 |
Stub
This article is a stub, an article too short to provide more than rudimentary information about a subject. You can help Wolfenstein Wiki by expanding it.
|
|---|
Background[]
The Thule or Hyperboreans are a mythical race which some say fled Atlantis.
It is said to have once lived in the far north, typically Iceland, Greenland, or a lost continent which disappeared beneath the ocean; in ariosophist myths they were a race of giants who were the ancestors of the Germanic race. In this version, which appears to be at least partially true in the games, they died out after the star that gave them power faded, becoming the Black Sun.
Olaric was the ancient weaponsmith of the Thule.[1]
In the games their ruins contain many magical artifacts but are protected by devious traps and potent magical seals, some of which can raise monstrous creatures like Olaric or bring the dead to life to defend their tombs. They attempted to master the power of the Black Sun, constructing a massive machine to harness it, but ultimately were completely destroyed by it.
In the ninth century A.D., the pre-Christian Saxon prince Heinrich sought to forge an independent Germanic state, separate from the powerful Frankish dynasty. Having discovered and translated texts from the East, he became convinced that his people were the direct descendants of Thule, a race of pure consciousness. He believed that he could tap into the power of Thule. Indeed he did, raising up a vast army of evil undead, led by Dark Knights whom he anointed in bizarre, dark rituals. Though the power of Thule had not been intended for evil, Heinrich harnessed it with sheer will, bending the power against all who would oppose him.
Legend suggests that in 943 A.D. a mysterious and powerful monk finally stood against Heinrich and his army of Dark Knights. Following a fierce and bloody battle, this lone monk enshrined Heinrich in a living tomb at the top of a remote mountain peak. Knowing that evil of this kind cannot be destroyed -- only contained -- he marked and sealed the ground with curses of the ancient texts forbidding any human ever to enter the tomb. (Heinrich's defeat can be watched when Return to Castle Wolfenstein is launched).[2]
The RTCW Wolfenstein strategy guide describes that Heinrich pulled his power from a dark plane, perhaps this foreshadowing of what would be known as the Black Sun Dimension, which also had a Thulian connection. In Wolfenstein it confirms that the Thule constructed a civilization and tapped energy from the Black Sun Dimension. Thule technology was behind both the undead seen in Wulfburg and Castle Wolfenstein, and also the Despoiled who were empowered by the Black Sun.