| “ | In the tunnels of that twisted wood, whose low prodigious oaks twine groping boughs and shine dim with the phosphorescence of strange fungi, dwell the furtive and secretive zoogs; who know many obscure secrets of the dream-world and a few of the waking world, since the wood at two places touches the lands of men, though it would be disastrous to say where. |
” |
— The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.
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| Zoog | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Binomen | N/A | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Mammalian | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Sapient | ||
| Aggressivity | Variable | ||
| Language | Zoog language | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Dreamlands | ||
| Habitat | Forests | ||
| Diet | Omnivorous | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Dream Cycle | ||
| Created by | H. P. Lovecraft | ||
Zoogs are a sapient race of small, mammalian beings, native to the enchanted forests of the Earth's Dreamlands. These furtive creatures dwell amidst the roots of oak trees dimly lit by phosphorescent fungi, and are said to know many secrets of their native realm, as well as some of our own. They're also known for their natural enmity with cats, as the two species prey upon each other.
Among the few humans who have experience dealing with them is Randolph Carter, who sought information from the Zoogs in his quest to locate the elusive city of Kadath.
Biology[]
Little has been revealed about the Zoogs other than that they're small, sly and brown-colored, move quickly and furtively through the forests, and that one tends to spot their "weird eyes" before one can discern their bodies' outline.
The Zoogs' diet is omnivorous, consisting mostly of fungi. However, they're well known to complement it with flesh, including that of humans, and will indiscriminately devour both physical and spiritual flesh, meaning that those who encounter them in dreams are as much in danger of becoming their next meal as those few who encounter them while awake in flesh and blood.
Culture and society[]
Zoogs are indigenous to the Dreamlands and tend to have very limited access to the waking world, as they cannot venture very far from those few places where the two realms become intersected. They can be dangerous creatures, however, as in these places there have been cases of missing people.
Zoogs inhabit small villages within the forests of the dream world, and are led by a Council of Sages. They usually make their homes in burrows, although some prefer to live in the trunks of large trees. They speak in a fluttering language which can be learned by human dreamers. Despite the fact that Zoogs prey upon humans, those who have mastery over the Zoog language have been known to make treaties with them, and some seem to have even conquered their respect to some extent.
Appearances[]
- The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, by H. P. Lovecraft (1943)