Thereby

## History

The region that is now known as **Thereby** has been home to a high concentration of gnomes as long as anyone can remember. It might have been the original homeland of the gnomes prior to them coming under the influence of the Faerie Lords, while others believe at least some of the Faerie Lords predated the gnomes, and were involved in their creation. Either way, it is likely that most, if not all gnomes, can trace their roots back to the region, even if one must go back millennia.

There have been many large scale migrations out of Thereby, usually at the behest of one or more Faerie Lords, which have led to gnomes living in throughout the northwest, Scimitarian, the northern coast, and Zemyland, among other regions. Over the past two millennia, there have also been a series of smaller scale migrations to human ruled nations due to economic reasons, not unlike the hobbits, though on a lesser scale.

Thereby and gnomes living in the northwest have generally been strong supporters of the First Elven Empire and the Western Elven Empire. They aided in the “colonization” of Scimitarian to support the Western Elven Empire, but as Scimitarian gradually fell to Azan and Azanese-allied dwarves, most of the gnomes migrated back to Thereby, along with some friendly dwarf clans and other allies.

## Government

There is no formal government in Thereby. The gnomes, dwarves, hobbits, and other inhabitants generally organized themselves into clans with populations in the low hundreds. There are a few towns and small cities that act as trade hubs, mining hubs, or religious hubs, but most of the population is essentially rural.

The Faerie Lords are the true rulers of Thereby, and most clans are affiliated with at least one. Although the Faerie Lords don’t provide a lot of day to day governance, they have a great deal of moral authority, and they are also who the inhabitants of Thereby turn to in times of trouble.

## Economy

Thereby is surprisingly industrialized despite its rural nature. Although many clans focus on agriculture, a very high percentage dedicate themselves to mining (both metal and jewels), gem cutting, metal forging, and the crafting of mechanical devices.

Goods crafted by gnomes can fetch a high price in foreign lands, but within the Lands Behind the Hedge aren’t seen as too special or valuable. As a result, inhabitants of Hereby profit well from trading between Thereby and human nations.

## Foreign Relations

### **Elfwood, Windwillow, Hereby, Whereby, Baalps, Evergreen Pastures**

These regions are all traditionally allies of Thereby, so relations are strong, though grudges between certain Faerie Lords sometimes leads to violence between certain factions within each of these nations, particularly the gibberlings beneath the Baalps and certain other unseelie and wilder fey. The gnomes found in these regions are generally allies of Thereby.

### **Gvilderstaaten and Isle of Wizards**

There are a few gnomes living in the human lands of the northwest, mostly living in these two nations. Generally gnomes aren’t as interest in human style mercantilism as certain hobbits, and often rely on hobbits for outside trade, but a few gnome merchant clans have formed with holdings both within and outside the Lands Behind The Hedge.

### **Sniden, Zapalovach, Land of Fake Humans**

There are some gnomes living in these lands, but they are often seen as the descendants of exiles or unseelie fey, so don’t have strong ties with Thereby.

### **Forest of the Sunflowers**

The inhabitants of Thereby once enjoyed decent relations with the strange subrace of dryad that lives in these lands, but some clans of gnomes and dwarves allied themselves with the human nations that sought to despoil this region. Unwilling to risk civil war, many other gnome clans kept out of the conflict, and as a result, gnomes and dwarves are not looked fondly upon by the few remaining sunflower dryads.

### **Dominion of the Bog-Witch**

The inhabitants of the Bog, particularly agents of Mutaa, sometimes stir up trouble for the inhabitants of Thereby.

### **Mastodon Isles**

Occasionally wealthy gnomes and dwarves will sometimes visit the Mastodon Isles.

## Geography

Much of Thereby is an idyllic landscape of gently rolling hills, meadows, and small forests. The dwarves and hobbits have some surface farms and communities, but the gnomes do most of their agriculture underground, near their communities and mines.

As the dominant race lives mostly underground, Thereby appears even more sparsely populated (by Azanese human standards) than it actually is. However, locals know that more than a few hills conceal a maze of tunnels, mines, homesteads, and hidden entrances, all of which are designed with the gnomes three foot stature in mind (or sometimes the slightly larger hobbits and dwarves). Although not as grandiose as certain dwarven or elven cities, the underground villages of the gnomes do (generally) feature beautiful carvings of stone or wood in every support beam, fireplace mantle, or door frame.

## Demographics

### **Gnomes**

The most common race in Thereby. Clans tend to specialize in different fields like agriculture, mining, or crafting, but have a reputation for invention and quality regardless of what they do. Some human scholars divide gnomes into different races based on their preferred environment (garden gnomes, forest gnomes, swamp gnomes, etc.), but these distinctions often borderline meaningless except on occasions where Faerie Lords and similar beings have tampered with the biology of the gnome in question (or his/her ancestors).

### **Hobbits**

Hobbits and gnomes get along fairly well and often live nearby one another, with hobbit villages providing trading services and surface grown food in return for gems and other crafted goods.

### **Dwarves**

Although some dwarves have long lived in the region, others arrived in several large migrations as dwarven clans affiliated with the fey lost their holdings elsewhere, particularly in Scimitarian. Dwarves in Thereby have much in common with the gnomes, but are more willing to live on the surface, so they also sometimes fill a similar niche to hobbits.

### **Other Fey and Fey-Associated Races**

Brownies can be found in decent numbers, but are often overlooked due to their small size. Dryads, elves, and she-ep are common along the Hedge border. Some gnome-dwarves, fake humans, goblins, and a few hags can be found in the seedier areas.

### **Humans**

There are some humans in Thereby. Many are merchants, but others are long-term inhabitants with deep roots in the region.

## Religion

Religion is less organized here than in human lands, with more focus on stories and following the example of certain Faerie Lords than a structured religious organization. However, the top tier of Faerie Lords are very powerful, and in addition hold much moral and political authority over their followers. The senior followers of most Faerie Lords are known as druids, and have been granted (or sometimes already had) magical abilities that help them promote the tenets of their particular Faerie Lord.

* **Fendrick Boldbodin** – The Faerie Lord with the most influence over the gnomes (and also some dwarves and a few hobbits), he is a peaceful sort, more interested in crafting and innovation than warfare. However, his concern for the environment led him to be a strong supporter of the First Elven Empire and the Western Elven Empire at times.
* **Stoutheart** – Another popular option. This giant badger (or bear) is popular with miners and militias of several races in the Lands Behind the Hedge due to his emphasis on hard work and community defense.
* **Digger** – A fairly popular, but controversial option. The Digger (who often appears as a gnome, dwarf, giant mole, or something in between) is known for his greed and fanatical determination to find more shinies. Popular with gnomes, dwarves, hybrids between the two, as well as some fake humans and goblins.
* **Arbul Applebloom** – Mostly followed by hobbit farmers.
* **Nikkla** – This gnome-like Faerie Lord is the patron of hermits, scholars, and peaceful loners of several races.
* **Crimisa** – Along with a few others, Crimisa has a decent following among the elves, dryads, and gnomes that patrol the Hedge. Particularly along the northern border they are often willing to turn a blind eye to unseelie fey as long as they help keep troublemakers out of Thereby.
* **Drumphry** – This scholarly Faerie Lord has some followers among the gnomes, dwarves, and hobbits.
* **Jeberjebus and Adonis** – Usually seen as strange foreigners despite being Faerie Lords. Almost never followed by full clans, but do attract small followings of free-thinkers and radicals.
* **Nichtmair and Pumpkin Jack** – These unseelie Faerie Lords are grudgingly tolerated due to their past defence of the region from humans.
* **Long John Crustysocks and the Snatcher** – These wilder Faerie Lords sometimes pass through Thereby on their nomadic journeys of trouble-making. Their followers are mostly criminals.
* **The Bog-Witch and Mutaa** – Although seen as borderline demon worship, a few scattered and hidden cults to Mutaa operate in Thereby.
* **Demon worship** - Aside from the Faerie Lords, there is also some demon worship in Thereby, where the secretive nature of many of its inhabitants makes it easier to hide cults.
* **Glutton God** – Hobbit followers of the Glutton God find it easier to operate in Thereby than in Hereby. They are also sometimes joined by followers of other races, particularly dwarves.
* **Gogotha** – Something about Gogotha appeals to the more reckless nature of many fey, particularly those who were modified by unseelie fey in the past. Small cults of Gogotha are scattered about, including the so-called “Dungeon of Evil” where Gogothan gnomes conquered a remote hobbit burrow near the border with the Fake Humans and have been raiding both sides of the border ever since.

Most humans in the area are merchants following the Azanese Faith, but most long term inhabitants follow Faerie Lords, with a few trouble-makers following the unseelie or wilder Faerie Lords, particularly near the northern border.

## Military

Hobbits and gnomes are too small to fight against humans in conventional warfare, but both can be surprisingly skilled at guerrilla warfare. Gnomes tend to be found of using the mazes of tunnels and hidden exits around their territories to launch ambushes with crossbows and magic. Gnomes affiliated with the more violent Faerie Lords also have a penchant for using knives, hatchets, and picks against foes who are sleeping or trapped.

A peculiar mount of choice for certain gnomish scouts is the **Thereby Chicken**, an ill-tempered flightless that towers nearly six feet tall.

Dwarves are naturally much tougher fighters than the hobbits or gnomes, but in Thereby, even they prefer ambushes and light infantry tactics to the heavy infantry tactics they are famous for in other areas. This is mostly due to the cultural divide between the wilder fey-affiliated dwarves and the discipline of the Azanese and Staligurd dwarves.

Luckily it has been a long time since Thereby has faced a large scale invasion, but raids by the gibberlings, followers of the Bog-Witch, the man-ogres, and the fake humans are not unheard of, nor is banditry within Thereby, usually by the followers of unseelie or wilder Faerie Lords, or demon cults.