Hi there, reader. This chapter isn't truly part of the storyline, but I highly recommend you read it before you go onto the later chapters. This introduction is meant to clear up which sides I'm taking with seemingly contradictory pieces of the Elderscrolls lore, and list changes or creations I've made to the lore. I really hope it isn't considered a violation of this site's code of conduct even though it is relevant to the story. Note, unlike in my previous Oblivion story, I won't be posting important but clear-cut game lore in this introduction. Instead that will be provided through snippets of text at the beginning of each chapter.
This story is a sequel to Rogue Province, Rogue Agent, but reading through that story beforehand is not crucial to your understanding of this one. Infact, most of what happened in that story will be revealed through this one. Keep in mind, that means this story has spoilers for Rogue Province, Rogue Agent. Also, on the subject of spoilers, I should mention there are also spoilers for the Dark Brotherhood and main questline.
I should also note that even though this introduction may look very similar to the one in Rogue Province, Rogue Agent, my take on the Elder Scrolls lore is not identical to what it was in my previous story (see "Argonian Phsyiology").
Now, onto the lore:
The Black Hand (the ruling council of the Brotherhood): The idea I got from the Oblivion was that there are multiple Dark Brotherhood sanctuaries scattered throughout Cyrodiil, each overseen by a "finger" of the Black Hand. I decided to do away with this idea.
Instead, assume the Cheydinhal Sanctuary is the only Dark Brotherhood sanctuary in CYRODIIL, but there are others in Tamriel: one in Morrowind, one in Skyrim, and one in High Rock. (The Speakers of these sanctuaries are the four fingers of the Black Hand, the thumb being the Listener)
Argonian Physiology
I know Argonians looked different throughout the series. In Morrowind, they looked far less human than in Oblivion. Its probably better to type "Morrowind Argonian" into a google image search than read any description I could come up with, and I think it's safe to assume you already know what the ones in Oblivion look like (given that this is the Oblivion section). In this story, imagine both types of Argonians exist, but the less human looking version is rarely seen outside of Morrowind and the inner swamps of Black Marsh. Why this is the case will be explained later in this story (in fact, it relates to one of the key points of the plot).
At the very least, be prepared to think of the "Oblivion" Argonians more as humans with lizardy characteristics than lizards with humany characteristics. For example, though it seems all Argonians are refered to as reptiles, making these Argonians truly cold-blooded would have made some scenes (like those in Bruma) from the previous story, which takes place in the same universe, impossible. I'm aware full-blown lizards don't have breasts, don't sweat, and need to regulate their own body-temperatures.
Also, while we're talking about Argonian phsyiology, I should mention Argonian reproduction seems to be an ambigous area in the lore. The Argonian Compendium (an information source about Argonians in the Imperial Library website) cites e-mail replies from two devs who were asked whether Argonians lay eggs. According to the Argonian Compendium, Pete Hines says "Argonians are ovoviviparous." meaning they produce eggs that hatch within or immediately after extrusion from the parent. However, the other dev cited, Mark Nelson, says:
Never underestimate the adaptability of Argonians, or, more specifically, the power of the Hist to allow Argonians to adapt.
I wouldn't expect to hear an Argonian born in Skyrim (or on Solstheim, for that matter) mention being hatched. Nor would I expect to hear more transient Argonians (say, members of a small, nomadic tribe) speak about laying eggs. However, in warmer climates, in places with established, stable, and permanent communities, you would likely see a great number of eggs.
The Argonian Compendium acknowledges these ideas (Pete Hine's and Mark Nelson's) seem contradictory. For this story, imagine the "Oblivion" Argonians are ovoviviparous, while the "Morrowind" Argonians lay eggs. However, I'm thinking of this difference in reproduction as a geneticly, instead of enviromentally, induced one. Anyway, I shall say no more as that might hint at some spoilers for this story.
On one more note about Argonian phsyiology, given that this was brought up by a reader of my previous story, I should mention I've decided the "Oblivion" Argonians are supposed to have humanesque nails, as opposed to claws. The "Morrowind" Argonians, however, do have claws (which are deadlier than human nails).
Argonian Race Classification:
Since Black Marsh is so isolated I decided that Argonians using traditional race classification from Oblivion didn't make much sense. Because of this, some of the Argonian characters may refer to everyone as Human (this encompasses both men and mer), Khajiiti, Orcish, Finned, Spiked, or Spined, the latter three being different types of Argonians based on the different "hair-styles" available to Argonians in the game, which I made the assumption are derived from regional heritage in Black Marsh. However, "Human" may also be used as a generic term for all those listed above. On the subject of race classification, also note "Cyrodiil" is another term for "Imperial" (though may also simply mean someone who lives in Cyrodiil).
Language:
In this story, Cyrodiillic is a language identical to English. However, please note some dialogue in this story will be in the Argonian language and translated into English for the reader. Such text (Argonian translated to English) will be bolded, like this. Keep in mind, this dialogue is not supposed to be a literal translation; Its simply trying to capture the essence of the conversation.
I should also point out Argonian names are translated during dialogue in Argonian. For example, "Tienaava" becomes "Cleaver ". On the topic of names, I decided that because Shadowscales spend their whole life training to be, or actually being, assassins, their names derive from behaviors they exhibit during training, or how they expect these behaviors to play out in their career as an assassin. That's why the main character has a name like "Fights-up-close". Because these names could arouse suspicion, I decided all the Shadowscales have code-names as well, which sound more typical (for example, "Scar-tail" is just a code name in this story).
Female Soldiers:
Whether there are supposed to be female soldiers in the Legion and various forms of city-watch was never really clear to me. Its odd that you see female guard captains, but almost no female low ranking soldiers. Anyway, for this story, I decided to assume the city-watch roles could incorporate women, but the Imperial Legion (which is more of a military than a police force) was limited to only male members.
The Effect of Birthsigns:
The information regarding the extent birthsign effects a person in the Elder Scrolls universe isn't clear. In the in-game books, it sounds as if the whole concept might as well be a superstition. Still, in terms of your character, your birthsign grants you some pretty potent powers that no one could deny truly exist.
For this story, I decided that those born under the sign of the Shadow are more unique, and it is one of the only birthsigns with a clear and provable effect.
Accents:
Though no such concept was really present in Oblivion, I thought it would make sense that each province had its own local accent. I'll leave exactly what these accents would sound like up to you, but keep an eye out from references to concepts like "a thick Nordic accent".
Scale:
In the game, I'm sure Cyrodiil's "true" size was scaled down so that the game wouldn't take decades to produce. For this story, however, imagine Cyrodiil being significantly larger and more populated than it is in the game.
Please be honest with your reviews. I'd like to hear your impressions, even when they are just that.
Also, this time around I won't be waiting until after the story is finished to make revisions to chapters. I will record which chapters have been edited in the authors note at the top (A/N). So...uh...yeah.
On with the story!