When age fell upon the world, and wonder went out of the minds of men; when grey cities reared to smoky skies tall towers grim and ugly, in whose shadow none might dream of the sun or of Spring's flowering meads; when learning stripped the Earth of her mantle of beauty and poets sang no more of twisted phantoms seen with bleared and inward looking eyes; when these things had come to pass, and childish hopes had gone forever, there was a man who traveled out of life on a quest into spaces whither the world’s dreams had fled.
–H.P. Lovecraft, Azathoth

The Maori creation myth tells of how the world was created by a primordial couple, two gods whom we might consider aspects of Shub-Niggurath. Rakinui and Papatuanuku, the sky father and the earth mother, lay locked together in a tight embrace at the beginning of time. In their mad procreation, they spawned countless children who were forced to live squeezed in the darkness between them. Some of these offspring planned to kill their parents in order to free themselves, but Tane, the god of the forest, suggested an alternate solution and used the strength of his legs to push his parents apart, allowing the offspring to spread across time and space.

Then Tane fathered the first people, and those descendants of Tane who still worship these old Maori gods hide in the Shadow of the Monolith, guarding a sacred Relic called The Mask of Rakinui (Shadows of the Monolith, 120). They use Tane’s dark, forgotten magic to repel intruders, as the mask grants its wearer both vast mystical powers and limited control over space and time.

Adding fuel to the fire

One of the powers still held by Maori mystics is the ability to create homunculi out of wood to serve their people as guardians. While these creatures are often more frightening than dangerous, they are not without their uses.

When destroyed, a Wooden Homunculus (Shadow of the Monolith, 119) can form an Eldritch Nexus (Core Set, 154). Such freshly created domains serve Tane’s faithful best as fuel for cheap, repeatable effects like those on Y’Golonac (Core Set, 122) or Feasting Ghouls (The Wailer Below, 73), which can use the Homunculus’ power to quickly grow into a powerful army of terrible ghouls that can stop most relic hunters dead in their tracks. Alternately, you can fuel the cheap and repeatable effect of a Mind Eater (The Horror Beneath the Surface, 35) to further compound your control over the story cards. Nothing quite expresses your true power like the ability to eat Investigation icons and then use them to win a story with the Mask of Rakinui before the other struggles resolve.

Rakinui and Papatuanuku still yearn for the intimate closeness they once shared, one that would close off all light and life. As the Shadow of the Monolith lengthens, the Mask of Rakinui and other forgotten Maori magic may be the only powers standing between you and a prison of eternal darkness.

Thanks, Marius!

The Shadow of the Monolith grows ever longer, and its influence will soon stretch across Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game. Look for this Asylum Pack to arrive soon at your favorite local retailer!