Difference between revisions of "K'n-yan"

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'''K'n-yan''' (or '''Xinaián''') is a fictional, subterranean land in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]]. The underground realm was first described in detail in [[H.P. Lovecraft]]'s revision of Zealia Bishop's "The Mound" (1940), in which it is discovered by the 16th century Spanish Conquistador [[Cthulhu mythos biographies#Zamacona Y Nuñez, Panfilio De|Zamacona]]. Lovecraft also mentions K'n-yan in "[[The Whisperer in Darkness]]" (1930) and in his revision of Hazel Heald's "Out of the Aeons" (1935). The people of K'n-yan are sometimes referred to as the "[[Old One#Cthulhu mythos|Old Ones]]", a term of variable meaning in Lovecraft's fiction.

~~==Summary==~~

K'n-yan is a blue-litten cavern beneath Oklahoma. It is inhabited by a human-like race that resemble the Native Americans of the area, though they are actually extraterrestrials who arrived in prehistoric times. They are immortal and have powerful psionic abilities, including telepathy and the ability to dematerialize at will. They are also technologically advanced, using machines that employ principles of atomic energy, though they have largely abandoned their mechanized culture finding it unfulfilling.

The most populous city is Tsath, the capital of K'n-yan. It is named for [[Tsathoggua]], a deity once worshiped there, but later deprecated after the inhabitants found out the true nature of the god. Other deities include [[Shub-Niggurath]], [[Great Old One compendium#Nug and Yeb|Nug and Yeb]], [[Ghatanothoa]], and the ''Not-to-Be-Named One'' ([[Hastur]]?). The two most important ones, however, are Tulu ([[Cthulhu]]) and [[Great Old One compendium#Yig|Yig]]. The denizens of K'n-yan often place idols of these deities in near proximity, as in the following passage from "The Mound": "<nowiki>[In]</nowiki> a pair of vast niches, one on each side, <nowiki>[the]</nowiki> monstrous, nitre-encrusted images of Yig and Tulu squatted, glaring at each other across the passage as they had glared since the earliest youth of the human world."

In ancient times, the people of K'n-yan traded with the humans of the surface world. But when geological calamities caused the continents of [[Atlantis]] and Lemuria to sink into the ocean, the people of K'n-yan sequestered themselves below ground, thereafter having no further dealings with the outer world.

~~===Society===~~

When the denizens of K'n-yan rejected their mechanistic lifestyle, they turned to a sort of socialistic aristocracy, controlled by a ruling class made "highly superior through selective breeding and social evolution". Individual behavior is dictated more by established social norms than the rule of law. Although K'n-yan attained great advances in art and science, its people have become increasingly hedonistic, decadent, and cruel.

~~The people of K'n-yan also utilize [[undead]] slaves, from the bodies of ancient enemies or inferior members of the ruling class.~~

~~==Yoth==~~

'''Yoth''' is a red-litten cavern beneath K'n-yan. It was once inhabited by the serpent people who fled here to escape the destruction of Valusia. In Yoth they built great cities, of which only ruins remain. Explorers from K'n-yan visited Yoth frequently to learn more of the serpent people's scientific lore.

The downfall of the serpent people came when they brought up idols of [[Tsathoggua]] from N'kai, abandoning their patron deity [[Great Old One compendium#Yig|Yig]] to worship their new god. As retribution Yig placed his curse upon them, forcing his few remaining worshipers to flee to caverns beneath [[Hyperborean cycle#Mount Voormithadreth|Mount Voormithadreth]].

~~==N'kai==~~

~~'''N'kai''' is a lightless cavern below Yoth (though it may lie beneath [[Mount Voormithadreth]]). It is the home of the [[Great Old One]] [[Tsathoggua]].~~

Explorers from K'n-yan met with disaster when they first visited N'kai, encountering the deadly, amorphous [[Tsathoggua#Formless spawn|spawn of Tsathoggua]]. Thereafter, entrances to N'kai were sealed off.

~~==External links==~~

* [http://www.epberglund.com/RGttCM/nightscapes/NS04/hplnf2.htm Cthulhu in Mesoamerica], an essay by Richard L. Tierney

~~[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos]]~~

~~{{wikipedia}}~~

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-'''K'n-yan''' (or '''Xinaián''') is a fictional, subterranean land in the [[Cthulhu Mythos]]. The underground realm was first described in detail in [[H.P. Lovecraft]]'s revision of Zealia Bishop's "The Mound" (1940), in which it is discovered by the 16th century Spanish Conquistador [[Cthulhu mythos biographies#Zamacona Y Nuñez, Panfilio De|Zamacona]]. Lovecraft also mentions K'n-yan in "[[The Whisperer in Darkness]]" (1930) and in his revision of Hazel Heald's "Out of the Aeons" (1935). The people of K'n-yan are sometimes referred to as the "[[Old One#Cthulhu mythos|Old Ones]]", a term of variable meaning in Lovecraft's fiction.
-==Summary==
-K'n-yan is a blue-litten cavern beneath Oklahoma. It is inhabited by a human-like race that resemble the Native Americans of the area, though they are actually extraterrestrials who arrived in prehistoric times. They are immortal and have powerful psionic abilities, including telepathy and the ability to dematerialize at will. They are also technologically advanced, using machines that employ principles of atomic energy, though they have largely abandoned their mechanized culture finding it unfulfilling.
-The most populous city is Tsath, the capital of K'n-yan. It is named for [[Tsathoggua]], a deity once worshiped there, but later deprecated after the inhabitants found out the true nature of the god. Other deities include [[Shub-Niggurath]], [[Great Old One compendium#Nug and Yeb|Nug and Yeb]], [[Ghatanothoa]], and the ''Not-to-Be-Named One'' ([[Hastur]]?). The two most important ones, however, are Tulu ([[Cthulhu]]) and [[Great Old One compendium#Yig|Yig]]. The denizens of K'n-yan often place idols of these deities in near proximity, as in the following passage from "The Mound": "<nowiki>[In]</nowiki> a pair of vast niches, one on each side, <nowiki>[the]</nowiki> monstrous, nitre-encrusted images of Yig and Tulu squatted, glaring at each other across the passage as they had glared since the earliest youth of the human world."
-In ancient times, the people of K'n-yan traded with the humans of the surface world. But when geological calamities caused the continents of [[Atlantis]] and Lemuria to sink into the ocean, the people of K'n-yan sequestered themselves below ground, thereafter having no further dealings with the outer world.
-===Society===
-When the denizens of K'n-yan rejected their mechanistic lifestyle, they turned to a sort of socialistic aristocracy, controlled by a ruling class made "highly superior through selective breeding and social evolution".  Individual behavior is dictated more by established social norms than the rule of law. Although K'n-yan attained great advances in art and science, its people have become increasingly hedonistic, decadent, and cruel.
-The people of K'n-yan also utilize [[undead]] slaves, from the bodies of ancient enemies or inferior members of the ruling class.
-==Yoth==
-'''Yoth''' is a red-litten cavern beneath K'n-yan. It was once inhabited by the serpent people who fled here to escape the destruction of Valusia. In Yoth they built great cities, of which only ruins remain. Explorers from K'n-yan visited Yoth frequently to learn more of the serpent people's scientific lore.
-The downfall of the serpent people came when they brought up idols of [[Tsathoggua]] from N'kai, abandoning their patron deity [[Great Old One compendium#Yig|Yig]] to worship their new god. As retribution Yig placed his curse upon them, forcing his few remaining worshipers to flee to caverns beneath [[Hyperborean cycle#Mount Voormithadreth|Mount Voormithadreth]].
-==N'kai==
-'''N'kai''' is a lightless cavern below Yoth (though it may lie beneath [[Mount Voormithadreth]]). It is the home of the [[Great Old One]] [[Tsathoggua]].
-Explorers from K'n-yan met with disaster when they first visited N'kai, encountering the deadly, amorphous [[Tsathoggua#Formless spawn|spawn of Tsathoggua]]. Thereafter, entrances to N'kai were sealed off.
-==External links==
-* [http://www.epberglund.com/RGttCM/nightscapes/NS04/hplnf2.htm Cthulhu in Mesoamerica], an essay by Richard L. Tierney
-[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos]]
-{{wikipedia}}

Revision as of 02:45, 18 April 2007