Gnome

## Beginnings

Not much is known about the origins of the Gnomish people other than the fact that they most certainly didn't evolve on Miscalis. Appearing suddenly several thousands of years ago these technologically inclined people quickly created a foothold in a now unknown part of the world before migrating, on-mass, to the Labyrinth City which they now inhabit for some unknown reason.

Mythology of the Gnomes, their religious documents, assert that the Gnomes themselves are actually travelers from the stars and are not native to the planet. According to their scripture they once had a vast Empire that spanned the entire galaxy and, because of some unnamed disaster, they lost the ability to traverse the vast emptiness of space. Faced with a hostile world that they weren't native to the Gnomish people kept a large amount of their technological prowess, only losing portions of it over the years, leaving them the most advanced race on Miscalis by a large margin.

## Inquisitive Nature

Curious to a fault by nature this trait is further strengthened by their cultural emphasis on inquisitiveness and science. The Gnomish culture is heavily centered around the myth of a lost civilization. As a result, they are extremely drawn to learning new things. As a general rule a Gnome will set aside nearly all other responsibilities in pursuit of their interests. This has made their politics extremely fluid as very few Gnomes are actually willing to serve in a political office for a long period of time. Conventional belief would tell you that this would be extremely chaotic and lead to anarchy, but it works surprisingly well with most officials not bothering to try to hide improprieties since that would lead to disqualification which would then free said officials up to pursue their own goals. This has led to a society where the only individuals that become long term politicians are also the best individuals for the job and nearly entirely scandal-free. This long-standing cultural phenomenon has led to a more Laise Faire attitude towards policy making and a general disinterest in political maneuvering for most Gnomes.

## Biology & Warfare

Gnomes are one of the only sentient races on Miscalis that is incapable of interbreeding with the other sentient races. While most races can have children with each other (some with more difficulty than others) it's only Gnomes that are fully confined to their own race. Speculation on this has led many biologists outside of the Gnomish community to agree with the Gnomish myths of otherworldly origins.

Small, with pointy ears reminiscent of Elvish heritage, the Gnomes are one of the smallest of the sentient races. Standing at, on average, 2-3 feet tall, the Gnomish people are utterly reliant on their technological prowess for most physical activities. Extremely agile, despite their lack of strength, they are well suited to roguish combat rather than direct confrontations. Despite this, they've never been successfully attacked in all their known history, with examples of well-known conflicts ending with full routs of the enemy. It is unknown how exactly they've continued to fend off intruders and such information is highly guarded within the Gnomish Council.

## Government

Gnomes, like several races, have banded together to form a singular government. Unlike other races however, there is no large group of Gnomes outside of the Gnomish Council of the Labyrinth. Unlike most other races they have formed, and continue to form, a government with no real opposition.

Due to the transitory nature of most of the politicians of the Gnomish people they've ended up with what is essentially a democratically elected Council. Forming a group, of a size that varies throughout history, out of equals, the Gnomish Council dictates all laws for the Gnomish people, each only serving as long as both they, and the public, allow. Because of the reluctance of Gnomes to even participate in political office no official term limits have ever been imposed with the general thought being to let someone that actually cared serve as long as they wanted to. While this has been mostly successful throughout history, it has caused issues in the past when someone refused to leave when the public wanted them to. This has only happened a handful of times though and hasn't been egregious enough to warrant legislative action.

Ironically, the last Gnome to do this did so on a dare and only wanted to show that they could do almost anything and nobody would care enough to actually stop him. He was mostly correct.