Difference between revisions of "Old Ones"

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:''For Old Ones in the Mortal Realms see: [[Old Ones in the Mortal Realms]]''.
 
The '''Old Ones''' were powerful beings who arrived to the [[Warhammer world]] millennia ago and created many races. After their polar warp gates collapsed, the Old Ones disappeared. The [[Lizardmen]] venerate the Old Ones as Gods and attempt to interpret and carry out the [[Great Plan]] of the Old Ones.
 
The '''Old Ones''' were powerful beings who arrived to the [[Warhammer world]] millennia ago and created many races. After their polar warp gates collapsed, the Old Ones disappeared. The [[Lizardmen]] venerate the Old Ones as Gods and attempt to interpret and carry out the [[Great Plan]] of the Old Ones.
  

Revision as of 03:11, 26 February 2019

For Old Ones in the Mortal Realms see: Old Ones in the Mortal Realms.

The Old Ones were powerful beings who arrived to the Warhammer world millennia ago and created many races. After their polar warp gates collapsed, the Old Ones disappeared. The Lizardmen venerate the Old Ones as Gods and attempt to interpret and carry out the Great Plan of the Old Ones.

History

Their favoured servants were the Lizardmen, and first among these were the Slann. The Old Ones only dealt directly with the Slann of the 1st spawning who then delivered their orders to the younger Slann.

It was the Slann who, following the instructions of the Old Ones, changed and moulded the planet, bringing it closer to its sun and splitting its super continent into separate landmasses.

Necessary for the Old Ones were two warp gates, one located on the north pole and the other on the south pole. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons the gates began to malfunction and in the end collapsed. Through them the raw power of Chaos began to affect the world. The Old Ones desperately tried their best to contain the Daemons of Chaos but in the end failed and perished around -5600 IC.

According to the oldest legends, the Old Ones are said to have arrived on the world onboard silver ships on the seas of the stars around 15,000 years before the coming of Sigmar. With them, it is said, came a race of beings known as the Slann who acted as their servants. The Old Ones are said to had been immensely powerful beings that were able to change the world, alter its environment, raise oceans or mountains, and even change the shape of the land to suit their purposes. They came at a time when the world itself was covered in an ice age and it was only through the workings of the Old Ones that it melted whereupon they remade the world. Much of their power came from great arches that radiated magic with these gates being located in the north and south regions of the planet.[5] Thus, this elder race of beings had transformed the planet into a form more pleasing to them and had used these dimensional gates to facilitate astral travel.[6] During this age, it is said that the god-like Old Ones are credited for creating the Elder Races of Elves and Dwarves.[5]

It is known that the ancient forests of Athel Loren were seeded as saplings by the servants of the Old Ones. However, it was not known whether it was them or the coming of Chaos that awoke the trees.[2] The legends of the High Elves also make mention of the Old Ones though their records have them in a competing role as being the creators of their race which conflicts with the Elvish creation myths. In Loremaster Finreir's Book of Days, the Old Ones who "came from beyond the heavens" are attributed with forming the world and creating the race of Elves which contradicts the roles of the gods Asuryan and Isha.[4a] According, to certain revisionist historians in Dwarf lore, it is claimed that Grungni decided to embark on the Long Migration after reaching an accord with the mythical Old Ones after an ancient war ended in a stalemate.[3]

The fall of the Old Ones came when their great gates themselves broke upon and allowed Daemons into the world which the Slann struggled to contain[5] The legends of the Asur, after the Great Gates collapsed leading to the Aethyr being released into the world, a number of great tablets of the Old Ones remained behind at the Great Pyramid. At this site, Verena uncovered the existence of Tlanxla's Sword of Judgement which, like many Old One artefacts, had fallen into the hands of the Chaos Gods. This weapon fell into the hands of Ulgu had had broken into the world through the Southern Gate where the goddess used her wit to gain the Sword before returning back to the Great Pyramid to join the defenders as the Dark God's minions surged forward.[4b] The race of Elves replaced the Slann in combating the Daemonic hordes and with the blessing of the Old Ones they they fought the darkness for five centuries. However, it was only when Aenarion emerged as the Phoenix King of Ulthuan did the tide turn in their favour when they became empowered by the energies of the Old Ones that led to them crafting a spell to deprive the Daemons of their power thus ending their invasion of the world.[5]

From the collapse of the dimensional gateways, solid shards of Chaos energy scattered around the world leading to mutations that brought about the emergence of the Beastmen.[6]

By later years, Father Igyori Rhyurvic of Brunmarl who was a Priest of Verena spent his entire adult life in the study of the Elder Races where he found the Old Ones to be the most mysterious of beings. Over the course of his study, he discovered the High Elves do not believe that the Book of Days contradicts the creation myths seen in The Flame Eternal. As such, this led him to conclude that the Gods of the Elves were actually Old Ones with the writings simply being variations of the same tale. However, when he took his findings to the Elven scholar Felanthian, who was told that he was incorrect and that the Old Ones were not the gods of the Elves. Further confusion was added when the Elf said that the two texts of Asur did not contradict one another leading to the Priest of Verena to wonder if his translations were wrong.[4a]

From the legends of the Asur did Magister Markus Fischer of the Grey Order learn of the myth surrounding the ancient Sword of Judgement and how it impacted the races of the world with the servants of Verena and the Elvish followers of Hoeth both favoured the use of the sword as a weapon. This is in memory of a myth that he claimed that was probably not true.[4b]

List of Old Ones

As all the Slann of the first generation have died, no Lizardmen had first-hand contact with the Old Ones. As a result, many names and details have been lost. These Old Ones are fairly well-known:

  • Sotek, Serpent God
  • Chotec, Lord of the Sun
  • Itzl, god of cold-blooded beasts
  • Tepok, the inscrutable, god of magic and wisdom
  • Xholankha, the Lost One
  • Quetzl, The Protector, Warrior-Defender

However, little is known about the following:

  • Huanchi, Jaguar God of the earth and night
  • Tzunki, lord of Water, agility, and keen eyesight
  • Xhotl, the chooser of those destined for greatness, also the name of a city
  • Quetli, a warrior-god, Protector of the True Way
  • Tlanxla, the embodiment of the warlike nature of the Lizardmen, rides to war in a mighty sky-chariot
  • Tlazcotl (possibly also called Tlaxcotl), the impassive, patient, and determined
  • Tzcatli, he who grants strength to a warrior's arm
  • Potec, he who wards against the supernatural
  • Uxmac, the messenger of the gods
  • Xapiti, whose name is invoked before vengeance is called upon a foe
  • Xokha, the spirit of stone, the giver of strength, and the Arbiter of Duty
  • Rigg, the Outcast, mother of Kalith, referred to as female
  • Uxmac, messenger of the Gods

The following are known by name only:

  • Conalxa
  • Inhamex
  • Yuxa
  • Quatl

Sources