Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep (also called: Crawling Chaos -Crawling Chaos in English-) is a primordial god devised by the writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft. He appears in a large number of the stories about him and is, apparently, a large polypous mass with a long red excretion. However, he is characterized by taking various forms according to his claims.
In addition to appearing in the Cthulhu Mythos cycle of tales, it also appears in In Search of the City of the Rising Sun or, more literally translated, The Dreaming Quest for the Unknown Kadath (The Dream-quest of unknown Kadath) by H. P. Lovecraft himself, a work belonging to Randolph Carter's Adventure Cycle or The Lands of Dreams.
Summary
This is one of the few gods in Lovecraft's myths that can act freely, since most are asleep, locked up or limited in some way. His behavior is strange (one could even say more human) when compared to other Lovecraftian beings. He is one of the few who can offer any useful service to his human servants, he has his own goals and often manipulates humans to achieve them. He can even appear human and often uses our language, as in the story Nyarlathotep (1920). For him, too, it is more interesting to cause madness and suffering than simple destruction.
He is the emissary of the Other Gods and servant of Azathoth: whatever he asks of him will be carried out instantly by Nyarlathotep.
It is known to be capable of appearing in a thousand different avatars, and it has never been possible to list all of its forms.
Nyarlathotep in Lovecraft
Nyarlathotep first appeared in Lovecraft's 1920 short story of the same name, where he is described as a "tall dark man" who looks like an Egyptian pharaoh. In this story he roams the earth, apparently gathering legions of followers through his miracles and his strange magical instruments, the narrator of the tale among them. These followers lose consciousness of the world around them, and through the story the reader perceives how the author himself falls into the same state. The story ends with the narrator becoming a soldier in Nyarlathotep's army.
Nyarlathotep (often referred to as "The Crawling Chaos") later appears as a main character in The Dreaming Quest of Unknown Kadath (1926-1927), in which he again manifests himself as an Egyptian pharaoh when he faces the protagonist Randolph Carter.
The 21st sonnet of Lovecraft's poems Mushrooms of Yuggoth (1929-1930) -not to be confused with the Mi-go of Whisperer in the Dark- is dedicated to Nyarlathotep and is essentially a poetic version of the short story Nyarlathotep.
Finally in He Who Lurks in the Dark (1936), the bat-winged, tentacled monster who dwells in the dark in the attic of the church of the Starry Wisdom sect is considered another form or manifestation of Nyarlathotep.
Although as a character Nyarlathotep appears in only four Lovecraft stories and one sonnet (more than any other Great Old One or god), his name is frequently mentioned in many others. For example, in He Who Whispers in the Dark (1930-1931), the name of Nyarlathotep is frequently pronounced by the Yuggoth mushrooms in ritual or praise, indicating that they adore or honor him in some way..
Despite the similarities in subject and name, Nyarlathotep does not appear in The Crawling Chaos (1920-1921), an apocalyptic tale written in collaboration with Elizabeth Berkeley.
Inspiration
In a 1921 letter to Reinhardt Kleiner, Lovecraft recounted a dream he had had - described as "the most horrible and realistic nightmare I have had since I was ten years old" - which served as the basis for his prose poem Nyarlathotep. In the dream, she received a letter from his friend Samuel Loveman in which he told her:
“Don't miss seeing Nyarlathotep if he comes to Providence. It's horrible - more horrible than you can imagine - but wonderful. He traps you for hours. He still trembles remembering what he showed me. »
Lovecraft commented:
"I had never heard the name Nyarlathotep before, but I seemed to understand the allusion. Nyarlathotep was a kind of showman or a traveling lecturer who performed public shows in which he spread terror and discussion on his displays. These exhibitions consisted of two parts - first, a horrible and possibly prophetic kinematic history and later extraordinary experiments with scientific and electrical devices. When I received the letter, it seemed to me to recall that Nyarlathotep was already in Providence... and it seemed to me to remember that some people had already told me about the horrors and warned me not to come near me... but Loveman's letter ended up deciding. As I left the house I saw multitudes of men, polishing at night, all whispering and heading in one direction. I accompanied them, fearful but fascinated to come to see and hear the great, dark and impronunciable Nyarlathotep. »
Will Murray suggests that this dream image of Nyarlathotep may have been inspired by inventor Nikola Tesla, whose mass lectures featured extraordinary experiments with electrical devices and who was considered by some to be a sinister figure.
Robert M. Price suggests that the name Nyarlathotep may have been subconsciously suggested to Lovecraft by two names invented by Lord Dunsany, an author he admired: Alhireth-Hote, a false prophet from The Gods of Pegãna and Mynarthitep, a god described as "furious" in his The Lament of the Search.
Their avatars
The following is a list of its forms, along with the region in which it is usually seen, and extra notes. The shapes have been drawn from published stories, the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game, and unofficial sources.
A-G
| Form | Region | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Star Anchor | ? | ? | - |
| The Ancient | ? | ? | - |
| Master of Desert | ? | ? | - |
| Athu | Congo | Mass of golden tentacles | His cult is made up of battered people, led to dementia. The mutilations are common. In the present it is similar to voodoo. You can call it through a golden bracelet |
| The Aullador to the Moon, the Aullador on the Night | ? | It's like the Bloody Language God. | - |
| Baron Samedi | The Caribbean | A black man with skeleton tattoos all over the body, wears a white cap and a joker of the same color | This form is worshiped by the cults of Voodoo in the Caribbean, also by the nigromantes creators of zombies. |
| The Beast | Egypt | It appears through the Sphinx | This form is revered by Brotherhood of the Beast. Nyarlathotep can only form this avatar in a specific place in Egypt. |
| Cabra of many legs | ? | ? | - |
| La Cosa with the Yellow Mask | Land of Dreams | A creature dressed in white silk and a yellow mask | It is believed that Nyarlathotep is manifested only in this way in the city of 'Ygiroth, in the lands of dreams. Some believe he is the only inhabitant of a monastery at the Leng Plateau |
| Creature of the Earth | ? | ? | - |
| The Black Demon | - | It's a big, hairy beast with a snout. He's afraid of the light, but this one doesn't hurt him. | Although some talismans help control it, there is a risk that the invocator will be attacked. |
| The Dark Demon | - | Similar to the Black Devil | Black art students are usually contacted by this avatar. He promises them power in exchange for possessing his body, but he does not usually fulfill his promise. |
| Old God | Congo | ? | - |
| God of the Bloody Language | Everybody | It's a gigantic monster with a red tentacle instead of face | This form is venerated by the Cult of the Blood Language |
| The Eye of Hell | Innsmouth | He's a gentleman with gabardina, skinny and yellow eyes | - |
| God of the Desert | ? | ? | - |
| The Faceless God | Ancient Egypt | A sphinx without a face | He has the ability to send his worshipers back in time.
It has statues in its honor spread throughout the desert of Egypt (some almost completely buried in the sand): the Bedouins know their approximate location and avoid them at all costs, as they often cause madness and death to those who try to desecrate them. |
| Hate effigy | Africa | A winged creature that manifests itself through a totem of war | - |
| The Black Pharaoh | Egypt | It appears as an Egyptian pharaoh dressed in a clear robe. | The Black Pharaoh's Brotherhood venerates him in this way. |
| The Great Messenger | Everybody | ? | - |
H-N
| Form | Region | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Inhabitant of Darkness | The N'Gai Forests, somewhere in North America | It appears as a horrible giant with a tentacle instead of face | It is similar to the god of the bloody tongue. |
| The White Man | New England | He's a blond man with a bright white robe | - |
| The Astado Man | Celtic | It appears like a man with deer horns | It can only be seen under the effect of certain hallucinogenic drugs. |
| Black Man | England | He's a man with a hoof. | It is venerated by witches, it is invoked in covens |
| The Tic-Tac Man | Any civilization with advanced technology | A piece of backward technology in relation to the period of time | It is usually found in very advanced races or that replaced religion with technology. It usually is a very old object. It is believed that he gave humans the key to the atomic bomb. |
| The Green Man | Celtic | It appears as an animated effigy of a man made of something like plants. | - |
| Skeletal Horror | Egypt | It manifests itself as a 7-metre skeleton with the head of an old man with the face of the reverse. | - |
| The Fleet Horror | Haiti | It appears as a being similar to a blue jellyfish, with red veins | - |
| The Dark Lagoon | Druids | ? | He was worshipped thousands of years ago by a little cult |
| The Black Lion, Destroyer of Egypt | ? | ? | - |
| L'rog'g (or Lrogg), God Bat of L'gy'xh | The planet L'gy'xh | It's a two-head bat. | He is worshiped by the cubic inhabitants of L'gy'xh, and by a group of Shan renegades |
| Master of Evil | ? | ? | - |
| Messenger of the Ancients | - | A huge black mass that rebounds on the sky | It is only thus manifested during moments of cosmic importance, such as the awakening of Cthulhu |
| Night Messenger | All Asia | It appears in the form of a human body of gray and dry skin, with three tentacles coming out of the chin and with bat wings | - |
| Dark Messenger of Karneter | ? | ? | - |
| The Death in the Darkness | Australia; Providence, Rhode Island; Yuggoth | An immense creature like a bat, with a single trilobular eye, which seems to be able to kill only the fear it causes. It is destroyed by light | His most important cult is the Church of Starry Wisdom, which invokes it through the Shining Path. He's adored by some natives. Other names of this avatar are Devouring Faces, Father of the Bats, Black Wing and Sand Bat. |
| Mr. Skin (Mr. Piel) | Los Angeles | An indistinguishable imitation of an African-American pimp | He associates it with certain Shub-Niggurath followers |
| Women Advocate | China | It appears as a morbidly obese woman, with five mouths and multiple tentacles | It hides behind Black fanto hide his appearance from his victims |
| Narla | Everybody | A virtual reality being | - |
| Black | ? | ? | - |
| Repenting fog | Lands of Dreams | A lurid and living fog | - |
O-Z
| Form | Region | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Eye that sees everything | Everybody | An eye generally looking down, may be represented in a triangle like on a dollar bill | It is usually used as a symbol of the Masons and Egyptians. |
| The Dark | California, Louisiana | He is a black azabache man, 2.4 meters, faceless, who possesses the ability to cross any physical barrier. | - |
| Father of the Million favored | ? | ? | - |
| The Little Repent | India | A small human with four arms and three tentacles for legs | He describes it in the Cthaat Aquadingenand has a small cult in India |
| Wedding pool | Cochabamba | It is similar to any swimming pool, only it manifests when you celebrate insignificant weddings of insignificant people. He has a bride veil in the middle. | This avatar is actually a satire. It is never mentioned in the Myths or role-playing games based on these. |
| The Pestes Carrier | Egypt | It's a supernatural lobster cloud. | He had followers in the twentieth dynasty. Now you have them among the Silver Dawn Knights. |
| The Prince of the Darkest Darkness | ? | ? | - |
| The Lamenting Returner | ? | A column of tentacles that twist and screaming mouths. | No cult is known. |
| The Red Queen | Everybody | A beautiful woman dressed in red capable of becoming a horrible beast with claws, guadaña and snake hair. | No cult is known. |
| Set | Egypt | Man with anthill bear head | This avatar is worshiped by the Most High Dark Order, and in the past in Egypt |
| Shugoran | Malaysia | It appears as a black anthropomorphic being, playing a horn | This form is worshiped by the Tcho-tcho. They usually invoke it to punish offenders |
| A Blind of Truth | ? | ? | - |
| The Being Without Piel, Xipe Totec | Middle East, Mexico | It's a desolate body. | He worshipped him in Turkey, and the Aztecs worshiped him under the name Xipe Totec ["Our skinny lord"] |
| Tezcatlipca | Mexico | A black-skinned man with a steaming mirror | It was a prominent deity among the Aztecs |
| The Black Wind | Kenya | It manifests itself as a destructive storm | - |