— The impact of the Aetherium wars on Dwemer history

In the Dawnguard DLC we are shown the Dwemer suffered through a great war around 1E 221-1E 291. In just three years High King Gellir conquered many Dwemer cities due to the weakening of the Dwemeri empire, it took a century for the Empire to regain their holdings. There is little about the Morrowind Dwemer at this time, but seeing the size of Blackreach the empire was most likely centered in Skyrim.

The only settlement we can be sure that was abandoned after the Aetherium Wars is the Aetherium forge, or the forge below the city of Bthalft, now of course its ruins so we cant say much, but there is a distinct difference between these ruins and other Dwemer ruins.

The pre-aetherium wars buildings are more domed. Calmeco states this as well

The style of their buildings obviously got more artistic and riskier, If you look at the orb in Blackreach, its meant to be eye catching. My conclusion? It basically became a contest between cities to be more artistic (according to Dwemer standards) and more exciting. Much like the real world Renaissance the Dwemer fundamentally changed their way of thinking.

I would think due to the large amounts of causalities. Theres a reason aetherium was never mined again, the loss of life was just too great. The Dwemer don’t seem to easily back down, they lived in extreme climates, and if a new mineral means scientific breakthroughs they won’t stop to get it. Yet they didn’t return for the aetherium.

This large loss of life would really make you re-evaluate your purpose and existence. You’d be willing to be a little more artistic, more exciting. They realized life isn’t just about math and numbers. You walk into certain Dwemer ruins and theres a lot of puzzles, Kagrenzel comes to mind. They almost seem like odd practical jokes, and perhaps they are. The Dwemer learned to enjoy life, hell they even made pancakes.

I believe this is about the time Dumac Dwarfking came into power. The wars ended around 1E 291, lasting several decades, and it took a century to regain its cities. That would put us at 1E 391, and only 10 years later did the first council form. It takes a long time to build trust with your people, and allying with your life long enemies? That would take decades of trust and an ambitious leader. Dumac came to power after the wars and began rebuilding the empire. The primary focus of the Dwemer was Morrowind after this point, that’s where most of the negotiations were held. And we can see a style difference between Skyrim and Morrowinds Dwemer buildings.

Their ruins are far more showy, see that large circular decoration on the roof of one building? They were building to impress. Most of the army was contained at Red Mountain too, while I don’t think that’s where their capital is due to the ignorance of Dumac about Kagrenacs work on the heart, and due to Arkingthands impressive statue,

Nonetheless the empire moved to Vvardenfell, its also a good location for an Empire that could be attacked by the Nords. Its a mountainous area, very hot and hard to access. (Nords don’t do well in heat).

In conclusion, the Dwemer empire started in Skyrim, specifically Blackreach, after Dumacs rise to power and the new ideal ology of the dwemer, they experienced a shift in cultural values and eventually moved to Morrowind.