"There are many paths to order and knowledge; may the Old Ones guide us."
- —Blessing of the Slann as they seek to unravel the Great Plan of their creators.
The Saurian glyph for the Serpent God Sotek, one of the Old Ones worshipped as a god by the Lizardmen.
The Old Ones, also known as the Ancient Ones,[9a] and called the Shaan-tar by the Dragons,[6a] were an ancient, hyper-intelligent, and near-omnipotent starfaring species that may have been reptilian in nature. The Old Ones served as the mysterious shaping hand of the world of Mallus, altering its geography, environment, flora and fauna to match their mysterious goals.[10a]
The Old Ones are responsible for the shape of the mortal world's current geography, continental placement and temperate climate, and created many new intelligent humanoid races to inhabit it including the Slann, Saurus, Skinks, Kroxigors, Elves, Dwarfs, and Men.[7b]
The Halflings and Ogres were late-stage experiments carried out by the Old Ones in creating forms of intelligent life that were particularly resilient to Chaos.[7b]
The Old Ones embarked on this journey in an effort to spread intelligence across the cosmos and create a new world whose people were capable of resisting and combating the temptations and threat of the metaphysical force of Chaos.[2c]
History
Coming of the Old Ones
A Lizardmen pyramid floating in the sky thanks to the marvels of the Old Ones' technology.
The origin of the Lizardmen is a tale that goes back to a primeval era when the world of Mallus was a dark place largely encased in thick sheets of glacial ice. Long before Chaos came to the world, in a time before Elves, Dwarfs or Men, the land was ruled by titanic monsters. These enormous creatures battled for dominance and the warmest regions, those nearest the equatorial band, became the most highly contested zones. Some of these life forms were unthinking creatures of pure instinct, others were established civilizations that rose and fell in that forgotten age. Of that time of eternal twilight there is little knowledge, although buried ruins and descendant creatures still remain.[2c]
Into this brutal age came a mysterious race of god-like beings that plied the heavens in silvered ships. These strangers, known as the Old Ones, came from beyond the stars where they ruled an empire that spanned not just the cosmos, but time itself. Their technology was advanced beyond imagination -- to them, astrology and astronomy, science and magic were all one and the same. Each world in the Old Ones’ empire was linked by a gateway. Some were small portals, allowing an individual to travel inconceivable distances with but a single step. Others, often situated in the cold void of space, were portals so large that vessels the size of moons could pass through.[2c]
In their travels across the endless expanse of the universe, one planet caught their eye, for they saw in it a unique and boundless potential. The Old Ones decreed that this world would have a central place in their unknowable plans and stellar gates at either pole were created to allow easy access to this hopeful new colony. Before the designs for their newest planet could be fully set in motion, the Old Ones had to reshape it to better fit their needs. Using powers beyond mortal comprehension, they shifted the planet’s orbit towards the warming sun. In time, the ice sheets retreated, verdant forests soon growing to cover over the newly revealed land.[2c]
Children of the Gods
The Old Ones created servants to tend to their needs. Thus was the first spawning of the Slann mage-priests begun. They were the grand viziers, trusted creatures of prodigious intellect, and the only beings able to withstand direct contact with the near-omnipotent Old Ones and comprehend their teachings. It was the Slann who were to guide the lesser races whose creation would soon follow. For upon the world, the Old Ones had encountered many primitive creatures, including those that would one day be transformed into the first Elves, Dwarfs and Men.[2c]
Powerful and far-sighted, the Old Ones could shape new life forms even from these imperfect materials. They did however encounter some creatures whose existence was incompatible with their future plans. As the climate warmed, the Saurus were created to destroy these anomalies and soon vast armies marched to war — a fight to eradicate those native races that needed to be removed.[2c]
The Old Ones frequently used the polar gateways to travel the cosmos, but in the meantime they created further spawnings of Slann to execute their plans. While the Saurus brought order to the world with their brutal campaigns of destruction, greater projects were undertaken. By command of the Old Ones, the Slann established the rainforest temple-cities in the region that would one day become Lustria. The Skinks were the technicians and the overseers; it was their role to direct the beasts of burden to haul and heft the heavy loads. In this manner, the Lizardmen built fabulous structures that rose high above the steaming jungles.[2c]
The Old Ones’ instructions to the Slann were very specific as to the locations where the temple-cities, and the many other architectural wonders, were constructed across the globe. Each one was raised up purposefully to form a vital nexus in a world-spanning ‘geomantic web’, an interlinked matrix of natural earth-energy that encompassed the planet. Each site was linked to the next and the Old Ones were able to draw upon this vast reservoir of energy to manipulate untold devices and enchantments of great power.[2c]
The Slann Mage-Priests were also able to tap into the geomantic web, and with its energies they could shift continents and further aid the unknowable plans of the Old Ones. So long as each link remained connected, they could be used to telepathically communicate with one another over vast distances. By entering a trance, the Mage-Priests could transmit pure thoughts and hold councils of communion.[2c]
Great Catastrophe
All was not well with the Known World, however. Distressing signs began to manifest outside the two Warp Gates located at the planet's poles. They were but portals to another dimension, and it was from there that trouble arose. In the swirling madness of that otherworldly realm, nascent beings stirred, malign intelligences that resented the Old Ones' trespasses upon their domain.[2c]
Disaster, later remembered as the "Great Catastrophe," came suddenly. Whether due to enemy attacks or structural failure, the Old Ones' great polar gates, the means by which they traversed the stars, collapsed upon themselves. The eldritch machineries of the gates crashed down upon the mortal world in a burning hail of star-metal. Simultaneously, the poles of the world imploded, opening rifts into the extradimensional Realm of Chaos.[2b]
The energies of Chaos spewed forth from the spirit realm. Meteors of congealed, solidified magic, a substance later known as warpstone, left weirdling contrails that set the skies aflame. The planet shuddered under thunderous impacts, with some meteorites burrowing like animals, gnawing deep into the world's foundation. A layer of warpstone dust was cast into the air, its mutating properties causing untold atrocities.[2b]
Across the globe, the seas churned and the forest canopies shook, convulsing with grotesque growth. Where the northern gateway had once been, there now throbbed a second moon, a green satellite made of pure warpstone -- Morrslieb. Many cries were lifted to that sickly orb, as hideously twisted creatures were born, howling in their agony.[2b]
As their portals collapsed, the Old Ones disappeared, their fate unknown. Yet the disaster could have been worse, if the Old Ones' most powerful servants, the first spawning of the Slann mage-priests, had not staved off complete destruction by sealing much of the rent in reality. So great was the strain of that undertaking that half of their number were slain -- their brains melted by the incongruity of Chaos.[2b]
Despite their sacrifice, the Slann could only shrink the gap; they could neither close it nor stem the tide of magical energy that swept across the planet. The Old Ones were gone, and the Lizardmen and the fledgling mortal races of the Known World were now abandoned before a new and diabolical foe.[2b]
Lizardmen Cult of the Old Ones
A group of Lizardmen trying to access an ancient door sealed by the Old Ones, as depicted in Total War: Warhammer II.
After the disappearance of the Old Ones, as the Slann withdrew into their own cerebral worlds, the Skink Priests -- the most intelligent of their kind -- became the daily leaders of the Lizardmen. It was their ceaseless industry that restored the temple-cities, rebuilding everything for which they had architectural plans. It was they who ordered the overgrown jungle cut back to develop the roads between temple-cities.[2d]
And so, over the years, the Lizardmen, once the most advanced civilisation to walk the mortal world, regressed to a primitive state. The Old Ones took on the aspect of distant gods, worshipped by the Lizardmen and called upon in times of need by the Skinks. They began to make bloody sacrifices to attract the attention of their missing gods. The relics that they collected upon the orders of the Slann were held in wonder; all hope of understanding the technology of their function lost, replaced with superstitious ceremony and ritual.[2d]
While superstitious acts have gained in popularity since the loss of the Old Ones, these were taken to horrific new levels with the coming of the new Lizardmen god Sotek. Inspired by Tehenhauin, Skink Priests led the ritualistic slaughter of untold thousands of ratmen. These Skaven were sacrificed in horrific fashion -- sometimes thrown alive into writhing pits of serpents, other times split open and choice organs proffered to the heavens. If the Skaven was lucky, he was simply beheaded by a Saurus executioner. It is recorded that Kroq-Gar, a mighty Saurus leader, has personally delivered the killing strike to over a thousand Skaven warlords since the Rise of Sotek.[2d]
Entire temple-cities would turn out to watch the sacrifice of an important Skaven commander, the vast plazas filling with clamourous Skinks. For the most part, the inscrutable Slann mage-priests leave such barbaric practices alone, although they could no longer ignore the rise of the new god Sotek, nor could they rein in the base practice of offering up sacrifices to attract the blessings of the gods.[2d]
Though Sotek is the pre-eminent god of the Lizardmen, many others are venerated. Of some, very little is known. Xholankha is referred to only as "the Lost", though all other references are vague and often contradictory to any but the deepest intellect. The name of Rigg, called "the Outcast", is mentioned in a small number of glyphs. Unusually, this being is referred to in the feminine context, and in one glyph sequence referred to as the "Mother of Kalith", a term with no known meaning to the Lizardmen.[1a]
Some exist in name only, such as Conalxa, Inhamex and Yuxa, who are named by the sacred plaques but providing no further details. It is probable others exist, and that not even the Slann mage-priests know the names of all of the Old Ones. After Sotek, around a dozen of the Old Ones are venerated as a second tier in the pantheon of Lizardmen gods. Amongst the most prominent of these are Chotec -- god of the sun, Tepok -- god of magic and wisdom, and Potec -- he who wards against the supernatural. Each of these Old Ones has temple-pyramids dedicated to them in many of the temple-cities, and entire armies invoke their names before marching to war.[1a]
Certain of these gods are associated with particularly martial qualities, and greater dedications are made to them at times of war. In addition to Sotek, Tlanxia and Xhotl, the Lizardmen warriors give praises to Tzunki -- lord of water, agility and keen eyesight; Tlazcotl -- the impassive, patient and determined; Huanchi -- the Jaguar God of the earth and night, and Xapati, whose name is invoked before vengeance is called down upon a foe.[1a]
Beyond these, there are many other Old Ones to whom venerations are paid, perhaps less often or at specific times as dictated by celestial alignments. Itzl for example is the god of cold-blooded beasts, who is said to grant those who ride Cold Ones and Carnosaurs dominion over their mounts. Xokha is the spirit of stone, the giver of strength, and the Arbiter of Duty. Uxmac is the messenger of the gods, who will one day return to the mortal world, bearing the word of the Old Ones. Caxuatn is the predator, he who stalks the deep jungles, whose passing causes the beasts to become suddenly silent and the winds to become still.[1a]
To the Lizardmen, every single one of these beings is a sacred deity. Each played a crucial role in creation and in the maintenance of an empire that spanned both space and time. Though the Old Ones are lost, the Lizardmen remain ever vigilant for their return. Sacrifices and venerations are made so that one day the Old Ones might find their way home, and lead their reptilian children in the final battle to rid the world of the corrupting influence of Chaos. Only then can the empire of the Old Ones be rebuilt, space and time being moulded to the dimension-spanning Great Plan of the creator-gods.[1a]
The language spoken by the Lizardmen, called Saurian, is incredibly versatile and rich. Every member of the species, from the Slann mage-priests to the Kroxigor, is spawned able to understand the words and associated concepts needed to fulfil their role. The words were bestowed upon the Lizardmen by the Old Ones themselves, that their servants might understand their place in the Great Plan. It is doubtful that the Old Ones used the language amongst themselves, however, communing instead by way of their god-like magical powers.[1c]
Elven Knowledge of the Old Ones
These great and mysterious Old Ones are only dimly remembered in the most ancient of Elven legends and in corrupted form by various secret and degenerate cults. They are known to have reshaped the world of Mallus and many of the creatures within it into forms more pleasing or useful to them. Why they chose to do this is lost to pre-history, but their touch is said to have influenced the development of almost all the intelligent species of the mortal world.[4a]
It was them, or perhaps a servant species that the Old Ones brought with them to the world of Mallus, who first taught the primitive Elves how to perceive and draw upon the tightly controlled trickles of magic that leaked into the world through the Old Ones' Aethyric gateways. Either by nature or the Old Ones' design, the Elves were highly attuned to these flows of magic, though they were little more than children in magical craft compared to the Old Ones. But the Elves were able to sculpt the flows of magic into spells taught to them by their godlike mentors, as well as spells they devised for themselves over time.[4a]
Dwarf Knowledge of the Old Ones
In regard to what they know of Lustria's history, the Dwarfs have much in common with the High Elves (though they would resent being told so) in that an ancestral knowledge of the Old Ones has become intertwined with legends about their own forebears, the Ancestor Gods.[7b]
The Dwarfs are not generally interested in the continent of Lustria. It is far from their mountain holdings, and exploration of new lands is not a priority, in contrast to the desire to reclaim what they have already lost.[7b]
Human Knowledge of the Old Ones
Those few madmen in the Old World that know of their existence claim that the Old Ones, in their prime, transcended even the divine powers of the gods of the Old World, such as Morr and Rhya, and even those of the Dark Gods of Chaos, as they existed before the divine of Mallus fully awakened. They claim this first amongst all intelligent species could summon and bind the gods to do their bidding, and their actions, deliberate and otherwise, had sculpted the once-formless void into what would become the womb of all deities.[4a]
Common to the religious caste of the island of Albion, the Truthsayers are heirs to a tradition of following the Great Plan set down when the Old Ones walked the earth. Their practices may resemble the rites of the druids' Old Faith in appearance, but they are far more potent and practical, and have not dwindled with time.[11a]
The legacy of the Old Ones still remains strong on Albion. Something deep within the ancient nature of the Ogham Stone circles present on the island intensified the power of magic and made the isle a powerful vortex for magical energy. There are many of these mysterious circles located across Albion.[3d]
The Winds of Magic blow with the strength of gales across the island, causing havoc amongst the various wizards who were exploring the land. Spells that were supposed to simply light a campfire become deadly fireballs, whilst the most powerful magical blasts might merely spark and fade from the caster's fingertips.[3d]
An Unfinished Work
"'Maybe the mapmaker did not have eyes quite like ours,' suggested Gotrek. Felix was not entirely sure he was being sarcastic.
'Possibly,' said Teclis. 'Or maybe it was a map of the world in a different time. When the continents were different. It is said the Old Ones shifted the lands and pinned them in new places as part of their great design.'
'Or maybe,' suggested Felix, 'it's a map of the world as it was intended to be.'
'That, Felix Jaeger, is a terrifying thought,' said Teclis.
'Why?'
'Because perhaps someone still intends to make it so?'
Felix looked at the Elf, not quite knowing how to respond. Teclis seemed lost in thought.
'Perhaps the Old Ones' plans were never completed. Perhaps they were interrupted. Perhaps the opening of the paths is a sign that other things have reactivated."
- —Teclis of Ulthuan discussing an astonishing discovery with Gotrek and Felix.[10a]
The High Elf Archmage Teclis found the discovery of an ancient map in an abandoned chamber located on the island of Albion in the early 26th century IC profound and unsettling. He theorised that the map might represent the world of Mallus as it was intended to be by the Old Ones, not as it currently is. His musings implied that the Old Ones might have had plans to further reshape Mallus' continents, or that their original designs were never fully realised before the Great Catastrophe led to their disappearance.[10a]
The most chilling part of Teclis' suggestion was that he inferred that these ancient plans, possibly interrupted in the past, could now be reactivated. This implied that the opening of certain magical pathways signalled the continuation of the Old Ones' work, raising the possibility that the mortal world could be radically reshaped once more -- according to the Old Ones' mysterious design.[10a]
The changes to the world's geography outlined on the ancient map were many. It depicted a new land close to the coast of Estalia; the shape of the island-continent of Ulthuan was altered; the coastline of Northern Lustria was in a different place, and the cold hell of the continent of Naggaroth was in a different orientation to Ulthuan.[10a]
Notable Old Ones
A
- Axlberyn - "The Firmament." An obscure Old One related to the night sky. Its priests in Axlotl paint themselves with coal dust and mark constellations on their skin.[7a]
C
- Caxuatn - God of predators and stillness. Embodies the perfect stillness of the predator waiting to attack.[7a]
- Conalxa - God of concealment. Revered by the Chameleon Skinks in shrines that are incredibly difficult to find.[7a]
H
- Huanchi - The Jaguar God of the earth and night.
I
- Inhamex - God of righteousness. Inhamex is easily enraged, making the skies burn when invaders undo the work of the Great Plan.[7a]
- Itzl - God of beasts.
P
- Potec - Protection against the supernatural.[1a] Skink myth claims Potec was an emissary of Tepok. Invoked against the Undead.[7a]
Q
- Querchi - Possibly an Old One. In 1944 IC the Slann mage-priest Lord Mazdamundi of Hexoatl invoked the earthquake that destroys the settlement of Cadavo. Thus Mazdamundi was proven to be the one spoken of in the Prophecy of Querchi, "he who rides the Horned Beast".[1b][Note 1]
- Quatl - "The Obscure." Named on many plaques, yet nothing is known about this Old One.[7a]
- Quetli - Warrior-god, "protector of the True Way."[2a] Guides the Lizardmen to their objectives, both literal and figurative.[7a]
- Quetzl - Protector God, Warrior God
R
- Rigg - "The Exiled" or "the Outcast." Mother of "Kalith the Mother of All Amazons" and chief goddess of the Amazon pantheon. Her figure is only mentioned in a small number of glyphs.[1a] Depicted as a tall humanoid female figure, Rigg has a shrine on an island in the Amaxon, where the Amazons dwell and worship her as Mother of Kalith. The Lizardmen do not venerate Rigg as a deity and are wary of her devotees.[7a]
S
- Sotek - Sotek is the Serpent God, one of the chief deities of the Lizardmen.
T
- The Shaper - Referred as the "hooded man" by the tale The Doom of Kavzar, The Shaper was probably a member of the ancient race of the Old Ones. He completed the great tower of Kavzar, and in doing so, gave start to the born of the Skaven plague.[5a]
- Tlanxla (also called Tlanxa[7a]) - Warrior god, patron of tactics and strategy, rode a sky chariot and wielded a spear. Tlanxa is associated with the fallen city that bears its name.[2a][7a]
- Tlazcotl - "The Impassive"
- Tzcalli - Application of power. Represents conceptual strength — the ability to influence the course of events.[7a]
- Tzcatli - The one who gives strength to a warrior's arm.[2a] Embodies ferocity. Almost solely revered by the Saurus. In combat, swallowing the whole heart of your enemy is an act of worship.[7a]
- Tzunki - The god of water
U
X
- Xapati - God of restoration of order. Lizardmen invoke the name of Xapati before righting a wrong.[7a]
- Xholankha - The Lost.[2a] Skinks believe that Xholanka has yet to return from a mission to the beginning of time.[7a]
- Xhotl - God of fate and chooser of those destined for greatness.[2a] Xhotl selects those destined for greatness. Spawning pools are marked with Xhotl's glyph.[7a]
- Xokha - God of Stone, Strength and Duty. Lizardmen make offerings to Xokha to give them the strength to meet their responsibilities, even if it kills them.[7a]
- Xoloc - God of Precision. Items dedicated to Xoloc allow energy to be stored for deployment at exactly the right moment.[7a]
Y
- Yuxa - God of Language and speech. Skinks believe that Yuxa created language and taught it to the Lizardmen and their warm-blooded creations.[7a]
Unknown Old Ones
There is also an Old One depicted as a monkey on his statues, if this is the portrait of an already quoted Old One or a totally new one is not known.[8a]
Notes
- Note 1: The source does not specify if the prophecy was made by an Old One, an ancient Slann or Skink Priest.
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (7th Edition)
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (8th Edition)
- 3: Total War: Warhammer II (PC Game)
- 3a: "Determining the Great Plan"
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Realms of Sorcery (RPG)
- 4a: pg. 16
- 5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Children of the Horned Rat (RPG)
- 5a: pg. 28
- 6: The War of Vengeance - Master of Dragons (Novel) by Chris Wraight
- 6a: Ch. 17
- 7: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Lustria (RPG)
- 8: White Dwarf 232
- 8a: pp. 47-48
- 9: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Winds of Magic (RPG)
- 9a: pg. 215
- 10: Gotrek and Felix: Giant Slayer (Novel) by William King
- 10a: Ch. 15
- 11: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Archives of the Empire Vol. III (RPG)
- 11a: pp. 57-58
- 12: Shadows Over Albion: Dark Shadows Summer Campaign (6th Edition)
- 12a: pp. 11-12