The Elder Scrolls Lore

The Snow Elves

"In the time before man, they were known as the Snow Elves. They lived in the sunlight and had a very prosperous society." — Enthir

History of the Snow Elves
     Long ago, a portion of Skyrim was home to a race called the Snow Elves. They had pale, white skin, icy blue eyes, and long hair the color of freshly-fallen snow. They were remarkably good at magic, incredibly intellectual, wealthy and prosperous, and peaceful. They were the first of any race to set foot in Skyrim, and rightfully so, it was their province to settle in. Until the Nords came.
     At first, the Nords and the Snow Elves lived peacefully together. The Nords occupied whatever land the Snow Elves did not. There may have even been an alliance between the two races, along with the possibility of trading goods with each other. For the most part, the Nords stayed on their territory and the Snow Elves stayed in theirs. As the Nords grew in numbers, however, the Snow Elves began to fear the worst. They were afraid the Nords would eventually want more land for their growing population, which could lead to rivalries and war.
     The Snow Elves decided to act upon this. They commenced a surprise attack on the Nords, which became known as the "Night of Tears". Almost every Nord was wiped out that night. They had slaughtered men, women, and children alike. At least for that battle, the Snow Elves were victorious. The Nords grieved for their fallen brothers and sisters, and a hunger for revenge festered. They were furious, and sought to bring the Elves to justice for what they had done. This is also to be believed what started most Nord's hatred for all elf races.
     Ysgramor, the leader of the Nords, and his two sons, gathered an army of 500 companions to bring the fight to the Snow Elves. Thus began the war between the two races. It was indeed a bloody endeavor. The exact amount of days, weeks, months, or years the war lasted is unknown. The Nords were successful in the war, and were pushing back the lot of the Elves. The Elves decided to make one last stand against their foes.
     Led by the courageous Snow Prince, the Elves attacked the Nords in hopes to win back their land. Despite their determination, the battle was lost when the much beloved Snow Prince died in the heat of the fight. With that, the Snow Elves failed. The Nords kept on dominating them in the war.
     When the Elves faced the realization of extinction, they turned to their last option; the Dwemer. The Dwemer (or Dwarves) were a race of Elves that lived in underground fortresses. They were advanced in technology, and were excellent engineers. The Snow Elves humiliatingly called on the Dwemer for help. They asked for protection against the Nords. The Dwemer agreed to help them, but for a terrible price; the blinding of their race. The Dwemer demanded the Snow Elves to eat a poison (believed to be a toxic fungus) that would permanently blind them in exchange for safety in their steel fortresses.
     The Elves faced a hard choice; be wiped out by the angry, vengeance-hungry Nords, or survive but become blind by living with the Dwarves. They agreed to the terms of the Dwemer and ate the toxic fungus. There were some Elves who refused to do so; but in the end they were killed by the Nords, or eventually gave up and joined their brothers and sisters underground. There were few, however, that made it through these dark times without being killed or blinded. They went into hiding, in other places across Tamriel, hoping to escape both terrible fates.
     Once the remainder of the Snow Elves were blinded, the Dwemer enslaved them. They made them participate in hard labor, tortured them in all forms and fashions, and made the rest of their lives miserable. This went on for years until one day, the entire Dwemer race vanished. Every Dwemer alive simply just disappeared. Some believe they found Lorkan's heart. The heart of Lorkan was a powerful artifact, and due to popular belief, the Dwarves were punished for finding it.
     From there, the Snow Elves, who had been blinded and tortured, had become horrid creatures. These creatures are now known as the Falmer. They are hideous; their skin is pale and dirty, they have hunched-over bony bodies, their faces are deformed, and they have sharp, fanged teeth. The Falmer are often found wandering the Dwemer ruins, since they had been imprisoned there for centuries. They are no longer the proud race they once were.
     Now, that is all that remains of the Snow Elves. They are nothing but stories that Nord mothers tell their children at night. Or are they?

The Last of Their Kind
In the Fourth Era, the Last Dragonborn traveled deep into the Forgotten Vale of Skyrim's northern wilderness with a girl by the name of Serana. On their quest to find Auriel's Bow, they discovered a living Snow Elf in all of his former race's glory. His name was Knight-Paladin Gelebor. The Dragonborn and Serana end up helping Knight-Paladin Gelebor defeat his brother, Arch-Curate Vyrthur, who had been cursed with vampirism. In the end, they killed Arch-Curate Vyrthur and retrieved Auriel's Bow.
The two brothers had survived the rest of their race's fates by hiding in their secluded vale along with other Snow Elves. Before the war with the Nords, Gelebor and his brother, Vyrthur, served the Chantry of Auri-El; the grand temple and center of the Snow Elf faith. When the rest of their kin were slaughtered or forced to join the Dwemer underground, Gelebor and Vyrthur stayed in isolation with the few Snow Elves left in the Chantry. The Nords nor the Dwemer found them, and so they survived extinction and torture.
They were not as safe as they thought, though. Years later, swarms of Falmer found their sanctuary and overran the survivors. So then, after it all, Gelebor and Vyrthur became the last two living Snow Elves in Skyrim, and maybe even the world.
"It's also quite possible that there are some other isolated conclaves of Snow Elves nestled elsewhere on Nirn," Gelebor told the Dragonborn, who was not pleased on having killed Vyrthur. Could he be right? Hope still burns that the incredible elven race is not completely gone.

Snow Elf Religion
     The Elves believed in Auri-El, also known as Auriel, Anui-El, Akatosh, Alkosh, or many other names. They worshipped many gods, but the head-deity was Auri-El. He was believed to be responsible for the creation of the world and a being of guidance. A temple was built in order to worship Auri-El, known as the Chantry. It was once so large it covered the entire valley where it was built. The temple was the epicenter of the Elves religion, and many traveled there to seek enlightenment.
     Many rituals were preformed for one to reach enlightenment, but the one most often preformed was to visit each of the wayshrines. A person seeking enlightenment would take the Initiates Ewer and fill it at each of the wayshrines until they reached the Inner Sanctum (the main shrine of Auri-El and the last wayshrine). Once their journey was complete, they would officially be enlightened. The Chantry is no longer in use since most of the Elves are extinct. It now serves as a safe haven for Knight-Paladin Gelebor, and any lost Snow Elves wandering Tamriel.

Books on Snow Elves
     In Skyrim, you can read a variety of books and journals on the Snow Elves. Here are a few:
1. Touching The Sky
2. The Betrayed
3. Night of Tears
4. Journal of Mirtil Angoth
5. Diary of Faire Agarwen
6. Fall of the Snow Prince
7. Skorm Snow-Strider's Journal

Conclusion
     Sadly, this once great race is now mostly the stuff of myth and legend. Yet, there is still hope that one day these people could rise again. It's a shot in the dark, but still a shot. Who knows? The once proud society of pale, white elves with powerful magic of wonder and light could make a resurgence, if fate allows it. What a sight to see if only they could walk the streets of Tamriel again!

Official Elder Scrolls Lore