Essential Jaqor: The Gnomish Kingdom of Zavah
Essential Jaqor is a blog series that introduces readers to the people and places of the fictional world from the mind of author April Pereira.
The gnomish kingdom of Zavah is a center of technological marvel and creativity. Its capital, the port city of Zava, is a major center of commerce, finance, and craft, and one of the largest cities in Jaqor.
Zavah is the traditional homeland of the gnomes, a people of small stature and an insatiable curiosity of how things work. They are well known for their knowledge and skill with all things mechanical - generally referred to as "tinkers" - and with the magical arts (elemental science according to gnomes.)
The country is governed by an elected monarchy, with power resting in the hands of the guilds. Guilds are in turn ruled by a loose clan based system designated as Houses. A new monarch is chosen every seven years from the heads of the Houses.
The five major guilds are the Scholars (literary and performing arts, politics, and learning), The Academy (elemental magic and tinkers), Merchants Union (trade and laborers), Artisans Co-Operative (fine art, food, and craft), and Hearth Keepers (farmers and domestic arts.) Recent events have seen the rise of a new guild, The Benevolent Society of Masterworkers, a group organized around a set of ideals rather than specific skills.