Of the many races within The Elder Scrolls world, the Argonians are one of the most unique and mysterious. These reptilian humanoids stand out amongst the many Man and Mer races scattered throughout the continent of Tamriel.
Yet due to the geography of their homeland, xenophobia from other races, and their general indifference towards the affairs going on within the rest of the continent, not much is known about this race. Due to their privacy, it is easy for players to miss out on knowing this race better, but there are still a lot of interesting things about them.
Their Homeland Is Impenetrable To The Other Races
The Argonians are from the province known as The Black Marsh found in the southeast of Tamriel. Their homeland is a swampy rainforest with thick forests and rivers. Anyone who is not an Argonian will have severe trouble navigating throughout the province, and its inner areas are basically impenetrable to outside races.
Have Many Traits That Help Them Survive
While other races cannot survive in the Black Marsh, the Argonians fit perfectly there. They have several attributes which help them travel through water such as using their tails to propel themselves and having gills allowing them to breathe underwater. They are also immune to the many diseases infesting the Black Marsh, and are resistant to poisons. These abilities to adapt within their homeland have resulted in the Argonians never fully being conquered by an enemy.
Relationship With The Hist
Unlike most of the races who either worship the Divines or the Daedric Princes, the Argonians worship a sentient race of trees called The Hist. These trees are found commonly throughout the Black Marsh, and are able to communicate amongst each other. The Hist play an important role in Argonian society as they produce a special sap called Hist Sap which is essential for their growth and is used by the Argonians to communicate with the trees. The Hist are part of many rituals within Argonian culture, although these rituals vary from village to village. While The Hist are the closest thing Argonians worship, they view their rituals with the trees as a sign of honor rather than worship.
Relationship With Sithis
Aside from revering The Hist, the Argonians are also known to worship Sithis, which is the deity of the void and death. They often view Sithis as a being of both change and destruction that is intended to teach them to accept that nothing is constant and let go of regrets.
Additionally, every Argonian child born under the sign of The Shadow is trained by the Dark Brotherhood to become an elite assassin called a Shadowscale. These assassins are viewed as Sithis’s will incarnate and for a while were honored among Argonians.
Are More In Relation To Crocodiles Than Lizards
Being reptiles, many would assume that Argonians are some sort of lizard. However, they are actually more similar to crocodiles or alligators, as they are both water/land-dwelling animals, have large teeth, and have flat-sided tails. Referring to them as lizards is actually considered a slur, yet is still a common name referred to them by other races.
Were Slaves To The Dunmer
To the north of Black Marsh is Morrowind, where the Dunmer live. The Dunmer viewed Argonians as lesser, and would throughout history raid the Black Marsh to capture Argonians and make them as slaves. The captured Argonians rebelled multiple times against the Dunmer, and used their skills in guerrilla tactics to outsmart an enemy that was much stronger than them. At the beginning of the 4th Era, the Argonians ended up getting their vengeance on the Dunmer by attacking a weakened Morrowind devastated by the eruption of the massive volcano, The Red Mountain.
Fought Off An Oblivion Invasion
The central storyline within Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion involves Cyrodil dealing with the Oblivon Crisis. This event was caused by the Daedric Prince of Destruction Mehrunes Dagon and it involved Oblivion Gates popping out of nowhere to release hordes of Daedra. Many of the strongest factions struggled in dealing with the Daedra, but thanks to The Hist, the Argonians were forewarned of the coming invasion.
The Hist enhanced the strength of the Argonians, and when the Oblivion Gate appeared, the Argonians charged right at it and overpowered the invaders. The overwhelming strength of the Argonians ended up being too much for the Daedra and they were forced to close the gate.
Feud With Khajiits
The Argonians do not have great relations with their neighbors. Aside from the Dunmer, who the Argonians hate for obvious reasons, they also do not get along with the Khajiits. This can be somewhat surprising as they have similar histories of oppression and are both Beastfolk races. However, the big reason the Khajiit dislike the Argonians is because the Argonians are blamed for a deadly disease that posed a huge threat to everybody except for the Argonians.
There Is A Rumor They Can Become Werecrocodiles
Fans of Skyrim and its DLCs will know that both werewolves and werebears roam the wilds of Tamriel, but many do not know of the werecrocodiles. According to The Elder Scrolls novel The Infernal City, there is a strain of lycanthropy found in the Black Marsh which turns Argonians into monstrous crocodiles. It is not entirely clear as to whether werecrocodiles are real or not, as Argonians do not acknowledge their existence and claim that any evidence relating to werecrocodile is simply the work of normal crocodiles.
Likely Based On Mesoamerican Cultures
A lot of the races within Elder Scrolls are based on real-life cultures. The Argonians seem to be loosely based on the civilizations within Mesoamerica. In particular, the Argonians have similar aesthetics to both the Mayans and the Aztecs. Additionally, the Argonians are said to have built pyramids that are similar to those found within these civilizations.