Gnomish History

Gnomish history begins with the race of svirfneblin, the subterranean forebears of the surface gnomish race, which emerged in the early Mesolithic Period. Whatever the ultimate origin of the svirf, their incursions to the surface, together with the effect of sunlight upon their offspring over a period estimated at two thousand years, appear to have produced adaptations that resulted in a keener, though smaller, offshoot. Their first surface habitations arose in the region of the Kjolen mountains, within present-day Finnemar in Ulthua. Encounters between these small communities and the winter elves of Ulthua were friendly and mutually beneficial, as the "gnomes" — no longer identifying themselves with their subterranean svirf ancestors — passed on knowledge of mining and the smelting of mithril to the elves, while receiving in kind a surpassing knowledge of woodcraft, sleds, animal husbandry and an understanding of the fundamental principles of magic.

Circa 10,000 years ago, during the mid-to-late Mesolithic, gnomish populations increased as they began to migrate south into the mountainous ranges of Scandinavia, particularly the Dovrefjell, where they established villages along the higher slopes. Exposure to sunlight, together with a change in diet, brought rapid changes to their physiology, and they became slighter in build and less rough-hewn in appearance. Gnomish habitations arose around the mouths of the Vistula, Nemunas, Daugava and Bug rivers, supported by frozen routes across the Baltic Sea which, though safe for them, remained dangerous to larger folk and permitted constant communication throughout the year. Already well established thousands of years before the coming of the Balt peoples, gnomes built small boats and explored into the interior, leading to the founding of outposts far from the sea and, in turn, to trade as early as 6,000 years before the time of Christ.

Associations with human cultures that the gnomes described as "Maglemosian" again brought about a cultural exchange that influenced both peoples. Adopting clan and tribal associations, the gnomes also experimented with the human practice of organised aggression, particularly against goblins and hobgoblins, as these scattered peoples were encountered in lands stretching from the Tatra Mountains to the Volga basin. From this emerged a pre-Vepsian culture, which in turn inspired gnomish migrations into goblinish lands, south into the Central Highlands of the Sarmatic Plain (Scythian lands) and as far east as the Zhiguli Mountains. Much of this expansion also encouraged a search for natural placer deposits, which became important to gnomish art and religious belief. Despite this wide dispersal, gnomish culture remained remarkably homogeneous in character, suggesting that gnomes are, by nature, a less individualistic people than humans.

Conflict with the Gunda-Gaa culture of the north, a gnollish people, prevented the gnomes from occupying lands beyond the Volga. Nonetheless, with trade routes extending for thousands of miles, a relative alikeness in gnomish perspectives across these distances, and a rapid growth in population, an amalgamation of disparate gnomish centres became inevitable by the Chalcolithic period — the result being the Vepsian Culture.