| “ | At last a shape appeared, flapping above the ground on leathery wings. The thing which flew whirring toward me was followed by a train of others, wings slapping the air at incredible speed... I could ... make out many more details... Those huge lidless eyes which stared in hate at me, the jointed tendrils which seemed to twist from the head in cosmic rhythms, the ten legs, covered with black shining tentacles and folded into the pallid underbody, and the semi-circular ridged wings covered with triangular scales... I saw the three mouths of the thing move moistly, and then it was upon me. | „ |
| ~ Description of the Insects from Shaggai. |
The Shan, also known as the Insects from Shaggai, are an eldritch species of parasitic alien creatures appearing in the Cthulhu Mythos.
Overview[]
The Insects from Shaggai are an insectoid, semi-parasitic race of aliens that possess a high degree of intelligence. This is due to their three-lobed brains, which allow them to follow three trains of thought at once. They can also work their way into the cranium of certain races - a process known as Kirlian Phasing. They then take over the host body and reduce it to little more than a puppet to use for their own ends. They are vulnerable to sunlight.
The Shan are described in Insects from Shaggai as praying to the Blind Idiot God Azathoth, even building statues of him in their temples on Earth.
While on their homeworld of Shaggai, the Shan summoned the Worm That Gnaws In The Night in the belief that they could control it, however it burrowed to the centre of the planet and began eating away at the core. The Shan were later forced to evacuate when the colossal planet-sized deity Ghroth destroyed the planet, with 40 of them escaping through portals in the strange pyramid-temples they built to worship Azathoth.
The Shan first arrived on the planet of Xiclotl, the nearest planet to Shaggai, where they encountered the Xiclotians, carnivorous, slow-moving creatures that were easily enslaved by the Shan and made to build temples to Azathoth. The Shan remained on the planet for two hundred years before fleeing through the portals after becoming concerned about ritualistic sacrifices the Xiclotians made to their gods, the plant-like Zy'tl Q'ae.
After leaving Xiclotl, they arrived on the planet Thuggon with their Xiclotian slaves, where they stayed for less than a year before a mysterious creature began preying on them and their slaves, forcing them to make the transition through their temple portals again, this time arriving in our solar system, specifically L'gy'hx, known by humans as Uranus, where they encountered the L'gy'hxians, who worshipped the bat-god Lrogg, an avatar of Nyarlathotep.
The Shan and the L'gy'hxians peacefully coexisted for several years, however conflict arose after several L'gy'hxians converted to Azathoth worship and rebelled against Lrogg, smashing his idols and killing the high priests. The rebels were defeated and executed by having acid poured into their brains, and the Shan were expelled from L'gy'hx, aside from a few who began to worship Lrogg.
The Shan currently reside on Earth, having established a colony in the Severn Valley and taking possession of any who wander too close to their concealed pyramid-temple.
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Outer Gods Great Old Ones Deep Ones Hounds of Tindalos Horsemen of Nyarlathotep Many-Angled Ones Shoggoths Tcho-Tcho The Black Brotherhood Brotherhood of the Beast Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh Brotherhood of the Skin Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign Church of Starry Wisdom Cthulhu Cult Cult of the Bloody Tongue De la Poer Family Esoteric Order of Dagon Creatures Others Alternate Continuities | ||