Elder Thing (Art by Adrian Bush)
| “ | As far as we know there's two branches to the advancement of man. The adamic branch and the evolutionary branch. I've always thought Darwinism was just a theory, but after seeing those...'things', I'm not so sure anymore. These 'Elder Things' aren't a product of some unnatural Precambrian transmutation, Ian. They invented it. | „ |
| ~ Simon Bruttenholm |
The Elder Things (also known as the Old Ones and Elder Ones) are a sapient alien species whose civilization colonized Earth in prehistoric times. They are known for the creation of the Shoggoths as well as bioengineering the Primal Hominid race.
Appearance[]
They stood roughly six feet tall and had the appearance of a huge, oval-shaped barrel with starfish-like appendage at both ends. The Elder Things were vegetable-like in shape, having radial symmetry instead of the bilateral symmetry of bipeds. They also differed in that they had a five-lobed brain. The top appendage was a head adorned with five eyes, five eating tubes, and a set of prismatic cilia for "seeing" without light. The bottom appendage was five-limbed and was used for walking and other forms of locomotion. The beings also had five leathery, retractable wings, which were used both for in-atmospheric flight and for sailing through the "ether" of empty space. They had five sets of tentacles that sprouted from their torsos, which divided twice into finer tentacles that could be used for swimming and manipulation. Both their tentacles and the slits housing their folded wings were spaced at regular intervals about their bodies.
History[]
Background[]
The Elder Things are believed to have been the first extraterrestrial race to visit the primeval Earth, thought to have arrived during the waning days of the Battle of the Powers, a cataclysmic battle between the Ogdru Hem and the Elohim. A majority of the Ogdru Hem were defeated or destroyed, whilst the gods rested from their age-long battle, allowing the Elder Things the freedom to explore the Earth undeterred. The time period of Earth's geological history in which they arrived is unknown but scientists from the Miskatonic University suggest that they were present sometime during the late Precambrian to early Proterozoic era.
Upon examining the geology and atmosphere of the planet, the Elder Things began to build massive complexes or fortresses, both underwater and on dry land. They may be responsible for the appearance of the first life-forms on Earth, which they extracted from the remains of the entity known as Ubbo-Sathla, an Old One slain by the Greek deity Phanes (although sources differ in this regard). While advanced, the Elder Things did not wish to exhaust their efforts into their cities alone, and thus opted to bioengineer a race specifically bred for labor. These workers in question were the dreaded Shoggoths, made to be to be their all-purpose slave race.
Pioneers of Evolution[]
At some point, the Elder Things experimented with the genetics of the early hominids, the supposed evolutionary ancestors of humanity, resulting in an evolutionary jump in the gene pool where these hominids became intelligent and resourceful. However, these primal hominids also went against the orders of their alien masters. It is believed that aside from the hominids, they also took interest in the dinosauria species that shared the primeval Earth with the hominids, at least those that survived the marring of the Earth between the gods and the Old Ones.
When it comes to the divinities, neither they nor the angels interfered in their work mainly due to the fact that they rested after an eon-long attempt at destroying the evils that festered into creation, but even after the marring of the Earth, the gods stayed their hand as they saw that the work of the Elder Things would only breathe unnatural yet harmless new forms of life that would coexist alongside the original ones. But even so they kept a watchful eye on the Elder Things and their activities.
Decline[]
Eventually, the rebellion against the Elder Things by their creations only hastened the decline and ultimate collapse of their civilization. Though there have been signs of struggle via chambers being in ruin and weapons in shatters indicating that the Elder Things fought back against their former servants but with little success.
During an expedition in Antarctica, one of the researchers theorizes that the massive interstellar gateway, which far exceeds the size of the Empire State Building, that hides within the uninhabitable valleys of the icy mountains was hasily built by the Elder Things to escape, but it was their hastening that only led to the gateway becoming unstable, resulting in an explosion that destroyed their citadel along with the Elder Things and the Shoggoths in it. The explosion created a spontaneous temporal combustion which inevitably removed an entire plateau from the spatial confines of our third dimensional view; the plateau itself is known as the Plateau of Leng.
Extinction[]
Despite these conflicts, it was the gradual cooling of the planet during the last Ice Age is what truly spelled their doom. Retreating to their undersea cities deep in the ocean, they would thereafter have no further dealings with the outer world. Their last surface city, located on a high plateau in the Antarctic, remains frozen in ice. The ruins of this city were discovered in 1931 by members of a joint Antarctic expedition between Miskatonic University and the British Paranormal Society.
Description[]
The Elder Things exhibited vegetable as well as animal characteristics, and in terms of reproduction, multiplied using spores, although they discouraged increasing their numbers except when colonizing new regions. Though they could make use of both organic and inorganic substances, the Elder Things were preferably carnivorous. They were also amphibious.
The bodies of the Elder Things were incredibly tough, capable of withstanding the pressures of the deepest ocean and the harsh vacuum of space. Few died except by accident or violence. The beings were also capable of hibernating for vast epochs of time. Nonetheless, unlike other beings of the Mythos, the Elder Things were made of normal, terrestrial matter.
Their blood was thick and green and had a horrible, indescribable stench that was smellable from very far away. Their presence generally caused dogs to become violent and provoked them into attacking them.
Technology[]
The technology that the Elder Things possessed was not described at length, but was described as being extremely advanced, and even makes an off-hand mention that they may have had directed-energy weaponry. However, for the most part they made minimal use of high technology, as their natural resilience and movement abilities made many forms of life-support and transportation unnecessary. They are also described as having a great command of biological principles and genetic engineering, and are known to have synthesized many lifeforms, including the Shoggoths and the ancestral forms of all native life on Earth.
