Fumayan gnomes
Gnomes make up roughly 5% or 6% of Fumaya's total population. In a lot of ways Fumayan are not very remarkable because they cleave very heavily towards the global stereotype with an extra dose of the earthy folksiness of Fumayan humans.
Gnomes are generally well-respected and well-liked in Fumaya. Given that Fumaya is sandwiched between larger, stronger nations with very different cultures, there is much need for gnomish diplomacy.
The king and the majority of his vassals have at least one gnome advisor in their inner circle and Fumayan gnomes are disproportionately represented in the leadership roles in Fumaya's Nonagon.
All that said, while there are many prominent Fumayan gnomes in the ruling courts and Fumaya's Nonagon, the majority of Fumaya's gnomes are simple farmers and craftsmen.
History of Fumayan Gnomes
This fell apart as all too many human tribes and chiefdoms found themselves dominated by the most brutal warlords imaginable. The Red Era was a rough time for gnomes as many gnomes were dominated by humans and other bigger races, often cruelly enslaved. Fumaya of course got it's name from the legendary warrior Fumaya the Half-Human. Fumaya had many flaws, but at the very least he was staunchly opposed to slavery and rape. While he focused on stopping human slavery, he did liberate many gnomes. As the Men of the Lakes began calling themselves "the Tribe of Fumaya", they were far from perfect, but they adopted Fumaya's anti-slavery stance. As a result, a lot of gnomes fleeing slavery opted to enter Fumayan territory. Most of them travelled north out of what is now Swynfaredia though it was still many centuries the Numaness and the three other Pig Dragons plagued the world with their half-breed spawn. The early Fumayan humans were not exactly happy to see an influx of gnomes in their lands. The ancient Fumayas viewed strength and might as the means to status, so they often they were often condescending to our ancestors, but at least they weren't beating and raping them. The first Fumayan gnomes eventually made a niche for themselves among the various priesthoods, especially the Tenders, Stewards, and Cult of the Compact. To get our foot in the door as advisors, our ancestors had to find ways to present everyday Gnomish common sense as wisdom from the Nine. The Fumayan humans were split into many competing chiefdoms, and they squabbled among each other. No one was able to unify the Fumayan people for many centuries until. Our ancestors did the best they could to keep the humans from killing each other too much. One notable success our ancestors had was being able to convince the Fumayan chiefs to do is to settle with disputes with one-on-one combat between champions rather than having small armies hack at each other. Sometimes, the loser of the duel was even allowed to live. When the Fumayan chiefdoms all fell to Vladimir the Conqueror, there was little that little people could do, but our ancestors helped coordinate the Fumayan humans resistance efforts against Vlad's minions. After Vladimir fell, the Fumayan people fractured in competing chiefdoms and squabbled for another thousand years but thanks to level headed gnomes among them, they gradually learned to get along better until King Ziven the First and his heroic companions managed to create the first unifed Fumayan kingdom...with a little quiet assistance from the little people among them.At the dawn of the Third Age, the surviving gnomes left their hidey holes and spread out to every corner of Scarterra fairly quickly and gnomes got to work repopulating our race by having a lot of babies. Our ancestors shared their wisdom with the emerging humans and relations were amiable for a time
Where they are
This was still a few centuries before King Ziven the First, but things were calming down a bit between the petty Fumayan kings. The Meckelorn gnomes married into the Fumayan gnome families and we got a much influx of new blood. These new gnome families created a line of gnomes that were a bit more proactive and hardier. Some went on to become courageous and quick witted Guardians... Most of the Meckelorner migrants settled in Fumaya's "ankle" which is why the ankle has about twice as many gnomes Fumaya's "foot" has, even today. A lot of Fumayan gnomes are city boys and girls. Gnomes make up about 10% of the population of King's Lake and almost 20% of the population of Ivanna City. I was born in Ivanna City, but my family relocated to King's Lake when I was little...well young, I'm still pretty little. Most rural Fumayan gnomes live in all-gnome villages though a lot of these villages have a sister human village attached to them. All the ducal provinces in Fumaya have at least one gnomish village, but the Duchy of Linijka and the Duchy of Zimoz have three or four, and Frymar has seven or eight. A couple of the barons in the ankle provinces happen to be gnomes.-Ragani the gnome GuardianRagani portrait by Eron12 using Hero Forge"Most of the Fumayan gnomes ancestors migrated here in the Red Era as Matron Beslyfle said, but it wasn't the only gnomish migration. During the Great Meckelorn Exile, most of the Meckelorn gnomes stayed with their dwarf allies but a few of them chose to leave the mountains entirely and followed the main river into Fumayan lands.
Naming Traditions
Family names
I could technically be 'Ragani of Ivanna City', but now there is a second 'Ragani of Ivanna City'. I guess she can be 'Ragani of Ivanna City" because it sounds better than "Ragani who is Barely out of Diapers" since obviously she can't be referred to by her vocation while I can. I am usually called "Ragani the Guardian" or 'Ragani the gnome Guardian' or 'Ragani the theurgist'. Lately I've been called 'Ragani, gnome companion to Kormatin'. My fellow Guardians (who are mostly human) call me 'Sister Ragani' as well as most of the rest of Fumaya's Nonagon. Fumayan highborn humans that were able to stay awake during their etiquette tutelage also call me 'Sister Ragani'. I believe the Swynfaredians call me 'Ragani the gnome' on my wanted posters not realizing how many people that label applies to. I really hope no brainless bounty hunter grabs the wrong Ragani by mistake. Fumaya has four or five gnomish noble families that I am aware of. Collectively these gnome families control 10 baronies, give or take. A lot of these gnome families have a lot of lords and ladies holding landless titles that nevertheless have prestige of their own. Many seneschals, Masters of Coin, Chancellors, and other top advisors to various counts and dukes happen to be gnomes with a family surname. This is the consolation prize given to the so called 'spare heirs" of their families. Fumayan gnome highborn families are less likely to pull rank than human highborn are. Gnomish lords and ladies usually only use their Lord/Lady title and family surname when dealing with highborn humans or their human servants, but they are unlikely to wave their title around other gnomes. There is talk of King Henryk looking to expand the roster of gnome noble families. There are at least two or three gnome families that wield a lot of influence by virtue of having a lot of well-educated men and women. For instance, I believe Beslyfle the matron of the Fumayan Tenders is a cousin to Xalbar the "Master of Clay" are actually first cousins. The king would gain two things if he chooses to ennobling new gnomes. The first thing is he would curry favor and loyalty with new groups of very talented people. Second, he would add some fresh blood to the Fumayan gnomish families so they don't all to marry their cousins. The thing is, Fumayan Highborn gnomes are also less picky about the social class of who they marry, so inbreeding is not really a problem. They intermarry their sons and daughters to the other gnomish noble houses only a little more than half of the time. The rest of the time, they are happy to let commoner gnomes marry into the family and gain their family surname provided the commoner in question is well educated and attractive. I was courted briefly by the son of a Baron years ago. He was not a bad man, but we didn't connect a personal level. Also, I already had one foot in the door towards joining the Fumayan Guardians by that point. Maybe I didn't want to be called 'Lady Ragani Blueduck'. Doesn't roll off the tongue does it? Hypothetically if my brother was being courted by the daughter of a Baron, he would still gain the family surname and be 'Lord Rasdon Blueduck'."-Ragani the gnome GuardianRagani portrait by Eron12 using Hero Forge"Like with Fumayan humans, Fumayan gnomes usually don't have a family name unless they are highborn. Most gnomes are named by their place of birth or by their profession. My parents wanted me to be 'Ragani the merchant', but that never manifested. I believe there are at least five gnomes named 'Ragani' in Fumaya, so 'Ragani of Fumaya' is off the table.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
A few of the more northern gnomes develop secondary airy traits. While these latter gnomes are less common they are disportionately represented in Fumaya's famous Schnocneg Regiment.-Carcelli the Arcane Priestessby Eron12 with Hero ForgeFumayan gnomes are among the best looking gnomes in all of Scarterra. Our earthy blood make us strong and hardy without being too tall and gangly. All the generations living near the lakes have givemn our people just enough watery traits to smooth our rough edges and give most of us soft gently flowing hair.
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Diverged ethnicities
Encompassed species
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