Elder Scrolls Lore » Discussions


Argonian Part 2: The Hist

  • July 1, 2014

    Disclaimer: I did not create this work. It is the work of one of our ex-members, Vix. I felt that his work should still remain here for all to see, so I will be reposting it here. 

     

    One of the topics that seems to have some support is the Hist.  This odd race is one of the oldest and certainly one of the most enigmatic.  Much like the Argonians themselves the Hist are insular and sparsely documented.

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    Origin:

          One of the legacies most well known about the Hist is that they are the oldest race on Nirn.  This, in itself, is half true. The Hist are part of one of twelve original 'worlds of creation'. This was said to be physically smashed by Sithis (corroborating the dangers of the Khajiit tales though switching the roles of Sithis and Anu). They were created along with the Ehlnofey who split into two separate factions, wanderers and the Old Ehlnofey. These two factions in particular started a war which engulfed Nirn, destroying the other original races and leaving only two, the Wanderers and the Hist. The Hist remained neutral the Ehlnofey's war overtook the realm, sinking lands and raising others which led to the catastrophic destruction of large swaths of the Hists' land and people (Annotated Anuad). The Ehlnofey became the races of Mer, Men, and Tsaesci (not specifically the Khajiit or other Akaviri who have claim to being exceptionally ancient as well). Perhaps as one of the stranger aspects, Sithis is still understood a the being responsible for creation by the Hist (Monomyth).  The Hist remain the oldest confirmed race on Nirn that isn't a derivitive.

     

    Communication:

          On occasion, the confusion about the nature of the Black Marsh sentient race has led Tamrielic scholars to entirely skip over their race as having any purpose and state that the Hist are a breed of Argonian entirely unrelated to the trees (Pocket Guide to the Empire 1st edition). This is simply not so, however the illusion is quite strong when considering that the Hist can communicate with certain individuals. The An-Xileel Argonian nationalist political party that was in charge at the dawn of the 4th era were one such group. The Hist conversed with them and advised them on what to do which may, to outsiders, seem like the trees themselves were entirely unrelated to the 'will of the Hist' as interpreted by native Argonians (Infernal City).

          But what is the limit of their abilities? The Hist themselves are said to not be able to see or speak but can feel and communicate in different ways. They have a complex series of thoughts and are able to process and classify information and are, for all intents and purposes, a sentient race with the gift of long or eternal life (The Seed). The Hist are connected at the root, each forming something like a synaptic link to a corporate entity. However, while these bonds allow for a great measure of corporate thought individuals still are able to rebel and go against the common will of the other Hist. In the event this does happen the 'rogue' Hist trees are purged by the remaining Hist. One principle defining factor is that it seems foreigners are able to sense certain moods of the Hist by close contact. Being close to one of the Hist will allow even other races to sense certain key emotional contexts. The peculiarity is that this may not be a racial feature but a geographical feature as ex-patriated Argonians, called Lukiul by the Argonians, lose their ability to hear and communicate with the Hist. The Hist themselves communicated the danger of the Oblivion crisis, relaying the information to the An-Xileel political party, who in turn were able to anticipate the opening of Mehrunes Dagon's legions in Black Marsh. The Hist seem to be able to form some sort of mental telepathy quite similar to how the Aldmer and Psijic function. This allowed many Argonians to return either by request of the An-Xileel or the Hist themselves if they could sense it. This led to an actual invasion of Mehrune's Dagon's realm when the Oblivion gates opened, forcing the Daedra back and requiring them to close the gates in defeat (Infernal City).

     

    Physical Qualities:

          The Hist and Hist Sap have value to other civilizations as well. The Dwemer (or possibly Dunmer) knew this and found the Hist sap could be worked into plates and molded shape creating the highest quality resin. As such they cut down large swaths of the Hist growing in Black Marsh. Certain sources believe that in retaliation for Dunmer aggression in the second era the Hist derived a plague from their spores to act as a measure of defence. This created the Knahaten plague of 2E 560 which devastated not only the Dunmer but the rest of Tamriel, though not to the same extent as the Thrassian plague. Yet this left the Argonians untouched and pointed to them as responsible for the act to both aggressors and non-aggressor races (Pocket Guide to the Empire 1st edition).  One of the other qualities imbued by the Hist sap is that when ingested it acts as a powerful hallucinogenic agent yet fortifies physical abilities, making individuals stronger and faster.

          While certain trees can grow separately they are also known to congregate in great forests(Argonian Account). This allows the connections to be much closer and the corporate nature of the Hist becomes more apparent. However, what cities in Black Marsh do exist in a sedentary fashion tend to group around Hist trees. This may act as a conduit to the greater body or it may be remains of old forests (Infernal City).  Around these large congregations the Argonian environment seems to grow far more readily. This creates the swamplands and other foliage of Black Marsh. When the Hist are destroyed it forms an irrevocable impact on the local ecosystem which dries up water, causes migration of animals, and ruins the land. This consistency may be the reason why towns are formed in the first place. Reclamation of Hist cleared land is made more difficult given that the Hist trees do not seem to have any methods of reproduction. When the Hist are destroyed there is no recourse, this is why their destruction is seen as such an enormous disaster for Argonians far dwarfing their own mortality (The Seed).

     

    Importance:

          Outsiders frequently see the Hist as nothing but large spore-trees that are in the middle of Black Marsh (Pocket Guide to the Empire 1st edition). It's unsure to what degree the Argonians worship the Hist though typically the view is that they are deified by the Agonians (Pocket Guide to the Empire 3rd edition). The Argonians themselves see the Hist as the conduit to eternal life through reincarnation. When the Argonians die they 'return to the root' and can be reborn with fragments of their former selves and former experiences (Infernal City). This in itself suggests a close proximity to the 'Dream Sleeve' view of Aetherius regarding forced reincarnation and mental trauma before being forced back to Nirn. In this way the Hist facilitate the religious beliefs of the Argonians in close parallel to the usual Cyrodiilic view of the divines. It's likewise no surprise that thanks to this kind of a contradiction coupled with sentient communicable trees that the Black Marsh religions defy Tamrielic scholars ability to quantify and religions of Black Marsh (Varieties of Faith).

          The Hist are said to be the absolute cornerstone of the Argonian race given how important they are on physical and mental development. It's from the Hist that the Argonians get their name as 'People of the Root'. This is done by a somewhat peculiar ritual that causes a metamorphosis in young Argonians. The Hist trees exude a sap that has certain potent qualities. The Argonians themselves are hatched from eggs and at a specified time called a Naming Day they are allowed to lick the sap from the Hist trees (Morrowind Dialogue). This sap quickly changes the Argonians' form, quickly allowing their limbs to grow and their mind develop and allow for far more complex thoughts(Infernal City). It's not difficult to speculate with some degree of certainty in saying that without the Hist sap the Argonian race may very well be simply a somewhat intelligent species of small tree lizards able to comprehend emotions but not able to actively think for themselves. Instead, the Hist sap, in different doses, creates a great array of forms.  As such they are not where near as homogenous as the Khajiit sub-races (Argonian Account).

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          As we can see the Hist retain a certain legacy and certainly a notable place not only in Black Marsh but have tendrils of their actions felt in the various regions of Tamriel as well.  Despite being insular they have some information gleamed by in-game books and lore, however, there is a great amount derived from Greg Keyes work The Infernal City

    ← Part 1: Culture and Society      Part 3: Black Marsh →

  • Member
    July 1, 2014
    What happened to Vix? When I tried to go on his Heart of Pelltine build, it said the. Page could not be found.
  • Member
    July 1, 2014
    So, since people have been able. To get cached versions of his Pelltine build, maybe the same is true for his Lore stuff!
  • July 1, 2014

    wtf his stuff was here today - I had just looked at his articles on the Khajiit. I cannot imagine him removing the articles - makes no sense. I am upset that if he did come back to remove it, he didn't bother to say 'hello' to me.

  • Member
    July 1, 2014
    And I'll never know because I'm not an Admin, I'm just a co host in the RP group. Well, atleast I'll have my reign as ruler of the RP group and a spot on the Elder Council.
  • July 1, 2014

    aye...just posted a few minutes ago, but this is closer to how I feel...

  • Member
    July 1, 2014
    Ben, what did you post? I wanna know! Anyway, atleast I have a cached version of his build. Wonder why he took them down? Is it legal for us to repost his build, and give him credit?
  • July 2, 2014

    I see no problem with it. And Emer is the site owner, so if he's fine with it, then there is no problem. (If I recall, Vix himself disliked many copyright laws).

  • Member
    July 9, 2014

    I saw this on MK's Tumblr:

    Is it true that not every Saxhleel are Argonians but many Argonians are Saxhleel? Can members from other races be also Argonians by The Hist's will (an Argonian Bosmer, an Argonian Orc...)?

    Yes to both questions.

    I'm not sure what it even means, can anyone explain?

    I know Kirkbride's comments aren't considered canon until backed up by an in-game source but I wanted to share anyway. It could mean something to roleplayers.

  • Member
    July 9, 2014
    From the events of Oblivion, we know that any other race who consumes the sap goes cray-cray. So I consider it impossible.