| “ | I've spent a thousand years fighting the Great Old Ones and their servants, and this pathetic specimen isn't one of them. It's nothing but a confidence trickster with the power to make people love it: a cosmic cuckoo masquerading as a trans-dimensional power and trading on the reputation of a being far greater than it could ever be. | „ | |
| ~ The Doctor (EXP: All-Consuming Fire) |
"Azathoth" is the name assumed by a giant slug-like alien creature who posed herself as a goddess and was imprisoned on the icy planet Ry'leh, guarded by a legion of Shlangii mercenaries. The Doctor initially suspected her to be an avatar of one of the Great Old Ones, but once he came face to face with her, came to the conclusion that she was merely using the name of a far more powerful entity to back up her claim of goddesshood.
This creature originates from the crossover novel All-Consuming Fire, by Andy Lane. In the audio play adaptation by Big Finish, her name is changed to Azazoth and she's played by Samantha Béart.
Description[]
Physically, "Azathoth" resembles a massive swollen slug or worm, with purple skin marked with irregular black spots. She has no visible eyes or limbs, only a large toothless mouth which produces a viscous cobweb-like substance.
Although the Doctor is certain that she isn't really one of the Great Old Ones, "Azathoth" does have undeniably powerful psychic abilities, which allow her to easily enter the minds of any species, ranging from humans to Shlangii to sapient robots, speaking to them as a benevolent deity and promising love and happiness. It takes a lot of will to resist her telepathic influence. Those who are converted become her loyal worshipers and are eventually transformed into crustacean-like beings called the rakshassi.
The Doctor has speculated that "Azathoth" might be the larval form of her species, and that the adult form might resemble the rakshassi. (EXP: All-Consuming Fire)
Trivia[]
- The name "Azazoth" has also been used in the Cthulhu Mythos novel Strange Eons, by Robert Bloch.