Fate of the Dwemer

I am the Last Living Dwarf. I have traveled across Tamriel and beyond seeking another of my kind or an answer to their fate, but found neither. However, throughout my search I have gathered the following notes concerning the remnants of the Dwemer. Some are confirmed by firsthand encounters, while others are rumors that may be hoax.

Living in Other Realms

As far as I am aware, I am the last Dwarf who is still Dwemer. There are many theories on what happened to my people but they all hold the same weight, which is to say none at all. The only thing I can tell you about what happened to the Dwemer is that whatever Lord Kagrenac did, it only affected the Realm of Mundus. At that time I was in one of the Outer Realms and was left untouched by the event, but to my knowledge no other Dwemer was in such a place. Given the Dwemer's distaste for the Aedra and Daedra, it is not common for my people to travel there since we do not worship nor bargain with gods.

Dwemer Spirits

However, just because I am the Last Living Dwarf does not mean Tamriel is entirely absent from Dwemer presence. While I traversed the remnants of the great cities of my people I encountered ghosts of my kinsmen. Unfortunately, like most other spectres, they are but a shadow of their true souls. With only emotions such as pain and anger remaining they do not talk but simply attack anyone who stumbles across them. I am certain that these ghosts were of Dwarves who died before the Disappearance as there would be many more Dwemer spirits if the event had left parts behind.

Necromancers also speak of a location in the Outer Realms called the Soul Cairn where the remnants of souls used for enchanting are sent. Throughout the many battles of Dwemer history, there may have been Dwarves whose souls were harvested for the use of enchanting items. It must be considered that trapping the souls of higher beings then was very difficult as the art of creating soul gems which could hold them was only developed after the Disappearance. If anyone can find a way around this problem though, it is my people. The Soul Cairn is only accessible to soul trapped individuals and I have not found a way to confirm or deny the presence of Dwemer there without dying myself, if such a place even exists. I am fairly sure that even if this Soul Cairn contains Dwemer souls they would not be more whole than the spirits in Tamriel. They would likely not be able to provide any meaningful interaction.

Dwemer Animunculi

The metal warriors and servants of the Dwarves are called Animunculi. Many can still be found functional in Dwarven cities today. Animunculi are not Dwemer. They are simply constructs created using Dwemer magecraft, the process of which would be too long to detail here. The making of an Animunculi does involve the use of a soul gem. Before the Disappearance I heard rumors that some Dwarf or Dwarves were experimenting with the idea of placing their own souls inside one of those machines. While their souls would still be in Mundus, it is possible that being within a soul gem alone is enough to protect a Dwemer from being impacted. I cannot say for certain without knowledge of what the event was that caused the Disappearance.