Dwemer

The Dwemer (also referred to as the "Deep-Elves", "Deep Folk", "Deep Ones", or the "People of the Deep") were an ancient, "Lost Race" of Mer who were remnants of the early Aldmer, and lived primarily in the region of Dwemereth.

Mer used the term "Dwemer," whose meaning was roughly translated to "people of the deep". The term also connoted to "deep-delving," "profound," and "close-counseled". However, they were commonly referred as "Dwarves" by Men, and the name is rumored to have been derived from a supposed encounter with giants in the Velothi Mountains (although in general, this is a nod to the Dwarves of German and Scandinavian folklore), presumably during the late Merethic Era.

The Dwemer were an advanced race and civilization, and were far ahead of other races and civilizations in terms of government, society, technology, architecture, stonework and city-planning. They were well known for their revolutionary developments and achievements in technology, engineering, crafting methods, metalwork, stonework, architecture and city-planning, science, mathematics and magic, as well as their skills in engineering, crafting, metalwork, stonework, city-planning and the academic arts (science, mathematics and magic).

Appearance
The Dwemer race themselves were a reclusive, independent race, being well known for their technological prowess and the advancement in technology, and the dedication towards the professions and principles of alchemy, arcane magic, science, stonework, architecture and city planning, technology, metalwork, and crafting and engineering. There is a general misconception about the presentation of the Dwemer themselves, derived from fictitious novels which paint them to be familiar, friendly, and comfortable characters. This differs from reality however, as they have actually been described to be cruel, fearsome and unfathomable. Despite this, Dwemer have also been viewed as a careful, intelligent, industrious, and highly advanced culture,  and legends have told of their heroic tales of honor and glory. Essays, stories, legends and tales have generally told of the Dwemer race's appearance and personality as a race itself, but not as individuals.

Similarly to the members of the Psijic Order, the Dwemer race also possessed the ability known as "The Calling", to telepathically communicate with each other.

In appearance, the Dwemer were believed to be about the same size as a typical human or elf, however occasionally described to be the size of large children with beards. Other supporting evidence include that of visual sculptures and Dwarven Spectres that roam the halls within their ruined dwellings, which indicates that the Dwemer preferred heavy metal armors and robes, most of which is made out of either armored shells of ancient mechanical men or mismatched pieces from various devices.

History
Little was known of the history of the Dwemer and the early history and origins of their civilization, and most of their history was mostly a record of their conflicts with other races and each other. As such, their timeline was imprecise for many of these events.

The history that was recorded dates the beginning history of the Dwemer all the way back to the Merethic Era, although it could be said that the earliest known history and origins of the Dwemer was when the Aedra created Mundus, the mortal realm, and with it, all of the mortal races.

Dawn Era
During the Dawn Era, Lorkhan convinced some of the Et'Ada to create a mortal realm, which would be called Mundus. As Mundus was forming, it was revealed that many of the Et'Ada would be forced to give up much of their power. Due to this, the Et'Ada met at the Adamantine Tower during an event known as the Convention, and ultimately decided that Lorkhan had to be punished for his trickery. Lorkhan was eventually punished, and with the creation of Mundus, some of the Et'Ada went to Nirn to live there. Magnus tore a hole into Aetherius, which became Nirn's sun. Many other Et'Ada followed and became the Magna Ge, as they tore smaller holes into Aetherius, which became the stars.

The Aedra who walked on Mundus, specifically Nirn, created the Ehlnofey, and then the Ehlnofey of Tamriel became the Mer, and many different races of Mer came about. The Dwemer were one of the descendants of the Ehlnofey.

First Era
Records of Dwemer activity dated back to before the First Era, most notably in the Vvardenfell region. Vvardenfell in Dwemeris meant "City of the Strong Shield", which had the highest concentration of Dwemer cities of any land in Tamriel. Constant feuding between the Chimer and Dwemer continued on until the creation of the First Council, when the Dwemer and Chimer united to expel the Nords from Morrowind. However, the Rourken Clan refused to make peace with the Chimer, and their patriarch instead threw his ceremonial warhammer, Volendrung, across Tamriel, proclaiming that his clan would settle where it landed. Over time, they settled in modern-day Hammerfell, also home to the Redguards. When the Rourken Clan marched to modern-day Hammerfell, they encountered a powerful mage known as Shalidor. The Rourken Clan and Shalidor fought against each other, which would come be known as the Battle of Rourken-Shalidor. King Rourken was said to have used his shield known as Spellbreaker during the battle.

Aetherium Wars
Sometime after 1E 221, the Dwemer discovered a new raw mineral while mining in FahlZhardum Din, more commonly known as Blackreach. They named this new mineral Aetherium. An alliance was formed between Blackreach, Arkngthamz, Raldbthar, Mzulft and Bthar-zel, now known as Deep Folk Crossing. The roles of this project were spread out between the cities; Arkngthamz would serve as the main command center and the primary research facility, while Raldbthar, which happened to be located right above Blackreach, was given the role of dealing with mining operations. Mzulft was used as a storage site, but it is unknown what role Bthar-zel was assigned. The Aetherium Forge was constructed deep beneath the city of Bthalft, where the Aetherial artifacts would be constructed under precisely controlled conditions.

In a short amount of time, the four city-states that were a part of the project, eventually attempted to take control of the forge themselves, which evidently resulted in a civil war erupting at the core of the Dwemer empire: the Aetherium Wars. Decades passed as the war raged throughout Skyrim, and soon, the war had begun to weaken the Dwemer city-states in Skyrim and crumbled the Dwemer empire. Eventually, High King Gellir of Skyrim decided that it was time to crush the weakened Dwemer city-states and led his armies across Skyrim in a campaign of rapid dominance. He and his armies spread across Skyrim, conquering the land and taking over many Dwemer cities in merely three years.

However, the Dwemer empire in Skyrim eventually recovered a century later, and would eventually reclaim and reunite most of their cities and territory of which they had previously lost due to the war. The project itself was assumed to have been abandoned and discontinued, as the risks were far too great, and there was no evidence to support otherwise.

War of the Crag
During the War of the Crag within the early First Era, the remaining Snow Elves were forced into hiding, while many took refuge alongside the Dwemer. The Dwemer agreed to their request, in exchange the Snow Elves agreed into being given a toxic fungus which evidently blinded them. Eventually the Dwemer betrayed them and enslaved the Snow Elves, indirectly resulting them to devolve into the Falmer many decades later. However at some point, the Falmer would rise up against the Dwemer in revolt, thus resulting in the "War of the Crag". The war ended when the entire Dwemer race mysteriously vanished from existence.

Battle of Red Mountain
Probably the defining aspect of the Dwemer was their use of the Heart of Lorkhan. According to legend, after Lorkhan tricked or convinced the Aedra to create the mortal realm, they tore out his divine heart and threw it down to Nirn, to be hidden forever. Meanwhile, tensions began to flare between the Chimer and Dwemer once again. When Kagrenac—the Chief Tonal Architect of the Dwemer—prompted the discovery of a mythological artifact known as the Heart of Lorkhan by the Dwemer, deep in the mountains' bowels. When the Chimer discovered this, they believed that the Dwemer were mocking and disgracing their cultural beliefs, and as a result, a second Battle of Red Mountain erupted in 1E 700. Kagrenac devised a set of tools: Sunder, Keening, and Wraithguard, to manipulate the Heart to instill divinity to his people, in order to make them immortal, but the spell backfired and caused all known Dwemer to vanish, similarly in the form of a Dragon Break, leading to their mysterious disappearance.

"You wonder where the Dwemer have gone? Perhaps better to wonder why one remains."

- Sotha Sil

Since 1E 700, no word had been heard of the Dwemer, with the notable exception of Yagrum Bagarn, who resided in the Corprusarium of Tel Fyr. Apparently, he was absent from the Mortal Plane at the time of the disappearance, visiting an Outer Realm, an alternate dimension. His three thousand years of exploration and five hundred years of investigation have yielded no leads on the presence of his people on Mundus or any other plane of existence currently known.

Fourth Era
In 4E 201, Arniel Gane—a mage of the College of Winterhold—attempted to reenact a scenario of Kagrenac's workings on the Heart of Lorkhan by using Keening on a warped soul gem. As he was using Keening on the warped soul gem, he disappeared instantly; which strengthens the theory that the Dwemer race disappeared instantly, although many scholars disapprove of this theory altogether.

Sometime during the Fourth Era, Taron Dreth published a book called The Aetherium Wars. He was searching for the famed, legendary Aetherium Forge, and he stole his former teachers' research and published it under his own name. Katria took her remaining research and went to Arkngthamz, but was killed when an earthquake destroyed the ruin. Though she was gone, her ghost remained, and it was possible that she met the Last Dragonborn when they came to Arkngthamz, in which they were able to find the four Aetherium Shards and the Aetherium Forge deep within the Ruins of Bthalft, unlocking the mystery of the Aetherium Forge itself.

Many expeditions have been made to many Dwemer Ruins in Tamriel. During the Fourth Era, The Synod made an expedition to Mzulft in Skyrim, where they researched and studied Dwemer technology to consolidate their power in order to use it as an element of political clout in the Imperial Empire. An expedition was made to Avanchnzel by four adventurers: Watches-The-Roots, Drennen,Breya and From-Deepest-Fathoms. They were attempting to steal the Lexicon from Avanchnzel.

During the Fourth Era, an expedition group which was composed of Sulla Trebatius, the expedition leader, and Umana, Endrast, Valie, Yag gra-Gortwog, J'darr and J'zhar, went on an expedition to Alftand. When the group arrived at Alftand, they set up a small camp outside and a catwalk that lead into the glacier. At some point, a storm came in and the group was forced to head inside the glacier and into the ruined Dwemer city. The group was trapped inside the city, and had to wait out the storm for as long as they could. At some point, some of the team members were taken captive by the Falmer when they were asleep; those members included Valie, Endrast and Yag gra-Gortwog. Valie was taken to the torture room, while Endrast and Yag were taken into prison cells. Valie was killed during the Falmer's torture process, but Endrast and Yagak were able to escape using lock-picks, and after they escaped, the Falmer caught notice of their escape, and as Yagak was fighting off the Falmer, who bought time for Endrast, who escaped as he attempted to flee. Both were killed during their escape.

Society
The Dwemer were a free-thinking and reclusive Elven clan who lived in Tamriel; mostly in Morrowind during the Merethic Era and the First Era. The Dwemer, in general, were a very advanced and powerful civilization. Dwemer society did not force the use of technology over magic, but the general view of their society was that magic was unimportant and pointless, so much so, that most people were not of the Dwemer civilization believed they were "mockers and profaners of the divine." Though opinionated, it could be said that the Dwemer were both a naturally evil race yet also a noble and honorable one, as according to many First Era scholars, the Dwemer were feared by the Dunmer, Nords, Redguards and perhaps even by the gods themselves. On the other hand, the Dwemer people were a very noble and honorable race. Legends tell of their heroic tales of honor and glory.

"[Dwemer writing]: Risen by order cousin-of-privilege Cuolec of Scheziline privileged duties. Clanhome building Hoagen Kultorra tradition to hailed World shaper. To raise granted-cousin Cuolec of privilege with duties for family-home building Hoagen Kultorra tradition to father Mundus shaper."

- Thelwe Ghelein

When imagining and studying the society that the Dwemer had when their primary ideologies revolved around the pursuits of logic, science and study, it seems likely that the people of Dwemer society who studied and reasoned, would be promoted to the highest, most respected and most prestigious of positions in society. The position that a person in Dwemer society who studied and reasoned could have reached that probably would have equalled "clergy in a more mystically-inclined culture." This idea is supported by a fragment of Dwemeris text recovered and translated by Dwemer scholar Thenwe Ghelein, from a Dwemer colony—Irkngthand—who believes it to be associated with the Rourken Clan. Some scholars interpret those words as evidence to support that the Dwemer may have worshiped Mundus, but some scholars hypothesize that those two Dwemeris quotes are related to societial and civic matters.

One notable rank in society of the Dwemer civilization was the Tonal Architect. A Tonal Architect specialized in magic technologies and devices, and were usually attributed to craftsmen and mage-engineers. One variant of the rank of Tonal Architect was the Chief Tonal Architect ; a person who held this position led the Tonal Architect group in their studies and development of the magic technologies of the Dwemer civilization.

Architecture
The Dwemer were extremely great miners and predominant in that art, and excavated deep beneath the surface and deep into the mountains to build their cities.

Their cities were commonly referred to as strongholds, as well as Freehold colonies, and also city-states. Dwemer cities were vast and expansive, containing living spaces, dwellings, study rooms, areas for scientific, academic, engineering, and arcane study, , areas for the production of Automatons, debate halls, cathedrals, marketplaces, treasuries, armories, storage areas. Other sections included war quarters, gatehouses, pumping stations and pumping houses, boileries and aedromes (which contained Oculories). These areas were interconnected with great halls and long passageways running throughout the Dwemer's underground cities. Some sections of Dwemer cities were sectioned and named for a specific role. The Arcanex was a section of a city used for arcane study, and observational studies have shown that the Arcanex in Bthardamz contains a surprising collection of soul-gems, alchemical concoctions and magical text. This evidence supports a possible theory that Dwemer scientists and engineers may have also invested some of their time in magical study. The Animonculory section of a city was the section used for the role of industrial production, and producing Automatons. Although Nchardak did not contain an Animunculory, one of the city's main roles was to act as a major military production center, capable of constructing a single Animunculi within a day. The Orrery were elaborate, massive constructs designed for astronomical observation and study.

Since the Dwemer had a significant mastery over metalwork, construction of massive machines and interest in the sciences, notably astronomy, the Orrery were trademark developments of the Dwemer in their metalwork and scientific studies. One notable Orrery was located in Stros M'kai, constructed by the Rourken Clan sometime during 1E 420. Events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion The Oculory was a massive construct located in Mzulft and inside the Tower of Mzark in Blackreach. The Oculory in Mzulft was designed and built to collect starlight, then transmute it and split it. If and when calibrated correctly with a Focusing Crystal, it can then be used to project this energy into a map of Tamriel, and can then harness the energies to reveal locations of great sources of magical power. The Focusing Crystal was yet another device created by the Dwemer to power the Oculory. The Oculory located in the Tower of Mzark, however, was designed and built to store artifacts of great importance, notably an Elder Scroll. According to Paratus Decimius, the Orrery at the Arcane University was the inspiration for the Oculory.

In comparison to the rest of the Dwemer's creations and constructions, their architecture was mainly composed of stone. On the other hand, their methods of stonework and architectural construction was just as unique and grand as their metalwork. Their civilization's cities contained structures that were built with stone that was designed and constructed as sharp, straight, angular forms that were based on angled lines which were also intensely mathematical in nature. Architects favored "trusted, well-calculated designs based on angled lines rather than riskier, more imprecise calculations based on arcs and curves." Dwemer architecture is unique in that they favored stone over other materials. Their mastery of stonework is a shining example of their civilization, and a notable one at that. As opposed to metal which were found in their Animunculi, Dwarven artisans favored stone, at least as far as their buildings were concerned. However, as the Dwemer began to advance and achieve mastery over metalwork and more complex tools, metal was added to their architectural designs for buildings. Nevertheless, "the foundation of all known Dwemer ruins is built on stonework, and the structure of dwarven stonework is sharp, angular and intensely mathematical in nature." As a direct result, the traditions and knowledge that Dwemer architects and city planners had has allowed Dwemer buildings to stay structurally sound long after their race disappeared. Fahlbtharz.png

The architecture of Dwemer cities and sites in Vvardenfell was noticeably different than other Dwemer sites throughout Morrowind, as well as the other zones of territory the Dwemer civilization was found. The actual construction of the sites and the internal structure of the ruins was also unique; the more significant locations of the city were found closer to the surface. In Dwemer ruins on the mainland, the more important parts of a city were found much deeper underground. These findings have lead some scholars to believe that sites and cities outside of Vvardenfell and Morrowind were mere outposts, but some scholars state that differences between excavation and construction styles were because clan architects simply had their own styles and preferences when it came to civic planning. Some scholars state that in Dwemer society, techniques and architectural design, development and construction were based on empirical study, so room for creativity and openness was small. One theory that supports the last hypothesis is that geological makeup most likely played a significant role for Dwemer colonies who had just begun to excavate out a mountain where they had prepared to build a new city. It was tougher for Dwemer excavators of colonies excavating in northern Skyrim, where the lands were cold and windy and the ground was rocky and frozen solid, versus Dwemer excavators working in Vvardenfell, where the volcanic substratum was soft and easy to dig through, or the "ubiquitous aquifiers found in Hammerfell." It is possible that Dwarven excavators in the northern areas were "not even able to excavate larger structures until reaching more pliable stratum."

Language
Both the Dwemer's language and writing system is referred to as Dwemeris; the language is a dark one, utilizing many z's and d's in its form. The writing system is composed of and written as the Dwemer's own form of runes and glyphs, aesthetically similar to that of the Daedric Alphabet, yet it is heavily based on the Aldmeri Language. and analogous to traditional Gaelic. However, some of the runes for the Dwemer alphabet is incomplete.

Some forms of Dwemeris have been seen in the form of prefixes and suffixes of notable Dwemer names of various historical terms, such as "Volen-," meaning "hammer," and "-Fell," meaning "city," giving Volenfell; "City of the Hammer." The warhammer Volendrung has had its name translated into "Hammer of Might" by Dwemer scholars and translators.

The nation of Hammerfell can attribute its name to the warhammer Volendrung, as Dwemer and Hammerfell lore-history holds that the Chieftain of the Rourken Clan decided to move his people to a new location, so he threw that very warhammer from Morrowind and would move to wherever it ended up, which was at the site of the city of Volenfell in Hammerfell, hence the two locations' names. The name FalZhardum Din, based on observations of Dwemeris texts and inscriptions on tablets and walls in an unknown Dwemer city, has been revealed to be the Dwemer name for Blackreach.

The two books known as Divine Metaphysics and The Egg of Time were written in Dwemeris, but were so far unable to be translated by Dwemer scholars. Three other books, also written in Dwemeris, Hanging Gardens, Nchunak's Fire and Faith, and Chronicles of Nchuleft, were all able to be translated by Dwemer scholars.

Philosophy and Religion
There is no known story or background behind the Dwemer's disassociation with the Aldmer and other Mer races, as their society contained very few similarities with the other Mer races, other than some political and legal principles, and aspects of their language and writing system. The Dwemer were also far different than any other race on Tamriel, not just other Mer. Some scholars stated that the Dwemer preferred the use of machines and tools over magic, while some scholars have evidence to suggest and support that the Dwemer also used magic.

It is unknown what religion the Dwemer had, or if they worshipped any gods or not, but it is known that they scorned the Daedra, the Nine Divines and essentially all of the gods, and attempted to defy them with their values of "reason and logic". The Dwemer people believed that they were more powerful than the gods and could acquire powers that could equal or even rival them. Many scholars agreed that those factors may have led to their demise. Some Dunmer scholars might even say, in this respect, that the Dwemer were blasphemous. They challenged the power and superiority of the et'Ada, the Aedra and Daedra, questioned their authority, and traveled from Mundus into the Outer Realms of Aetherius and Oblivion. In their underground sanctuaries, the Dwemer studied powerful, magical relics and researched powers that they believed "could rival the gods themselves." The Dwemer religion, if it is one at all, is said to be one of the most complex and difficult puzzles of Dwemer culture.

It is possible that the Dwemer worshiped Mundus itself, theorized by some scholars from primary source text found by scholar and archaeologist Thelwe Ghelein in Irkngthand, but there were mixed ideas on the text; some scholars believed that the text supported the idea that the Dwemer worshiped Mundus, while Ghelein did not believe that the text supported the theory that the Dwemer worshiped Mundus, but rather that the text was related to civic and political matters.

Technology


The Dwemer mainly focused on metallurgy, the study of the physical and chemical elements of metal. It is distinguished from the craft of metalworking in that with metalwork, the crafter is working with the actual components of metal, a process to "create individual parts, assemblies or large scale structures." The overall concept of Dwarven construction and craftsmanship appears to have been designed and built to be long-lasting, rather than fragile and easily destructible, which is a possible explanation for their preference of metal. However, other materials such as clay, paper and glass, though more easily weaker and destructible, cannot be completely eliminated from the known materials that Dwemer crafters may have used to construct their creations.

The Dwemer also had extensive knowledge on mining, extracting and smelting the ore they found, as well as incorporating the smelted metal into their weapons, armor, tools, devices and other crafts. Because of this, they were able to create their own distinctive form of metal which is easily mistaken for bronze. Since then, no other race has been able to successfully replicate the process that was used to create dwarven metal. The only known method that has been successful so far, is to melt down existing dwarven metallic scraps and start over from there. They were also the creators of an illusive concept known as the "seven natures of metal".

Dwarves were known to have created—and manufactured on a very broad scale—thousands of mechanical apparatuses of varying complexity, most of which were constructed within the city of Nchardak, a large military production center. . These constructs are referred to as Animunculi, or simply "automatons", who were known to cause havoc when unleashed against enemies on the battlefield, completely obliterating enemy forces. . Several types can be found within ancient Dwemer ruins, the most simple being that of an arachnid design used to ward off trespassers. Most automatons contain a soul gem which is believed to be what powers these machines, but also acts as a boiler due to the extreme energy held within it. In some automatons, such as the Dwarven Spider Guardian, the soul gems acts as a source of Destruction magic, being able to attack intruders with lightning bolts. They also allowed the Spiders to function besides their internal steam power, electricity, and working gears and cogs. The other types of Animunculi that can be encountered are ballistas, centurions, and spheres. They are capable of receiving, interpreting and responding to the actions of people around them, due to the excellent work produced by Dwemer engineers. Animunculi are somehow linked to their place of origin, and will immediately lose power and shut down if removed from the vicinity. It is possible that animunculi were capable of reconstructing and repowering themselves to go back to protecting their former master's denizens. Dwemer armies also experimented with the use of crossbows. Though bows were additionally used, crossbows were technologically advanced. Various Dwemer engineers drew up several schematics for crossbows, including a standard and enhanced version. Schematics were also drawn up for explosive bolts to be used alongside the standard bolt, of which three known variants have been identified: an exploding fire bolt, exploding ice bolt, and an exploding shock bolt. During their existence, the Dwemer constructed many devices and machines. One of the creations they built was a monstrous golem, called Numidium, or the Brass God. Numidium was designed to help them transcend Nirn, also known as the Mortal Realm, by drawing power directly from the Heart. Other machines created were the Dwemer Convector, an advanced machine that was developed and used to alter any soul gem and transform it into a Warped Soul Gem. One such device they created was a Control Cube, which was designed and used to control specific constructs and maintain them. The Dwemer of Nchardak notably used many of these cubes to maintain their city, by controlling the various power systems that kept the city stable and to control the power system which supplied power to the Reading Room, as they would no doubt want to keep their massive, expansive library safe from outsiders. Another piece of technology the Dwemer constructed were Tonal Resonators. They were used as openers of doors and checkpoint markers between passageways, and still function to the modern day. However, the pinnacle of their genius was the creation of a device called a Lexicon which allowed them to read an Elder Scroll without going mad or blind, as well as acting as a portable information repository, being able to store vast amounts of knowledge within the device, as such combinations of machinery and magic were trademarks of the Dwemer. An example of the Dwemer's cultural characteristic for the arcane arts are the Aetherial artifacts: the Aetherial Staff, Aetherial Shield and the Aetherial Crown, whose powerful enchantments come from the Aetherium.

Besides mastering in the other arts and professions of their civilization, the Dwemer also mastered over the use of mathematics and science in itself and as an asset to their other professions. Science was an important aspect of the Dwemer academic society, especially the science of astronomy. They studied constellations, stars and planets in order to grasp a better understanding of the outside world. Because of this, the Dwemer constructed huge stationary machines—known as an Orrery—which was a scaled model of a solar system that depicts planetary motions. The Dwemer have made incredible observations of the night sky during their existence. As is known throughout all of Tamriel, Aurbis encompasses Mundus, which includes Nirn, its moons, the stars and Aetherius, the realm of the Aedra; Nirn is the only planet in the mortal plane also known as Nirn. The two moons that encompass Nirn are Secunda and Masser, in which Masser is the larger of the two. There is also the Void and Oblivion, which are also immortal realms of the Daedra.

Economy
Very little was known about the Dwemer economy, and if there even was one, but it was known about the form(s) of currency they used. One form of currency they used was known as the Dwemer Coin.