QUY. Lost continent that once existed in the South Atlantic, but now lies between the dimensions.
Quy was one of the two primal continents, along with R’lyeh, and was the home of the Great Old One Quyagen. The first species to dwell on Quy were the Y’nathogguans, which later human invaders drove away. These newcomers established the empire of Quy and the institutionalized worship of Quyagen. Until the cataclysm that destroyed Atlantis and Lemuria, Quy remained a weak power, lacking in technology and harried by Lemurian pirates.
The rise of the Hyborian Age saw the Empire of Quy gain power, conquering the continent of Cakatomia (modern North America) and made raids into Hyboria. Conan, King of Aquilonia, destroyed their armies when they attempted to take over the eastern continent, sending the Empire into a decline from which it never recovered.
Quy vanished when the curse of a mad prophet sent it into an alternate dimension. The prophecy states that only when the Old Ones return will Quy and its inhabitants return to our world.
(“The Thing in the Library”, Berglund and Burnham; “The Worm”, Burnham (O); “The Seven Cities of Gold”, Burnham.)
Q’YTH-AZ. Great Old One who takes the form of a colossal amalgamation of crystals. Q’yth-az dwells on the world of Mthura and can only travel from its home under very specific circumstances.
Q’yth-az has been known to broadcast its telepathic messages to those who are in close contact with crystals. If the person contacted agrees to aid the Great Old One, Q’yth-az may manifest itself on this world when Mthura may be seen in the sky. When it arrives, the crystalline entity grows and attempts to transform everything around it into mineral matter. If Mthura is hidden by clouds or travels below the horizon, however, Q’yth-az must return to its home world.
See Mthura. (“An Early Frost”, Aniolowski (O).)
R
RAM WITH A THOUSAND EWES. Being invoked in certain of Shub-Niggurath’s rituals. Most likely, it is merely Shub-Niggurath’s male incarnation.
See Shub-Niggurath. (The Transition of Titus Crow, Lumley; “The Holiness of Azedarac”, Smith (O).)
RASUL AL-AKBARIN, KITAB. Book written by Ibn el-Badawi around the year 900 which deals with the Great Old Ones. All that is known of it is that an English translation of the original has been made, and that it discusses the being Huitloxopetl.
(“Huitloxopetl IV: Vision of Madness”, Berglund (O); “Wings in the Night”, Berglund; Keeper’s Compendium, Herber.)
RAT-THINGS. Tiny beings that resemble rats with prehensile paws and human faces. Some are created through interbreeding between rats and a curious species of faeries visible only in alcohol, while others are created through magic cast on human corpses. Many witches use them as familiars, Brown Jenkin being the most famous example.
(“The Yorkshire Horror”, Barton; “The Little People”, Herber; “The Dreams in the Witch-House”, Lovecraft (O).)
REFLECTIONS. Book written by Ibn Schacabao and referred to in the Necronomicon. The only surviving copy is held at the British Museum.
This book includes the famous line, “Happy is the town where no wizard hath lain, and happy is the town at night whose wizards are all ashes.” The rest of our information about the Reflections is fragmentary, but it also contains a description of the beings of the Gulf of S’glhuo. This may also be the volume by Schacabao mentioned in the correspondence of Joseph Curwen that described the face of Yog-Sothoth.
[Lovecraft mentioned this book but never named it. Lumley provided the title.]
See Ibn Schacabao. (“The Plain of Sound”, Campbell; “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”, Lovecraft; “The Festival”, Lovecraft (O); The Burrowers Beneath, Lumley.)
REMNANTS OF LOST EMPIRES. Volume written by Otto Dostmann and published in Berlin by Der Drachenhaus Press in 1809. Much of this book deals with the Greco-Roman ruins in Asia Minor, as well as the ancient stone structures of Asia and the islands of the Pacific. Dostmann also includes material on the Black Stone (which he states Attila’s troops erected to commemorate a victory over the Goths), the Fishers from Outside, the Muvian god Yamath, Ithaqua and Aphoom-Zhah, and a table of Aklo characters.
(“Wrath of the Wind-Walker”, Ambuehl and Price; “Dead of Night”, Carter; “The Fishers from Outside”, Carter; “The Black Stone”, Howard (O); “Dope War of the Black Tong”, Price.)
REVELATIONS OF GLAAKI. Set of books detailing the practices of the cult of Glaaki. These eleven volumes were originally handwritten by various worshipers of that deity who dwelt in England’s Severn River Valley near Brichester. An escaped member of the cult secretly leaked the manuscript to Supremus Press, which printed the Revelations in 1865. This worshiper who transcribed the books chose to leave out some portions, and the Revelations were released in a nine-volume set. Members of Glaaki’s cult bought up the edition, so very few non-initiates were able to obtain copies.
In the 1920s, a Brichester bookseller discovered a twelfth volume of the Revelations. All copies of this book are believed to be destroyed—a fortunate occurrence, because this is the only volume which mentions the abhorrent deity Y’golonac. Some say that a later edition put out by Ultimate Press contained fifteen or more volumes.
Copies of the Revelations are relatively rare. The handwritten original may still be kept at the former base of the English Glaaki cult, but all of this organization’s members vanished in the 1860s. Brichester University held a mostly complete nine-volume edition from the estate of Professor Arnold Hird for a time, but the volumes later disappeared or were burned. Rumor has placed a copy of the twelfth volume at the New York Public Library.
Though each volume of the Revelations may cover several different items, each has a main topic:
Volume 1: Glaaki
Volume 2: His undead servants
Volume 3: Byatis
Volume 4: Eihort
Volume 5: Ghroth
Volume 6; Shub-Niggurath
Volume 7: The shan
Volume 8: The creatures from Xiclotl
Volume 9: Daoloth
Volume 10: M’nagalah
Volume 11: Crystallizers of Dreams
Volume 12: Y’golonac
The books also mention Hydra and the inhabitants of S’glhuo. The topics and handwriting vary widely, as different writers replaced those who had kept the records before them.
See Brichester; Crystallizer of Dreams; Daoloth; Glaaki; Mercy Hill; M’nagalah; Pott, Johannes; Saaamaaa Ritual; Tond; Vulthoom; Y’golonac. (“Cold Print”, Campbell; The Darkest Part of the Woods, Campbell; “The Inhabitant of the Lake”, Campbell (O); “The Plain of Sound”, Campbell; Keeper’s Companion, Herber et. al.; “Two Minutes on High”, Nagel; Miskatonic University Graduate Kit, Petersen et. al.; “Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock”, Price.)
REVELATIONS OF HALI. Book by the famous prophet translated by the medium E. S. Bayrolles. Golden Goblin Press of New York published the Revelations in 1913. The hymns in the book are the supposed work of a being from Carcosa named Hoseib Alar Robardin. A copy is kept at Miskatonic University.
[Bayrolles originally appeared in Bierce’s “An Inhabitant of Carcosa.”]
(Miskatonic University, Johnson et. al.; “Typo”, Winkle (O).)
RHAN-TEGOTH. Great Old One who came to earth from Yuggoth three millions years ago, taking up residence in the Arctic. The sacrifices its primitive followers made maintained the Old One’s strength and vigor. Later on, the people of the region forgot Rhan-Tegoth, and their former “god” lapsed into hibernation.
During the early 20th century, the curator of a London waxworks museum launched an expedition up the Noatak River from Fort Morton to the great ruined city where Rhan-Tegoth once lived. Finding the dormant god on a tremendous ivory throne, he took it back with him to London. This explorer disappeared shortly thereafter, and the “statue” was sold to the Royal Ontario Museum. The people at the museum first believed to be an Aleut carving, but after an ambitious Ph.D. candidate asserted it was a fake, the god was put into storag
e. It has since vanished.
According to some, this Great Old One may be awakened by the following chant:
Wza-y’ei! Wza-y’ei!
Y’kaa haa bho-ii,
Rhan-Tegoth—Cthulhu fhtagn–
Rhan-Tegoth,
Rhan-Tegoth,
Rhan-Tegoth!
The mythical beast Gnoph-Keh is sometimes said to be an avatar of Rhan-Tegoth. No evidence has been found to verify this, and it is more likely that the Gnoph-Keh are a species of Arctic monster. Also, the Gnoph-Keh were active when Rhan-Tegoth still sat dreaming on his throne.
Some say that if Rhan-Tegoth can be destroyed the Old Ones can never return to life. The destruction of a being such as Rhan-Tegoth, however, is likely beyond the abilities of humanity.
See Aphoom Zhah; Gnoph-Keh; Pnakotic Manuscripts; Voormish Tablets; Yuggoth. (“Where a God Shall Tread”, Aniolowski; “H. P. Lovecraft: The Gods”, Carter; “The Lurker at the Threshold”, Derleth and Lovecraft; “The Horror in the Museum”, Lovecraft and Heald (O).)
RHYDAGAND OF THE BRUSH. Painter mentioned in the Book of Eibon. Rhydagand could paint a picture and then travel to the place depicted in his sleep. Unfortunately, his last painting included a ghoul that was pleasantly surprised when he arrived.
(“The Offspring of the Tomb”, Cornford; “Pickman’s Student”, Herber (O).)
RICE, (PROFESSOR) WARREN. Professor of Classical Languages at Miskatonic University who accompanied Armitage and Morgan in their assault against the Dunwich Horror. During World War II, he was recruited into the OSS.
See Armitage, Henry; Dunwich; Morgan, Francis. (Arkham Unveiled, Herber et. al.; “The Dunwich Horror”, Lovecraft (O); “Stacked Actors”, Worthy.)
RICK’S LAKE. Body of water in north central Wisconsin. Many strange tales of disappearances and lake monsters have been associated with it. Some say that the legendary “Wood of N’gai” lies nearby.
(“The Dweller in Darkness”, Derleth (O).)
RING OF EIBON. Artifact owned by the mighty Hyperborean wizard Eibon. Eibon found the ring in the temple of a forgotten god and bested the demon that dwelt within in a battle of wits. The Ring became the possession of the le Chaudronnier family of Averoigne in medieval times, but its current owner is unknown. The ring was forged of a reddish gold and set with a large purple stone. When held over burning amber, a demon from within the gem would come forth to answer whatever questions its summoner might have. The ring was destroyed to rid the Abbey of Perigon from a horror brought by a comet.
(“The Demon of the Ring”, Cornford; “The Beast of Averoigne”, Smith (O).)
RING OF THOTH-AMMON. See Serpent Ring of Set.
RITUALS OF YHE (also YHE RITUALS). Book by Niggoum-Zhog, a pre-human prophet. A copy of the Rituals is first mentioned as being part of Eibon’s library. The cult of Ythogtha preserved these writings, which they passed down from each high priest to his successor. Ythogtha’s last high priest, Zanthu, was said to have destroyed them as Mu sank beneath the waves.
Many centuries later in Poseidonis, scribes found a copy of the Yhe Rituals in the library of Malygris following that powerful wizard’s death. Yakthoob, the sorcerer to whom Alhazred was apprenticed in his youth, also owned a copy. Another turned up in an Egyptian tomb in 1903.
The book includes thirty-one secret rituals used in the worship of Ythogtha. The thirty-first, “The Key That Openeth The Door To Yhe”, will summon forth Ythogtha if performed, and Niggoum-Zhog warns that this should only be used if a worshiper is in direst peril.
See Yhe. (“The Thing in the Pit”, Carter (O).)
RLIM SHAIKORTH. Creature mentioned in the Book of Eibon. Rlim Shaikorth is said to have appeared as a immense white worm. At one end, it had a wide mouth and two empty eye-sockets from which blood constantly dripped. Rlim Shaikorth was practically omniscient and mighty in the ways of magic.
Rlim Shaikorth came to Earth from beyond the solar system when Hyperborea was still a mighty world power. In its ice-citadel of Yikilth, the White Worm traveled south from the Pole, blasting all of the lands it sailed past with a great cold that killed all that it touched instantly. Only a few survivors, the Ylidheem, remained; these were great wizards whom Rlim Shaikorth had transformed so that they might live comfortably in the cold to worship it. According to Eibon, the cold from Yikilth destroyed many of Hyperborea’s finest cities, and the end of the world seemed certain. One day, though, the unnatural cold ended as Yikilth melted away. What happened to Rlim Shaikorth still remains a mystery, though Eibon’s book provides one possible answer.
Rlim Shaikorth may seem to be independent, but in fact it serves the fire-being Aphoom Zhah, who dwells in the ice-mountain of Yarak at the northern pole.
See Aphoom Zhah; Book of Eibon; Ylidheem. (“Zoth-Ommog”, Carter; “The Light from the Pole”, Carter and Smith; Selected Letters IV, Lovecraft; “The Coming of the White Worm”, Smith (O).)
R’LYEH (also ARLYEH or URILIA (?)). Sunken city located near 47° 9’ S, 126° 43’ W in the southern Pacific (though others place it near Ponape, or even off the coast of Massachusetts). Cthulhu and his minions built R’lyeh millions of years before the earliest recorded human history, sallying forth from the city to battle the Elder Things and other alien entities. Then a catastrophe occurred. It could be a particular astronomical configuration, a great cosmic war with the Elder Gods occurred, a secret weapon of the Elder Things, or the creation of the moon. Whatever the reason, R’lyeh sank beneath the waves of the Pacific Ocean, becoming the tomb of Great Cthulhu.
Though R’lyeh has sunk deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, there have been times when the city (or at least its highest mountain) breaches the surface of the sea, only to sink down again after a short period of time. At these times, the dreams of Cthulhu have been telepathically broadcast, leading to outbreaks of religious fervor, insanity, and natural disturbances around the world. The interested reader should read the works of Professor George Gammell Angell of Brown University, as well as the Johansen Narrative, for more information on these events.
From the descriptions of the corpse-city of R’lyeh which have come down to us, we learn that its buildings are made of colossal green stones which fit together in a non-Euclidean manner. In a mausoleum at the peak of the tallest mountain, Great Cthulhu sleeps, an Elder Sign holding him within his tomb. Only the ignorant or foolhardy would open the door of this tomb; in all of history, this has only occurred a few times, and the results were disastrous.
See Black Gods of R’lyeh; Cthulhu; Great Old Ones; Johansen Narrative; Masters of the Silver Twilight; Mu; Ph’nglui mglw’nafh; Quy; R’lyeh Text; Seal of R’lyeh; star-spawn of Cthulhu; Yhe; Ythogtha; Zoth-Ommog. (“The Black Island”, Derleth; “The Seal of R’lyeh”, Derleth; “The Lurker at the Threshold”, Derleth and Lovecraft; “An Item of Mutual Interest”, Glancy; “The Call of Cthulhu”, Lovecraft (O); “The House of Cthulhu”, Lumley.)
R’LYEH DISK. Circular artifact made of solid gold and decorated with small gems and runes. The information given on the Disk will allow the Cthulhu cult to raise R’lyeh above the waves before the appointed time, and that organization searches the world for it. The Disk was last seen in Scotland, where a Roman centurion cut it into three pieces and hid them where the Old Ones’ minions could not find them.
(“The Coven at Cannich”, Clegg (O); Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game, Cook and Tynes.)
R’LYEH TEXT (also URILIA TEXT?). Book originally transcribed on great tablets by the spawn of Cthulhu. These “Black Tablets of R’lyeh” still existed in Hyperborean times, but today the oldest copies are those preserved in scroll form somewhere in the depths of China. These copies, which are at least fifteen thousand years old but probably more ancient, contain characters that look Chinese, but are actually of no human tongue. More recent copies in Chinese have also been found and smuggled out of the country.
The information on the texts may have traveled through Babylon and Persia to the west, as a Latin translation that appeared circa
200 BC seems to have been taken from such sources. An incomplete undated translation in Greek is also known via one copy. A German translation entitled Liyuhh, which was made from both the Chinese and Latin sources, was privately published in the eighteenth century. Lord Rochester’s English translation of the Latin book was never published, but nonetheless has been copied many times and was used by Shrewsbury and Copeland in their own work. Someone named Phillips has written a Study of the R’lyeh Text kept at Miskatonic University.
This slim book reportedly deals with the proper worship of Cthulhu and his kindred, and many of the Cthulhu cults believe it to be their holiest text. It also contains a spell called the “Breath of Dagon”, which allows a person to breathe underwater.
[Two of the recent paperback Necronomicons have included the R’lyeh Text as part of the Necronomicon, though the fiction is clear that it is a separate book.]
See Investigation into the Myth-Patterns; Liyuhh; R’lyeh; R’lyeh Text Commentary; R’lyehian; Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan. (“The Shadow of the Sleeping God”, Ambuehl; “Darkness, My Name Is”, Bertin; “The Return of Hastur”, Derleth (O); “Der Blutsauger von Schwarzbrunn”, Franck; “Black Devil Mountain”, Hargrave; “The Spawn of the Y’lagh”, Larson; Necronomicon, Levenda; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
R’LYEH TEXT COMMENTARY. Book in classical Chinese which explains several of the passages within the R’lyeh Text. Along with these, this volume contains a sketchy map of R’lyeh.
See R’lyeh Text. (Masks of Nyarlathotep, DiTillio and Willis (O).)
R’LYEHIAN. Language used by Cthulhu and his spawn. Written, it consists of horizontal bars from which individual letters hang down. This may be the language in which the oldest surviving copies of the R’lyeh Text are written. Churchward performed some preliminary work on this language.
See Book of Dagon. (“The Fishers from Outside”, Carter; “Through the Gates of the Silver Key”, Lovecraft and Price (O); R’lyehian as a Toy Language, Marsh; Ex Libris Miskatonici, Stanley.)
Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia Page 36