The Hunter and the Settler: Argonian Forms and the 'Gender' Myth

The Hunter and the Settler: Argonian Forms and the 'Gender' Myth

Introduction

Throughout history, men and mer have held misconceptions about Argonian gender, ranging from those dreamt up to make the Argonians seem more outlandish than they really are (for example, that they change gender semi-randomly through the will of the Hist) to those which are simply born out of unthinking ignorance (such as the assertion that some Argonians produce milk). What with the current mania for Argonian studies among eastern academics due to the new An-Xileel regime’s use of direct diplomacy rather than relying on Cyrodiils as before, these assumptions are perhaps more dangerous now than at any time since the so-called annexation of Argonia by the Septims almost five centuries ago.

The first myth is that of Argonian ‘gender’ itself. There are no ‘male’ or ‘female’ Argonians. Although there are two forms of Argonian, each with different genitalia, calling them male and female implies that Argonians relate to each other in ways that they actually don’t, and – for that matter – don’t relate to each other in ways that they really do. The correct terms, that is to say, the translations of the terms shared by most of the Histic languages (yes, languages plural: see Tongues of the Hist), are hunter-form and settler-form.

It has already been well-documented that the hunter-form is naturally predisposed to, well, hunting, that is to say, the average hunter-form Argonian is more adept at wilderness survival, moving unnoticed in hostile environments, and general agility, than the average member of pretty much any other race in Tamriel, with the possible exception of the Bosmer of Valenwood. Likewise, settler-form Argonians tend to be intelligent and excel at theoretical learning and the aspects of Argonian society which do not involve hunting, such as organising villages. Settler-form Argonians, outside of Argonia itself, tend to be over-represented in magical circles, such as the Mages Guild that flourished in Cyrodiil before the Oblivion Crisis.

However, the separation between the two forms is not as strong as it is between males and females in human or even meric society. There is no particular lifelong stigma attached to actions seen as the domain of one form being done by an Argonian of the other form. Rather, the socially accepted thing to do in this circumstance is for the Argonian in question to change form in order to fit their personality, not the other way round. For the stories, in this case, are true: Argonians really can change form.

On form-changing and its effects

The process is not the preserve of the Hist or its products. It is important, when studying Argonians, not to put too much emphasis on their relationship with the Hist, as the researcher risks falling into the trap that those studying Akavir tend to fall into: that of believing the most ‘mystical’ claim to make the subject of the research seem more foreign and alien than it actually is. Why anyone would want to portray Argonians as any more foreign to humans as they already are beats me, but that’s what people tend to do with the Hist. Argonians, at the end of the day, are people. Not humans or mer, for that matter, but people nonetheless. Returning to the subject of the form-changing process, in order to change form, an Argonian must drink a certain potion, the ingredients of which depend on whether it is a settler-to-hunter or a hunter-to-settler transformation. In both cases, the potion is admittedly based on Hist sap, but this is to allow the active ingredient to travel to the correct parts of the Argonian’s anatomy. The active ingredient itself – as far as I can gather, anyway – for the settler-to-hunter potion is the liver of a sort of fish referred to as ʒraku that inhabits the waterways of central and eastern Argonia. The hunter-to-settler potion relies on powdered ikeerh mushroom from the highlands of Okeen-Re and Wamasu Thormir. The potions are usually taken mixed with a sedative, as the process can take up to two days from when the potion is imbibed, and those two days can be painful when experienced awake.

As an aside, it is said that when the potions are taken by the ‘wrong’ form (for example, a hunter-form Argonian drinking the settler-to-hunter potion), it acts as an aphrodisiac. However, I have not been able to speak to any Argonian who admits to having tried this. I managed to acquire some ʒraku liver during my stay in Enganka, but I cannot bring myself to actually try it.

If you think about it, the ability of Argonians to change form semi-freely like this is advantageous to Argonian society as a whole. At times when more hunter-forms are needed (such as during a food shortage), some settler-forms can change form, and at times when hunter-forms are not needed, settler-forms can predominate in order to accelerate long-term societal gains in the fields of technology and cultural development. Generally speaking, about one in six Argonians is prepared to change form semi-regularly due to having some hunter-like and some settler-like personality traits. Perhaps the clearest example of form changing giving Argonians an advantage is in war, where up to four in five Argonians can become hunter-form in order to crush outlander enemies with sheer force of numbers (think about it for a minute: for an average invading army, Black Marsh in general is scary enough. Now imagine it with an angry Argonian perfectly adapted for the hunt behind every tree).

Some may argue that these wild swings in regional hunter/settler ratio could actually be detrimental to Argonian society due to the number of Argonians of the more common form unable to find a mate of the rarer form. The ways Argonians have developed to get around this problem depend on the region of Argonia in question. In Murkwood and the rest of Argonia’s interior (roughly the Karanakh-speaking region), the practice of mating immediately after the Hist-sap rite of passage in adolescence is still prevalent, and the most common solution appears to be (I stress appears to be: it is notoriously difficult for anyone to truly understand Murkwood or its people) for the rite of passage to be delayed until the war, scientific golden age, etc. is over and the form ratio can return to approximately 1:1.

However, in Atronium – eastern Argonia, on the delta plain beyond the great swamps – a rather different approach is taken. Finding a mate while very young, in heat, and under the effects of Hist sap is a recipe for the partners deciding shortly after that they actually hate each other. The Atrons (the demonym for eastern Argonians) have realised this, and so have found a way to stop such behaviour: the Hist sap taken in the rite of passage is mixed with spores from kyxinur, the famous glowing foxfire mushrooms of Argonia’s Topal coast. Kyxinur spores are a very mild poison which have the effect of temporarily deadening the mating instincts of the ingester. In this way, Atrons can still drink Hist sap – allowing them to develop just like all other Argonians – while not setting themselves up for tortured relations later on. They are then free to find a mate in their own time, which has been known to be up to eleven years after the rite of passage. Some have ascribed this less conservative approach to the relative scarcity of Hist trees in Atronium, but it seems to me as if it’s another example of Argonians taking control of their own destiny.

It is quite common, in fact, for Atrons to discover in the years after drinking the sap that they prefer the company of – and mating with – those of the same form as themselves. While this is not exactly celebrated, there is no pressure for any particular Atron to prefer those of the other form. Furthermore, this practice is not a barrier to egg-laying. When two Atrons of the same form want to raise hatchlings, one changes form, then the two mate, the settler-form lays the eggs, and the one that changed form then changes back.

Which brings me to the strange tale of Nansyokka.

Nansyokka, form-based customs, and Atron-Cyrodiil trade

Nansyokka is a port town in Atronium, about thirty-five miles north of the larger town of Enganka, which is itself about thirty miles north of Archon. It’s notable for being pretty much the only town on that coast which the Empire traded with during the Septim era. This, of course, suited the local Argonians: the Imperials were confined to where they could have a close eye kept on them at all times. Nansyokka developed a sizeable foreigners’ quarter, not dissimilar to the one our own city of Vivec once had. The Argonians, of course, realised that it would be a good idea to find a way to make sure as many Imperial traders going round that stretch of coast docked at Nansyokka, mainly because Archon and the rest of Atronium wore their de facto independence with fierce pride, and the inhabitants would probably have provoked any Imperial traders into starting a conflict.

So the good people of Atronium researched Imperial culture and customs, and came across reports of the strange human divide between their two unchanging forms. One side-effect of this was that there were many examples of Cyrodiils with desires seen as incompatible with their gender being forced to leave their families and travel to far-off cities. Due to a lack of a proper home, then, such people were – and are – overrepresented on long-distance trading missions. So the Atrons decided to set up Nansyokka as a place where it was said that any such desire could be fulfilled, as they were not frowned on by Atron society. Over time, certain sailors on trading ships began to invent reasons to insist that their ship would stop to trade at Nansyokka rather than at any other Atron port, as only Elsweyr was comparably accepting.

The tactic worked. Imperials were seldom seen outside Nansyokka’s foreign quarter, within which they were free to do the sort of things with each other that would have seen them spurned by all but their closest friends had they done them back in Cyrodiil. They had no idea of what was also going on in Atronium. When the An-Xileel rebelled against the shackles of Empire shortly after the Oblivion Crisis, the Atrons liberated their homeland within twenty days, and half the work was done by simply locking the gate between the Nansyokka foreign quarter and the rest of Atronium.

In case any curious men or mer are wondering, Nansyokka is still there, and trading ships from such nations as independent north Morrowind still dock there, partly for the same reasons as before. I never had a chance to visit it when I was in Enganka as I was too busy with work the whole time, but when I return to Atronium – and I am sure I will – it would be fascinating to explore the old port.

A note on Argonians living outside of Argonia

One last point on Argonian gender. I am sure some people wonder why, if Argonians are egg-laying creatures, half of them seem to have breasts? The answer is that the breasts are not real. As Argonians realise that some men and mer are unnerved by the lack of a clear hunter/settler divide, settler-form Argonians have taken to wearing Cyrodilic-style undergarments, which they fill with cloth to give the appearance of breasts to those who do not look too closely. I have even heard reports that in some outlying areas of Argonia, such as the land around Stormhold, settler-form Argonians have taken to wearing such undergarments whenever it seems likely that they will meet any outlanders during the day.

That concludes my study of Argonian genders. I felt as if I had to write this, as there were so many pieces I wanted to publish that would make no sense to people who do not understand the concepts of hunter-form and settler-form. It is my sincere hope that this work is read by all Argonophiles, so as to get rid of those ‘male’ and ‘female’ myths once and for all. That probably won’t happen. But I can only hope.

Eno Sarethi

Narsis, 4E 28