Gnor

Gnomes

The Gnor are a more interesting race than most people give them credit for. They are not plump little bearded men in red hats that smoke pipes from the tops of toadstools. Similar to the Eylfāe, the Gnor are a spirit race, bound to the Skein around them. Unlike the Eylfāe, the Gnor are equally bound to the land and are continually shaped and changed by their environment. Gnor do not recognize the different sub-races among themselves, referring to all of them as Gnor. Astute observers of the Gnor have noticed that the varying sub-races are never seen in the company of one another.

Others have identified three sub-races among the Gnor:

The Gnor are believed to be children of Gnomgnoram, having originally emerged from the Crèche of Noguzgromr. The Dwürden that triggered this awakening, soon after abandoned the continent of Tassèrus to the Gnor. The relationship between the two races has perplexed scholars ever since. To this day, the two races cannot be found living in the same area in any significant numbers. Tassèrus and Ildûn are two examples of places where Gnor reside, but populations of Dwürden have not been seen for ages.

Physiology

Gnor are smallish anthropoids that stand no higher than a Yrūn’s waist. They are typically hunched and have longer arms and legs than are proportional to the Yrūn standard. Most unsettling about the Gnor appearance are their bulbous fused eyelids and independent eye movement, which has been compared to chameleons. Gnor have very good eyesight through what appear to be pinhole openings in their rounded eyes. In darkness, their eye-holes give off pinpoints of reflective green light. They have prodigious teeth which can rarely be covered by their lips. Gnor do not have noses, smelling instead through a a series of polyps that hang from the upper palate. Their “ears” are half-globes which are sometimes mistaken for a third and fourth eye. These “ears” however are not sound-receptors, but rather a bundle of cochlear tubes that offer excellent equilibrium. Gnor hearing is received through their hair. Loud noises cause their hair to stand on end. A hairless Gnor is effectively deaf. The details and functions of Gnor anatomy are not well-known outside the race.

In addition to the above anatomical anomalies, the Gnor are a mutable race. They naturally shift from one form to the next depending on the essence of their environment. The shift is physical, magical, and psychological. Gnor are aware of the change that will occur when moving from one place to the next, and for that reason it is rare that they willingly move between regions. The appearance of the individual morphs are detailed on their respective pages.

Another aspect of Gnor physiology which many find odd, is their means of reproduction. Gnor do not enter into monogamous relationships because it would do them no good. In order for a female Gnor to become pregnant, she typically must mate with a number of males. It is not clear whether this is due to rampant infertility among the male population, or a physiologic requirement of multiple “contributions”. Once the female becomes gravid, she will generally find her way to an established birthing crèche. At that location, waiting midwives and caretakers will help the female Gnor express and deposit her egg. These clutches are established in high magic areas and are often quite large. When the infant Gnor hatches, it is returned to its respective community for rearing. All mature female Gnor are able to nurse within days of being exposed to an infant. Patterns and colors on the eggs help to identify which community the infant Gnor belongs to. All newborn Gnor are of the Wild form. Details of tradition vary between birthing crèches depending on the type of Gnor that attend them. Some have been rumored to anoint the eggs with the blood of Immortals to impart a blessing of longevity and health.

Psychology

Gnor have a strong emotional bond to their family circles (rf. Culture). This sense of dependency and responsibility is often extended to non-Gnor friends who have shown qualities that are respected by the Gnor. An established bond of friendship between two persons is of great value to the Gnor. Despite racial disparity, the bond of one Gnor is honored and defended by that Gnor’s family circle. For this reason, such bonds are not made lightly (rf. Culture).

Moving between different environments entail the surrendering of one’s personality to another that is more adept for that environment. Should the Gnor move back to the “original” area, the personality will return, with full memory and recall of all that has transpired in interim. Some Gnor have likened the experience to taking a carriage-seat within their own body and watching life unfold beyond their control. A single Gnor may live multiple lives in this fashion, with personalities that are aware of their other lives, though some “choose” to remain oblivious to the other facets. Gnor often have different names for each of the personalities (and forms).

Culture

Gnor culture is centered around family circles, not family trees. The tree metaphor implies that there are points, usually a union of mother and father, from which children were conceived. Gnor society does not support this idea. Children are raised within Gnor communities because it is usually unclear who the parents were (rf. Physiology).

Family circles can be extended beyond biological ties via bonds of friendship.

In Acèntyra, there is an old tale of a desperately poor Paldàri couple who befriended a Gnor traveler. They welcomed the sick Gnor into their modest home, fed him, clothed him, and tended him until he was healthy enough to finish his journey and make it home. Before leaving the Gnor expressed his deepest thanks and offered them a bond of friendship. The couple thanked him, but thought little of the gesture. Years passed. The man eventually grew ill and died leaving his old wife with no means of supporting herself. When the tax collectors came and she had nothing to offer, the old woman was evicted and her few belongings carted away. Alone and destitute, she found her way along a country road until she found a tree where she intended to sit and die. While waiting for the chill of night to overtake her old bones, a Gnor happened by and listened to her sad tale. When she was finished, he asked her name. The Gnor’s eyes opened-wide and he ran off into the forest. As she began to drift off into what would be her final sleep, the night came alive with a hundred eyes. A handful of Gnor came forward with blankets and warming pots to guide her to the comforts of their community while the others skulked off into the night, bristling with swords and spears. By morning, all wrongs were righted, and the old man’s bones were moved to a sacred glade, reserved for the family circle.

Language

The Gnor do not have a racial language, or at least not one that has survived the Ages. The race typically adopts whatever language is spoken by the surrounding populace.

Magic

The Gnor are a magical race. Their natural morphing to accommodate changing environments is a testament to this fact. Some Gnor are also proficient Weavers and Channelers. Gnor Channelers usually draw power from nature spirits or from the Gnor deity, Gobrūzagel.

One of the most interesting aspects of Gnor meta-physiology is their immunity to Chaos.

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Nomenclature: Gnor Dekàlic: Gnor (race), Gnori (pertaining to), Gnoryn (individual), Gnoryr (people)