The Falmer, meaning "snow folk," are just one of the many sub-races of Elves players can encounter in Skyrim. Unlike their more elegant, articulate kin, however, the Falmer society fell from civilizational heights to rival the High Elves to become a race of blind, violent creatures living beneath Tamriel's surface.
The story of the Falmer is tragic and bloody, and an interesting reversal of the relationship between the Nords and many of the Aldmeri Dominion Elves seen in the rest of Skyrim. Here's a breakdown of the Falmer lore, their fall from grace, and why one of the game's most vicious enemies may be more sympathetic than many Elder Scrolls fans realize.
The Fall Of The Falmer
The humans and Falmer of Skyrim lived together on the province's surface in peace for a time, but it wasn't long before war broke out. It isn't known when the Falmer first arrived in Skyrim, but presumably, they originated from a group of Aldmer who migrated north after the arrival of the Elves in southern Tamriel. The ancestors of the Nords arrived later from the northern land of Atmora, and began claiming Skyrim as their own.
The Atmoran migration was led by the Nordic hero Ysgramor. The new arrivals built the city of Saarthal. The expansion of the Atmorans into their homeland startled the Falmer, and Saarthal was razed by the Falmer at some point in the Merethic Era. Only Ysgramor and a handful of humans made it out alive, retreating briefly to Atmora and swearing revenge. Ysgramor eventually came back with an army, the Five Hundred Companions. He had the help of another Saarthal survivor named Ahzidal who had studied Falmer magic and later became one of Skyrim's Dragon Priests. The Elves then met their first major defeat against the Atmorans, with many more to come.
Ysgramor's revenge didn't stop with military victory. The Five Hundred Companions killed and enslaved as many Falmer as they could find across all of Skyrim. It was these Falmer slaves who built Whiterun and Windhelm. Falmer attempts to rally were only met with further defeat, leading them to retreat to the island of Solstheim under the leadership of the Falmer Snow Prince.
Ysgramor's army pursued the Falmer to Solstheim. This led to the Battle of the Moesring, where a human child named Finna killed the Snow Price after he cut down her mother, throwing her sword through his chest in grief. After the death of the Snow Prince, the surviving Falmer fled underground, hoping to be taken in as refugees by the Dwemer as fellow Elves. Although allowed to live in Blackreach, the Falmer were not treated as kindly by their kin as they had hoped.
The Dwemer were hesitant to share resources with the surviving Falmer, forcing them to eat the strange fungi found in Blackreach. Over time this caused physical and mental deterioration, creating the blind, hunched Falmer seen in Skyrim. Never ones to let an opportunity pass them by, the Dwemer took advantage of the weakened Falmer, and enslaved them.
The Return Of The Falmer
Eventually, these Falmer slaves rebelled against the Dwemer, taking Blackreach for their own and fighting back against their masters for decades beneath Skyrim's surface. Although the Dwemer had the technological advantage, they were tied up in battles with the Chimer on the surface, who would later become the Dark Elves.
The mysterious disappearance of the Dwemer around 1E 700 saw the Falmer stumble across their first bit of good luck in centuries. The surviving Falmer, however, were traumatized by war and twisted by their toxic diet. With nobody left to fight, they began raiding the surface, taking revenge on the Nords whose ancestors had driven them underground.
The Falmer became a Nord legend - hard to prove but blamed for everything from infant deaths to poor harvests. Over time the Falmer continued to deteriorate in some senses. In The Elder Scrolls, sentient creatures like Men and Mer are said to have Black Souls. But in Skyrim, however, the Falmer have White Souls, indicating that they are no longer higher beings.
Despite this, the Falmer have been slowly reclaiming their lost intellect since the disappearance of the Dwemer. By the Fourth Era the Falmer are no longer seen as an ancient myth. They began raiding the surface in earnest, attacking trade caravans and smaller Nord settlements.
The Surviving Snow Elves
Only a handful of the original Snow Elves are known to have escaped slaughter at the hands of the Nords and enslavement by the Dwemer. Snow Elf Knight-Paladin Gelebor survived in the seclusion of the Chantry of Auri-El, the Elven version of Akatosh. Eventually, the Chantry of Auri-El was discovered by none other than Gelebor's devolved Falmer brethren, who slaughtered every reminder of their former glory. Only Gelebor and his brother Arch-Curate Vyrthur survived, the latter having become infected with vampirism by another Snow Elf.
Like the Falmer of Blackreach, Arch-Curate Vyrthur became embittered over his fate. His infection with vampirism - and the failure of Auri-El to cure him - led him to vow revenge against his own god. This is the origin of the Tyranny of the Sun Prophecy, which players a big role in Skyrim's Dawnguard DLC.
Following the events of Dawnguard, Gelethor is only known surviving Snow Elf to have avoided corruption. Although the Snow Elves struck the first blow against the humans settling Skyrim, it's hard to say they deserve the centuries of enslavement and the mental and physical deterioration that followed. In a game where the Aldmeri Dominion are a main antagonistic force, the Falmer stand as a grim reminder of both the ruthlessness of humans and the divisions between different Elven civilizations. With The Elder Scrolls 6 unlikely to take players back to Skyrim the Falmer may have a reduced role in future games, but they still offer Skyrim one of its most unique and tragic stories.
Skyrim is available now on PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.