The Dwemer were the "dwarfs" of the Elder Scrolls universe they were one of the first races to come upon tamriel, Dwemer meaning in Elven meant "Deep Elves". As the dwarfs, dwemer carved into mountains and took it upon themselves to live in the mountains. (most notably would be Red Mountain, and the ones in Stros M'Kai.) But unlike Dwarfs the dwemer were extremely advanced. Their heavy armor led the deaths of many Dark Elves in the war they had against each other. (Which led the Dwemer to extinction) The Dwemer went extinct in the first era,year 700. The Dwemer weren't known to have religion. The battle of red mountain remained the fate of the Dwemer.

My understanding of the the disappearance of the dwemer is based on the type of science Kagrenac and his followers utilized, one based on tones, for which he and his students are then referred to as "Tonal Architects." Their science utilizes the Heart of Lorkhan as an instrument for producing tones that create some desired magical effect. Now given that in our world objects have a particular tone at which they resonate, and at some resonance may shatter or fall apart, it could be suggested that the science of of "Tonal Architecture" is one that can change objects on nirn by altering how they resonate on a given plane of existence. So it is the vibration of objects upon the plane of nirn. Now whether this science relates to the ability the dwemer has "the calling" which is noted in the Chimarvamidium, is unknown, however this ability may have allowed for the tone to be carried to all dwemer on the plane of nirn. Ultimately, it is possible that the formula Kagrenac believed would enhance the dwemer may have been miscalculated and he shattered his entire race, much like a glass resonating at the right tone to break it. This would also give an explanation for why Dwemer ghosts exist. For the dwemer, including their souls, were not shifted to another plane but rather their bodies were turned to dust. This is further supported by the use of Kagrenac's tools to create the a tone that resonates and destroys the heart of Lorkhan itself. I suppose one continuity issue is how in the bloody hell was the tribunal able to figure out and utilize the right tone to make themselves gods, if Kagrenac himself destroyed his entire people? It is clear they used the very principle Kragenac had suggested, as that was the very purpose of the tools, to create a tone that would enhance a being. What is not known is whether the science "Tonal Architecture" existed before the discovery of the heart. Did the dwemer understand the particular resonance of an object on the plane of nirn? I do not not know.

Now, a second possibility as to how the wrong tone was used, based on some of what popgnner12 has suggested, is that during battle of Red Mountain, there was some disturbance of what Kragenec was attempting to do and he may have accidentally destroyed his people. This may have been due to the arrival of Nerevar and Dagoth Ur. Another possibility may be due to Nerevar and Dagoth Ur using the tools to destroy the Dwemer race, which is suggested in the book Battle of Red Mountain. Once again, how they came to know the proper tone to use is not known, or why didn't Kragenec consider using the tools to shatter the Chimer? It seems to me Bethesda thought out the idea of utilizing an object, Lorkhan's heart, the heart of the Aedra said to be the architect and creator of nirn, to change the resonance of something within that plane. So essentially, Kagrenac sought to utilize the heart, which is made up of the being who created nirn, which is thus imbued with his essence, like the Construction Kit to alter the dwemer as beings, by changing their resonance. Its unfortunate they did not expand upon such a novel aspect of the games reality, the very idea suggested by this aspect of Dwemer history suggests an interesting set of physical principles that exist in nirn. The dwemer were not divinely punished, nor were they destroyed outright by powerful magic, rather they were destroyed because the reality of nirn and objects within it each has a natural resonance, and that resonance was altered for a moment by the wrong tone and poof. Any thoughts?

Addendum: Upon reading the account by the dissident priests, it appears the Tribunal may have had enough time to study the tools and Kragenacs methods for using them. Secondly, it appears that the idea that the tools were utilized to turn the dwemer into dust may have been due to Azura instructing Nerevers to use the tools in such a way. Once again there seems to be issues with how things may have transpired. One thing is strongly supported, and that is that the tools were used in such a way that changed the resonance of the dwemer and shattered them. If it is disirable I would willingly edit this post to make it a bit more coherent, the more I read the more I understand the nature of Tonal Architecture and the destruction of the dwemer.

addtion by: Fallow Earth

Dwemer strongholds, sometimes referred to as colonies, often contain ancient steam-powered contraptions, many of which are still running. Numerous pipes can be found in and around Dwemer ruins, and many devices and constructs appear to emit steam from their inner workings. There may be "boilers" or similar components housed inside the Dwemer Centurions. It has been speculated that the constructs are powered by some kind of checkpoint in each ruin, or possibly by the combined signal of every ruin's mechanics, but this is not certain. Dwemer Constructs taken from Vvardenfell, where many Dwemer ruins are present, appear to "shut down" when a certain distance between them and Red Mountain is reached. However, it does seem that many objects that may be found in ruins were once covered in mesh or cloth, which has decayed over the years. This would explain why the "home comforts" of the Dwemer may seem very Spartan to a visitor. There are also few large halls in most ruins. This could be due to the fact that most, if not all Dwemer ruins are underground, where large interior spaces are difficult to fashion at best. Many Dwemer colonies were named after their rulers. The largest concentration of strongholds is in Vvardenfell (which translates as "City of the Strong Shield" in Dwemeris).

Contrary to many legends, archaeological evidence of known Dwemer ruins leads one to believe that the Dwarves were about the same size as the typical human or elf, evidenced by the fact that all existing Dwarven armor is average sized (although some of the books within the game have stated that "dwarven armor" is either the outer shells of machines they built, or mismatched pieces from various devices). This is likely to be because many of the Dwemer resided near the Giants of the Velothi Mountains, who had never encountered any races of Men or Mer before and, in perspective, saw them as being much smaller, and thus deemed them to be "Dwarves." Imperial excavation of Dwemer ruins and machinery supports the Dlyxexic theory that the translation of Dwemer as Deep Elves might also be read as Smart Elves. Indeed, perhaps the brilliant students of the Ehlnofey mentioned in The Anuad are the Dwarves themselves. Many Redguards in Hammerfell have shown a particular interest in the Dwemer ruins there for unknown reasons. Theories persist that Yokuda, the original homeland of the Redguards, was an ancestral Dwemer city.

Link to a picture of 2 Dwemer Solidiers.
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/File:MW-art-Dwemer-Concept.jpg

Link to redguard Dwemer Orrery
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/File:Redguard-Orrery.jpg