Many-Angled Ones
The Many-Angled Ones are a race of ancient eldritch extra-dimensional beings.
At one time, the Many-Angled Ones travelled regularly to Earth, where they were feared and worshipped. In order to protect Humanity from their horrors, the first Sorceror Supreme, Agamotto, drove them back to their home in Subwhere, and then used the Wings of Needless Sorrow to shatter Subwhere into the Archipelago of Anguish and Redemption in order to destroy their power base.
Thousands of years later, Shuma-Gorath returned to Earth, intending to open a doorway that would allow his bretheren to follow. Assisted by the Sorceror Supreme of the Splinter Realms, Clea, Stephen Strange ascended to become Sorceror Supreme of Earth, and used the Wings of Needless Sorrow to seal off the Outer Darkness from the rest of the Splinter Realms, trapping the Many-Angled Ones within.
It is believed that the author H.P. Lovecraft may have found a way to contact the Many-Angled Ones, or have seen them via visions, as the Elder Gods appearing in his writings bear a striking resemblence to the real Many-Angled Ones.
Classification
Although being commonly described as a single species, some magical sources (most notably Sir Nigel Caruthurs) have suggested that they may represent a number of distinct species. In particular, several traditions make a distinction between the 'Star-Headed Old Ones', who most closely resemble star-fish, and the 'True Faeries', who are broadly humanoid but possess large insectoid wings and who's heads have squid-like characteristics.
Other proposed groupings include the Ancients, the Outer Gods, and the Dark Gods.
Powers and Abilities
The Many-Angled Ones can appear as avatars or partial manifestations of themselves,allowing them to manifest in dimensions they have been banished from. They can bestow powers on their worshippers, ususally in exchange for blood-sacrifices, granting magical power, physical prowess, or even immortality.
Their presence corrupts those who come close to them, both spiritually and physically. Worshippers who regularly commune with the Many-Angled Ones begin to mutate, taking on some physical characteristics of the being they worship. They also have the ability to possess people, although since the shattering of Subwhere, they can only possess those who consent to it (although this consent does not need to be given willingly or with full understanding of what will happen).
Civilization and Culture
History
Origins and Pre-history
The origins of the Many-Angled Ones are unknown, but a number of theories have been proposed, including that they originated from an unknown other dimension, they are primordial cosmic beings who have always existed, that they originated in the spaces between dimensions, that they are born from dying worlds, or that they were born from the nightmares of the first sentient beings.According to Nigel Carruthers (wildly regarded as the pre-eminent modern expert on the Many-Angled Ones, although some have pointed out that as a worshipper of the Many-Angled Ones, his information is suspect at best), the Many-Angled Ones ruled the earth "before man climbed down from the trees".
The first records of the Many-Angled Ones come from the Kerma culture, who inhabited modern Sudan from approximately 2500BCE, where a painted vase, currently in the possession of the Bloodstone Family, is believed to depict the Great Old One Chthon. Other early depictions or references to the Many-Angled Ones or their cults have been found in the Indus River Valley, Yellow River Valley, and Mesoamerica.
According to the Lemurian Witch-Scrolls, the Many-Angled Ones built a city called R'lyeh. Even among those who accept the historicity of the scrolls, it is disputed whether R'lyeh was a physical place, or a metaphor for the control the Many-Angled Ones exerted over their worshippers. However, a small but dedicated faction of 'R'lyeh truthers' has existed since at least the 1700s (when the previously lost Scrolls were rediscovered), and a number of digs and dives to attempt to uncover the ruins of the city have been conducted, thus far unsuccessfully.
One contraversial theory states that the spells of the Darkhold are copies from spells engraved into the walls of R'lyeh. This theory is believed to have originated with the eccentric sorceror Cagliostro, who is not known to have ever handled the Darkhold, although the immortal Margali Svardos, who breifly owned the Darkhold, has spoken out in favour of this theory.
Relics of the Many-Angled Ones' rule on Earth include the Pnakotic Manuscripts, the Wings of Needless Sorrow, the Shining Trapezohedran, and the Gem of Earth-Fire.
Banishment to the Splinter Realms
The exact details of Agamotto's banishment of the Many-Angled Ones are disputed, and the subject of more myth than confirmed history. According to the earliest records of the event, the goddess Oshtur, seeing the horrific treatment of humans by the Many-Angled Ones, was moved to tears. When her tears hit the earth, they formed into a man made of clay, and this man was Agamotto.
In order to gather the strength to challenge the Many-Angled Ones, Agamotto travelled to every corner of the earth, and persuaded every Magic User he met to pledge their alliegence to him, becoming the first Sorcerors Supreme.
Using the combined power of all the magic-users on Earth, Agamotto challenged the Many-Angled Ones, and succeeded in driving them back to Subwhere, the dimension from which they had first entered Earth. They left behind the Wings of Needless Sorrow, which Shuma-Gorath had crafted from the wings of a dead god.
In order to use the Wings, Agamotto sacrificed his divinity, becoming fully mortal. This sacrifice allowed him to use the Wings to shatter Subwhere into the Splinter Realms, trapping the Many-Angled Ones in the Outer Darkness, where there was not enough natural magic to allow them to return to earth.
Sealing the Outer Darkness
Although the natural magic of the Outer Darkness was very low, it was present. Over the centuries, Shuma-Gorath fed on the magic and regained his strength.
In 2016, he began to tear down the barriers between the Outer Darkness and the other Splinter Realms, resulting in extra-dimensional beings such as Mind Maggots and Goblins fleeing the Splinter Realms for Earth, attracting the attention of Stephen Strange and Clea.
Strange travelled to the Winding Way to retrieve the Wings of Needless Sorrow which Agamotto had left with the Seamstress-Queen for safekeeping.
In order to obtain the Wings, Strange sacrificed his relationship with Christine Palmer, allowing Viliven to wipe all memories of him from Palmer's memory.
Shuma-Gorath was able to break out of the Outer Darkness, chasing Strange and Clea though the Winding Way back to Earth. Although he was aware that he lacked the magical power to safely use the Wings, Strange resolved to fight, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.
Seeing the sacrifice he was making, the Masters fighting alongside him pledged their alliegance to him, making him Sorceror Supreme and granting him the power to use the Wings safely. Strange pushed Shuma-Gorath back into the Outer Darkness, and then used the power of the Wings to severe the connection between the Outer Darkness and the Winding Way, sealing the Many-Angled Ones inside forever.
Alternate Name(s)
The Great Old Ones
The Nameless Ones
The Elder Gods
The Outer Gods
Notable Individuals
Shuma-Gorath
The Great Old Ones
The Nameless Ones
The Elder Gods
The Outer Gods
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
Immortal
Geographic Distribution
Shuma-Gorath