Dwemer

The Dwemer (Translated as Deep Elves) are a reclusive race of Mer who seem to have lived prodominately in Morrowind. Little definate knowledge is known of them, but they were known as masters of the arts of engineering and metalurgy. Contrary to the uninformed belief that Dwemer, also known as Dwarves, they are not the usual, fantasy based Dwarves, as the are in-fact Elves and therefore are not the short, stocky people that are usually imagined, though they are portrayed as heavilly bearded. They are instead very similar to other Mer in apearance (Though this can only be said due to the images in Dwemer statues and sightings of Dwemer ghosts, and the appearance of the last remaining Dwemer,who is bloated and deformed by corpris).

The Dwemer are most noted innn history for their great inventions that, even after their mysterious disappearance, still affect Tamriel to this day. Examples of their work are the great Numidium, the tremendous war-machine sought after by multiple parties in Tamriel before it's destruction, and the many ruins dotting the lands.

personally written.

What They Wre Like
Since the Dwarves died so long ago, it is not know exactly what they were like. What we do know about the Dwemer in general is that they were reclusive, powerful, and tended to use "technology" over magic (the Dwarves at Stros M'Kai were reliant on steam power). They lived in great half-subterranean buildings and created mechanical creatures called Animunculi as well as other devices. We know that they were feared- by the Dunmer, by the Nords, by the Redguards, perhaps even by the Gods. Some might say that, in this respect, the Dwemer were "blasphemous". They challenged the power of the Et'Ada (Aedra and Daedra), questioned their authority, and travelled into the "Outer Realms". These factors may have led to their demise, as discussed below.

Probably the defining aspect of the Dwemer is their use of "The Heart". According to legend, after Lorkhan tricked or convinces 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/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 "transend 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 makes a reappearance in a weaker form when Tiber Septim uses its power to conquer all of Tamriel and forge the Third Era.

A good example of the attitude of the Dwemer is the story Azura and the Box, in which a Dwemer challenges Azura to a guessing game and tricks her. He does this in order to discover the extent of the power of the Et'Ada. By contrast, his devout Chimer friend is flabergasted by the Dwemer's insolence, but agrees to help him, and is the one who summons Azura. At the end of the story, Azura places a curse on the Dwemer for their hubris, and possibly also on the House of the Chimer Priest. This is also a good example of the contrast between the faith of the Chimer and the curiosity of the Dwemer.

This theme is a reoccuring one for the Dwemer. Baladas Demnevanni says that "During the Dawn Era they researched the death of the Earth Bones, what we call now the laws of nature, dissecting the process of the sacred willing itself into the profane. I believe their mechanists and tonal architects discovered systematic regression techniques to perform the reverse -- that is, to create the sacred from the deaths of the profane."

There is one final aspect of interest in regards to the Dwemer. Although many think of them as a technologically-oriented race, there was an extra dimension added to them. Obviously the power of Lorkhan's Heart throws an element of magic into their "technology". However, there is also evidence that the Dwemer possessed an element of spiritualism that might not be expected.

According to Chimarvamidium (Ancient Tales of the Dwemer, part VI), it has been suggested that the Dwemer had an ability that was named "The Calling". This is akin to what we know as telepathy or field-consciousness. It allowed Dwemer to communicate with each other over great distances. It has been suggested that, in the last moments before they disappeared, the Chief Tonal Architect Kagrenac used The Calling to summon all of the Dwemer people and rally them to carry out their plans to transcend the Mortal Plane. Whether this version of their end is the true one remains to be seen.

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 refers to that which is outside of Nirn, whether it be 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 is backed up by Baladas Demnevanni, who says that the Dwemer had practiced "generations of ritualistic 'anti-creations'", which possibly contributed to their disappearance.

As a side note, I should mention that it is unkown whether The Calling and these anti-creations were a natural or learned trait or whether they stemmed from some technology or from some use of the Heart.

Copied from http://www.imperial-library.info/dwemer/guide.shtml written by Raptormeat.

Disappearance
They vanished into thin air, strangely enough.

The problem is, there are many varying accounts of their end. I am going to try and split this section up into to mini sections, the (sometimes conflicting) facts of the Dwemer disappearence, along with the speculations of their disappearance.

The "Facts"

The stage was Vvardenfell, during the Battle at Red Mountain. This was the culmination of the war between the Chimer and the Dwemer. Nerevar was present from the Chimer, as were Alamelexia, Vivec, and Sotha Sil. From the Dwemer there was King Dumac and Kagrenac the Shop Foremer. Dagoth Ur from the Dagoth House was there also, as were Nords and Orcs. However, it is unknown exactly what side they were on. The Five Songs of King Wulfharth claims that the Nords and the Orcs were on the side of the Dagoth House, against the Dwemer. However, it also claims that Nerevar fought alongside the Dwemer, and the other Chimer were not present, which is unlikely. In addition, The War of the First Council claims that the Dagoth House was on the side of the Dwemer, and that the Nords and the Orcs fought with them. This, however, is also suspect, since according to Vivec's account, Dagoth Ur fought alongside Nerevar. In the end, while this question is important historically, it is unimportant in regards to the Dwemer.

In some versions of the story, the Dwemer are simply slaughtered and that is their disappearance. This is highly unlikely, as the Rourken Clan, which was across the continent at the time, disappeared at the same time. And one cannot forget that the more reliable stories (Vivec's and the Ashlanders') claim that something much more profane and meaningful happened.

These versions say that the end of the Battle, Nerevar, Dagoth Ur, Kagrenac, and others are in the Heart Chamber. Dumac may have been there and killed, or disabled. In one version Kagrenac, seeing that he is in trouble, takes the tools and walks over to the Heart. The others see him attempt to use the tools on the Heart, and at that moment all of the Dwemer on Tamriel vanish without a trace. His use of the tools was probably supposed to elevate his race to something like Godhood. In other versions, Kagrenac is killed by Dagoth Ur, and Azura shows Nerevar how to use the tools to sever the Dwemer's link with the Heart. "And on the fields, the Tribunal and their armies watched as the Dwemer turned into dust all around them as their stolen immortality was taken away." The question is whether or not the tools were actually used, and whether or not they actually worked.

Speculation

Assuming that the above account of the Dwemer's End is correct, there are several possibilities as to what became of them. I will list the ones that I have thought of (and think are the most likely) here.

Possibility A: The tools worked. Kagrenac successfully used his tools, and possibly The Calling, to take his race and remove them from Mundus, the Mortal Plane. He either turned them into Deities or simply allowed them to move freely in the Outer Realms.

This is possible, but unlikely. If it had happened, then Vivec, who is a God himself, probably wouldn't have said that "I have no sense of them in the timeless divine world outside of mortal time". In addition, for reasons discussed below, I believe that certain Et'Ada would never have allowed the Dwemer to carry out this act of arrogance. Finally, one might think that if the Dwemer had become Gods, we would have heard more about it.

Possibility B: The tools failed. Kagrenac foolishly de-created his race and erased them from Nirn. They were either destroyed entirely or were transfered to somewhere outside of Nirn and died.

This is more likely. The book "The Egg of Time" seems to indicate that there was a debate going on. The book argues that it is safe to tap the power of the Heart, and that the Dwemer who believed that it was a great risk were incorrect. I believe that this kind of "debate" wouldn't have been revealed to us unless tampering with the Heart actually was dangerous, and that something terrible very well may have happened if Kagrenac had tried to use the tools on it. Also, there exists an article entitled Sermon Zero of the Thirty-and-Six-and-Nine Sermons, which was given to us by Jobasha on the official forums. It is highly confusing and likely not considered an official document, but it contains three secret messages which can be deciphered from the text. One of them reads "To the Dwemer and Oblivion belong this treasure and they are there dead".

Possibility C: Kagrenac had no chance to actually use the tools. The split second that he did, Daedra Prince Azura snatched him and all of the other Dwemer from Nirn, and imprisoned them in Oblivion. Alternatively, he did use the tools, but as soon as his race was removed from Mundus, Azura imprisoned them in Oblivion. Or he died before he had the chance, and Azura instructed Nerevar to use the tools to destroy the Dwemer enchantment upon the Heart, making them instantly disappear. Either way, Azura put them in Oblivion and there they may or may not have died.

This, in my opinion, is the most likely of all of the possibilities. As has been discussed elsewhere, the Dwemer doubted the power of the Et'Ada and did not venerate them as the other races did. One specific example of this directly involves Azura- the account contained in Azura and the Box. And one cannot forget the very idea of Numidium, The Brass God. The construct which, according to Divine Metaphysics, was a new God constructed from the power of a "Dead" God, Lorkhan. This is blasphemy in the highest sense of the word, and according to several accounts, Azura did not want it completed.

More importantly, Azura was involved several times in the affairs at Battle of Red Mountain, before and after the war. In The Battle of Red Mountain, it is said that Nerevar went to Holomayan and summoned Azura to receive counsel, and there she told him that the construction of the "New God of the Dwemer should be prevented at all costs". In Nerevar at Red Mountain, Azura instructs Nerevar while in the Heart Chamber to use the tools on the Heart to destroy the Dwemer, which he does (at this moment, according to the legend, the Dwemer simply all vanish). Later, according to both accounts, the Tribunal break their oath to Nerevar and Azura and use the Heart to become Gods. At this time Azura appears and curses the Chimer, turning them into Dunmer "that they might know forever their wicked deeds ". And finally, it might be said that Azura returned her champion Nerevar to Morrowind to once and for all destroy the Heart and its destructive influence, and that this is the story of the Nerevarine.

All of these events show that Azura was an active force in the prevention of the use of the Heart. For whatever reason, she did not want the Heart to be used for profane purposes. Thus, I find it likely that Azura, whether it be to protect some kind of natural order regarding divinity and mortality, to protect the safety of those on Tamriel, or simply as a punishment for the Dwemer arrogance and hubris, imprisoned the Dwemer in Oblivion forever, and there they still exist.

Copied from http://www.imperial-library.info/dwemer/guide.shtml written by Raptormeat.