Argonian Inquiry Part 4: Drinking from the Sap

First part: http://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/39waae/argonian_inquiry_part_1_sithis_the_hist_and/

Last Part: http://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/3a00li/argonian_inquiry_part_3_adolescence_to_naming_day/

It was here at the Naming Day Ceremony upon my return, that completely unrecognisable figures arose from where they had fallen in the Hatching Pools. They were no longer the genderless, featureless youth but a diverse number of Argonian men and women, their forms ranging from muscular to lean or agile, depending on what they had excelled in from the time leading up to and during the Trials of the Hist. They had undergone the Elder Way, a process in which the Hist project their wishes unto an Argonian form, altering it.

Indeed, the adult Argonian is more than just a “humanoid lizard”, as many falsely claim. They take many different traits from a number of animals including the feathers as found on birds, amphibians in regards to their perhaps “unnatural” metamorphism and perhaps most notably the Naga in their visual appearance – but they also show abilities of a fish in how they can breathe underwater even in adult form and swim effectively. (Perhaps this proves the Argonians were many different species brought into one?) During their growth on the Naming Day, they also develop organs relative to each sex very similar to that of a Man or Mer. From the grey of their youthful skin, their scales brighten vary widely in colour between not only tribes but also individuals, from dull greens to bright orange and anything in between. (It should be noted that in times of stress, considerable disconnection from the Hist [shunning, known as the dreaded “Kiul”] and rushed/insufficient Hist consummation, Argonians display notably plain features and skin. This was best seen during the days of Dunmeri enslavement, most commonly House Dres, where most slave Saxheel appeared grey or pale blue in colour.)

But I must also speak on outsiders and how they are affected by the ceremony. Although I have not been able to see one such “Argonian” myself, it is said that among perhaps eye colour changes, skin tone alterations and hair, there doesn’t seem to be many notably common physical alterations. (There is the example of the Mournhold Conspiracy, in which assimilated Dunmer apparently invaded Morrowind to counteract slaving operations in the Third Era, murdering notable Great House affiliates. Although this is not confirmed.) However, after the ceremony they can undoubtedly commune and feel the Hist within their acquired soul, and they are indeed thought of as accepted members of society by most Saxheel, albeit perhaps the more xenophobic central tribes.

But it is also after this transformation that they are rewarded names in Jel through their parents (hence the “Naming” Day), meditating as a medium for the Hist to speak. These names represent their personality and primary strength, in what seem to be a maximum of three words. (Such as Drinks-Too-Fast in Tamrielic, normally in a singular, non-hyphenated form in Jel.) They are then tasked with a role in their tribe for the rest of their lives. Once this was done in front of me, the new adults moved aside, revealing a singular body lying in the Sap to my suprise, distorted and grotesque, and it was taken by two Egg-Tenders and carried off, presumably to be mourned and the body disposed of.

“The Naming Ceremony is a time of judgement.” Weeresi whispered to me as we watched. “Oftentimes, some youth do not survive the transformation. In context to you, dryskin, these youth have just undertaken puberty in only a few heartbeats. But nothing happens without a reason, you see. If you are not deemed unworthy by the Hist or in the Trials you were dishonest, you will be punished.”

Indeed, the mutations and alterations in the Argonian form are not unheard of. (In fact, it could even be said that these “alterations” are what created the race in the first place.) But it is not always negative for the subject. In the Oblivion Crisis, it is often rumoured among scholars that the Hist used the Elder Way as a method to make many tribal members taller and stronger as they collectively stormed the portals of Mehrunes Dagon. It said that the Saxheel army was like a horde of Daedroth, forcing the Daedric forces to retreat from these wondrous swamps.

The Naming Day is finally over, and now I head to the town of Greenglade to write on the struggles and challenges an Argonian will experience beyond an Argonians’ birth. Until then, happy adventuring, my hypothetical compatriot!