........The earliest contact between the masters of Quake and the human race can almost certainly be traced as far back as the biblical times. Indeed, the name of Shub-Niggurath appears among those of the fallen angels who followed Satan during the Awe and was cast into hell as punishment. It's very likely that Shub-Niggurath began begetting her broods of demons and forging her dark alliances at or around this stage in history. However, her hordes were not nearly at their peak strength at this time. After several unsuccessful forays into this dimension, the Witch Goddess was forced to bide her time until she could make a foothold upon this world.
........The motives of Shub-Niggurath, of course, are far clearer then her origins. The legendary evil that is the Hell Mother was possessed of an odious hatred of those who would not submit to her. Almost every member of the human race fell under this category, and thus she tried at every turn to slaughter the human race. Her ultimate goal was to come to Earth proper, slaughter all living things and remake the world in her own image with her loyal slaves and hellish children inhabiting the bleak existence she prophecised. Needless to say, her intent did not go unopposed among the primitive peoples against which she made war. Miraculously, she was defeated after a bloody string of battles.
........Again, the details are extremely sketchy as to exactly what transpired, or who was responsible. Rumours range from divine intervention and rebellion among her armies, to a conclave of human wizards and/or a single resourceful fighter defying the Hell Mother. Regardless, the result was the same. Shub-Niggurath, after coming perilously close to building her empire upon Earth, was banished to a set of horrific netherworlds, imprisoned in a murky pit by a magical force of prodigious magnitude. Four magical Runes were forged to contain the essence of these powers, and thereafter became the keys to Shub-Niggurath's prison. Her minions, who were banished along with her but not bound as she was, were either powerless to help her or did not possess the correct know-how to weaken her prison.
Dark to Middle Ages: The Cult of Shub-Niggurath
........Shub-Niggurath's next big break came when she was able to weaken the mystical barriers that held her and reach out to our dimension again. By the time she did this, European civilization had reached the medieval/feudal period. It is believed that she came to the realization that she could not rely wholly on her otherwordly army to support her this time, as the human race had proven surprisngly resourceful in her encounters with them. Therefore, Shub-Niggurath changed her tactics somewhat.
........A skilled and influential conclave of nobles and swordsmen was contacted by her in dreams, visions and sometimes even kidnapped and brought before her in person. According to legend, by a devious combination of promises and threats the Hell Mother rebuilt the formerly benign brotherhood into a cult of personality centered around herself. The Cult of Shub-Niggurath grew slowly but surely, like a dormant cancer. Indeed, records from the Vatican mention the cult among a string of other, somewhat less believable stories of worshippers of Satan. But although much of these stories are today dismissed as paranoia and propaganda from the Inquisition era, in this case at least the stories were true. We know this from the enemy itself. Interrogated Knights and Death Knights have related (With near-psychopathic relish and bloodlust and in gruesome detail) to nauseous researchers the mechanics of the dark rites of sacrifice and thoroughly unnatural practices the demented brotherhood of warriors conducted to appease their deity.
........But before long, the activities of the Cult reached the light of day. The reaction to the fledgling sect was what might be expected. Whipped into a frenzy by angry monarchy and clergy alike, the Cult of Shub-Niggurath was beset by their fellow humans. It is well documented by both sides that the Knights that made up the cultish brotherhood gave an excellent account of themselves, cutting swathes through their aggressors by the power of the mystical blessings their patron had bestowed on them. But in the end, the Cult was chased from their strongholds and almost completely stomped out by the force of sheer attrition.
........In an uncharacteristic act of succor, however, Shub-Niggurath herself stepped in and saved the remnants of her human servants from destruction. By exerting what little influence she had on this dimension, he was able to evacuate her cult to her netherworlds moments before they were beset yet again by the attacking armies. Curiously, much of the architecture in the dimensions of Quake seems to date back from this very period, and carbon-dating places the times of construction to essentially the same time frame.
........This has led to what is known as the Infrastructure Theory; Almost all of the other minions in the service of Quake either lack the physical capability (Lack of manipulator organs such as hands), the intelligence or simply the motivation to use technology and similar articles. Secondly, as has been previously noted, the designs of the grandiose structures found in the dimensions of Quake strongly resembles those of the original time period of the Cult of Shub-Niggurath. It is therefore theorized that the human population brought to the other dimensions, while still practicing a feudal/martial philosophy, also set to work building huge citadels, castles and cathedrals in a show of devotion towards the Hell Mother. Regardless, the cult flourished for nearly a millenium, growing angry and strong beside their demonic allies.
The Great Equalizer: Technology, the Modern Age, and the Nehahra Project
........The next resurfacing of Shub-Niggurath was very much a recent development. Sometime during the early 1990's, the Witch Goddess again pryed at the bars of her magical prison and reached out to see what had transpired during her dormancy. What she saw shocked her. Humans had a new magic that they played with. It was technology. Technology like she had never seen before.
........Like many powerful intelligences and supernatural forces, Shub-Niggurath feared and resented high technology. She knew that through its power, formerly weak and powerless beings like humans could become strong enough to stand against and even overcome her strongest children and minions. This situation absolutely could not be tolerated, and the Hell Mother resolved to make her move and put her entire weight behind it this time. No fool, she realized that if the human race progressed much further, she would lose any advantage and be powerless to halt them should they come looking for her. She further realized that properly turned to her advantage, technology could also serve as a useful bolster to her already considerable power.
........At this time, highly secretive government installations were testing a new technology; Slipgate technology. Cutting edge scientists worked around the clock to master this powerful new tool, something that could create and exploit holes in the fabric of the space-time continuum, effectively moving matter from one location to another instantly. The origin of this technology, which has been exploited in only a limited fashion, remains a mystery to this very day. Theories abound, but the most plausible point to either a race of cyborgs known as the Strogg or to something called the Nehahra Project (See appendix).
........But regardless of the origin of the Slipgate technology, it is nevertheless sad and ironic that the pinnacle of our very strength that proved to be the weakness that Shub-Niggurath was seeking. By exploitating the holes made by the Slipgates, Shub-Niggurath was able to strengthen her hold on Earth and reach out further then she ever could before. But her minions were by and large either could not or would not adapt to the high technology now in use on Earth. Even her human worshippers disdained the use of firearms and high technology as the tools of weaklings and cowards. Once again, the Hell Mother subverted some among the human race and turned them to her ends. These humans provided the key to the manipulation of the fledgling Slipgates.
The Quake Conflict
........With the advent of the slipgate technology now under her control, as well as her fanatic front of subverted human cannon fodder to serve as a vanguard for her demonic army, Shub-Niggurath committed herself and her allies (See appendix) to the wholesale slaughter of the human race.
........By using the Slipgates in conjunction with her dimensional magics, Shub-Niggurath used the demonic bulk of her army to secure the four magic Runes that would be the instrument of her release (Along with her sect of devoted Knights, in whom she placed infinitely greater trust then her more recent converts), and organized a string of bloody genocidal assaults on important military and populous civilian targets on Earth. The few otherwordly creatures that were used alongside her modern human puppets caused a panic when they were sighted. After a few days of these absolutely unpredicatable and costly attacks, a worldwide media blanket was imposed, burying the stories of these ongoing assaults and stemming a tide of mass hysteria.
........The military research facility that had previously been devoted to understanding Slipgates now worked frantically to perfect the designs it already had, in order to mount some sort of counteroffensive. Operation Counterstrike was cut abruptly short when the entire base was slaughtered by an advance strike force of the Hell Mother's soldiers. But the base slipgate, which was used as a funnel for the attacking force, proved to be a godsend.
Once again, hard data is in very short supply indeed. What has been determined is that the commander of Operation Counterstrike, an elite soldier named Adam Ranger, was able to infiltrate the overrun base, enter the slipgate and sabotage the plans of the Witch Goddess. How long this took, what reinforcements he had, and what transpired during his adventures in the Netherworlds of Quake remain a mystery. Again, a plethora of theories abound; That he is alive and well and retired somewhere in the Caribbean, that he has made his home in the Netherworlds, that he is now the leader of a major interdimensional strike force, and that he died in the battle with Shub-Niggurath. But regardless, the Witch Goddess has been defeated, along with the majority of her allies and hordes, and the remains of her horde are now disorganized and powerless, unable to mount any significant assault on Earth. Although we may never know the full truth, what we do have is what has just been presented. As we continue to unveil new information, it will be compiled here.
Appendix: Unknown Factors
Allies of Shub-Niggurath: It is well known that not all of Shub-Niggurath's power originated from her, or even from her lesser followers. A small number of beings of lesser but comparable power also shared her goals, or perhaps owed her a debt of loyalty for one reason or another.
........The most salient example of these creatures was an intelligence known as Cthon. Cthon is theorized to be either a corrupt being of elemental origin or a powerful demon. Apparently destroyed in the Quake conflict, he was supposedly charged with guarding one of the four Runes of power. Ancient writings also tell of a brood of similar but significantly less powerful beings that owed their existence and allegiance to him. No reports of these creatures being sighted in the army of Quake have yet surfaced.
........One lead that has recently been confirmed was that of the entity called Armagon. This aggressive and ferocious being was reputedly Shub-Niggurath's general, and certainly the most devious and cunning of all the masters of the Quake horde. Unlike much of the rest of the Horde, Armagon embraced technology not out of reluctant necessity but genuine interest and fascination. This constantly put him at odds with the other masters, but his skill and bloodthirsty talents could not be denied. Before his reported destruction, he pioneered the creation of several technologically based additions to the hordes of Quake and even went so far as to drastically alter himself with the use of bionic implants. According to hearsay, he was even on the verge of taking Shub-Niggurath's place in the wake of her death, which almost certainly would have been disastrous.
The Nehara Project: A staple of the diet of all conspiracy theorists for the last decade or so, the fabled Nehara Project is supposedly the government directive behind the construction of the slipgates. At present, it has been absolutely impossible to separate fact and fiction.
