Species:
There are 3 major species of Gnomes that have been discovered and exist within The Astarian Empire.

Gnome, Mountain Gnome, Sky Gnome

Gnomes:
Gnomes are very short hunch backed people who have wrinkled, cragged skin due to their intense weathering. They have extreme magic photogenic skin which hardens into a stone like substance when exposed to high densities of magic or solar radiation which affects their skin. This has allowed their civilization to prosper at night causing their people to consume night time growth foods like mushrooms and other illuminating sources. When consuming glowing foods like certain aquatic or plant life they will naturally emit a slight glow from their skin which can block some of the solar radiation that affects their bodies. Once they eat foods high in luciferase. This has allowed their bodies to build a Bioluminescent Bacteria which helps shield them and allow slow movement during the intense solar light. This has caused their people to be reliant on specialized suits throughout the vast galaxy or the use of the Cifer Booster, a drug created from specialized swarm strains which grow large pus sacs of the luciferase enzyme to be harvested and turned into an injection drug. Gnomes within the Astarian Empire focus on research and development of tools and equipment. They enjoy the process of science even to a degree which injures or kills, this has allowed the Astarian Empire to develop the strongest of weapons and tools with the loss of research and life to be extremely high but effective. Outside of the Astarian Empire, many Gnomes will live in the mountains or in seclusion due to them becoming almost stone during the day and freely live their lives at night.

Mountain Gnomes:
Mountain Gnomes spent their time living in tribes fighting the dense creatures of the earths which plagued them making them unable to leave the depths of the earth without specialized masks developed later by the Black Empire. Gnomes with black beady eyes and ringed segmented sections on its body like worms of the earth who developed extra pairs of arms and sharp claws on their hands to help them easily move through the earth and dig through hard rocks. Their bodies are slim and tall allowing them to wriggle and crawl through the earth and fit into smaller sections. They have begun to develop a layer of long thin hairs which help them feel and move in the darkness. They consume the nutrients in the earth and defecate small dense piles of black nuggets which after a short time combust into high pressure flames melting the area around them in a chemical reaction creating a chunk of black magical ore. They have learned through trade across the vast galaxy that people value their poop and will trade them for all manner of needed goods to survive and thrive as a people.

Sky Gnomes:
The Sky Gnomes developed a large bladder-like section on the tops of their heads which lays as large flat wrinkly skin hat when not in use. It can fill with their natural bodies gases allowing for expansion and slight hovering and floating with the wind. This has allowed them to go about their lives normally but they are able to escape by filling their heads with gasses and float away in the wind, using wind magic can allow them to even fly with the wind.