Argonians - Tumblr Posts
Sheev-Lursha - The Protector of Saxhleel Tradition
Argonians, or Saxhleel, are an oviparous race of reptilian people native to the large and marshy province known as Black Marsh, a region of Tamriel. They can be found in smaller numbers throughout the continent, and have been featured in every one of the main games thus far. Argonians are one of the few races completely unrelated to men and mer, being descended directly from the Hist. Enigmatic and intelligent, the Argonians are experts of guerrilla tactics, and their natural abilities suit their swampy homeland. They have developed immunities to diseases that have plagued many would-be explorers in the region, and they are capable of easily exploring underwater locations due to their ability to breathe water. Argonians also have some resistance to poison. They are also very capable warriors and archers due to their constant use of guerrilla warfare against Warring Tribes or Dunmer slavers.
Argonians start out in life as eggs; when a clutch of Argonian eggs is laid, they are placed near Hist trees in areas known as hatching pools. When the eggs hatch, they form a connection to the Hist. If, for whatever reason, this connection to the Hist is not present or is severed, the unborn within the eggs die. After being born, Argonian hatchlings drink the sap of the Hist and continue doing this through their infancy. According to them, the sap of the hist tree, when drank, gives a hatchling its soul. When that Argonian dies, his soul travels back to its Hist tree and is stored until another hatchling drinks that Hist. Thus, the Hist is giving it a soul, and so the cycle repeats. It is unknown if a hatchling would really have a soul of its own without receiving one from the Hist.
During the Oblivion Crisis, a powerful political faction known as the An-Xileel rallied the Argonians against the Daedra after the Battle of Kvatch. The An-Xileel were staunch Argonian traditionalists, tracing their ancestral ways back to the great Xanmeer civilization. It is also rumored that they of all the Argonian tribes have the strongest connection to the Hist and can receive knowledge and prophecies. When the Oblivion Gates opened in Black Marsh, the Daedra didn’t so much flood into Argonia as the Argonians did into Oblivion. The natives fought and defeated the Daedra on their own turf, doing so with such success that the Dremora lieutenants actually closed their Gates themselves to prevent being overrun, an occurrence unheard of in the other provinces. Thus, the An-Xileel held Black Marsh until Martin Septim ended the Oblivion Crisis and closed the Gates forever. They also made Black Marsh the first province to secede from the Empire after the Crisis ended, and initiated a brutal campaign of war against the Dunmer of Morrowind for the countless centuries of slave raids and Argonian servitude.