Earliest existence: 15,400 BR
The Gnomes tumbled into the world around 15,400 BR, a people already humming with a profound curiosity and a deep love for the secrets held by the very stone. They emerged not by choice but by exposure to the same vast celestial pulse that had empowered the Dwarves. Yet their spirit sought not to conquer the mountains but to find a secret sanctuary within them. They found it beneath The Mewyn Hills, a cavern system so vast it felt like the earth’s own lung. It was lit by a shocking profusion of phosphorescent fungi glowing softly in every color. This magnificent new home they named Phospore, after the ethereal glimmer and the spores that would define their lives. Early Gnomish history was a quiet, steady climb. Guided by elders like Amanita the Root-wise they learned the language of the bio-luminescent mushrooms, cultivating them into homes and communal halls that pulsed with a soft light. Around 15,000 BR they raised the statue of Terragor, a stony promise of protection for their home, and they hollowed out The Prismatic Cavern, a sacred space for all to gather and simply contemplate the glowing beauty.
For millennia Gnomish society grew on the twin pillars of shared life and relentless invention. Their famously playful spirit pushed them to send teams to map every shadow of the vast underground. These explorers discovered the Mycelietum, a sprawling forest of giant fungi that shone like distant stars, which became an ecosystem the Gnomes fiercely protected like a national park. As their collective wisdom deepened they began the monumental construction of the Gnomencodex, an immense repository carved into the living rock, intended to hold every piece of knowledge they ever discovered. This era was intensely focused inward. They perfected mechanical skills creating ingenious devices for daily life, from water purifiers run by kinetic energy to elaborate pulley systems for transport. Still the more adventurous among them felt the pull of the surface world, venturing out in secret only to return and pour their findings back into the Gnomencodex.
The enormous burst of astral power known as The Stellar Rupture washed over the planet, infusing every particle of air with raw magic. The Gnomes with their natural link to both the mechanical and the mystical were perfectly poised to seize this opportunity. The event supercharged their natural magical talents and galvanized their already inventive minds, initiating a golden age of magical engineering. Scholars and inventors worked at a fever pitch expanding the Gnomencodex exponentially to keep pace with the rush of new discoveries.
The year 629 AR marked the turning point when an inventor named Kazimir Voltov achieved the impossible. He unveiled the first working Astral Engine a marvel that could capture and safely store the raw, limitless magical energy of the aether. This single invention revolutionized everything. It powered a new breed of device that blurred the line between machine and magic, creating sophisticated contraptions that needed no fuel but the air itself.
For a thousand years Gnomish society flourished in ways no surface kingdom ever could. Their explorations of the world above became more frequent, small hidden outposts established for continuous study. Their creations were no longer just functional but exquisite. Artisan Gnomes like Tanglewire Flutterspark began using the stored aetheric power to magically shape the internal waterfalls and streams of Phospore, turning them into living works of art that danced to an unheard melody. By 1,500 AR the city was connected by a web of magically sustained tunnels and bridges allowing seamless travel. They developed incredible advanced farming techniques using the glowing fungal spores to sustain massive, bountiful gardens within the open courtyards of the city.
The Gnomes of Phospore are today a fiercely vibrant and technologically advanced people. Their city is a concentric marvel of residential and administrative rings radiating from a spectacular central plaza. The Gnomencodex has become a vast breathing library holding millennia of knowledge cross-referenced and meticulously organized. Their famously curious and playful spirit has only intensified now expressed through the creation of fantastical magical automatons and mind-bending illusions. While they remain dedicated to their hidden life, sending out only the occasional scholar or adventurer, they continue to watch the surface world with unblinking curiosity, keeping the secret of their magnificent light-filled home safe for now.
For a more complete history to present day, see Gnomonor
