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There I was, writing away on Book V, when something popped up that solved a mystery. This should not be spoilerish, more like background material that we just haven’t seen yet. It was clear all along that there were more gnome princedoms than Aldonfulk and Gnarrinfulk, but those were the only ones who had inpinged on the story so far. My attempt to figure out where they were and who they were had foundered. Until today.
Now we knew gnomes had been involved in the creation of the elfane taig that the Lady finally abandoned in Kings of the North. But which gnomes? Did they live nearby? Didn’t know. We knew gnomes had once lived in Blackbone Hill and dropped the rock on magelords chasing Gird’s peasants into the hill, from Surrender None. But which gnomes? And are any gnomes in that part of Fintha now?
The answers are slowly coming to light because of Arcolin’s “adoption” of the gnomes from Pargun and the coming conflicts in Aarenis. At last I’ll be able to populate my personal map with the gnome princedoms (I still don’t have anything but one dwarf realm, and I know there are more. Lots more.) Gnomes generally avoid contact with humans except the gnome traders–gnomes at home are not hospitable for the most part. They draw their line in the turf and expect no one to cross that line. Underground is, from their point of view, their legitimate domain, and depending on the rock, they may extend their realms understone farther than their claim on the surface. So humans may live next door to gnomes (so to speak; it’s more vertical than horizontal) and not even know it.
Gnome princes are generally cooperative with one another, unless one thinks another is ignorant or contemptuous of Law….or is risking gnome welfare as a whole by angering dragons. Not every gnome princedom has a clutch of eggs to guard, but those that do are expected to do the job for which they were “hired.” Gnomes are prolific, and they also have a fairly strong drive to spread the Law (they’ve given up on the hakken, dwarves, as being hopeless where Law is concerned, but they do try to influence humans legal systems, via trade agreements. They consider the Code of Gird, in the north, and the Guild League, in the south, to be their achievements, even though the results are so imperfect (from their viewpoint.)
New gnome princedoms appear when a tribe has saved enough to purchase stoneright (symbolically, if no one appears to own the stone, but also by bargaining with Dragon to guard a clutch, or with gold, “much red gold,” from the dwarves.) Thus, colony by colony, gnome princedoms have spread along both flanks of the Dwarfmounts, and along the east side of the Westmounts. There are gnomes out on the Eastbight and gnomes in the Copper Hills in eastern Aarenis.
I know only a few names so far: Tarkatfulk, on the south side of the Dwarfmounts, probably north of Ambela (but maybe farther east); Varonfulk, of the Eastbight; and Kastinfulk, of the Copper Hills. (I assume these three are going to interact with other characters soon, but maybe not…) Humans generally think gnomes are few in number and not expanding, but that’s because they don’t share the same resources. Gnomes don’t farm in the conventional sense, although they can eat food humans eat, so they don’t seek farmland. The rougher, rockier hills they prefer are not those humans prefer. At present, gnomes are more numerous than dwarves or elves–except for iynisin, the most numerous of the Elders. Yet their ambition is not to conquer the world, but to convert humans to the Law.
Among them, the prince of Aldonfulk would count as a “liberal” in human terms, compared to the princes of Tarkatfulk and Kastinfulk, neither of which would admit a human to audience under any circumstances (or so they think now.)
I also know some more stuff about gnomish anatomy and reproduction, but I don’t think it’s plot-relevant except in explaining why their populations can grow so fast.
Feels good to have Book V moving along. The big hangup now, which I still haven’t solved, is when the plot-river dives over the cliff. I can hear the roar of the waterfall getting nearer and nearer, but where IS it? (The answer is, of course, “Just keep writing. You’ll know when you get there.”)
Comment by Rune Ulset Furberg — March 15, 2012 @ 1:31 am
Another interesting insight from the borders of the Story. Thank you. 🙂
I find the gnomes (as well as, more recently, Dragon) to be more fascinating than the other Elders, which I think is due to their Otherness – elves and dwarves and even iynisin have more that we as humans can identify with (even though there are lots that are different here too, to be sure).
Some questions that just occured to me:
Are there great differences between hakken and kapristi rockmagic? And are there other reasons than their fondness for and dependency on rock that they are often grouped as “rockbrothers” when mentioned by other people? Are they in some sense more closely related to each other (I wouldn’t say genetically, as this is, after all, fantasy – but you probably know what I mean) than the other Elders?
And have you found out yet what the suffix “-fulk” found in all the princedom names could possibly mean? If I were to venture a (very uneducated) guess, I would theorize it means “princedom” og “realm” or something like that, and that the first parts of the names “Aldon”, “Gnarrin”, “Kastin”, “Kaldon” etc. could possibly be the name of the first ruler of that specific princedom.
Comment by Caroline Lundy — March 15, 2012 @ 3:12 am
Another interesting world-building tidbit – thanks! I’m always fascinated by the insight you’ve given us into the writing process.
A question that just occurred to me:
Can rockmagic be used to purify stone imbued with evil in the same way that forge magic can be used on evil-imbued metal?
We saw forge magic used in “Oath” on those captured daggers, and I’ve been wondering about the stone from the old Verrakai keep that Dorrin had torn down.
Given the atrocities that occurred there, could the stone itself still be dangerous, even after the building was torn down?
Comment by SnowGator — March 15, 2012 @ 5:23 am
Maybe the answer to ‘the Big Hangup’ is… Book VI?
/looks innocent
Comment by Jenn — March 15, 2012 @ 7:27 am
I love background info. It always enhances your story.
Side note:
It could be my internet again but I have job, claim, and present in green and they lead to little test enhance window to claim a walmart card, find a job, take a survey.
Comment by elizabeth — March 15, 2012 @ 7:48 am
Rune: Some of those questions will be answered later, but the suffix means “folk of”. The first part of the name will be explained in Book IV.
SnowGator: You ARE an agitator, aren’t you? (GG)
Jenn: Hmmm. It’s not on mine–anyone else having that problem? One writer’s listserv is reporting hacks on WordPress but I’m using only the WordPress blogging software and nothing is hosted with WordPress.
Comment by elizabeth — March 15, 2012 @ 7:55 am
A lot depends on the kind of stone and how the evil came to it. In the case of the Verrakai’s Old Keep, no attempt had been made to imbue the stone with evil, so its evil had not penetrated. The kind of fire Dorrin decreed was purification enough.
Comment by Karen — March 15, 2012 @ 9:54 am
I loved MacDonald’s gnomes — but I never saw their side until you started writing about them.
Now, I’m fascinated by their rigid adherence to “law” — I put that in quotes because, in my experience, “rigid adherence” and “law” don’t mesh well in our world (despite the stolid, secret part of me that says they should).
Please — tell me more!
Comment by Gareth — March 15, 2012 @ 12:31 pm
Many thanks for the new insights…
With all this extra background material I wonder if more story arcs might be hatching – perhaps story arcs are as hard to bring to adulthood as dragons. I know you are writing book V which (we think at least) is the final book in this sequence, but with all this extra material I start to hope that more stories are brewing. Perhaps they just need time to gestate.
I’m thinking that some of the events are so significant that even though you now have an impressive array of PoV characters there are probably stories to be told from other PoV even within the same timeframe. (Thinking how Anne and Todd McCaffrey have told stories within the same time frame but showing how things happened in different places with different characters through multiple stories within the same time span and major events.)
here’s hoping anyway…
Gareth
Comment by Dave Ring — March 15, 2012 @ 3:31 pm
How do gnomes deal with evolving circumstances not addressed by known Law? Is new Law revealed, derived by logic from a set of axioms or created by a legislative process? If new Law is ever created by gnomes, do they have a way to test if it is “right”?
Comment by SnowGator — March 15, 2012 @ 5:14 pm
Seems gnomes would be very handy at the pest control business. Perhaps a kteknik should establish “Orcin” to periodically check for orcs, daskdraudigs, evil spiders, and rogue ancestral skulls. Comes with a 1-year guarantee!
Comment by Eir de Scania — March 16, 2012 @ 1:05 am
Background information is always welcome!
Oh, and gnome anatomy may not be plot worthy, but I hope you can tell us anyway. I’m curious, at least.
Comment by Rune Ulset Furberg — March 16, 2012 @ 1:23 am
Dave:
As far as we know gnomes, I would think it highly unlikely that their Law-creating process does not depend on (all of the) already existing Law in a very rigid and strict sense. I would suggest that both your alternatives are correct – if there is not already sufficient Law to cope with an emerging situation, it is probably amended by a legislative process, but the new law they create must of course adhere what came before, in a very axiomatic sense.
Eir de Scania:
I second that. Plot-worthy or not, we would very much like to hear about gnomish anatomy.
Comment by Sharidann — March 16, 2012 @ 4:35 am
Intersting read. Thanks. 🙂
But the way you are getting more and more background… are you sure 5 books are enough ? Or is there in the back of your mind a whole new set of storiesin the same universe but with different protagonists perhaps ?
Comment by Kathleen — March 16, 2012 @ 6:46 am
ROFLMAF at SnowGator’s comment #10
Comment by Jonathan Schor — March 16, 2012 @ 8:52 am
I too must add my desire for more than five books, although you have to do the work. It is just so interesting, rather like reading the Sherlock Holmes stories – the actual crime is unimportant, we read them for the daily life of Holmes and Watson.
But you may leave Gnome anatomy for others to write about, please.
Comment by Dave Ring — March 16, 2012 @ 10:33 am
Rune:
I meant to ask about three alternatives for new Law — divine revelation versus derivation from axioms versus a legislative mechanism — and possibilities beyond these could certainly exist. I agree that rigorously logical extension of a set of legal axioms *seems* to fit with what we’ve heard of the gnomes’ character. If so, I wonder how they would react to Gödel’s incompleteness theorems.
Comment by Gareth — March 16, 2012 @ 11:57 am
Dave,
You could start a whole new thread starting from the assumption that Gödel’s proof doesn’t apply in this universe (is mathematics the same everywhere… in fantasy we can bend physical laws but maybe not maths). perhaps the Uncertainty principle also could be tricky for Gnomes.
I remember being fascinated by Gödel’s work when I was younger. For those that don’t know it roughly speaking it says that with a given set of axioms that can exist statements that are true but CANNOT be proved from the axioms. (They have to be true because false statements can be shown by counter example). You can get into interesting philosophical debates over whether those ‘unprovable truths’ could be divine in nature…
Gareth
Gareth
Comment by Richard — March 16, 2012 @ 2:46 pm
So stoneright is what gnomes get in return for guarding dragon eggs, then?
Did I just spot a big revelation that iynisin are not a small splinter group?
Caroline (#2): how about daskin arrows as an example of rockmagic purifying stone?
Comment by elizabeth — March 16, 2012 @ 3:59 pm
Richard: It’s one way to get stoneright. Not the only way.
Comment by Jenn — March 16, 2012 @ 7:32 pm
I was just about to ask Richard’s question (good thing I read first)
Are the Sinyi outnumbered by the iynisin? That can’t be good.
Comment by Dave Ring — March 17, 2012 @ 11:10 am
It’s puzzling that there are more iynisin than sinyi, considering that most humans accept that elves exist and think iynisin are only legend. It also increases my curiosity about how the iynisin support themselves. They don’t seem the type to grow their own crops. I could more easily imagine them stealing what they need or having it produced by slaves, but these activities would make it harder to keep the low profile they seem to value.
Comment by elizabeth — March 17, 2012 @ 11:24 am
Nobody’s said yet that iynisin outnumber sinyi. It’s a proposal by readers. Only the writer knows for sure and she’s not telling on this one. Or on how they support themselves. I will remind people that the iynisin look like elves to humans unless the humans happen to encounter their…darker propensities. When seen at a distance by those used to elves, they can pass.
Comment by tkil — March 17, 2012 @ 12:11 pm
Elizabeth —
Maybe I’m seeing ambiguity where there is none, but in the main article you say: “At present, gnomes are more numerous than dwarves or elves–except for iynisin, the most numerous of the Elders.” Depending on how that’s parsed, it could be read as saying that iynisin are indeed the most numerous.
That is, I could parse it as “gnomes are more numerous than dwarves or ( elves – except the iynisin ), the most numerous of the Elders” (indicating that gnomes are the most numerous).
I can also read it as “gnomes are more numerous than dwarves or elves – except ( the iynisin, the most numerous of the Elders )” (which would indicate that the iynisin are the most numerous).
Maybe that’s what people are keying off in earlier comments.
Comment by Dave Ring — March 17, 2012 @ 12:18 pm
Elizabeth:
My conclusion about the number of iynisin was based on your statement, “At present, gnomes are more numerous than dwarves or elves–except for iynisin, the most numerous of the Elders.” I notice now that the sentence can be read two ways. Sorry.
Comment by Eir de Scania — March 17, 2012 @ 12:20 pm
@Jonathan Schor: Who can tell us about gnome anatomy but their creator? She’s the only one who knows…
Anyway, until I learn the truth I will imagine female gnomes having wombs like dogs have, so they can have litters instead of just one or two babies…
Comment by Jonathan Schor — March 17, 2012 @ 12:48 pm
On the numbers of each set of inhabitants of the world of Paks – until you put it in a book, there is no requirement of consistency. And even then, any given number is only what the current point of view demands. Also, granted that Ms. Moon is the omnipotent author, she may change her mind or viewpoint and we will ignore any inconsistency just to read her fine writing.
You will not receive a nightly visit from some swarthy men to chastise you if you are not 100 and 10 percent consistent.
Comment by elizabeth — March 17, 2012 @ 7:57 pm
I forgot I’d let that cat out of the bag…dang. I should not have said that. I really should not have said that.* But now that you know…yes, it’s a problem. There are…other factors involved that I hope I don’t spill because…you’ll enjoy them more if I don’t.
*(having a Hagrid moment there)
Comment by Moira — March 18, 2012 @ 12:37 am
LOL at the Hagrid moment. 🙂
Getting back to the gnomes – fascinating. I’m intrigued by the kteknik and how he & Arvid interact. We’ll learn a lot from that, I think (already have). I also suspect that Arcolin’s involvement with the ousted gnomes could prove another seminal moment in human-gnome relations, much like Gird’s “apprenticeship” with them. But – forgive the pun – nothing is written in stone. (Groan – that one even made me make a face.) The interaction could prove to be amazingly positive and beneficial on both sides, or it could end up driving the two races farther apart, depending on how things develop. Either way it will be fascinating.
The “-fulk” bit was easy enough for me, but then you’ve always incorporated a lot of northern European “bits” into the Eight Kingdoms. (As I think I’ve probably said before, a little added realism, or touches of Real World, can help to make a fantasy world more compelling and convincing. It allows us to become completely absorbed in the story and to engage with the characters fully. The least successful fantasy, I think, is the sort where everything is new and different, there’s nothing familiar and nothing we can easily relate to at all.) We have Torfinn in Pargun, a young lady named P. Dorthansdottir from (not Iceland) up north, we have fertility rites, we have strange and wise and powerful spiritual figures who are deeply concerned with trees. And so much more. And it all makes sense, it all goes down very smoothly and easily, because whether we realize it or not, it’s part of our cultural DNA – yet remote enough to be fantastic. (In both senses.) I love it!
I personally am interested in the similarities and differences between dwarves and gnomes: completely different races? same race but sundered early on? different races but related somehow? We’ll see.
The iynisin are problematic – and fascinating – for all sorts of reasons. In Deed, they are (or at least seem) comparatively two-dimensional: the uncomplicated bad guys. In the Gird books, they are more multilayered; there are hints of Other Things, but that’s all. Now, in the current books, we just got a big ol’ slap in the face that there’s waaaay more going on there than we realized. Of course, it’s all the elves’ fault for being so damn secretive. OK, reticent. Eh, secretive is as secretive does. 😉
*bouncy bouncy bounce*
Eleven months. Almost. I’ve been in self-denial and haven’t done any re-reading yet. Gotta pace myself.
(Oh, and happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone. And… it’s St. Paddy. Patty is his sister.)
Comment by elizabeth — March 18, 2012 @ 7:25 am
Moira: There’s a lot I don’t know about the Elder Races, including dwarves and gnomes. If they weren’t separate creations, they must have split a long way back, but so far…they just haven’t been center stage. As this group nears its end, though, it’s clear that gnomes are entwined in it somehow. Their fundamental difference was built into the story-world from the very beginning (thank you, Dr. F.S. Lear) but how that difference came to be–other than “writer fascinated by certain aspects of ancient history and by Lear’s book about it after taking several of his courses”–I can’t yet say.
Incidentally, Dattur misled Arvid about something important in Kings of the North, and I didn’t know it because Arvid didn’t know it…now I do. Clearly gnomes can lie, though it’s painful for them to do so. Dattur had also misled the dwarf he was traveling with and felt less guilt in doing so.
Comment by Jenn — March 18, 2012 @ 10:57 am
Quick question with the elves even though this is about gnomes:
When the iynisin broke away, was it an immutable decision. You have said there isn’t universal redemption in your world (with respect to the orcs) and the elves don’t believe they have souls so I was wondering if once they walked away from the Singer if there was a possibility to walk back?
Comment by Moira — March 18, 2012 @ 4:15 pm
Oooh, naughty gnome! Of course, now we’re all wondering what the misleading part was… did you somehow doubt that we were already on tenterhooks for the next book? Hmm? LOL.
@Jenn – good question! Redemption of the soul is a very human concept, and it may well not apply to elves. Interesting.
Comment by Richard — March 18, 2012 @ 5:56 pm
Elizabeth, the question in my mind your article resolved (my #18) wasn’t how gnomes got stoneright, but what they got in return for guarding dragon eggs if they do nothing for free.