Voormis
Encyclopedia
The Voormis are a fictional race of cave-dwelling humanoids who worship Tsathoggua
.
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 Gnophkeh
s 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 begun 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; establishing citadels in the island of Ta-Shon and adding to the arcane knowledge of the Pnakotic Manuscripts
. 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.
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 Azathoth
ian strain among the Hyperborean Voormi.
Tsathoggua
Tsathoggua is a fictional supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe. He is the creation of Clark Ashton Smith and is part of his Hyperborean cycle....
.
Description
The Voormis are the primary focus of a "posthumous collaboration" short story by Lin CarterLin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
after Clark Ashton Smith's
Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith was a self-educated American poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne...
death, The Scroll of Morloc (First published in 1976, The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 2
The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 2
The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 2 is a 1976 anthology of fantasy stories, edited by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books....
, and again in 1980 in Lost Worlds). They are referred to as the Voormi (plural: Voormis) in H. P. Lovecraft's
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
fictional manuscript The Pnakotic Fragments
Pnakotic Manuscripts
The Pnakotic Manuscripts is a fictional manuscript in the Cthulhu Mythos. The tome was created by H. P. Lovecraft and first appeared in his short story "Polaris"...
. The Voormis considered themselves the chosen minions of Tsathoggua
Tsathoggua
Tsathoggua is a fictional supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe. He is the creation of Clark Ashton Smith and is part of his Hyperborean cycle....
and his direct descendants.
...for it was commonly believed that their supreme pontiff and common ancestor had been fathered by none other than Tsathoggua himself during a transient liaison with a minor female divinity who rejoiced in the name of Shathak
— Lin Carter and Clark Ashton Smith, "The Scroll of Morloc"
Now the Voormis had, from their remotest origins, considered themselves the chosen minions of Tsathoggua, the sole deity whose worship they celebrated. And Tsathoggua was an earth elemental ranged in perpetual and unrelenting enmity against the Rhan-Tegoth and all his kind, who were commonly accounted elementals of the air and were objects of contempt to those of the Old Ones, like Tsathoggua, who abominated the airy emptiness above the world and by preference wallowed in darksome and subterranean lairs.
— Lin Carter and Clark Ashton Smith, "The Scroll of Morloc"
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 Gnophkeh
Gnophkeh
The Gnophkehs are a fictional race in the Cthulhu Mythos. They are humanoid cannibals described as being covered in coarse, matted hair with large protruding ears and proboscidean noses. They originally lived in Hyperborea and worshiped the Great Old One Rhan-Tegoth. But Rhan-Tegoth eventually...
s 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 begun dwelling underground in an effort to imitate their deity, Tsathoggua, under the leadership of the eponymous Voorm.
By dwelling subterraneously, it should perhaps be noted here, the Voormis were but imitating the grotesque divinity they worshipped with rites we might deem excessively sanguinary and revolting. As it was an article of the Voormish faith that this deity, whom they knew as Tsathoggua, made his abode in lightless caverns situated far beneath the earth, their adoption of a troglodytic mode of existence was to some extent primarily symbolic. Their eponymous ancestor of their race, Voorm the arch-ancient, had quite early in their history promulgated a doctrine which asserted that their assumption of a wholly subterranean habit would place them in a special relationship of mystical propinquity with their god, who himself preferred to wallow in the gulf of N'kai beneath a mountain to the south considered sacred by the Voormis.
— Lin Carter and Clark Ashton Smith, "The Scroll of Morloc"
The Voormis established a thriving culture in the surface Hyperborea before the coming of humans; establishing citadels in the island of Ta-Shon and adding to the arcane knowledge of the Pnakotic Manuscripts
Pnakotic Manuscripts
The Pnakotic Manuscripts is a fictional manuscript in the Cthulhu Mythos. The tome was created by H. P. Lovecraft and first appeared in his short story "Polaris"...
. Their civilization eventually fell into demise. With constant warfare with their archenemies, the Gnophkeh
Gnophkeh
The Gnophkehs are a fictional race in the Cthulhu Mythos. They are humanoid cannibals described as being covered in coarse, matted hair with large protruding ears and proboscidean noses. They originally lived in Hyperborea and worshiped the Great Old One Rhan-Tegoth. But Rhan-Tegoth eventually...
, 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.
Voorm
The eponymous ancestor of the Voormis who founded the Voormis civilization after the fall of the Serpent-people.Knygathin Zhaum
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 Azathoth
Azathoth
Azathoth is a deity in the Cthulhu Mythos and Dream Cycle stories of H. P. Lovecraft and other authors. Its epithets include Nuclear Chaos, the Daemon Sultan and the Blind Idiot God.-Inspiration:...
ian strain among the Hyperborean Voormi.
See also
- Hyperborean cycleHyperborean cycleThe Hyperborean cycle is a series of short stories by Clark Ashton Smith that take place in the fictional prehistoric setting of Hyperborea . Various elements in Smith's cycle have been borrowed by H. P. Lovecraft, most notably the "toad-god" Tsathoggua...
- TsathogguaTsathogguaTsathoggua is a fictional supernatural entity in the Cthulhu Mythos shared fictional universe. He is the creation of Clark Ashton Smith and is part of his Hyperborean cycle....
- GnophkehGnophkehThe Gnophkehs are a fictional race in the Cthulhu Mythos. They are humanoid cannibals described as being covered in coarse, matted hair with large protruding ears and proboscidean noses. They originally lived in Hyperborea and worshiped the Great Old One Rhan-Tegoth. But Rhan-Tegoth eventually...
- Cthulhu MythosCthulhu MythosThe Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
- Clark Ashton SmithClark Ashton SmithClark Ashton Smith was a self-educated American poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne...
- Lin CarterLin CarterLinwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
- H. P. LovecraftH. P. LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....