Dal (species)

The Dals were a race which lived on the planet Skaro. They were a race of pacifists, teachers and philosophers. The Thals, then a race of conquerors, started a war with them. Centuries later, the Thals identified the Dals as the progenitors of the Daleks. (TV: The Daleks) In fact, the Daleks were descended from the Kaleds. (TV: Genesis of the Daleks)

The Dals were extinct by the time of the Thousand Year War between the Thals and the Kaleds, as were the Tharons, as a result of a programme of genocide orchestrated by the Kaleds. A few words of the Dals' language were preserved, such as "Varga" meaning "devourer." (AUDIO: Purity)

Davros, the creator of the Daleks, found a prophecy in the forbidden Book of Predictions, written in the extinct language of the Dals, which stated "...and on that day, men will become as gods." In the original language, the final word was pronounced "Dal-ek." (AUDIO: Guilt)

Varna, a Kaled from the time of the Thousand Year War, said that "Dal" was a Kaled word for warrior. (AUDIO: The Lights of Skaro)

Behind the scenes

 * TV: The Daleks names the Dals as the predecessors of the Daleks. TV: Genesis of the Daleks, which actually showed the creation of the Daleks, contradicted this and named the Daleks' ancestors as the Kaleds. In spirit, the Dals being the ancestors of the Daleks is technically correct, seeing as how Davros took inspiration from them. Logically and physically, however, they were not connected.