Argonian

Argonians, often referred to by other races as lizards or Lizard Folk (especially in a derogatory sense), are the reptilian natives of Black Marsh, a wild marshland in southeastern Tamriel. Strangely connected to the Hist, a race of sentient trees, they are largely misunderstood and considered alien to the other races of the continent. Even so, they are well known for their swift swimming, agility, cunning, immunity to disease and poison, and their capability of breathing underwater, marking them as dangerous guerrilla warriors that are fiercely protective of their home.

Like every race, they have their own unique naming convention.

Primary Stats

+1 Endurance
+1 Speed
+1 Athletics
+1 Intuition
-2 Speechcraft
+1 Slashing Resistance
+5 Argonian Lotus Tolerance

Subraces

Sarpa

Your character is a Sarpa, a feathered, raptor-like form of Argonian.

+1 Intimidation
-1 Athletics

Naga

Your character is a Naga, a scaled, serpent-like form of Argonian.

+1 Agility
-1 Speed

Histless

Your character is Histless; they were born outside of Black Marsh, and have never communed with the Hist.

+1 Speechcraft
-1 Intuition

It is believed that the Hist gave Argonians a physical form similar to that of Men and Mer, so as to make their co-existence possible, from their primeval Ancestor Lizard form. But even then, any other race of Tamriel would describe the Argonians in the same way: features of lizards, amphibians, fish, or even birds. Among the most common physical traits, the Saxhleel can have webbed hands and feet, feathers, gills, spiky protuberances of bone, fins, and horns. Every Argonian has a body covered in scales, a reptilian tail, and small lidless eyes.

The gender of the Saxhleel is referred to as "life-phase," and it is said that it can change at the request of any individual to the Hist. Even though Argonians in their "female" life-phase seem to have protrusions resembling mammalian breasts, they lay eggs and have no nipples.

Argonians are fond of colorful tribal wrappings, decorating themselves with spines, plumes, horns, and feathers, and occasionally dressing up their tails.

Culture

The Argonian natives of Black Marsh prefer to be called "Saxhleel" instead of "Argonian" when referring to their kind, as the latter is an Imperial term. Any Argonian hatched outside Black Marsh are referred to as Iukiul, or "assimilated people," for they cannot hear the Hist and are disconnected from the rest of their kind. Argonians who leave Black Marsh are also considered Iukiul. This largely separate existence makes it onerous for Argonians to connect with the other races, as they do not express themselves through their facial features as the other humanoids do.

Argonians usually live in tribes, each having their own customs, roles, and differing appearances. All tribes are united in their reverence and centralization around Hist trees, however. The Hist guides and nurtures the Saxhleel, sheltering their settlements and their eggs, providing sap for their rituals, and in turn, their people serve the Hist. Every tribe is led by a tree-minder who tends to the tribe's Hist and communicates with it by interpreting signs sent by the Hist.

The life of an Argonian begins when a clutch of eggs is conceived by a mated pair. In colder climates, eggs hatch internally within the body, while in warmer, more suitable climates, eggs are transferred to an uxith, or nest, where they are tended to by midwives until they hatch. Hatchlings are born with the ability to walk and require less care than the young of other races. When they come of age, they undergo their Chukka-Sei, a trial of maturity that is meant to prove whether or not they are worthy of being called an adult. The trials are typically designed to test a young Argonian's skill and bravery, sometimes being conducted over the span of several days.

The Saxhleel handle their dead in a very specific way. The deceased are often fitted with a wooden funerary mask and buried in the ground. A xul-vaat, or grave stake, has both honorary and practical meaning, keeping the corpse pinned and unable to rise again as an undead Bog Blight while simultaneously carrying the written story of the deceased. It tells the tale of their victories, defeats, their childhood, their friends, their dreams and their nightmares. Grave-singers tend to the dead, fashion the grave stakes, read their inscriptions, and sing the deceased a final song as a sign of respect for all those in attendance to hear.

In Black Marsh, ruins of grandiose pyramid structures, referred to as xanmeers, dot the lands, bearing Wayshrines dedicated to the stars. The Argonians do not remember much about their people during the times in which they were built, having abandoned them long ago and taken to building huts of mud and woven reeds from then onward. Such architectural techniques embody their view of time and change, driving them to build structures that are intended to be temporary.

Subcultures

The Argonians can usually be classified into three different types:

Sarpa: A feathered, raptor-like form of Argonian.
Naga: A scaled, serpent-like form of Argonian.
Histless: Argonians born outside of Black Marsh that have never communed with the Hist.

Cultural Equivalence & Influences

Much of the Argonian ancient architecture and culture is derived from the Mesoamerican civilizations of old: the Mayans and Aztec. Some small influences from Cambodia (the Khmer), Thailand (the Ayutthaya), and Indonesia (the ancient empire of Majapahit) linger in regard to their clothing. As far as physical traits go, the Argonians seem to take much inspiration from dinosaurs (the Stygimoloch) and various poisonous tropical frogs.

The Argonians despise the Dunmer, and for good reason. For thousands of years, and to the current date, the Dark Elves have raided Black Marsh to take the Argonian people as slaves, dragging off entire tribes in chains, the worst being the slave raid of Thorn by the infamous House Dres. The Argonians, though mostly unsuccessful, have always resisted and retaliated against their slavers.

Roughly 700 years ago, the Argonians begrudgingly aided the Nords and Dunmer in driving out Tamriel's Akaviri invaders, seeing it as an opportunity to strengthen their people. It resulted in the creation of the Ebonheart Pact, but the military alliance was not long-lasting.

Shortly thereafter, high tensions bubbled over with the Altmer of the First Aldmeri Dominion who, unsuccessfully, attempted to use an anomaly known as the Mnemic Egg to commit a terrible, unforgivable crime: the severing of the link between the Argonians and the Hist in order to further their aims in the Three Banners War. They have held animosity for the High Elves ever since.

400 years ago, as a result of the Tiber War, the edges of the province of Black Marsh were assimilated into the Empire. Tiber Septim himself did not attempt to conquer the inner swamps. During the Third Era, the borders of Black Marsh have functioned mostly as a prison state, while the heart has remained outside Imperial governance.

In 3E 396, during the Imperial Simulacrum, a slave revolt escalated into the Arnesian War. Black Marsh was defeated by Morrowind, which took a significant amount of territory (and undoubtedly many new slaves). Although the enslavement of any civilized race was illegal in the rest of the Empire, the Dark Elves were allowed to continue the practice due to the favorable conditions of the Armistice under which Morrowind joined the Septim Dynasty, which allowed the Dunmer to follow their ancient traditions and maintain great autonomy in their domestic affairs. This has led to an overwhelming amount of Argonians to hold an immense hatred for the Dunmer.

A lush, dense, foreboding, and dangerous swampland teeming with poisonous plants and violent predators, Black Marsh is the home of the Hist and the Argonian people, dotted with their tribes and ancient ruins. Foreign agricultural, colonial, and commercial ventures beyond the slave-trade of Morrowind have met with abject failure, for the Argonians' tribal organization has long been efficient, preventing them from being fully integrated into the Empire. Black Marsh has seven notable regions:

Above all else, the Hist is revered by the Argonian people, and those born of Black Marsh are capable of wielding Hist-magic, which does not operate as conventional spellcraft does. They have their own creation myth centered around the idea that the world was created through the struggle of two spirits: Atak and the Great Root.

Argonians believe in reincarnation; when an Argonian dies and their corpse is returned to nature, their soul returns to the Hist, where they will be reborn, thus they rarely hold grudges among tribes. They believe that any individual from any tribe may end up being reborn as one of their enemies, thus hating each other means hating themselves. Similar to the Bosmer, they live in the present and not the past or future. They care little for the concept of time, embracing change, which they call "vastei." To try and resist it is folly in their eyes, and Death is just another element of that change.

A religious practice that Argonians partake in is called the dream-wallow, which is an experience that totes the lines between vision and reality, achieved through isolation and exposure to potent mind-altering herbs so that the participant may see beyond the physical realm. It is said to be capable of physically manifesting objects into the material world.

The only other entity that the Argonians worship, which is a being that even the Hist acknowledges, is the embodiment of Death and the Void: Sithis. The Clutch of Nisswo, a group of wandering priests, and the Shadowscales, a monastic order of assassins and enforcers, are longstanding religious bodies that serve the Argonian people in Sithis' name.