Gnome

Population	~11 Million
Traits	Short Stature, Pointed Ears, Copper Tones to Eyes
Homeland	Dwarven Hold States
Leader	Councilor Grimsby Tometouter

Fast Facts

Height: 3 ft. to 3 ft. 9 in. (Males), 2 ft. 5 in. to 3 ft. 3 in. (Females)

Weight: 48 lbs. to 60 lbs.

Lifespan : Adults (18 years), Elder (115 years), Deathly (130 years) Stoneborn Lifespan: Immortal unless destroyed.

Notable Features: Short stature, copper tones to eye color, pointed ears

Player Restrictions: None.

Racial Ability: Gnomes are gifted with a boundless curiosity that drives them to become masters of their chosen path in life. They live in a society that prizes knowledge and uplifts all pursuits that further what they refer to as their Calling. As a result of this and the society they live in, Gnomes get to select one skill related to their Calling and may set that skill at Journeyman level by default upon creation. Justification for how and why this skill ties into their Calling must be provided and explained.

Population: ~8,300,000 Stoneborn: ~2,700,000

History

When the Rift Gates of the Hytori Boundless Empire came crashing down, the backlash across the world was immediate and terrible. As the powerful magic of the ancient elves ripped across the world, there was a great dragon that lent her assistance in order to help save the world from destruction. Nomura, a Greatwyrm of the Copper Dragonflight, spread her wings and gave shelter to those whom she could. Considered one of the great elders of the Burnished Dragons, this wise and noble dragon sacrificed herself in order to stave off as much devastation as she could. Seeing her sacrifice and not wanting to lose such a bright star of wisdom and knowledge, Keela, the Dragon Goddess of Wisdom, took Nomura’s spirit and breathed new life into it when the dust of the devastation had settled. She toiled away and wove into being a new race of people that would embody the great dragon’s endless curiosity, knowledge and wisdom. These people would come to be known as the Gnomes in her honor.

The Age of Wonders

There are those scholars who attribute the naming of this era to the workings of the Gnomes. The beginnings of their race are tied to the beginnings of this age. The Gnomes were birthed in the region of Turoth, not far from where the Clockwork Wastes now stand in the current era. Their curiosity led them to immediately begin exploring the world around them and discover its mysteries. Almost right away, they were taken under the wings of the Copper, Bronze, and Brass Dragonflights as they recognized the echo of their once mighty elder deep within the core of Gnomish souls. This gentle guidance spared the Gnomes from much of the tragedy and conflict that followed in the Age of Wonders as the war between Light and Dark played out.

Under the watchful eyes of the dragons that guided them, the Gnomes began their work of building a civilization for themselves. It was during these early buildings that they encountered their cousins, the Dwarves. Sharing a love a building, the Gnomes and the Dwarves began working together in order to delve deeper into the world, driven to follow what they referred to as the Song of the Mountains. This led to the creation of the Gnomish ancestral city of Numeria. The completion of this city led to a truly golden age of building and creation for the Gnomes. Though the dragons had by this point gently left the gnomes to forge their own path, their influence in their culture remained strong.

Stretching outward from the city of Numeria, the gnomes set about refining their knowledge, becoming prized experts in many of the areas that drew their interest. It is rumored that the gnomes were responsible for the creation of a great many artifacts, the discovering of secrets and the compiling of great knowledge.

The Lexicon of Numeria

The ancient wizards of Numeria created a repository for their knowledge and expertise. This device was referred to as the Lexicon. It became the heart of the great gnomish city and through it, the gnomes would inscribe the whole of their life’s knowledge and experience into a single place. As a gnome reached the end of their life, they would gift their knowledge and wisdom to the Lexicon, creating what was once considered the greatest library in all the world. This repository is what drew the attention of a figure known only as the Man in White.

Considered a general of the forces of Darkness, the Man in White approached the gnomes and sought the knowledge that was there. The gnomes naively allowed him access to this great library. However, it was not long before they discovered his efforts to use their knowledge for sinister purposes. The gnomes banished the Man in White from Numeria but he was not deterred. Returning with an army of dark creations, the Man in White succeeded in breaching the city’s defenses. With his dark creations at his side, he marched upon the library of Numeria and claimed the Lexicon for himself.

As Numeria burned, it is said that the Man in White showed neither care nor remorse for the destruction he wrought. His only concern was for the claiming of the Lexicon, a feat he succeeded at.

Into the Mountains

With their home destroyed, the gnomes scattered but a great many of them were welcomed into the halls of the Dwarven Holds. The great mountain kingdoms that had been built by the dwarves became a refuge for the gnomes as they found lives for themselves alongside their cousins. The arrangement proved to be a beneficial one for both societies. As the gnomes were allowed to collect themselves and rebuild in the wake of their civilization’s destruction, the dwarves found that the gnomish knowledge helped them in their explorations of the deeper reaches of the earth.

Side by side, the gnomes and dwarves found a balance that allowed the two people’s to coexist peacefully for generations. This allowed the gnomes to more readily assist the dwarves in discovering the secrets of the Song of the Mountains. As the war between Light and Dark raged on the surface world, the gnomes as a people largely withdrew.

Age of Sundering

It would not be until the Age of Sundering that the gnomes as a people experienced their next major cataclysmic event. As the deep roads of the world were far too heavily fortified for the likes of the Clockwork Empire to intrude upon, both the gnomes and dwarves largely maintained their independence from the empire. However, when the Godspire was activated and Kaitos Folly was unleashed upon the world, this changed dramatically.

The deep reaches of the world were cracked open and the continents of the world experienced an earth-shattering event that would reshape the world forever. As this catastrophic mayhem was unleashed, the gnomes turned to their quick thinking and ingenuity in an attempt to halt the destruction and save not just them, but their dwarven cousins as well. This led to the activation of what is only known as the Anvil of Stone. The device attempted to harness the power of the catastrophe and redirect it but even the gnomes ingenuity was not prepared to withstand such destruction. The device harnessed the power of the Sundering but the consequences of doing so turned half of the Dwarven Holds and the Gnomish people to solid stone.

But it was not long before even these stone gnomes came to life in the aftermath of such a terrible fallout. This became known as the Stoneborn Plague. The awoke with utter madness and quickly began to attack the people of the deep roads. This worsened when the Cult of Mending infiltrated the Hold States and exacerbated an already terrifying situation. It was only when the Order of the Dawnmartyr stepped in to lend its assistance that both the gnomes and dwarves were able to turn the tide. Using their gifts the Dawnmartyrs led a team of both peoples deep into the Ruined Holds in order to reach the Anvil of Stone once more. Once there, they activated it and in so doing the Stoneborn Plague was put to an end…and the Stoneborn were freed from their madness.

Age of Steel

The gnomes are faced with an uneasy division between their people. As the Age of Sundering came to an end, the Anvil of Stone was activated once more. The Stornborn were freed from their madness but that did not change the fact that death and destruction were unleashed as a result of them. As the Stoneborn step into the world attempting to find their place in it, they are faced with the reality that while tolerated by their former people, they are not truly accepted. This has resulted in an uneasy truce where the people of the Hold States are divided into the Dwarven Holds and the Ruined Holds, with little love between the two. Time will tell if the two people’s can reconcile their differences and grow together. Until then, it will be a rough road of exploration and understanding.

Physiology/Biology

Gnomes can be described as having slightly elfish features. They tend to be slimmer in frame and rarely stand over three feet tall. Their skin color ranges from pale to olive toned to dark skinned depending on which region of the world they hail from. Their eye colors are varied but the one thing that is universal about them is that all gnomes have copper flecks or undertones to their irises which creates a unique brilliance to them when reflected in the light. Hair color for gnomes is just as varied and it is not uncommon for gnomes to take to dying their hair as they tend to be a rather expressive people. While not as physically strong as other races in the world, the gnomes make up for this by possessing a natural agility that makes them well suited for feats of dexterity. Due to having lived within the deep places of the world for such a long time, gnomes are naturally gifted with better night vision than most. They are able to perceive in dimly lit conditions with relative ease.

Stoneborn

The Stoneborn Gnomes are a subdivision of the Gnomish race. They were not born naturally and came about as a result of the activation of the Anvil of Stone in an attempt to halt the devastation of the Sundering. Stoneborn gnomes are as their name implies. They appear to be gnomes made completely from some type of living stone. Across their skin there are often fissures where veins of aether can be seen glowing softly. These colors range from blue, green, red, orange, violet or a combination of those colors. Their movements are slower than that of their fleshly counterparts but what they lack in speed they make up for in endurance and heightened strength due to being made of stone. The eyes of a Stoneborn are solid pools of light that glow with the same aethereal color as what can be seen on the fissures of their body. Stoneborn do not require sleep in the conventional way but they enter a trance lasting for up to four hours at most. They do not need to breathe but many retain the habit as a holdover from when they were flesh and blood. They do not eat conventional food but rather they must consume dragonshards in order to sustain themselves at regular intervals. This has led Stoneborn to become some of the most skilled and efficient dragonshard miners that can be found. Failure to consume dragonshards at regular intervals will lead to what Stoneborn refer to as the Maddening. It becomes a slow decline in mental faculties that eventually leads to madness. It becomes a difficult thing to reverse if left to perpetuate for too long.

Psychology

Gnomes are an endlessly curious people. Owing this to the essence of the greatwyrm that was used to create them, the gnomes are some of the most inquisitive minds in Ransera. They are driven to explore, to create, to test and to simply KNOW. Not only are they driven to know, but they are also driven to understand. As a result of this quality, gnomes are some of the most psychologically well-adapted people that can be encountered. They seldom approach the unknown with fear but rather with wonder. This curiosity often leads gnomes to pursue odd projects that only they seem to be preoccupied with. Regardless, it is a well known fact that associating with a gnome is sure to always yield fascinating experiences. Stoneborn are no less driven by this curiosity. However, there is a melancholy to them that is unmistakable. They can, at times, be far more cynical than their fleshly counterparts.

Culture

Gnomes lost their ancestral home of Numeria long ago and while there are those who still seek that lost city, most do not dwell on the wonders that are buried there. As a people, the gnomes tend to look toward the future, using the past as an experience and opportunity to learn from. In the aftermath of Numeria’s destruction, rather than strike out to establish another independent nation, they integrated into Dwarven society. This arrangement has fostered in them an appreciation for tradition but they lack the rigidity that is often associated with their dwarf cousins. This appreciation for progress has helped their cousins in preventing them from becoming a stagnant people unable to face changing times.

The most interesting thing about gnome culture is the phenomenon known as the Calling. As a gnome matures and grows in their understanding of both themselves and the world around them, they experience what is known as the Calling. It is an intrinsic need to form their life around a singular concept that becomes the umbrella under which they do all things. This concept forms the foundation for all their pursuits and the furtherance of understanding that pursuit. This phenomenon is why gnomes are driven to become such undisputed masters of their respective fields, for they can often pursue their Calling with single minded intensity. It is tradition among the gnomish people that throughout the course of their lives, they compile tomes that recount their knowledge and experience that they then send to the archives maintained by their people.

Religion

Gnomes who take up the practice of religion are often some of the wisest adherents to any faith. In general, gnomes tend to view gods less as unfathomable beings and more as teachers with a myriad of lessons to study. It is rare for a gnome to be an adherent to New Atheist beliefs because the doctrines of the New Atheist schools of thought espouse the condemnation of gods, spirits and even magic. Gnomes tend to scoff at such teachings or view them with disdain because they undermine the idea that these beings are things that can be learned from. The principles of New Atheism devalue what gods and other beings might have to offer in the way of knowledge and such ideas are often anathema to a gnome. Still, one will seldom find a gnome that will not entertain philosophical conversation because such views diversify an already diverse field of study.

Reproduction, Aging, Death

Gnomes reproduce in much the same way that humans do. Gnomish parents are often some of the most patient and educational as they approach the subject of child rearing with the idea that it is an opportunity to pass on what they know as well as learn. Owing to their natural curiosity, gnomish children are often very outgoing and sociable. Their elders are quick to teach them how to harness this curiosity in productive ways.

Many gnomes are driven to wanderlust as they mature, especially in their younger years. The need to explore and pursue every possible avenue pertaining to their Calling pushes them to step into the world with bold determination. As the gnome reaches their older years or perhaps they find a place well suited to their Calling, the gnome will settle down and use it as an opportunity to learn. It is not uncommon for them to become cornerstones of their community because of their expertise in a given subject.

As the gnome nears the end of their life, many of them opt to travel back to the Hold States in order to join the bulk of their people. It is during their final years that many gnomes spend as much time as they can documenting their knowledge and experiences as well as teaching younger generations.

Language

Gnomish is said to be a very lyrical language that is decidedly complex. A single concept can have dozens of words all of which are used in different circumstances depending on the context. As a result, Gnomish is a language where context is supremely important in order to fully grasp the meaning of what is being said. To the listener, Gnomish often sounds captivating and poetic.