"In the grander scheme of things, Catherine, I’m the petty warlord of a backwater kingdom [...] When one of the real world powers tells the Empire to do something, we do it. I will not face destruction in the name of pride."
-Amadeus of the Green Stretch, describing his and Praes's position relative to the gnomes[1]
The Gnomes are a race that lives somewhere other than Calernia. Little is known of the gnomes and Catherine implies that some believe them to only be a legend[1]. They are known to possess "huge metal armours" and fleets of "flying machines that scream" large enough to darken the sky[1]. Praes's only known contact with then has been in the form of Red Letters, which are warnings sent in a red leather sheath for significant technological advancement. Praes has received two Red Letters in the last century, the first for a farming machine constructed during the reign of Dread Emperor Nefarious, the second for the Hearthmaker goblin tribe's experimentation with powders[1]. The only records of gnomish military strength referenced are Yen Tei records of the destruction of the island nation of Kerguel, in which the island was sunk into the sea following the nation's disregard for their third Red Letter[1].