League of Fyrsturr i Riddari

*The gnomish League of Fyrsturr i Riddari is a Thalassocracy or a maritime power made up of several City States all located on an subarctic volcanic archipelago. They are ruled by the Admiralty Board made up of three high admirals; The Admiral of the Port(s), The Admiral of the Fleet(s) and the most respected Grand Azimuth.*

For ages the Storm Dragon Fengbao, the Master of Ravens, Keeper of Storms and First Disciple of the Lady of the Blessed Winds and Master of the Temple of the Sky kept a Stormwall up that was so powerful, it all but separated the lands of Clayth from the West Lands of Kavaari. This storm was enhanced by the power of Nexal Naltecona and the Mantle of Storms. Fueled by the Dragons will, Fengbao would often fly within it and sink and ship's captain foolish enough to venture forth. Fengbao made it nearly impossible for any to sail between the lands. With his death, there ia a new Keeper of Storms and Kormak, has not replaced the Stormwall. Several decades of clear sailing have allowed the gnomes of the League to expand into new markets, ever hungry for profits. Only the Gif have rivaled them for trade in the Central Lands of Clayth. The Gnomes have proven to be shrewd in their dealings and amassed a great trade fleet despite Red Sails and Orc Reevers heavy with ships on the sea.

### History

Much of the history of the gnomes has been lost over the centuries.
Current Gnomes learn about their people in the form of three important
works called the Sagas of the Skulds. The Sagas of Jax Naeyar, Kjaran
von Jhokell and Javik vas Reik.

The Saga of Jax Naeyar speaks about the original homeland of the
Gnomes which was located on an island continent in the southern
hemisphere of the world. At the height of the Gnomish Kingdom a powerful
 army called the Ravagers of Gith invaded and quickly conquered the
neighboring nations of the Emerald Kingdom. The gnomes mobilized an
incredible fighting force to stop the Ravagers of Gith and had lots of
early success against these human-esque invaders. After suffering a
major defeat at the Battle of Sapphire Peak, the Ravagers turned to
their Lich Queen Vlaakith, who fractured her sanity to imbue the
Githyanki with powers of the mind and will. Unable to withstand the
might of a psionic legion, the gnomes suffered defeat after defeat. The
Ravagers killed all gnomes captured to include women and children,
offering no quarter to the entire race. With only a small fraction of
their population left, the gnomes fled their ancestral home in a single
naval fleet. In order to slow the ravagers down, many gnomes were left
behind to continue fighting until all were slain.

The Saga of Kjaran von Jhokell is about the 1300 year migration
and the transformation of Gnomish society. It speaks in detail about the
 new naming convention, the gnomes becoming and embracing a strong
maritime tradition and the rise of ship captains as leaders of the
society. It speaks about why the gnomes spent so long looking for a new
homeland and how each nation of the world views the gnomes. (hint: not
very well). The gnome trials and what almost was the complete collapse
of the race and society.

The Saga of Javik vas Reik Speaks about the the lowest point of
the migration and the rise of Grand Admiral Hafnari vas Styrivaten. The
completion of the world map. (gnomes literally mapped the world during
the migration to include trade winds and currents) and most importantly
the founding of the first colonies, which are now the gnomes new home
located in and around a series of volcanoes. The latter half of the
Third Saga goes into details of the formation of the new government and
the laws governing modern gnomish society.

### Society

Modern gnomish society gathers it tradition from years
living on the fleet with little to no resources. Always close to
disaster and few in number, gnomes have learned to be useful to the
fleet and try to contribute. Because orders on a ship are often life and
 death, ship captains are followed with near fanatical precision. Those
who question orders or disagree with the captain often find themselves
seeking employment on another ship, if another captain or guild doesn’t
take the person in, then being left behind at any random port or in
serious cases, tried for treason and made to walk the plank.

The League to is broken up into two major groups, Naval and
 Land bound. The League's Navy is Broken into the Defense Fleet and the
Merchant Fleet. Each with a Captain that is the master of their ship who
 also reports to the Admiral of each fleet. Each city has a Port Master
who functions very much like a ship captain and is afforded all the
rights and responsibilities of a Naval Officer. For all intents and
purposes,the Port Master is treated no different than a ship captain.
Next we have guilds. There are many guilds within the gnomish society
however, only a two are recognized with any authority or power. These
are the Seinayaar School (the magic school of illusion) and the Njosnari
 Agency (intelligence network) whose heads are treated with the rank of
captain.

Gnomes in the past few decades have become a society that
functions on trade. The Merchant Fleet is the basis for the whole
economy. Gnomish traders only go to port cities or towns, they do not go
 overland as they do not want to leave their ships. Indeed, all Gnomish
cities are port/trade cities. A gnomish captain has access to the
carefully guarded secret of the world map and are known to travel great
distances in short times to make some coin.

Gnomes guard their nation with zealous vigor. Indeed they
have dedicated an entire fleet to protecting a handful of small islands
and are known to sink ships that wander into their protected waters
without permission. They have even created a special weapons rail for
heavy weapons. Heavy weapons are mounted on a special rail that runs
around the ship. It uses a series of locking pins to allow the sailors
to move the weapons to a new firing positions during intense maneuvers. A
 Gnomish Captain can always bring maximum firepower to bear on the
enemy. Coupled with the smaller more maneuverability of gnomish ships,
this makes for a formidable adversary on the seas.

#### Naming

Gnomish names use a word to show which part
 of society they belong to. A Gnomish name is the Birth name
/apostrophe/ family name, <societal group> duty station. I.E.
Jax’Bjornsen tasi Reykjavik would be Jax Bjornsen the illusionist of the
 Reykjavik.

* **Tasi :** Illusionist

* **Vas :** Defense Fleet Sailor/Marine

* **Von :** Merchant Fleet Sailor

* **Naar :** Port City fleet support personnel

* **Nari :** Intelligence Network Agent

* **Vin :** ‘Child of’ Before a gnome enters adulthood they are all vins.

* **Raan :** Port City non-fleet support, Raan is often

added to the front or back of guild names I.E. Rochraan for miners, Roch
 being the miners guild name.’

### Cities

**Mydralfalinn** (Capital) - Mydralfalinn translates into gnomish as the ‘hidden magic’. Indeed the city is magical in nature and no other has lain eyes on the famed city of gnomes. Located inside the largest volcano in the world Mt. Eyjaldfjall stand 15,000 feet above sea level and has a base of 22, 000 feet below the water. What is not known and a carefully guarded secret is the volcano is not only completely inactive but also has been hollowed out and has a freshwater waterfall that spills into a lake located inside the volcano. It is not known to the gnomes who terra formed this volcano but they moved settled inside and built their capital. Which is amazingly built with multi-levels and incorporates the waterfall and the deepwater lake. It was crafted with vision and care as it is the home in which the gnomes will rebuild their people. The Seinayaar School maintains a veil on the volcano to make it appear active and hides the mile wide port mouth into the volcano proper. Mydralfalinn is the seat of power of the League of Fyrsturr i Riddari and also house the Headquaters for the Njosnari Agency.

**Port City of Aykurari :** The major and largest port city, this is where the bulk of the league's business is conducted. Located on the Main Island in the shadow of Mt. Eyjaldfjall, this deepwater port is seen as the capital to the outside world.

**Port City of Seltjayjar :** Major Deepwater Port, home to the Seinayaar School. Seltjayjar is known for it’s black sand beaches. Seltjayjar sand is highly coveted for its rich mineral content and unique look.  It’s a commonly traded item by gnomish captains.

**Port City of Fromskjuker :** Smaller port surrounded by jungle and lush fauna. Main provider of fresh meat, various materials. (not fish).

**Port City of Vikfjordur:** Houses the main shipyard and forests used in the ships.

#### Notable Persons

***The Admiral of the Port:** Perlin’Dyjandi naar Fyrsturr i Riddari*
***The Admiral of the Fleet:** Husavik’Kirkja vas Fyrsturr i Riddari*

***Grand Azimuth:** Tjorin’Isafjordur raan Fyrsturr i Riddari*

***Master of the Seinayaar School:** Austurvoller’Fjallfoss tasi Seltjayjar tasi Fyrsturr i Riddari*

***Prime Agent of Njosnari Agency:** Harpavi’Olfusa nari Mydralfalinn nari Fyrsturr i Riddari*