Lore:Miregaunt

Miregaunts
	A Miregaunt
Type	Unknown, possibly Hist creation
Range	Black Marsh
Appears in	ESO

Adventurers fighting a Miregaunt

Miregaunts are large tree-like creatures that can be found across Murkmire. According to Argonian folklore, they have existed as long as the Argonians themselves. Some believe them to be the "wrath of Murkmire".^[1] Most Argonians believe them to be related to the Hist in some way. Some tribes believe that the Hist trees call forth a portion of the swamp to accomplish a specific task, either guarding an area, defending a place, or taking vengeance on someone or something that hurt or hampered the Hist in some way. Others seem to indicate that a miregaunt is an unintended by-product of some unknown Hist activity, called forth by accident and set loose with no specific purpose in mind.^[2]

Although they consist mainly of plant substance, they sometimes incorporate other materials into their shape, including mud, stone, vines, and even pieces of ancient architecture. They bear some small resemblance to lurchers and similar creatures found in other parts of Tamriel, but in all other respects they appear totally unique creatures.^[2]

Every miregaunt has a large cavity in its mid-section. Sometimes an encountered miregaunt's cavity is empty. Other times a random piece of stone or other detritus fills the empty space. In rare cases, something valuable rests within the miregaunt, such as a precious stone, an ancient relic, or even a living creature. The local Argonians believe that these valuable objects have been taken into the miregaunt to purposely protect or imprison them.^[2] Miregaunts are part of the land: when one is struck down, it will inevitably come back later.^[1]

They have some small resemblance to certain aspects of lurchers and similar creatures found in other parts of Tamriel, but in all other respects they appear totally unique creatures.^[2] Trellis sentinels, tree-like creatures that ressemble Miregaunts, are found on Earthen Root Enclave. They were responsible for the protection and preservation of a nature spirit known as the Spirit of Root, and the Deeproot within the Earthen Root Enclave.^[3] Wooden constructs ressembling miregaunts or trellis sentinels are also known to exist.^[4]