created by the Elder Beings from the substance of the stars themselves, and although infinitely less powerful than the Elder Beings, they were invincible in comparison to mortals. Often referred to now as 'cosmic horrors', these Old Gods were said to be corrupted, amoral and destructive. According to the lore, their nature is so utterly bizarre that it inspires madness in all mortals who gaze upon them. Cataclysmic and malevolent, these colossal Old Gods had the power to end the world on a whim. They had no care if their actions cause the deaths of thousands and saw no wrong in randomly torturing or devouring innocents. A great many Old Gods existed, and their abominable natures with constant infighting led to neglect and destruction of various worlds created by the Elder Beings, failing to carry out their purpose of nurturing those worlds.

    They were eventually deemed flawed creations by their masters, and were sequestered by the Elder Beings for committing these transgressions. The Elder Beings placed them all in a deathlike sleep and imprisoned them across the universe, "in the darkness between the stars", some in other dimensions, and some even deep in the cores of different worlds. The Old Gods have almost all been but forgotten. After banishing the Old Gods, the Elder Beings then created the New Deities, from the souls of beings who died on the many worlds they had created, who proved to be better suited for management.

The Old Gods, despite their limited ability to travel or to interact with created life, may influence the wider universe via the realm of dreams, where they may still have a minor lurking presence. This influence may stretch beyond their prisons to other worlds. Some crazed cultists and power-hungry heretics attempt to contact aspects of the slumbering Old Gods in the hopes that they can harness their terrible might for their own purposes. Those who follow them and draw magical power from their worship are almost always insane, believing that these ancient beings will one day return. However, none can control the raw chaos these malevolent forces bring. Destruction and madness are the ultimate results.

It is theorized that the Old Gods impatiently await the time of their release, eager to seek retribution against their jailors. The Old Gods will remain asleep until some catastrophe occurs that unbinds them. At this point of release, some prophecies predict the ending of worlds and the ascension of the Old Gods to the realms of the Elder Beings.