Ancient Argonians of Blackwood

By Turelius Aquina of the Gideon Mages Guld

The Argonians are well known to have inhabited southeastern Tamriel long before any Man or Mer set their foot there. When Topal traveled along what is now known as the Niben river he is to have encountered many "Lizard-men", which he is to have declared not related to the "proud Aldmeri folk" in any way. Few records of this survive from this time, and only a few of those are deemed to be at all reliable. But later sources from the Merethic Era, primarily Ayleid ones describe in detail how the "lizards" built great temples and pyramids, known as Xanmeers in the Argoninan tongue of Jel, in what is now Blackwood. The Ayleids incorporated many of these Argonian towns and villages into their city states, and used them as slaves. Argonian meat is was also considered a delicacy by the Ayleids living near the current city of Leyawiin, which itself is built on top of two Ayleid ruins.

The most well known of these towns was Izkul-Uxith, which was bult around the great Xanmeer of Xith-Izkul. The town was incorporated into the Ayleid city state of Veyond in the late Merethic Era, but it was soon abandoned them after many of the Ayleid slavekeepers there mysteriously disappeared, one by one. Izkul-Uxith gained a reputation among the Ayleids of southern Cyrodiil for being cursed, and the town was left alone by all other Ayleid clans afterwards. The exact location of Izkul-Uxith is unknown, but most beleive that it lay om the border of Murkmire, east of Fort Blueblood. While the town is rumoured to still exist and be inhabited, no scholars have been able to uncover its exact location. Some Argonian isolated tribes in southwestern Murkmire claim that the Xanmeer of Xith-Izkul is a holy place, and therefore refuse to tell any non-Argonians of its location. The Hej-Xalpakseech Argonian tribe, which worships Sithis, also claim to present all Argonian children of the tribe hatched under the sign of the Shadow to the "Keepers of Xith-Izkul". But the Hej-Xalpakseech tribe has a long hitory of lying to outsiders to make them leave the tribe alone (often by getting them lost or killed in the swamps).

Other such towns and villages are also known to have existed, but most disappear completely from all records by the beginning of the First Era. Most of the tribes who once lived in Blackwood now live deep within the swamps of Murkmire, but they still consider eastern Blackwood their ancesteral home and some tribes have shown to be willing to take "their" lands back from Leyawiin's control.

Any knowledge anyone has on this topic should be shared with your local Mages Guild. Several city-dwelling Argonians have come to the Mages Guilds in and around Black Marsh looking for books on the history of their families. Any such information would be greatly appreciated by the Guild and others craving such knowledge.