Argonian Inquiry Part 2: Reincarnation

Previous and first part: http://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/39waae/argonian_inquiry_part_1_sithis_the_hist_and/

Hello again, dear reader. I am Lucinius Flacchus of the Imperial Geological Society, and today I go to see the Naming Day ceremony. In the mean time, let me tell you some of the things I’ve learnt that should provide context.

The Hatching Pool is probably the most sacred place in all Argonian culture. And as the title suggests, it is indeed a place of Argonian birth, or rather, reincarnation. They occupy areas underneath a number of prominent Hist trees, a pool of Sap in essence, surrounded by the precious eggs of their future generations. In most cases, a fortress from the forerunner Saxheel protects it, the structures known as Xanmeers, only contributing to the fact that they have been in use for a very long time. And as such, the few that exist are guarded strongly. Like many things, this has been described to me as an egg. (They do love metaphors.) At the center is the Hist and the pools themselves, the yolk. Outside that in the albumen are the Egg-Tenders: a coven of priest-likes that preserve the Hatching Pools. Finally, the shell is the Egg-Watchers, a fierce and dedicated sect of fighters that not only partake in ceremonies, but will fight to the death to protect their tree in times of strife – for an Egg-Watcher to surrender is one of the harshest crimes in tribal law.

Now, to the Argonians themselves.

As my reader may know, Saxheel have a very obtuse procreative cycle. Traditionally, the female develops and produces eggs, traveling from many nearby settlements and placing them adjacent to a Hatching Pool in a special ceremony involving incense and song-magic known as the Echoing Prism, for the way the Sap water seems to resonate during the ritual.

The egg has a hard protective shell, but it is also highly permeable to nutrients that the Hist Sap provides during development. But in other cases, especially with the “Lukiul” Assimilated, or those further away in proximity to the Hist, they have the possibility of live birth. (Let me also take this time to dispel some rumors. No, Argonian partners are not chosen by trial. This is an error, as Hissmir is a place of trials for the Naming Day, not trials for marriage. But this will be expanded further on. Also, yes, Argonians do feel love and affection. But they don’t express it in a way we can fully understand.)

A live birth Argonian (I’ve mostly seen them called Lukiul) seems to develop much like a Man or Mer in terms of gradual hormonal development of organs and stature, interestingly from a form with a more pronounced spine-tail structure similar to a lizard to a more humanoid form. Although they appear to have a soul bequeathed from the Hist, it seems perhaps weaker in value. As it was described to me by an Egg-Tender named Gilmeva: “these Brothers and Sisters are not of the Egg, and their connection is weaker than our own. It is only through a Naming Day and the ingestion of treated Sap that they can be called Egg-Siblings.” If I had to guess, this is an adaption by the Hist to allow an Argonian to live without a physical connection to the Sap, perhaps communicating information to the developing Lukiul by a magicka connection or perhaps water? I am not sure. But it is clear that there is some cultural resentment of those born away from the Hist, and it’s very clear to me that the trees have a major effect on the Argonians development. But, she went on, albeit annoyed: “They are also unaltered by the Elder Way, the way in which the Hist dictate our form. But that is enough, Dryskin. I have said all I need to say.”

On the other side of the septim, Argonians born in close proximity to the Hist emerge from Eggs some three months after being produced by an adult female. Very strangely, it appears that more than one, perhaps seven Argonians emerge from one egg alone. (If I’ve learnt anything from dangerous areas of Tamriel, it’s that the best way to survive is in greater numbers.) In this stage, they are extremely small, perhaps double the size of a tadpole with some reptilian aspects such as a ridgeline and scales. (Could these be the proto-Argonians before they were altered by the Hist? Or was it that the Argonians made these sentient trees? Gah, I fear we haven’t decided yet. But the Argonians aren’t telling.) From here, they creep across the small stretch of sand on a muscular front to the Sap pool. This is seen as the compulsory Before Trial for all Saxheel. Some young Argonians are unable to make the distance. Those who make it, however, live in the water for some time, ingesting what I’ve learnt is actually slightly diluted Sap, different to that of the Trunk, they say. But I fear I may be using the term “Argonian” incorrectly, because it is not until they enter the Sap that they are relinquished an “incomplete” soul from the Hist, or so I’ve heard. From here, they develop limbs and become larger, swimming through memories and acclimatizing to their new life from the previous “life phase” or perhaps their containment inside some obscure location of the Hist. Then, after some months, they leave the pool entirely, becoming an adolescent Argonian.

But that, my dear hypothetical compatriots, is a story for another time. To the Naming Day ceremony I go!

Next part: http://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/3a00li/argonian_inquiry_part_3_adolescence_to_naming_day/