The Curse From Beyond

I've managed to contain the infection using the bracer of Inragos and the Voorish Chant but I fear it is only a temporary solution.
 "from the notebooks of Dr. Eugene Kantorius"

Daughters of the Black Goat

Clad only in witchfire I have seen the daughters of the Black Goat dancing in hidden glades beneath the full moon! That very moon which is the eye of their Dark Mother! And the shapes that come from the woods to dance with them, things cast in a mold not of this world or of any world where sanity and light prevail!
 (Except from a sermon given by Rev. Alton Bowers at the Church of the Holy Light in Arkham, Massachusetts in 1906)

Hierophant of the Black Tower

A black tower stands in the center of the city of Lal-Khra'tum and men say it is older that the city, so old that it stood there when the jungles covered the plains instead of desert sands. In all the history of Lal-Khra'tum it has been noted that robed and hooded priests go from that tower to do business with merchants, buying food and wine with their ancient gold, and on occasion slaves that are never seen again. I had long wondered what god was served there and so on a moonless night I climbed that tower and gazed through the barred windows to glimpse the hierophant who dwelt in the uppermost chambers of the tower.
(From the Scrolls of Vecra Tutthoon)

The Black Book

In his search for ultimate knowledge did not the sorcerer Tellaborabi sign his name in the Black Book of Azathoth? And later, when his frightened acolytes broke down the door to his sanctum they found not an all knowing sage but instead a drooling madman who had clawed out his own eyes.

(from the confessions of Psylacheus the Heretic)

The Primal Giants

Far to the frozen north sailed At'amdra, and there he found an island where dwelt a race of  monstrous giants amid the ruins of a once great city. These savage giants were called the Ith'uuklim by the primitive people who lived on nearby islands and it is said long ago the monsters sought to conquer the young tribes of man. But Nodens had witnessed the vileness of the Ith'uuklim and sent a mighty earthquake to destroy their city, then he caused strange foul vapors to rise from the earth to rob them of intellect. Now the giants roamed the fallen city as animals devouring any living thing they might find and even preying on their own kind when food was scarce.

At'amdra considered a landing on the isle of the Ith'uuklim, for no doubt great treasures remained in the ruins. But wisely sailed on as the place had been cursed by the gods.

 (from the Lemurian Codex)

The Rites of Shub Niggurath

By no means is the worship of the outer gods a vague myth of mankind's primitive past. It is said that the blasphemous Tch-Tcho people still sacrifice to Shub-Niggurath, she who is called the Dark Mother of a Thousand Young, and others serve the Dark Mother although they may call her by different names and practice their foulest rites in secret. The talismans of the Dark Mother are still found in places where the woods are dark even by day and strange cries are heard in the night.
(from a lecture given by Rev. Alton Bowers at the Church of the Holy Light in Arkham, Massachusetts in 1903)

      

Priest of Bokrug

"It is told that in the immemorial years when the world was young, before ever the men of Sarnath came to the land of Mnar, another city stood beside the lake; the gray stone city of Ib, which was old as the lake itself, and peopled with beings not pleasing to behold. Very odd and ugly were these beings, as indeed are most beings of a world yet inchoate and rudely fashioned. It is written on the brick cylinders of Kadatheron that the beings of lb were in hue as green as the lake and the mists that rise above it; that they had bulging eyes, pouting, flabby lips, and curious ears, and were without voice. It is also written that they descended one night from the moon in a mist; they and the vast still lake and gray stone city lb. However this may be, it is certain that they worshipped a sea-green stone idol chiseled in the likeness of Bokrug, the great water-lizard; before which they danced horribly when the moon was gibbous."
 (from "The Doom that Came to Sarnath" by H.P. Lovecraft, 1920)

In the Temple of Yezyud

The sorcerer Ludvig Prynn had traveled to the temple of Yezyud , in the library of that foul temple was a book written by a madman named Abdul Alhazrad, a book called the Necronomicon by some mystics and Prynn intended to learn the secrets of that dreaded tome. The journey had been difficult, for not only is the land of Yezyud barren and inhospitable, it is veiled by magic and many who wander into that place never return. But the sorcerer had prepared well and made his way to the temple with little trouble beyond maintaining control of the four apprentices who had accompanied him, they sensed the strangeness of this place and desired with all their hearts to flee. Only fear of Prynn had stopped them from bolting, that and the certainty that they could never find their way back to the caravan route as the stars that shone above them were abnormal and the night in this land seemed so much longer than the days.

The priests of Yezyud guarded Alhazrad's book and it would be difficult to gain their trust, only a scholar who humbled himself before their terrible god and gave proper sacrifice would be allowed to pass the great iron door and enter the library. Prynn had studied the lore of Yezyud and he knew what was expected of him; he allowed the priests to cast his four apprentices into the sacrificial pit and sang praises to the huge, many legged thing called Yezyud as its tentacles drained the screaming victims of their bodily fluids. In a final abomination the wizard went into the pit and offered the monster a taste of his own blood to seal the pact.

The reward was great, Prynn was granted one full day to study the Necronomicon. In that time he intended to absorb all the eldritch knowledge his brain could bear. The iron door swung open and closed swiftly behind Prynn, his shaking hands unlocked the ancient book and he began to read. An hour later his screams began, followed by sobs and pleas to open the door. But the servants of Yezyud paid no mind and the door was not opened until the first rays of dawn.

Prynn strode forth with a strange light in his eyes that never left him for all of his days. The Necronomicon had opened his mind to realities he had glimpsed only in Black Lotus induced nightmares, beings from beyond had spoken to Prynn through those ancient runes and he was no longer a mortal man. Without speaking a word Prynn left that same day, his weary camel suddenly skittish of the man it had carried across the barrens to this unholy place.

The priests of Yezyud went on with their normal affairs; stalking the hills for sacrifices to feed their gluttonous god. But curiously, Yezyud retreated to the honeycomb of caves beneath his temple and did not emerge to feed until a fortnight later, when Prynn had passed far from the hidden land of the Yezyudites.

Prophecies of Pnom

   For a time Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones will be freed from their tombs to prey upon the herd of mankind. In their fear and madness the remnants of humanity will call upon their Elder Gods to save them, but those gods are weak and fearful, and they will not leave Kadath to face Great Cthulhu.

  In this time the crypts under the Monastery of Tsan-Chan will give birth to the Avatar of Nyarlathotep that is to be known as the Prince of the Black Flame. He shall inhabit a body sewn piecemeal from age old corpses and cover himself with yellow robes to hide his decay, only those with the third eye will see his crown of black fire and wings of black flame.

    The Avatar will cause the stars to change their course, then will Cthulhu and his spawn be made to retreat to their tombs and be sealed again, dead but dreaming. All men will turn will turn to serve the Avatar and he shall build a great empire to cover seven tenths of the earth. Mighty altars will be set for the Outer Gods and they shall run red both day and night. Elder Seals shall be broken and the demons beyond Kadath set loose on the world to be worshipped and given all manner of sacrifice.

   In the far reaches of Kadath will the Elder Gods of man cower, for the world will no longer be theirs. In time they will be forgotten by all men. Their names not written down on any parchment or carved upon any tablet they will grow old to become mere shadows, eternally whispering of all they have lost.

("Prophecies of Pnom" as translated by Prof. Christian Morgan)

The Dhole Rituals

   In primal times the men of Lemuria served the outer goddess Shub-Niggurath, she who is called the Dark Mother of a thousand young.  A great temple was built to honor the goddess and her jade altars were stained red with the blood of human sacrifice. The terrible first born Children of Shub Niggurath came to dwell in the forests of Lemuria and these places were made sacred to them, these things spawning abominations with beasts and even upon the daughters of the lemurians. For their veneration of the outer god the Lemurians were rewarded with lush harvests and became wealthy beyond all other tribes of men.

  Then the Picts came to Lemuria in their long ships decorated with skulls of men and  beasts. The Picts were mighty warriors who acknowledged no deity save the war-god Cruuach, who had decreed that the world belonged to those with the will and strength to take it. In the field of battle they slaughtered the Lemurians and even the abominations of the Dark Mother fell to their spears, for in those days Pictish wizards had knowledge of the Seal of Koth which made iron as poison to those things from outside.

    The Lemurian priests begged Shub-Niggurath for aid. In a single fortnight they sacrificed a thousand virgins in the garden of the great temple, the ground become as red mud, soaked with blood that nourished the strange and unwholesome plants that grew there. At last the Dark Mother appeared to them, she came in a form so exquisite the young acolytes gouged their eyes from the sockets, wishing her beauty be their last sight. The Dark Mother spoke, "From across the void I have watched these foul men defile my land and slay the children of my own blood. It shall end now. I shall give to thee formulae to rouse the Dholes from their sleep in the deep earth, let those devouring worms feast and cleanse the land". The Dark Mother laid her hand upon the head of the groveling archpriest, words older than the stars flowed into his mind. He fell to the ground numb with knowledge.

   The archpriest was alone when he awoke; Shub-Niggurath had taken the other clergy and acolytes as tribute. The high priest took hammer and chisel to carve the alien words that gnawed at his mind, setting them forever into the temple walls. Then he traveled to the edge of the pictish camp as his god had instructed. He could hear the useless cries for mercy from his countrymen as the Picts cast them alive into flaming pyres, hatred overcame fear in the archpriest and he at last spoke aloud the formulae that would call up the terrible Dholes.

      It was so; the titan worms rose and swallowed the screaming Picts. But their hunger was not satisfied, they consumed all the men and beasts of that ancient land, till nothing of flesh lived in Lemuria. Only at the oceans did the Devourers stop, for the mystery of water is beyond the mind of the Dhole. The Devourers turned away, burrowing through space, time, and dreams, back to their home deep beneath the Crypts of N'kai.

 For eons the land was empty of living things but in time men returned to the Lemurian continent and inhabited the ruins of the previous race. Wisely they sealed the Temple of Shub-Niggurath and when that land sank beneath the waves the Dhole formulae was lost in that forgotten temple on the ocean's floor.

Demoness of the Wastelands

Abdul Alhazrad was dying of thirst, he had wandered into the great desert searching for a nameless city of antediluvian kings and swiftly became lost in that endless waste. His supplies and camel had disappeared in a sandstorm nearly four days gone and now it seemed his doom was upon him, but a whisper carried on the hot winds led him forward;
Come to me, wanderer.
Would you dare gaze upon me?
Come to me,
burn in the fire of knowledge and beauty.

     After a long nightmare of sun, sand, and misery, Alhazrad stumbled inside the gates of a ruined city. The ancient demoness Ereshkigal greeted him and restored his strength with words of healing and honeyed wine of no mortal vineyard. In return she bade Alhazrad to remove the hundred binding runes that the Elder Gods had written upon her flawless body. The glyphs held her to the dead place, punishment for the abominations she had led her worshippers to perform in primal ages. Fearing the wrath of the Elder Gods even more than the seductive demoness, Abdul refused . 

 Ereshkigal offered to trade him knowledge of many unspeakable demons for her freedom. The mad arab's lust for arcane secrets overcame his fear. He agreed and bade her speak.

 
   For two days and nights Ereshkigal sang to him. Her songs were older than mankind, they told tales of the Great Old Ones; Tsathoggua, black toad of the abyss; Yig, father of serpents; Ahruman, who is called the lord of corruption and Pazuzon who breathes the black wind that kills men and beasts; even whispering of Yog-Sothoth, who is the gate and the key; of all these and many others she sang .

  By the third day Abdul could bear no more as his brain seethed with things no mortal should know, he begged the demoness to be silent.

   

   Then Ereshkigal demanded her payment, she gave Alhazrad ink and quill that he should mark through the runes that held her to a dead and forgotten place. But he betrayed the demoness, inscribing yet another binding to her perfect skin and then fleeing for the city gates. Ereshkigal's voice turned to a roar of curses and she prophesied that the knowledge she gave Abdul would lead to his terrible demise. Alhazrad stole a single glance over his shoulder at the horror the Ereshkigal had transformed into. Then he ran harder, praying his heart would burst and save him from the memory of what he had witnessed.

   Alhazrad was found days later by a caravan, screaming at shadows and frothing like a mad dog. When he recovered his sanity, Abdul put to paper all he had learned from Ereshkigal. Secrets that would eventually reward him only with madness and pain.

The Glass from Leng

Abdul Alhazrad sat cross-legged on the rapidly cooling desert sands. Night had fallen and he awaited the rise of the moon. Beside him petals of Black Lotus smoldered in a bronze brazier crafted in sunken Lemuria. The mad poet forced his brain to ignore the monstrous shapes formed by the lotus smoke. His attention was focused on a chunk of glass held in his hands.
    He had obtained the glass from an eyeless beggar on the outskirts of Damascus who claimed it to have been created in the fabled land of Leng and that it gave a man visions of things beyond imagining even a glimpse of the abyss beyond space and time wherein dwells the daemon sultan Azathoth. The old man had fallen on hard times and in the end had traded the glass shard and ancient scrolls written in the high Aklo tongue for a few crusts of moldy bread and a skin of sour wine.
Abdul had spent a week studying the scrolls and waiting for a full moon, now he was ready to look through the veil of time and space.
   The moon rose and the blue light streamed through the glass into Alhazrad's left eye, then deeper into his mind. Within the glass Alhazrad beheld wonders of primal ages, glorious cities and kingdoms so ancient no scholar could remember their names. Further back he saw the first men, shaggy brutes who sacrificed their children to winged things in exchange for knowledge of fire and primitive magic. He saw the ancient Serpent Men hissing incantations and mixing vile potions. He beheld the continent of Rl'yeh in its colossal glory, hurriedly looking away when Great Cthulhu turned to meet his gaze.  
    Then the poet cast his vision far out into the silent void, past Yuggoth and Xoktli, past Hali with its slimy churning lake, to the very rim of space and time to the place where dwells Azathoth. The great eye of Azathoth opened to stare back at him. With that vision Alhazrad hurled the glass from Leng away and ran screaming into the blue-litten dunes for the eye of Azathoth held no ultimate wisdom only idiocy and cosmic madness.
  

The Sarnath Texts

 Two men groped through the ancient catacombs beneath the glorious city of Sarnath lighting their way with torches that barely penetrated the gloom. One man was very old and frail, and he was far older even than his appearance suggested. He was Ysra the Hyperborean and he was a great wizard. The other man was young and large, his name was Malak and he was one of Ysra's apprentices, although he was reckoned by many to have neither the talent nor intelligence to make a wizard.
    In the streets above them the men of Sarnath celebrated the three hundred year anniversary of the destruction of Ib, a neighboring city that had been populated by odd creatures considered repulsive and inferior to men. Malak had wished to join in the celebration, but Ysra had no interest in such foolishness, he had witnessed the destruction of Ib and he knew eventually Sarnath would pay a dire price for the transgression. They traveled ever deeper into the earth until the sounds of the city and it's riotous festival ceased to echo the tunnels.
   Ysra stopped at the entrance to the deepest section of the catacombs, runes carved in the rock caught the old wizard's attention and he read them for a bit. He spoke, "Douse your torch, good Malak, fire is no friend to those who dwell beyond this portal. We shall instead view this realm with the second sight granted by this potion." He produced a flask and they each took a sip. For a moment all was black, then a pale green glow began to illume the tunnel and the men could see easily as well as in the torchlight.  Malak was amazed by his master's craft, his father had been wise to pay Ysra the tremendous sum required for acceptance as the old man's apprentice.
Peering about with his new vision Malak was disturbed by the number and size of the spiders crawling the walls, he sought to crush one under his foot that crawled near but Ysra pulled him back with surprising strength. The wizard hissed, "Fool! Would you enter a great kingdom and kill it's people?" Bewildered by the comment Malak made no reply.
    The pair came to a gigantic cavern, massive pillars carved with ancient runes of power stretched up a hundred feet to the ceiling and the floor was like a living carpet of spiders. The arachnids were all sizes and colors, some no bigger than a coin and jet black, others large enough to kill a house cat and covered in wild hues of yellow and purple, the largest were pale white spiders that had never seen the light of day clinging to the walls and seemingly watching them with their clusters of black eyes.
 The spiders parted and cleared a path as the men approached a dais made of human skulls and webbing.  Malak shook with terror as he looked up for resting atop it was the supreme horror of this subterranean realm, a great thing like a spider but as big as a horse and with a face similar to that of a man. The spider thing spoke with a harsh rasping voice, "Greetings, Ysra of the Crimson Circle, hast thou come to gain more of my knowledge?" The old wizard replied, "Indeed Great Son of Atlach, I would know of the Swarm of Nebros and how they devour a man when summoned and yet that man lives on in their swarm. I would know of the depths under this realm and the foul dwellers below, and I would know of the dimension of Lord Kour-Gath and to what gods he sacrifices endlessly. I have brought this gift according to our ancient bargain." 
    Suddenly the dim-witted Malak realized his fate and turned to flee. Ysra was faster, he struck Malak in the neck with his left hand. One of his rings had a tiny needle dipped in black lotus extract and it pierced Malak's skin, the apprentice dropped to stone floor.  Malak was awake but his limbs were paralyzed by the lotus extract, he could not even scream as the great white spiders carried him high up the wall and cocooned him in webbing. He hung there for many days, listening to the Great Son of Atlach whisper arcane secrets to Ysra, while the wizard carefully wrote down all that the monster spoke.

Necronomicon Tales 3

    Of all the curses known to the sorcerers of elder lore, the curse of Mgnalah is the most vile. First the magus must obtain some part of the victim, a lock of hair or even a drop of spittle will serve as a link. Then a deep cave is found for Mgnalah will not enter where the light of the sun has touched the earth. Next is is drawn the seal of Mgnalah upon the earth and the link placed atop it. Then the incantations are recited in a whisper, for Mgnalah hears whenever his name is spoken and there is no need to shout.

    Seeping down from between the spaces we know will come Mgnalah, searching for his prey. The old one will take root within his host and begin to grow, consuming flesh and mind both. In time the wretched remains will resemble nothing of this earth and mumble only of strange and terrible visions. In the end nothing human will remain, only a fragment of Mgnalah that will crawl away in search of new flesh to devour that it might grow into a greater abomination.

(From the Necronomicon of Abdul Alhazrad)

Necronomicon Tales 2

 Abdul Alhazrad cursed the luck that led him to this fate; he would die in a stinking tent listening to the nerve wracking cry of a baby in yet another tent. Alhazrad had been traveling alone, his camel laden with plunder he had found in various long forgotten tombs. He proved a tempting target for bandits. They had ambushed him as he crossed a dune and sank an arrow into his left side just below the ribs. He cut his treasure pack loose and flogged his camel like a madman, seeking to escape the thieves. The desperate plan worked, the bandits ceased pursuit to gather Alhazrad's goods and he rode on until the camel dropped dead from the many arrows it had recieved.
  Weak and delirious, Alhazrad had wandered on foot for two days, then an outrider for a nomad tribe found him. The strange desert folk spoke no tongue that Alhazrad was familiar with but they were kind in their fashion; they had no method to treat Alhazrad's wounds so they merely provided him a tent that he would at least die in some small comfort and privacy.
On this third night the wound in Alhazrad's side exuded a foul odor and with each breath he could feel the sting of the barbed arrowhead, for certain this hot night would be his last.
   The moon reached it's zenith and a cool breeze whispered through the nomad camp. A woman stood at the flap of Alhazrad's tent. She was tall and dark, clothed in gossamer robes that concealed nothing of her icy beauty. She asked Alhazrad's permission to enter and he gave it gladly.
   She spoke, "Would you desire to live, Abdul Alhazrad?"
  "What fool does not," Alhazrad replied.
  The Dark Woman commanded, "Then take up quill and record my tale in the olden runes, for I know you as a sorcerer versed in such things."
The Dark Woman begin her story and Alhazrad could not have resisted even if he had the desire to do so. She dipped the quill into his oozing wound and bade him to inscribe the tale in his own blood. She began her story and Alhazrad wrote every word, pain and fear of death forgotten, replaced with wonder.
  The Dark Woman told Alhazrad of the early days of man, she spoke of the wondrous place those first people were given and how the crimes of a few caused that place to be taken from them. The worst of the disobedient ones were cast out, cursed, and forgotten by the light. Doomed to wander forever, becoming monsters and breeding monsters. She spoke all the night through and the moon was almost gone when she finished her tale.
  Alhazrad was fading fast and he feared the Dark Woman would betray him. But she spoke, "Fear not sorcerer, this is not your time to die". She struck faster than cobra, driving her fingers into the wound, when she pulled them free the dripping arrowhead was in her hand. The Dark Woman smiled and for some reason it terrified Alhazrad more than the death. She spoke once more, "Rest now, and take my story back to the land of men when you awake", and left the tent silent as a stalking panther.
  Alhazrad awoke midday, his wound had closed and the infection had cleared. The camp was quiet, even the noisy baby had apparently decided to nap the day through. He stumbled to the nearest tent, he would thank these simple people and be on his way. No answer came to Alhazrad's hail and so he peered into the tent. Alhazrad fled screaming to the next tent and then the next. But in each he found the same thing, skeletons of a tribe long dead and forgotten.

Demons beyond Kadath

In the chaotic realms beyond Kadath there are ten Lords, less than gods but greater than flesh, they are Demons of the greater order. Only seven of the ten are known from fragmentary codex known as the Demonology of Ysra. They are to be evoked with the utmost caution for they delight in atrocity.

 The first lord of the Chaos Realms is called Su'Kru-Ital. In the time of the first men dragons sought to destroy the chaos realms and invaded that place of sorrow, but the Demon Lord Su'Kru-Ital devoured the King of Dragons and a third of the dragons were destroyed. The dragons retreated to meditate on their defeat and fully a third more died from grief. Thus is Su'Kru-Ital sometimes called "Dragon-Breaker" in the primitive tongue of the Inutos. If angered this lord may often be appeased by an offering of a drop of dragon's blood, for it reminds him of his great victory. The spawn of this lord number over 70,000 and they are easily bound by the seal of their master.

The second Lord is known to be Auth-Neb. When the gods of men first appeared in Kadath he sought to join their ranks. Mighty Nodens cast Auth-Neb from Kadath back to the chaotic realms, for that demon's vileness was not concealed from him. Ever after has Auth-Neb dwelt in a vast chasm, chiseling a magic formulae into the stone. It is said that when the demon completes his work the gods of Kadath will be forgotten and powerless. The Prophets of Pnom agree that this is so, but they also declare that those gods will reign again for a short while, until R'lyeh rises from the depths to cast down all the works of man.

     Auth-Neb knows all the formulae of the gates of dimension and the shapes of time, with proper sacrifice he may give a Magus aid in this work. But if he is called often he will become familiar to the Magus and may take him when the barriers are thin or the seals made improper. The fate of those taken by Auth-Neb is not known, even to the Prophets of Pnom.
<><>

The third greater demon is Xal'thv, he delights in depravity and is most easily called by those who share in this. Xal'thv rarely takes part in the constant war and conflict among the demonkind, but his wrath is feared even among the demons. It is said the the lemurian wizard Tullterum still howls in agony deep in the realm of Xal'thv, his flesh restored constantly so he can endure ever greater toture.
Xal'thv has no demonspawn as such, but his realm is inhabited by many sorcerers he has taken as priests and servants. These beings are to be avoided, they are twisted in both spirit and body, seeking always to draw the unwary into the games of Xal'thv.
The Prophets of Pnom have theorised that Xal'thv is in truth an aspect of that thing called Y'Golonac, as the demon shares certain features and desires of that vile Old One. This is not certain and perhaps the question is best left unanswered.

The fourth Greater Demon is known as K'Hurru'ss, though this is not his true name. Before the Gods of Man came forth to dwell in Kadath the Greater Demons crawled from the abyss to claim the chaos realms. But they were not the first to dwell in these places, for in the fourth realm they discovered a great stone seal covering a chasm. Gathering their strength they shattered the stone and K'Hurru'ss emerged. The demons claimed him as one of their own, but it is theorised by the Prophets of Pnom that K'Hurru'ss is one of the Great Old Ones, though the aeon's long imprisonment robbed him of much his memory and intellect.
   When the Gods of Kadath were young and uncertain the Greater Demons unleashed K'Hurru'ss and a great host of demonspawn. War raged across Kadath, the young gods led by Great Nodens slew endless hordes of demonspawn until they came to face K'Hurru'ss. The lesser gods were swept aside and only Nodens could stand before that monster from primal times.
  Their battle raged for days and finally K'Hurru'ss struck down Nodens and ripped the god's heart from his breast. Great Noden's body fell lifeless but his heart continued to beat in the jaws of the monster. Finding wonder in this,
 K'Hurru'ss left the battle and returned to the chasm he had sprang from.
The Gods of Kadath despaired, they were no match for the monster and feared what the beast would become if it devoured the heart of the mightiest of gods. Only one goddess, Io-Ilaysha, dared go into the pit where  K'Hurru'ss made his home. She was not a goddess of war or the hunt, but favored a small group of  mortals who lived on a tiny island of great beauty.
 Io-Ilaysha went into the pit and offered herself to the monster in exchange for the heart of Nodens. The beast  K'Hurru'ss accepted the bargain, casting aside the heart of Nodens and dragging his new bride to the very depths of his chasm. The Gods of Kadath fled with the heart, back to the battlefield where Nodens body lay rent asunder. The heart was restored and Nodens lived again, but changed with the knowledge that the gods of men were but small things in the hands of those from the outside.
    The Greater Demons restored the seal guarding K'Hurru'ss pit, but their knowledge and power is less than those who first built it. The Prophets of Pnom have spoken that the seal will be broken again when the stars come right, then shall  K'Hurru'ss and all the numberless spawn he begot on Io-Ilaysha be released on both Kadath and the worlds of men.

           

    The fifth realm of chaos is the domain of the Greater Demoness, Aserah-Vashi. It is a place of dark jungles and steaming swamps, overflowing with foul demonspawn who bow before the seal of the Aserah-Vashi. It is from these swamps that Aserah-Vashi did conjure the great serpent Satha, the beast that slew Sammanus, who was brother to Great Nodens.      
   Nyarlathotep took notice of the sorceries of Aserah-Vashi, which were most complex and woven with unmatched skill. Nyarlathotep spoke to her of the Tablets of Ubbo-Sathla and the eldritch knowledge they contained, he guided her deep under the earth, into the labyrinth that was the dwelling of the abomination, Ubbo-Sathla. The demoness beheld the Tablets of Ubbo-Sathla, she read the secret name of Azathoth inscribed upon them and that primal rune melted her eyes from the sockets. Nyarlathotep left her blind and helpless that she would be consumed by the abomination. But the demoness had prepared for treachery, her sorceries broke the grip of Ubbo-Sathla and bore her back to safety. Aserah-Vashi dwelt in exile for a millenium, weeping from her empty sockets as she strove to comprehend the Rune of Azathoth.
     The eyeless Seers who serve Ymsha assert that Aserah-Vashi and her daughter Ereshkigal will aid any who are beset by Nyarlathotep. This is perhaps so, but what use is the power of a blind demon lord against the messenger of the Outer Gods?

 The sixth greater Demon is Ru'uak and he is the sometimes known as the conqueror, for he is cunning in the ways of war. 

 For a time three moons did rise over Kadath and no priest or sage could explain this. But Ru'uak, found that while these moons were in the sky the barriers that held the greater demons from Kadath grew weak. The demon and his army of spawn broke through to Kadath. In this he was aided by the Demoness Aserah-Vashi; she sent her servant Satha, a serpent huge beyond imagining, to serve Ru'uak in this conquest. The outer regions of Kadath were ravaged and then the horde set their eyes on the Palace of the Gods.

  The lesser gods of Kadath were afraid and fled, all save Great Nodens and his brothers, Cruuach the fierce and Sammanus of the golden wings. They were the first gods to awaken from the dreams of men and fear was not in them.

   In a place called the valley of bones they met the demon host. Nodens wielded a sword forged from lightning, the axe of Cruuach struck like thunder, and high above Sammanus soared raining fire upon the vile horde. Waves of demons fell before the divine brothers, but Ru'uak had planned well. The demon cast a potion into the air and the golden wings of Sammanus became heavy, he flew lower and lower, unable to resist the pull of that dark magic. The great serpent Satha snatched the winged god from the skies bearing him to the ground, and there Sammanuslay paralyzed by the venom of the monster. A thousand demons rushed upon the wounded god, his golden wings were ripped from his back, his flesh was flayed by cruel talons, when the demons finished nothing was left but blooded bones. Sammanus was dead.

   A terrible lust for revenge came upon Cruuach, he left his place at the side of Nodens, charging deep into the horde, demons dying at each stroke of his thundering axe. Then Ru'uak stood before him, the war god voiced his battle cry and struck. The mighty axe of Cruuach shattered against the armor of the demon, and Ru'uak struck him down. The demon ripped out the heart of the war god, devouring it.

    Nodens fought on, slaying demonspawn by the dozens until the terrible Satha reared before him. The demons backed away as god and primal monster fought with a fury that shook the mountains. Satha wrapped his coils about Nodens, pinning his swordarm and crushing the breath from his lungs that he could not speak the words of power. With the monstrous fangs of Satha swaying above his head, the first of the Elder Gods waited for death.

   Ru'uak stepped close and spoke, "This beast shall have your flesh, save the heart which shall be mine". The left hand of Nodens sprang up to seize one of Satha's venomous fangs, ripping it from the monster's jaw. In the same motion Nodens drove the fang into the skull of the great serpent. Nodens was broke free while the beast thrashed in agony and gathering all his strength he struck Ru'uak. The blade of forged lightning split the demon's armor and steaming black blood gushed onto the ground. Nodens thrust his hand into the demon's blood, that blood still coursing with the essence of slain Cruuach. Nodens spoke a rune of power never heard before or since, and fire erupted from the earth to consume all the demon horde.

   Ru'uak survived the conflagration, although he appeared as dead for many days until the spark of life stirred him awoke amid the charred remains of his army with his ruined armor melted and fused to flesh, his power broken by the might and wisdom of great Nodens. The demon turned and began the long journey back to the demon realms, vowing never again to enter the Valley of Bones.

    The seventh realm of Chaos is the land of Mua'traas. This realm is composed of towering mountains that reach skyward like ragged claws. Vast labyrinths are cut into these peaks and in the depths foul things breed that have never seen the light of day. But foulest of all is Mua'traas, Seventh of the Greater Demons.
    Deep in the seventh realm there is a certain mountain with a great iron door set into the stone, Mua'traas came to this door and pondered at the runes carved therein. Divining that this was a seal he set about to break it, but the runes were beyond the craft of any demon. So Mua'traas sought the answer elsewhere, he made his way to the Keep of Nyarlathotep and waited at the barriers.
     In time war erupted between the Greater Demons and the Gods of Kadath. Mua'traas sent his hordes to the battle, but he kept his vigil at the keep of Nyarlathotep.
   At that battle the brothers of Nodens were slain, their death cries echoing across the aethers. Nyarlathotep left his keep to observe such a portentous conflict. He did not wish for Nodens to met his weird at that time and so sent a mighty spell into his mind that he would lay waste to the demons.
  In the moment of Nyarlathotep's departure the barriers around his keep grew thin, and Mua'traas slipped into that great hall. It was a place that no Demon or any God of Kadath had before entered, but ignoring the many wonders about him Mua'traas stole into the library of Nyarlathotep and opened the Book of Azathoth. The Demon Lord learned the secret of opening the iron door, and what dwells behind it.
  Mua'traas is seldom involved in the wars and feuds of his fellow demons, much of his time is spent in bringing sacrifices to the thing behind the iron door and it is not known if he serves out of devotion, or fear.   

The Shoggoth Formulae

Using the cryptic formulae found in Von Juntz's "De Vermis Mysteriis" and seemingly inert tissue samples from Miskatonic's ill fated 1937 antarctic expedition; I have at last achieved success in the creation of shoggoth protoplasm. However, the protoplasm grew far more quickly than was expected and within seconds had multiplied into a pulsing mass several yards across, filling the laboratory with blindly flailing tentacles.

Shoggoth Formulae

Fortunately I was able to leap into a protective circle I had prepared beforehand according to Von Junt's specifications and was protected from the ravenous thing. My trusted assistant Conrad was not so lucky, several pseudopods wrapped about his legs and dragged him directly into the central mass where he was quite noisily digested.
While the creature was occupied I tossed some high voltage cables in the central mass and threw the switch simultaneously reciting Alhazred's "Voorish Chants". The combination of electrical and eldritch energies proved sufficient to boil the horror down to a greasy liquid. The resultant citywide blackout was not wholly unexpected but I am fairly certain the blundering authorities will never trace the source of the disturbance to my estate.
"Excerpt from the notebooks of Dr. Eugene Kantorius"

Shoggoth Tissue Samples gathered during Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition of 1937

Spawn of Cthulhu

Cthulhu Talisman on display at Miskatonic University

   I asked the old shaman if he could call forth the god he claimed dwelt beneath the sea, his reply was that his god, Cthulhu was dead, but still dreamed and spoke to men in dreams. Great Cthulhu could not live again until the stars were right, but the shaman could call to the sons of Cthulhu as proof of the reality of his religion.
  I scoffed as any educated man would, daring him to follow through on his boast. The old shaman hobbled down to the water's edge, he traced a few cryptic symbols into the sand then began to chant a formula written on a tattered scroll. The chant grew into wild shrieking, "IA IA CTHULHU, N'YOG UN CTHULHU", as the old man waved about with a curiously carven little amulet.
  My mockery turned to stark terror as the water began to boil and a thing stright out of nightmare broke the surface. The head that rose was like an octopus but larger than an elephant's, the eyes shone with ancient inhuman intelligence and fixed me with their gaze. I stood paralyzed as the thing dragged itself onto the beach with wiry arms ending in taloned hands large enough to crush an ox. The thing had stubby leathern wings folded to its back and a long sinuous tale that began to transform into legs as soon as it cleared the water.
  I would have died there but for my trusted servant Giles. He rushed forward with a machete, hacking at the creature's newly formed legs. The beast snatched him up with blinding speed, Giles screamed briefly before the monster tore him in half. In that instant the thing's hypnotic gaze was turned from me and I fled into the jungle.
  I ran until I thought my heart would burst from the strain, not stopping until I made the ship. I held my sanity long enough to order the captain to sail and then collapsed into a gibbering heap, crying out for mercy from the Spawn of Cthulhu.
(Excerpt from the diary of Bob Rothwell, dated march 9, 1908)

Cthulhu Cult Artifacts

In the spring of 1871 an English fishing vessel found an ornate wooden sarcophagus floating in the Atlantic. Inside was a well preserved body of disturbingly inhuman proportions. The hideous corpse held a small statue depicting a strange tentacled monster clutched in one hand. The other hand was locked around an ornate knife. Scrolls with grotesque drawings of monsters and glyphs in an unknown tongue were found stuffed in the hollowed chest of the body.
The Captain of the fishing boat claimed the artifacts and scrolls for himself, then ordered his men to store the coffin below deck. The next morning two men were found dead next to the sarcophagus, the necks of each crushed and covered with a clinging greenish mold. Over the protests of their captain the crew of the vessel seized the open coffin and tossed it over the side, where it sank immediately from view. The captain managed to retain the artifacts only by brandishing a revolver and threatening charges of mutiny. Another crewman disappeared during a night watch and upon making port the entire crew of the vessel absconded.
Seeking funds to hire another crew the captain sold the artifacts to a British museum for a tidy sum, but did not live longer than a month after his financial gain. The mariner's body was found floating under the docks, pulped and mushy as though some gigantic squid had crushed the life from him.

Cthulhu Statue on display at Miskatonic University

Necronomicon Prophecies

"In those last days of the age of man the blood of Ng'Vroth shall pour forth from his frozen tomb to spoil the waters, and the water shall be changed to foulness, and the life therein given the taint of Ng'Vroth and rise from the deeps to drag down and devour the things of the land. In fear man will rain the fire that kindles the sun down upon the frozen tomb of Ng'Vroth to seal his seeping wounds, and fully a third of the waters be spoiled forevermore."
The Prophecies of Pnom

 "Great Cthulhu waits in Rlyeh, dead but dreaming. Yet a day will come when the stars are right and the ocean vomits Rlyeh again to the surface. Cthulhu will call his faithful unto him, his priests will restore his might with the spells they have guarded for untold generations and they must be the first to sate his endless hunger. All the works of men will be cast down, men will tear out their eyes, but even the blind will see the face of Cthulhu, so they may know madness before death. Pity most those who endure the great purge, for they will live on as provender for the Great Old Ones and slaves for Dagon's Children."

(Rlyeh Text, page 946, translated from the Primal Aklo by Dr. Ben Crawford)