[Dark Corners of High Adventure] Viking Age Orkney and Northern Scotland (Addendum Part I)

Earlier this week I posted an article that discussed the similarities in Norse mythology and the Cthulhu Mythos. Since that time I have had some additional thoughts I wanted to share. I am sure there will be more to add to the subject, so I am calling this "Addendum I".

Myth-Cycles

Just a few additional notes on possible connections between Norse Mythology and the Cthulhu Mythos:

Ginnungagap: in Norse mythology this is the primordial void or chaos from which creation sprang from. Obviously a connection can be made here between Ginnungagap and Azathoth. In the Cthulhu Mythos Azathoth is the "Primal Chaos", and is said to have given birth to the universe.

Tsathoggua / Hyperborea: from the pen of Clark Ashton Smith comes the Hyperborean Cycle, a series of weird tales that take place in ancient pre-historic lands of Hyperborea. These stories are a great example of how sword & sorcery adventure can be blended with cosmic horror. Smith made it very clear that Greenland is the modern day location of Hyperborea, and for our purposes this is perfect, for the Vikings would eventually settle in Greenland sometime around 1000 AD.

Now not only do we have a link between the Norse and Cthulhu, we can now assume that the Viking settlers would at some point come under the insidious influence of "King Toad" himself and that the remnants of his ancient lair Mount Voormithadreth (and all of the Hyperborean ruins for that matter) lay hiding somewhere in the wilds of Greenland.

Atlach-Nacha: another Old One that inhabits the caverns of Mount Voormithadreth. Described as a monstrous spider with an almost human-like head, Atlach-Nacha is said to spin a web that somehow bridges the gap between our world and the Dreamlands. Surely if the Norse settlers would learn of the dark presence of Tsathoggua they will also learn of Atlach-Nacha as well. Having this connection allows for an interesting path into the Dreamlands to be introduced in your game...

Yhoundeh: is a mysterious Hyperborean "elk goddess", who is named as the wife of Nyarlathotep in the Parchments of Pnom. Little is known about her, other than she was a protector of nature, and her followers began an inquisition against the cult of Tsathoggua. It was during this inquisition that the sorcerer Eibon (author of the blasphemous tome Book of Eibon) was persecuted, and subsequently fled to Saturn to escape his own demise. Since we have already drawn a correlation between Loki and Nyarlathotep we can assume that in a roundabout way Yhoundeh could be associated with Sigyn (Loki's wife) by those involved with a Loki cult.