Gnomes

  Gnomes are a race of people native to Essaria. At some point in time, gnome society split into dozens of smaller enclaves across Allethra. Some of these enclaves retreated to unpopulated corners of the continent, content to live away from "big folk," while others embraced life among the much more numerous humans.   It is possible that gnomes are from another Iterum or world, and were brought here by the Pliscians in ages long past. They have a natural need for magic, and their bodies subtly absorb magic from other Iterums or from leylines of The Legacy, the artificial web of magic across Essaria. The longer they remain in one place, the less magic they are able to absorb. This means that gnomes either have to find a powerful source of magic such that they can settle down, or else they wander the world in search of new leylines.   As a result, gnomes have evolved to be either incredibly curious and adventure-seeking in the case of nomadic gnomes, or reclusive and shy in the case of sedentary gnomes.