First Thangien-Thunthen War/ The Blood Walk

The Conflict

Prelude

See Thangien History: Das Anazhar's Challenge and the Blood Walk and Thunthen History: The Dragon King and the Queen

Historical Significance

“Who’s the woman in the other one?” Cale asked and pointed at the depiction of a majestic woman clad in an imperial gown with her arms outstretched. Rivers of red flowed from narrow lines in her wrists and cascaded out and down, ending in what looked like droplets, but closer inspection revealed curled-up humanoid bodies.   “She is Queen Danaetanera III: An ancestor of ours,” Australa added proudly and clasped her hands behind her back. “And the greatest of the great queens that ruled before the institution of the Council of Houses. Three-thousand years ago, a mighty commander of the Thunthen came to Thanged and tried to claim it for his own. Queen Danaetanera went forth to parley and in his presence, cut her wrists.” Australa drew her fingers down the side of her arm to illustrate. “She proceeded to walk along the outer wall of Bainshaebo, and for each living soul within, she shed a drop of blood. When she completed the Bloodwalk, she turned to face the commander and said: ‘By my blood, have I secured the lives of my people’. She collapsed into his arms and died.   “So moved was he by her sacrifice, that against the wishes of his people, he withdrew his forces to Planet Thunthen and vowed that never again would his people raise arms against Planet Thanged. She was considered the greatest of our heroes until my father’s time for securing peace. It was a peace that lasted until the death of my father…”

— Foes From Another World Ch. 20

Legacy

Both Danaetanera III and Das Anazhar are portrayed as key historical figures with dedicated story-windows at the Archives of Raaezen. Danaetanera herself was interred in a specially-designed sepulcher built in the middle of a lake wihch would come to bear her name. Even though the Anazhar Clan were overthrown, his descendants endure and prosper in the distant Redali System.  

DragonKingandTheQueenb.jpg

The Dragon King and the Queen (Stained Glass) by Mardrena

Made with Inkscape and BlackInk

 

"Danaetanera's story-window portrays her as having great cascades of blood gushing from her wrists, but more than likely the cuts were very small. Still, given the sheer size of Bainshaebo's outer wall, its no wonder she bled out. There are some who question why she did what she did. She was purportedly a very skilled fighter-she had to have been to best all of her competitors and become Roth's champion-so why not engage Das Anazhar head on? She was still fairly young at the time, so she could not have suffered from old age. Did she suffer some terminal illness unbeknownst to even her own family? Or was she really as foreseeing as the stories insist, and she predicted exactly Das Anazhar's reaction?   "Das Anazhar could have bowled over Bainshaebo's defenses if he wanted to, but did he really want to given Danaetanera was Roth's champion, and Roth was-and still is-a real god? If Das Anazhar had somehow embarrassed or bested Danaetanera, Roth wouldn't retaliate, but the Blood Walk fulfilled the 'Path, Peril, and Proving' doctrine. She proved willing to surrender her life for her people, and in the face of such a sacrifice, the Queens would personally take to the field. Das Anazhar couldn't risk that."

— Sarah Ann Goode, xenohistorian