Gnomes

The Gnomes are a novel and long-lived race of short, intelligent humanoids who were created by the Great Fae out of the dreams of the Halflings. The gnomes are a highly magical and innovative culture originating within the hidden dales and quiet places of the [Hearthlands]], though they appear all throughout eastern Wisteria and the Shimmering Shore by the time of contemporary history.

Origin

Gnomes came into being early in Ahren's History, sometime during the Age of Bitter Darkness, about a generation after the creation of the Halflings. The Great Fae, in their capriciousness, created the Gnomes out of cross-interpretation of the dreams of Elves where they concerned the Halflings and the Goblins. The Gnomes must have existed by the time of the Age of Rebellion because a gnome, Anteselmo of Balatrine, figures in the hagiography of San Heather; how much sooner than this time period is a matter of debate, as the gnomes themselves have not kept the most accurate count of their time on the planet (as is, in all honesty, the general case for sapient life on Ahren).

Culture

The gnomes are technically a minority culture in the Hearthlands, but since the Halflings largely adopted their housing practices from the Gnomes, they have had an outsize influence on Hearthlands culture. Many gnomes are rebellious by nature and form subcultures as quickly as they form friend groups. Gnomes are to be found in some places outside the Hearthlands, usually as single adventurers or the descendents of such adventurers, but feature somewhat prominently in the Atarlie Empire. They are the third naturally longest-lived race on Wisteria after the Elves who are functionally immortal, and Dwarves; unsurprisingly, they are therefore among the easiest mortals for Elves and Dwarves to relate to.

Physical Attributes

Lifespan

Gnomes gestate for a year and a day (with some natural variation) and achieve physical maturity around the age of 16, with mental maturity around the age of 19. Once reaching adulthood their aging slows considerably - they are considered middle-aged at a hundred and senatorial by 180, usually living well into their second century, with an age of 300 being "ripe old" but not unheard of. However, these are the biological bounds. Census information collected by the Civil Service suggests that the average life expectancy might be closer to 210 years, given the gnomish propensity toward adventure and hazard.

Physicality

Gnomes are the smallest of the sapient races of Ahren, rarely exceeding 90 cm in height. Hair colours range the full spectrum of visible colour, though hair tends to go white in senescence. Fair hair is considered especially desirable by the gnomes and there is a robust culture of dying hair at regular intervals.

Spiritual and Mental Attributes

Faetouched and Star-Crossed

Much more so than the halflings (who were also created by the Great Fae, the gnomes are fully "of magic", occupying a place on the "of the earth" and "of the magic" spectrum far closer to Elves than races like humans or dwarves. Gnomes have a particular knack for magic. To use Ars Magica terminology, they have the aptitude for the modo arcanus and frequently also the modo potence. Magical bloodlines are rife in gnomekind and geneological studies often highlight these attributes.

Most gnomes have at least a little spellcasting knowledge and can rely especially on magical illusions to protect themselves in the same way that halflings have a knack for physical stealth.

Fundamental Rebellion

Gnomes identify especially strongly with their dreams - both the literal dreams they experience in sleep and their ambitions and goals. While gnomes are not especially given to violence (compared to any other sentient race), they generally will not suffer to be impeded in the pursuit of their dreams. This has cultural manifestations ("become ungovernable" is fundamentally a gnomish phrase in its sentiment) but is also an aspect of their nature. They fundamentally resist magical effects which compel action or inaction or attempt to alter their mental state, disposition, or general awareness.