TENGER

Classification: Gods (Extra-Dimensionals/Immortals)

Location/Base of Operations: Ergenekon

Known Members: Asena, Ay (goddess of the moon), Erlik (god of death & evil), Gesar, Koyash (god of the sun), Kuara (god of thunder), Tengri (god of the sky), Tulpar, Ulgen (god of light), Vaat (possibly Gaea)

Affiliations: Other races of Gods

Worshipped by the Mongolians and Siberians

Aliases: Mongolian or Turkic Gods

First Appearance: Thor I#300 (October, 1980)

Powers/Abilities/Traits: The Tenger all possess certain superhuman physical attributes. They are true immortals who cease to age upon reaching adulthood, and they cannot die by conventional means. The Tenger are immune to all terrestrial diseases and are resistant to conventional injury. If a Tenger is wounded, his or her godly life force will enable him or her to recover at a superhuman rate. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it incinerates a Tenger or disperses a major portion of his or her bodily molecules to cause him or her to die. Even then, it may be possible for a god of greater or equal power, or several gods acting together, to revive the deceased Tenger before the god's life essence is beyond resurrection. Tenger flesh and bone are about three times denser than similar human tissue, contributing to the gods' superhuman strength and weight. An average male god can lift about 30 tons; an average goddess can lift about 25 tons. The gods' metabolism gives them superhuman endurance in all physical activities. Many gods also possess additional superhuman powers that may be magical in nature. For instance, the sun god Koyash can produce "solar strands" from his fingertips capable of ensnaring and burning his victims.

History: (Thor & Hercules: Encyclopedia Mythologica) - The Tenger (also known as the "Mongolian Gods" or "Turkic Gods") are a race of superhumanly powerful humanoid beings who have been worshipped by the Altaic-speaking Mongol and Turkic cultures of Central Asia from the 8th century AD into modern times, although the god Erlik was worshipped as early as the Hyborian Era. Most of the Tenger dwell in Ergenekon, a small "pocket" dimension adjacent to Earth; an interdimensional nexus point between Ergenekon and Earth exists somewhere within the most remote regions of the Altai Mountains in Central Asia. Very little is known about celestial Ergenekon other than it appears to be built on a small planetary object. The Tenger are called different names by their human worshippers in Turkey, Mongolia and Siberia; for example, the Earth Mother Gaea is known as "Umay" or "Yer" to the Altaic Turks, as "Eje" or "Otuken" to the Mongols, and as "Ajysyt" to the Yakuts. Unlike many of their counterparts in other Earth-based pantheons, the Tenger are still invoked by a small number of Khakas and Tuvan shamans. Erlik is worshipped by the xenophobic Khirgiz tribe of Afghanistan, descendants of the Mongols.

The Tenger's precise origin, like that of all Earth's pantheons, is shrouded in legend. According to ancient myths, the Sky Father Tengri (known as "Tanri" to the Altaic Turks, as "Tengeri" to the Mongols, and as "Tangara" to the Yakuts) embodied the Eternal Blue Sky that predated all things. He found a kindred spirit in the primordial Earth Mother Gaea, and the two sired a son, Erlik. Gaea provided Erlik physical form by shaping his body out of mud, and Tengri imbued the body with life essence ("kut"). However, Erlik soon developed feelings of pride, hubris, and arrogance, forcing Tengri to banish him to the depths of the netherworld, where he became the god of evil & death. Other divine offspring soon followed, including the moon goddess Ay, the sun god Koyash, the thunder god Kuara, and the light god Ulgen. Pleased with the results of these subsequent attempts at creation, Tengri and Gaea then set out to create humanity and charged Ulgen with protecting the fledging mortal population. Jealous of Ulgen's favored status, Erlik plagued humanity with sickness, disease, and death.