Gilflesh of the Maples-on-the-Edge-of-the-Fethil

the fateful escape of Gilflesh

Gilflesh of the Maples-on-the-Edge-of-the-Fethil is a gnome whose tragic tale is often heard in the Rebel's camps. Gilflesh currently serves as one of several gnomish leaders on the inter-ethnic council in the Rebel Army, and also leads a fearsome battalion of gnomes who specialize in guerilla warfare. He also enjoys bridge.

The story of how Gilflesh came to be part of the Great Rebellion starts on the edge of the Erkenheld Forest. Gilflesh's clan's home was situated on the furthest outskirts of the magical wood, nearly touching the Fethil lands. For centuries, the proximity to the waving grain fields posed no danger for the industrious little gnomes, and they were happy in their comfortable grove of maples. With the coming of Prabil Worthis, and the subsequent domestication and colonization of the Fethil lands, the gnomes could feel a change in the land, and the Fethil no longer seemed welcoming to them.

Gilflesh was born roughly 100 years ago, and at this time the Border Wars were in full swing. Gnomes being a proud people, the clan had decided not to move further into the forest, believing that since it was really the elves and centaurs that humans seemed to have a problem with, they'd just as soon be left alone, as they had no allegiance with either side. But, the gnomes should have left: eventually, the Imperial Army began making forays into the forest, and the clan was found during one such expedition.

The soldiers discovered the grove in the early afternoon, when most of the gnomes were fast asleep. Upon hearing the racket of their intrusion, the gnomes (an easily startled race) emerged from their huts and ran screaming into the forest. Only then did a young, and very scared Giflesh arrive back into the grove, having been woken in his sleep by the call of nature. Gilflesh was totally overwhelmed by the large, brutish creatures standing before him and bawled hysterically. The soldiers did not know what to do and felt bad about scaring him so, and decided to take him back to the Fethil to raise as a pet.

Gilflesh spent the next 75 years as a communal pet gnome in a tiny Fethilian border town with no name. He was kept in a hutch in the center of town, which at first was crowded during the day with humans waiting to see what the gnome would do. When it became apparent that Gilflesh was not willing to do much more than try and sleep through the noise, many of the humans lost their interest in him. A devoted few, believing the gnome to be intelligent, tried teaching Gilflesh the Common Tongue. Gilflesh did learn the Common Tongue, but never displayed this ability for fear that the humans would think he'd begun learning tricks.

Time passed, and the humans of the still nameless village still fed and watered the gnome, but he was regarded less as a pet and more as a fixture. Likewise, believing him to be incapable of language, humans would talk about any subject at all in front of him, which is how he found out about the Rebel Forces. Once he'd picked up enough information about who and where the rebels were, Gilflesh set about finding a way out of his hutch. Working feverishly in the dead of night, he was able to set him self free in less than a week. Gilflesh joined the rebels the very next day, and his knowledge of the humans' ways and their language proved extremely valuable to their fight.

See Also:
Homchi
Narchlar