Fendahl
The Fendahl were a gestalt organism, originally from Fifth Planet composed of the Fendahl Core and the Fendhaleen. The Fendhal posed a threat to all life.
Characteristics
Biology
Thirteen physically separate organisms make up the Fendahl.
- One Fendhal Core. The skull of the Fendhal Core which transported itself to Earth resembled a Human skull in every respect, but for a pentagram shape in the forehead, visible only by in an x-ray.
- After her transformation into the Fendahl Core, Thea Ransome appeared as a golden-skinned, majestic being with gigantic, unblinking eyes.
- Twelve Fendahleen. Each Fendhal Core had twelve Fendahleen. These were large eyeless and limbless creatures with a fringe of pink tentacles around and two large fins above their mouths. Table saltm which affect the electrical conductivity and osmotic control of their cells, is fatal to Fendahleen.
Life cycle
The Fendahl could drain all the spectrum of energy from their prey, effectively sucking out their souls. Even the skull nicknamed Eustace, the fossil remnants of a Fendhal Core twelve million years dead, had the power to drain the life force of the Doctor.
The Core could create these Fendahleens from living Humans.
- Possibly, only Humans with the correct genetic inheritance can change into Fendahleen.
If the Core is destroyed the Fendahl is killed. All of the parts of the Fendahl can telekinetically control people, but the Core has many more psychic powers such as mind control and astral projection.
History
The Fendahl and the Time Lords of Gallifrey
Roughly 12 million years BCE, the Fendahl evolved on the Fifth Planet located between Mars and Jupiter. The Fendhal had begun to kill all life on the planet, including each other. When the Time Lords learnt of the danger that the Fendahl posed, they placed the planet in a time loop. They also removed all trace of the Fendahl from their records. The Fendahl still survived and transported itself to Earth.
On Gallifrey, the Fendahl passed into legend, though, on Gallifrey. As a boy, the Doctor knew of stories about the Fendhal that caused him to fear it even as an adult.
The Fendahl and Humanity
- We do not know if the Fendahl physically transported itself or projected itself in the form of energy. The Doctor thought it must have ravaged Mars along the way, although twelve million years later, Mars did still possess life in the form of the Ice Warriors.
The essence of the Fendhal lay dormant in the skull of the Fendhal Core. This skull was able to affect the development of Humans in order to produce a species which it could use. The skull was eventually discovered by Dr. Fendleman in the 1960s by discovering a "sonic shadow" and tracing it back to its source. Fossilized in the fossilized lava of an inactive volcano in Kenya, Fendleman found the skull. Since, according to Human archaeological theory, a twelve million year old Human skull should not exist, Fendleman deduced, correctly, that the skull must have come from space. (DW: Image of the Fendahl)
