Цатоггуа и воорми: Мифология Ктулху и цикл Гипербореи

Tsathoggua (the Sleeper of N'kai, also known as Zhothaqquah) is a supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe. He is the creation of American writer Clark Ashton Smith and is part of his Hyperborean cycle. Tsathoggua/Zhothaqquah is described as an Old One, a god like being from the pantheon. He was introduced in Smith's short story "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros", written in 1929 and published in the November 1931 issue of Weird Tales. His first appearance in print, however, was in Robert E. Howard's story "The Children of the Night", written in 1930 and published in the April May 1931 issue of Weird Tales. His next appearance in print was in H. P. Lovecraft's story "The Whisperer in Darkness", written in 1930 and published in the August 1931 issue of Weird Tales.

A race of cave dwelling humanoids who worship Tsathoggua. They are the primary focus of a "posthumous collaboration" short story by Lin Carter after Clark Ashton Smith's death, The Scroll of Morloc (First published in 1976, The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 2, and again in 1980 in Lost Worlds). They are referred to as the Voormi (plural: Voormis) in H. P. Lovecraft's fictional manuscript The Pnakotic Fragments. The Voormis considered themselves the chosen minions of Tsathoggua and his direct descendants. The Voormis are described as three toed, umber colored, fur covered humanoids though they are carefully differentiated from their traditional enemies (the shaggier haired but superficially similar Gnophkehs who worshiped the Great Old One Rhan Tegoth). Both of them are further differentiated from true humans. The Voormis communicate by dog like howls. They reside in a continent in Hyperborea which will be known in the future as Mhu Thulan: specifically in cave systems under the four coned extinct volcano named after them—Mount Voormithadreth, the tallest peak in the Eiglophian mountains. Their ancestors (as described by Carter's narrative) were originally thralls of the Serpent people who escaped after the continent of the latter sank to the sea. They are shamanistic and apparently began dwelling underground in an effort to imitate their deity, Tsathoggua, under the leadership of the eponymous Voorm. The Voormis established a thriving culture in the surface Hyperborea before the coming of humans. Their civilization eventually fell into demise. With constant warfare with their archenemies, the Gnophkeh, they grew smaller and smaller in number until the remnants retreated to the highest slopes of the Eiglophian mountains. They were hunted for sport by later human settlers.

Smith literally wed Lovecraft's creations to his own gods, which seem to be molded more like the Greek pantheon than the cosmic group of Lovecraft's fiction. He assigned familial relationships to his gods—for example, making the Saturnian being Hziulquoigmnzhah the "uncle" of Tsathoggua—and ascribed this family tree to the Parchments of Pnom, Hyperborea's leading "genealogist [and] noted prophet". According to Smith's "Parchments of Pnom", Tsathoggua is the spawn of Ghisguth and Zystulzhemgni, as well as being the mate of Shathak and the parent of Zvilpogghua. Lovecraft, however, states that Tsathoggua is the offspring of the deity Yeb, whose twin Nug spawned Cthulhu.

Cxaxukluth (or Ksaksa Kluth) is an Outer God, spawn of Azathoth by spontaneous fission. His progeny are Hziulquoigmnzhah and Ghisguth. He is the grandfather of Tsathoggua. Cxaxukluth dwells on Yuggoth. His immediate family lived with him for a while, but soon left because of his cannibalistic appetites.

Ghisguth (or Ghizghuth or Ghisghuth) is the son of Cxaxukluth and the brother of Hziulquoigmnzhah. He is the mate of Zstylzhemghi and the father of Tsathoggua.

Hziulquoigmnzhah (also Ziulquaz Manzah) is the son of Cxaxukluth. He is also the brother to Ghisguth and the uncle of Tsathoggua. His appearance is much like his nephew, but he has an elongated neck, very long forelimbs, and very short, multiple legs. He has had many homes including Xoth (possibly Sirius B), Yaksh (Neptune), and Cykranosh (Saturn), where he resides to this day. In Kevin L. O'Brien's "October Surprise" (2006) Hziulquoigmnzhah's mate is Zstylzhemghi's sister Klosmiebhyx who bore him two entities likely matching with the Welsh giant Ysbaddaden and the Scottish war goddess Scáthach, since both named after these two demigods.

Klosmiebhyx is mentioned in Kevin L. O'Brien's "October Surprise" (2006) as sister of Zstylzhemghi. Her appearance is not described, but likely similar to her sibling.

Knygathin Zhaum is the child of Sfatlicllp and a Voormi. He repopulated Hyperborea after humans deserted the cities of Uzuldaroum and Commoriom. Athammaus tried to execute him by beheading, but because of his preternatural heritage, such attempts proved unsuccessful and only served to aggravate him. As a descendant of Cxaxukluth, Knygathin Zhaum reproduced by fission and thus created an Azathothian strain among the Hyperborean Voormi.

Sfatlicllp is the daughter of Zvilpogghua. She is the wife of a Voormi and their offspring is Knygathin Zhaum. Sfatlicllp was likely born on Kythanil and may have procreated the formless spawn once on Earth. She probably dwells in N'kai with Tsathoggua.

Shathak is the wife of Tsathoggua and the mother of Zvilpogghua.

Ycnágnnisssz is the being from the dark star Xoth who spawned Zstylzhemghi by fission.

Zstylzhemghi (Matriarch of the Swarm) is the offspring of Ycnagnnisssz along with Klosmiebhyx, mate of Ghisguth and the mother of Tsathoggua.

Zvilpogghua (the Feaster from the Stars) is the son of Tsathoggua and Shathak, and is the father of Sfatlicllp. Zvilpogghua was conceived on the planet Yaksh (Neptune). Zvilpogghua is known to the American Indians as Ossadagowah. He usually takes the form of an armless, winged, bipedal toad with a long, rubbery neck and a face completely covered in tentacles. He currently dwells on Yrautrom, a planet that orbits the star Algol.

In 1971, Tsathoggua's idol, which came to life and attacked Conan the Barbarian, made a cameo in Conan the Buccaneer, book 6 of the Conan series, this novel written by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter based on the Conan character created by Robert E. Howard. In 1975, Tsathoggua made a cameo in The Golden Apple, book two of The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, where he was also referred to as Saint Toad. In 2008, the short story "Tsathoggua" by Michael Shea was first published in The Autopsy and Other Tales. In 2013, Tsathoggua played a pivotal role in Gray Magic: An Episode of Eibon, a novel by Gary Myers based on the Eibon character and Hyperborean cycle created by Clark Ashton Smith. The mind parasites are called the Tsathogguans in Colin Wilson's Cthulhu Mythos–based novel The Mind Parasites (1967). Tsathoggua is also a summonable unit in the 2016 Japanese mobile game Tokyo Afterschool Summoners, where he's depicted as a proud shut in NEET dwelling in the VIP room of an underground casino in Roppongi, Tokyo.

(Online version of the "Introduction" to The Book of Hyperborea .)