07-08-2009, 12:26 AM
“Lore-Correct” Flora & Fauna of Blackmarsh:
As researched by Koniption on “The Imperial Library” Website @
http://www.imperial-library.info/
IG's Note: Note also these websites: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Ingredients & http://oblivion.melian.cc/?cmd=cmdOblivi...edientList .
Fauna / Creatures -
Fleshflies (swarming insects):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
The swarms of blood-colored, sand-grain-sized insects obscuring the air did not improve the view. Don't let the fleshflies in!" / "Fleshflies?" Decumus Scotti trembled. "You mean, they eat human flesh?" / "If you're fool enough to stand around and let them," the soldier said, rolling his eyes. He had half an ear, and Scotti, looking around at the other soldiers in the fort noted that they all were well-chewed. One of them had no nose at all to speak of. "Now, what's your business?"
Hackwings (bird):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
Shadows flitted across the landscape, and when Scotti looked up, he saw they were being cast by giant birds with long, saw-like beaks nearly the size of the rest of their bodies. / "Hackwings," Chaero Gemullus, an Imperial on Scotti's left, who might have been young but looked old and beaten, muttered. "Like everything else in this damnable place, they'll eat you if you don't keep moving. Beggars pounce down and give you a nasty chop, and then fly off and come back when you're mostly dead from blood loss."
Trodh (fish):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
He even let Scotti share his bucket of trodh, tiny little crunchy fish, he had bought from the villagers. Scotti would have preferred them cooked, or at any rate, dead, but Gemullus blithely explained that dead, cooked trodh are deadly poison. / "If I were where I was supposed to be," Scotti pouted, putting one of the wriggling little creatures in his mouth. "I could be having a roast, and some cheese, and a glass of wine."
Rootworms (worm-based transport):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
...poking at the viscuous mud intermittently. Finally he found a spot which triggered a mass of big oily bubbles to rise to the surface. / "Perfect," he said. "Now, the important thing is not to panic. The express will take you due south, that's the wintertide migration, and you'll know you're near Gideon when you see a lot of red clay. Just don't panic, and when you see a mass of bubbles, that's a breathing hole you can use to get out." / Gemullus took Scotti by the shoulder and positioning him on top of the mass of bubbles. "You stand right here …" / Scotti sank quickly into the mud, staring at the smuggler, horror-struck. / "And remember to wait 'til you see the red clay, and then the next time you see bubbles, push up …" / ..."And don't panic at the idea that you're being digested. You could live in a rootworm's belly for months." / ...The clerk felt a warmth he hadn't expected all around him. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was entirely surrounded by a translucent goo, and was traveling rapidly forward, southward, gliding through the mud as if it were air, skipping along an intricate network of roots. Scotti felt confusion and euphoria in equal measures, madly rushing forward through an alien environment of darkness, spinning around and over the thick fibrous tentacles of the trees. It was if he were high in the sky at midnight, not deep beneath the swamp in the Underground Express. / Looking up slightly at the massive root structure above, Scotti saw something wriggle past. A eight-foot-long, armless, legless, colorless, boneless, eyeless, nearly shapeless creature, riding the roots. Something dark was inside of it, and as it came closer, Scotti could see it was an Argonian man. He waved, and the disgusting creature the Argonian was in flattened slightly and rushed onward. / Gemullus's words began to reappear in Scotti's mind at this sight. "The wintertide migration," "air hole," "you're being digested," -- these were the phrases that danced around as if trying to find some place to live in a brain which was highly resistant to them coming in. But there was no other way to look at the situation. Scotti had gone from eating living fish to being eaten alive as a way of transport. He was in one of those worms.
Furry rat-like creatures that live in trees:
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
Two gray Argonians were standing under a tree nearby, holding a net. They looked in Scotti's direction with polite curiosity. In their net, Scotti noticed, were several squirming furry rat-like creatures. While he addressed them, another fell out of the tree. Though Scotti had not been educated in this practice, he recognized fishing when he saw it.
Voriplasm (carnivorous slime, water-dwelling):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
Scotti looked in the direction Shehs was watching, and saw nothing unusual in the filthy water. Then, he realized that the pool of green slime in front of them was actually moving, and fairly quickly, from one bank to the other. It deposited small bones behind it as it oozed up into the reeds, and disappeared. / "Voriplasm," Shehs explained, moving the boat forward again. "Big word. It'll strip you to the bone by the second syllable."
Swamp Leviathan:
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
Half submerged in the water ahead was a mountain of spines, lying on nine-foot-long claws. White eyes stared blindly forward, and then suddenly the whole creature spasmed and lurched, the jaw of its mouth jutting out, exposing tusks clotted with gore. / "Swamp Leviathan," Shehs whistled, impressed. "Very, very dangerous."
Wamasus (dragon-like):
Argonian Compendium @ The Imperial Library website
Wamasus or Wamasii were at one time found in Black Marsh. They reportedly resemble dragons, are very formidable, and have magical properties including some shock attacks. It is possible they may still live. This artifact description gives some information about them. / Tamrielic Artifacts- Fang of Haynekhtnamet: Black Marsh was once known to be inhabited with what the Argonians called the Wamasus. Northern men considered them to be intelligent dragons with lightning for blood. One such mighty beast, Haynekhtnamet, was slain by the Northern men, though it took 7 days and nights, and a score of men. One of the surviving men took a fang home as a trophy. The fang was carved down into a blade and fashioned into a small dagger. The Dagger mysteriously houses some of the beast's magical properties and grants the user the ability to do shock damage on an opponent. This unique Dagger is seen occasionally by traveling heroes.
WereCrocodiles & WereLions – (Lycanthropic races):
Argonian Compendium @ The Imperial Library website
In Black Marsh and southern Morrowind, werecrocodiles stalk the swamps. Black Marsh also shares with the Imperial Province and the wetter parts of Elsweyr the vile presence of werelions.
Tree-dwelling Liazards:
From "Notes on Racial Phylogeny and Biology, Seventh Edition":
...it is by no means clear whether the Argonians should be classified with dreugh, men, mer, or (in this author's opinion), certain tree-dwelling lizards in Black Marsh.
Sloads (a sentient race):
From "On the Preparation of the Corpse":
Finding suitable corpses in Black Marsh is nearly impossible due to their rapid decay. There are also diseases, Argonian tribesmen, and other difficulties that must be dealt with. I know of only a few Sload Necromancers who operate successfully in Black Marsh, and even they stay near coast.
Feather Serpent:
From Attrebus's character description from TESA Redguard:
"...and nearly lost a leg to an Argonian feather-serpent during the grueling pursuit of Reekee's kidnappers into the depths of Black Marsh in 861."
Marsh Cat (sentient-like feline):
From "Antecedents of Dwemer Law"
It is instructive to compare what Dhark has mentioned concerning the rude beasts of the Tenmar forests. "If a marsh cat was killed by an Argonian, his family were in disgrace till they retaliated by killing the Argonian, or another like it; but further, if a marsh cat was killed by a fall from a tree, his relatives would take their revenge by toppling the tree, and shattering its branches, and casting them to every part of the forest."
Mosquitoes (quite possibly in Blackmarsh, but definitely in Tamriel overall):
"The Armorer's Challenge" :By Mymophonus
[...]Over the next several days, they worked together to create a beautiful dai-katana with an edge honed sharp enough to trim a mosquito's eyebrows,[...]
Wombat (was found in Rockcreek (perhaps native animal) and was a pet..Rockcreek is in Blackmarshes,):
From "Ius, Animal God" by Buljursoma (Tedders)
It seems that many, many years ago, before the reign of Uriel Septim VII, before the reign of Cephorus Septim II, yes, even before the age of Pelagius Septim III (long may his name be praised!), there lived a wombat who was the pet of Lady Greelina, daughter of the Lord Prufrock of Rockcreek. Lady Greelina loved her wombat so, and it loved her too with all the passionate intensity a marsupial can muster.
Flora / Plants -
Blue Moss:
"The Argonian Account" -by Waughin Jarth
Shehs showed Scotti the vast complicated ruins of the Kothringi capitals, fields of ferns and flowered grasses, quiet streams under canopies of blue moss, and the most astonishing sight of Scotti's life -- the great forest of full-grown Hist trees.
Lumberries (fruit):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
As Scotti and Mailic came closer, they saw it was filled with a cargo of black berries so decayed that they had become hardly recognizable... more a festering jelly than a wagonload of fruit. / Yes, they were going to the city of Gideon, and, yes, they said, Scotti could get a ride with them after they were finished unloading this shipment of lumberries.
Weed that makes Argonian Women attractive to other races:
From "Fools' Ebony, Part the Fiveth":
There seem to be weeds that, when partaken of, make Argonian women appear very attractive. Note that the following unverifiable myth does not say that the Argonian women do anything with the weeds themselves. It is the one who partakes of (eats, imbibes) the weeds who finds Argonian women attractive. The following story is a recounted myth said to have taken place in the Third Era "before the age of Pelagius Septim III". In real life it was written by Tedders and which he says was a joking explanation for an oddity in the randomly generated layout of the town of Rockcreek, Black Marsh in TES I: Arena.
Raspberries:
From "Ius, Animal God" by Buljursoma (Tedders)
I do not have any information one way or the other about the validity of this second myth. It is, however, quite traditional....Unfortunately, it was a time of great sorrow in Rockcreek. A pestilence had come through the town, destroying all their cash crops (which consisted of raspberries and a few scraggly odd weeds that caused Argonian women to look very attractive to those who partook)
Flora or Creature ??? -
Hist (“spore trees”):
From "The Pocket Guide to the Empire", Wild Regions section
...the native inhabitants of the swamplands, a collection of beastly tribes of "lizard-men," have become, in common parlance, the Argonians. / Argonians are rarely seen outside of their homeland, except for a relatively intelligent strain called the hist. Individuals of this strain are repulsive, but peaceful enough to be tolerated among the human kingdoms, and can be found as far from Black Marsh as western Hammerfell. The rest of the Argonians are primitive, reclusive, and practice heathen rituals of nature worship that necessitates a proximity to a certain type of spore-tree, which grows only in the interior of their native swamplands. / Black Marsh never regained its Provincial status after the dissolution of the Second Empire, though some parts of it are still considered Imperial territories. In CE560, the Knahaten Flu spread through greater Argonia, claiming the lives of the Kothringi tribesmen, the only humans to have persisted in the area for long. The hist proved immune to the effects of this plague, leading to wild rumors that they had, in fact, created it through a manipulation of their cherished spore-trees.
BlueDev on what "Hist" is referring to: From the Elder Scrolls Forums, posted 04/16/01
This is neither a typo nor bad grammar. The PGE will tell you that the Hist are "a relatively intelligent strain" of Argonians. The Guide contains many inaccuracies, and this is one of them. You will also notice that the Guide mentions "a certain type of spore tree" that native Argonians might worship. Speaking generally, it is these trees that are the Hist. As for the relationship, I'm not talking yet.
Misc Info-
Skooma made from Dragon's Tongue:
From “An Alchemist’s Guide to Skooma”
Poppy skooma gives the user a slight floating sensation and more aggravated mood swings, with more pronounced ecstasy and more appalling depression. When served with goat’s milk, users actually levitate, which is amusing to many skooma consumers. Bitter Coast marshmerrow skooma has an exceptionally sweet taste and heightens perception, while Black Marsh dragon’s-tongue Skooma rivals even nightshade in its potency, with the added bonus of seemingly endless endurance.
As researched by Koniption on “The Imperial Library” Website @
http://www.imperial-library.info/
IG's Note: Note also these websites: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Ingredients & http://oblivion.melian.cc/?cmd=cmdOblivi...edientList .
Fauna / Creatures -
Fleshflies (swarming insects):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
The swarms of blood-colored, sand-grain-sized insects obscuring the air did not improve the view. Don't let the fleshflies in!" / "Fleshflies?" Decumus Scotti trembled. "You mean, they eat human flesh?" / "If you're fool enough to stand around and let them," the soldier said, rolling his eyes. He had half an ear, and Scotti, looking around at the other soldiers in the fort noted that they all were well-chewed. One of them had no nose at all to speak of. "Now, what's your business?"
Hackwings (bird):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
Shadows flitted across the landscape, and when Scotti looked up, he saw they were being cast by giant birds with long, saw-like beaks nearly the size of the rest of their bodies. / "Hackwings," Chaero Gemullus, an Imperial on Scotti's left, who might have been young but looked old and beaten, muttered. "Like everything else in this damnable place, they'll eat you if you don't keep moving. Beggars pounce down and give you a nasty chop, and then fly off and come back when you're mostly dead from blood loss."
Trodh (fish):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
He even let Scotti share his bucket of trodh, tiny little crunchy fish, he had bought from the villagers. Scotti would have preferred them cooked, or at any rate, dead, but Gemullus blithely explained that dead, cooked trodh are deadly poison. / "If I were where I was supposed to be," Scotti pouted, putting one of the wriggling little creatures in his mouth. "I could be having a roast, and some cheese, and a glass of wine."
Rootworms (worm-based transport):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
...poking at the viscuous mud intermittently. Finally he found a spot which triggered a mass of big oily bubbles to rise to the surface. / "Perfect," he said. "Now, the important thing is not to panic. The express will take you due south, that's the wintertide migration, and you'll know you're near Gideon when you see a lot of red clay. Just don't panic, and when you see a mass of bubbles, that's a breathing hole you can use to get out." / Gemullus took Scotti by the shoulder and positioning him on top of the mass of bubbles. "You stand right here …" / Scotti sank quickly into the mud, staring at the smuggler, horror-struck. / "And remember to wait 'til you see the red clay, and then the next time you see bubbles, push up …" / ..."And don't panic at the idea that you're being digested. You could live in a rootworm's belly for months." / ...The clerk felt a warmth he hadn't expected all around him. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was entirely surrounded by a translucent goo, and was traveling rapidly forward, southward, gliding through the mud as if it were air, skipping along an intricate network of roots. Scotti felt confusion and euphoria in equal measures, madly rushing forward through an alien environment of darkness, spinning around and over the thick fibrous tentacles of the trees. It was if he were high in the sky at midnight, not deep beneath the swamp in the Underground Express. / Looking up slightly at the massive root structure above, Scotti saw something wriggle past. A eight-foot-long, armless, legless, colorless, boneless, eyeless, nearly shapeless creature, riding the roots. Something dark was inside of it, and as it came closer, Scotti could see it was an Argonian man. He waved, and the disgusting creature the Argonian was in flattened slightly and rushed onward. / Gemullus's words began to reappear in Scotti's mind at this sight. "The wintertide migration," "air hole," "you're being digested," -- these were the phrases that danced around as if trying to find some place to live in a brain which was highly resistant to them coming in. But there was no other way to look at the situation. Scotti had gone from eating living fish to being eaten alive as a way of transport. He was in one of those worms.
Furry rat-like creatures that live in trees:
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
Two gray Argonians were standing under a tree nearby, holding a net. They looked in Scotti's direction with polite curiosity. In their net, Scotti noticed, were several squirming furry rat-like creatures. While he addressed them, another fell out of the tree. Though Scotti had not been educated in this practice, he recognized fishing when he saw it.
Voriplasm (carnivorous slime, water-dwelling):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
Scotti looked in the direction Shehs was watching, and saw nothing unusual in the filthy water. Then, he realized that the pool of green slime in front of them was actually moving, and fairly quickly, from one bank to the other. It deposited small bones behind it as it oozed up into the reeds, and disappeared. / "Voriplasm," Shehs explained, moving the boat forward again. "Big word. It'll strip you to the bone by the second syllable."
Swamp Leviathan:
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
Half submerged in the water ahead was a mountain of spines, lying on nine-foot-long claws. White eyes stared blindly forward, and then suddenly the whole creature spasmed and lurched, the jaw of its mouth jutting out, exposing tusks clotted with gore. / "Swamp Leviathan," Shehs whistled, impressed. "Very, very dangerous."
Wamasus (dragon-like):
Argonian Compendium @ The Imperial Library website
Wamasus or Wamasii were at one time found in Black Marsh. They reportedly resemble dragons, are very formidable, and have magical properties including some shock attacks. It is possible they may still live. This artifact description gives some information about them. / Tamrielic Artifacts- Fang of Haynekhtnamet: Black Marsh was once known to be inhabited with what the Argonians called the Wamasus. Northern men considered them to be intelligent dragons with lightning for blood. One such mighty beast, Haynekhtnamet, was slain by the Northern men, though it took 7 days and nights, and a score of men. One of the surviving men took a fang home as a trophy. The fang was carved down into a blade and fashioned into a small dagger. The Dagger mysteriously houses some of the beast's magical properties and grants the user the ability to do shock damage on an opponent. This unique Dagger is seen occasionally by traveling heroes.
WereCrocodiles & WereLions – (Lycanthropic races):
Argonian Compendium @ The Imperial Library website
In Black Marsh and southern Morrowind, werecrocodiles stalk the swamps. Black Marsh also shares with the Imperial Province and the wetter parts of Elsweyr the vile presence of werelions.
Tree-dwelling Liazards:
From "Notes on Racial Phylogeny and Biology, Seventh Edition":
...it is by no means clear whether the Argonians should be classified with dreugh, men, mer, or (in this author's opinion), certain tree-dwelling lizards in Black Marsh.
Sloads (a sentient race):
From "On the Preparation of the Corpse":
Finding suitable corpses in Black Marsh is nearly impossible due to their rapid decay. There are also diseases, Argonian tribesmen, and other difficulties that must be dealt with. I know of only a few Sload Necromancers who operate successfully in Black Marsh, and even they stay near coast.
Feather Serpent:
From Attrebus's character description from TESA Redguard:
"...and nearly lost a leg to an Argonian feather-serpent during the grueling pursuit of Reekee's kidnappers into the depths of Black Marsh in 861."
Marsh Cat (sentient-like feline):
From "Antecedents of Dwemer Law"
It is instructive to compare what Dhark has mentioned concerning the rude beasts of the Tenmar forests. "If a marsh cat was killed by an Argonian, his family were in disgrace till they retaliated by killing the Argonian, or another like it; but further, if a marsh cat was killed by a fall from a tree, his relatives would take their revenge by toppling the tree, and shattering its branches, and casting them to every part of the forest."
Mosquitoes (quite possibly in Blackmarsh, but definitely in Tamriel overall):
"The Armorer's Challenge" :By Mymophonus
[...]Over the next several days, they worked together to create a beautiful dai-katana with an edge honed sharp enough to trim a mosquito's eyebrows,[...]
Wombat (was found in Rockcreek (perhaps native animal) and was a pet..Rockcreek is in Blackmarshes,):
From "Ius, Animal God" by Buljursoma (Tedders)
It seems that many, many years ago, before the reign of Uriel Septim VII, before the reign of Cephorus Septim II, yes, even before the age of Pelagius Septim III (long may his name be praised!), there lived a wombat who was the pet of Lady Greelina, daughter of the Lord Prufrock of Rockcreek. Lady Greelina loved her wombat so, and it loved her too with all the passionate intensity a marsupial can muster.
Flora / Plants -
Blue Moss:
"The Argonian Account" -by Waughin Jarth
Shehs showed Scotti the vast complicated ruins of the Kothringi capitals, fields of ferns and flowered grasses, quiet streams under canopies of blue moss, and the most astonishing sight of Scotti's life -- the great forest of full-grown Hist trees.
Lumberries (fruit):
The Argonian Account -by Waughin Jarth
As Scotti and Mailic came closer, they saw it was filled with a cargo of black berries so decayed that they had become hardly recognizable... more a festering jelly than a wagonload of fruit. / Yes, they were going to the city of Gideon, and, yes, they said, Scotti could get a ride with them after they were finished unloading this shipment of lumberries.
Weed that makes Argonian Women attractive to other races:
From "Fools' Ebony, Part the Fiveth":
There seem to be weeds that, when partaken of, make Argonian women appear very attractive. Note that the following unverifiable myth does not say that the Argonian women do anything with the weeds themselves. It is the one who partakes of (eats, imbibes) the weeds who finds Argonian women attractive. The following story is a recounted myth said to have taken place in the Third Era "before the age of Pelagius Septim III". In real life it was written by Tedders and which he says was a joking explanation for an oddity in the randomly generated layout of the town of Rockcreek, Black Marsh in TES I: Arena.
Raspberries:
From "Ius, Animal God" by Buljursoma (Tedders)
I do not have any information one way or the other about the validity of this second myth. It is, however, quite traditional....Unfortunately, it was a time of great sorrow in Rockcreek. A pestilence had come through the town, destroying all their cash crops (which consisted of raspberries and a few scraggly odd weeds that caused Argonian women to look very attractive to those who partook)
Flora or Creature ??? -
Hist (“spore trees”):
From "The Pocket Guide to the Empire", Wild Regions section
...the native inhabitants of the swamplands, a collection of beastly tribes of "lizard-men," have become, in common parlance, the Argonians. / Argonians are rarely seen outside of their homeland, except for a relatively intelligent strain called the hist. Individuals of this strain are repulsive, but peaceful enough to be tolerated among the human kingdoms, and can be found as far from Black Marsh as western Hammerfell. The rest of the Argonians are primitive, reclusive, and practice heathen rituals of nature worship that necessitates a proximity to a certain type of spore-tree, which grows only in the interior of their native swamplands. / Black Marsh never regained its Provincial status after the dissolution of the Second Empire, though some parts of it are still considered Imperial territories. In CE560, the Knahaten Flu spread through greater Argonia, claiming the lives of the Kothringi tribesmen, the only humans to have persisted in the area for long. The hist proved immune to the effects of this plague, leading to wild rumors that they had, in fact, created it through a manipulation of their cherished spore-trees.
BlueDev on what "Hist" is referring to: From the Elder Scrolls Forums, posted 04/16/01
This is neither a typo nor bad grammar. The PGE will tell you that the Hist are "a relatively intelligent strain" of Argonians. The Guide contains many inaccuracies, and this is one of them. You will also notice that the Guide mentions "a certain type of spore tree" that native Argonians might worship. Speaking generally, it is these trees that are the Hist. As for the relationship, I'm not talking yet.
Misc Info-
Skooma made from Dragon's Tongue:
From “An Alchemist’s Guide to Skooma”
Poppy skooma gives the user a slight floating sensation and more aggravated mood swings, with more pronounced ecstasy and more appalling depression. When served with goat’s milk, users actually levitate, which is amusing to many skooma consumers. Bitter Coast marshmerrow skooma has an exceptionally sweet taste and heightens perception, while Black Marsh dragon’s-tongue Skooma rivals even nightshade in its potency, with the added bonus of seemingly endless endurance.