Chimer

Chimer, which means the people of the north, an archaic and poetic usage, were the Elven tribes who followed the prophet Veloth out of the southwest of Tamriel to settle in the lands now known as Morrowind. Dunmer myths say that before there skin turned black, and their eyes turned red because of the Curse of Azura, the Dark Elves were known as the Chimer.

Chimer (changed folk) are an extinct race. They fled from the Aldmeri (elven) home of Summerset after their religious conversion, and settled in the land of the Dwemer, later known as Morrowind. The Chimer were often in conflict with their neighbors, the Dwemer and Nords, due to religious and racial conflicts respectively. Eventually, the Chimer, under the rule of Indoril Nerevar Moon-and-Star, formed a lasting alliance with the Dwemer in order to drive back the Nords. This peace lasted until the Chimer learned of the Dwemeri attempts to create a god, and the Chimer attacked, successfully preventing the awakening of Numidium. But after the Battle of Red Mountain, during which the Dwemer vanished in unexplained circumstances, the Chimer were transformed into Dunmer by the Daedric Goddess Azura as punishment either for when the Tribunal broke their oath to Nerevar and Azura by making themselves gods or for their possible murder of Nerevar.

The Chimeri Exodus was led by the prophet Veloth, who later became a prominent saint in the Tribunal Temple, in the Merethic Era and was done so the Chimer could practice Daedra worship. The Dunmer attribute the inspiration for this exodus to the Daedric Prince Boethiah. They say he ate a prominent figure of the Aldmeri religion, Trinimac, and used his voice to show the Chimer the lies of the Aedra, who the Aldmer worshiped. He spoke of various ways in which they should live and demonstrated how to complete the Exodus. Other Daedric Princes, such as Mephala and Azura, initiated other changes and taught other lessons to the early Chimer, as well.

A possible hint to the appearance of the Chimer can be seen in Morrowind in the persons of Vivec and Almalexia, who were both of the Chimer race before the formation of the Tribunal. They appear to have been similar in height and build to Dunmer, with a coloring similar to Altmer. As the Chimer were actually a splinter faction of the Altmer, this is not surprising.