Lore:Gideon

Gideon is one of the eight major cities in the province of Black Marsh,  situated in the flooded hillscape of Blackwood. Gideon is a sleepy frontier town that serves as a gateway to the greater and treacherous expanse of the province,  but it also hosts a melting pot of cultures, from the modern-day Imperials of the Nibenay and the Argonians of Blackwood, to the Barsaebic Ayleids and the Kothringi that formerly lived in the region.  Gideon is often visited and settled by hunters, dealers in herbs, and other professions that seek out Black Marsh's wonders.  Back when it was an Ayleid city, it was known as Twyllbek.  
 

Layout & Geography
thumb|left|The City Gardens
From the main city of  , the town of Gideon is the first settlement on the  , which comes in from the west through the hills that form the southernmost provincial border. The city is surrounded by steep and lightly forested hills to the west and the humid marshland to the northeast, the latter of which floods in from   to the north. Much of the region is largely uninhabited, save for the derelict plantations and the lifeless orchards overseen by the  s serfdoms.  The region has its fair share of danger, such as the fact that it has a notably large population of  , or that the haunted ruins of   are just in arm's reach from the north gate.  The Kothringi lived in large numbers in the Gideon region but after their untimely death in the Second Era, their land became vacant and became a trade route between Gideon and Leyawiin.  Gideon is neighbored by several settlements, including   to the northeast,   to the southeast, and the   to the west,  toward the  . 

Through the city is a large thoroughfare called Blackwood Way that forks on the region's main road from Gideon's gate. Most of the city's buildings are located on this road because it's the only dry ground left through Gideon, so important structures such as the Temple of Dibella and the Governor's Mansion can be found here.  While the main road is large and spacious, the streets of Gideon are described as cramped and labyrinthine.  Speaking of the latter, it is the city's seat of power and administrative center, occupied by the Imperial Governor  or Vicecanon.  Even though the city is built majorly in the Imperial architectural style, much of Gideon makes use of the ancient Ayleid ruins, such as the city plaza and especially the city gardens to the south, even so, there are sections of the ruins closed from the public.  Some of the lowlifes of Gideon excavated and built an underground arena called the Ruction Ring. 

Notable Locales


History
Early History and the Second Empire
thumb|left|The Twyllbek Ruins
thumb|right|Castle Giovesse
Before the town was built, there was an Ayleid city called Twyllbek. It was built by the  -worshipping   that fled Cyrodiil after the  , back in the late  .  Their humiliation after the event had stuck with them for many years, even when the   took place in  . This was well evident in the King of Twyllbek's response to an envoy sent by King   of  , who was at the helm of the Daedraphile's movement during the Narfinsel Schism. The Barsaebic King, whose name is lost to time, gave a rather blunt refusal and left his former enemies to fend for themselves.  Because of their city's location and how far removed, culturally they were from the Heartland Elves, the Ayleids of Twyllbek were spared the wrath of Queen   and her   rebels. 

It is unknown when the Ayleids died out in Gideon, but by the latter  , the site was occupied by the Nibenese-Imperials and they built Castle Giovesse on the outskirts to the north. The castle was the seat of a duchy that was first occupied by Lord  .  For most of history after that, Gideon was a sleepy, frontier garrison town but it saw a lot of attention with the   and the  , back in the late First Era. As Emperor   set forth his plans to advance Imperial interest into Black Marsh, the   of eastern Cyrodiil came in droves to inhabit the frontier, as the   built roads and fortifications around Gideon.  The town was caught in the chaos of the  , in early   in  , a massive fire that started from across the province near  .  The third campaign of the Blackwater War was helmed by General   and the  , who were stationed in Gideon in  . 

Tavia's Imprisonment and Gideon in the Interregnum
thumb|left|Governor Keshu the Black Fin
thumb|right|Councilor Ertus Vandacia
After the Blackwater War and Black Marsh's annexation into the Second Empire, the town became a proper and wholly Imperialized township, and by  's reign, Castle Giovesse imprisoned the Emperor's former wife, Empress   over accusations of treason in  .  Tavia's imprisonment and her knight,  's exploits in Gideon became a central and recurring set piece in the famous historical-fiction,  . And while it is known that Tavia used her time in Castle Giovesse to undermine the Emperor's reign,  the fictional book, 2920 claims that the Empress' plot had inadvertently caused the death of her son and the Crown Prince,   in  ,   and she committed suicide upon learning the news on   in  .  By the  , Gideon was ruled by the Imperial Governor, a title often given to the nobles of western Blackwood. By the sixth century, this title was passed between the Nibenese Imperials of   and  . 

By roughly  , the title of Councilor in Gideon was held by  , but because of his support in  's rise to power in the  , he was given a position in the   and moved to the  .  In his stead, the role of Imperial Governor was given to Lord  , whose reign lasted for an unknown time. At around the same time as Lord Vandacia's ascension to the Elder Council, Lady   passed away and relinquished her home, a manor-house on Blackwood Way to the  , who converted it into a Temple of Dibella,  or more specifically, a Dibellaseum.  When the   took place several years later, Councilor Vandacia was back home in Gideon to deal with the   crisis in the  .  

Shortly afterward, the   enraptured central Cyrodiil and after two years of service, the  's leading general,   and her   retired to Gideon, bringing artisans and crafters and ruling as Governor. Using her experience traveling the Pact's major regions, Keshu hoped to turn Gideon into a welcoming gateway into Black Marsh's greater culture and history.   After the collapse of the  , Councilor Vandacia stayed in Gideon and his family holdings to serve as Keshu's advisor and bureaucrat.   Sometime in  , Gideon and Leyawiin had a trade agreement and it caused traffic in ancestral Kothringi land. 

Vandacia and the Four Ambitions
thumb|right|Destron, one of the Four Ambitions
thumb|left|Calia, one of the Four Ambitions
In  , the   had set forth their plans to acquire the  , just as it was ordered by Emperor  . After several members of the   were supposedly murdered by the  , Captian   of the   sent an   to warn Councilor Vandacia but found that the Black Fin Legion had captured their Brotherhood assailant,   and placed him in custody underneath the courthouse. But before he could have been interrogated, Elam escaped into the Twyllbek Ruins and was in hot pursuit by the adventurer. Eventually, the two reconciled in the ruins and Elam denied any involvement in the murders.  When it was later revealed that Vandacia was behind the murders as well as the Order of the Waking Flame, the adventurer and their ally,   returned to Gideon to learn more about a location mentioned in an encoded journal,   from Governor Keshu. 

The two made their way to the natural formation, Ojel-Bak, deep in   territory, and returned to Gideon with two of the  , the twins,   and  .  They decided to leave the twins in Keshu's care and after an excursion into Vandacia's get-together in the  , they brought over the third ambition  .  Vandacia eventually learned that three of the Four Ambitions were hiding in Gideon and gathered the cult around the city for a large-scale attack. But before he was able to advance, the ambitions were relocated northwest to a repurposed   on the  , primarily guarded by the Black Fin Legion and other allies.  The battle in Fort Redmane was victorious but at the expense of Destron's life. While Sombren and Calia left the city to train uninterrupted, the celebration took place in Gideon's city gardens. Councilor   of Leyawiin and Governor Keshu began to make plans to keep Blackwood's border and roads secure. 

Gideon and the Third Empire
During the   in the late  , the city-state of Gideon was an active settlement. It was ruled by Queen Demia and had a rivalry with  . Back in that time, the followers of   held vast control over the city and a foreboding chill engulfed the town.  Years later in  , Gideon was overrun by the undead forces of  , the floating city from   despite the fact it was nowhere near its line of trajectory.   Gideon's destruction was considered light compared to other locations on its path.  

Culture
thumb|right|The Multi-Spined Skull Crest
thumb|left|The Ambergill Guar
:For Argonian culture as a whole, see the: Culture section on the Argonian page.
Gideon is mostly populated by Argonians that have grown accustomed to Cyrodilic customs and trade, otherwise known as Lukiul. They are well versed in the   language and conducted business subtly with great success. But with their affinity for Cyrodilic customs and know-how, it comes with a cost as they lean away from Argonian philosophy and traditions.  For most of its time, the city has been a shadow of its prime but when the war hero, Keshu the Black Fin took control of Gideon,  she aimed to convert the city into a welcoming gateway into the intricacies of Argonian culture.  And through Gideon, hopefully, revitalize Argonian culture to what it once was before the days of  . 

The Nibenese of Gideon share the regional Kothringi's devotion for  , and at the center of their veneration is the local House of Dibella in the city's main thoroughfare. They occupy the former town manor of Lady  , a wealthy aristocrat and devotee of the Lady of Love.  It is a Dibellaseum, a consecrated love-nest  and at some point in time, it hosted a Sibyl of Dibella. 

Unruly Argonian teenagers in the bad parts of Gideon would sometime fashion their head crests into multiple spikes.  Since the Argonians of Gideon have dealt with the other races more than other tribes, they know what sort of   they can stomach and cater to them accordingly.  The   of Gideon and even   are visually distinct by their golden-colored scales. Instead of calling them the Golden Glowgill Guar, they shorten it to the Ambergill Guar.  The   travels south toward Gideon during the wintertime migration as part of the Underground Express. Gideon's stop is marked by the abundance of red clay.  The town has warm mud-bathhouses. 

Gallery
 

Notes
Some sources in lore suggest that Gideon is located in Murkmire.   The reason for this discrepancy is because the Murkmire zone in ESO was originally going to be located in western Black Marsh, adjacent to   and encompassing the city of Gideon. The zone was delayed and redesigned, resulting in Murkmire being moved to southern Black Marsh and   replacing Gideon as the region's main settlement.
Arena was originally conceived as a fighting game featuring a tournament that took the player to each of Tamriel's cities to challenge different gladiatorial teams. According to a file from that stage of development left behind in the final game, Gideon's gladiatorial team would have been called "the Shadowblades". 

See Also
For game-specific information, see the Arena and ESO articles.
Books




References