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=Tenaka Khan=

The fictional character of Tenaka Khan was created by British fantasy author David Gemmell for his second major publication The King Beyond the Gate, though he later appears as a smaller role in Quest for Lost Heroes. As a sequel to the best-selling Legend, the second instillation in what would become the Drenai saga is set a century after the first. The characters featured in the first novel are all dead and the world has changed much in the years passed. Tenaka is our primary protagonist in this evolved and changed world, and follows what would become an emerging pattern in the series - a hero of the past their prime, and therefore unable rely on blind luck and sheer physical prowess as is a common trope within other fantasy (specifically Heroic and High fantasy) novels written both at the time and since.

Background
Born as the result of a strained truce between the Drenai and Nadir some sixty years after the events of Legend, Tenaka Khan is the great-grandson of both the legendary Nadir warlord Ulfric, and the legendary Drenai hero The Earl of Bronze. Unlike other warriors, Tenaka moves not with an obvious or brutish aggression, but with a dance-like grace that conceals his endless guile and wit. His military mind was forged and honed by the Drenai under their elite military force; the Dragon. Having been outcast by both his peoples, a young Tenaka finds a home here, carving out a reputation for himself, despite opposition, through sheer tenacity and a cold calculating mind. Some time before the Dragon was disbanded, Tenaka came to achieve the rank of general, having forged a life-bond with the novels other two main protagonists, Ananaïs and Decado, one being an exceptional warrior and leader in his own right, the other an ice-cold killer and a swordsman without equal. In the years since the disbandment however, their relationship has become estranged, each having taken different paths. Tenaka has been living in neighbouring Ventria with his wife Illae, content to a life of quiet comfort after facing so much conflict in his twenty-five years prior. It is only upon hearing of the death of his beloved Dragon, who banded together to face the Drenai's tyrannical new emperor, Ceska, and his apparent guilt for refusing to join their quest, that Tenaka once more takes up his twin short-swords and vows to return home and assassinate Ceska; bringing justice to his fallen comrades.

Overview
As a protagonist, Tenaka can be difficult at times to sympathise with. His calculating strategy can come off at times as harsh and cold - it is only through his blatant love for Ananaïs that we are shown the other, softer, side of him. His quest is a noble one, and despite all the complex issues that arise on the way, his goal remains the same. This is a trait shared by several of Gemmell's heroes, both Druss and Waylander most notably. This tethers the plot to them, and keeps them central even if at times our focus is drawn elsewhere.

Tenaka is intended to be a paradox. He is a warrior who moves like a dancer. He is a hero of a nation yet he is born of its ancestral enemy. He understandably feels lost and it is only upon returning to the Nadir steppes that he finds himself, perhaps for the first time in his life. Though this is not without change to his character. There is something behind his violet eyes that leaps off the page and into the heart of the reader. Perhaps this is why Gemmell chose to bring the character back in later publications, something he has done very sparingly despite having written over thirty novels.

Overview
Decades after the fall of Ceska and his joinings (creatures made possible by an ancient machine that fuses a man (or woman) and an animal together), a small group of Gothir warriors stand alone against the Nadir horde and in an unprecedented move, their opponent, the now aging Tenaka Khan retreats, leaving the group alive. This decision would have an impact far beyond the obvious, and would ultimately shape the continent.

Years later the Nadir shaman Asta Khan seeks to bring about a new age of Nadir supremacy by reincarnating his greatest success; the Nadir's greatest conqueror, Tenaka Khan. This he seeks to do through manipulating the unborn children of Tenaka's own son. Ravenna, the woman carrying the children, is under the protection of the same Gothir warriors that were spared all those years ago. Though he is ultimately successful, his success is short-lived - Tenaka conceding his defeat to the story's protagonists and returning to the afterlife once more.

Critical Reception
Tenaka as a character was certainly met with mixed reviews, with many hailing him as one of Gemmell's weaker protagonists. The characters are very simple, with very little character growth or evolution. At times they can behave too similarly to one another which can make it difficult for them to stand out. This leads to Tenaka being one of the more forgotten lead roles in the series, falling short of characters like Druss, Regnak and Waylander, who appear to have better remembered by fans.