Lore:Death/Argonian

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Argonian Beliefs and Customs

An Argonian digging graves

Argonian souls return to the Hist after death. A Hist tree's sap is its soul. When an Argonian is created, the Hist's sap becomes the Argonian's blood, essence, and soul. Argonian spirits are made from the essence of their Hist tree, which is the sap. In accordance with this, Argonian corpses are laid to rest in the wilds without much extra casing, save for a mask and a stake.

The Adzi-Kostleel tribe of Argonians believe that the world was created in a struggle between two spirits. Originally, there was Atak, the Great Root. As Atak grew, its roots "formed new roots, and those roots took names, and they wanted space of their own to grow." Soon, it discovered the serpent spirit, Kota, who had been born from the nothing and hungered. Atak and Kota fought and ate at each other until they became something new and indistinguishable, Atakota. They shed their skin and Shadow and went to sleep. The Shadow ate the roots and was changed by them, keeping them safe and telling them the secrets before releasing them instead of devouring them, letting itself sleep as well. The secrets changed the roots, making them realize they were now temporary and could change.

Many of the spirits learned to fear this change, calling it Death. The chaos that ensued awoke Atakota and split them once more, leading to Atak and Kota and their roots going to war over the existence of Death. Some of the roots drank of Atakota's blood and sap until they grew scales, fangs, and wings. Other roots were protected by a Forest Spirit, singing with her and becoming one with the forest. In the chaos of the war, the Shadow awoke and ate both Atak and Kota, shedding the skin of Atakota and covering all of the roots, promising to keep them safe.

Argonian Funerary Customs

When an Argonian dies, their corpse is laid to rest in the marsh to return to the Hist, so their soul may be incarnated once more. Burying the bodies, or at least allowing them to be among nature, allows them to return to the Hist. Argonians that have died away from the Hist, even in stone prisons such as White Rose, can return to the Hist by bringing their bones to the dirt.

Traditionally, the deceased is fitted with a wooden funerary mask and buried in the ground. A xul-vaat, or grave-stake, is used to pin the corpse into the mud (whether it's buried or not) so it doesn't float up to the surface when the marsh inevitably floods. This also prevents corpses from rising as an undead bog blight.

The xul-vaat don't just prevent the corpses from floating to the surface of the bog: the deceased's story is carved upon their stake. Tales of their victories and defeats, tales from childhood, names of friends, dreams, and nightmares—a grave-stake tells those who see it about the corpse it impales. Each stake planted into the mud tells a story, some as old as the marsh itself. Sometimes they are laid at the roots of the Hist. Others are buried in graveyards or a place that held sentimental value for the deceased, and for some the body is staked where it fell. The stake marks the burial site and serves as a remembrance until it is claimed by the swamp.

A Naga kaal fighting bog blights

When death arrives to a tribe, the tribe's grave-singer is called upon to tend the corpse and stake it. The grave-singer is tasked with reading their tribe's stakes, and when someone dies, they sing the fallen one's final song. Grave-Singers care for the bodies of the fallen and deal with death, however it may appear to the tribe. The grave-singer of the Naga-Kur has an additional task: harvesting scales, skin, bones and other parts from the bodies of the fallen as needed, so the tribe can make weapons and armor. Argonian spirits return to the Hist when they die; the Naga-Kur do not bind their spirits to the weapons they make with the bones of their fallen kin.

Sometimes, grave-stakes come loose, usually by being pulled from the mud by an unsuspecting or malicious individual. When this happens, a formerly staked corpse can rise from the dead as a bog blight. They have been described as "dead-and-not-dead things that eat Nagas whole", and are dangerous in large numbers. Bog blights can be kept at bay with the use of pahnjees (or "fumers"), racks of oily, spoiled meat that mask a living person's scent from bog blights. Life energy clings to grave-stakes. This powerful force can be used to fuel necromantic rituals.

Those who commit blasphemies against the Saxhleel are punished by denying them the ability to return to the Hist. This can be done by binding them to an urn. None of the Argonians buried following the rites of the Hist are anointed with Arkay's Blessing, which in the very least prevents the souls of other races from being used without their consent. Even so, it is uncommon for foreign necromancers to come to Black Marsh to practice their art, because corpses decay very quickly.

Gallery

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  An Argonian graveyard

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  A graveyard in Shadowfen

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  A grave-stake memorial site

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  A bog blight walks free

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  A Naga-Kur kaal attempting to read a grave-stake with the aid of a grave-singer