Fiction:The Firmament/Gnome

"While the dwarves are stubborn and conservative, the gnomes are always looking for new experiences... while being hyperactive and annoying. Honestly, I can't say I like working with either of them."

- Anonymous human craftsman

Gnomes, collectively known as gnomekind, are a type of humanoid characterized by a small stature and natural affinity with magic, who are among the youngest races of Telamon.

Biology
Gnomes are small humanoids, standing at an average of a meter tall, and sporting somewhat strange proportions compared to humans; their heads are large and their torsos are unnervingly slender, with small, pointed ears, very large eyebrows and bizarre and vibrant hair colourations. Gnomes live for an average of 150 years.

History
Unlike most humanoids, the gnomes have emerged recently enough that their origins are well recorded. They are descended from the population of the dwarven fortress-city of Whistlehold who, during a digging operation, accidentally breached a fragile rift between Telamon and the Plane of Earth, causing the area to be overrun with primordial elemental energies. These dwarves managed to close this rift and stop the energies from spreading into the surface, but were warped by them, being transformed into the first generation of gnomes. Over the centuries, this new race spread across the world, leading to small pockets of gnomes living alongside other races in their nations, though their links to dwarvenkind remain strong.

Culture
Gnomes tend to be highly active and curious creatures, who are seekers of innovation and new experiences. To them, the ends justify the means in most scenarios, and as such they are not afraid to experiment with things many would consider dangerous, which often puts them at odds with their more conservative dwarven cousins. They pay a great deal of attention to magic, with those capable of skilled spellcasting being considered figures of renown by their folk. Most gnomish families are loosely associated, with gnome children being raised as much by the larger community as by their birth parents.

Religion
Gnomes tend to prefer deities associated with nature, magic and the earth. The rise of gnomekind also led to the birth of Voniana Theevrolde, the sole cultural god of their kind. Due to their dwarven origins, many gnomes also tend to pay at some some small respect to the Dwarven Pantheon, if they don't already worship it outright.

Relations with other races
Gnomes are generally eager to work alongside other races, provided they are not a threat to them, which has led them to be found in many nations across the world. Being descended from dwarves, they are more closely linked to their kind, being found in their lands more often than everywhere else. As an extension, they are fierce enemies of races who fight dwarves regularly, such as the rakash and the kobolds.

Notable gnomes

 * Khargramnir
 * Rizgeez Tinloflink - Gnomish Thane of Whistlehold
 * Bilrik Wilybar - Famed gnome wizard and scholar of otherworldly entities
 * Bilrika Wilybar - Adventurous daughter of Bilrik Wilybar