An arbitrary beginning, starting at the end of the Thousand Year War and of the Age of Dragons (circa 500,000 BC), is currently used (see notes).
This page could consequently be split in the future depending on the publication of new material (Discuss).
Synopsis
The Elder Days were the era preceding the rise of the Seven Empires, and during which the Elder Race ruled Earth.[1]
Datation[]
The beginning of the Elder Days era is unknown.
Until more material is revealed, it will be considered that the Elder Days spanned from the beginning of the Age of Men in Lemuria (circa 500,000 BC).
The Elder Days let way to the Thurian Age with the rise of the Seven Empires, circa 100,000 BC.
History[]
"Elder Spirits"[]
As Men rose to supremacy in Lemuria, "elder spirits", invisible, shapeless shapes, that crossed the dark voids of space to come to Earth in its prime began to fled from sight, awaiting to rise and rule again Earth. While other lied dormant in the ocean or beneath hills.[3]
Jhoatun Lau[]
An eldritch god worshiped long before the Pre-Cataclysmic Age,[4] Jhoatun Lau was said to live in a palace on an icy world far from Earth. He could only be summoned when Earth was in cosmic alignment with a planet beyond the orbit of Pluto, which only occurred "once a millennium".[5]
The last conjunction happened 113,000 years ago.[4] At that time, a cult worshipping Jhoatun Lau attempted to summon him by filling a massive stone bowl with the blood of warriors, in the hopes that he would take them with him when he returned to his palace among the stars. However, the eldritch god seemingly found his worshippers' sacrifice inadequate and devoured them all before somehow returning back to his domain.[5]
Elder Race[]
The Elder Race was a seemingly humanoid race that predated humanity, composed of numerous wizards,[6] and speculated to be descended from Elderspawn (the offspring of the Elder Gods of Earth),[7] and Set himself.[8] The Elder Race came from the east, beyond the sunrise, where in time's first dawn, they saw the Great Ka, Bird of Creation flying out over the lands of men.[9] Before the foundation of Valusia, the Elder Nations trampled lost tribes in their advance.[10] The Elder Race ruled the world in the days before the rise of the Thurian culture.[11]
Serpent-Men and Man-Serpents, Tsathoggua[]
The early, ape-like, men were enslaved by Set's Serpent-Men (while their fellow Man-Serpents were more reclusive).[12]
The Serpent-Men worshiped Tsathoggua, an ally of Set[13] who had come to Earth prior the rise of man.[14] In the temple where he lived, on the Nameless Isle,[13] the Serpent-Men hid a defective Cobra Crown under a shrine to Tsathoggua, guarded by a living stone idol of Tsathoggua.[6]
End[]
Eventually, a Pictish shaman discovered on cave paintings or carvings that reptilians, including the Serpent-Men and the Man-Serpents, could not say nor stand to hear a certain phrase: "Ka nama kaa lajerama". Using it, the humans overthrew the Serpent-Men masters and slaughtered the Man-Serpents. After centuries of fighting, the humans erroneously believed to have annihilated both of the serpent races.[12]
After their kingdom of Valusia fell, the Serpent-Men fled to the lands that would be known as Stygia during the Hyborian Age, where they buried their most powerful and valuable treasures.[15]
From that time of those wars with the Serpent-Men, those words became engraved in the souls of all men,[16] and its knowledge was passed down among the Picts.
The Elder Race's rule over the world and the Elder Days came at end,[11] with the dawn of the Pre-Cataclysmic Age, about 100,000 years ago with the rise of the Thurian civilization[17] which founded the Seven Empires.[18]
As Men rose to supremacy in Thuria, the "elder spirits" kept on fleeing, hiding from sight, awaiting their eventual triumphant return. At some point, the Sleeper went under the desert, where a temple was erected and a flame kept always burning there[3]
Nations of the Elder Days[]
- On Lemuria (circa 500,000 BC)
- Valkarth - northern land of barbarians, birthplace of Thongor
- Kovia - northwestern land
- Ptartha - southern land
- On Thuria (seemingly until 100,000 BC, and the rise of the Thurian Age)
- Elder Nations - Seemingly the nations of the Elder Race
- Valusia - Kingdom of the Serpent-Men
- Enchanted Domain - Island kingdom, beneath the Forbidden Lake
Notes
- The Elder Days were created by Robert E. Howard in "The Black City", an unfinished manuscript, though that name was invented by Lin Carter, who completed Howard's version as "Black Abyss"[19] (adapted in Savage Sword of Conan #2).
- Lin Carter mentioned the Elder Days in his essay "Lovecraft: A look behind the Cthulhu Mythos", as the days when the Mi-Go from The Whisperer in Darkness (H.P. Lovecraft, published in Weird Tales; August, 1931) arrived on Earth.[20]
- The exact scope of this era is unknown, as no clue has been given so far on its beginning. For clarity and relevancy purposes, and unless stated otherwise, this page will focus on the events occurring from 500,000 BC (the creation of the First Men, the Thousand Year War, the end of the Age of Dragons and the beginning of the Age of Man, preceding Thongor's era) to 100,000 BC (the end of the Elder Days and the beginning of the Pre-Cataclysmic Age. Thongor and his era are also creations of Lin Carter.
- Bal-Sagoth was allegedly the oldest land in the world, predating at least Atlantis,[21] and could be set in the Elder Days, though the the exact truth behind that statement remains unknown.
Trivia
- In Kull the Conqueror #7 (March, 1973), the king of the Enchanted Domain states that men tried to invade his kingdom "in the Old Days". It is unclear whether those "Old Days" are the same as the Elder Days, or if they merely reference an earlier era of the Pre-Cataclysmic Age.
See Also
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A Kull Glossary: Elder Days' entry
- ↑ Kull the Conqueror #7
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Savage Sword of Conan #6 ; The Sleeper Beneath the Sands
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Savage Avengers #1 ; Director's Cut
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Savage Avengers #1
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities #1 ; Set's profile
- ↑ Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities #1 ; Demons's profile
- ↑ King Conan #16
- ↑ Marvel Preview #19 ; Riders Beyond the Sunrise
- ↑ Savage Sword of Conan #34 ; Mirrors of Tuzun Thune
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A Kull Glossary: Elder Race's entry
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Savage Sword of Conan #192 ; The Cape of Dark Dreams - Skull on the Seas Part III
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Savage Sword of Conan #38 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part VI: Nameless Isle's entry
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #6 ; Earth's Solar System, Saturn's entry
- ↑ Savage Sword of Conan (Vol. 2) #2 ; The Cult of Koga Thun – part two: Go Ask Crom
- ↑ Kull the Conqueror #2 ; The Shadow Kingdom
- ↑ Handbook of the Conan Universe #1 ; Atlantis and the Pre-Cataclysmic Age
- ↑ Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A Kull Glossary: Thuria's entry
- ↑ Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A Kull Glossary's introduction
- ↑ Carter, L. (c1972). The Gathering of Shadows. Lovecraft: A look behind the Cthulhu Mythos (pp. 86). : Panther Books Ltd.
- ↑ Conan the Barbarian #17 ; The Gods of Bal-Sagoth