Argonians: A Comprehensive Analysis

Terrifying on the outside, kind on the inside. These are Argonians. And those who are mysterious both outside and inside are Khajiit. Dissecting them is even more difficult than Khajiit since they have a plethora of tribes and disguise themselves just as well as Sam Fisher! Therefore, examining them all in detail would be a titanic task, which I will not undertake. Of what I will cover: the history of Argonians, a brief overview of tribes in general, and the Hist tribe in particular - as well as a bit of psychology and anatomy. Perhaps it will finally help improve the perception of this race?

Before continuing your reading, I recommend familiarizing yourself with the history of Argonia - personally, I have little to add to it. If you wish, you can read in Wikipedia about the tribes of Argonians.

I believe most are more or less familiar with the history and geography (as they are almost fully revealed in the above article), so let’s move on to everything else. I will clarify that in controversial matters I take the truth from Argonians in Morrowind.

General Facts

In essence, Argonia is a province merely in name - after the plague in those lands, which spared only the Argonians, non-Argonians dare to be present only near the coast.

Argonians quite easily adopt foreign cultures - perhaps because they do not wish to reveal their own.

Argonian from Daggerfall

In general, Argonians make the best assassins - hence, representatives of the Hist race, born under the sign of Shadow, are taken from their parents by the Dark Brotherhood, trained in the art of killing, and upon reaching adulthood, are inducted into the brotherhood. These Argonians are known as "Dark Scales".

In theory, Argonian tribes can freely interbreed with each other - with the maternal traits heavily prevailing. There is no information regarding connections between Argonians and other races.

A quote from "Anuada with Comments": “Chaos reigned in the world of Nirn. Of all twelve worlds of Creation, only Elnoffi and Hist survived. Elnoffi are the ancestors of men and elves. Hist are the trees of Argonia. Originally, there was one continent in Nirn; there were no oceans.” For more information, see "Cosmology".

One can understand something about Argonian culture from the book "Seed" - rather an interesting story by itself.

Argonians have their own transport. Naturally, horses are in demand where possible, but far more interesting are the root worms, also known as the "Underground Express". These worms migrate through the soil of Argonia at incredible speed, covering vast distances in the shortest time. Argonians travel in their stomachs. Not very comfortable, of course, but extremely fast.

Each tribe has its sacred tree. For example, the Hist tree of the Hist tribe.

One passage from the tale "Seed" suggests that somehow the lives of Argonians are linked to the lives of their trees: "Destroying our bodies means nothing to us, but by destroying our trees, you doom us forever."

It is quite obvious that Argonians hate Dunmer. No wonder - the latter enslaved whole tribes of Argonians!

Central regions of Argonia are filled with various chemical poisons, most of which are formed by spore trees.

The Argonian language is quite complex, which is why they often have 2 names - a real one and a nickname (Hajd-eh - Hides-Eyes).

Argonian from Redguard

According to some data, a part of Argonians are outright racists (this, in principle, is typical for all races).

Argonians hate the cold. Want to offend an Argonian - suggest they live in northern Skyrim; they will appreciate it. The thing is, even though Argonians are warm-blooded, they possess some characteristics of cold-bloodedness - that is, they have their own body temperature, but it is more influenced by the environment than by other races.

Judging by some books, Argonians are more than neutral towards clothing and walk around nude in their tribes without any issue. Some also decorate their bodies with silver.

In Argonia, there is absolutely no necromancy - firstly, because it's bad, and secondly, it's quite difficult to find suitable corpses (swampy terrain, remote areas, and small sizes of settlements). Thirdly, this is due to the lack of informational resources on this topic. Fourthly (and this is perhaps the most important), Argonia has a very low level of technological development, which makes the production of essential components for this process (in particular, black soul stones) extremely difficult. Finally, necromancy contradicts the entire religious doctrine of the Argonians.

Argonian women use some berries as jewelry - they look quite similar to gemstones.

Names

Oh, Argonians probably have the most meticulous attitude towards names in all of Tamriel - they even surpassed Khajiit.

Usually, an Argonian receives a name at the age of 6-10 years during the Naming Ceremony (I do not know exactly how it's localized, but it’s something like “Ceremony of Designation”). Choosing a name is an important process for the family and can take quite a long time, even weeks—after all, one must choose a name that best expresses the individual qualities of the child. Although the Argonian language consists mainly of clicks, hisses, and similar sounds, any name can be translated into any other language. If you are not interested in the details of name creation, you can comfortably skip the next section.

More on Name Construction

Typically, names are not translated - still, some information gets lost in the process of translation. In the original, names can be classified into three main types of sounds: hard - "R", "S"; soft sounds, such as "E", "Zh", "I" and third group - suddenly stopping, for instance, "K".

Sometimes certain sounds stretch, even consonants (Rrrrallll).

Soft sounds, on the contrary, are pronounced quietly, resembling a hiss.

Argonian from Oblivion

Typically, part of a name consists entirely of sounds of one type or, at least, almost entirely. However, names often consist of several parts. Encountering more than 8 parts is virtually impossible; however, they usually comprise 2-4 parts.

Nickname-Translations

As previously mentioned, all names can be translated, and they indicate certain characteristics. For instance, it is quite logical to name a caring Argonian "Golden-Heart".

Someone who hides and does not look into eyes is called "Hides-Eyes".

Someone who loves to spend time in the sun would be "Sclink-in-the-Shadow-of-the-Tree".

By the way, parts of the name are written with a hyphen and each begins with a capital letter (unless it's a preposition). I could provide several examples, but I think the ones already mentioned in the text are sufficient. Moreover, you can probably recall a few names yourself =)

Physiology

As previously mentioned, when the term "cold" is mentioned, Argonians respond roughly like: "HATE!!!! \censorship*"*. Although I am being ironic, there is some truth in this - Argonians would never venture north for no reason. Let me reiterate for clarity: this is due to the elements of cold-bloodedness they possess, thus they are more sensitive to their environment.

Argonian (Morrowind)

(This note applies to Morrowind; in Oblivion, this characteristic is less pronounced) In general, Argonians have different methods than other races for determining gender - the determination is made by the growths on their heads, which are characteristic only to a specific gender, as well as by color - green is more characteristic of females.

As for coloration - at birth, all Argonians (of the Hist tribe, at least) are almost perfectly green. Shortly after reaching adulthood, male scales turn noticeably red. Females, however, retain their green color for quite a long time and not all at once - for them, the red color is somewhat analogous to our wrinkles. Also, males (*observed only in Morrowind*) have blue scales in certain areas (back, thighs, knees).

Argonians have quite long claws, nearly an inch long (*in Oblivion, claws were significantly cut down, but the other properties remained*) - an extremely powerful weapon they are not shy to employ. Unarmored opponents have almost no chance against Argonians.

Among our toothy heroes, there are quite long fangs, which according to some sources - contain poison (weak, though, and only at the will of the "owner"). Due to this fact, Argonians are not susceptible to poisons. It is possible that this poison also acts as a disease neutralizer - this is one possible reason for Argonians’ resistance to diseases.

Argonian female (Morrowind)

The body structure of this race is generally quite fragile, although the height is on average about 5-6 feet (_{170 cm) and **the weight** around 60 pounds (}70 kg). Height does not account for crests and other possible "natural decorations".

Details of childbirth are precisely unknown: most sources lean towards the fact that they do not bear live young, similar to lizards. This means that hatchlings emerge from eggs. If these sources are to be believed, it takes 6 months to hatch.

This is how some envision Argonian hatchlings (art by ~ShadowedLight)

The diet in natural conditions consists mainly of fish, small animals, plants, fruits, berries, and vegetables.

At age 15, a young Argonian becomes independent - this age is considered adulthood for Argonians.

The exact lifespan is unknown. Given their resilience to diseases and immunity to poisons, natural death is likely to occur later than for humans - approximately around 100-150 years.

Psychology

Overall, Argonians are extremely primitive - the most intelligent tribe would be the Hist tribe - for them, yes, they have some adequate psychology that will be discussed now.

Argonians are extremely cunning and sly - if in the last trait Argonians lose to Khajiit, then in shrewdness, there is no lack. Therefore, among Argonians are the most original thieves and assassins. And mages - magical abilities of the Hist tribe may not be very pronounced, but they do exist.

Beauty means little to Argonians, clothing even less. Male Argonians value intellect and wisdom in a female - especially in Argonian women.

They live in small tribal groups (commonly referred to as "clans"), where not all might be blood relatives - but psychically, they are as close as can be. It is said that for an Argonian, the clan is much more important than their own life.

Tactics in combat on their territory - to deliver exactly one deadly blow and run away. Few survive.

Hunting tactics: ambush and a sudden dash for the prey.

Religion

As already mentioned, at home, Argonians worship spore trees. However, the most significant tree for an Argonian is the one near which they received their name (by the way, the ceremony lasts 1-2 weeks).

Argonians refer to themselves as "The Root People".

Argonian vampire (Morrowind)

Religious beliefs of Argonians strictly prohibit killing for no reason - only for food and self-defense. How does this not conflict with assassins? Well, firstly, the Dark Scales differ from ordinary Argonians, and secondly, Argonian assassins have a different upbringing than "tribal" ones. Or they simply changed their perspectives.

Also, religious beliefs forbid chopping down spore trees. Argonians also have ambiguous attitudes towards cutting down regular trees, but they do not elevate it to a cult like Bosmer do.

In the clan

In one hut or cave, 2 families (in a biological sense) may live. Women tend the hearth and raise children, therefore they are more calm, gentle, and balanced compared to the rather aggressive-minded men.

There is no definite leader; all men have a voice - however, one of them is still more important.

The Dark Side of the Force

Like all races, Argonians have their downsides. For instance, Argonians are timid and very passive - especially during conflicts. Hence, they still linger in the swamps. But this race is gradually becoming bolder - more and more members of the Hist tribe can be seen in other parts of Tamriel (except for some northern regions =))

Overall, this is essentially the only notable downside. However, due to this, Argonians were oppressed by Dunmer when they were enslaved. It is this that made them so easily manipulated by the Empire. But - who knows? - perhaps they will soon fight back.

The map of Black Marsh from Arena

Theories and Speculation

This information has not been confirmed, but it seems quite probable.

Argonian clothing

Although it has already been mentioned that Argonians have a rather neutral attitude towards clothing, some mentions of it exist in books. Mainly, it consists of plants and berries. Clothing is likely used to attract prey by scent, has some religious basis, or simply for beauty. It is possible that Argonian "clothing" is divided into male, female, and special (for example, for sages) - but this is not confirmed.

What is Hist?

No, it is clear that hist is a tree. A spore tree. However, this is a very ancient tree, and it may even be... God. Or the soul of Argonians. Some Argonians believe that "Hist is what we all have before life and after life" (whatever that means). Or perhaps it is some kind of "Superbrain" where the memories of Argonians are stored? The only thing we know is that the main Hist is located in the heart of Argonia, in Mirkwood.

Origin

And I would like to conclude the article with an introduction. The origin of Argonians is the most discussed topic (at least on English forums) related to Argonia. "Anuada with comments" states that all races originated from elves - for example, Khajiit originate from Bosmer. Argonians, however, in the same Anuada, occupy a separate place. If we seriously doubt some facts from "Anuada" (and several legends from various peoples), we might assume that Argonians also originated from elves. But this theory is very weak - as there is a significant difference even between Khajiit and Argonians; they only share being animal races and the presence of a tail. Moreover, the probability of error is extremely low. But that option exists; there's nothing to be done.

The second theory is that they come from the Hist tree, as it is one of the two surviving parts of Creation.

There is also a third possibility - Argonians are not even from Tamriel, but perhaps from Akavir (the continent to the east of Tamriel).

There is another theory - they were created by Molag Bal. But there is an opposing theory: Argonians dislike Molag Bal as well as all Daedra.

That’s all. This is practically all the knowledge collected from the Internet and myself about Argonians. However, I must clarify - the greatest respect for the "help" in creating this article goes to a person named Marc-Etienne Desjardins, also known as Ral-Jiktar, owner of the website The House of Ral-Jiktar. It can be said with certainty that Argonians are unique in that they are the only race with a fan site. His translated facts played the "lead role". My contribution is noticeable too, but in any case, I want to tip my hat to this person - without him, this material would be much poorer.

*P.S. The development of Argonians and Khajiit within the series can be seen in this article.