Thal
Thals were one of the near-Human races which originally inhabited the planet Skaro.
Biology
The Thals looked identical to Humans and Kaleds, except that unlike the Kaled, they tended to have blonde rather than dark hair. (DW: Genesis of the Daleks) After the Thousand Year War, all Thals had blond hair. (DW: The Daleks, Planet of the Daleks)
Internally, Thals could be distinguished from both Humans and Kaleds. They had thinner lungs than the Kaleds. (BFD: Corruption) They also had greater resistance to radiation. (DW: The Daleks)
- Either they had also evolved to have much greater radiation resistance than Humans or Gallifreyans, or else they had very effective anti-radiation drugs, or both.
Culture
During the Thousand Year War, Thals were equally as brutal as the Kaleds. They had no qualms about using the slave labour of Kaled prisoners and Mutos to build the neutronic missile, even when they knew the radiation from the missile would kill the slaves. (DW: Genesis of the Daleks) There were seven males for every female. (BFD: Corruption)
After the war, the Thals developed into a peaceful people concerned with knowledge and living in small bands. (DW: The Daleks)
Centuries later, they revered the Doctor and his companions as heroes and referred to the prior event as the First Dalek War. Turning full circle, they had once more adopted a militaristic way of life, though only, it seems against the Daleks. (DW: Planet of the Daleks) "Sweet life" was a Thal oath. (TN: The Dalek Factor)
Technology
Thal technology advanced seemingly parallel to that of the Kaleds for some time. The Kaled began researching means of survival while the Thals concentrated on a way to destroy their enemies. They developed the Neutronic missile but it lack the power to break down the Kaled defences. (DW: Genesis of the Daleks)
After the Thal-Dalek War, it was many generations until they developed interplanetary flight. There ongoing conflict with the Daleks forced them to adapt their weaponry. They used compact firearms that were attached to their holster by a cord. However, these weapons seemingly had no effect upon Daleks.
To combat Dalek groups, the Thals developed highly powerful explosives. These explosives could easily kill Daleks, blowing them wide open. (DW: Planet of the Daleks)
History
Early History
10 million years prior to the Thousand Year War, the Thals diverged from the Kaleds. (BFD: Corruption) One account states that both the Thals and Kaled were descended from Humans transplanted from Earth to Skaro as an experiment by the Halldons. (RT: We are the Daleks!)
The Thals had written records going back nearly half a million years. Oral history and later records would describe the Thals as originally warriors, while the Kaleds (known to the Thals as the "Dals") were more oriented towards philosophy and science. (DW: The Daleks)
Thousand Year War
Originally, the Thals and Kaleds lived together in peace. (BFD: Purity) Due to unknown circumstances, the Kaleds and Thals engaged in the Thousand Year War. Though they originally used advanced technology, towards the end of the war they were forced to use technology that was more primitive. By the end of the conflict, both Thals and Kaleds sheltered in domed cities overlooking a wasteland.
The war concluded when Davros, a Kaled leader, gave the means to destroy the Kaled Dome to the Thals. They used this compound in the missile they sent to the Kaled city, and destroyed it. In "retaliation" for the destruction of the base, Davros ordered the Daleks to destroy the Thals. Led by a Thal, Bettan, Thals and Mutos joined together to fight the Daleks, who were trapped in the Kaled bunker after an explosion, defeated but still alive. (DW: Genesis of the Daleks)
Aftermath
- An indeterminate length of time, longer than living memory, passed. One Thal suggested it was 500 years. (DW: The Daleks)
The Thals renounced violence and became pacifist farmers living in small bands on a less radiated plateau. They would not even engage in violence for self-preservation and showed no curiosity about the Dalek City or its inhabitants. The Thals believed that, following the war, radiation had mutated them into perfect beings, though after a stage of advanced mutations. (DW: The Daleks)
After a particular bad year for crops, the Thals were forced to move to the Petrified Forest near the Dalek City in order to look for food. Ian Chesterton, a companion of the First Doctor, used moral blackmail to force the Thals, Alydon into particular, into putting together an expedition into the Dalek City in order to fight against the Daleks who intended genocide against the Thals. The Thals invaded the Dalek City, cut off the power, and so deprived the Daleks of the static electricity they needed to live. (DW: The Daleks)
Spaceflight Era
By the 26th century, the Doctor's visit was considered a legend.
In 2540, the Doctor and Jo Grant met a taskforce of Thals on Spiridon where a small group, led by Taron, had landed to destroy a Dalek army massed on that planet. The Thals had, by then, reclaimed Skaro. They had only recently developed spaceflight, and the mission to Spiridon was the furthest they had ever gone; Earth was unknown to them, believed to be simply part of the Doctor legend. (DW: Planet of the Daleks)
The Thals were said to have relocated to another homeworld, sometime before the Renegade-Imperial Dalek civil war. (DWM: Emperor of the Daleks) In their absence, Skaro had been destroyed. (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks)
In reality, a decoy world named Antalin had been destroyed. The Thals were known to have survived past Antalin's destruction, and fought the Daleks on Terakis. (EDA: War of the Daleks)
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