The Elder Scrolls Lore: The Snow Elves | The Falmer 

Who was pretty terrified when the first encountered The Falmer?

I feel nothing but pity for the falmer. Being genocided, driven underground, enslaved, blinded, tested on by the dwemer.. They asked for help from the other civilizations of Tamriel, who all denied them. I would be angry at the surface world too.

The story of the snow elves is the saddest one of the missing/fallen mer. I mean Dwemer and Ayleïds were cruel and while they had genius minds the world is better without them but the Snow elves while slaughtering Saarthal idk they seemed to have done it because of fear of the Atmorans rather than hate alone and I don't want to defend the viel act of slaughtering an entire city but it was also unjustified of the Atmorans to put every single elf to the sword. Quite a tragic story of a once beautiful and respected race to become so vile that even their souls became corrupted

The quality of these videos deserve way way more than 1k subs. I think we’ll all see a massive leap in sub count within the next six months

The Snow Elves are definitely one of the coolest (pun only slightly intended) races in the series. It's a shame we never got to see more of them beyond lonely Gelebor in the Dawnguard DLC. I guess our only hope of seeing any sizable amount of them now is to wait for any potential Elder Scrolls Online DLC that might involve them.

I hope the Snow Elves return someday. Either from hidden enclaves or reformed/cured Falmer. However, the Nords would never let them return home... for they are jerks.

Gelebor's full dialogue states he might not be the only one left and others could still be out there, they would be few and isolated but it's still a possibility. That said, there are also theories about Dwemer's motivation for taking the Snow Elves under their protection and that they didn't intent to outright enslave them but tried to help them somehow in their own way but it failed drastically. This is supported by the fact that they didn't need slaves to begin with, as they alone among other races had the technology to possess obedient mechanical servants that provided them with security, manpower and military might. It is often viewed as if they forced the Snow Elves to eat the toxic fungi but they knew the terms of the agreement and accepted it anyway. Whatever the Dwemer had planned for them was likely required willing subjects and the supposed torture rooms may actually be operating rooms for their experiments that gone wrong.

Love the use of Shadow of the Colossus music here. I used to always play Oblivion with the SoTC soundtrack in the background :)

Amazing video, thanks so much for covering the Snow Elves! I play one. Dawnguard is my favourite DLC because of how much it deepened our insight into the history and culture of the Snow Elves. When I first met Gelebor, I couldn't just go on with the story, I stood there in the cave for so long... Just couldn't believe they (Bethesda) showed us an actual, real, living Snow Elf. And when I realised he'd sent me on a deeply cultural quest, I saved & closed the game to go find a Snow Elf mod. Mind you, I was playing a Bosmer, just because I like Elves a lot but haven't really taken great *personal* interest in any of the Elvish races in TES; but Dunmer and Bosmer culture were just so weird and alien, I liked those kinda Elves. But something was still lacking. I found that something with the Snow Elves. I've been playing as a Snow Elf ever since. I've spent dozens of hours searching the Forgotten Vale for interesting structures and lines of text, often transporting architectural structures back to my homestead. It's a beautiful blend of Snow Elven, Nordic and a bit of I guess general medieval-ish outer and inner decor now. I've made up a whole backstory to it all. You have no idea how excited I got when, later, I found the quest to uncover the secret below Saarthal. And the huge statue you find during the Thieves Guild! And the Moesring Pass! Hah! I don't want to know how much time I've spent on reading up, looking through concept sketches, walking through the Vale/Dwemer Ruins/Blackreach/Solstheim since... Made playlists on Spotify and I-don't-know-how-many fanarts and personal/general backstories. This gets me carried away so easily, lol. All I wanted to say is "Hey I play a Snow Elf! Thanks for the video!", I guess. :D

Omg plot twist : What if the Snow elves did not attack the atmorans ? What if Ysgramor was just like an explorer and after he discoverd Skyrim and the snow elves, he travelled back to atmora and gathered all his forces to conquer skyrim ? Like the third reich did, they attacked their enemy because "the enemy attacked first" ? Well the atmorans where looking for a new home country so

You're coverage really shows the moral ambiguity that TES is famous for compared to other Lore channels I've seen. Very, very well done.

Nice video!

Ever since I discovered what happened to the Falmer/Snow Elves I have been thinking: it's extremely unlikely the will be cured, but could they evolve into a more elven-like form again if given long enough time and better poison-free living conditions, food and water?

I would love a quest to cure the Falmer. This is extremely sad, and it just sucks that their fate has ended with being turned into goblin-like beings and corrupt souls.

"Praising the esteem and dignity of the dwemer" Dear god, how wrong they were.

Theirs is a truly tragic tale. This is why I feel pity for them.

I recall encountering no more exhaustive research on the Elder Scrolls and none so articulate, eloquent or pleasing to my old man's ears.

“It's also quite possible that there are some other isolated conclaves of snow elves nestled elsewhere on Nirn.” Notice he said “Nirn” and not “Tamriel.” It’s possible they went to Atmora. Maybe that’s why the weather changed there. Also, I think the context of the college of winterholds quests imply that it was the Dwemer who learned about the Eye of Magnus and sacked Saarthal. In the Songs of Return, they call them elves, not specifically snow elves, and the Dwemer were looking for strong magical artifacts, like the heart of lorkhan. The atmorans also call the elven cities “lofty,” which I think further points to Alftand. You can also find a mammoth in the ice that’s been speared with a Dwemer spear and arrows nearby.

Definitely don't have a role-playing character for the Snow Elves. Maybe I should fix that haha. Can you do a video about The Left-handed Elves in Yokuda or the Sea Elves in Pyandonea? That would be awesome!

I think the night of tears was a horrible misunderstanding. The snow elves did invade saarthal but they weren't actually going out of thier way to kill non combatants like ysgramor said but most the atmorans died due to jyrik activating the eye. When Ancano activated the eye he caused a huge explosion that injured mirabell and killed the arch mage as well as unleashing the anomalies. Maybe Jyrik is the one responsible for the deaths at Saarthal when he activated the eye because he's also invulnerable like Ancano is when the eye is active and he caused an explosion that killed everyone and Ysgramor thought it was the snow elves who did it.

I still want to know how those two snow elves survived for thousands of years. Elves live a long time but I thought their upper limit was a thousand not multiple times that.

Huh, that thing with the Skaal surprised me. You'd think a culture who's all about 'one with nature' would be more opposed to genocide. Unless that all-father or great father or whatever they call it isn't as benevolent as he seems.

If I could really make me my choices in Skyrim, I would become a powerful mage researcher, and figure out how to save the falmer and heal them back to their former selves, perhaps with the help of the ancient elves that hide in Tamriel that people think went extinct

I do love the art. It's pretty damn good. I just don't understand the Falmer's weakness to frost magic when their former stage of evolution was resistant to it. You even find them in snowy caves and the Forgotten Valley, which is pretty much a frozen paradise.

Falmer: a tale of genocide and testing

How awesome would it have been if in skyrim there was Falmer enemies that used especially big chaurus hunters as battle mounts! 😍

My question is, if "Falmer" means "The Betrayed", then what is the literal translation for Snow Elves or Ice Elves? This would give them a COMPLETELY different name.

The Snow Elves have interested me since my Bloodmoon dlc days back in Morrowind. Learning about the Snow Prince and finding his spear were a good start. Was so excited when I discovered a surviving member in the Dawnguard dlc. Makes me wonder if there are other hidden enclaves of Snow Elves in Skyrim. Maybe even in parts of High Rock Or Cyrodiil? Perhaps in certain Ayleid Ruins with there once being settlements of Heartland Elves along the borders of Skyrim eras ago. If I’m remembering correctly.

An important detail I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere is that Skyrim is boxed in by mountains, which is obvious but in the case of the snow elves is a vital detail to what happened to them. There weren’t many other places to retreat to in time other than down.

Would be poetic if more than the paladin survived. Their culture not lost to history but surviving elsewhere. Would be nice to see

My favorite armor in skyrim is the ancient falmer armor

Why did it have to be bloody Chaurus...

Moral of the story is don't start a fight you cant finish. And if you slaughter a city, prepare for disproportionate retribution.

Falmer remind me of the Tusken Raiders who were in Star wars universe like the Falmer in TES once a big civilization before their downfall, when they became mindless evil beasts

If i am being honest i don't blame the nords for what they did, the elves (snow) attacked unprovoked and leveled a human city over a magical construct. The dwarves are the main reason why the falmer are basically naked mole rats that can use a bow.

I applaud your choice of soundtrack, the nostalgia it aroused in me, was enormous.

We honestly need a prequel that isn’t an MMO.

In The Elder Scrolls all elves are pretty much horrible. The wood elves are the least horrible and they’re cannibals that live in a nightmare forest hellscape

Imagine how lonely Gelebor must feel to believe he's the last snow elf

For all we know, Nord Historians probably made false accounts against the Falmer to further villainize them. I mean how do we know it wasn't a Nord that started the Night of Tears incident? Or The Eye of Magnus is responsible for it? Also the Falmer have insanely powerful magic, I find it hard to believe a gaggle of mortal champions were enough to slay the entire snow elf race. No. One key factor definetly came into play here. Disease. The Nords brough disease to Skyrim, and the Snow elves didn't have the anti-bodys for it. So many have died. Thus making it easier for the Nords to slaughter them. Damn Nords.

Yes, another excellent video, my lady :) A question for you, if you don't mind. Have you considered voice acting for Skyrim mods? I'd love to have you voice one of my characters :)

Very nice video thank you for making this and taking your time to do this

Just found your channel and have now single handley binged all the videos! Keep up the dope videos!

You continue to do a great job. Your hard work does not go unnoticed

Really thorough video about my favorite elves! 🧝🏻‍♀️ The music and art are so pleasant and your voice is nice to listen to ☺️

I do wonder if any of the Snow Elves escaped into other provinces instead of being enslaved by the Dwemer or hiding in the Chantry. It would be interesting if some of them made it to Valenwood.

And to think the Falmer race only suffered this endless torture because of one event, the Night of Tears... Had they not slaughtered the Atmorans of Sarthal and burned the city to the ground, Ysgramor, his companions and their followers wouldn't have returned with a vengeance and driven them into the ground with the Dwemer... "The actions of few cost many greatly..." - Me, just now.

I want to play as Snowelf

Part way through I went from mournful to snickers as my mind suddenly shifted when the alphabet was mentioned. I just imagined my dragon born and breynla (I hope I spelled that right) going back to ask Gelabor (again, spelling) about the whole alphabet thing. They then whip out a book from the college that was very mysterious and he is like "this is a grocery list" -the end And that's why I'm dying right now.

Why there's no Snow Elves ruins throughout Skyrim but Dwelmer ruins are everywhere?

The Night of Tears was horrible; The slaughtering of an entire city is cruel, even with the most golden of intentions, I can find little evidence to defend the Snow Elves here. However, despite this, Ysgamor had no right to butcher _all_ Snow Elves, and would be a war criminal on par with Hitler in the real world. He and his five hundred companions mercilessly slaughtered thousands perhaps even millions of Snow Elves, every man woman and child, the Nords do not get a pass. To make things worse, the Nords killed their spirit in the end, they simply got the Dwemer to loose the arrow. Despite this being mostly the Nords fault, the Dwemer deserved to disappear for what they did to the Snow Elves. The Dwemer didn't simply blind them, they litteraly reduced the size of their souls! (The Falmer soul is greater, not black like other sentient races.) Turning them into goblin like barbarians squating and scuttling amongst the ruins of two fallen civilizations. The Snow Elves got what they deserved and ten fold by the Nords, then a hundred fold by the Dwemer. But I believe their kind has a chance, I simply hope they can find their way back to the light... Before it's too late...

The melancholic Forgotten Vale theme in the game really fits with the tragic tale of the Snow Elves. When we meet the ghosts that guard the wayshrines it's clear they were a highly intelligent and elegant race. One of the saddest lore drops I've ever experienced in a game.

Does anyone know why she stopped making content on here? These videos were just so great that I’m kinda surprised that there hasn’t been any new videos here. 🦦

Some people here in the comments need to seriously get a life and relax 😂 enjoy the video guys, don't argue over these things it's not worth it

I think that Bethesda should make it so that some Snow Elves escaped Skyrim and built an underground city somewhere in the snowy mountains. Not many venture far into the mountains, so this would make an excellent hiding place for the Snow Elves. They would learn the region and then be able to disappear quickly, leaving the one that spotted them wandering blindly in the snowy wasteland. I know that this doesn't make much sense since the Snow Elves didn't like living underground, but never the less, it would still be pretty cool if Bethesda did that!

Awesome Video, I relay like your Voice but: I suggest using a better pop filter so you can avoid those "P" noises

Why are daedra more reliable for protection than the Adra gods

Awesome, great job.

Stormcloaks liked your videos & imperial trash hated it ! All 10 of them ! I loved it ! You did a awesome job, don't worry about those troublesome mean trolls ! You see, you have so many who liked it 😊 It's Educational & a great way of stories told / linked with history ma'am ! Respectfully Thank you ! Sincerely Paul~

I know how the Falmers can be saved first the others races they must captured all the Falmers who are in Skyrim in Dwemer ruins, Caves and especially in Blackreach who are many there and bring them in Skyrim sun they must force the Falmers to eat like Normal elves dress them as Normal, I don't know how the will change maybe they will have big hands and Legs as you see the change to much from their normal forms the only thing I hate from them are their teeth who make them scary anyway they have to save them but you must know if they always be blind they can change everything but there is hope for them even more hope even they find out their King can be alive, Snow Prince is the leader of Skyrim and Soltheim I also thing that gelebor may know him because he was his paladin guard, gelebor isn't from the Forgotten Valley that's why he know many things he was go to Blackreach with the others but he refuse he say before i arrive there it means that he isn't from Forgotten Valley, I wonder if he know about Saarthal he never say anything about that place I want to hear what he thing if was in Saarthal wouldn't be alive to speak about that because the Falmers who attack Saarthal die by the Nord's when they return again to that place

LYDIA GET ME MY BOOK OF THE SNOW ELVS(lydia throws book at me) hehe..LYDIA TIME FOR THE BATTLE AXE!!!

Nords : you get what you fucking deserve

By far my favorite race of Elves..

I wish the snow elf had been a race you could have been during Skyrim play through instead of having to use a mod to play as a snow elf

For a seemingly wise and smart race of people who in their ranks thought it was s m a r t to start a war with near 7ft tall 300 pound Vikings?!

My favorite race! Thank you for making this and doing Elder Scrolls content!

Ahhhh beautiful song in the intro!! Shadow of The Colossus 😭

Thank you for the vídeo. A great contribution to the study of the Elven history!

This is so good!! Keep it up 😁😁😁

Pro-tip: @ladyofscrolls Chaurus, and Chitin are not pronounced with the distinctive "tch" sound. Rather they are pronounced with a hard "k" sound. (ie. Keyetin, and Kaurus)

Snow Elves, Knight Paladin Gelebor believes they can return.

Would love it if someone did like an animated video following a snowelfs escape from the Falmer ☺️☺️☺️

When Knight-Paladin Gelebor said he preferred the term, "Snow Elf", it sounded like he saw the term "Falmer" as a derogatory term.

When the snow Prince fell, it ALL change SMH. Broke my heart 💔😢💯

Eh... The tragedy of the falmer is only a tragedy if the dwemer and falmer aren't closely related.

I understand that gelebor felt that he couldn't abandon his duty to chantry and other things but I wonder what would happen if he walked out of that cave and went to the nearest town or city like solitude. He could possibly gain support for a search for any remnants of his race.

The only thing I may have contention about is that I thought I read or heard somewhere that the betrayed knowingly ingested the fungus with full knowledge of the effects it would ravage them with. Awesome videos by the way! Please keep them coming!

I'm binging your channel and you cant stop me

b4 skyrim dawnguard dlc i didn't kno any lore about them i remember being so hyped during end snow elf parts they rlly stuck in my memory after that 4 some rsn

Fal-betrayed mer-elf. They aren't the same as snow elves in my opinion.

vampires ... everything about vampires pleaaaaaaaaaaaase

I’m going to guess the dunmer might have also inhabited eastern parts of Skyrim could considered the bottom east but of Skyrim their land although I don’t know this for a fact this is my guess

Okay, the Shadow of the Colossus music gets you a like from me right off the bat.

The only good elf is a torn inside out elf, hail the 500 and down with the filth of mer.

Please come back and give us more beautiful videos!❤

Obligatory Dwemer video is overdue!

The elves of Tamriel are slowly but surely going going extinct. Alyeids: Extinct Dwemer: Extinct Chimer: Cursed to become Dunmer, struck by meteorite, blanketed in volcanic ash, waiting for next argonian strike to finish them off but if not probably solid for a few more eras. Falmer: Extinct. Remnants devolved into lesser creatures. Not too dissimilar from skinny frost trolls. Sinistral elves: Extinct. Prob doesn't found tho cos not even from the same kalpa. Orsimer: Cursed to look like big pigs, run out of just about every place they settle because they're so insatiably violent, literally less intelligent and civilised than sentient daedra, probs gonna wind up as pit beasts and war dogs. Bosmer: you're next ;) probably gonna be forcibly bred by Altmer until they become goblins or obliterated in the next major conflict. Altmer: subject to ethnic cleanses and selective breeding. Barely fertile as it is. Likely inbred. Probs won't survive next major conflict. Maomer: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ island bound, possibly inihilated already by Altmer since all they wanna do is pirate Alinor.

After hearing the story of the snow elves I have grown to despise the Nords. A vary sad tale.

Very , very nice m’lady i never quite grow bored of hearing anything related to TES , and with your soothing voice it is quite divine as if Mara herself was voicing it

I wonder why Chaurus are in the Dwemer ruins does Dwemer use them for something I mean in Blackreach are many does anyone know that question no one wondering that one that monsters live in caves but how they go to Dwemer ruins I think Dwemer bring them there as for why they are friendly with Falmers it's mystery Falmers are mer like the others but Chaurus are monsters creatures

Damn lav-skins. Thanks to them, currently to this day the only one I can chat with is gelebor! And I’m older than him! But he’s the only one in Skyrim whoever comes close to my age! I was born in the merethic era! (For those who don’t know, The dwemer had a lavender tint to their skin)

Skyrim thought me to love these guys. Eso thought me to hate them 😂

I mean they attacked the Atmorans first

Love your channel. You are awesome. Do you have any other social media channels ro share your work on?

Why is the lore so much cooler than the games

If I was Falmer and I got my eyesight back I will be like how the hell I become like this and I wonder how will feel if they realize that they live with Chaurus I mean gelebor wouldn't want to live with Chaurus or to weak up from everyday and see his ugly Falmers friends in his Sanctum he want to open the Sanctum for the Falmers and the Next day he will be their meat, I understand gelebor that he love his people and he want to help them but their not his friends anymore maybe his wife or his Family become monsters he never say anything about the others members of his family or his friends they probably doesn't feel good I'm sure that maybe his family live but they become Falmers but how the hell gelebor and his brother are the only survivors we can't know

1.9k likes before I like. Says 2k after I like let's go! Exactly 2,000th like!

The creators should give more details of snow elves civilizations, is very strange that we see a lot of ayleds ruins for all tamriel, and we see any ruins on skyrim

They are snow elves not ice elves

They are snow elves not ice elves