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I recently had the rare opportunity, to visit the province of Black Marsh. I was, quite possibly, the first Imperial visitor, on official business anyway, to the Argonian homeland in almost thirty years. The Argonians had inquired about an exchange of knowledge with the Arcane Ministry and, curious about how things had developed in Black Marsh, the Empress had approved. We traveled by boat to Lilmoth which I am glad to say, had improved greatly since the beginning of the Fourth Era; No longer was it a decrepit sinkhole dominated by the poor and villainous, but rather a bustling Argonian city. As expected, no signs of foreign culture remained - Cyrodilic architecture and designs were all but gone, save for a few restored statues, depicting important Argonian figures. The city was now entirely inhabited by Argonians and our party of five, were the only foreigners in the city. We did see a Khajiit caravan outside Lilmoth's walls, however were forbidden from interacting or even looking at them, in any way.

From the moment our feet touched the harbor, to our departure two months later, the Hegemony's "Otomthuxileel" (Literally, "Those-who-watch") were with us. They accompanied us on the roads, when we rested, ate and even when we slept. Of these fellows I cannot say much, for they stayed mostly silent. They would tell us where we could and could not be, who we could and couldn't speak with and what we were allowed to eat, however they refused to give us their names, converse with us and barely answered any of our questions - Even when Archmagister Guevenne fell ill, they simply took her to a healer, who did her best and then set us on our merry way. While it might seem rude and outright aggravating, Argonians have never been very trusting of outsiders, even moreso nowadays and I believe, our escort were simply under strict orders, not to interact with us any more than they absolutely had to. Such an attitude reminded me of my brief visit to the Summerset Isles last year.. But, I digress.

Our stay in Lilmoth was enjoyable enough, considering we were confined to our lodgings from dusk until dawn, under threat of immediate expulsion, should we break the rules. Our days began with a very ample breakfast, followed by excessively guided tours of Lilmoth's exotic gardens, temples and the city's palace; We were even allowed to visit one of the famed Hist-trees, one of the oldest in Black Marsh, according to our guide Nexith. At no point, were we allowed to interact with the local population and our Otomthuxileel escort, seemed to keep the locals far away from us - Although we did catch more than a few, curious looks and intrigued whispers. After curfew, our evenings consisted mostly of discussing the day's events, planning the next day, dinner, reading and card games. Our lodging was located within a former prison and as such, our rooms were renovated cells. I'm not entirely sure if they had intended to convey some symbolic message, but our quarters were cozy nonetheless.

In the second week of our visit, we met with Lilmoth's "Kajmunax" (Nearest translation would be "The one-that-oversees"), the local An-Xileel governor. Kajmunax Beelei was more welcoming than anyone else we had met so far. She warmly greeted and welcomed us to her city, promising great things to follow from our meetings. We were, reasonably, less optimistic. After all we had come to Black Marsh at their request, to work with their mages towards some kind of cooperation and yet, we hadn't seen so much as a conjurer of cheap tricks, in over two weeks. We shared our concerns with the Kajmunax and she seemed to understand, promising we would meet with the Hegemony's finest spellcasters soon enough. Whether she had lied and was unwilling to help us, or she was being stonewalled by a higher power, we never found out - Either way, it took another three weeks, before we finally met with the Argonian equivalent of the Arcane Ministry (albeit less powerful politically). Now a month into our visit, we had began wondering if we would ever be allowed to leave. A moment of genuine fright occurred, when after the third week, our ship quietly sailed into the night, abandoning us in Lilmoth at the mercy of our hosts. We were concerned that the Argonians' request had merely been a ploy, with which to abduct us as political hostages - To be used by the Hegemony to leverage more territory from Morrowind, or ridiculous concessions over generations of Argonian slavery from the Dunmer. Fortunately that was not the case, as I am writing this comfortably from the safety of my home in the Imperial City.

Our meetings with the Argonian mages went favorably, even better than we had anticipated and we gained some unique insight, into how Argonians employ magic in their religious and cultural customs. Albeit the exchange of actual spellcraft was limited, our meetings overall seemed to justify some continuation and as such, we hoped to establish permanent contact with the arcane society in Black Marsh. The Argonians however, appeared less excited to make such a commitment and though they had clearly enjoyed meeting and speaking with us, the prospect of having to do it on a regular basis, didn't seem to be well received and I doubt our proposal, will ever even make it to the An-Xileel.

In closing, after countless generations of unfair and oppressive treatment by the other races, independence seems to have allowed the Argonians to really grasp their full potential. Yet, I worry about the air of mistrust towards outsiders which dominates Black Marsh - Even moreso, I am concerned about the fate of the thousands of non-Argonians who became trapped within Black Marsh, thirty years ago. Aside from the return of Nords to Eastern Skyrim, no outsiders have ever been permitted to return to their homes and yet, we saw no sign of Man nor Mer, in Lilmoth, Blackrose or Soulrest. Clearly, the An-Xileel view Khajiit more favorably as their caravans are allowed in the Black Marsh, however I do wonder where the Khajiit will stand, in another thirty years.