This High Priest of Cthulhu, whose hand is still stained with sacrificial blood, probably enjoys prestige as the de facto---or maybe even de jure---ruler of ancient R'lyeh. Because whatever bygone humanity built that Cyclopean city would have needed some sort of leadership to organize its monumental construction.

Since R'lyeh is supposed to be located in the far south of the Pacific Ocean, I figured its human founders would be an offshoot of some Oceanic population like the Polynesians, Aboriginal Australians, or Melanesians. I went with a Melanesian, or possibly Tasmanian, origin in the end, but my R'lyehans have evolved somewhat lighter skin and blue eyes as an adaptation to the sub-Antarctic latitude they've settled in. On the other hand their kinky blond hair would have been inherited from their darker-skinned ancestors since blondism does appear in some Melanesian and Australian populations even today.