There are many mysteries in The Elder Scrolls‘ vast, fantastical world, but one of the many enduring ones is the Dwemer. Once, one of the many races found in Tamriel, the Dwemer were brilliant and innovative. However, they disappeared entirely from the face of Skyrim for some strange, unexplained reason.
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The Dwemer could be considered ahead of their time, one of the most advanced civilisations ever to exist. However, all that’s left of them are abandoned cities, automatons, and many other inventions that have gathered dust. So, what could have befallen this race of gifted intellectuals?
Who Are The Dwemer?
Before delving into their disappearance, we believe it’s important to give you a rundown of the Dwemer and who they were. The Dwemer, also known by other names such as Dwarves or The Deep Folk, are a race of Mer (or Elves) that have lived in Skyrim since the First Era. Although their origins are not detailed in in-game lore, they were known to be ambitious, with a gift for engineering, architecture, the arcane, philosophy, and many other intellectual pursuits.
Unlike the other races in Tamriel, the Dwemer are said to value pragmatism, reason, and logic above all else. They do not worship any of the Aedra or Daedra and thus do not overly rely on magic like the High Elves.
Although there is evidence of the existence of petty kings in Dwemer society, occupations such as philosophers, priests, and engineers known as Tonal Architects were at the very top of its social hierarchy. However, because of their heretical views, some cultures consider the Dwemer cold and cruel, but this is likely a biased view or a result of their society’s prioritising logic.
Throughout their storied history, the Dwemer built a massive underground empire, with notable city-states such as Blackreach and Arkngthamz. As a result, they were the first race to discover Aetherium through their mining operations, a material known to produce powerful arcane artefacts.
The Dwemer And The Snow Elves
Due to living underground, the Dwemer rarely ever involve themselves in the wars and conflicts of those who live topside. Although there is evidence that the Dwemer were embroiled in their own civil wars (such as the war over the control of the Aetherium Forge), the Dwemer were given the moniker of the ‘Secretive People’ for a reason.
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However, one notorious instance of their involvement was during the downfall of the Snow Elves. The latter had lost a war to the Nords, and in a last desperate bid for salvation, turned to the Dwemer for help. In return for harbouring them in their underground kingdom, the Dwemer force the Snow Elves to consume a fungus. Over the centuries, the Snow Elves turned into the Falmer, blinded and deformed.
The Dwemer’s treatment of the Snow Elves plays into their reputation for ruthless pragmatism, but also accusations of cruelty from other races. Their deception and abuse of the Falmer led to the War of the Crag uprising, but it ended in a default victory for the Falmer when the Dwemer disappeared.
The Price Of Hubris?
As mentioned before, the Dwemer were not only incredible inventors but also extremely ambitious to the point of arrogance. Aside from their numerous awe-inspiring achievements, from harnessing Aetherium to building a contraption to read an Elder Scroll, the Dwemer desired to achieve immortality. In short, they wanted to become Gods, or even surpass them.
This came to a head when the Chief Tonal Architect, Kagrenac, discovered the fabled Heart of Lorkhan (the god of mortals) somewhere inside the Red Mountain. According to legend, Lorkhan’s heart was cast into the mortal realm he tricked the Gods into helping create.
As expected, Kagrenac planned to use the powers of the Heart to catapult the Dwemer into godhood. And when the Chimer caught wind of this, they were predictably upset and the two civilisations warred with one another.
Led by Azura’s Champion Indoril Nerevar, the Chimer was able to suppress the Dwemer. However, Kagrenac used his specially built tools — Wraithguard, Sunder, and Keening — on the Heart of Lorkhan to proceed with his plan. As we now know, things didn’t pan out the way Kagrenac wanted to, and the Dwemer race vanished off the face of Nirn.
The Fable Of Azura And The Box
Aside from the Heart of Lorkhan debacle, there may be another explanation as to why the Dwemer disappeared. Although there are multiple versions of the tale, the parable of Azura and The Box tells the story of an old and respected Dwemer researcher named Nchylbar, who wanted to know the extent of a God’s power before he died.
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Accompanied by his friend, Chimer priest Athynic, and several of his students, Nchylbar summoned Azura. He presented the Daedric Prince of Dawn and Dusk with a box and asked her to tell him what was inside it. In the Dunmeri version, Azura refuses to oblige and kills everyone present for the insult. However, in the generally accepted version of the parable, Azura answers that there’s a red flower in the box. When the box is opened, however, it turns out that there’s nothing inside it.
In a daring trick, Nchylbar had concealed the flower in the folds of his robe. Azura vanishes after the box is opened and Nchylbar dies not long after his bold experiment. According to the tale, Azura cursed the Dwemer, which led to their disappearance.
Where Did The Dwemer Go?
Although the Dwemer did indeed disappear, not all of them did. In a twist of fate, Yagrum Bagarn managed to evade the fate of his fellow Dwemer. Despite working under Kagrenac, Yagrum said that he was exploring an Outer Realm when the cataclysm happened and as such, is the last known living Dwemer alive.
There are many theories as to where the Dwemer disappeared to, with Yagrum’s in-game dialogue positing that Kagrenac’s backfired spell could have spirited all the Dwemer to an Outer Realm. In another theory, it’s possible that the Dwemer might have met the same fate as Alduin and did not perish, merely displaced to reappear at another time.
However, the Gods could deem the Dwemer’s actions too heavy an offence and wipe out the Dwemer race entirely. But this would not make too much sense since the Gods would not be sloppy enough to leave even one Dwemer alive, and the Outer Realm would not be out of their grasp to influence.
Thus far, there has been no confirmation of where the Dwemer went, or even if they are still alive. We can only hope that future instalments in the Elder Scrolls franchise will shed more light on the disappearance of the Dwemer.
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