#snow elves

[falmerbrook]

It’s interesting that there’s no snow elf structures or ruins left in Skyrim (that we know of or see in the games) besides the Chantry of Auri-El. I can see a few reasons why that might be:

From a Doyalist perspective, the game developers just didn’t add any for whatever reason. Maybe they didn’t even consider it, maybe they didn’t have time, maybe they didn’t want two sets of abandoned elf ruins (alongside the dwemer), etc.

The snow elves used building materials that degraded faster or didn’t last thousands of years. Given the Chantry of Auri-El and the way shrines and arches around it have stood relatively in tact for thousands of years without anyone tending to them makes me doubt this option though.

The Nords/Atmorans destroyed any snow elf structures or settlements. This would be plausible if, like the last option, their structures weren’t very big or permanent, but like with the last option that’s sort of doubtful. Dragons, however, could’ve helped with that.

The Nords/Atmorans converted snow elf structures or used them for their own purposes, and now we just can’t tell they were ever something else. Our one reference for snow elf architecture (the Chantry of Auri-El) is made of stone (either built or carved out of the mountain (the cooler option imo)), and perhaps old snow elf ruins were just used as templates for Nord barrows or cities because of their sturdy build and location. There’s a theory I’ve seen floating around that the College of Winterhold either at one point was a snow elf ruin that was converted into something else, or was built on top of one, due to its similar architecture style to the Chantry of Auri-El. Maybe cities like Windhelm or (the original) Winterhold were built on top of snow elf cities.

Perhaps it’s just a mix of the above. Maybe only their important or significant religious structures were built of stone and the rest of was easier for the Nords/Atmorans to raze and then degrade back into the environment. What wasn’t destroyed was eventually incorporated into the Nord’s society as tombs or cities.

And none of this is in the game because the developers maybe perceived the snow elves as just a prerequisite for the falmer, rather than a group of people with a culture of their own. Or maybe for some behind the scenes reason in the development of the game like I mentioned earlier. Who knows.I have fun speculating about it though

#headcanon #tes #the elder scrolls #skyrim #skyrim headcanon #falmer #snow elves #mine #I spend approximately 30% of my free time thinking about falmer/snow elves so I might as well post some of those thoughts

[elderscrollsconceptart]

"Statue of the Snow Prince" - Note the statues facial similarity to the "degenerated" appearance of Falmer as opposed to the traditionally handsome depiction we see of the Snow Prince statue in TES V.

Concept art for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Art by Adam Adamowicz

#adam adamowicz #art #the elder scrolls #concept art #tes #skyrim #falmer #snow elf #snow elves #snow prince #statue #thieves guild #mercer frey #nightengales

[lotusfaebell]

I just received one of the most beautiful art pieces of my TES Snow Elf! ❄️ Look at her! 🥺

Artwork done by Paola Pieretti

#type: art #elder scrolls #elder scrolls art #the elder scrolls #tes #tesblr #tes art #elder scrolls online #eso #eso art #the elder scrolls online #teso #teso art #tamriel #gaming #mmo #falmer #snow elves #snow elf #elves #elf #OC: Eirwen Snowgrace

[thana-topsy]

Sarel teaching Gelebor about the Sightless Alphabet!

#sarel the falmer #topsy’s ocs #Gelebor #falmer #snow elves #skyrim art #skyrim fanart #skyrim #elder scrolls fanart #elder scrolls #topsy draws

[jag-rat]

Merethic Era Falmer (snow elves)

I was thinking of doing a mini project about Merethic Tamriel and a documentation of the people that were living there in a sort of semi-historic way.

Of course most of it would probably not be entirely lore accurate and there will be a lot of headcanoning but it's fun regardless. So enjoy the first addition to this series.

Falmer: The falmer during the Merethic era were the tallest mer race on Nirn growing on average between 6 - 7 feet. They were also the hairiest and bulkiest on average due to the cold climate. Their culture and practices during this time were very similar to modern day nordic ones due to the cultural overlap and assimilation on the atmorans end when they first arrived to Skyrim.

They valued strength and honour. Their original gods are long lost now however historians speculate the modern nordic gods could share traits with the Falmer's old gods.

In the early Merethic era the snow elves invaded and seized what is currently the Summerset isles. This is how it is assumed Auri-El (An Altmeri/Aldmeri God) was introduced to Skyrim and later would become the primary god in the snow elven pantheon.

Furs, beards, and long hair was the norm in terms of falmer fashion for a long time due to the extreme weather however the shorter hair and beardless look though impractical in such weather was popularised in later years. Again influenced by the fashion trends on the much warmer summerset isles.

Generally speaking when the Falmer weren't invading distant lands or declaring wars with other clans they were a prospering civilisation and in the early days were much like the nords not particularly interested in magic. This was partly due to the fact Skyrim has large iron deposits meaning smithing and weaponry were the most practical but that didn't mean there was no magic at all.

Healers generally could manipulate the weave and tell or even change the future. But when Auri-el was popularised magic become a much larger part of the Falmers lives being combined and assimilated into what they already had. For example enchanting among smiths and manipulation of elements specific to Skyrim (Ice magic mostly).

These changes didn't come fast of course, the falmer were quite stubborn. But over time a cultural shift did happen going from axe-wielding barbarians (As the Aldmer called them) to a slightly more tame society that we know a little bit today.

This didn't come without its challenges however as while the falmer were changing the Atmorans living there were not and in fact had taken on a lot of the cultural aspects or even gods of the traditional falmer. This inevitably was the beginning of the end as tensions got higher with these cultural and religious differences it ended the only way it could, in a war. And well, you know the rest.

Currently the ancestors of the Merethic snow elves thrive in cave systems below ground. While the nords toil above ground, the nords frost resistance of course being a product of falmer and atmoran ancestors. Regardless both societies still hold the values the early Snow elves held. Strength and Honour.

#the elder scrolls #Merethic era #tamriel #digital art #falmer #falmer lore #tes #skyrim #tes headcanons #nords #skyrim art #tesblr #tes fanart #elder scrolls #snow elves #digital sketch #snow elf #Oh boy this hyperfixation got me again #This is a more detailed version of my other falmer post #tes theories #Viking elves go brrrrr #The falmer really were the og nords #Hc the real reason altmer are out for blood in skyrim #Is because they got bullied by every other mer nation in the Merethic era #Pass it on

[aldruiel-scribbles]

No one talks about how atmorans brought the Dragon Cult when they came to Skyrim, and maybe the snow elves didn't want a dragon or dragon priest to have the Eye of Magnus and that's why they also attacked (I know there're more reasons to it).

It is said that initially Snow Elves welcomed them, and even traded with Atmorans. Until relationships got really tense, culminating with the Night of Tears. Perhaps tensions were high because dragons were expanding their territory and demanding that everyone worshipped them.

We know Atmorans were having a civil war back in their homeland. A religious civil war. Yes, again. Precisely because of dragons. People were tired of been forced into servitud, and wanted to keep worshipping their other gods in peace (Moth, fox, hawk, whale, dragon etc. Latter in time they molded the gods with their animals representation), instead of just dragons. Like a prelude to the dragon wars. But somehow these cultists won and Atmora froze (not just cold, but it is said that also frozen in time).

In my opinion Snow Elves, did not want any of that Dragon Cult bullshit and fought against it. Yet with dragons and the Thu'um on the atmoran side, their magic wasn't enough to defeat them.

We know so little, and it's the rhetoric of the winners. After all the only information we have of that conflict is of Nordic sources.

#skyrim #skyrim dovahkiin #the elder scrolls #skyrim dragonborn #dragonborn #dovahkiin #miraak #the last dragonborn #snow elves #snow elf #falmer #ancient falmer #atmorans #nords

[aethuviel]

Gelebor reading the Falmer stone for us.

For the first time (I suppose), here's Gelebor speaking in his own mother tongue.

----------

I did my best with the UESP wiki to put commas and periods, and this was the third of fourth attempt. Each attempt is unique, so in the others, he said "t" instead of "th" on one word, and sadly one had to be thrown because he said "arcaten" instead of "arcten".

#Gelebor #Knight Paladin Gelebor #Falmer #Snow Elves #Skyrim #Elder Scrolls #elvish

[tes-trash-blog]

Full Falmer translation of @king-minyard's Ode to Snow Elves (thank you thank you THANK YOUUUU for giving me your blessing!)

For a less-blurry version, open in a new tab; Common transcription and translator notes below the cut!

This one was a challenge! Two complete overhauls of syntax, thirty new words by my count (I definitely lost count), and a new method of expressing determiners went into making this adaptation. I wanted to treat this as a translation in either way, so keeping the original syllabic count was important, especially as it was in eights. I dunno, that number seems important to the Falmer, who likely engaged in numerology like their Altmeric cousins.

Highlights from this translation include Farligandra, "greet-grace" i.e. welcome and hospitality, Laivan, "to grant, to offer reprieve", Banhe, an outsider-friendly term for "home" (was this meant to be heard by others, perhaps?), and two of my personal favorites, Maethan, "to embrace" and naerth, "soul-rending grief", here translated as "gnashing grief" to provide a more visceral tone and to imply just what became of the Snow Elves.

The complete, side by side translation, is as follows!

#non canon guide to the falmer tongue #this took SO LONG I AM SO SORRY #but it's done! #well - sorta! #my falmeris will always be in alpha but that's okay #just as #i'm always on my snow elf bullshit #will i make a recording? maybe. (don't bet on it) #the elder scrolls #skyrim #technically #falmer #snow elves #and again THANK YOU KING FOR GIVING ME YOUR BLESSING

[jzargos-left-nipples]

Why do snow elves not have igloo inspired homes like why are they not building with ice, why do they not have the staples of living in the snowiest parts of Skyrim.

Also their buildings being made of ice makes way more sense why there are no surviving snow elf ruins outside of the forgotten vale than just ysgramore really did reduce every last inch of them to rubble.

#skyrim #tes #tesblr #elder scrolls #the elder scrolls #snow elves #falmer #snow elf #dawnguard

[lotreckk]

vyrthur before the-vampire-incident in fancy clothes bc he is an arch-curate he SHOULD wear one

#art #tes #the elder scrolls #skyrim #dawnguard #tes art #skyrim art #vyrthur #falmer #snow elves #my art

[ehlnofay]

In most falmer communities, it's standard to have a minimum of three names, often more. This is due in part to the nature of falmer language, which varies drastically from dialect to dialect and often has elements of spoken, vocalised, and tactile sign language combined into a single tongue, and so necessitates different modes of reference in different form. A name spoken aloud is obviously different to one signed on someone's skin, for example. The names an individual is referred to by may change based on whether they are present or their relationship to the speaker; an individual might also take on different names as they take on different roles throughout their life. Some names have hierarchical connotations or mark some specific life event; some hives use "secret" names, either given to an individual at birth or chosen at some coming-of-age milestone, that act as the core of that person's whole identity and whose secrecy provides protection, either emotionally, spiritually or magically. Secret names are usually verbal and are generally only known by very few others, if at all, and telling one's secret name can be seen as either a mark of great trust or a severe taboo. When members of the hive die, they may be given new names to mark their loss or else be stripped of their names entirely so as not to risk the identities of the living that may bear the same or similar names mingling with the dead.

#was thinking about names. find them very interesting #as markers of both individuality and identity within a group #spat out a bunch of thoughts about it #enjoy!!! #fay talks #fay talks falmer #headcanons #skyrim headcanon #falmer #snow elves #the elder scrolls #tesblr #skyrim #tes

[falmerbrook]

@tescheer Week 4: Blizzard

Snow Elf headcanon time! (ft. A younger Gelebor and Vyrthur)

We don’t know a lot about the Snow Elf religious practices, but the sun-inspired motifs and imagery in a place that probably gets nasty winter weather and little to no sunlight for several months of the year intrigues me. I like to think the folks at the Chantry of Auri-El think of winter as a more contemplative time and a time to test and strengthen one’s faith.

#tescheer #tescheer2023 #skyrim #tes #the elder scrolls #snow elves #gelebor #vyrthur #my art #mine #this ended up being more background practice than anything so don’t look too closely at the boys

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Falmer Priestess

Concept art for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Art by Adam Adamowicz

#adam adamowicz #art #the elder scrolls #concept art #tes #skyrim #falmer #snow elves #enemy design #monster design #chitin armor

[lotusfaebell]

❆ Stay Frosty ❆

#Lotus Creations #type: screenshot #elder scrolls #the elder scrolls #tes #tesblr #elder scrolls online #eso #the elder scrolls online #teso #tamriel #gaming #mmo #falmer #snow elves #snow elf #elves #elf #OC: Eirwen Snowgrace

[aetherialfalmer]

Ulfric: Skyrim belongs to the Nords.

Tullius: it should be governed by the empire

Falmer Dragonborn: Both these options suck.

Ulfric: What does an elven outsider like you know.

Falmer Dragonborn: *laughs and unsheathes sword* IM A NATIVE!!!!!!

#falmer #snow elf #snow elves #elder scrolls #the elder scrolls #elder scrolls skyrim #skyrim #dragonborn #last dragonborn #general tullius #ulfric stormcloak

[jag-rat]

Okay hear me out. What if the Falmer were culturally far more similar to the modern day nords rather than the altmer or the ayleids?

Like if the Falmer's culture was a more intense version of what we see of the ancient nords in Skyrim. Because the nords kind of just integrated their own culture into the falmers. Maybe the Falmer were originally far more similar to the vikings and other ancient Scandinavian cultures rather than just being the altmer but pale.

Or maybe even towards the end of their reign they started to shift cultures to a more altmer influenced lifestyle and religion making Auri-el a more prominent God figure in their pantheon. Sort of similar to how Scandinavia got christianised.

It would explain why tensions between the Atmorans and the Falmer suddenly became so high when they were previously living peacefully together.

It would also be fascinating to consider the fact the nords could actually be descendants of both the atmorans and the Falmer. Sort of like the bretons. It's very difficult to completely wipe out an entire country worth of people. And not every Falmer wanted to go underground with most being opposed to the idea. So it would make more sense for those who didn't join the Dwemer for protection to be slowly "integrated" with the atmorans which would explain the entire disappearance of the rest of the Falmer. It also gives the modern day Nords a new context which I really like because its sort of poetic irony the nords themselves would be another small part of what was left of the ancient falmer.

Also there's no way a bunch of people living in freezing cold temperatures aren't going to have beards. Bethesda is lying to me.

Anyways it might not line up with canon but it's an interesting thought. Also brings some funny scenarios to mind.

For more details go here

#digital art #falmer #tesblr #falmer lore #photoshop #give me my elves with beards and axes #also excuse the wips #skyrim #skyrim art #snow elves #theory #crack taken seriously #This isnt altmer slander btw love those weird little guys #headcannons #tes headcanons #tes #thinking about how a lot of the creatures in Skyrim are based off norse fairytales #which implies... hear me out #there may be other funnier elves hiding in the woods in this universe #I'm talking about the little foot tall guys who steal your left sock and stop your milk turning to cream #The atmorans calling the Falmer 'snow elves' the Falmer out here like “elves?... you've seen elves?” #*locks all doors and windows* #in a funnier universe Bethesda would make it canon