Tanken Lake

Tanken Lake
View of Tanken Lake from Tanken, East Nozama
Primary outflows	Nozama River
Surface area	21,378 km² 8,254 mi²
Average depth	1,234 m 4,049 ft

Tanken Lake (Танкенти, 單墾池, Tankenti) is the largest lake in Namor, situated south of the Northern Mountains between the districts of Arra and East Nozama. The lake's water flows into the Nozama River, the longest river in Namor; thus, it is often referred to as the source of the Nozama River.

Archaeological findings show that the area surrounding Tanken Lake is home to some of the oldest human settlements in the world, making it the starting point of the Nozama Valley Civilization. For that reason, Tanken Lake holds a large amount of cultural and religious significance in Namor; it is considered by many Namorese to be the Mother Lake (Мути, 媄池, Muti) or the Holy Lake (Санти, 聖池, Santi), and it is frequently featured in Namorese art, literature and music.

Religion and mythology

The ancient Namorese believed that Tanken Lake served as the passageway to the gods, who resided atop the Northern Mountains. The events that resulted in the lake's creation are among the well-known narratives in Namorese mythology.

During the final years of the previous universe, the area around Tanken Lake is believed to have been the site of a colossal war between the universal ruler Taiyi and his rival Songte, who had set up his base in the Northern Mountains. As Taiyi's forces prepared to besiege the mountains, Songte shot an arrow at a mountain, causing an avalanche that sent snow, ice and rocks crashing upon his enemies. Taiyi and his entire army were crushed to death. The rocks created a crater on the ground, which was filled with ice and snow that melted into water.

Guardians of Tanken Lake

Throughout its history, Tanken Lake is said to have multiple guardians who were tasked with maintaining the purity of the lake and guarding the Northern Mountains from intruders.

The first guardian was Tisu, whose name means "monster of the lake." The exact identity of Tisu remains disputed, with some sources calling him a demon and others such as the Nushenshi describing him as a shark. Tisu was an ally of Songte and fought on his side against Taiyi. Following Songte's victory, Tisu was appointed guardian of Tanken Lake as a token of appreciation for his service. Songte also gave Tisu the Jenyikan, a powerful sword, as a gift.

Tisu remained loyal to Songte until his later years, when Songte was usurped by Teyu. Teyu visited Tanken Lake and showered it with riches. Tisa emerged from the water; seeing that it was Teyu who had showered him with riches, he switched allegiance to Teyu. But Tisu's life as an ally of Teyu was limited - after Songte's daughter Nushen broke her sword, she searched Tanken Lake for the Jenyikan, which led her to Tisu. Tisu refused to surrender the Jenyikan and started a fight with Nushen, who ended up riding Tisu to shore and killing him.

Ju, one of Nushen's children, later succeeded Tisu as guardian of the lake.