| “ | What do ye playing with Worlds and Suns and Men and Life and Death? | „ |
| ~ Mana-Yood-Sushai rebuking the Small Gods before destroying the universe. |
Mana-Yood-Sushai is one of the supreme beings in Lord Dunsany's The Gods of Pegana, and is also mentioned in Dunsany's Time and the Gods. He is the creator of the Small Gods (the deities in the mythos of every religion), but is only known amongst mortals in Pegana and other lands of Lord Dunsany's creation, where he is the one god that none may pray to, save for the gods themselves.
Biography[]
In the beginning, Fate and Chance, the only living things which were greater than Mana-Yood-Sushai, drew lots, and the winner went to Mana-Yood-Sushai and told him to make gods for him as part of his game. As such, Mana-Yood-Sushai created the gods, and Skarl the Drummer. Skarl began to beat upon his drum, lulling Mana-Yood-Sushai to sleep at the center of the universe. The gods then created the earth to amuse themselves. However, the gods fear the day when Skarl will cease his drumming. On that day Mana-Yood-Sushai will awake and see that they created the planets while he was sleeping and play their own game, at which point he will destroy all creation, and possibly make another universe to continue the game of Fate and Chance.
At one point, the gods of the land of Pegana, one of the few places where Mana-Yood-Sushai is known thanks to the prophet Yonath, began to torment the people of the town of Sidith, whose people began to curse the gods. Their High Priest prayed, but the gods rebuked him, so he broke the laws of Pegana and prayed to Mana-Yood-Sushai, which only the gods may do. He never returned, suggesting that the other gods killed him to prevent him from awakening Mana-Yood-Sushai.
Trivia[]
- Azathoth would appear to have been inspired by Mana-Yood-Sushai, but Mana-Yood-Sushai is way more intelligent than Azathoth.