"Out of the Ages" is a Cthulhu Mythos short story by Lin Carter, originally published in the 1975 anthology Nameless Places, by Arkham House. It is part of Carter's Xothic Legend Cycle.
Synopsis[]
The bulk of the narrative consists of several entries from the diary of Dr. Henry Stephenson Blaine, curator of the manuscripts collection at the Sanbourne Institute of Pacific Antiquities in Santiago, California. In 1928, Dr. Blaine has been tasked with cataloging the objects and documents of the Copeland Collection, formerly belonging to the late Professor Harold Hadley Copeland, who died screaming in a mental institution two years before.
In the Copeland Collection, Blaine finds several statuettes and ceremonial masks from widely separated cultures across the Pacific, all seemingly depicting the same aquatic deity, known by names such as Zatamagwa, Sothamogha or Z'mog, which according to Copeland's annotations, are all variations of Zoth-Ommog. The main artifact is a skillfully sculpted jade figurine found by a diver off the coast of Ponape, which depicts Zoth-Ommog himself: a creature that combines aspects of starfish, squid and reptile. By reading Copeland's papers, Blaine finds evidence of a prehistoric civilization in ancient Mu which worshiped the Xothic gods, sons of Cthulhu, who were served by slug-like creatures called Yuggya. There is also record of a 19th century ship whose crew was attacked by the Yuggya, suggesting that the creatures remain active even today.
Feeling agitated and stressed by the things he has learned, Blaine starts to experience frightful dreams of prehistoric landscapes, followed by a recurring dream in which he stands at the local pier trying to communicate with the aquatic Yuggya. He also learns from his housekeeper that he has been sleepwalking.
One night, two police officers find Blaine in his pijamas, standing knee-deep in sea water by the pier, and also notice a large slug-like white creature in the water. Blaine screams maniacally about having seen a Yugg and is confined to an asylum.