Letter found amongst the possessions of the recently deceased Dr. Harold Johnson, December 1995.
Dear Dr. Johnson,
For years now, I have studied the religions of various native cultures. It's hard not to be fascinated by these - explanations for how the world works, dreamed up by minds that lack the knowledge we know to be true. It's almost as if something is lost upon the transition into a more technologically advanced culture. And yet, I occasionally stumble upon things that make me glad to have outgrown such superstitions, for there are some dark and horrifying cults out in the world. Violent revels and human sacrifice only skim the very surface of the rituals conducted by these groups in the names of their evil gods, and I would almost say that if the trade-off for civilisation was that we outgrew such things, then it would be worth the sacrifice of a more simple and honest culture. And yet, I can say with near-certainty that these cults still exist within the dark underbelly of our own society. Indeed, I suspect that even within our own country's leadership, one can find members of these ancient, evil religions.
The Old Ones. The term kept coming up. For the longest time, I thought it referred to some sort of forerunner civilisation, some group of humans that came before us. I was wrong. The Old Ones are not human. They existed long before we ever crawled out of the primordial oceans. When this very galaxy was still young, they traveled the stars. When humanity had barely attained the ability to create fire, they came. They were worshipped as gods. I am not sure that I can conclusively prove them not to be. Their power, their knowledge, and their very being was so far advanced beyond human comprehension that I lack proper words to describe it. Of these supreme beings, the one that seems to have interacted most with humanity is the one described in most of these texts, the high priest of the Old Ones. This is the one not only described in ancient texts and chants, but also depicted in statues and reliefs. The one that yet sleeps, in the sunken city, where I hope it will forever remain, loathsome and horrifying as it is made out to be, despite the reverent tone in its given descriptions.
But the ocean is not only ancient, it is deep, vast, and it hides secrets from us that are better left untouched. Somewhere, in the depths, there lies another. Whether this being is an Old One or something else entirely, I do not know. The texts I found have been fragmented, and do a poor job of describing it in much detail. The only physical appearance that seems to be attributed to it is that of a massive body, entirely consisting of impossible geometry, shapes that seem to point outwards and inwards simultaneously, and an ever-changing set of angles that make up its form. One chant describes its many mouths, which are to sing upon its awakening, though I struggle to imagine how such a being would have any sort of anatomy - though I suspect that the answer would be just as bizarre as the rest of what was written. And yet, despite the limited imagination of my waking self, my dreams have been filled with shapes and geometry that seems impossible at the time, and horrible mouths, singing songs of a horrifying future that I can only pray will not come to pass during my life.
Of a name, I am not sure, though one word does seem to be repeated a lot in the chants - it is best phonetically spelled as Soath, though that is merely my best attempt at recreating a sound more akin to an animalistic growl mixed with the gurgles of a dying man. But the sole reason for my interest in this being, the reason why I consider these texts more pressing than the others, is due to the timeline they present. For unlike others which give vague descriptions of when events may come to pass, the revival of Soath has a relatively specific time given. I say relative, for it is a fairly large timespan to us humans. Alas, in the same way that we might only give the time for certain events down to the date when trying to be specific, the perception of times for beings such as this does not consider such trivial amounts of time as a century to be worthy of note. And so, I can only pinpoint the awakening of this being to within around 120 years - between the years 1986 and 2107. If I am correct, then the awakening of the Old One Soath will happen during this time, according to the prophecies of these madmen.
I can only hope - or once again, pray - that I will be dead before that day comes to pass. The texts, the ancient texts handed down to each maddened follower of this ancient religion by their forebears, describe a time when the very sky itself shall come alive in a cacophony of wailing madness, as the very stars grow mouths with which to devour it. These madmen welcome such a time, for they hope to be among the chosen, who get elevated to this higher plane of existence, and get to participate in the feast that is to come. The unfaithful, it says, will be swallowed up by Soath and his congregation on this day of reckoning. And I suspect that at this point, you find yourself wondering what evidence I have for these claims, why you should believe these stories of ancient gods coming from outside? To be completely honest, I have none, and I doubt that you will believe me. But I have to send this to someone. I must know that my research, and my knowledge will not be lost - for I fear that I shall soon be taken away by government agents, so that I may disappear into the annals of history, if even that. Please, if you would, save this letter. No matter what you think of the contents, I suspect that the validity of its contents may become clearer in the future, where my knowledge might yet do something to help. How this will happen, I do not know - but yet, I beg of you, please keep this letter safe.
- Dr. Dieter Bismarck, 27th of June, 1934