Who is the Great Other? An Exploration

[Silas Barbarossa]

Gods of Terror

This is another post on the Gods of Terror theory, which I am building and refining in real time. It looks to understand the gods of Terros, and the magic that derives from them. Inspired by a similar idea that I found in researching the Gods, I've decided to try to name the Gods of Terror by finding the Lovecraftian being that they represent.

I've taken some time over the last two weeks to dig deep into Lovecraftian lore, and the multiple Mythos that resulted from HP Lovecraft's collaboration with fantasy greats such as Robert Howard, August Derleth, Clark Aston Smith, Robert Bloch, and later Lin Carter and others. From these collaborations came the Cthulhu Mythos and the lesser known Hastur Mythos, which I will explore below.

As I have dived ever deeper into the web of lore that makes up the Mythos or the Yog-Sothoth as Lovecraft himself refered to his literary spawn, I have found more and more evidence of who the Gods of Terror are, and why they are at war. I am ready to present my findings, starting with a mysterious figure who has appeared along the edges of the novels, with the promise of an incredibly important role over the next two books.

HASTUR: MAGNUM INNOMINANDUM, THE UNSPEAKABLE, THE GREAT NOT TO BE NAMED 

Hastur is a Great Old One, a group of alien beings that resemble what we humans call gods, and is known to have taken many forms on Earth. He is often referred to as The Great Not To Be Named or the Magnum Innominandum in Latin. He is known by other names as well: The Shephard, The King in Yellow, the Feaster from Afar, and the High Priest Not To Be Described. 

Hastur has his own Hastur Mythos where he is half-brother to Cthugha and Cthulhu, and spawn of Yog-Sothoth. While he is a part of the Cthulhu Mythos, he has his own interesting background that was created before Lovecraft, but his role as a Great Old One, and his powers over wind and humans in his thrall, have been fleshed out greatly after his inclusion into the Mythos.

Originally a creation of Ambrose Bierce, in his story Haita the Shepard (1891), Hastur was a relatively benign god of shepards:

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Haita is a naive shepherd who prays at the shrine of Hastur, god of shepherds, and knows nothing of his origin. When great storms threaten to drown the cities of the valleys, he threatens to abandon his worship, blackmailing Hastur into saving them by transforming the water into the sea. He cares for a holy hermit living an hour away and he enlightens him as to the identity of the maiden he has met – Happiness. Sadly, he never has her for more than a moment... 

 

 

 

Lovecraft, voracious reader that he was, devored the story in his youth and used Hastur as a reference in one of his earliest stories. The Hastur Mythos was expanded by Lovecraft to include the King in Yellow (1895), a creation of Robert Chambers.  After Lovecraft read the King in Yellow in 1927, Hastur was mentioned by Lovecraft in the Whispers in the Darkness:

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I found myself faced by names and terms that I had heard elsewhere in the most hideous of connections—Yuggoth, Great Cthulhu, Tsathoggua, Yog-Sothoth, R'lyeh, Nyarlathotep, Azathoth, Hastur, Yian, Leng, the Lake of Hali, Bethmoora, the Yellow Sign, L’mur-Kathulos, Bran and the Magnum Innominandum—and was drawn back through nameless aeons and inconceivable dimensions to worlds of elder, outer entity at which the crazed author of the Necronomicon had only guessed in the vaguest way.... There is a whole secret cult of evil men (a man of your mystical erudition will understand me when I link them with Hastur and the Yellow Sign) devoted to the purpose of tracking them down and injuring them on behalf of the monstrous powers from other dimensions. —H. P. Lovecraft, "The Whisperer in Darkness"

 

 

 

The King In Yellow

Hastur has been present in a few forms in the histories of Terros. The key is the story of the King in Yellow. The King in Yellow is both a play in the world of the Hastur Mythos which drives the reader mad, and the character described in the play, who can take over the reader's mind.

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Going by the original stories, The King In Yellow (the play) is linked in some nebulous and horrible fashion with the King in Yellow, an alien god whose "scalloped tatters ... must hide Yhtill forever". The King is in turn linked in some way with "Carcosa, where black stars hang in the heavens; where the shadows of men's thoughts lengthen in the afternoon, when the twin suns sink into the Lake of Hali". The King's nature, motives and modus operandi are unclear; but he occasionally appears on Earth, animating dead bodies or possessing those strange 'humans' already in thrall to him, and claiming (or reclaiming) those who have eluded him. To read the play is to be exposed to the King and to fall under his influence, going mad in the meantime.

 

 

 

The God-Emperors of Yi Ti

In the World of Ice and Fire, the 69th Yellow Emperor of the Golden Empire of Yi Ti sounds a lot like the King in Yellow. Claiming to be from a dynasty said to have fallen a thousand years previous, this sorceror emperor rules from Carcosa along the shores of the Hidden Sea, northeast of Asshai by the Shadow and the Mountains of the Morn. This avatar of Hastur is his oldest known form on Earth. He is known to wear a yellow robe or cloak, but tentacles spill out from the robe, and he may wear a pale mask that is not a mask in this form.

There is also an ancient Yi Ti emperor who reminds me of another form of Hastur: the Feaster from Afar. Lo Tho was the twenty-second scarlet emperor of Yi Ti. Like the 69th Yellow Emperor, he was a reputed sorcerer, but was also a cannibal, "...who is said to have supped upon the living brains of his enemies with a long pearl-handled spoon, after the tops of their skulls had been removed."

The Feaster from Afar,  is known for as a "black, shrivled flying monstrosity" that had tentacles with razor sharp talons, which were used to eat the brains of the living (or slurp them up to be exact). It's not hard to see the connection between the tentacles of the Feaster and the more "refined" pearl-handled long spoon used by Lo the Longspoon to "feast from afar" on the brains of his victims. 

He Who Shall Not Be Named
 
Hastur may also be - the Lovecraftian literature has multiple accounts here - The High Priest Not To Be Described. In that form, the being appears to be wearing a yellow or pale mask that is not a mask, but his face, which freaks everyone out. Hastur has also been described as the Last Elder One. Due to the complexities of the relationships between the Great Old Ones, he is at war with other Great Old Ones, which could help explain the war(s) between the gods on Terros. There is also a relationship with Leng as the Tcho-Tcho Lama, or religious figure (which is different in most other Lovecraftian lore than GRRM has presented Leng in the World of Ice and Fire).

He is also known to appear to those who chant his name, and cause terrible things to happen including madness and death. Because of this power, his name is protected, available only to initiates to his religion and those who fight against him (who refer to hims as "He who shall not be named"). 

The development of Hastur

There is some disagreement in the world of Cthulhu scholars as to the relationship between Hastur, the King in Yellow, and Nyarlathotep, another Great Old One, who is also present on Terros as well as another God of Terror, which I will cover in depth soon. For Hastur, there is some disagreement as to whether Nyarlathotep is actually the King in Yellow, sent as a representation of Hastur (Nyarlathotep is known to represent the interests of the Great Old Ones on Earth) or if the King in Yellow is actually (one of) Hastur's avatar on Earth. Hastur is known to actually reside in the Hyades, another galaxy, but he is present on Earth in his many forms.

This debate is tricky, as it is not clear from the Mythos literature as to exactly how the King in Yellow relates to Hastur or to Nyarlathotep. And within the world of Lovecraftian lore, there is a debate about the stories by August Derleth which introduced a good/evil component to the Mythos that Lovecraft himself had sought to avoid. At the same time, Derleth created the Elemental Theory, which assigned all of the Great Old Ones to the elements water, fire, ice, and air. He also expanded the role of Hastur, and introduced the idea of a war between Hastur and Cthulhu.  So when forcasting the presence of Hastur in Terros, and the consequences on the story, a lot depends on how GRRM has interpreted this story and how he feels about Derleth's contributions - and how George decided to build his Mythos.

Power Over the Winds

Another major power that Hastur has is over winds. Hastur, to humans, is a wind god; in the "reality" of the Mythos, Hastur is in control of winds on Earth and in space. Hastur can create destructive, terrible hurricanes that can span continents or even solar systems, manipulating the winds to bend them to his whims. In fact, Hastur's power over the winds were used in his war with Cthulhu. 

War with Cthulhu

According to Derleth and later writers, including GRRM's old editor Lin Carter, Cthulhu and Hastur are at war. Derleth, in his story "The Return of Hastur" (1939), has the two even meet face to face briefly. Some say that it is actually the minions of Hastur and Cthulhu who are at war, as Hastur may be restricted from visiting Earth in person. After an ancient treaty between Cthulhu and the Elder Things, Cthulhu went to sleep for an eon or more, and is dreaming powerful dreams that can influence humans. But Hastur has been working in the meanwhile to increase his presence on Earth.

The Yellow Sign

Hastur, as the King in Yellow, has a specific symbol that was included in the original story by Chambers in 1895. This symbol, The Yellow Sign,  is known to cause madness or mind control over any who view the Sign.

The Yellow Sign resembles a scorpion in the well-known interpretation of the symbol by Kevin Ross, from "Call of Cthulhu", a role-playing game released in 1989. 

GRRM and Lovecraft

It's obvious that GRRM loves the Lovecraft lore, and that he has sprinkled it throughout the books and the Dunk and Egg novellas, and other cannon. However, it was not clear to me until recently how deeply GRRM has embraced the Mythos, and how it shaped his own writing (including having a famous Lovecraftian writer, Lin Carter, as one of his editors in the 1970s. I get the feeling that they were friendly as well). 
I will be following up on this connection soon, as there is a great essay by GRRM in his Dreamsongs compendium that goes deep into George's introduction to fantasy writing. Spoiler: The love of the Lovecraft lore goes deep. 

My Conclusions

While it's hard to known exactly how GRRM is interpreting the many flavors of the Mythos, I have a few guesses:

Hastur is present in the current story as his avatar The King in Yellow, sitting in Carcosa as the 69th Yellow Emperor. Hastur's powers are limited with him not being physically on Terros, but the Yellow Emperor is probably his strongest avatar. However, he is know to take many forms and may have minions strategically placed throughout the novels.

The Shepherd

Hastur, in his role as the god of shepherds, is the god of the Lamb Men (the Lhazar), and may be a god of the Jogos Nhai (who worship the gods of the plains, which probably includes worship of the god of winds). He was most likely the original god of the Valyrians, as they were initially shepards. (I also wonder if the Dothraki worship a form of Hastur, but that is just a guess).

Hastur would be hurt by the loss of the worship by these former shepherds, who left his service when they discovered a greater power. The Valyrians likely abandoned the worship of Hastur to worship another Great Old One when they discovered the power of fire (more to come on that soon!). Hastur would not be pleased with the Valyrians for this, as he not friendly with the other Great Old Ones, and would hate to see the Lord of Light gain such powerful acolytes. The Valyrians in time became so powerful that they felt that they were almost themselves gods, which may have contributed to their doom. 

During the Dance of the Dragons, five Targaryen dragons were housed in the Dragonpit when it was stormed by the followers of a mysterious figure, whose name no one knew, but instead was called The Shepherd.

This man (?) was a one-handed preacher of the Faith, who convinced his followers that the dragons were demons, and that Valyria was godless (which it would have been if they abandoned the worship of Hastur after becoming dragonlords). The crowd killed dragons on both sides of the civil war between the Greens and the Blacks.

The Shepherd is one of Hastur's avatars, and his hate for the Valyrians and dragons would see no difference between green or black dragons. Instead he preached that all dragons must die. 

MAGNUM INNOMINANDUM

Hastur is the Great Other to the followers of R'hllor.  Melisandre refers to the Great Other as "He whose name may not be spoken". While Melisandre has her issues with recognizing the truths shown to her in the flames, she has been educated to know about the Lord of Light and the Great Other, and has a great fear of the power of He whose name may not be spoken.

One part that detracts from this idea is that the Red Religion is dualistic, not allowing for other gods to exist, while we know that other gods exist within the Mythos and also within Terros. This does lead me to wonder if Aphoom-Zhah, the Cold Flame, spawn of Cthugha, is the Great Other - an idea I will follow up on later. 

I think that the Red Religion is wrong about the nature of the gods - there are many more than two. For instance, Mel describes the Drowned God as a "thrall" of the Great Other, which acknowledges that the Drowned God is some sort of powerful being. For the Great Other, Hastur's power and mystery and deep association with the Mythos and Terros, is a better fit. 

Norvos

Hastur is the god of Norvos, whose name is only known to the initiates of their secretive religion. The founders of the current city of Norvos left Valyria to follow the "true faith", which was the original faith of the Valyrians. They founded Norvos on top of a city abandoned by an unknown group (who may have been Andals, but may also have been Deep Ones/squishers/other hybrids).

Norvos has most importance in the Dorne sub-plot, as Quentyn Martell's mother is from Norvos. Perhaps her blood that flowed in his body was anathema to the dragons? 

The Yellow Sign

While I don't know of any symbol in-story that has this same affect on people, I do think that it is such an interesting idea that I will be looking for some sort of sigil, introduced already or in the future, that resembles the Yellow Sign. 

The Storm God

Hastur is the Storm God, at war with Cthulhu in the ancient past, and is now in control of the storms that pounded the Storm Lands in the past and the present. His war with Cthulhu has been suspended, while Cthulhu lays in hibernation in R'lyeh, probably in the Sunset Sea. But 

In the ancient past, Cthulhu was at war with the Elder Things, which are another crazy set of Lovecraftian beings. I think that Hastur sided with the Elder Things (perhaps due to his role as the Last Elder One, though this is a total guess) and used his powers over wind to bring storms against Cthulhu and his star-spawn and Deep One minions.

Hastur as Storm God will need a follow-up essay, as I'd like to explore more the implications of this theory. If Hastur is the Storm God, who is Elenei? Is she the spawn of Hastur and Cthulhu? Or is she related to them more distantly?

I'm excited to find out!

[Silas Barbarossa]

Hey @M_Tootles, I wanted to call your attention to this theory (or set of theories and essays), as you recently discussed how the The Shephard has a connection here, and how the Lovecraftian lore is more than just window dressing in this post:

http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/142180-they-had-been-seven-against-three-yet-only-two-had-lived-to-ride-away/&page=6#comment-7695011

Plus I really enjoy your theories and the deep dives you've been doing here and on Reddit, so thanks a lot!

[Silas Barbarossa]

Also, @Danny Rivers, your post here was a fantastic find after I started looking for theories that approached the story in a similar manner as I am doing. Just wanted to see what you think about the Hastur Mythos being threaded throughout the story, as you caught onto as well.

Also, I'm going to do more research into Cthugha's role, as well as Nyarlathotep and even Dagon. I think they're all influencing the story here, and that they are why magic exists on Terros. Not to metion Ghroth, Nodens, Aphoom Zhah and the Ylidheem... this will be a lot of writing hahaha.

[M_Tootles]

2 hours ago, Silas Barbarossa said:

Hey @M_Tootles, I wanted to call your attention to this theory (or set of theories and essays), as you recently discussed how the The Shephard has a connection here, and how the Lovecraftian lore is more than just window dressing in this post:

http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/142180-they-had-been-seven-against-three-yet-only-two-had-lived-to-ride-away/&page=6#comment-7695011

Plus I really enjoy your theories and the deep dives you've been doing here and on Reddit, so thanks a lot!

ok i'll check it.