Dawn Era

The Dawn Era is the period of pre-history that includes the creation of the universe, prior to the advent of mortals on Tamriel. The events that occurred during this era are known only through myth and religious teachings, and interpretations vary from culture to culture. Most scholars, however, agree to a single common series of events that led up to the start of recorded history.

Creation
The creation of the universe began with the Chaos of the pre-universe. From this primordial nothingness, the twin forces of order and chaos, in the form of Anu and Padomay (also known as Sithis). After this, other beings began to form from the Void. First among these was Akatosh, who brought the concept of time into existence. With the genesis of time, other et'Ada were able to form their own identities, distinct from each other, and hundreds of such divine beings were formed.

Lorkhan's Plan
Anu and Padomay's constant struggle had created a number of planes for the et'Ada to inhabit, but not all of them were content. One, called Lorkhan, approached the others with a plan to create their own plane. He proposed the creation of the mortal plane, Mundus, and its population with beings of the et'Ada's creation.

Lorkhan managed to convince a number of his peers to aid him in his plan. These divines are collectively referred to as the Aedra, while the rest of the et'Ada are Daedra. (These terms have no meaning during the Dawn Era, as they are explicitly relative to the mer and their ancestral beliefs.) These Aedra began to form the mortal plane, but soon realized that they had been tricked. Although Anu and Padomay were infinite, the et'Ada were not. They realized that they were giving up parts of themselves to form this new world, something Lorkhan (according to mer tradition) was fully aware of.

Departure of the Gods
Many of the gods departed the mortal plane before it was complete. Chief among these was Magnus, the architect of Lorkhan's plan, who fled Nirn to return to Aetherius. His departure opens a hole in the barrier between planes, allowing magic to flood into Nirn. Not all of the gods chose to leave, however. Some, the Eight Divines, bound themselves to the new plane, but returned to their own planes in the end. These became the gods of many of the new inhabitants of the world, and were seen from Nirn as planets in the night sky.

One group of these beings fully surrendered their divinity, and formed the Ehlnofey. This now mortal race began to procreate in the physical sense, and eventually diverged into the mortal races of the Mythic Era. The remaining divines, before leaving Nirn to the mortals, created the Adamantium Tower, and convened there to decide Lorkhan's fate.

At the end of the Dawn Age, Lorkhan was permanently bound to his creation, when his heart was ripped from his body and cast down to Tamriel. There it would form Vvardenfel, the Red Mountain volcano, and remain dormant for thousands of years. The remaining gods then left Nirn, allowing time to stabilize, and flow linearly. This marked the start of recorded elven history, and the beginning of the Merethic Era.

Further reading (books)

 * Sithis
 * A Children's Anuad
 * The Lunar Lorkhan
 * The Monomyth