opinion: One of the most exciting provinces on the map of Tamriel has been given far too little love so far. And Géraldine would like to finally visit it.
Do you still remember the first time you stepped outside the door in Morrowind? On the (admittedly somewhat foggy) horizon stood houses made of insect shells, blue-skinned dark elves greeted you, and nearby sounded the gentle bleating of a gigantic silt rider on whose back you set off into a world full of volcanoes, giant mushrooms and creatures you’d never seen before.
Morrowind remains the punk among Elder Scrolls games to this day. The medieval high fantasy of Oblivion and the smooth Viking fantasy of Skyrim are really tame in comparison. And yet there is a place on the map of Tamriel that could easily eclipse Morrowind in terms of rebellious rock’n’roll setting: the swamps of Blackmarch, which have never been properly shown until now.
One trip to Black Marsh, please!
Okay, okay. Strictly speaking, the Argonians’ home of Schwarzmarsch has occurred before. And that was in 1994 in the boxy MS-DOS world of The Elder Scrolls: Arena. But I’ll take the liberty of leaving that out for a moment. Even in The Elder Scrolls Online, which actually makes the whole world of Tamriel accessible, Black March remains a dark spot on the map so far. Sure, we can hang out a bit near the northern border and the DLC Murkmire sends us to the southernmost tip near the coast – but I, as a true adventurer, want more!
I want to dive into the black heart of the jungle, meet the living trees, be attacked by poisonous plants and be surprised by the mysterious foul mud rain. I want to visit the disused Argonian Assassin Academy in Archon and break out of the most secure prison in all of Tamriel – which goes by the innocuous name of “The Rose. ”
Black March is unlike anything we’ve seen in Tamriel. The Argonians have a wild and unexplored culture – it is said that the Hist trees can communicate telepathically with them and have swarm intelligence.
The land is always changing. Towns sometimes change their position due to the soft mud and weather conditions or are flooded – and the dwellings are therefore simply replaced by new ones. The coastal town of Kleinmottien was completely wiped out by the flying hell city from the Elder Scrolls novel of the same name. So much potential for exciting stories!
In the greatest Skyrim mod of all time, by the way, we will be able to visit Blackmoor. Because Beyond Skyrim opens up the borders of Himmelsrand to all of Tamriel. You can see how the team behind the mod envisions Black March in their video:
When will we see Black March?
We already know that The Elder Scrolls 6 is to be set in Iliac Bay – i.e. the desert province of Hammerfell and the European medieval High Rock. Incidentally, the same area where The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall was already set. Sure, for a big single-player role-playing game this is a safe bet. Would I have liked more courage in the setting? Maybe.
So far, Black March exists almost only in my imagination. Whether it would really end up being so dark, wild, exotic and adventurous, I don’t know. Maybe the eternal muddy swamps would also get on my nerves at some point. But the point is: Black Marsh is all I have left of my former Elder Scrolls curiosity.
Before The Elder Scrolls Online suddenly revealed almost all of Tamriel’s territories at once, I used to speculate for months before each new single-player part which province I would get to travel to next. The wooded Valenwood and the oriental Elsweyr were just as much an unknown world to me then as Blackmarch is today. Just the thought of being able to visit them one day gave me palpitations.
It is most likely that Black March will also make its first appearance in ESO. It may even be the subject of the new year-long adventure for 2022, but now that I think about it, Bethesda may as well take their time with it. If Black March ever finds its way into the Elder Scrolls games, please don’t do it as a side note – but with a bang!
