Dwemer



The Dwemer, the "people of the deep", are a fabled "Lost Race" of Mer from Dwemereth, which mostly consisted of modern-day Morrowind, where they are believed to have been the most prolific, though they also had a strong presence in Hammerfell, High Rock, and Skyrim. Meric races use the term "Dwemer", which translates to "Deep-Elves" or "Deep Folk". Men commonly refer to them as Dwarves. The early history of the Dwemer is still clouded in mystery. There is no known story of their dissociation from the Aldmer, which must have occurred very early in Tamrielic history, as their society bore few correlations with that of the Altmer besides some similar legal principles. The Dwemer built elaborate underground cities near and beneath mountain ranges, including the Velothi Mountains and Red Mountain, and in the mountains of the isle Stros M'Kai. Many misconceptions about them have abounded for centuries: scholars long thought that most Dwemer ruins which dotted Tamriel outside Morrowind were mere outposts and that there were few significant Dwemer settlements elsewhere until 1E 420. The presentation of the Dwemer in fictitious but popular novels like the Ancient Tales of the Dwemer has also lodged an inaccurate impression of them in the popular consciousness, painting them as familiar, comfortable characters very similar to humans. In reality, they are better described as having been fearsome, unfathomable, and even cruel, though also careful, intelligent, and industrious. Their society consisted of free-thinking yet reclusive clans devoted to the secrets of science, engineering, and the arcane until they mysteriously disappeared around 1E 700.

History
The history of the Dwemer is mostly a record of their conflicts with other races and each other, and the timeline is imprecise for many of these events. They purportedly settled along the coasts of Morrowind and founded Dwemereth. They became involved in clashes with the newly-arrived Chimer in the Late Middle Merethic Era over land, resources, and religion. The Dwemer also inhabited modern-day Skyrim during the earlier centuries of the First Era, and had numerous clashes with the Nords who lived there.

While King Harald is credited with driving the last of the "elves" out of Skyrim before the end of his reign in 1E 221, this is mostly likely referring to conflicts with the Falmer and possibly other elves, as the Dwemer kept inhabiting a number of city-states stretching from the Velothi Mountains as far west as Markarth in what is now the Reach. The city-states burrowed deep underground, masking their true size, and several of them were linked by the gargantuan cavern known as Blackreach (or "FalZhardum Din" to the Dwemer). They clashed often with the Nords, but were never seriously threatened until the third century of the First Era, several decades after Harald's reign, when the Nordic armies under High King Gellir experienced unusual success in conquering Dwemeri cities. Scholars believe that several decades before, an alliance emerged between four city-states led by Arkngthamz, a Dwemeri research center, to develop technology to harness the power of the Aetherium crystal, but the alliance became a victim of its success and crumbled quickly. All of the city-states in Skyrim are thought to have entered into a crippling war over the Aetherium crystal and the means of harnessing it. After decades of this underground war, the Nords were able to sweep the weakened Dwemer out of their city-states and hold them for a century before the the Dwemer could muster the strength to reclaim them.

The Falmer, meanwhile, had not actually been driven out of Skyrim by Harald, either; many of them sought sanctuary with the Dwemer. Although they agreed to protect the Falmer, the distrustful Dwemer rendered them blind by forcing them to consume toxic fungus found growing deep underground. Over several generations, the Falmer became servants of the Dwemer, and then their slaves.

Clashes continued with the Chimer in Morrowind, and the two races apparently disliked each other greatly. Dwemeri culture was agnostic and preferred reason to faith, while the Chimer were staunch Daedra-worshippers. However, the Nordic invasion and conquering of present-day Morrowind under High King Vrage around 1E 240 brought a common enemy the Chimer and Dwemer could unite against. Dumac Dwarfking and Indoril Nerevar forged an alliance which ultimately succeeded in repelling the invaders in 1E 416, leading to the First Council of newlynamed Resdayn.

In 1E 420, the militaristic Rourken clan opposed the accord with the Chimer and chose self-exile. Their chieftain is said to have thrown the Volendrung Hammer across Tamriel and led his clan to wherever the hammer fell, an image which has been depicted in a number of ruins in Hammerfell. The Rourken named the land "Volenfell," which later was somewhat mistranslated to "Hammerfell".

Meanwhile, in Skyrim, after generations of subjugation, the Falmer rebelled, leading to the War of the Crag, another massive Dwemeri war which was waged far below the surface while the Nords above remained oblivious. The war lasted decades, and only ended when the Dwemer did.

The Dwemer inexplicably disappeared during the Battle of Red Mountain, the biggest and final battle of the War of the First Council. The Tonal Architect Lord Kagrenac of the Dwemer constructed Kagrenac's Tools to harness the powers of the Heart of Lorkhan, which the Dwemer had discovered beneath Red Mountain. When the Chimer found out, they considered this aim blasphemous and sought to stop it. Kagrenac's goal remains unclear, but it is believed he sought to heighten his race to Anumidum. The disappearance of a whole race in an instant sparked many theories, but is generally thought to have followed this attempt to use the tools on the Heart, and simply coincided with the war. It appears that the Dwemer were conflicted on their use of the Heart. Some opposed its use, warning that massive side effects were likely, while the majority of the Tonal Architects, including Kagrenac, and Bthuand Mzahnch (who wrote The Egg of Time which downplayed the risks of tampering with the Heart of Lorkhan) wished to proceed.

It appears all members of the Dwemer race were simply removed from the world. When the previously untouched Dwemer ruins of Bamz-Amschend in Mournhold were rediscovered, numerous piles of ashes were present next to weapons and Armor, on chairs, and in beds, suggesting the Dwemer's bodies were suddenly reduced to ash in some way. In 4E 201, Arniel Gane, a researcher at the College of Winterhold in Skyrim, attempted to recreate the circumstances of the Dwemer's disappearance after obtaining Keening, one of Kagrenac's Tools, but vanished suddenly in the process, strengthening the theory that Kagrenac's use of the tools was the cause of the disappearance. Some scholars still resist the notion that the Dwemer disappeared all at once.

A theory also exists that their sudden extinction was caused by their reversal of the usual processes involved in the Earth Bones, the laws of nature. Rather than creating the profane by commanding the sacred, such as in Conjuration magic or Daedra worship, they sought to create Anumidium, their own sacred, from the "deaths of the profane." Vivec, the warrior-poet god of the Dunmer, similarly believes that the disappearance of the Dwemer is in some way owed to their "divine sin"—attempting to create a god for their own purposes from the remains of the god Lorkhan. Whether their use of Kagrenac's Tools in this process or simply their intentions resulted in their extinction remains unclear in this theory.

According to Chimarvamidium, the Dwemer possessed an ability that was known as "The Calling," which seems to have been similar to telepathy. It allowed the Dwemer to communicate with each other over great distances. It has been suggested that, in the last moments before they disappeared, Lord Kagrenac used The Calling to summon all of the Dwemer people and rally them to carry out his plans to transcend the Mortal Plane. Whether this was related to their demise or not is uncertain.

Society and Religion
The Dwemer appear to have been a highly technologically advanced and particularly dogmatic race. Others races have still not cracked the secret behind their metal. Their weapons were simple but effective; weaponsmiths relied on creating quality Materials first, and merely allowed the form of those Materials to flow from the method of the weapon's use. Their mastery of steam and geothermal power through tapping into the natural lava sources under Morrowind allowed them to create airships, sentient machines, mechanical observatories, and lighting systems that continued to work for centuries without any maintenance. Most of their settlements are still inhabited by Animunculi, enchanted mechanical guardians, commonly known as "Centurions" or "Spheres". They appear somehow linked to their place of origin, and will lose power if removed from the vicinity. This may explain why many Animunculi remain active even after so long, and supports the theory that they are strongly influenced by magic. Additionally, it appears that some Animunculi are capable of interpreting the actions of people around them - in a sense, 'perceiving' their intent - and responding accordingly. The Dwemer were somewhat comforted by their ability to empower lifeless fabrics into active beings, denying the organic power of the gods while at the same time transcending the mortal systems of life. This culture, often seen as sheer arrogance by others, allowed their technological capabilities to accelerate well ahead of any other race. In addition, the Dwemer also appear to have dabbled extensively and somewhat successfully in some of the more divine (or arcane) arts and sought to harness the supernatural powers of the Divines within their mechanical technology, even keeping an Elder Scroll within the massive underground complex of Blackreach in Skyrim.

It is unknown whether the Dwemer worshipped any gods. However, it is known that they despised and scorned the Daedra, and mocked the "foolish" rituals of their followers, "preferr[ing] instead their gods of Reason and Logic". These may be metaphorical or literal terms; Vivec, the author, capitalized them in his writings which could be interpreted as an emphasized admonishment of their idolatry by means of substituting spiritual worship with absolute faith in those ideas. It could also be meant to suggest some sort of deified representation of those ideas or aspects of Dwemer thought. Since the Heart of Lorkhan offered some form of shared spiritual link amongst the Dwemer attuned to it - this could also refer to the collective reason and logic of the  Dwemer people given voice through the powers of tonal architecture and the heart of a dead god.

Dwemer Characters
The following Characteristic baseline, Skills, Talents, Traits, and Powers apply to all Dwemer Characters. Although not every Race receives an Item in from every category. Traits: Elemental Weakness (Frost) (25), Power Well (25), Resistance (Disease) (1)

Powers: The Calling

Other: Dwemer Characters take a -10 Penalty to Survival (Int) Skill Tests made above ground.