Tarthenal

The Tarthenal were among the descendants of the Thel Akai. They were enormous in size and possessed tremendous physical power. They had four lungs and were capable of holding their breath for long periods of time. They also had two hearts and at least three stomachs.

On the continent of Lether, the Tarthenal had been conquered and subjugated by the Letherii. Their tribes had lived northwest of the city Letheras and many Letherii settlements in the region, like Brous, Denner, Dresh, and Lan, still bore Tarthenal names. Of all the tribes conquered by the Letherii, the Tarthenal's destruction was the closest to come to genocide. Along with the Faraed and the Nerek, the Tarthenal had been unwittingly betrayed to the Letherii by Hull Beddict. In his time among them he had become so endeared that many shared matching tattoos of three bars on their backs with him. They worshipped him even after their subjugation.

Those Tarthenal that the Letherii enslaved were scattered throughout the empire far from their traditional homelands. What few Tarthenal remained in Lether were largely drunks living in the pit towns outside Letherii cities. Their original culture had been largely forgotten but one of the few traditions they still remembered were the rituals of propitiation for their terrifying gods. They had five gods, called the Seregahl, the Wrath Wielders. The gods of the Tarthenal were not worshiped to draw their attention and blessings, but instead to turn their gazes away and keep them from manifesting. When the Letherii attacked the Tarthenal holy sites, they noted the Tarthenal defenders fought in terror as if some awful power would be released by their failure.

Tarthenal shamans experienced Masks of Dreaming (or Dream Masks) in the moments after awaking from sleep. A face hovered above them that seemed to foretell the future or provide revelation.

The Tarthenal viewed the seas as a single beast with countless limbs, some of which reached onto land as rivers and streams.

They viewed the Shake with horror.

Known Tarthenal

• Old Hunch Arbat

Known Tarthenal half-bloods

• Rissarh
• Shand
• Ublala Pung
• Unn

In Midnight Tides

Before the start of the novel, Tehol Beddict had raised an enormous fortune and nearly crashed the Letherii economy to secretly repatriate some of the remnants of the tribes to islands he had bought in honour of his brother, Hull. He was later approached by the Tarthenal half-bloods, Shand and Rissarh, who sought to repeat the scheme on a greater scale to enact their revenge on the Letherii. By the time of the Tiste Edur invasion of Letheras, he had already managed to send the city's refugees to safety.

The Seregahl were revealed to be prisoners within the Azath Tower of Letheras. As the Azath House reached the end of its life, it began to lose its grip on those imprisoned within its grounds and the Seregahl began to work their way free. They were killed by Silchas Ruin with help from Iron Bars, an Avowed of the Crimson Guard, and the half-Tarthenal, Ublala Pung.

In The Bonehunters

When the Tiste Edur, Hanradi Khalag, met the Teblor, Karsa Orlong, he referred to him as a Tarthenal.

In Reaper's Gale

The Errant mused on the origins of the Tarthenal, claiming the race's true name was "Toblakai". Long ago, they had forged a first alliance with the Imass upon the water and so ever since were drawn to Mael, Elder God of the Sea. This happened "before the Great Landings that brought the last of the giants who had chosen to remain pure of blood" to the shores of Lether and elsewhere. The first founders became the vicious, spiteful gods of the Tarthenal. Ublala Pung said his people's oldest legends claimed their people had been scattered by ice and betrayal, much like the Toblakai. Rhulad Sengar recalled a time of ancient wars on the seas between the Tiste Edur and the Toblakai which occurred after the fall of the K'Chain Che'Malle. He further spoke of the Teblor, Tartheno Toblakai, Tarthenal, and Fenn as if the terms were interchangeable.

Old Hunch Arbat, the Tarthenal shaman, was drawn to Letheras by a Dream Mask showing the scarred face of Karsa Orlong. When Ublala Pung witnessed Karsa's arrival in the capital, he immediately recognised as one of the Tarthenal pure blood. Bigger and more frightening than any Tarthenal, Karsa was similar to the Sereghal, the fallen ones appeased as gods by the Tarthenal. He warned Tehol Beddict that once word got out of Karsa's presence the other Tarthenal would gather in the city. Pung sought an audience with Karsa, who recognised him as one of Toblakai blood and sent him to bring the Tarthenal refugees back from their islands in the Draconean Sea to join Karsa's army of Toblakai. When Karsa faced Emperor Rhulad Sengar in the arena, Old Hunch Arbat released centuries of Tarthenal ghosts to see their new god and aid him. Kuru Qan identified the spirits as Thelomen Tartheno Toblakai.

Notes and references

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