Gnomes

Dubbed “the people from below,” gnomes are short humanoids of keen intellect. Scholars often comment upon the similarities between gnomes and dwarves. But where dwarves are dour, gnomes are cheerful; where dwarfs keep to their own kind, gnomes embrace life in all its forms; and where dwarves painstakingly keep tradition alive, gnomes are inventive and forward-thinking. Their underground realms are of complex construction, with storied halls filled with laughter and song.

Though not as innately magical as the elves, gnomes share a strong understanding of Fai magic, which they call “the spark in the dark.” Almost anything a gnome can imagine, they can build through a combination of Dreamworking and focused concentration, and thus they are sought after across Valerna. The godao (gold gnomes) are unsurpassed engineers, whose war machines and alchemical weapons are the pride of Allaria; the iko’ob (jade gnomes) are master architects, whose ancestors built the great Altanesi cities; and the mysterious ikini (bone gnomes) are physicians of great renown.