SevenCrypticalBooksofHsan
"I have often heard that it is not humans who diligently seek knowledge, but knowledge that diligently seeks humans. Yet I know this is mistaken. Knowledge does not seek humans—it comes forth and hunts them. Its pursuit is cruel and pitiless, like hawks and hounds chasing rabbits." [I have heard that it is not people constantly pursuing knowledge, but knowledge constantly pursuing people. Yet I know that is wrong. Knowledge is not pursuing people; it is hunting them. Its pursuit is cruel and emotionless, like falcons and hunting dogs catching rabbits.]
—Hsan theGreater, second century CE
The author of this book was the ancient Chinese philosopher Hsan theGreater. [Translator's note: Hsan is Wade–Giles romanization.] It was written around the second century CE. Its original title was said to have been The Seven Secret Teachings of Earth, but the original text had long since vanished without a trace. Only this faithful and detailed Chinese copy was known to exist. The oldest version was divided into seven volumes, each equivalent to a chapter. Their contents and themes differed, and each volume contained one or more spells.
Volume One: The achievements of the Yellow Emperor, his astonishing inventions, and his medical arts
Spell: Immortal Cinnabar Soul-Returning Talisman (that is, "Resurrection of the Dead")
Volume Two: Ritualistic corpse-eating and ghoul beliefs
Spell: Contact Ghoul
"These creatures cannot be called complete humans, but in many respects they resemble humanity. They stand upright on two legs and lean forward, looking like a pack of dogs; their skin, like rubber, inspires disgust."
—H. P. Lovecraft, "Pickman's Model"
Ghouls were humanoid monsters with elastic, rubber-like skin. Their feet resembled hooves, their faces dogs', and they possessed sharp claws. They spoke in hurried voices that sounded like weeping. Because they often fed in graveyards, most of their bodies were covered in fungi that grew among the graves. The ghouls depicted by Lovecraft were terrifying creatures that lived in the networks of underground tunnels beneath various cities. They made pacts with witches and sometimes attacked humans. After a very long time, humans might turn into ghouls.
Volume Three: Celestial Demons
Spell: Demon-Seizing and Ghost-Binding Talisman (that is, "Summon/Control Byakhee")
"What flapped rhythmically there was a group of tamed and trained winged creatures, like mongrels... They were something wholly different even from ravens, moles, vultures, ants, or rotting human corpses—I cannot remember, and absolutely must not remember."
—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Festival"
This interstellar race generally served "the Unspeakable Hastur." Their bodies were made of ordinary matter, and normal weapons such as pistols could injure them normally. Byakhees could fly through outer space, each carrying one rider. To withstand the vacuum and cold of the cosmos, riders had to use suitable spells or **. Byakhees had no base on Earth. They generally appeared only when summoned to carry out a task or employed as mounts.[1]
In battle, Byakhees attacked with both hooked claws at once, striking twice in a single round, or bit their enemies. Once a "bite" hit, they began sucking blood from the victim. From the moment they sank their teeth in, including the round in which they first bit, a Byakhee drained 1d6 Strength from its victim every round until the victim died. Byakhees would never release their bite until the victim was dead or drained dry.
Victims who survived by sheer luck could recover Strength at a rate of 1d3 points per day through careful nursing and blood transfusions.
Volume Four: Earth Demons and their relationship with earthquakes
Spell: Earthly Fiend Summoning Talisman (that is, "Contact Burrowing Demon Worm")
"A mass of writhing tentacles grew from that soft, gray-black, saclike body... Apart from that cluster of outstretched, probing tentacles, it had no obvious distinguishing features. No, it did—yes, there was a swelling at the front of the thing... a vessel prepared for its brain, its nerve center, or some other diseased organ that governed this horrible, nauseating creature."
—Brian Lumley, "The Burrowers Beneath"
Introduction
This creature was like a gigantic squid that lived in the soil.
Their long, wormlike bodies were always wrapped in slime, and a chant-like sound invariably accompanied their appearance.
These powerful diggers could live for a thousand years and carefully protected their offspring. Burrowing demon worms possessed many unusual abilities and resembled no creature on this planet. The most important among them was the immense Shudde M'ell, one of the Great Old Ones.
Any burrowing demon worm still in its growth stage could communicate through telepathy. Thus, they could contact any member of their species and sense thoughts no matter where the other was. However, only adult burrowing demon worms could use telepathy to control creatures of other races.
Volume Five: Deep Ones and their human followers along the coast of China's South Sea; time and space; the Hounds of Tindalos and Liao Dan
Spell: Contact Hounds of Tindalos
"'They are lean and hungry!' he screamed... 'All the evil in the universe is gathered in their lean, hungry bodies. Then again, do they have bodies? I saw them only for an instant; I cannot be sure.'"
—F. Belknap Long, "The Hounds of Tindalos"
The Hounds of Tindalos dwelled on Earth in primordial times, an age when life on Earth had not yet evolved and not even single-celled organisms existed. They lived within the "angles" of time, unlike other creatures descended from "curves" (understand the words "angles" and "curves" literally. The space-time humans inhabit is "curved," while theirs is "angular." Simply put, they exist in different dimensions), including ordinary creatures such as humans. This concept was difficult to understand, and it applied only to the Hounds of Tindalos. They sought prey among ordinary creatures such as humans, crossing time and space to pursue their sacrifices. They were immortal.
We did not know what these creatures looked like, and no one who had come into contact with them had survived. The Hounds of Tindalos were in fact far removed from the appearance of "hounds"; they were merely called "hounds" throughout the story. Because of the relationship between their space-time and "angles," they could materialize only in places with "angles" of less than 120 degrees, such as the corners of rooms. In an ordinary house, wall corners were generally ninety degrees. When a Hound of Tindalos appeared, smoke first rose from a corner of the room. Then the hound's head emerged from the smoke, followed by its entire body.
Volume Six: The cold plains of Central Asia and unknown Kadath
Spell: Fantasy Realm Spirit-Ascending Talisman (that is, "Gate of Kadath")
"Hey! Ah-Shataneg! Go! Send the gods of Earth back to secret Kadath, where they so often come and go, and pray to all things that you do not encounter my other thousand forms. Farewell, Randolph Carter. Take care—for I am Nyarlathotep. I am the Crawling Chaos."
Volume Seven: Nyarlathotep and her countless forms; the rising of R'lyeh and Cthulhu's return; Azathoth as beginning and end; the ideal forms of gods and creatures—the official rank sequence that arranged all divine entities and creatures according to a bureaucratic hierarchy
Spell: Contact Nyarlathotep
Source: Dragon's Sky
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