Argentum
| Argentum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Weather |  Clear Rain Thunderstorm
|
| Sub-areas | Goldmouth |
| Emblem | 
|
| Music | Argentum Argentum/Night |
The Argentum Trade Guild, usually shortened to Argentum, is an area in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. A large red ship being held up by a large balloon-like Titan, Goldmouth, serves as its headquarters. The guild serves as the hub for the various nations of Alrest and is the largest of the eleven Nopon Trade Guilds. As such, Nopon are the most prominent race seen there. Besides the tutorial battle, Argentum is the first area encountered in the game.
Argentum serves as a neutral meeting ground between people from all the nations of Alrest to trade and travel between each other. It particularly caters to salvagers, employing many of them to salvage, either on their own private ships, or on the guild's C.S.E.V. Maelstrom.
Story[edit]
Xenoblade Chronicles 2[edit]
Chapter 1[edit]
Rex travels to Argentum at the very beginning of the game to sell the treasure he came across, but he is summoned by Pupunin to meet with Bana, the chairman of the guild. When he arrives in Bana's office, the Nopon explains that a group of interest has been looking for a salvager from the Leftherian Archipelago, and invites in Malos, Jin, Nia and Dromarch. Rex receives an advance of 100,000 Gold for agreeing to help, and uses the money to buy an Abyss Vest before sending some to his Aunt Corinne. The next morning, they depart on the C.S.E.V. Maelstrom.
Chapter 4[edit]
Later, the party returns to Argentum to buy tickets to the Empire of Mor Ardain, but before leaving, Roc's Core Crystal is stolen by Rhys. The party follows in hot pursuit to Gormott Province. After retrieving and awakening Roc, they return to Argentum with the thieves in tow. Rex then asks Garram and a reluctant Pittman to make salvagers of them. They agree to it and the party finally make their way to the flight deck to take a ship to Mor Ardain.
Torna ~ The Golden Country[edit]
Argentum is briefly mentioned by Addam as the guild chosen by the Indoline Praetorium to route supplies to him covertly.
Lore[edit]
History[edit]
The Argentum Trade Guild was founded at an unknown date by a Nopon merchant and Driver, who was a descendant of Captain Nopopon. During a time of conflict within Alrest, he used his Blade as a trade associate, rather than as a weapon of war, to travel to areas affected by war or natural disasters, creating trade links in the process which allowed him to make great profits[1]. Traces of his ancestry remain on Goldmouth, as a statue of his ancestor still remains in the Noponya Shrine, on the ship's roof[2].
During the Aegis War, Argentum, while not directly taking part in the war, still played a role, as Indol used it to covertly send support to Addam's militia[3]. At the time, the guild had not yet risen as the biggest of the eleven trade guilds, as both the Pyrithium Trade Guild and the Voltis Trade Guild appeared to be the bigger and more recognized guilds in Alrest[4].
During the time between the end of the Aegis War and the beginning of the main game, Argentum rose to power as Alrest's biggest trading port[5]. A skilled salvager of the guild, Dondon, retired, deciding to create a secret organization which would control Argentum behind the scene, with the aim of destroying the Ardainian Empire[6][7][8]. Afterward, his son, Bana, was appointed as the guild's chairman, some believing he was appointed due to family connections, thus possibly with Lindwurm's meddling[9].
As Chairman, Bana did many shady and illegal deals, such as transferring some of the guild's money to Lindwurm or secretly manufacturing artificial Blades in Mor Ardain, attracting the attention of the guild's intelligence division, the Special Audit Bureau. His endeavor in manufacturing artificial Blades, and his attempt at assassinating both the Ardainian emperor and the Urayan queen, ended in his fall from grace as the guild's chairman.
Governance[edit]
The Argentum Trade Guild is lead by a Chairman, which is appointed by an unknown process. The chairman appears to be the one who sets the guild's policies and, as such, decides how the guild's Nopon merchants should conduct their business. As an example, during Bana's tenure, the Nopon merchants' aim was to maximize profits, by using any means possible. On the other hand, Niranira instead told them to sell their goods at a reasonable price[10].
The Special Distribution Audit Bureau is Argentum's intelligence division. Its primary objective is to investigate any shady dealings that might happen inside the guild[11]. It is seemingly independent from the chairman as the bureau was able to investigate Bana's actions[12].
The members of a Nopon trade guild are able to receive an ID which greatly simplify the paperwork to do trading. Moreover, in Argentum's case, in order for someone to join the guild, a special coin must be made as a symbol[13].
Geography[edit]
As an organization rather than a specific Titan or nation, the Argentum Trade Guild is not based directly on its own Titan. Instead, the guild is composed of a fleet of ships, and headquartered on the largest of them, Goldmouth, referring to both the giant wooden ship and the Titan that carries it around.
Goldmouth spans multiple floors, all serving a different purpose. Its first floor is dedicated to welcoming travelers, with its many decks and ports, and the trading of goods, with the Central Exchange and the Argentum Bazaar. Its second floor is where Bower Lounge can be found, featuring some of the only greenery on the ship. Rumbletum Canteen and Lemour Inn can both be found on the third floor, providing travelers with a meal and a place to stay for the night. Outside the fourth floor is where Goldmouth Flight Deck, a sort of airport, can be found, along with a residential district for the ship's inhabitants inside. The fifth floor is where the ship's wheelhouse can be found, where a small army of Nopon pilot it. The sixth and final floor is where the actual chairman's bedroom, Bana's Bedroom, is found, closed off to the public.
Along with Goldmouth, the guild owns other smaller ships, both for its salvaging activities and the transport of people and goods. Foremost among them is the C.S.E.V. Maelstrom, a ship that is able to go into uncharted territories and recover things that are much bigger in size.
Economy[edit]
As a trade guild, one of Argentum's main focus is in trading. As such, it serves as a neutral ground for the merchants of every nations in Alrest to trade between each other. Auctions are conducted in many parts of the guild and it features a great bazaar, Argentum Bazaar[14]. It is also used as an intermediate to travel between nations, as shown by the party going through Argentum to travel between Uraya and Mor Ardain.
Another of the guild's focus is salvaging, as many salvagers come to the guild to sell their finds. The guild also possesses salvaging ships both small and big, such as the C.S.E.V. Maelstrom, a crane ship equipped with Argentum's latest technology[15].
Demography[edit]
As a Nopon Trade Guild, the majority of the guild's inhabitants are Nopon, who do a wide array of jobs on the ship: merchants, salvagers, handling paperwork the guild's paperwork, running many of the shops found in Goldmouth, maintaining the ships or guarding the guild.
The second most common race on Goldmouth are the Ardainians. Many of them immigrated to the guild due to Mor Ardain's hostile climate, as well as the many working opportunities that Argentum offers[16]. Most of them appear to be salvagers, traders or dockers.
The Gormotti, Urayans, and, to a lesser extent, the Leftherians and the Phonexes are also present within the guild, though in lesser numbers.
Culture[edit]
Due to their nature as merchants, many Nopon tend to do things as efficiently as possible. This is shown with their cooking, focused on meals that are quick to prepare and full of nutrients, such as Lightly Fried Rice[17]. The Nopon of Goldmouth also have a particular love for Samod, which they eat abundantly[18].
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Argentum makes a cameo appearance in the stage Cloud Sea of Alrest in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Trivia[edit]
- Argentum is the Latin word for 'silver'. As Titans and nations in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 are often named after the seven deadly sins or seven virtues in various languages, it is likely that this is because of silver's cultural association with greed.
- Argentum's Japanese name, 'Avaritia', is directly named after greed/avarice in Latin.
In other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 English
|
Argentum Trade Guild | — |
 Japanese
|
アヴァリティア |
Avaritia Firm |
 French
|
Guilde d'Argentum | Argentum guild |
 German
|
Argentum AG | |
 Spanish
|
Gremio Mercantil de Argentum | |
 Italian
|
Gilda dell'Argentum | |
 Chinese (simplified)
|
阿伐利缇亚商会 | |
 Chinese (traditional)
|
阿梵利緹亞商會 | |
 Korean
|
아바리티아 상회 |
Gallery[edit]
Xenoblade Chronicles 2[edit]
Screenshots[edit]
The Argentum Trade Guild
The Argentum Bazaar
The Argentum Bazaar
The Central Exchange
The Maelstrom anchored next to Goldmouth
Goldmouth Flight Deck
Goldmouth Wheelhouse
Outside of Goldmouth Res. Dist.
The Maelstrom leaving Goldmouth
Sprites[edit]
Argentum's map icon.
Maps[edit]
Map of the lower floor of Argentum
Map of the Lemour Inn
Map of the Goldmouth Flying Deck
Map of the Goldmouth Wheelhouse
Map of Bana's bedroom
Map of the Goldmouth Rooftop
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Argentum in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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References[edit]
- ↑ Walking Encyclopedia's first choice
- ↑ Uncover the Truth
- ↑ Militia on the Move
- ↑ Obibi: "hottest trade guild, name of Voltis!"
Morumo: "Dream of Morumo is to turn it into biggest trade center in Alrest! Better even than Pyrithium Trade Guild!" - ↑ Gegebi
- ↑ Karozze
- ↑ Don Dondon: "Dondon is Don of Lindwurm! Secret organization pulling strings of Argentum Guild!"
- ↑ Tivio
- ↑ Favyola
- ↑ Chamomo
- ↑ Niranira: "It job of SAB to monitor for smuggling and illegal transactions."
- ↑ Niranira
- ↑ Chocholo
- ↑ An auction on the Salvage Deck and an auction behind the Central Exchange
- ↑ Bana: "Maelstrom is crane ship that boasts latest technology of Argentum."
- ↑ Hirkham
- ↑ Rododo
- ↑ Cedar#Chapter 4