When I first heard of the Dwemer's disappearance, I didn't really care much for what happened to them. I started studying the Falmer/Snow Elves quite recently, and I read that they voluntarily became slaves of the Dwemer. After I heard that I came up with a theory that maybe the Falmer had become fed up of becoming more and more inferior to every other race and having lost their former glory, so they started a revolution against the Dwemer and wiped them out (that explains why the Dwarven ruins are filled with Falmer and not Dwemer). I read on Wiki Answers that the Falmer did in fact revolt againt the Dwemer, but when they went to a Dwarven Stronghold to start a battle, there were no Dwemer. The guy that got Best Answer said that they were wiped out by a rival clan, but what exactly does that mean? He also proceeded to say that he believes the Dwemer still exist deep underground, even deeper than their old cities. If this is true, wouldn't it be possible to reach wherever they are from somewhere in Blackreach? Now, I've only ever explored about 2 Dwarven ruins, and I've VERY briefly been in Blackreach, so what do you guys think? What happened to the Dwemer, and if you think they still survive, then where in the world could they be?

Haven't played Dawnguard?

I think the guys over at the Morrowind spoilers section would be most happy to submerge you in lore.

Basically, they tried to unmake themselves and goof'd. Their "leader", Kagrenac, used the tools Keening, Sunder, and Wraithguard on the Heart of Lorkhan in Red Mountain. He struck the heart and the entire race disappeared, except one. Some theories say that what he was trying to do worked. Some other say that the Dwemer became the brass skin of the Numidium, which is what Tiber Septim used to conquer Tamriel.

I bet they used the Elderscroll and are now Time Travelers.

Apparently he stabbed some heart when they were loosing a battle and they all went to another dimension apart from one because at the time of this occurrence he was in the plains of oblivion.

Their leader messed with the heart of Lorkhan.

POOF! They all go bye bye.

No it comes out on Tuesday for me (PS3)

How did they come across the heart of Lorkhan if he died after the other Et'Ada killed him for tricking them? Was it preserved or something in Red Mountain?

No it comes out on Tuesday for me (PS3)

Oh okay

SPOILER

Spoiler

You learn more about the Falmer and Dwemer in it

A dragon break occured after lord kagrenac read an elder scroll during the final battle of the first council

Dwarves were never gone. They were just invisible, and very, very quiet.

They tried to achieve godhood with the Heart of Lorkhan and some kind of Power Ranger golem thingy, but epicly failed and got erased out of existence.

Or became the bronze skin of the Numidium.

Or they're on M'aiq's naked lady island

Erased out of existence? Well the Dwemer were extremely intelligent beings, no? Wouln't some of them have seen that their plan was doomed to fail, and chose to not take part in it?

Here's the working theory, as far as we know.

The Dwemer found the Heart of Lorkhan while digging under Red Mountain. Their leader, Kagrenac, created the tools Sunder, Keening, and Wraithguard, to tap into the heart for divine power, and created the golem Numidium as an artifical god to use the power. As a whole, the race wanted to return themselves to a pre-creation state as spirits. During the War of the First Council, between the Dwemer and the Chimer (later Dunmer,) Kagrenac prematurely activated the Numidium. I say prematurely, because scientific journals at that time were still debating what would happen when Numidium is Activated, and indicated that Kagrenac may not have checked his math. Anyway, all Dwemer on Nirn in that instant "dissapeared," their bodies turning to ash and their weapons, armor, and clothes falling to the ground. Instead of returing to a pre-creation state, they became the brass skin of Numidium. Yagrum Bagarn, the Last Living Dwarf, was away in either Oblivion or Atherius at the time, and therefore "survived." There is some debate that this was the first instance ever of a "Dragon Break," one that happened to a specific race. Vivec claims to not be able to sense the presence of the Dwemer beyond Mundus... so they're likely never coming back.

And as for Numidium...

It was handed over to Tiber Septum by the Tribunal as part of an armistance agreement. The Tribunal kept the Heart of Lorkhan, and it is believed that they didn't think Talos could activate Numidium without it. They were wrong, as Talos had The Underking create the Mantella, infused with his (the Underking's) soul. The Underking is a Shezzarine, or an avatar of Lorkhan, so his soul could power the Numidium. Unfortuantly, the Underking disagreed with the Numidium's use, and his efforts to stop it succeeded in scattering its parts, and sending the Mantella to Atherius, in a second Dragon Break. The last one occurs in 3E417, when the Imperial Agent manages to get a hold of the Mantella. This time, the resulting Dragon Break re-writes history and reality for the regions of Hammerfell and High Rock; Orsinium is recognized as an Imperial Province, and hundreds of semi-independent kingoms morph into a handful, all loyal to the Empire by the time the Dragon Break ends. In the process of the Dragon break, the Numidium is wiped from Mundus, likely taken in whole to Atherius.

They threw it into the Red Mountain, the large volcano in Morrowind. I think his corpse became the 2 moons, Masser and Secunda.

You should play Morrowind.

As of 2006, a dev did say they basically absorbicided themselves into the Numidium and became its golden skin. This was largely hinted all over Morrowind, and most recently in Skyrim with that one sidequest in the college.

Also, to make things short, the Dwemer are not going to return ever again, unless someone rebuilds the Numidium as they are now the Numidium.