Letters to the Quickling

From Praemal

A series of letters from the priesthood of Garl Glittergold written in Halfling to a nomadic band of quickling faen in Rhoth. The letters are written as though Garl himself were the author, and the book is sometimes called Garl's Letters to the Quickling.

The book spells out a philosophy for gnomish life, where illusion is woven into the fabric of every day life. Early on in the Letters, "Garl" describes gnomes and halflings as rabbits, living in a hillside surrounded by bears, wolves, giant snakes and other predators. The halfling hares attempt to escape the bigger and more dangerous races around them by outrunning them. In the end, though, the halflings are cornered or simply run to ground and consumed. In contrast, the gnome rabbits dig hole after hole in the hill, riddling it with countless numbers of false dens, confusing the predators, who search endlessly for the true gnomish lairs. In the interim, the gnome rabbits move into a hollow tree overlooking the hill, where none of their predators think to look for them at all.

To "Garl," illusions are a way to protect gnomes from their numerous enemies, but illusions should not be limited to hiding their homes and communities. Instead, he argues, gnomes should develop entirely false communities, identities and personalities. The unknown authors suggest that gnomes are much more numerous than they are commonly believed to be, but many of them either live in communities entirely hidden from the outside world or appear to be members of other races, such as halflings, dwarves, kobolds or goblins.

The book is seen as representing a fairly extreme viewpoint by many worshippers of Garl Glittergold, but some argue that it's much more influential within the gnomish (and perhaps halfling) communities than outsiders will ever know.

In Ptolus, Baeril Underhill is a tremendous fan of the book.