Disappearance of the Dwarves

Among the many great mysteries of Tamriel, few are as profound as the disappearance of the entire Dwemer race (also known as Dwarves). It is the subject of scholarly talk, and the player addresses it directly in a Mages' Guild quest.

The player must recover three books: The Egg of Time, Divine Metaphysics Adapted to the Meanest of Intellects (usually shorted to Divine Metaphysics), and Hanging Gardens of Wasteb Coridale (shorted to Hanging Gardens). The Egg of Time is located at the orc infested ruin of Mzuleft; Divine Metaphysics is located on a table in the dwemer ruin of Bethamez (in the Gnisis eggmine), and Hanging Gardens in located on the lower level of Nchuleftingth.

Once brought together, the player must seek out learned individuals to help them discover what the books mean. Eventually, it becomes necessary to locate someone who can translate Aldmeris. Only two people in Vvanderfell can readily translate: Baladas Demnevanni (in Gnisis), or Yagrum Bagarn (in the Corprusarium of Tel Fyr).

Baladas will give the player the general rundown needed to complete the quest; Bagarn (as a dwarf) will be somewhat more elaborate, and offer his own opinions on the matter.

In brief, they both conclude that Kargrenac (the great dwemer engineer) used profane tools (Wraithguard, Keening, and Sunder) and specific rituals to attach the Dwemer race to the power of the Heart of Lorkan; which, for one reason or another, caused the destruction of the entire race. That the Dwemer disappeared during the Battle of Red Mountain is something of a coincidence; perhaps spurred on by the armies of the Chimer, lead by Indoril Nerevar and his generals (Voryn Dagoth, Vivec, Almalexia, and Solitude); though according to certain historical sources, those four Chimer were far more involved in the event, having fought the dwemer king and Kargrenac themselves in the deep caverns beneath Red Mountain, possibly forcing their hands. It may also explain how Dwemer artifacts do not appear to age, and how much of their machinary (and their Centurions) are still operable today (and in one documented case, how they react at various distances from Morrowind).

There is also mention of how the Dwemer thought it unfashionable for their dieties to be less important, less powerful, and less influential, than the other gods of the realm; and thus allowing for a general desire to experiment on the Heart, once discovered.

The books themselves have very different purposes in this reasoning. Divine Metaphysics explains how to create a god through sorcery; The Egg of Time argues that it is not dangerous to intrupt a link to a divine source of power (which appears to be quite to the contrary, given how the Dwemer vanished so suddenly and completely). Hanging Gardens is little more than a tourist guide of a sorts, barely useful beyond its value as help in translating the otherwise unknown Dwemer language.