Azathoth

"AZATHOTH—hideous name."

- H.P. Lovecraft (about Azathoth and his "Hideous Name"). "Outside the ordered universe is that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes."

- H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Azathoth, also known as The Blind Idiot God, The Daemon Sultan and The Nuclear Chaos, is a boundless deity of colossal proportion. He is the great, all-powerful ruler of the Outer Gods, created by horror fantasy writer, H.P. Lovecraft as part of his Cthulhu Mythos. He is omnipotent - beyond the power of the Great Old Ones, such as Cthulhu, and even his fellow Outer Gods, including Yog-Sothoth and Yibb-Tstll, and all other beings - and is the sole most powerful being in the entire verse. He is the creator of all things, additionally, which are merely his dream. When, not if, Azathoth awakens, all things will end, once and for all, and all will once again be Azathoth.

He first appeared in the 1922 short story, ​Azathoth, before being mentioned and appearing in multiple other Lovecraft stories. Azathoth is seen as all-powerful and the creator of all of existence. All of reality is merely a part of Azathoth's dream unknowingly created by itself. However, Azathoth, whilst he is asleep, is not all-knowing (being a "Blind Idiot God") and is completely mindless. The trait of being all-knowing is said to belong to its fellow Outer Gods, Yibb-Tstll and Yog-Sothoth.

History
According to Lovecraftian mythology Azathoth is the omnipotent "Blind Idiot God" or "Nuclear Chaos" - it is said to be stuck in an endless slumber and is served upon by countless lesser deities that play a maddening tune on innumerable drums and flutes to keep Azathoth from awakening, for if the great "Daemon Sultan" should awaken even for a few moments all of existence is said to be doomed as it will signal the ultimate destruction of existence as we know it.

As well as its innumerable drummers Azathoth is tended upon by horrendous dancers and is said to float in the very centre of the universe in the centre of chaos itself (and hence "nuclear" may actually refer to its dwelling at the nucleus of the universe), no mortal has yet entered this realm and survived and judging by the visions spoken of by H.P. Lovecraft and later writers it is doubtful that any who did would wish to continue living, as Azathoth held the same insanity inducing aura as the other Lovecraftian horrors despite it being trapped in slumber.

Description
Azathoth's precise appearance is only hinted at throughout the Mythos, and indeed may be unknowable by mortal beings. It is described as occupying a position outside of the universe, where it is attended by a cohort of alien servants who continually bathe it with the sounds of pipes and drums. Though it is the ruler and creator of all existence, it is described as "a blind idiot god," oblivious to the universe and the beings within it.

​Powers
Azathoth is technically "God," and additionally the"Blind Idiot God" who is absolutely mindless and unconscious, but is omnipotent and the most powerful being of all. He created all of existence as part of his dream and is not even aware of it. Should he awaken, all of existence would be no more and all would once again be Azathoth. He cannot be destroyed as the concept of destruction is merely his dream, and he exists beyond the concept of speed, strength, mortals and the Outer Gods as they are all merely part of his dream. Despite being mindless, Azathoth does have a will of his own and commands his messanger and avatar, Nyarlathotep.

Azathoth's family tree

 * Nyarlathotep (son)
 * The Nameless Mist (offspring)
 * Darkness (offspring)
 * Yog-Sothoth (grandson)
 * Shub-Niggurath (granddaughter)
 * Nug and Yeb (great-grandchildren)
 * Wilbur Whateley (great-grandson)
 * Cthulhu (great-great-grandson)
 * Tsathoggua (great-great-grandson)