Aphoom-Zhah (The Cold Flame) is a Great Old One from the expanded Cthulhu Mythos, who first appeared in Lin Carter's short story "The Acolyte of the Flame". The entity is depicted as being a cold and grey version of Cthugha.
History[]
Aphoom-Zhah was spawned by Cthugha on "a dim world" in orbit around the star Fomalhaut. After the Elder Gods imprisoned Cthugha, Aphoom-Zhah fled to the Solar System, first dwelling on Yaksh (a.k.a. Neptune) and then moving on to Earth in Hyperborea (EXP: "The Acolyte of the Flame"). There, Aphoom-Zhah was worshipped as a god. This put him in direct competition with other polar gods, Rhan-Tegoth and Rlim Shaikorth, which began to dispute with him for devotees.
This situation remained stable for some time until the Elder Gods arrived to destroy them. Rhan-Tegoth was sunk in a comatose state and Rlim Shaikorth was thrown to the sea aboard an iceberg. However, when they were about to apprehend Aphoom-Zhah, it reacted with such violence that it froze the regions of Hyperborea, Lomar and Zobna, giving rise to the North Pole.
This history is collected in the Pnakotic Manuscripts.
Aphoom-Zhah likely spawned the Gnoph-keh, Rhan-Tegoth, and Voorm. Though no human cult worships this being, Aphoom-Zhah is revered by the Gnoph-keh, the Voormi and his own race of minions: the spectral Ylidheem.
In Other Media[]
- In the anime Haiyoru! Nyaruani, Kuuko summons Aphoom-Zhah to help cool off Mahiro's cheesecake.
- In the manga series Dandadan, Kashimoto can channel the power of Aphoom-Zhah to freeze his opponents.
- In the strategy RPG game Codename: Bakery Girl (a predecessor of Girls' Frontline), the Secret Documents and Confidential Files feature many familiar names from the Cthulhu Mythos, including Aphoom-Zhah.
Gallery[]
.png "Aphoom-Zhah (Haiyoru! Nyaruani).png (963 KB)")
.png "Aphoom-Zhah (Dandadan).png (531 KB)")