Dwemer

Dwemer, meaning "Deep Elves", are a lost race of Mer that lived primarily in the region of Vvardenfell, Skyrim and Hammerfell. They are known for their craftmanship and technological creations.

Characteristics
The Dwemer are often referred to as "Dwarves" in western cultures, although they were no shorter than a human and the name seems to have been derived from a supposed encounter with giants who saw the Dwemer as short. They were a reclusive, independent race, dedicated to the principles of science, alchemy, and engineering. They did not die out; instead, the entire race vanished into thin air all at the same time around the world. Yagrum Bagarn was the only known remaining living Dwemer on Nirn. Yagrum Bagarn resided in the Corprusarium deep beneath the island of Vvardenfell, in the Morrowind province of Tamriel. He had been infected by corprus, granting him eternal life, but constant pain. He was searching for clues to the whereabouts of his race when the Nerevarine discovered him.

History
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 ruins of any land in Tamriel. Feuding between Chimer and Dwemer continued until the First Council, when the Dwemer and Chimer unite to expel the Nords from Morrowind. One clan of Dwemer, the Rourken Clan, refused to make peace with the Chimer, and their patriarch threw his ceremonial warhammer, Volendrung, across Tamriel, proclaiming that his clan would settle where it landed. Over time, they settled in modern-day Hammerfell, explaining that region's name, home of the Redguards.

Eventually, however, tensions developed between the Chimer and Dwemer once again. A great war erupted between them, eventually leading to the mysterious disappearance of the Dwemer during the Battle of Red Mountain. The difficulty was prompted by the discovery of a mythological artifact known as the Heart of Lorkhan by the Dwemer, deep in the mountains' bowels. The Chief Tonal Architect Kagrenac, their de facto religious leader, devised a set of tools, Sunder, Keening, and Wraithguard, to manipulate the Heart to instill divinity to his people, but the spell failed and caused all known Dwemer to vanish. Varying accounts state that their connection to the heart was severed, although this seems unlikely. Other accounts suggest that Kagrenac used his Tools to release the Dwemer from the Mortal Plane, but this was even more implausible. Since 1E 668, 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.

There are many mysteries among the Dwemer creations left behind. Mages Guild investigators had discovered that if one of the centurion spiders was taken away from Vvardenfell, it gradually became more sluggish, eventually going into a state of torpor. Even more curious was that upon return, the spider re-activated back to normal aggressive levels, as if sensing the presence of the Dwemer ruins. Strangely, the Dwemer robots reactivated in the lands of the Redguard also.

Dwemer artifacts were highly prized throughout the Empire, although since they were technically the property of the Emperor under the charter of the Imperial Society of Architecture and Design as well as the Imperial Historical Society, the sale of them was illegal. This did not seem to stop artifacts from falling off the backs of wagons or otherwise disappearing into various collections. Dwemer weapons and armour were especially valued, renowned for their excellent craftsmanship and sturdy design. However, acquisition of these artifacts was extremely dangerous, because of the remote location of the ruins, and the multitude of aged and no-longer reliable Dwemeri machinery within, including the Steam Centurion and other automata, as well as sophisticated traps of which the Dwemer were particularly fond.

Society
The Dwemer were a reclusive Elven Clan who lived in Morrowind during the First Era. The Dwemer, in general, were powerful, and preferred the use of technology over magic. The Dwemer who inhabited Stros M'kai were reliant on steam power. They lived in great half-subterranean buildings and created mechanical creatures known as Animunculi as well as other devices. According to many First Era scholars, the Dwemer were feared by the Dunmer, Nords, Redguards and perhaps even by the Gods. Some Dunmer scholars might say, in this respect, that the Dwemer were blasphemous. They challenged the power of the Et'Ada, the Aedra and Daedra, questioned their authority, and traveled into the Outer Realms of Aetherius and Oblivion. Many scholars agreed that those factors may have led to their demise.

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. The Dwemer found this heart, researched its intricacies, and used its divine power to create many things. They created the blade and tuning fork Keening and the hammer Sunder, along with the Wraithguard, to tap the power of the Heart.

One of the things they built was a monstrous golem called Numidium, or the Brass God, which was designed to help them transcend the Grey Maybe, Nirn, the Mortal Realm by drawing power directly from the Heart. In other words, this golem was more than just a destructive force. It was an actual new God that the Dwemer had created from the substance of Lorkhan, the "Dead" God. After the Dwemer disappeared, Numidium made a reappearance in a weaker form when Tiber Septim used its power to conquer all of Tamriel and forge the Third Era.



Secondly, the last living Dwarf, Yagrum Bagarn, said that when the Dwemer disappeared he was in the "Outer Realms", and thus did not disappear with them. The Outer Realms referred to that which was outside of Nirn, whether it was Aetherius, Oblivion, or some other "location" in the Aurbis is unknown. At any rate, this shows us that at least some Dwemer had the ability to remove their bodies from the mortal Plane and travel beyond normal bounds, something like having an out of body experience and, perhaps, taking your body with you. This idea was backed up by Baladas Demnevanni, who said that the Dwemer had practiced "generations of ritualistic 'anti-creations'", which possibly contributed to their disappearance. It was unknown whether The Calling and those anti-creations were a natural or learned trait or whether they stemmed from some technology or from some use of the Heart.

Technology
Dwemer technology is quite advanced compared to the rest of the Elder Scrolls world, and the player can find evidence of this technology inside the mines that they built. The design of the automatons themselves resemble a fusion of fantasy and steampunk designs, featuring gleaming brass cogs which are hostile to the player. On death they will drop a variety of different items. Most automatons yield a Soul Gem when slain, hinting their magic may have been connected to their operation somehow. The pinnacle of their ability was a machine that allowed them to read one of the the Elder Scrolls without the need for the lifetime of wisdom usually needed to read the scroll without going mad or blind. Septimus Signus mentions that such combinations of machinery and magic were trademarks of the dwemer.

Many dwemer scraps may be used to smelt a Dwarven Metal Ingot, used to forge Dwarven equipment. Dwemer ruins also often contain pieces of Dwarven equipment. Silverware including forks, knives, and spoons can be found in Dwemer locations as well as Dwemer influenced areas throughout Skyrim. This may be due to their technological advancements and sophistication, something that the rest of Skyrim hasn't entirely grasped yet.

Dwemer Ruins and Blackreach
Dwemer ruins are dangerous to explore because of the automatons and the Falmer. Some examples could be the Sphere Guardians, a very quick automaton that can dish out some huge damage. However all the ruins contain treasure, creating exploration parties and lone explorers. There is also the matter of Blackreach, a region that connects the ruins together, and possibly, the capital of the dwarven kingdoms in Skyrim.

Notable Dwemer

 * Bthuand Mzahnch - One of the Tonal Architects and author of "The Egg of Time." In it, Bthuand argued against the idea that tapping the power of Lorkhan's Heart was too dangerous. Some believed that using the Heart would have side effects, but the Tonal Architects argued that no unforeseen consequences could result from their work.
 * Dumac - King of the Dwemer and friend of Indoril Nerevar. Dumac and Nerevar united their races to drive the Nords from Morrowind, then Dunmereth. They then renamed the land Resdayn and formed the First Council as a ruling body over the two races. Eventually, they warred on each other when Nerevar demanded that the Dwemer cease construction of the Numidium, which Dumac may or may not have known about. Also called Dumac Dwarfking or Dumac Dwarf-Orc by his enemies.
 * Kagrenac - The Chief Tonal Architect or Shop Foremer of the Dwemer. Kagrenac was the primary Mer who worked on the Heart of Lorkhan. He created the original brass god, Numidium, as well as Keening, Sunder, and the Wraithguard. He was present at the Battle of Red Mountain, and, according to some stories, went to use the tools on the Heart at the last second before his race evaporated.
 * Radac Stungnthumz - A Dwemer ghost that helped the Nerevarine reforge the Trueflame, the sword of Nerevar. Radac was originally a soldier that somehow knew about applying Pyroil tar on a blade in order to make it burning and deadly.
 * Yagrum Bagarn - The last living Dwemer and one of Kagrenac's Tonal Architects. Bagarn was in the Outer Realms when the rest of his race disappeared, so he was unaffected by the event. He wandered Morrowind for many years searching for other Dwemer, to no avail. Eventually he caught Corprus and descended into madness for many years. He was later housed in the Corprusarium at Tel Fyr and was mostly conscious, though he did not have full control of his body or mind.

Trivia

 * The Dwemer draw inspiration from the mainstream interpretation of "Dwarves" in fantasy media. They are, in fact, the Dwarves of the Elder Scrolls series.
 * Their outfits and appearance seem to draw inspiration from the Babylonians and ancient Greeks. Especially their beards.
 * In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, while in the mind of Pelagius the 3rd, you can see a group of 3 humanoids dressed in full sets of dwarven armour. However, it is unknown if they are actual Dwemer or not.

Appearances

 * The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind 
 * The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal
 * The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon
 * The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
 * The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine 
 * The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles
 * The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Dwemer