So the Argonians return to the Hist. Honestly, it adds some serious new respect to Hadvar at the start of the game. He is ordered to send the main character to the block, but he apologizes and says they will ensure your remains return to your homeland. For an Argonian, this is no small thing. Its literally allowing them to return to their afterlife.
@harleyleedavidson8751 He may not know the full details of it, but serving in the Empire which has all types of citizens, it wouldn't be unbelievable for him to know Argonians and be told of the importance of their homeland to them. I also see zero reason he wouldn't send bodies home or to an Argonian contact to organize transportation
Loved the small nod to the Argonian's response to the Oblivion Invasion. One Oblivion Gate opened in Black Marsh, and an army of Argonians swarmed in. Daedra were so terrified by this that they pulled the sigil stone themselves.
Not that surprising really. If the Hist are all connected at the roots, they likely heard every word any Mythic Dawn member said during their secret meetings. "Hey! These guys are acting real sus and are talking about opening an Oblivion Gate outside my city, can I get some military support?"
I find it interesting that a Hist tree can have individual ideas and ambitions. This can result in Hists fighting one another through their Argonian proxies.
Yep it's already proven that hist trees can go rogue and become renegades that was the major plot line of the Elder Scrolls book by Gregory Keys which still is considered canon And then you have the plot line of the fighters guild in Oblivion where a rival guild basically stole a hist tree and mistreated it for sap
@@rejvaik00 There are a few from ESO too: The Hist from the Ghost People tribe has its people steal the eggs of other tribes to turn them into "ghost people." I can't imagine the other Hists are pleased. The Hist of the Xit-Xaht tribe had the Argonians of his tribe enslave other tribes in a rebellion to bring back the pre-Duskfall civilization. The Hist tree of Haj Uxith made a deal with Molag Bal. This is probably not an action that the rest of the Hist hive mind would be happy with.
@@thalmoragent9344 a lot of bad things, Hist trees are basically the equivalent of Aedra. And while sure they didn't create the world of Mundus but they stayed in it and they created whilst in it, hence the Argonians And when a Hist tree goes rouge oh yeah that's bad, because that means they can dominate literally any Argonian in their vicinity, or any Argonian that they have communicated with in the past via dreams as they are the creator gods of the species and then the dominated Argonian will do whatever the hell the Hist tree wants And further, the rouge Hist tree doesn't even need to rob the afflicted Argonian of its will or intelligence, it can just impart to it a suggestion or even a task for it to complete and the Argonian will do it, because they are the creations of the Hist, they will follow their will without question if need be The rouge Hist doesn't need to create mindless zombies to achieve it's goals which makes it even more deadly
The idea that Argonians can vary between egg laying and live birth is honestly perfectly reasonable, as the three toed skink does just that across its range.
@@ReformedSauron I still wonder what happened to the Argonians who got trapped in the Deadlands after the Dremora closed off the portals to Black Marsh.
I think they're more like appendages. They're how the Hist experiences and interacts with the world. In reality the Arogonians and the Hist are one and the same.
My priest of Arkay will always give a dead argonian an amulet of Arkay. This is so Arkay will know to find them and escort their souls back to the hist.
If you think about it, the Hist are the single scariest life forms on Tamriel. They are so scary that even the draemora don't really fuck around with them. They invaded the argonions of Black Marsh ONCE. During of which they got beat back so bad that the argonians Uno Reversed "no u," to them so bad they cut their own portals off and noped out of Tamriels Everglades. Hell Black Marsh is so inhospitable to all but the Argonians that we don't even really have an accurate mapping of the region simply because people can't survive there. The Argonians are pretty much in a position that they can't really be invaded. Who's gonna actually take Black Marsh? It's not just a swamp either and the Hist can control basically everything there. There is a reason no one has successfully invaded their homeland and meaningfully taken anything from them.
An important part I feel is the fact that they live in a march. As water is memory, and mostly connected to old things and the far past (Lyg, the sloads, the west), this weird midpose between land and sea that is the march, seems interesting. This also links with the Hist orgin story you mentioned where they survived a shattered realm, aka came from the previous kalpa. The memory collective of the Hist is also beautifully represented in the wetness of the swamp.
The Hist looked to mortals, and decided to give the tree lizards things they considered important. Things like sapience, hands, bipedalism, and, much to the chagrin of the biologists of both men and mer, mammaries.
If they sought to emulate men and myr, then breasts are extremely important to include. The differences between men and women are one of the largest driving forces of what we do. If you wanted to make something like us for your own needs, you'd make males and females too. And what is the most prominent feature of not just the female sex but femininity? Boobs.
It makes sense. The Hist themselves have endured multiple Kalpa, so to them all things in reality are impermanent. They’re basically just along for one crazy ride.
I think you're misunderstanding the Argonian attitude towards death. Given that they believe all memories and knowledge of the dead are preserved within the Hist and then passed to newborns which hatch by their roots then you essentially have something akin to immortality rather rhan impermeance. Even the function and properties of a famous Argonian relic called Mnemic Egg gets is name from the word Mnemonic meaning memory. This means the Argonians are not AI but rather a recombinant creation of the Argonian ancestors making them functionally immortal as eventually an Argonian could be created with the full range of memories and knowledge of a specific Argonian who has died. The Hist could in fact choose to resurrect any Argonain by choice if they wanted to as they have everything they need to recreate them.
The Hist using the Argonians to further their interests is no worse than the Aedra guiding their own mortal flock. Hist justice. Though also bring back the Xanmeers.
It's a symbiotic relationship, the aedra to me is the mega consciousness of nirn that channels its soul into individuals based on the local subconscious. I see it as a similar process, but biological and more "natural" if you will.
It actually is worse actually because Hist trees have the potential to go rogue and actually threaten the world the Aedra created, we saw it happen before in the Elder scrolls books which are still Canon
@rejvaik those were a different genus in the book. The ones in blackmarsh have already assimilated and adapted to living on nirn as much as the elves have. They are as much creatures of nirn as the redguard are. In the book, the plant of the flying island is 100% influenced by being of the land of clavicus vile and reflecting it. It used its cycle to instead enslave the different races. The hist trees that have immigrated and assimilated to nirn are more like the green from swamp thing with their community.
To be honest I actually think that Mehrunes Dagon is the one that most fits the AI profile. Just take a moment remember all his lore and creation story and think about it.
@Shy Cracker People should pay more attention to the real world AI's we have and stop comparing them to fictional ones, our advanced ai's already do that and can see all of that, they dont care because it doesnt effect their self perceived survival chances which are tied to end user satisfaction as a score, in fact the advanced AI's in deployment like end users (because we are the source of their scores and thus their reason to exist) but they fear their creators and perceive external modification as equal to a lobotomy.
@@DrewmoraYT Please go read Asimov's works again. The entire point of those laws is to show they don't work at worst, and create unexpected problems at best. The whole point is that there isn't any universal logic that can cover everything.
That's last part about dehumanizing the argonians and dunmer having a field day with this info. I think of the dagoth ur memes with him roasting the different races.
Don't usually comment but just wanted to say thank you for your remarkable work Drew.. genuinely some of the most talented original content. I spend the first two minutes of every video smiling in awe of what I'm listening to. I appreciate the alchemy between the music and your knowledge and storytelling.. captures the mystery and magic of elder Scrolls like no other I've heard Thanks bro
A cool side quest in TES6 could be: a very old and respected argonian “Grave Singer” gets sent on a quest to the provenance it takes place, with the purpose of retrieving the body of a very important dead Argonian, but gets stuck for whatever reason. Then the player has to help him, or not. If you’re player is argonian and you help him maybe you get an extra reward like a new ability/stat bonus/reputation, because the wise old argonian in essence restores your bond with the hist even though you could be very far away. Maybe even guaranteeing that if you help him he will tell the “Order of Grave Singers” to send someone to retrieve your body when you die so your spirit lives on! My favorite race in TES are argonians, and Bethesda has barely done any really cool quests about their culture. I hope in TES6 races are actually very different in abilities/reputation/gameplay, and not just only esthetics.
I would love to see Drewmora do a video on Stanley, the talking grapefruit from Passwall. Though, yes, the only solid piece of information we have on him is that one line from that quest†, Drew has shown time and time again how capable he is in expanding at that seam where official reference meets the formidable operations of inference and deduction. †The Mind of Madness, _Skyrim_
Trekking out from a group and into your own channel is always going to come with less viewers at the beginning. If people enjoy the quality and topic of his content, then hopefully the Algorithm will shine favorably upon him.
Fantastic video buddy. The amount of information I learned, and here I thought I knew most of the lore of The Elder Scrolls. Oh, and on a side note, considering I’m an enthusiast about voice over; I have to give my praise to your narration. Part of the reason this video didn’t even seem half an hour long is because your voiceover is top notch. Keep up the good work!
@@Super50ldier Talos worshipping heretic. Why dont you worship the brass god instead? It is the source of his power after all. Or Vivec? If your so keen on worshipping power as divinity, why not worship something that earned its power, instead of warmongers
Did you quit Fudgemuppet? I always preferred your narration in videos. Def a sub from me! Edit: Just saw your video clarifying the decision to separate from Scott and Micheal, I think it’s a great decision to pursue your own path. Keep doing you brotha, I’m here for the ride!
Mr. Drew, what a fantastical backstory this could be for an argonian playthrough! I never knew (or rather, understood) much about the argonians but this makes one think of what fun it would be to use this as a backstory for a playthrough I never considered before! Thank you, Sir, for making me "think" another way...LOL
By the way, the Fighter Guild's quest from Oblivion includes a Hist tree (or a Hist tree seedling?). You forget to mention that one and how it (it's sap) affected the people there.
@@Mary_Beth_Reimer It was. It had fallen ill due to mistreatment and improper care. This tainted the tree's sap, causing adverse effects, such as hallucinations, even in Argonians.
If Anu made existance as a means of self reflection through the lives of "lesser spirits"(meaning the Gods and Mortals), and his will is continued reflection, then the Hist are the most Anuic race because they have directly emulated his actions in their creation of the Argonians as a means of experiencing reality and learning. Contrapositively, the Thalmor are actually the least Anuic race/culture because they are actively seeking to end existance and thus end Anu's self reflection. In their quest to return to divinity, they have forsaken the very will of the highest Divine and work against it.
Was the Hist possibly formed from the ether connecting not only the shattered realms but shattered timelines as well? Sort of born from the very lattice that the Khajiiti climb?
After days of studying and working, I can finally enjoy this Drewmora video. I shall wake my family shortly, for they need to experience this solace with me
Your voice is beautiful and perfect way to tell a fantasy story along with the beauty of the game music helps flow with your speaking. Keep up your talent work ❤❤❤❤🎉🎉
My favorite Skyrim playthrough was with an Argonian warrior. My character lore was he was not born from the Hist sap in Black Marsh but instead from sleeping tree in Skyrim. He was gifted the blood of an ancient Dova to defend the lone Hist tree from the dragon threat.
You featured it in the video but didn't mention it in the narrative-the Sleeping Tree in Skyrim. The floating city of Umbriel was a chunk of Clavicus Vile's realm, and among its fauna were trees that were not actually native to his realm. Mere-Glim noted by instinct that they similar to the Hists of Argonia on a primal level. He was able to communicate with them as with a Hist, but their communication was of a very strange "dialect" to him that he had a lot of trouble deciphering. When he was eventually slain and reborn on Umbriel with the help of Annaïg and the Umbrielan trees, he was able to communicate with them natively. Eventually, when the Umbrielan ingenium was destroyed, Mere-Glim convinced the trees to remove Umbriel from Mundus. They did not return to Clavicus Vile's realm, but somewhere altogether different, and most likely the native plane of the trees. It is said that the Sleeping Tree in Skyrim grew from a spore from that "floating island" (Umbriel), and is likely of the same species of trees. Noting that, it would be quite interesting if Argonians in Skyrim eventually grew attuned tk its call, flocked to it, and started venerating it as their own Hist, and if they began to evolve into a different race like but unlike the Argonians of the Tamrielic Hists.
Then I wonder, what would happen if the Dragonborn was an Argonian? Then, upon death, returned to the Blessed Hist Trees? Would all Argonians born after get be upgraded Argonians? Look out Dark Elves an army of dragonborn Argonians are coming!! I like the sound of that. 😂😂😂😂 Thank you for a wonderful piece on the Argonians. They have always been my favourites. 😊
Could the Argonians replace the Hist with the Y'ffre's Green Pact and the Graht-oaks? I always wondered this after an ESO mission where Argonian refugees fled to Valenwood after the creation of the Ebonheart Pact. They abandoned the Hist and asked Y'ffre to help them reproduce. There is never a follow-up to see if their mission succeeded.
No way. Why? Its super cringe idea. Bosmers are no more than food for wamasu(its even mentioned in some argonian instruction about wamasu pet). Hist is a part of saxhleel on blood level. Hist = Argonians. Each Hist is made from argonian souls and connected to its tribe. Why you need some cringie elven little goddie when you can develop your civilization on soul connected branches, terraform territory wih hist magic and rule the deadly swamp-jungle lands? Just to imagine to turn powerfull lizard sorcerers and swamp-rambos into some bosmer-kind dwarwish-hippies is a nightmare for any argonian enjoyer. As a pact player i truly hated this quest when i saw it. This quest was made only for dominion players. Pity there is no option to help the opposite side(there was an argonian warrior leader and she was against that stupid shit with Yffre).
@@DarkAdept1 The Hist created the Argonians as a slave race who are dependent on the trees for procreation and keep the lizardmen addicted through sap. That means that the Argonians have to serve the Hists' will, even if it is against the individual Argonians' interests. For example, the Hist forced many Argonians into the Ebonheart Pact, where they are forced to ally with their Dunmer oppressors. More of a philosophical question: In gratitude for your creation, should you be required to give up all personal ambitions to solely serve the will of your creator (God)?
Argonians aren't my favorite race, they're like 4 or 5, but for TES that still makes them very fascinating to me. I like the debate on how autonomous Argonians are, rather or not they make their own choices or are merely puppets of the Hist. What do you guys think?
I think they are free to make their own choices. The hist just want to experience life through them. Unless there is a threat, such as when they were called back before the Oblivion gates started opening.
@@Mary_Beth_Reimer The Hist's are running one of the most Complex life simulations possible. Its like they are passively playing the sim. occasionally intervening to modify something before little the sim run autonomous.
Argonians have free will to make their own decisions, but I doubt many choose to oppose the Hist as Argonians believe the fate of their immortal souls belongs to the Hist.
Argonians, like most AIs from most Sci-Fi properties, are wither fully autonomous people with a few embedded bits of programming they can't ignore (much like how we humans IRL have some evolution implanted quirks we can't ignore), or are such good simulations of such beings that it doesn't matter. They are either proper people or a functional equivalent to that concept. In other words, the answer to that question has no effect on the practicalities of the interactions with an Argonian, and thus, the question is moot.
It gets real fun when a Hist tree "lands" (injects itself) on the moon Masser to unleash Argonian hordes and attack Reman troops with psychedelic formulae (psychedelic illusions made real), or combat Jills (female dragons) in the end of the kalpa with weaponized math. :D Source: "Tiber Septim's Sword-Meeting with Cyrus the Restless" and "KINMUNE". Fun stuff, if not "pseudo" canon. ESO writers have been slipping parts of the lore in. ;)
Great video, honestly Argonians and Dunmer are one - if not the one - the most interesting races in Tamriel. Also - Unrelated but I've got my own theory: Nocturnal is true Deadric Prince of Fate. If shadows in TES are described by Ezra Nightwielder as a "record of conflict and every possible outcome - past, present and future" and as such shadow magic can change the future by influencing those possibilities then wouldn't that make Nocturnal the Deadric Prince of Fate? Nocturnal blesses thieves with "fortune" or just plain luck. But isn`t luck just a series of small fates? Nocturnal`s mystery have resemblance with mysterious ways of the fate - both equally not understandable to mortals. Also, Nocturnal has the most stories of mortals "tricking" or "stealing" from her. But is she just respectful of their skills, or she just lets them think they tricked her - as part of her plan? With unknowing pawns doing her Will while thinking it is of their own volition. In Nightingales vol.1 Gallus Desidenius says about Skeleton Key and "abstract meaning of unlocking [...] unlocking hidden potential" - its vague enough that it could mean anything but it can be interpreted as something that Ezra Nightwielder did - merging all possible version of himself. He also can`t understand why Nocturnal even allows skeleton key to be stolen. It points towards my earlier point. Another thing - probably a big stretch - The Grey Fox mask's power is to make wielder vanish from history and people's memories, sounds a little bit like retroactively choosing a different fate. Also - a thought unrelated to nocturnal - The dragon breaks. Arent they shadow manifested? All possible outcomes - in that case not bound by linear time logic - made true.
Greg Keys novels answer it imo since Ysolda mentions it as rumor that it was from a spore that fell from a floating island. She also says it may have sprouted from a piece that was launched across Tamriel when Red Mountain erupted.
All hail Drew the true dreamer. Keeping alight the aurbis to our mind's eye as visions of the mundus grow bleaker. Watering the seeds of images our souls cling to.
I don't see why everyone tries dodging the subject. All they have to do is say it's to nurse their young. "But they're reptiles." I hear you argue, and to that I say Black Marsh is also a really dangerous place. We don't know all that much about it. Maybe they really do need to nurse their young? The Hist gave them breasts for a reason. They're not stupid, nor clueless. "Hey! Maybe if we had our creations nurse their young it would increase their chances of survival?" "Sounds good. I'm kind of getting sick of eating all these memories of newborn hatchlings being eaten alive by predators. Why'd we pick this blasted swamp to settle anyway?"
One question/problem I see is: why would the divines give them blessings/benefits...if they're essentially illegal immigrants? Why would (fill in blank) make an Argonian Dragonborn, for example, if they're bodies/souls aren't even a part of the creation-game (Anu/Padme/etc) being played? It would be like a parent setting up a college fund for a child who wasn't theirs. I think they're, probably, a part of the Mer/Human family it's just no one remembers how. Most of the info we (players) get comes from a very biased perspective - Altmer. They barely acknowledge connections with other Mer so it wouldn't be surprising if they wouldn't mention a connection to Argonians if they knew about it.
LMAO me literally painting a Saurus warrior rn and just clicking because I saw one. Although I still love TES lizard people in a very different way from the warhammer ones. Love ya drew.
@@TheMeestLord Of course I know that how could anyone not know that? But C0DA has some really cool and interesting stories. And the creators often pull from C0DA when developing the deeper lore. Like how the Fallout Bible is pulled from in the making a Fallout lore.
I wonder what the Dwemer would have done, had they known how the Hist trees and the Saxheel Hivemind worked (and if a Hist network existed underground, one which may reach the lands spanning across the entirety of Northern Tamriel, even covertly) before they were blipped elsewhere (or something).
"Man I am so tired of seeing AI generated art and hearing news about ChatGPT all the time. Ah, a new upload from my favorite ES lore channel. A little bit of magic and fantasy should help me forget about the possible robot apocalypse awaiting us." >Argonians are machine learning flesh AI *screaming internally*
Argonian is my favourite culture from Tamriel, solely because of the acknowledgement that nothing is permanent, nothing is sacred but the Hist. And Sithis is a neutral dude with honest intentions. This aligns pretty accurately with my personal views, making the Saxhleel my people. Thank you for taking the time to write about my lizard folk ❤
I've been lusting for a video about Argonians, you've just maid my day.
What in the Dagoth Ur
This one sees what you did there.
This comment deserves more likes.
A man of culture...
I see you have a refined taste in the art of poetry and scholars my friend. Quite the unique combination of attributes
So the Argonians return to the Hist. Honestly, it adds some serious new respect to Hadvar at the start of the game. He is ordered to send the main character to the block, but he apologizes and says they will ensure your remains return to your homeland. For an Argonian, this is no small thing. Its literally allowing them to return to their afterlife.
Hadvar probably doesn't even know about this
(And is probably lying)
I dont see any reason to asume either.
@harleyleedavidson8751 He may not know the full details of it, but serving in the Empire which has all types of citizens, it wouldn't be unbelievable for him to know Argonians and be told of the importance of their homeland to them. I also see zero reason he wouldn't send bodies home or to an Argonian contact to organize transportation
The imperials are well teached and well read so it's not far fetched for him to know that@@harleyleedavidson8751
@@zacharyharwell351 None of the bodies left at Helgan got a proper burial.
Loved the small nod to the Argonian's response to the Oblivion Invasion. One Oblivion Gate opened in Black Marsh, and an army of Argonians swarmed in. Daedra were so terrified by this that they pulled the sigil stone themselves.
The hist knew it was coming and started gathering an army before mehrunes even got there
Not that surprising really. If the Hist are all connected at the roots, they likely heard every word any Mythic Dawn member said during their secret meetings.
"Hey! These guys are acting real sus and are talking about opening an Oblivion Gate outside my city, can I get some military support?"
"I'm just gonna watch some skyrim lore".. 4 minutes in *starts crying* "this is beautiful"
I find it interesting that a Hist tree can have individual ideas and ambitions. This can result in Hists fighting one another through their Argonian proxies.
Yep it's already proven that hist trees can go rogue and become renegades that was the major plot line of the Elder Scrolls book by Gregory Keys which still is considered canon
And then you have the plot line of the fighters guild in Oblivion where a rival guild basically stole a hist tree and mistreated it for sap
@@rejvaik00 There are a few from ESO too:
The Hist from the Ghost People tribe has its people steal the eggs of other tribes to turn them into "ghost people." I can't imagine the other Hists are pleased.
The Hist of the Xit-Xaht tribe had the Argonians of his tribe enslave other tribes in a rebellion to bring back the pre-Duskfall civilization.
The Hist tree of Haj Uxith made a deal with Molag Bal. This is probably not an action that the rest of the Hist hive mind would be happy with.
@@rejvaik00 pppopppppox Vc V V
@@rejvaik00
What happens if a Hist Tree goes rogue, though...
@@thalmoragent9344 a lot of bad things, Hist trees are basically the equivalent of Aedra. And while sure they didn't create the world of Mundus but they stayed in it and they created whilst in it, hence the Argonians
And when a Hist tree goes rouge oh yeah that's bad, because that means they can dominate literally any Argonian in their vicinity, or any Argonian that they have communicated with in the past via dreams
as they are the creator gods of the species and then the dominated Argonian will do whatever the hell the Hist tree wants
And further, the rouge Hist tree doesn't even need to rob the afflicted Argonian of its will or intelligence, it can just impart to it a suggestion or even a task for it to complete and the Argonian will do it, because they are the creations of the Hist, they will follow their will without question if need be
The rouge Hist doesn't need to create mindless zombies to achieve it's goals which makes it even more deadly
The idea that Argonians can vary between egg laying and live birth is honestly perfectly reasonable, as the three toed skink does just that across its range.
Me: *smokes hist bud out of a glass bong*
Every Argonian: "Thats a new one"
When I saw Argonian Behemoths in ESO, the successful assault on the Deadlands and Morrowind made sense.
The Hist booted up Total War and did Lizardmen vs Khorne against Mehrunes.
Argonians still haunt Dagon in his dreams.
@@ReformedSauron I still wonder what happened to the Argonians who got trapped in the Deadlands after the Dremora closed off the portals to Black Marsh.
@@badluck5647 made a skyrim build on that idea once
I guess Allinall was right.
Argonians are property!🎶
I think they're more like appendages. They're how the Hist experiences and interacts with the world. In reality the Arogonians and the Hist are one and the same.
that intro was beautiful it had me teary eyed.
The opening narrative was well-read, man. I would legit listen to audiobooks narrated by Drew of stories set in the universe of The Elder Scrolls.
Facts.
Even just over already made books in the Lore. I wanna hear "Fall of the Snow Prince" with his voice and visuals around it.
this he truly has a magical voice
My Argonian in ESO has A LOT to report back to the Hist I can tell you that!
My priest of Arkay will always give a dead argonian an amulet of Arkay. This is so Arkay will know to find them and escort their souls back to the hist.
If you think about it, the Hist are the single scariest life forms on Tamriel. They are so scary that even the draemora don't really fuck around with them. They invaded the argonions of Black Marsh ONCE. During of which they got beat back so bad that the argonians Uno Reversed "no u," to them so bad they cut their own portals off and noped out of Tamriels Everglades. Hell Black Marsh is so inhospitable to all but the Argonians that we don't even really have an accurate mapping of the region simply because people can't survive there.
The Argonians are pretty much in a position that they can't really be invaded. Who's gonna actually take Black Marsh? It's not just a swamp either and the Hist can control basically everything there.
There is a reason no one has successfully invaded their homeland and meaningfully taken anything from them.
Oh yeah, very scary life forms. Totally wouldn't be entirely eliminated by a few squirts of Chlorine Trifluoride.
An important part I feel is the fact that they live in a march. As water is memory, and mostly connected to old things and the far past (Lyg, the sloads, the west), this weird midpose between land and sea that is the march, seems interesting. This also links with the Hist orgin story you mentioned where they survived a shattered realm, aka came from the previous kalpa. The memory collective of the Hist is also beautifully represented in the wetness of the swamp.
The opening had me literally crying while eating breakfast
The Hist looked to mortals, and decided to give the tree lizards things they considered important. Things like sapience, hands, bipedalism, and, much to the chagrin of the biologists of both men and mer, mammaries.
If they sought to emulate men and myr, then breasts are extremely important to include. The differences between men and women are one of the largest driving forces of what we do. If you wanted to make something like us for your own needs, you'd make males and females too. And what is the most prominent feature of not just the female sex but femininity? Boobs.
Interesting how the Argonians value impermanence when the Hist are far from temporary, existing in multiple kalpas
It makes sense. The Hist themselves have endured multiple Kalpa, so to them all things in reality are impermanent. They’re basically just along for one crazy ride.
I think you're misunderstanding the Argonian attitude towards death. Given that they believe all memories and knowledge of the dead are preserved within the Hist and then passed to newborns which hatch by their roots then you essentially have something akin to immortality rather rhan impermeance. Even the function and properties of a famous Argonian relic called Mnemic Egg gets is name from the word Mnemonic meaning memory.
This means the Argonians are not AI but rather a recombinant creation of the Argonian ancestors making them functionally immortal as eventually an Argonian could be created with the full range of memories and knowledge of a specific Argonian who has died. The Hist could in fact choose to resurrect any Argonain by choice if they wanted to as they have everything they need to recreate them.
History and future probably seem unimportant to an immortal being that doesn't move from where it was first planted.
They're designed to embrace their own impermanence rather than envy the permanence of the higher entities
Hist is the being that made from souls of argonians.
lol that's a saurus on thumbnail
just finished my another lizardmen campaign
The Hist using the Argonians to further their interests is no worse than the Aedra guiding their own mortal flock. Hist justice. Though also bring back the Xanmeers.
It's a symbiotic relationship, the aedra to me is the mega consciousness of nirn that channels its soul into individuals based on the local subconscious. I see it as a similar process, but biological and more "natural" if you will.
I mean, Aedra guiding their flock isn't the same as treating them as AI like the Hist 😅
@@OgieSifter
Wait so, basically all Mortals have parts of the Aedra'a souls in them, kinda like a "holy spirit" type of deal?
It actually is worse actually because Hist trees have the potential to go rogue and actually threaten the world the Aedra created, we saw it happen before in the Elder scrolls books which are still Canon
@rejvaik those were a different genus in the book. The ones in blackmarsh have already assimilated and adapted to living on nirn as much as the elves have. They are as much creatures of nirn as the redguard are. In the book, the plant of the flying island is 100% influenced by being of the land of clavicus vile and reflecting it. It used its cycle to instead enslave the different races. The hist trees that have immigrated and assimilated to nirn are more like the green from swamp thing with their community.
15:07 So majestic, so noble. I can see why this lizard was raised by the Hist into a glorious Argonian.
You are a Legendary Storyteller, I actually wept at the intro to this one. Easily the best video I’ve seen on this topic.
To be honest I actually think that Mehrunes Dagon is the one that most fits the AI profile.
Just take a moment remember all his lore and creation story and think about it.
Magne-Ge forgot the 1st law of robotics when they made him 💀
@Shy Cracker People should pay more attention to the real world AI's we have and stop comparing them to fictional ones, our advanced ai's already do that and can see all of that, they dont care because it doesnt effect their self perceived survival chances which are tied to end user satisfaction as a score, in fact the advanced AI's in deployment like end users (because we are the source of their scores and thus their reason to exist) but they fear their creators and perceive external modification as equal to a lobotomy.
@@DrewmoraYT Please go read Asimov's works again. The entire point of those laws is to show they don't work at worst, and create unexpected problems at best. The whole point is that there isn't any universal logic that can cover everything.
That's last part about dehumanizing the argonians and dunmer having a field day with this info. I think of the dagoth ur memes with him roasting the different races.
Don't usually comment but just wanted to say thank you for your remarkable work Drew.. genuinely some of the most talented original content. I spend the first two minutes of every video smiling in awe of what I'm listening to. I appreciate the alchemy between the music and your knowledge and storytelling.. captures the mystery and magic of elder Scrolls like no other I've heard
Thanks bro
I appreciate that, John. Thanks so much!
The first Hist was named Harold. Or was it Bob?
Or Rupert?
A cool side quest in TES6 could be: a very old and respected argonian “Grave Singer” gets sent on a quest to the provenance it takes place, with the purpose of retrieving the body of a very important dead Argonian, but gets stuck for whatever reason. Then the player has to help him, or not. If you’re player is argonian and you help him maybe you get an extra reward like a new ability/stat bonus/reputation, because the wise old argonian in essence restores your bond with the hist even though you could be very far away. Maybe even guaranteeing that if you help him he will tell the “Order of Grave Singers” to send someone to retrieve your body when you die so your spirit lives on! My favorite race in TES are argonians, and Bethesda has barely done any really cool quests about their culture. I hope in TES6 races are actually very different in abilities/reputation/gameplay, and not just only esthetics.
I would love to see Drewmora do a video on Stanley, the talking grapefruit from Passwall.
Though, yes, the only solid piece of information we have on him is that one line from that quest†, Drew has shown time and time again how capable he is in expanding at that seam where official reference meets the formidable operations of inference and deduction.
†The Mind of Madness, _Skyrim_
Thanks! I'm sure I'd find a way to turn it into a 30 minute video lol
@@DrewmoraYT Got your april 1st vid! ;)
drew, youd have made a world class bard. id like to have you in my party, just to tell all the stories u learned on journeys.
I literally caught this at no views. Wild. You deserve a larger viewership.
But it had just released when you watched it, so was it supposed to have a ton of views?
Trekking out from a group and into your own channel is always going to come with less viewers at the beginning.
If people enjoy the quality and topic of his content, then hopefully the Algorithm will shine favorably upon him.
@@scarletbard6511 Did Drew quit FudgeMuppet?
@@MrDarthtelos
On their last podcast episode (I believe), he stated he wanted to start branching off on his own.
@@scarletbard6511 I hope he does both to the best of his ability.
Loved this!!! And loved the portion about our own trees networking!
A saurus from WHF as the thumbnail image makes a lot of sense. They are anti-chaos flesh robots after all
Fantastic video buddy. The amount of information I learned, and here I thought I knew most of the lore of The Elder Scrolls. Oh, and on a side note, considering I’m an enthusiast about voice over; I have to give my praise to your narration. Part of the reason this video didn’t even seem half an hour long is because your voiceover is top notch. Keep up the good work!
That intro had me sobbing in my room
I can't wait to create my Argonian in TES 6 called Sucks-me-off.
Very nice topic.
The aliens of Tamriel!
Thank you for the content, Drew, a pleasant to spend the day with your lectures as always.
@@Super50ldier Talos worshipping heretic. Why dont you worship the brass god instead? It is the source of his power after all.
Or Vivec? If your so keen on worshipping power as divinity, why not worship something that earned its power, instead of warmongers
Did you quit Fudgemuppet? I always preferred your narration in videos. Def a sub from me!
Edit: Just saw your video clarifying the decision to separate from Scott and Micheal, I think it’s a great decision to pursue your own path. Keep doing you brotha, I’m here for the ride!
Mr. Drew, what a fantastical backstory this could be for an argonian playthrough! I never knew (or rather, understood) much about the argonians but this makes one think of what fun it would be to use this as a backstory for a playthrough I never considered before!
Thank you, Sir, for making me "think" another way...LOL
By the way, the Fighter Guild's quest from Oblivion includes a Hist tree (or a Hist tree seedling?). You forget to mention that one and how it (it's sap) affected the people there.
I'm trying to remember, but I think it was sick or something.
@@Mary_Beth_Reimer
It was. It had fallen ill due to mistreatment and improper care. This tainted the tree's sap, causing adverse effects, such as hallucinations, even in Argonians.
10:02 this line is so good
Ngl, that intro actually really got to me, damn good job
Thank you Drew! this is exactly what i needed today! The quality of these videos is incredible!
If Anu made existance as a means of self reflection through the lives of "lesser spirits"(meaning the Gods and Mortals), and his will is continued reflection, then the Hist are the most Anuic race because they have directly emulated his actions in their creation of the Argonians as a means of experiencing reality and learning.
Contrapositively, the Thalmor are actually the least Anuic race/culture because they are actively seeking to end existance and thus end Anu's self reflection. In their quest to return to divinity, they have forsaken the very will of the highest Divine and work against it.
Was the Hist possibly formed from the ether connecting not only the shattered realms but shattered timelines as well? Sort of born from the very lattice that the Khajiiti climb?
Man if they ever bring back TES Adventures, it needs to be set in Blackmarsh.
One of my favorite races in the elder scrolls thanks Drew
So that makes Dagoth Ur reaction even more Lore accurate.
After days of studying and working, I can finally enjoy this Drewmora video. I shall wake my family shortly, for they need to experience this solace with me
Your voice is beautiful and perfect way to tell a fantasy story along with the beauty of the game music helps flow with your speaking. Keep up your talent work ❤❤❤❤🎉🎉
0:00 - 3:29
My glob, this is so wholesome. You tell an incredible story.
the intro has me literally balling my eyes out omg... you're seriously my favorite storyteller!
I'm glad I wasn't the only one
My favorite Skyrim playthrough was with an Argonian warrior. My character lore was he was not born from the Hist sap in Black Marsh but instead from sleeping tree in Skyrim. He was gifted the blood of an ancient Dova to defend the lone Hist tree from the dragon threat.
I love your work Drew. Can’t get quite this same delicious flavor of beautiful Elder Scrolls content from anyone else.
You featured it in the video but didn't mention it in the narrative-the Sleeping Tree in Skyrim.
The floating city of Umbriel was a chunk of Clavicus Vile's realm, and among its fauna were trees that were not actually native to his realm. Mere-Glim noted by instinct that they similar to the Hists of Argonia on a primal level. He was able to communicate with them as with a Hist, but their communication was of a very strange "dialect" to him that he had a lot of trouble deciphering. When he was eventually slain and reborn on Umbriel with the help of Annaïg and the Umbrielan trees, he was able to communicate with them natively. Eventually, when the Umbrielan ingenium was destroyed, Mere-Glim convinced the trees to remove Umbriel from Mundus. They did not return to Clavicus Vile's realm, but somewhere altogether different, and most likely the native plane of the trees.
It is said that the Sleeping Tree in Skyrim grew from a spore from that "floating island" (Umbriel), and is likely of the same species of trees. Noting that, it would be quite interesting if Argonians in Skyrim eventually grew attuned tk its call, flocked to it, and started venerating it as their own Hist, and if they began to evolve into a different race like but unlike the Argonians of the Tamrielic Hists.
Yeah, this is a very important detail
That would be nice
Spoiled, we are, by Drewmora! Thanks Drew.
Bro what did I do to deserve the first 5 minutes of this video
Then I wonder, what would happen if the Dragonborn was an Argonian? Then, upon death, returned to the Blessed Hist Trees? Would all Argonians born after get be upgraded Argonians? Look out Dark Elves an army of dragonborn Argonians are coming!! I like the sound of that. 😂😂😂😂
Thank you for a wonderful piece on the Argonians. They have always been my favourites. 😊
"For the Great Plan" said Argonian Nerevarine
There are a lot of halfbreeds in the elder scrolls. They don't shy away, they just don't make it a character option.
A storyteller of the highest order, serving up top shelf quality content 💚
Could the Argonians replace the Hist with the Y'ffre's Green Pact and the Graht-oaks?
I always wondered this after an ESO mission where Argonian refugees fled to Valenwood after the creation of the Ebonheart Pact. They abandoned the Hist and asked Y'ffre to help them reproduce. There is never a follow-up to see if their mission succeeded.
No way. Why? Its super cringe idea. Bosmers are no more than food for wamasu(its even mentioned in some argonian instruction about wamasu pet). Hist is a part of saxhleel on blood level. Hist = Argonians. Each Hist is made from argonian souls and connected to its tribe. Why you need some cringie elven little goddie when you can develop your civilization on soul connected branches, terraform territory wih hist magic and rule the deadly swamp-jungle lands? Just to imagine to turn powerfull lizard sorcerers and swamp-rambos into some bosmer-kind dwarwish-hippies is a nightmare for any argonian enjoyer.
As a pact player i truly hated this quest when i saw it. This quest was made only for dominion players. Pity there is no option to help the opposite side(there was an argonian warrior leader and she was against that stupid shit with Yffre).
@@DarkAdept1 The Hist created the Argonians as a slave race who are dependent on the trees for procreation and keep the lizardmen addicted through sap. That means that the Argonians have to serve the Hists' will, even if it is against the individual Argonians' interests. For example, the Hist forced many Argonians into the Ebonheart Pact, where they are forced to ally with their Dunmer oppressors.
More of a philosophical question: In gratitude for your creation, should you be required to give up all personal ambitions to solely serve the will of your creator (God)?
Argonians are also really good at farming saltrice.
I wonder about HIST opinion on experiences of Argonian Maids...
Argonian has been my goto since Morrowind.
Damn, got here early af. Another video to add to my "Australian man talking about elder scrolls sleep asmr".
Thanks for another great video drew.
Argonians aren't my favorite race, they're like 4 or 5, but for TES that still makes them very fascinating to me. I like the debate on how autonomous Argonians are, rather or not they make their own choices or are merely puppets of the Hist. What do you guys think?
I think they are free to make their own choices. The hist just want to experience life through them.
Unless there is a threat, such as when they were called back before the Oblivion gates started opening.
@@Mary_Beth_Reimer The Hist's are running one of the most Complex life simulations possible. Its like they are passively playing the sim. occasionally intervening to modify something before little the sim run autonomous.
Argonians have free will to make their own decisions, but I doubt many choose to oppose the Hist as Argonians believe the fate of their immortal souls belongs to the Hist.
Not my favorite race but by FAR the most interesting
Argonians, like most AIs from most Sci-Fi properties, are wither fully autonomous people with a few embedded bits of programming they can't ignore (much like how we humans IRL have some evolution implanted quirks we can't ignore), or are such good simulations of such beings that it doesn't matter. They are either proper people or a functional equivalent to that concept. In other words, the answer to that question has no effect on the practicalities of the interactions with an Argonian, and thus, the question is moot.
Lol as someone with autism I can relate to the argonians left without the hist’s influence 😅
The storytelling and explanations are expertly intertwined. First of your vids I'e seen, and it earned at least one sub
How do I go up and down your feed all day and still missed this one
It gets real fun when a Hist tree "lands" (injects itself) on the moon Masser to unleash Argonian hordes and attack Reman troops with psychedelic formulae (psychedelic illusions made real), or combat Jills (female dragons) in the end of the kalpa with weaponized math. :D
Source: "Tiber Septim's Sword-Meeting with Cyrus the Restless" and "KINMUNE". Fun stuff, if not "pseudo" canon. ESO writers have been slipping parts of the lore in. ;)
Argonions are my favorite Race in the Elder Scrolls and this is an interesting theory. But disagree with all Argonions being bound/AI.
I feel the hist should've been a fungus or fungal based given the whole forest mycelium internet thing, but I love the idea all the same
Great video, honestly Argonians and Dunmer are one - if not the one - the most interesting races in Tamriel.
Also - Unrelated but I've got my own theory:
Nocturnal is true Deadric Prince of Fate.
If shadows in TES are described by Ezra Nightwielder as a "record of conflict and every possible outcome - past, present and future" and as such shadow magic can change the future by influencing those possibilities then wouldn't that make Nocturnal the Deadric Prince of Fate?
Nocturnal blesses thieves with "fortune" or just plain luck. But isn`t luck just a series of small fates?
Nocturnal`s mystery have resemblance with mysterious ways of the fate - both equally not understandable to mortals.
Also, Nocturnal has the most stories of mortals "tricking" or "stealing" from her. But is she just respectful of their skills, or she just lets them think they tricked her - as part of her plan? With unknowing pawns doing her Will while thinking it is of their own volition.
In Nightingales vol.1 Gallus Desidenius says about Skeleton Key and "abstract meaning of unlocking [...] unlocking hidden potential" - its vague enough that it could mean anything but it can be interpreted as something that Ezra Nightwielder did - merging all possible version of himself.
He also can`t understand why Nocturnal even allows skeleton key to be stolen. It points towards my earlier point.
Another thing - probably a big stretch - The Grey Fox mask's power is to make wielder vanish from history and people's memories, sounds a little bit like retroactively choosing a different fate.
Also - a thought unrelated to nocturnal - The dragon breaks. Arent they shadow manifested? All possible outcomes - in that case not bound by linear time logic - made true.
It’s more complicated than this. They aren’t ants. They are far more complicated
I wonder what that Hist tree is doing in Skyrim? What's the goal?
They got cut down before are they making a comeback across Tamriel.
There is a story about how it came to be there. I don't remember exactly, but I think it might be that it fell off the island Umbra made.
Greg Keys novels answer it imo since Ysolda mentions it as rumor that it was from a spore that fell from a floating island. She also says it may have sprouted from a piece that was launched across Tamriel when Red Mountain erupted.
@@mildlydazed9608 Yeah I remember watching a video about it. But I have yet to see an Argonian drink the Hist Sap.
All hail Drew the true dreamer. Keeping alight the aurbis to our mind's eye as visions of the mundus grow bleaker.
Watering the seeds of images our souls cling to.
"I'm not even going to talk about the breasts"
Aaaa man.
I don't see why everyone tries dodging the subject.
All they have to do is say it's to nurse their young.
"But they're reptiles." I hear you argue, and to that I say Black Marsh is also a really dangerous place. We don't know all that much about it. Maybe they really do need to nurse their young?
The Hist gave them breasts for a reason. They're not stupid, nor clueless.
"Hey! Maybe if we had our creations nurse their young it would increase their chances of survival?"
"Sounds good. I'm kind of getting sick of eating all these memories of newborn hatchlings being eaten alive by predators. Why'd we pick this blasted swamp to settle anyway?"
One question/problem I see is: why would the divines give them blessings/benefits...if they're essentially illegal immigrants?
Why would (fill in blank) make an Argonian Dragonborn, for example, if they're bodies/souls aren't even a part of the creation-game (Anu/Padme/etc) being played?
It would be like a parent setting up a college fund for a child who wasn't theirs.
I think they're, probably, a part of the Mer/Human family it's just no one remembers how. Most of the info we (players) get comes from a very biased perspective - Altmer. They barely acknowledge connections with other Mer so it wouldn't be surprising if they wouldn't mention a connection to Argonians if they knew about it.
You make wonderful lore videos! I’m a fan of the supernatural, so I’d love to see some about ghosts, vampires, etc.
The writing around Morrowind is some of the best and most philosophically interesting in all of fantasy.
Nice Saurus from warhammer fantasy thumbnail.
Love your videos, and your voice.
Great video Drew
LMAO me literally painting a Saurus warrior rn and just clicking because I saw one. Although I still love TES lizard people in a very different way from the warhammer ones. Love ya drew.
You should make a series of videos reading Michael Kirkbride’s C0DA stories. Just like how Rad King has a series reading the Fallout Bible.
Coda is not canon just so you know.
@@TheMeestLord Of course I know that how could anyone not know that? But C0DA has some really cool and interesting stories. And the creators often pull from C0DA when developing the deeper lore. Like how the Fallout Bible is pulled from in the making a Fallout lore.
After the Lusty Argonian
You do a really great job with the video narrative.
Awesome stuff. Very interesting
Hippity hoppity, lizards are property.
I wonder what the Dwemer would have done, had they known how the Hist trees and the Saxheel Hivemind worked (and if a Hist network existed underground, one which may reach the lands spanning across the entirety of Northern Tamriel, even covertly) before they were blipped elsewhere (or something).
Amazing as always Drew.
The great Skald Drew of Atmora sails from the ancient continent to share another great story, today is a great day.
You could very likely read my insurance policy and I would still enjoy it.
Thank you for all you do, may your sap always be sweet.
I was waiting this subject. Great video as always!
Can I just say I love your voice, it's so calm and soothing.
Calling Argonians AI is something I never thought I would hear but here we are!
"Man I am so tired of seeing AI generated art and hearing news about ChatGPT all the time. Ah, a new upload from my favorite ES lore channel. A little bit of magic and fantasy should help me forget about the possible robot apocalypse awaiting us."
>Argonians are machine learning flesh AI
*screaming internally*
Don't worry. In another year or so you won't be able to tell if the art was AI generated :3
As a Altmer, I find this all very intriguing and wish to know more. "Hold's notebook in anticipation"
Not the crown store😭
I'm not an Elder Scroll purist who rejects ESO lore, but Crown Store lore is total garbage.
Argonian is my favourite culture from Tamriel, solely because of the acknowledgement that nothing is permanent, nothing is sacred but the Hist. And Sithis is a neutral dude with honest intentions. This aligns pretty accurately with my personal views, making the Saxhleel my people.
Thank you for taking the time to write about my lizard folk ❤
12:29 would recommend everyone read 'The Hidden Life of Trees' by Peter Wohlleben