The Complete History and Lore of the Elder Scrolls

The Beginning (Dawn Era)

 The Dawn Era is the first prehistoric era including the creation of the universe. It predates the Merethic Era. During the events of the Dawn Era, time did not really exist, and even when time existed, it followed a strange, nonlinear path. This is seen in a Dragon Break. Most scholars and researchers believe that a single common series of events led up to recorded time.

 The Dawn Era began with the Chaos of the pre-universe. From this primordial abyss, two beings arose, Anu and Padomay. Anu and Padomay both created their own souls, Anui-El (Anu's soul) and Sithis (Padomay's soul). The coaction between these two opposite beings created what is now known as the Aurbis. After this occurred, other entities started to form this within the Void. The First among these entities were Auri-El and Lorkhan. They were both the birthed souls of Sithis and Anui-El. Lorkhan was created from Sithis and Auri-El was created from Anui-El. Auri-El brought the concept of time into existence. With the creation of time, the chaotic Aurbis began to stabilize, and other beings were brought into existence: et'Ada. Hundreds of these divine beings were created.

 Anu and Padomay's consistent struggle had created a numerous amount of planes for the et'Ada to inhabit, but not all of them were satisfied. Lorkhan came forth with a plan to the other et'Ada and convinced them, including Auri-El. The divine beings that were tricked are now known as the Aedra, which is Aldmeri for "our ancestors." There were Padomay-aligned et'Ada who were not tricked by Lorkhan. These have directly become known as Daedra, which is Aldmeri for "not our ancestors." Lorkhan proposed the creation of a new plane, Mundus, populated with entities of et'Ada's creation.

 Lorkhan was able to convince a large number of the other et'Ada, including Auri-El. The Aedra began to form the mortal plane, and then realized they had been tricked. Although Anu and Padomay were infinite in size and power, the et'Ada were not. They realized they were giving up parts of themselves to form Mundus. This was something Lorkhan was fully aware of.

 Many of the gods left before Mundus could be completed. The leader of these gods was Magnus, the Architect of the mortal realm. He fled Mundus for Aetherius, tearing a hole through the fabric of Oblivion. Several others followed and created the stars. This is how magic flowed into Mundus. Not everyone chose to leave. The Aedra bound themselves to Mundu, however they returned to their own planes in the end. These gods became the gods of the inhabitants of the new world. They are seen from Nirn as the planets in the sky.

 One group of the et'Ada involved in the creation of the world that did not flee completely surrendered their divinity, thus the Ehlnofey were created. This now mortal race began to procreate in the physical sense, and eventually differentiated into the various races of Mythic Era. The remaining divines, before leaving Nirn to the mortals, constructed the Adamantine Tower and converged there to decide Lorkhan's fate.

 At the end of the Dawn Era, Lorkhan was permanently bound to his creation when his heart was ripped from his body and cast down to Tamriel. From there, it would form Vvardenfell, the Red Mountain volcano, and remain dormant for thousands of years. The remaining Aedra left Nirn, allowing time to stabilize and flow linearly. This marked the start of recorded Aldmeri history and the beginning of the Merethic Era.

Something to note is the Orsimer (Orcs) have been created in the Dawn Era.