Gulshome

Probably the only nation in the Realms that will never be conquered, but instead fall apart with its citizens becoming bored and moving somewhere else. This is because it is a nation of gnomes, who have been described as having a long-term memory and patience of a goldfish. Most human mapmakers call the land Gulshome; however, the gnomes have called it “Gul-land”, “The Big Gul”, “Silver-n-Gul”, “Clarksville”, and even “Gul stole my biscuit”.

After the cataclysm that nearly destroyed the world, most of the gnomes who were at the center of the event were forever changed by the magical energies that spewed from the earth. Their bodies twisted into awkward shapes and their skin grew the healthy shade of fresh bark. However, that was nothing compared to the changes it wrought upon their minds.

For years the gnomes wandered about the land trying to discover the home that they lost - and barely remembered. Everywhere they went the people were happy to see them arrive, since they bring good luck, but just as happy to see them leave, since they cause bad luck. Living the life of a nomad became ingrained into their newly forming consciousness, such that the idea of having a permanent home seems rather new.

It was during the attack by the demon Azgrel upon Celinus. He had placed several large focuses crystals made from Truesilver around Dakar in an effort to drain the area of its magic. He then used this magic to power his flying citadel, where he initiated all of his conquests of the surrounding land. However, a group of mercenary adventures found one of the crystals and discovered its use.

The leader of this group was a gnome named Gul. He formed the plan of using his arm, which had been transformed into magesilver, to follow the new flow of magic to the receiving crystal. Just outside of the Celinus walls they found the citadel. In the attack, the gnome’s luck threw probability out the window, causing the citadel to crash on the outskirts of the city.

In grateful recognition to saving his kingdom, King Reiner IV ennobled each of the members Phoenix Force granting them land and other gifts. To Gul he saved the best - a small area of land within the Kingdom that would become a nation for the gnomes. As the word spread throughout the word it brought a chill of fear from leaders as the first gnomes began their trek to their new homeland.

Located in the lower foothills of the Iron Mountains, bordering upon the most western reaches of the Kingdom of Dakar it is quite possibly the most barren and out of the way area in the Western Realms. No major trading routes pass by and the nearest pass through the Iron Mountains is several days walk east. It was here that the King Reiner IV of Dakar granted land for a gnomish nation, after a brave gnome named Gul saved his life.

This is the first nation of gnomes to ever exist on Miranda and gnomes everywhere soon began flocking to it to discover what the experience is like. Before this, the gnomes have traveled throughout the Realms in brightly colored wagons — finding some places happy to see them arrive, while others are just as happy to see them leave.

Like their wagons and social interactions, the gnomes that inhabit Gulshome have made the land as chaotic as their nature. A place of freak weather patterns and the appearance of nearly impossible occurrences make this a dangerous place to visit. However, to the gnomes this is home.

Most of the human nations respect Gul as the ruler of Gulshome; however, the gnomes respect anyone that sits upon the throne. They are attempting to mimic the other nations by dividing themselves into two confusing classes. The smaller class gets lots of things and rules the much larger class. Then about every couple of weeks they declare a rebellion and many gnomes switch sides. No gnome has ever sat upon the throne for more than a few weeks before turning into a rebel - yes, the king or queen often rebels against themselves.

Foreign Relations

Kingdom of Dakar

Main Article: Kingdom of Dakar

It was a Dakarian king that first granted the gnomes their own home, so most of them are very excited about Dakar. Still, it is his daughter Aurora I that rose to the throne and she seems to be chilling to the idea of a gnomish homeland within her borders. However, since Gul is a noble of the Realms and friend of her father King Reiner IV there is little she can do in the matter. Most of the gnomes accept this as a lifelong friendship and take every opportunity to visit eastern Dakar.

Ellendar

Main Article: Ellendar

The gnomes love traveling through Ellendar as the elves has a large collection of very old things. To improve things, Ellendar is one of the only lands that are genuinely happy to see the gnomes arrive. The gnomes get to conduct a great deal of trade from just out the backs of their wagons and nobody says anything, unlike the humans that always want a part of their money to sell items. Probably the largest population of gnomes outside of Gulshome in one places live in either Chrysalis or Ellendar.

Evening Song

Main Article: Evening Song

The jundari have little patience for the gnomes of Gulshome, especially now that they are practically neighbors. One adventurous gnome deciding to purchase some of their larger bells and chimes compounded this. The fact that they were not for sale didn't seem to hamper his desire to purchase them. The gnomes have no trouble living in the highest peaks, and often travel up on foot to visit their northern neighbors.

Stoneheart

Main Article: Stoneheart Hold

The gnomes feel quite a bit of apprehension around the dwarves. The fact that they live so deep underground simply baffles the gnomes - while would anyone live in such an oppressive world. However, the gnomes love all of the things that the dwarves make, and the dwarves seem to like much of the junk that the gnomes seem to find everywhere. In spite of this mutual trading, the dwarves still prefer to keep the gnomes are arm’s length.

Military

Gulshome has no organized military, but given the overwhelming magical nature of gnomes in general attacking even a small gathering can be dangerous. Still, the gnomes do have a collection of gnomes that love to run around calling themselves the Gnomish Front of Gul or the Gulshome Gnomish Front (splitters!).

Gulshome’s economy is built upon the idea that everything is for sale. Since the owners don't always want to sell something, it is up to the buyer to set the price. It must be a fair price and paid in full before the gnome can “buy” the item. Gulshome has become a large collection of things the gnomes found interesting over the years and brought back home for safekeeping.

Outsiders that understand the culture can follow the same economic rules, although few know the exact rules of trading well enough to make a living in their markets. However, many well-monied people have traveled a great distance to shop in their markets. For someone willing to undergo the lunacy of its layout - some rare and very expensive artifacts can be traded for common silver.

Gulshome is comprised entirely of gnomes, as no other race would step within the borders of a nation of gnomes. Their effect upon the natural flow of the world is compounded a hundred-fold within their own nation. Some people visit for a short period of time, but nobody has dared stay there for too long.

Religion

The gnomes have very little need for gods or goddess; after all, what have they done for the gnomes lately. However, most gnomes seem intensely curious about the ritual of worshiping someone you cannot see or hear except during times of deep trances or excessive drug usage - so they often spend days around temples just waiting to see if something will happen. While most of the gnomes of Gulshome believe that the deities do exist, since they cannot remember seeing them this has opened the floor to a raucous debate.

Magic

A gnome is extremely well suited to studying the practice of magic or practicing the study of magic. While most of them are slightly insane, they are actually quite intelligent and have a natural curious knack for changing things. This ability is a natural off-shoot of their original nature before The Cataclysm changed the world. Some gnomes try to learn “elvish magic”, but it rarely works out well for them or those around them.

This natural skill with magic means and seemingly lack of self-preservation makes most magic a very dangerous thing to use near Gulshome. However, the sites one can see when they visit is worth every moment. The gnomes of this land are extremely creative about using their own abilities to create a large (and constantly changing) Wonder of the World.

The gnomes have imported their gypsy culture directly into their new nation. They travel about the land until they get bored with their new home, then they leave the nation again to see the world for the first time. Since most gnomes have a very short attention span to something that does not directly involve them when they finally tire of staying home - the world has changed quite a bit.

Since a gnome will mate for life, Gulshome typically has a marriage ceremony at least once a day. These are boisterous affairs that can last several days. In the end the happy couple are presented with their own wagon and several large dowry gifts from both of their parents. They are then expected to seek out their own gypsy group to join and raise their own children. This wide intermingling mean that most gnomes are somewhat related to all other gnomes.

The gnomes have started several small towns and cities, but have never finished any of them. Most have been stopped until a proper name, building permit, or layout could be determined. Therefore, while there are a few half-finished areas, only one has been finished enough for others to live within their walls.

Capitol City

Made from wood, stone, grass, trees, and anything else someone found - this is the only city within their borders that deserves the name. While it's a warren of cutbacks, dead-ends, and radical changes in building structure it is actually large enough to house several hundreds gnomes. It won’t be officially finished until the city name committee can decide on a proper name and the city planning committee decides on who is on the committee.

For those of above average constitution and foolhardy bravery the market, assuming you can find it, is one of the best in the Realms. The gnomes are consummate travels and often hundreds of things that look interesting enough to pick up. While they would never steal, they typically decide on what the fair price is and then leave than amount with the vendor when they “buy” the item.

The Great Library

Possibly the largest collection of books every stacked under one roof. However, that is the only form of structure to this way of storing book. Each book is put into a stack where the giver feels the book belongs. Huge stacks of books reaching six to eight feet high, but none of them are just lying on the floor. The gnomes may seem rather chaotic and insane, but they appreciate a good book and are rarely messy.

It would take a librarian several lifetimes to separate out the books and build a system for storing the books in some semblance of order. This is made all the worse by the fact that quite a few of the books are from languages long dead - if it was ever spoken upon this world.