Gnomes

Gnomes are a people that think far beyond their stature. Averaging around three and a half feet tall, they spend a lot of time looking up to other peoples. Their focus doesn’t end there though. They look out and to the endless beyond.
Gnomish culture is about progress and everything that could mean. There are many different settlements of gnomes with different ideas but the people are some of the most unified over distance. Rather than identifying themselves based on where they are born or who they are related to, gnomes tend to identify themselves based on their role in society. All gnomes start off as Dawnlings, but can then flow between one group to another. Most gnomes identify as anywhere from four to six different societal roles throughout two hundred and fifty years of life but the transitions tend to be slow and take years or even decades for the individual to change his identity.
Collective identity does not outweigh individual identity. Following the pattern of development over time, Gnomes will possess three names throughout their lives. Unlike the typical custom of granting all three names at or around birth, gnomes will acquire their names over time. The first name they are given is their Dawnling name. Dawling names are monosyllabic and are formally used up until they graduate into their first chosen societal role. Upon doing so, the gnome will take a Chosen name. Chosen names are either developed by the gnome over time or, more likely than not, given by their friends. It is important to note that the gnome must accept the Chosen name and if the peer-presented names are openly shot down, it is a societal obligation to drop any attempt to push that name further. A Chosen name can be shortened or expanded upon to reflect the gnome’s relationship with others but the base name remains constant. Once a Chosen name is taken, only extremely close friends and family are permitted to use the individual’s Dawnling name. Doing so without a formal invitation to do so is the greatest of insults. The final name a gnome acquires is that of the Earned name and it functions as both a surname and title. An Earned name is granted by a superior, commonly in the same trade, craft, or profession of the individual. A gnome may only possess one Earned name at a time which creates an intricate social contract. A superior wishing to grant an Earned name must heavily measure the name they wish to grant to the personality of the individual as well as the relationship between the two gnomes. The worst case scenario is a superior wishing to grant a gnome an Earned name to someone they only have a moderate relationship with, the individual accepting the name, and then having a much closer, much more revered member of the society wishing to grant an Earned name, and the individual having to deny out of respect to the first name-giver.
Dawnling
Dawnlings are the youth of gnomish societies. Like a new day, they have untold potential for what is to come. A gnome can only be a Dawnling once. After moving on to another group, they can never return. This may seem sad, but it is usually not viewed as such. Every experience an individual has builds one step of progress further through life. There is no set age at which a gnome must move on from being a Dawnling.
Sunbuilder
Sunbuilders are the metalworkers and tinkers of the society. They are the mechanics and the engineers. Looking at how the sun builds the world around them, they too wish to take the raw materials they have access to and to then build to the skies.
Moonlighter
Moonlighters are the alchemists. They see the wonders possible through the minutest of reagents and the wonders of the reactions that go unseen but whose outcomes are quite real.
Star Mapper
Star mappers are the scholars, knowledge keepers, and scribes. Progress is only possible if you know where you are building from and can look back at it.
Bright Faller
Bright Fallers are the artists. Progress is not always about moving forward but about expanding outward and broadening what it means to be alive. Like falling stars, they spark the wonder that anyone can feel about life.
Path Tracer
Path Tracers are travelers of gnomish society. They are the merchants, adventurers, wanders, and trailblazers. Whether it is a consistent, often travelled path or a path that is still finding its way, these are the people who are in motion and leave a known path for others to follow as well.
Blue Lune
With gnomes, there is even a group for those that don’t fit into a group. The Blue Lunes are the eccentrics. They are the ones who are just a bit off no matter what scale you are using. There is not norm that can be used to describe this group.
Dusker
Duskers are those that have begun to come to the end of their personal progress. Rather than seeing this as an end for them, they see it as the time to focus on passing on everything that they have learned. Dusk is about preparing for the following new day and Duskers include the teachers, tutors, and keepers of wisdom. There is no minimum age at which a gnome may become a Dusker but there is another requirement. Becoming a Dusker is not fully a personal choice but one that those around you slowly make as well. Only if those around you believe you have the capability to become a Dusker can you begin to be one.