Nordic-Falmer War

A fragment of Wuuthrad depicting a screaming Mer visage.

The Nordic-Falmer War was a conflict between Atmoran immigrants to Tamriel and the native Snow Elves of Skyrim, which took place in the late Merethic Era. 

Order of events

Background

Late in the Merethic Era began the Atmoran tradition to migrate and settle on Mereth, a continent later known as Tamriel. Early Nordic ancestors had given the land this name due to the Mer that used to rule there.

For a time Atmoran settlers and Mer lived in peace with each other. This resulted in a population boom of the Atmorans in Skyrim. Harsh weather and civil war ensured more Atmorans coming to Mereth. Thus, the first major settlement was built - Saarthal.

It is believed that the Atmorans' fast reproduction rate posed a demographic threat to the Snow Elves in Skyrim, and this was one cause of the Snow Elves' genocidal campaign against Men.

Another theory is that Atmoran settlers had found an unimaginably powerful artifact - the Eye of Magnus, that was said to be buried somewhere in Skyrim. Combination of greed and fear drove Elves to reclaim the artifact for themselves.

War

Snow Elves attacked the unsuspecting Atmoran settlement during the night and murdered nearly its entire population. Saarthal was in ruins and it is said that only three survivors were able to escape the carnage and sail back to Atmora: Ysgramor and his two sons. This event is known as the Night of Tears.

The seemingly successful plan, however, only fueled the wrath of the Atmorans in the form of the Five Hundred Companions, who were led by Ysgramor. A fleet of longboats left the port of Jylkurfyk to avenge their slain brethren. The Atmoran return to Skyrim started the historic period known as "The Return." During this period, Atmorans led bloody skirmishes to kill and enslave the Elven populace. This way, these Nordic ancestors quickly spread all over Skyrim and nearby areas, claiming land for themselves.

The last Snow Elven commander was said to have fallen on Solstheim during the Battle of the Moesring. The Snow Prince, was, perhaps, the only Elf that Atmorans honored. He proved to be a worthy enemy for many Atmoran warriors and was buried in a barrow in a show of respect, as Atmoran tradition demanded for brave foes.

The war was said to have ended during the reign of King Harald, thirteenth of Ysgramor's line. The last recorded skirmish against the Snow Elves, however, happened in 1E 139, under the rule of Harald, at the time just a lord.

Outcome

The Nordic-Falmer War resulted in humans becoming ascendant on the continent of Tamriel as a whole, as the Atmoran campaign of conquest against the Snow Elves not only broke the long dominion of Mer over Mereth, but also freed much of the Nede populations of Men from Ayleid slavery. With the help of labor by the Elven prisoners of war, Saarthal was rebuilt and cities such as Windhelm were founded. The first human empire was born, led by the Ysgramor Dynasty. Using claimed Elven knowledge from the conflict, humans first developed writing.

The surviving Snow Elves pled with the Dwemer for aid and quarter. The Dwemer initially agreed to their plea, offering them refuge in the Dwarven cities, but later ended up betraying and enslaving them. The Dwemer are believed to have mass-poisoned the Snow Elves by forcing them to eat a fungi that would cause blindness, an act that affected their offspring as well. After the disappearance of the Dwemer, the Snow Elves gradually devolved into the cave-dwelling beasts known as the Falmer.

Few Snow Elves managed to escape the Nords and not make a deal with Dwemer, the only known case being with the Chantry of Auri-El, where hundreds took refuge. They were eventually slaughtered by their degenerated Falmer brethren, leaving only Knight-Paladin Gelebor and Arch-Curate Vyrthur as the last known Snow Elf survivors.