Pnakotus

This subject contains information from the "Lovecraft Circle" Myth Cycles, and while guided by HPL are not based on his work alone. The city of Pnakotus was an ancient city on Earth. It appears in the story The Shadow Out of Time.

Location

In the remote past, Pnakotus was located in what is now known as the Great Australian Desert.

Description

Pnakotus was built millions of years ago by the Great Race of Yith. It is known for its large library, which includes the Pnakotic Manuscripts. The Great Race inhabited the city under a system similar to the socialist one, governed by a vote of the citizens considered most capable in the face of psychological and cultural tests. From the underground cave system, the Flying Polyps fought back against the Great Race, taking over this place of cyclopean walls.
The Great Race collected information on all eras, both past and present, in the archives of the Great Library. To accomplish this, they sent their minds back and forth in time, occupying the bodies of the dominant races of each era. The minds displaced from the bodies of these species are sent to the body of the member of the Great Race that has supplanted them and, while they remain in Pnakotus, they are treated as king's bodies in exchange for contributing their knowledge to the data in the Library. Once they are returned to their respective bodies, the members of the Great Race who have replaced them also return to theirs and complement the information left by the guests with their own intensive study of the historical moment they have occupied.
It is known that the Great Race has not only visited the bodies of Earth beings: it has also visited the bodies of inhabitants of other worlds.

Fauna and Flora

Although initially this place was the home of the Great Race, nowadays in its ruins dwell the flying polyps, which have made them their territory.

Type

Large city