What is an Elder God?

[caljitsu]

(Find the companion video here)

 

Whispers in the Dark

Despite only being one chapter into the Dark Aether Storyline, we have already heard repeated references to colossal entities that roam the umbral landscapes within the Dark Aether, leaving trails of pure destruction in their wake, all the while being worshipped by the comparatively meager lifeforms that now call these same planes home.

 

To those who believe them deserving as reverence, these eldritch behemoths are known seemingly interchangeably as "Elder Gods" or "Overlords". For those who, like me, are enthusiasts of the prior storyline, your ears should have pricked up, as we know these names well. But more on that later.

 

Defining the Eldritch

Purely from the information we have been given via Preseason and Season 1 Intel, as well as firsthand experience within the map, we are able to make a few base assumptions about the way in which the Dark Aether works, and how these colossi fit in. For any entities taken into the realms of the Dark Aether, they quickly have to adjust to the idea of hierarchy - however this is one different to that which the modern man is used to. Rather than one's position in this hierarchy being achieved by way of wealth or status, this is something far more primal. In the Dark Aether, the only thing that matters is raw power. 

 

We can see this clearly exhibited by the Stranger. Whilst many humans desperately try to cling to their old ways of life and meet a rapid end because of it, the Stranger was able to adapt to his new life of horror with incredible swiftness. As a result, he was able to survive where most other humans could not. After many thousands of days of this, he makes the observation that for many of the "lesser" creatures of the Dark Aether, he is no longer the prey. In fact, he had become the hunter. As this shift occurred, only far stronger creatures dared attack the Stranger and, as would be imagined, these stronger creatures numbered far less than the near limitless undead, plaguehounds, or other similar types.

Furthermore, we know that creatures that mutate by way of the Dark Aether become integrated in what can only be called a hivemind - as made clear by the quotes of both the Megaton and the Mayak.

 

"ONE LAND, ONE ARMY, ONE MISSION!"

-Megaton

 

"THIS WORLD WILL BE OURS!"

-Mayak (Megaton Overlord)

 

Furthermore, to address that, Mayak is a far more powerful variant of the Megaton. If this theory of hierarchy was true, we would expect Mayak to have some sort of increased rank over that of the standard variant - and lo and behold, he does, as he is also referred to as the Megaton Overlord.

 

Despite not having a concrete explanation yet for how this process of ranking naturally occurs, it would appear a reasonable guess that it is reliant upon the amount of Exo Element 1 that an individual has been exposed to. This would equally explain the Stranger’s unique proficiency, as the longer he survives in there, the easier it becomes to survive due to increased level of corruption. Interestingly, there is a precedent for the idea of strength relating to the corruption of the Dark Aether - for that, let’s return to our prior story.

 

Heart of Darkness

In the Aether Storyline, existence as perceivable to humans was formed through the efforts of The First One, manipulating the energies of the Aether in order to create as he saw fit. Eventually he desisted, yet his society continued, experimenting with the energies of creation like the scientists of our modern day. After an unknown period of time, one group began to experiment with the opposite force - the entropic energies of the Dark Aether (See the video on that for greater depth). Eventually, the rest of their race caught wind of these dangerous experiments and a war broke out between the two factions. Those who dared experiment with these darker forces ultimately lost and were banished into the Dark Aether - becoming the Apothicons, whilst the victors would become what we know as Keepers. Despite conflicting sources on the exact nature of these events, we know that one of the members of the losing faction was the Shadowman, however, it was likely that he wasn’t a founding member.

 

"He was my friend... My best friend... Then the Apothicons got hold of him."

-Monty

 

The Dark Aether
Some Keepers begin to experiment with the Dark Aether, which corrupts and corrodes their souls. Among them is the Shadowman.

-Kronorium excerpt, 'Agartha'
 

 

Due to this fact, we know that whilst they all met the same eventual fate by being cast into the Dark Aether, some already bore the corruption of the Dark Aether prior to their banishment. If we take our previous points into consideration, we should expect to see entities of considerably more power than the average Apothicon - which we do. They are called Elder Gods or Overlords.

Despite the Shadowman likely being one half of the sundered First One, and clearly being the war-leader of the Apothicons, he does not have the most raw power. This position of honour and reverence is reserved for the Elder Gods, who have the role of spreading the Dark Aether’s influence. In the Aether Storyline, this was done by spreading Element 115 (the Aetheric equivalent of Exo Element 1) throughout existence. Of course, this method is now impossible, as 115 no longer exists, but as stated, this is merely the method. As evidenced by Die Maschine, the arrogance of humans is plenty capable of assisting the Elder Gods without the need of the Element.

 

Now that we have a rough profile of what is required to create an Elder God, and those who have fulfilled the role in the past, only one question remains. Who are the current Elder Gods? Well it would stand to reason that they would be whomever have been in the Dark Aether for the longest period of time - a thought I will leave you with.
 

[clueless]

Great analysis as always, Cal! I don't have much to add, but we can see from what little of the model we have detailed that there are bodies/corpses making up part of at least one "elder god" in a more "natural" style of the Panzermorder from Final Reich.

 

Is it possible at least some of the Elder Gods are quite literal hiveminds, amalgamations of lesser beings that have converged not only mentally but physically after exposure to enough of the Dark Aether? It would fit with the chaotic, mutative nature of the Dark Aether we've seen up to now.

[anonymous]

As we have concluded in previor conversations, it appears the Shadowman had a similar role as Nyarlathotep being the humanoid messenger of Azatoth, and the Beast of Earth being the speaker of the grand Beast of the Abyss in Revelations, the Bible. He was the Harbinger of Doom, but what was Doom? These were the Elder Gods.

 

I'm still perplexed by the fact the Dark Aether resembles a landscape with a whole array of species Linnaeus would love to classify, including picking order and all, instead of an energy realm beyond our perception. The Elder Gods have proven to be the top of the pyramid, the Overlords. I find it interesting, though, that in the Aether story the Elder Gods or Overlords were represented as the large wormlike creatures, also seen fighting in the Great War. In the Revelations intro, they are seen floating around the Apothicon Sun, far away from the rogue badlands where creatures like the Margwas reside. How can it be that it now appears that one of the Elder Gods is a walking being? Are there multiple "Overlord" species, as the existence of the Mayak suggests? Do the Overlords themselves also have a picking order?

[caljitsu]

17 minutes ago, anonymous said:

Are there multiple "Overlord" species, as the existence of the Mayak suggests? Do the Overlords themselves also have a picking order?

To be an Elder God isn't, in my opinion, a matter of biology. It's merely a role that has to be filled.

 

[clueless]

5 minutes ago, anonymous said:

I find it interesting, though, that in the Aether story the Elder Gods or Overlords were represented as the large wormlike creatures, also seen fighting in the Great War. In the Revelations intro, they are seen floating around the Apothicon Sun, far away from the rogue badlands where creatures like the Margwas reside. How can it be that it now appears that one of the Elder Gods is a walking being? Are there multiple "Overlord" species, as the existence of the Mayak suggests? Do the Overlords themselves also have a picking order?

My running theory as of now is that due to how deeply connected both Keepers and Apothicons were with the Aether and Dark Aether, the unraveling of the Aether also wiped them all out. The Aether joined the Dark Aether (possibly once again, different discussion for a different time) and became a new rogue "badlands" as you mention. This new land caused daunting natural selection under a relatively accelerated timespan, just as life on Earth began as microbes and single-cell organisms before blossoming into what it is now. Only this time the Dark Aether was inhabited by far more than just a few Keepers, but now a multiverse worth of humans and other lifeforms (such as jellyfish).