Gnomastra
Gnomastra is the name of both the nation and its Gnomish Capital City. It is the largest and most culturally significant Gnomish city on the continent. While its population and size is relatively small, its technological advances have made them a formidable country.
Structure
The Gnomish government is both technocratic and merit based. The High Tinker, the head of state acts as a mouthpiece for the Gnomish Council who are all invited to participate by election of the existing council. Each member is an expert in their field, and has shown an aptitude and interest in governance. Appointments are for life unless expulsed by the other members of the council or if the councilman has elected to retire. The council historically has been as small as three and at times has ballooned to close to twenty, however on the average the number is between five and ten. Currently, the council has 8 members.
Rulings and laws of the council are passed down to the Gnomish clan leaders and guild masters who act as intermediaries between the council and ordinary citizens. The Gnomish then generally always have two paths they can take to influence government: through their trade organization or through their clan leaders.
Culture
The Gnomish are highly practical and believe that status and position should be based on skill, knowledge, and evidence of the two. They are primarily worshippers of Jern whose virtues reward planning, wisdom, prudence, and ingenuity.
The Gnomish are also primarily a clan-based society. Each Gnomish clan has their own form of governance that is headed by the Clan Leader. Each clan strives to be self-sufficient, and if the situation is dire, could theoretically break off from the main Populus and have all the skills and knowledge needed to create a new thriving community.
However the needs of an individual clan at times may not benefit the whole, so to better promote inter-clan ideas and values the Gnomish have set up a system of Guilds and Trade organizations which are self-governing and have authority to regulate their own domain. The Guilds are usually led by the most experienced member of the guild, elected by the guild members and have the title of High Guildsman. For example, the leaders of the Smithy's guild are named the High Blacksmith.
Thus politically the Gnomish is beholden to both their trade and clan, though in most cases if they were pitted against each other, most Gnomish would choose clan over trade.
History
The Magic Embargo
The Gnomish have always resented the Adarans (and the Mages' Guild) for coming and taking magic adept children. To them, it not only stole magic talented gnomes from the populations, but it also took them away from thier clans and thier future trade guilds. The conflict between the two cities kept build until the Gnomastra in 4765 declared that they would no longer allow Gnomish children to forcefully study at the Arcane Academy of Adara. After many diplomatic attempts to reverse the decision ended in failure, in 4772 (53 years ago) the Mages' Guild declared the city of Gnomastra to be in direct defiance of the Articles of Magic and imposed a magic embargo - the first of its kind. Under the conditions of the embargo, no mage was to use magic in the borders of Gnomastra nor would any magical item be transported to or through their border. The embargo sparked a divide among the Gnomish mages across Adara. While many chose to adhere to the terms of the embargo many also defied it. Feeling the need to help their homeland. These Renegade Gnomish wizards were expelled from the Mages' Guild and if caught by the guild using their embargo, are "disappeared."Demography and Population
The population of Gnomastra is overwhelmingly Gnome. Other races often find living in the tight quarters and small buildings designed for people a third of their size incredibly uncomfortable, and the Gnomish are often frustrated with "brutes” who accidentally break things trying to navigate the Gnomish indoors.
Technological Level
Gnomastra is the most technologically advanced country in Aasha. The inherit culture of the Gnomish with addition of a need to replace the role magic would play in society with technology fostered a prime environment for technological experimentation and innovation. Two technologies are key to their current industrial revolution:
- Steam Engine - Probably the most important of the two technologies. The steam engine makes use of the store chemical energy found in coal to multipy the work that can be done. Everyday a new application of the steam engine is being immplemented. Already steam engines are being used to power factories and industrial and agricultural machinery.
- Arcane Battery - As the the Gnomish were looking to ways to replace magic, they discovered a way to store arcane energy into what they call an arcane battery. These batterries can then be connected to machines that can convert the energy into spell-like effects. The Gnomes who have figured out how to harness these batteries and convert the energy into "spells" are called arcanists.
Religion
The Church of the Knowing Eye is the primary religious organization in Gnomastra and acts as a de facto guild in Gnomish society. The head of the Gnomish chapter has the title High Priest or Priestess and is the church's intermediary to the Gnomish Council.
Temples of Jern: Temples and shrines dedicated to Jern are located throughout Gnomish territories, serving as centers for education, planning, and innovation, reflecting their worship of Jern's virtues. The Great Library of Gnomastra is the largest of the Jernish temples and serves as the base of the Jernish operations throughout the region.
Festivals and Rites: Cultural festivals and rites that celebrate ingenuity, planning, and craftsmanship are held throughout the year. These festivals involve competitions of skill, showcasing inventions, and strategic games that honor Jern. The largest of these festivals happens midway through the month of Jerni which the Gnomish have named the Week of Innovation.
Foreign Relations
The Gnomish have two political borders with established nations: Fu Dao Empire to the East on the other side of the Divide and the Allied Dukedoms of Camdyn to the South.
Adara and the Mages' Guild: Relations with the Adara are very poor. Guild members are expelled on sight within the borders of Gnomastra, and conversely persons of Gnomish appearance need a special visa to enter Adara. There does not seem to be a way to improve this in the near future.
Allied Dukedoms of Camdyn: To help protect themselves against Adara and the Mages' Guild, Gnomastra has entered into a military agreement with the Allied Dukedoms. The terms of the agreement see that the Dukedoms protect Gnomastra from foreign invaders in return for military technology. The specifics of the technology given is not publicly known.
Fu Dao Guo: There is still some animosity towards the Empire for the conquering of Gnomastra's sister city Zilmastra. However this happened 300 years ago, and time is beginning to heal these wounds. The Gnomish diplomatically currently have a neutral stance towards the Empire and feel safer with the Dukedoms supporting their defense.
Agriculture & Industry
The Gnomish are incredibly inventive, productive, and industrious. Their clockwork and steamwork technology has not only compensated for Gnome's small stature, but in some domains, made them more productive than workers of other nations.
The land in and around Gnomastra is wet and swampy, and not great for farming. The Gnomes have managed to drain and maintain large swaths of it for farming. Rice and sugarcane are the primary staple crops with secondary crops being oil palms, bamboo, lotus tubers, and taro.
The majority of the rice is eaten in the country, but the world's demand for cane sugar is growing and is profitably exported across the continent. The Sugar Guild is increasingly more productive in growing sugar cane, producing sugar, and most recently distilling it into Gnomish Rum.
Gnomastra is in the early stages of an industrial revolution being brought about by the steam engine and the arcane battery. Manufacturing of all kinds is being converted from artisan work to machine-assisted commodity work which is causing unrest among the working class and the highly skilled who are being slowly replaced. However, from a consumer standpoint, all the citizens of Gnomastra are starting to enjoy a higher standard of living due to the falling prices of consumer goods.
Export of these goods are also lucrative; however, the profits are limited due to the inability to transit large amounts of goods from place to place.
Education
Apprenticeship Programs: Given their high regard for skill and knowledge, Gnomish children enter apprenticeships at a young age, usually within their own clan's specialty or a guild of their choice. This tradition ensures effective knowledge transfer from generation-to-generation. However, the gnomish are quite liberal in selecting their trade. Parents often encourage children to study what they are interested in or have the most aptitude in rather than what trades the parents have chosen, the exception is if the clan is short on a certain trade, clan leaders will often encourage a certain path of learning.
Centers of Learning: To promote their guilds and to train new members each guild has established centers of learning or academies dedicated to the various crafts and knowledge. These academies are limited to citizens of Gnomastra, and very few outsiders have garnered enough trust to study within their halls. These academies often serve as the guilds' headquarters and hold offices for the guild masters and their staff.
Capital
Demonym
Gnomish
Leader Title
Government System
Meritocracy
Power Structure
Autonomous area
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Gnomish Sprock
Major Exports
Main exports of Gnomastra include:
- Gnomeworks - contraptions, clockworks, machines, and automatons that make work easier. Their export is highly regulated and are usually prohibatively expensive for any one individual to afford.
- Textiles
- Rum
- Sugar
Major Imports
Gnomastra is relatively resource poor country, and must import a lot of raw materials to sustain thier manufacturing. Major imports are:
- Iron
- Coal (although there are several coal mines in Gnomastra)
- Cotton
- Wool and other animal goods
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Species
Comments