Elder Things
The Elder Things are one of the oldest - if not the oldest - extraterrestrial race in the universal fossil record, having begun space travel and colonization centuries before the races of the Conglomerate rose. Not much at all is known about them other than they were scientists and colonists who studied different planets to create a new homeworld after losing theirs. Few records of their presence on Earth survived time and destruction and even less about their homeworld. Deciphering their language took over several millennia, and there are huge gaps. The name "Elder Things" itself was always intended to be a placeholder until their true identity was discovered, but it has stuck because of the lack of progress.
Basic Information
Anatomy
What little could be found of the Elder Things is from their frozen and fossilized corpses within the caves and derelict vessel they operated from. Even among extraterrestrials, their anatomy is baffling. They were rather homogenous in appearance - lacking the diversity that other species possessed - and stood at about six feet tall, with the bulk of their structure a sort of chitinous, grey oval with five thick tentacles acting as their feet. Five eyes were mounted atop thick stalks that resembled starfish appendages, and they possessed five tentacles that acted as arms and feeding tubes. Each tentacle sported thin cilia that they used to feel and study physical matter. Most odd of all was a pair of seven-foot-long wings with hooked fingers running through the leather material like bats. It seemed they could be used for long-distance planetside flying. Internal autopsies revealed they had amphibious infrastructure that made them capable of surviving underwater, a five-lobed brain that possessed psionic potential, and could digest both organic and inorganic material. They seemed to prefer a carnivorous diet from fossil findings. Fossilized blood samples showed it would have been a thick and green viscous liquid in life.
Genetics and Reproduction
Elder Things reproduced in a similar fashion to plants where spores were deposited into damp and moist soil, with fledglings being handfed. They seemed to lack any sort of definitive gender and only reproduced when necessary. It seemed that the Antarctic environment inhibited their ability to reproduce, which contributed greatly to their extinction.
Civilization and Culture
Average Technological Level
The Elder Things were scientists first and foremost, prioritizing studying their environment over all else. They had intricate knowledge of genetic engineering and study as evidenced by the uncovered records of various extinct species recovered from their computers. Tools and weapons were energy-based, utilizing intense superheated lasers. Most remarkable was their space-faring vessel, which was a sleek vessel of non-euclidian geometry that - at one point - possessed a shiny chrome-like exterior. Such a thing was made possible by their advanced knowledge of physics, engineering, and cosmology. It was the only mode of transportation they possessed as their wings and psionic abilities made life support and vehicles unnecessary. What little surviving accounts showcase a sort of arrogance and superiority over nature, with the Elder Things believing they could overcome their own biological limitations and the barriers of the planet with enough technological innovation. Such a callous attitude to the organic world around them and their own mortality cost them greatly in the end.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Very little is known about their culture before arriving on Earth other than their affinity for science. There were documented accounts of them practicing agriculture via domesticating prehistoric animals to keep as livestock or pets. The Elder Things also possessed immense gardens and vineyards which were cultivated to complement the various meats they cooked and ate. Drones sent out to study the planet contained lots of recordings of primitive apes, the Elder Things apparently finding them entertaining. They did possess family structures and arranged their living quarters in particular ways. All the furniture was condensed in the center of the dwelling while the exterior walls were reserved for murals and carvings. Engravings spanned the walls and were composed of logograms, convergently resembling Egyptian hieroglyphics and Asian characters. Beds and couches were odd hollow cylinders that acted as frames, and dotted, flat surfaces acted as books in a fashion similar to Braille. Pentagonal green pieces that were flattened and engraved acted as coins.
History
Very little is known about their history and origins, with even the name of their planet having been lost. What little documentation was recovered and translated - as well as survived destruction - was that the planet was very lush and swamp-like, similar to Earth during the Devonian Period. No other sentient species were noted in their records, but whether this is a purposeful omission or otherwise is up for debate. Regardless of if others existed, they were the dominant race on their planet. They had amassed a mighty empire on their planet that spanned the globe, both underwater and on land. Their structures were carved from stone and shaped into cubes, cones, and pentagonal shapes, a practice they seemed to have carried over from their home planet. At some point, their cosmonauts visited the planet Azathoth and abducted the native shoggoth cryptids to domesticate for labor and livestock. Like the other extraterrestrial races, their development awakened a mighty kaiju slumbering beneath the sea, resulting in a planet-spanning war between the Elder Things and the kaiju. They ultimately killed the kaiju, but a deadly virus spread across the entire planet from the bacteria inside mingling with the air and water. The results were absolutely catastrophic for the Elder Things, who had to forcibly evacuate their home planet as it withered and died. Though many survived, their race had been contaminated by a sickness that could not be cured by even the best scientific minds the Elder Things could offer. With no options but to turn to the stars, they set out for a new home. Exact dates are impossible to discern, but all of this seemed to have occurred before 4.5 billion BCE.
Approximately one billion years ago, the Elder Things discovered an ancient Earth in the early stages of development. It was not yet suitable for survival, but they saw the potential in it. A major research vessel touched down upon what would one day become Antarctica while the rest of the Elder Things survivors ventured to explore the rest of the cosmos for a worthwhile planet to begin rebuilding their lost empire. The colonists entered hibernation and awaited the day that the Earth could be properly used.
At the tail end of the Permian Period - around 252 million BCE - did the Elder Things reemerge, the extraterrestrials beholding a brand, new world. Reptiles, amphibians, fish, arthropods, and trees had manifested across the globe, as did the presence of clean drinking water and oxygen. The planet even had its own cryptids and kaiju, albeit more than usual. Such an abundance of resources gave them no pause to start their colonization efforts, and the Elder Things began to spread to different parts of Earth. Not only would the planet be their new home, but it would be a place of scientific research to synthesize a cure. They were ambitious but small colonies, which made them go unnoticed by the Conglomerate satellites orbiting the planet. Adverse weather conditions caused by advanced climate change also masked their presence. Volcanic activity and massive earthquakes destabilized the ecosystem, leading to widespread heat, drought, and ocean acidification. The resulting environmental turmoil proved to be absolutely devastating for both the Elder Things and the native fauna. 90% of all organic life went extinct, and the Elder Things were forced back underground to their base of operations. Any colonies surface-side or in the water were destroyed, and any stragglers that did not evacuate in time were lost with them. Another long hibernation was instated, and millions of years passed by as they slept. What little fossil remains survived the extinction event had been lost to deep time.
The Elder Things returned towards the end of the Cretaceous Period - 66 million years ago - and beheld a totally different world. Mammals and birds had evolved, and the landscape was dominated by dinosaurs. Flowers had come to fruition alongside the conifer forests on land, and the sea was populated by a richness of marine reptiles. Earth had never been so lush and vibrant before. This new frontier had emboldened them like nothing before, and the Elder Things ventured out to recolonize the planet. This time, they would concentrate their resources on one large place with smaller support settlements rather than multiple large cities simultaneously. A large city of stone was being built out at sea in a place that would become the Yucatan Peninsula while much smaller settlements were dispersed around the planet. One facility was built beneath South America that served as a sort of biological preserve, and another was built on a lone island in the Pacific Ocean that served an unknown purpose. A sample of great amniotic fluid was atop the rocky plateau they dwelled beneath, a seed having crashed there and stayed undisturbed. The great amniotic fluid had vast evolutionary potential, and the Elder Things stationed in South America wished to study it in the hopes of unlocking its secrets and perhaps finding a cure for the plague. Various specimens of local wildlife were captured for experimentation in the hopes of triggering an evolutionary change. Each one was a catastrophic failure with the subject dying of immense shock and trauma after growing out of control. They eventually had a successful breakthrough with the creation of two dinosaur kaiju that they kept contained for study. Though nowhere near the capital city of their lost planet, the city was proving to be quite an architectural achievement beneath the waves. The sea kept them hidden from Conglomerate satellites as they worked. It served as their central research hub for studying the flora and fauna of the planet, having witnessed organic life lost to deep time. Progress was short-lived with the arrival of a large meteor smashing into the planet. Their colony was destroyed by intense heat, seismic activity, and colossal waves. Though not as devastating as the Permian-Triassic event, the K-T extinction led to a massive 70% loss of life. Earthquakes, tsunamis, sandstorms, burning debris, pyroclastic flow, wildfires, poisonous gases, and a nuclear winter had turned the verdant land of Earth into a wasteland. Once again were the Elder Things forced to retreat into hibernation to await the planet's recovery. They returned to the waking world, only to find the outside completely frozen. Antarctica had frozen millennia ago, and the planet was in the midst of the Pleistocene ice age. Though they could have contended with the extreme heat of the Permian, extreme cold was not something they were evolutionarily designed to handle. Their planet had been swamps and beaches with no ice caps. Despite having survived some of the worst extinction events in Earth's history, the Elder Things were nearing their decline. They had lost immense amounts of resources in their failures, and the lingering sickness from the plague had been tapering their numbers. Made even worse was genetic degradation caused by systemic cloning, as they had to keep their population up during hibernation. DNA samples were starting to wear down, and their vessel had become worn from centuries of environmental exposure. This meant they could not radio for help or evacuation. The Elder Things could not endure another long hibernation and were ultimately forced to operate from within the Antarctic mountains, having to study the rest of the planet from afar. They tunneled into the mountains and built vast underground chambers to expand their base. Deep inside, they found a pool of the great amniotic fluid, having been frozen and dormant for eternity. It was seen as a good omen and a monumental success. The frozen substance was brought back to their base and thawed into liquid, stored inside a mighty container. Desperation drove them to try experimenting with it again, and they managed to have one successful case with a lone emperor penguin.. It not only survived exposure but began to grow steadily. The creature was put in stasis and housed within a chamber of amniotic fluid. It eventually reached kaiju size and had to have a larger chamber built around it, with most of the amniotic fluid being housed within. They were unable to recreate their progress with the kaiju, and the Elder Thing scientists eventually resorted to genetic engineering penguins in the hopes of finding alternative progress. Their results were dubiously successful, as the penguins were both blind and featherless. The underground facility in South America had better luck, managing to create two dinosaur kaiju they had been storing in stasis for millennia. Their end came from a multitude of factors. Ritualistic cloning had greatly weakened their immune systems further, and they had even lost the membranous wings they used to swiftly travel about. The final nail in the coffin was when their shoggoth rebelled, their domestic influence over the cryptids having waned over the many years. While they grew weaker, the shoggoth had grown stronger from the Elder Things' reliance on them as beasts of burden. Their cryptid pets and livestock turned on them and hunted the survivors through the caverns. In a last-ditch effort, the engineers had managed to construct a crude relay to emit an emergency signal in the hopes of finding any help. Eventually, the shoggoth themselves died of cannibalism and inbreeding. Only their decrepit vessel and frozen remains were left to greet the Xothian explorers, who had detected the signal years later. The discovery of the Elder Things was an incredible find for them, and they commandeered the caverns as their own to study the planet and the fossils of the lost civilization. To this date, no surviving Elder Things have been found anywhere on the planet or within Space. There were remnants of skirmishes with the extinct Mi-go race on the planet of Yuggoth but nothing concrete to indicate what they wanted and why they fought. The Elder Thing fossils on Earth are not believed to be the entirety of them, but no other planets have been found with their presence. It is entirely possible they either ventured so far beyond known Space to find a new home or went extinct out in the void.
The Elder Things returned towards the end of the Cretaceous Period - 66 million years ago - and beheld a totally different world. Mammals and birds had evolved, and the landscape was dominated by dinosaurs. Flowers had come to fruition alongside the conifer forests on land, and the sea was populated by a richness of marine reptiles. Earth had never been so lush and vibrant before. This new frontier had emboldened them like nothing before, and the Elder Things ventured out to recolonize the planet. This time, they would concentrate their resources on one large place with smaller support settlements rather than multiple large cities simultaneously. A large city of stone was being built out at sea in a place that would become the Yucatan Peninsula while much smaller settlements were dispersed around the planet. One facility was built beneath South America that served as a sort of biological preserve, and another was built on a lone island in the Pacific Ocean that served an unknown purpose. A sample of great amniotic fluid was atop the rocky plateau they dwelled beneath, a seed having crashed there and stayed undisturbed. The great amniotic fluid had vast evolutionary potential, and the Elder Things stationed in South America wished to study it in the hopes of unlocking its secrets and perhaps finding a cure for the plague. Various specimens of local wildlife were captured for experimentation in the hopes of triggering an evolutionary change. Each one was a catastrophic failure with the subject dying of immense shock and trauma after growing out of control. They eventually had a successful breakthrough with the creation of two dinosaur kaiju that they kept contained for study. Though nowhere near the capital city of their lost planet, the city was proving to be quite an architectural achievement beneath the waves. The sea kept them hidden from Conglomerate satellites as they worked. It served as their central research hub for studying the flora and fauna of the planet, having witnessed organic life lost to deep time. Progress was short-lived with the arrival of a large meteor smashing into the planet. Their colony was destroyed by intense heat, seismic activity, and colossal waves. Though not as devastating as the Permian-Triassic event, the K-T extinction led to a massive 70% loss of life. Earthquakes, tsunamis, sandstorms, burning debris, pyroclastic flow, wildfires, poisonous gases, and a nuclear winter had turned the verdant land of Earth into a wasteland. Once again were the Elder Things forced to retreat into hibernation to await the planet's recovery. They returned to the waking world, only to find the outside completely frozen. Antarctica had frozen millennia ago, and the planet was in the midst of the Pleistocene ice age. Though they could have contended with the extreme heat of the Permian, extreme cold was not something they were evolutionarily designed to handle. Their planet had been swamps and beaches with no ice caps. Despite having survived some of the worst extinction events in Earth's history, the Elder Things were nearing their decline. They had lost immense amounts of resources in their failures, and the lingering sickness from the plague had been tapering their numbers. Made even worse was genetic degradation caused by systemic cloning, as they had to keep their population up during hibernation. DNA samples were starting to wear down, and their vessel had become worn from centuries of environmental exposure. This meant they could not radio for help or evacuation. The Elder Things could not endure another long hibernation and were ultimately forced to operate from within the Antarctic mountains, having to study the rest of the planet from afar. They tunneled into the mountains and built vast underground chambers to expand their base. Deep inside, they found a pool of the great amniotic fluid, having been frozen and dormant for eternity. It was seen as a good omen and a monumental success. The frozen substance was brought back to their base and thawed into liquid, stored inside a mighty container. Desperation drove them to try experimenting with it again, and they managed to have one successful case with a lone emperor penguin.. It not only survived exposure but began to grow steadily. The creature was put in stasis and housed within a chamber of amniotic fluid. It eventually reached kaiju size and had to have a larger chamber built around it, with most of the amniotic fluid being housed within. They were unable to recreate their progress with the kaiju, and the Elder Thing scientists eventually resorted to genetic engineering penguins in the hopes of finding alternative progress. Their results were dubiously successful, as the penguins were both blind and featherless. The underground facility in South America had better luck, managing to create two dinosaur kaiju they had been storing in stasis for millennia. Their end came from a multitude of factors. Ritualistic cloning had greatly weakened their immune systems further, and they had even lost the membranous wings they used to swiftly travel about. The final nail in the coffin was when their shoggoth rebelled, their domestic influence over the cryptids having waned over the many years. While they grew weaker, the shoggoth had grown stronger from the Elder Things' reliance on them as beasts of burden. Their cryptid pets and livestock turned on them and hunted the survivors through the caverns. In a last-ditch effort, the engineers had managed to construct a crude relay to emit an emergency signal in the hopes of finding any help. Eventually, the shoggoth themselves died of cannibalism and inbreeding. Only their decrepit vessel and frozen remains were left to greet the Xothian explorers, who had detected the signal years later. The discovery of the Elder Things was an incredible find for them, and they commandeered the caverns as their own to study the planet and the fossils of the lost civilization. To this date, no surviving Elder Things have been found anywhere on the planet or within Space. There were remnants of skirmishes with the extinct Mi-go race on the planet of Yuggoth but nothing concrete to indicate what they wanted and why they fought. The Elder Thing fossils on Earth are not believed to be the entirety of them, but no other planets have been found with their presence. It is entirely possible they either ventured so far beyond known Space to find a new home or went extinct out in the void.
EXTINCT
Origin/Ancestry
Extraterrestrial
Average Height
6ft
Geographic Distribution
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