Winedotter

The Winedotter bloodline of Burghal gnomes lives beneath the cities of the Elven Nations. They were the first bloodline to split with the Withycombe group after the great schism (leaving the forest).

History

In the year 725, Lyosi Wyandotte led a group of Withycombe gnomes from Selanthia into Ta'Nalfein. The group was mainly made up of winemakers and female service elves who wished grander masters. Winedotter compounds exist in each of the great elven cities with the exception of New Ta'Faendryl, where their presence is banned by royal decree. No self-respecting Winedotter gnome would attach to a Dhe'nar, as the concept of slavery goes against everything the Winedotter gnomes stand for.

Families of gnomes stealthily serve particular families of elves. All of the housework is done anonymously, unseen and unheard, in the night. The role of servant is taken very seriously, with many gnomes donning livery marked with their elven family's crest. Winedotter gnomes identify more closely with their hosts than any other burghal bloodline. In return, the elven families regard their adoption by gnomes as a very great honor and a sign of social status.

Instead of an elaborate network of underground tunnels as in Withycombe society, the Winedotters built multi-layered sub-basements beneath the "big houses." Winedotter gnomes sometimes go months and even years without leaving the safety of their compounds.

Winedotter gnomes are skilled in winemaking, though they are also famous for their clocks and music boxes. Winedotter gnomes focus exclusively on objects of beauty when they tinker, believing that practical devices are an excuse not to take personal responsibility for careful work.

Wine is omnipresent in the cultural life of the Winedotter, and the compounds tend to resemble wine cellars due to the racks of bottles and aging casks that fill every available space. Winedotter gnomes do not make wines in large batches for everyday use, preferring to pilfer that from their elven hosts. The signature labels of the Winedotter vintners are likely to be unique blends or wines with unexpected infusions of flavor made in small batches for the connoisseur trade.

Weddings function as important showcases for specialty wines, and the key symbol of Winedotter marriage is the label printed specifically for the wedding. The best vintners from each family create a unique blend for the wedding, and this wine is served at the ceremony and at every anniversary the couple shares. On the death of either spouse, the remaining bottles are poured into the ground in recognition of the lost union.

Winedotter families are close-knit. Nuclear families live in brick-lined apartments conjoined into extended family compounds that reach deep underground. Winedotter families observe a strict matriarchal organization as laid out by their founder, Lyosi Wyandotte. Husbands move into the compound of the wife's family and take the wife's family name. Children learn the discipline of housework and personal service from an early age. Young children are assigned responsibilities in the family apartment, and older children are tasked with looking after infirm or ill relatives in the extended family. On occasion, the child may go with a parent to the big house in recognition of some special achievement. Otherwise, Winedotter gnomes are forbidden to leave the compound until they come of age at 17, when they are eligible for the arvyad'gno.

Due to being a matriarchal society, the Winedotters are particular devoted to female Arkati, and to those lesser spirits who act as servants to the Arkati in addition to adopting the patron Arkati of their hosts as their own. Tilamaire is popular, which the type of service Eorgina commands discourages the Winedotters from following her.

The Winedotter gnomes have developed a unique tradition of mysticism tied to the stars. These mystics study star charts and believe that spiritual well-being and fate are powerfully influenced by the varicolored light of distant stars. By casting starstones of various size, color, and shape onto the ground, they can read the past and the future with uncanny accuracy.

Travel Guide information

The guide says, "The Withycombe and Winedotter bloodlines of the Burghal gnomes tend to work for the good of the world. In their home workshops, they tinker with natural materials in order to produce items that increase the beauty or ease of living. Withycombe is the oldest burghal bloodline, and the Winedotter bloodline serves the great elven houses."

Reference

• Races: Burghal Gnomes on play.net
• History of the Gnomes: Bloodline Winedotter on play.net