Olden Ones

2016-11-07T18:30:27Z

Protoclete:

First mentioned in {{COM}}, these supernatural entities (also known as the "Old High Ones" and the "Ancient Ones") are more powerful than even the gods. In fact they gaze upon infinite pantheons of gods across many worlds in many universes.

It is suggested that while the universe causes mere people to observe it, the Old High Ones observe, and therefore allow the universe to continue.

They have in the remote past exercised their power to prevent the Disc from being utterly destroyed during the first [[Mage Wars]], shortly after the creation of the human race and created the [[Law of Conservation of Reality]]. Under their tutelage, the [[gods]] of the Discworld were forced to acknowledge a higher authority, and the human race was recreated a good deal smaller and less powerful, so as to prevent them from successfully challenging the Gods again.

In {{TLF}}, they are mentioned as having smelled all the cities of all the universes (including {{wikipedia|Calcutta|Calcutta}}, !Xrc-!, and Marsport), but finding that "these fine examples of nasal poetry are mere limericks" when set up against the glorious odor of [[Ankh-Morpork]]- a smell so powerful that a statue was put up in its honor, commemorating the time when an invasion attempt by a neighboring nation was thwarted when the attackers' nose plugs gave out.

[[Azrael]] is the only one of the Olden Ones named and acknowledged in the Discworld canon.

It is possible that the names mentioned in the Rite of AshkEnte in The Light Fantastic where Old High Ones, as they appeared to control Death, and as Death is above the gods, they are unlikely to be gods.
They are:
*Azimrothe
*T’chikel
*Yrriph
*Kcharla
*Cheliliki
*Orizone

===Annotation===

The Old Ones or similar feature in many different fantasy stories from Lovecraft, Stephen King's Dark Tower and Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. In fact even in Lovecraft it is not all that clear who Old Ones are. Sometimes they are seen as creatures before humans (perhaps like the giants in the Bible?), later they are linked to Yog-Sothoth and then there are thought to be the residents of K'n-yan. [[Yob Soddoth]] could be Discworld version of him?

[[Category: Supernatural entities]]
[[de:Alte Erhabene]]

Azrael

2016-11-07T18:29:24Z

Protoclete:

{{Character Data
|title=The Being of whom all lesser Deaths are mere reflections, the Ultimate Reality
|photo=Azrael.jpg|THE BEGINNING AND THE END
|name=Azrael
|race=the [[Olden Ones|Great Old Ones]]
|age=immortal

|occupation=Death of the Universe<br>Keeper of The [[Universal Clock]]
|appearance=known only to [[Death]] and the [[Auditors]]

|residence=effectively everywhere

|death=happens to other people
|parents=none
|relatives=other Olden Ones?
|children=no
|marital status=none

|books={{RM}}
|cameos={{SM}}
}}

'''Azrael''', one of the Eight [[Old High Ones]], is none other than the 'Death of Universes': an entity of unthinkably enormous scope and size — so vast that entire nebulae of galaxies are merely the glint in his eye and who speaks like <div style="font: bold 300%/1.25em serif; text-transform: uppercase">this.</div>

While not a [[god]], Azrael is an 'Old High One', existing nonetheless despite not being worshiped. Azrael is ''the Ultimate Reality''. Just as the [[Death of Rats]] is an offshoot of [[Death]] (i.e.the [[anthropomorphic personification]] of [[wikipedia:Death|Death]]) who has been permitted an existence independent of Death, both Death and the Death of Rats are themselves in reality just offshoots of Azrael himself. Azrael is the Being from whom all lesser Deaths are mere reflections or aspects.

His sheer size suggests that Azrael may, in fact, ''be'' the universe itself.

Like his 'servant', Death, Azrael does have a personality, evident by his act of mercy at the end of the events of {{RM}}, after Death's argument of "{{death|what can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man}}?"

Essentially trapped within his prison of a 'billion years', Azrael is bored. Just like Death he can even remember the future, ("''premembering''", as [[Lobsang Ludd|the current incarnation of Time]] calls it,) so there is nothing new for him. "''I remember''," he says at the end of {{RM}}, "''when all this will be again''" (which seems to support the Golems' belief that time is toroidal). He is also the keeper of The [[Universal Clock]], the logical opposite of a clock, in that it tells Time what it is and not the other way around, and whose big hand only goes round once, ticking off the moments until the end of everything.

== Annotation ==
* Azrael is named after [[wikipedia:Azrael|Azrael]], the [[wikipedia:Angel of Death|Angel of Death]] of [[wikipedia:Islamic|Islamic]] [[wiktionary:extra-Biblical|extrabiblical]] [[wikipedia:Tradition|traditions]] and [[wikipedia:Folklore|folklore]].
* Azreal's position as the 'Keeper of The [[Universal Clock]]' could be a reference to [[wikipedia:Father Time|Father Time]] and [[wikipedia:Cronus|Cronus, (Kronos or Cronos,)]] who was the inspiration for both Father Time and the Grim Reaper.

== Also See ==
* [[wikipedia:Discworld gods#Azrael|Wikipedia on Azrael]].
* [[wikipedia:Great Attractor|Great Attractor]]

[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Supernatural entities]]
[[de:Azrael]]

Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki - User contributions [en]

Olden Ones

Azrael