The Backrooms: Pantheon

Who were the Opeh?

This group is believed to have existed around the same time as when The Lost was at its peak of growth before collapsing soon after the Cataclysm. Not much is certain about the Opeh, as there aren't many written records of their existence nor any living members left to enlighten researchers of the group's practices (unlike with The Lost).
This document is primarily speculation derived from the discoveries of items and relics related to a distinct culture that doesn’t appear to match any found within the Frontrooms nor other Backrooms-specific civilizations previously documented. As such, it is urged that readers take all information presented with a grain of salt.

Biology:

The Opeh are believed to have once been ordinary Humans at first, not unlike members of The Lost. However, after a long period of time, their appearances dramatically shifted. For the most part, general functionality such as reproduction, cognition, and means of communication remained virtually the same — with movement and regenerative abilities having been greatly increased as a result of the alteration of bodily anatomy.
Amongst the Opeh, these alterations were seen as blessings and considered to be a measure of how close a person was to a certain aspect of “Oelhn/Qelin” (more human: Qelin; less human: Qelhn).
Physical changes consisted of the following:

• Strengthening of muscles and discoloration of the skin
• Hair loss or premature graying
• Sharpening of teeth
• General deformation of the limbs
• Darkening of blood
• Sudden growth of new limbs (typically root-like phalangeal appendages originating from the forearm)

Unfortunately, these changes were quite painful to endure and could result at any time; typically not during moments of intense panic or stress, but it wasn’t uncommon then to hear horror stories of such occurrences.
While features such as the hands and feet changed drastically over the course of time, the heart and brain seldom would — most likely due to the organs’ sensitivity and significance.

These changes are theorized to be a likely result of the effects of liminalization on humans. However, it remains unknown why the Opeh were most strongly effected and in the way that they were.

Illustration of The Opeh's biological features

Culture:

A cave in Level 8, bearing suspected paintings by the Opeh

It is believed that the Opeh were a nomadic group of people that cycled between periods of extensive travel and rest, typically returning to lower levels during said repose and inversely when the latter period would come around. This belief is supported by the frequent appearance of certain levels¹ in art and researchers coming across other remnants such as clothing, utensils, and handmade weapons in less frequented parts of higher levels, seemingly left behind when they either outlived their purpose or if the group needed to travel lighter.

A collections of rocks recovered from Level 8, likely bearing yet more suspected paintings by the Opeh

The Cave System, otherwise known as Level 8, is a level noted to have had strong connections to the Opeh due to the greater frequency of residuals that are present on the level. A good majority of these remnants appear to be directional, consisting of drawn symbols which lead to alternative exits to the level²; however, illustrations depicting what can only be described as the "daily life" of the Opeh have also been uncovered. From what can be inferred from the careful studying of confirmed Opeh wall markings, the caves of Level 8 were used by the Opeh to collect resources for crafts, such as clay and precious metals, as well as hunt for food, with Wranglers, Hens, and Death Rats being the most commonly hunted.

Aside from Level 8, the Bumper Crop (Level 10) and Habitable Zone (Level 1) have also been discovered to contain some old residuals primarily in the form of carvings, pottery, and even wooden sculptures depicting two figures of religious significance. Similarly to the Cave System, the two levels are assumed to have held some significance to the group due to the types of resources present in them; tarp and cotton textiles, to be exact, as Opeh clothing typically consisted of those materials and was embroidered with distinct spiraling patterns.

Religion:

A symbol believed to represent the religion of the Opeh.

From what can be inferred, the Opeh worshiped a central deity known as Asterion, a member of The Lost's pantheon. He was depicted as a bull-headed God, known to govern the spheres of liminality and labyrinths. This lends to the theory that the Opeh's physical malformations were a part of their religious customs.
It is unclear as to exactly how the Opeh would carry out worship of their God, as most depictions are rather vague and ambiguous. Though it has been speculated that the two major ceremonies depicted by the Opeh were connected with the ceremonies revolving around the birth of a new member or the death of one respectively.

Society:

Various miscellaneous drawings believed to have been created by the Opeh, representing various aspects of their culture and The Backrooms.

As the Opeh were nomadic, their society is believed to have been a hunter-gatherer one, with religion being the centerpiece for stability within the group. Illustrations found on Levels 8, 10, and 1 appear to corroborate this line of thinking with the way the Opeh would depict members of a specific in-group. Those shown with spirals for heads were Hunters, and those with a more traditional, dot-for-a-head appearance would be denoted as Gatherers. However, both would equally partake in the activities of childrearing and healing the injured.

Children were typically drawn as being comparably short and having a teardrop-like shape for a head, almost always accompanied by another member of the group – which provides a bit of insight into how children were cared for by the Opeh.

Priests were illustrated as individuals in long cloaks that darkened near the bottom with black teardrops for heads and, like how children were portrayed, were almost always drawn in the company of another with a hand usually outstretched in a manner similar to how one would while preaching or telling a story. It is because of this, and the belief that the Opeh's religion was a centerpiece for stability, that Priests were valued greatly for their connection to the divine with some being illustrated as having the ability to convene directly with Asterion and receive blessings from him, such as divine knowledge.

Language:

The word “Opeh” as written in the civilization's own language.

Presently-available information regarding the language of the Opeh remains incredibly scarce.
What is known is that the characters of the language are squiggly, almost rune-like, and (very clearly) not of Frontrooms origin.

The only reason that this group’s name was able to be identified was because of a small piece of writing which was transcribed from a wall on level 8, and translated by a member of The Lost who had heard of the group in passing, but never interacted with them directly. The “Opeh”, the group was called. When inquired about the word’s meaning, the member confessed that he was unaware of the world's significance or meaning.

The Great Dying and Extinction (?):

The Great Dying was an event which occurred sometime before the Cataclysm, and is believed to have been the result of a disease making its way through the group and killing off a sizable portion. Art from this period is more abstract in nature, yet strangely grotesque in its attempts to portray the horrific event in the simplistic style of the Opeh. Limbs twist and contort, bodies appear to melt into one another, spirals shift into lines, and dots splatter out as the Bovine-Faced God watches on.

It remains unknown what really killed the Opeh off in the end, or if the group ever really died.

Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if they really did kick the bucket while nobody was around to hear them go into that quiet good-night.

Ultimately, this is all just speculative writing based off of what me and the rest of my team could cobble together from fragments of a time long past. Part of me hopes that the Opeh are still alive today somewhere far beyond what we’ve discovered up until this point, waiting on the other side for us to catch up, but for now, I’ll put this story to rest for the time being. I’ll still keep my ear out for any information about them, but I’m not the type to go chasing shadows for years on end.

They seemed like good people, a lively bunch.

- Researcher Nezrald