The Lizards of the Swamps

The Argonians (in their language, Jel, Saxhleel, pronounced [‘zaɣɦleil] as opposed to the Imperial pronunciation [‘sækslil], meaning “people of the Root”, a reference to their relation with the Hist trees) of Black Marsh are a reptilian people often looked down upon by the other races. Indeed, Argonians, along with the Khajiit, are (wrongly) classified as “beasts” by the races of Mer and Men. This is not truly surprising, as Argonians have a vastly different appearance from the other races, and hold no relation to Mer and Men.

As stated, Argonians have many reptilian traits, including a scaled skin, reptilian eyes, a long tail, and the ability to breath underwater, as well as a resistance to diseases, which is helpful in the swamps of Black Marsh. The exact appearance of a Argonian is decided by a ritual every Argonian undertakes when they are named. The young Argonian, appearing as a simple lizard, drinks from the sap of a Hist tree. This gives the Argonian its identity, and the amount ingested decides the exact form a Argonian takes in live, ranging from toad-like to almost human. The importance of the Hist ranges further than “just” giving a Argonian his shape and identity. Argonians can feel the Hist trees, and when they wander away from Black Marsh, they feel this link weakening. When a Argonian dies, the Hist sap in his body makes a “blueprint” of the Argonians identity and physique, and sends this to the hivemind of the Hist, who will use these blueprints for the next young Argonian to drink from them, effectively creating a reincarnation cycle. It should be noted that this reincarnation only has effect on the physical aspects of the Argonian in question, as his soul itself is not sent back. As stated earlier, Argonians are not born with the appearance so commonly seen throughout Tamriel. Instead, they hatch as nothing more than reptiles. this is because neither the eggs, nor the semen can transmit the sap of the Hist. Because of their reptilian appearance, Argonians are often seen as not having any emotion, since their faces lack many muscles and traits common for the other races. This is of course not true, and Argonians are able to express simpler emotions (as anger) with their face, so much that it is understandable for the other races.

The origin of Argonians is not well known, but we can assume that it is a lot simpler than with most other races. Argonians likely originated from lizards attracted to the sap of the Hist. The Hist used the shaping properties of their sap to create the Argonians, who would serve and protect the Hist until death, creating a almost symbiotic relationship between the two. When this happened is unknown, but it happened before the Aldmer began exploring the mainland in the Mid-Merethic Era.

The religion of the Argonians is relatively unknown, and we only know that they venerate two “beings” for certain: the Hist and Sithis. Why they venerate the Hist is obvious, as they are of utmost importance to Argonian life. Sithis is a different story all together, and it is unclear what exact role he plays in the Argonian pantheon. What is known, however, is that all Argonians born under the Shadow are taken at birth, and trained to be an assassin. These “shadowscales”, as they are called, are then presented to the Dark Brotherhood, who also venerate Sithis. This custom has waned in the fourth Era, however.

The culture of the Argonians is different from the other races of Tamriel. Most Argonians live in tribes, scattered throughout Black Marsh, with only relatively few living in the cities around the borders and coast. These are also the only areas where non-Argonians can expect a warm welcome, as the Argonians are fiercely xenophobic, and will defend their tribe and the Hist until death. The Hist is incredibly important to the Argonians. They venerate them, and have numerous ceremonies surrounding the Hist. One of the earliest cave paintings in Black Marsh show tree-like reptiles (if this was a different form of Argonians, or a way to show their link to the trees, is unknown). Agonians are also able to feel the connection with the trees if they are near them, and it is not unheard of the trees calling all Argonians back to Black Marsh. The Argonians have a nomenclature not unlike the title-system the Nords of Skyrim use, but with the Argonians, these titles encompass the entire name of the child. When a Argonian is of a certain age, he or she is allowed to drink from the Hist, and receive their Argonian shape, as well as their given name. This name is hard to understand for outsiders, as they are only translated in a few cases. When translated, however, it becomes clear that these name tell something about their holder.

Not a lot is known about the Argonian politics. We do know that most Argonians are divided in multiple clans, and that the kingdom of Argonia exists within the swamps of Black Marsh. How the tribes relate to each other is unknown.

The history of the Argonians is one of seclusion. For a long time, the Argonians held no contact with the neighbouring provinces. This changed in the late first era, when the Imperials started expanding, and laid their eyes upon Black Marsh. there were repeated skirmishes, until Black Marsh fell and was incorporated in 1E 2837. During the second era, the Knahaten flu hit Black Marsh, which killed off practically all non-argonian and non-hist live. It is rumoured that the Hist created the flu, but there is no evidence to confirm this claim. After the collapse of the Second Empire, Black Marsh was yet again conquered by Tiber Septim in the late second era. Tiber Septim wisely avoided instituting too much Imperial rule, as the Argonians can be ferocious fighters, especially when backed by the Hist. The Argonians remained part of the Empire without noteworthy conflicts, even though the Dunmer had been raiding Black Marsh for years to get slaves. This peace changed after the Oblivion Crisis. Before the conflict, the Hist called back all Argonians to be shaped into better fighters, as they had seen the Oblivion Crisis coming. During the Crisis, the now newly formed An-Xileel party acted as the lieutenants of the Hist, and the Argonians flooded the Oblivion Gates with such numbers and ferocity that Dagon had to order all gates closed. Since Black Marsh received no help from the Empire and its legion, they decided to became independent, becoming the first province to do so. Soon after the Crisis and the collapse of the Empire, the province of Morrowind was seriously sundered from the Red Year, and the Argonians saw this as a excellent opportunity to take revenge for the years of slavery forced upon them by the Dunmer. They took Morrowind and drove most Dunmer out of Morrowind, making them flee to Cyrodiil, Skyrim and Solstheim. This further strengthened the position of a independent Black Marsh, as well as the political position of the An-Xileel. Early in the fourth era the An-Xileel were tricked by a rogue Hist tree, and summoned the floating city of Umbriel, which caused a enormous loss of life everywhere where it flew over, including the city of Lilmoth. The An-Xileel, however, found out about the deception, and fought off the flying city, while retaining their political position in Argonia.